My fellow CHRO colleagues, it is time to reflect on where we are as the custodians of our most important assets – The People – in our organisations.
It has been a long 18 months and with the pandemic somewhat behind us, we need to revisit our own holistic wellbeing (mental, physical, financial, and so forth). We have done it well for our people, yet we cannot continue to give that which we do not have. You can only give as much as is available to you, how much emotional, physi cal and mental wellbeing do you have left to give?
Thus, my advice to all is to take stock, reflect and be kind to yourself – and never forget your bigger purpose in life.
As we take a step back to reflect, let us also reset and take care of our growth and learning.
Our businesses had to re-imagine their business models and repo sition the capabilities that would give them competitive advantage post the pandemic, coupled with the acceleration of the 4IR or digitisation.
However, the intense pressures from the abovementioned factors, including among others the Great Resignation, have not afforded us as the CHRO community an opportunity to intentionally think of our growth and continuous learning. Again, our focus tends to be on the business, our colleagues and employees, but not how we improve ourselves, to give the best to ever-changing business needs.
We are by nature required to be resilient. As Dr Tom Morris said, “Resilience is a lot more than just bouncing back, it's about bouncing forward. Typically, great resilience is about changing and adapting and learning and growing and being better than you were before.”
Let us not only enable our organisations to have resilience as part of its DNA, but let it start with us. Let us re-purpose our HR businesses to become agile and flexible while empowering ourselves through continuous learning. In that way we are better positioned to give our holistic best, mentally, emotionally and professionally.
Finally, wear your badges, 2020, 2021, 2022 with great pride, and well done to the HR community at large. Potentially the next few years to come, are the years of the CHRO!
And, as we start winding down towards year end, remember to be intentional about your holistic wellbeing and professional devel opment. No one will do it for you – and it is the best way to give your best.
TUMELO SEAKETSO
organisation transformation, Deloitte consulting
CHRO awards judge
Avanthi
Reshmili
For Ndima
Georgina Guedes gguedes@chro.co.za
+27 83 651 2789
Ronda Naidu rnaidu@chro.co.za
+27 82 695 9704
Nomahlubi Sonjica nsonjica@chro.co.za
+27 71 855 9261
Photography
Patrick Furter
Other contributors
Ang Lloyd, Atlehang Ramathesele, Caylynne Fourie, Jane Steinacker, Mandisa Nyathi, Nomahlubi Sonjica, Reabetswe Rabaji, Ronda Naidu
Joël Roerig jroerig@chro.co.za
+27 76 371 2856
CFO Enterprises (Pty) Ltd 1 Wedgewood Link | Bryanston | Johannesburg | 2191 | South Africa
CHRO South Africa is the organisation for HR executives in South Africa. Our goal is to connect HR professionals online and through events and this magazine in order to share knowledge, exchange interests and open up business opportunities. For more information, please visit chro.co.za.
Elizabeth Ferraris
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It is so amazing how things can change in a short space of time. Four months ago, I joined CHRO South Africa without any idea of what I was getting myself into. I’ve been a journalist for more than 10 years and all I knew and did best was conduct interviews, write stories and get excited to see my byline in the newspaper or on an online plat form. Now, that has changed so drastically. I don’t just sit down, write stories and watch them get published. I listen and engage with a community of incredible people who have helped me spread my wings in more ways than one.
Since joining, I have had the opportunity to step up and do a lot of things that have all been firsts for me. I remember our managing director Joël Roerig asking me to introduce a speaker when we hosted CHRO Day earlier this year. I said I would do it without even thinking about it.
You know why I said yes? I said yes because I thought to myself, this is an opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. I don’t think I did badly on that task because a couple of months later we hosted the HR Indaba Online and guess what, Joël asked me to host two sessions. I told him I would do it only if he would hold my hand and take me through the process, and he and Sungula Nkabinde, our community manager, did just that. I think I managed to pull that one off too.
In August, we hosted the Women’s Dinner and I had the privilege of being part of a team that put together the event from scratch –another first for me, and one of my proudest moments too. In the end, I was proud to see how well planned and executed the event was and how incredible the speakers we had asked to participate were, and how receptive and interactive our guests were. Those who attended were really impressed.
I was also proud of myself for having had the courage to do a bit of MCing in a room full of some of the top executives in the country, some of whom I had had a chat with before the event started and shared my nervousness about the task I was about to do. They all assured me that I would be fine.
With that said, I would like to thank each and every one of you in the CHRO community for welcoming me with open arms and for walking me through your professional and personal journeys. I am honoured to be part of a community of people that echoes the spirit of Umntu ngumntu ngabantu. I really am because you are!
Ruvanya Reddy is excited about reaching her dream of becom ing the head of HR for Tate & Lyle, Turkey, Middle East and Africa – at the age of 30.
She started with Tate & Lyle in September 2021 and is looking for ward to developing and growing “our talent across the region”.
“Working hard is important, but working hard at fostering col laboration, solution drives and building valuable relationships is unmatched,” she said.
Bridgestone Southern Africa says their new people director, Karen McDonald, brings with her a legacy of impacting lives by transforming and improving ways of working.
Karen has over 19 years’ experi ence in human resources and has worked for local and multinational companies across sub-Saha ran Africa such as Imperial Bank, General Electric and, most recently, as the general manager of human resources at Air Products.
She holds an honours degree in psy chology and is a certified change practitioner.
After more than six years of work ing in Estée Lauder companies, Devni Naidoo Ferdi leaves her posi tion as inclusion and diversity director in EMEA to “pursue outside opportunities”.
She leaves the company after a solid and well-developed retail
industry and financial services experience and proven track record.
Devni holds an honours degree in business and behavioural sciences, and a coaching degree from UKZN and USB.
Mpho Motshegoa has been appointed as the talent and cul ture head at Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator. She has over 20 years of working experi ence,17 of which are in human capital.
In her new role, Mpho is responsible for organisational strengthening by driving innovative people processes and a culture that delivers on its system change goals, including on talent management, leadership development and people engage ment initiatives.
Mpho holds a bachelor’s degree in health sciences and social services,
an honours degree in counselling psychology, and is looking for ward to completing her research in M.Phil, in personal and professional leadership.
Webber Wentzel has announced the appointment of Nametsegang Maruping as HR director.
A strategic and seasoned human resources executive with multi-in dustry global experience, Nametsegang has worked in mul tinational organisations across different industries including IT, financial, pharmaceutical, FMCG, and state-owned enterprises.
She was previously group executive, human capital at Altron, where she was accountable for human capital across all the divisions.
Nametsegang holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial psychology and industrial sociology from the University of the Witwatersrand, and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science.
Lesley-Anne Gatter, previously head of people and organisation in South Africa at Investec, has replaced Marc Kahn as global head of P&O and joins the group executive team to steward the group’s people strategy across the globe.
“Investec’s commitment to inclusion and diversity, reflected by the recent appointments, enables the role so deeply.”
Shanitha Singh has been appointed as head of HR Southern Africa at Sandvik. She has been a human resources leader around the globe, and has worked at strategic and operational levels for more than two decades.
She previously worked as an HR con sultant at Hexagon Mining.
“I emphasise that a diverse and inclusive workplace is one that makes everyone, regardless of who they are or what they do for the business, feel equally involved and supported in all areas of the work place. We have an exciting journey ahead at Sandvik Southern Africa and I am grateful to lead the people journey going forward,” she said.
CHRO.co.za is the online hub for South African HR professionals, a daily virtual pitstop for high achievers who want to stay ahead. The content portal of CHRO South Africa is experiencing spectacular growth in readership every month and is now the number one HR website in South Africa.
The unique offering includes:
• Interviews with prominent HR executives
• Exclusive guest articles from leading experts
• Profiles of the CHRO Top 100
• All new appointments of HR leaders
• Fresh and often provocative trend articles
• Information about CHRO South Africa events
• Online access to CHRO Magazine
• The latest and greatest HR training
• A free online membership with a weekly newsletter
Do you know an HR director who has great insights to share? Do you want to contribute your expertise? Do you have ideas that can help CHRO.co.za get bigger and better faster? Then contact community manager Sungula Nkabinde today.
Nomahlubi Sonjica nsonjica@chro.co.za +27 71 855 9261
"It’s important to win people and their hearts so change is seen as a safe thing. In any organisation, shifting the mindsets can be the biggest challenge.”
With a career spanning close to two decades, Palesa Ntoagae, HR director at the JSE, told CHRO SA managing editor Nomahlubi Sonjica how it all started, how she made it to executive roles and what the future holds for her.
Palesa Ntoagae, HR director at the JSE admits she got into HR by sheer coincidence. In fact, after matricu lating, she was unsure which career path to follow. As a result, she studied for a Bachelor of Commerce at Rhodes University. At the time, she wanted to keep her options broad until she figured out her interests.
After graduating, she started applying for brand and marketing roles and eventually broadened the scope to HR administrative roles where she got her first break into permanent employment. She recalls underperforming during the inter view as a result of being unsure of what the role entailed, so it was a great surprise when she received a call back from her agent that she was successful for the role.
Palesa fondly remembers asking her line manager at the time why he chose her from other candi dates who had higher qualifications than her. He said it was visibly seeing her learning spirit and attitude which set her apart from other candi dates. Once she got into HR, Palesa really started to appreciate the real power and human impact of “the discipline”.
At her first job at Bidvest Panalpina, a logistics, warehouse and distribution business, Palesa was
tasked with designing and launching the compa ny's first learnership programme.
She realised that advertising the opportunity in national newspapers meant that most graduates in the township would not have access to it, so recruitment in that way would not work.
“It was lovely to have the autonomy to take full ownership of the programme and make decisions that were more effective in spreading the word in the township to educate the community about our business, what we do and career opportuni ties that were available. We successfully hired 10 learners, most of whom stayed for a long time and progressed up the career ladder,” she said.
“Receiving feedback on their career progression and being remembered for that is what makes my work meaningful. Giving one person an opportunity creates a wave of opportunities that affects others in a positive way,” she added. The impact of the decisions HR practitioners influ ence is what made Palesa realise that it was a space she wanted to be in. “The fact that we cre ate employment opportunities is a big thing for me and working for organisations that give you the autonomy to do that is for me a big deal and that’s why I stayed in HR and never looked back.”
After Bidvest Panalpina, Palesa moved to KPGM where she progressed as a consultant in the Immigrations department and assisted companies
to secure work permits for staff with niche skills; drafting skills transfer plans to demonstrate how locals would be developed.
After her stint at KPMG, she moved to Standard Bank where she spent a cumulative 14 years. “Moving to a global business like Standard Bank, which is mature and has advanced technologies, you have an opportunity to be a solutionist and run with the business to solve for strategic challenges.” Palesa adds.
At the JSE, Palesa says the business is constantly dealing with changes and the need to evolve for relevance. “Unlike the past, we now have digital currencies that can be used to facilitate trade and we’ve had to think differently about creating other platforms to allow for those businesses requiring capital but which don’t meet the conventional list ing criteria that’s made the JSE what it is.”
One of Palesa’s many career highlights is when she was appointed as a line manager at Standard Bank, where she looked after the collections divi sion nationally. “That was an interesting transition for me as I had to move from being a colleague and peer to a leader of my peers – which was an interesting dynamic. It required me to show up dif ferently without relying too much on positional power and it was a great opportunity to test my strategic muscle,” she recalls.
“The real meaningful opportunity I had was part nering with the divisional head to establish staff assist, after learning from our collections data that a lot of staff members were in the collections queue as they were over indebted. The division allowed us to proactively support staff before their situations worsened.” Looking back at the impact and level of involvement in that project, Palesa considers it her “MacGyver moment”.
She is also proud of the role she is currently in at the JSE, which is an opportunity for her to own and shape the people agenda. This also comes with full accountability – a testament of the real growth in her career.
Having been in the job since January, Palesa admits that she has encountered some challenges. “The JSE is a long-standing business and regulator of the financial markets. It is an institution and because it was the only exchange for so long, certain practices have been in play for a long time and introducing
change can be difficult. It’s important to win people and their hearts so change is seen as a safe thing. In any organisation, shifting the mindsets can be the biggest challenge.”
“I am looking forward to making my mark and shifting the HR function at the JSE to a world-class function that matches our vision and reputation. We have a great opportunity to future-proof the skills or our staff, strengthen our employee value proposition i.e. The Human Deal and embark on a journey that elevates moments of WOW in our employee expe rience. I believe my career experience has worked out the way it was intended to and I’ve never shied away from putting my hand up for the challenging jobs or the ones that nobody wanted,” Palesa says.
She hopes to leave the JSE having improved on the talent development proposition for junior and emerging staff. “We invest in a lot for senior leaders and have an opportunity to do the same for emerg ing leaders. If we could strengthen the network with other exchanges by having mobility programmes I think we would have progressedk,” Palesa shares.
“If I can look back and name 50 leaders we’ve been able to groom who are doing amazing things in the country, in support of the national agenda, that will be something I will be proud of.” The transformation agenda is also close to her heart, she adds.
Palesa has a 15-year-old son, Jabari. She enjoys being active and enjoys hiking, stimulating her mind with puzzles and is an avid reader – and is learning golf. She is happiest when spending time outdoors. “You must prioritise those activities that energise you and fill your cup. For me, family, and my health are the things I put first when I have downtime,” she says.
“Giving one person an opportunity, creates a wave of opportunities that positively affects others in a positive way.”
At the time of publishing, Palesa had just returned from successfully summitting Uhuru Peak, Kilimanjaro. She participated in the allfemale, Super Women summit as part of the Trek4Mandela Expedition, which seeks to raise awareness and funds to provide sanitary pads for girls in school. They started trekking in August 2022 and summited on Women’s Day.
“This journey started as a sponsorship wearing an employer citizen hat. However, along the way, my reason for doing this evolved so many times and became deeply personal. I still care about keeping the girl child at school and doing what I can to eliminate period poverty – but I learnt so much more about myself. My resilience, staying power, the power of my mind,” she said.
“There was a time my body was exhausted, my feet were completely frozen, but I continued to take each step so I can finish what I started as a deep personal commitment to myself. I also left my self-limiting beliefs on the mountain. They are no longer serving me and I have come to accept and celebrate the woman I have become fully – flaws and all. I’m also in a different space and treasure each moment of just being alive and having an opportunity each day to make a difference. Every moment we have is a gift, and my outlook on life has been enriched by this deep personal transformative experience. I remain eternally grateful,” Palesa added.
Sarah Pfuhl, SVP global talent development at ServiceNow, highlights the importance of skills-based hiring rather than job-based hiring.
BY NOMAHLUBI SONJICASarah Pfuhl, SVP global talent develop ment at ServiceNow, says the Co vid-19 pandemic has shone the spot light on HR and given the fraternity an opportunity to show that it brings strategic value to the company.
“It’s been fascinating,” says Sarah. “There have been opportunities to shine the light on what HR can do. It [the pandemic] has also shone the light on how important it is for manag ers to have certain capabilities that allow them to have empathy or build trust with teams. I don’t think people realised how important that was until Covid-19 came where we asked managers to do things they never used to do before.”
A really strong HR team has been able to harness data and show how data can inform human cap ital management decision making in a way that’s incredibly powerful. “I think there have been ways that HR has stepped up to show they can be strate gic partners in the business. That has brought them to the table. There have been these proof points that have demonstrated the value of HR.”
Despite the strides made in the HR space over the past couple of years, Sarah notes that attracting and retaining talent is still a challenge.
“The war for talent in technology is particularly acute. There is so much growth in tech right now globally and so how do you think about attracting and retain ing that talent? You have to think about hiring and developing slightly differently,” Sarah explains.
She says companies need to think about skillsbased hiring as opposed to job-based hiring.
“That’s one thing that’s a pivot point for companies. It is also important to think if they are hiring for a qual ification or skills. Because jobs are going to evolve with digitalisation, you need to think about the talent pools you are going into and how you are developing people – which is one big challenge,” she says.
Companies need to be mindful of how they are lis tening to their people and try to make sure they understand what the sentiment is within their tal ent and act on it. “Not just saying we are going to do a survey once a year and see how that goes, but really using data to create a better employee expe rience,” Sarah says.
ServiceNow focuses on providing companies with digital workflows that enable them to pro
“There is a ton of research out there around skills and career pathing like what they [new generation of talent] really want.”
vide exceptional experiences to their employees, throughout the employees’ life cycle: the goal is to make the employee experience as seamless as possible, and give employees a sense of belonging. “That’s what creates the stickiness that helps us retain talent,” Sarah shares.
ServiceNow works globally with Coca-Cola, which has saved over one million hours of productivity in the first three years of using the Now platform – that’s a significant amount of administration removed from employees, so they can focus on what they do best. It also ensures employee reten tion as employees can actually focus on their roles instead of getting side tracked and lost in adminis trative tasks.
“The platform is so simple and makes the world of work work for their people. We are making work for our people work. If you get out of the equation, we all do the work we love and we find purpose in.”
“There is an old-fashioned way of thinking about value proposition: what’s the salary and what are the benefits,” Sarah explains. She says the up-and-coming generation of talent wants purpose.
“We’ve come up with a people pack and we looked at the company’s commitment to its people,” she adds.
ServiceNow has identified three aspects within this, viz:
• Do your best work
• Live your best life
• Fulfil our purpose together.
“You have to look at these things as a combination because people want to feel like they are part of the fabric of something that’s making a difference in the world. People have options, especially high per formers. If you are a super star in any company, you can go to any company. Figuring what your company has to offer is what makes you stay. The feeling that the company is investing in making you better in your role is what creates that stickiness.”
Companies need to be creative about bringing peo
ple in and help them feel they have an option to learn quickly and ramp up. “ServiceNow offers technology but it is human. It is about using tech nology to make people’s lives easier. You think about what the pain points are for people and using technology to make the pain go away. The platform is really easy and intuitive, but it is designed with people at the centre.”
For example, many enterprise customers use the ServiceNow onboarding solution – which digitises, simplifies and speeds up the end-to-end onboard ing process – to get employees ramped up and productive fast. During onboarding, employees need to interact with legal, IT, HR, procurement, finance and their managers.
Fifty of South Africa’s leading HR professionals joined author and strategist Abdullah Verachia in the Mother City for the first ever CHRO Cape Town Summit, to discuss disruption and the makings of a future-fit HR function.
BY CAYLYNNE FOURIEOn 23 June, leading HR professionals in Cape Town gathered at 180Lounger to talk about sourcing talent, keeping it and letting it go during the war for talent.
The first ever CHRO Cape Town Summit kicked off with a keynote from author and strategist Abdullah Verachia who focused on how people priorities have shifted and how CHROs can equip themselves and their organisa tions to be future ready.
He started by presenting some daunting statistics about the reality of South Africa’s population, and explained how crisis events affect how they show up to work.
As a result, there has been a cognitive rewiring of human behaviour. People are yearning for workspaces that provide deeper elements of purpose and align ment in terms of what they do and how they do it.
“This means we have to think about the workplace ecosystem and how we can create spaces that give people the opportunity to bring their best selves to work,” he said.
“The only way to do that is to deepen the observation in the organisation, to use that observation to have a better understanding, to use that understanding to increase awareness, and to then transform what we do,” he added.
Abdullah explained that at the heart of all of this are the organisation’s people.
After a refreshing networking break, CHROs tackled the contemporary topics of the great resignation and the war for talent from three different angles, sourc ing talent, rewarding talent and talent mobility.
“Africa has talent. We have to believe that, on a con tinent that is home to one billion people, there is a lot more potential,” said Maersk HR head Mechell Chetty.
Capitec HR executive Rizwana Butler added, “We’re all looking for ready ‘now talent’, particularly in tech nology and digital fields. But we’re all fishing in the same pond and stealing from each other, which is only pushing up the price of the talent, not increasing the supply thereof. So we have to think differently.”
“We have to tap into our existing talent pool and their potential, and train for the skill we’re looking for,” she added.
Rectron chief of people Kutlwano Rawana, however, believes that the skills gap is not at a tertiary level, but at the very beginning. “We can’t leave it to the government and tertiary institutions, we have to find a way to start developing these skills that we need sooner,” she said.
Sanlam group HR director Jeanett Modise agreed that HR needs to talk about developing skills, not just attracting it. “It’s important to partner with peo ple and organisations in your ecosystem to become stronger. Competitors can work together to grow their industries respectively.”
Rizwana explained that South Africa is spending R10 billion on international skills because there aren’t enough in the country. However, that money could be used to develop the potential talent that exists instead.
Floatpays chief people officer Andisa Liba agreed. “Perhaps in setting up the structures at the point of entry in our organisations, we haven’t done it right. We’re making it impossible for youth to get into the corporate world, that’s why other countries are picking them up and creating superstars out of our talent.”
Echoing the theme of the evening, Sanlam head of group reward Julia Fourie said: “If you don’t grow your own timber, then all you’re doing is creating a prized ox. We have to put holistic programmes in place across our organisations to not only reward young upcoming minds, but to give them the security that they will have career paths, mentoring and visibility in the workplace.”
At the end of the evening, attendees were taken through an interactive session with leadership and transition coach Graham Fehrsen, during which they explained they’ve had to “learn, relearn and unlearn” in the last two years.
The CHRO Cape Town Summit was made possi ble by Executive Partners Mercer, Sanlam, ServiceNow, and Workday, as well as Associate Partners Floatpays, SkillsTown and The Strategist.
Lockdown forced organisations to transition to WFH models, and now many employees are hesitant to return to the office full-time. This makes optimising hybrid working models and spaces a priority for many businesses.
BY ATLEHANG RAMATHESELE
In the midst of lockdown-induced adjustments, many companies are relooking their office spa ces and working models to maximise comfort and find a happy compromise between em ployer and employee work preferences.
According to Palesa Ntoagae, director of Human Resources at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), flexibility is now not a luxury, “it’s a ticket to the game”.
While South Africa’s extremely high unemploy ment rate might not lead to brazen quitting when remote-working is denied, Lettie-Basani Phume, Group Human Capital executive at Momentum Metropolitan Holdings, notes that there has been an increase in resignations of this nature in spe cific skilled industries in the country. It is therefore important for businesses to take heed of the chang ing nature of the way we work.
“Employers need to be understanding, empathetic and avoid pressuring employees into returning to a work environment they may no longer be comfort able with. This could negatively impact individual performance, productivity and wellbeing, but will also have an effect on the overall company culture –particularly for organisations that pride themselves on creating and maintaining a culture of transpar ency, collaboration and trust,” she says.
She suggests shifting the emphasis to how face-toface reconnection and collaboration add value.
Palesa says a highlight of the hybrid model is see ing how it has resulted in growing participation from generally introverted employees as the mix of remote-working and in-person interaction offers them a safety net.
“We have this evolving landscape of everything ‘diversity, inclusion, belonging’ and I have really just marvelled at how I have come to know my team so much better in such a different way because I’ve seen all the people who are shy and reclusive speak up more. It has been wonderful to hear those voices,” she says.
As a locally-based organisation that operates in a global network, the JSE was one of the first employers to put together a business continuity management plan for people to work remotely. “We banked some principles around relooking at the infrastructure; the bucket of work focused around the facility, technology and culture,” she says.
The JSE has since re-designed and re-modelled its office space with collaboration in mind. The revamped building encourages a hybrid way of work.
“Our technology is world class, it allows for people to connect whether they are in South Africa or dial ling from another area”, she says.
The office also allows teams to craft manifestos of how they want to use it, encouraging team col laboration and spirit. “We want to prioritise safety, improve on the work space, ensure that it is actually meaningful when people come into the office and maintain productivity,” she adds.
Momentum Metropolitan updated both their Centurion and Cape Town offices to create an effec tive hybrid-working environment. Opened in May, these new spaces feature everything from hot desks to stimulating meeting spaces that facilitate inter action. The ground floor of the Centurion offices are now a “mall-like” open space where people can catch up and have meetings.
“Meeting pods, booths and shared workspaces break down the former siloed divisions while the latest technology enable staff to work from anywhere in the building – from hot desks to outside-in land scaped gardens, to quiet rooms for focus time or private conversations, or even prayers and medita tion,” says Lettie-Basani.
For Palesa, the idea of hybrid working is to maintain flexibility and ensure employee satisfaction, hence not instituting a minimum number of days, “We do trust our staff and know that they get the job done so
it’s not about bringing them to the office to monitor their work, it’s about driving collaboration,” she says.
“At the time we approved hybrid, we didn’t want to be prescriptive. We wanted teams to determine how often they would come into the office but we have found that certain teams aren’t coming into the office at all, while others are,” she adds.
They are trying to nudge more people to come in consistently, particularly because new staff members can’t settle in as effectively or connect productively with the network of the organisation.
“When you come here, you are going to rely on the people you find here to teach you and show you the ropes. We don’t have training academy for exchanges in the country, unlike the banks, so you rely on the networks you create [within the organ isation] and that’s becoming an issue for us and what we’re trying to solve,” she says.
While there have been some teams that aren’t par ticularly keen on the notion of returning to the office, general employee response has been favour able. The JSE has spearheaded this by encouraging inter-divisional collaboration, get-togethers and becoming more intentional about how they use the building, “We ensure that there is a fun activity every month and we have noted that the numbers have gone up each month,” she says. “When peo ple came back to the office, they realised how much they missed seeing people. The basement is getting increasingly full, so we can definitely see foot flow going up,” she says.
Palesa believes organisations need to accept that hybrid working is not going anywhere and that busi nesses that require premium skills should be wary of bearing down on full Monday-Friday office occu pancy as it will invariably affect employee retention negatively. “Employees have agency to vote for who they want to work for. Even though the economy has contracted, skilled knowledge workers with skills that are scarce are always going to have choice in the market,” she says.
While South Africa is plagued with specific issues like loadshedding and petrol price hikes, Palesa cau tions organisations from taking full responsibility for government/country-specific issues and to be acutely aware of when some employees are trying their luck. She suggests more supportive measures instead. “Where corporates can assist to buffer, we certainly must. For example, we offer staff loans to buy UPS solutions,” she says.
Lettie-Basani suggests that co-creating work envi ronments by listening to what employees need is key for modern companies.
“Exploring new workspaces – even if it is simply a different desk with a different view – can help stim ulate employees by allowing them to find a space that motivates and inspires them. It also breaks down the silo mentality that characterised many traditional buildings of the past,” she says.
The JSE's re-designed and re-modelled office space has a number of new features to encourage a hybrid way of work. These include:
• A pod to do quiet work.
• Closed rooms and private areas for teams that want to get together.
• Sections where anyone can book desk space (driving different behaviour where required).
• Space for stand-up meetings.
• Demarcated telephone booths to ensure private conversation in an open space.
The ground floor is usually leased out for events while the first floor is formal with boardrooms and a concierge service. The rest of the building has hot desking elements and a variety of different working nodes powered by an app that allows people to book space. The app also has health screening, a layout of the floor space and an overview of who is using which space.
“That helps you to plan your week because you can book the space you need depending on the types of meetings and conversations you’ll be having. It also allows the facilities team to know how many people to expect at the office on which days, which is also helpful from an evacuation perspective. So it is also a great security tool,” Palesa says.
Putting employees at the centre of The Capital Hotels and Apartments is what John Skelton, chief people officer, is most passionate about.
John knew early on in his life that he wanted to be in the business of people. He majored in Organisational Psychology and Information Systems (IS) at Rhodes University and then went on to complete a generalist postgraduate in Enterprise Management.
Upon moving to Gauteng he began his career in project management but moved on when an opportunity pre sented itself to become an HR consultant at a private consulting company in Bryanston. This allowed him to go to different businesses and serve a range of clients. “I really benefited from this during my time as a consul tant. I got to spend time with people across the various businesses I worked in, and received a solid grounding in IR [Industrial Relations]”.
In 2008 he was headhunted for a position with Nando's SA, as a national HR consultant. He travelled around the country, visiting every Nando's in South Africa, from Alberton to Queenstown.
The concept that “it’s not about the chicken, it’s all about the people” has stayed with John ever since. “I was involved with all things people, including exciting initia tives such as EVP master griller competitions, Nandocas staff soccer days,sending off the Kingsley Holgate Foundation from the Lesedi Cultural Village, opening the domestic Nando's restaurant and standing in freez ers doing audits in Hazyview.”
In January 2011, Dimension Data came knocking. “I had
learnt about Dimension Data [in my studies], and I was offered an opportunity to work for this incredible South African company,” he recalls.
John was with Dimension Data for six years. He says it was an amazing journey with a company that is a Top Employer of Choice. John supported over 800 employees in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) service Integration and shared services business. He was responsible for creating a winning culture for the business through talent management programmes aimed at improving retention and the development of staff. He partnered with HR centres of excellence to ensure that the busi ness received a seamless experience. John completed his Management Development Programme [MDP] through GIBS, where his syndicate finished top of their class.
In 2016, John was approached by The Capital Hotels and Apartments, with the prospect of moving into an execu tive role later on. When he joined the company they had just 199 employees.
“When I joined, there was no focus on employee train ing and employee engagement and I was determined to change the culture of the business. The growth and shift in HR since then has been exponential.”
In its early days, the company’s HR department was run manually. “If you wanted someone’s file, you would have to go to the payroll manager and ask for it – like a library book,” John recalls. Since then, a new val ues programme, based on the acronym H.O.M.E, was introduced, which focused the culture towards a more inclusive approach.
“We designed and introduced training programmes that allowed staff to develop key business skills that would support the future growth of the business. Employee-of-the-Month initiatives were introduced to improve morale in the group, where the winning staff member each month sits down with the CEO for breakfast to discuss the business face-to-face.”
The company also introduced a new employee self-service system called Roubler, where staff shifts, payslips, policies and leave were all available on a custom application.
John is proud that The Capital Hotels and Apartments now has a structured HR department that uses a transactional and transformational approach. “The transactional is the training, the payroll, the engag ing side and the recruitment and transformational involves talent management, performance man agement and organisational design, which is all underpinned through this change management pro cess which I have taken the group through,” he explains.
The company, John says, is one of the fastest grow ing hotel groups in South Africa. “We open around two hotels a year, the most recent being The Capital Mbombela, The Capital Zimbali [Durban] and The Capital 15 on Orange [Cape Town].” The company now employs over 1,000 permanent employees.
The company is, however, not spared from the big challenge of skills shortages that a lot of companies are currently facing. “Even though we have a very low staff attrition rate of below two percent per annum, we have incredible staff who are approached to run hotels around the world. I can’t always compete with the dollars and pounds, but this also shows the cal ibre of the talent that we have in the hospitality industry,” says John.
Like most companies, The Capital suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic as its occupancy rate slumped initially. It dropped from 73 percent to seven percent across their then nine hotels overnight.
While some hotel groups closed their doors during that period, John says they decided to stay open and that changed the group forever. “On the 27th of March there were a couple of planes that landed at OR Tambo [International Airport] and people were stuck in limbo on the tarmac. In true Capital entre preneurial style, we opened our doors and managed to accommodate the stranded travellers, who were caught in the Covid cross-fire of travel restrictions and uncertainty. Everything was new and different during those first few days. We asked staff whether they wanted to stay in hotels and assist with the repatriation flights. There was an overwhelming positive response from all the staff, and we had a business that was operating with close to 100 percent occupancy levels again. Because of this we were able keep staff on full salaries,” John recalls.
John highlights his passion for people and recalls a memory that speaks to how passionate he is about people: “One of the low moments in my career was walking through a closed Zimbali Hotel and I realised that a building without people simply has no soul. The people are without a doubt the drive and the rea son for what I do. Seeing them develop and grow is what makes me happy.” In the end, the pandemic allowed the group to benefit from the chaos and The Capital acquired properties that were not previously available to them.
The next chapter involves growing the Hotel Academy (by The Capital). “The academy allows our staff and outside individuals to train and obtain hos pitality qualifications which are aligned with The Capital way of thinking, which will develop future leaders in our industry.”
John is also proud that the company’s managing director and exco are aligned with the thinking of people first. “It’s not about the hotels, it’s all about the people.”
During his free time, John enjoys mountain biking, tennis and a round of golf. Family time is the most important to him. John is a very proud father. He has a daughter and a son born in 2014 and 2016, respec tively. John likes to give his family a taste of what the hospitality industry is about by taking them to new places around the country during their school hol idays. It’s always people (and family) first in John’s world!
“It’s not about the hotels, it’s all about the people.”
“The people are without a doubt the drive and the reason for what I do.”
One in two employees are likely cur rently looking for a new employer, according to research commissio ned by Workday which focused on understanding employee sentiment across Europe and South Africa during Covid-19.
Kiveshen Moodley, country manager South Africa, Workday, says, “The data shows that 53 percent of employees will be looking for new employment. We need to look at the motivations for people wanting to leave. Employers assume that pay would be sig nificant and it is. Other reasons include growth and better training and development. The research looks at this within the South African context.”
The pandemic and economic downturn have cer tainly elevated the role of the CHRO to help CEOs manage employees during a time of crisis and chart a course for the future.
“The perfect storm of cultural upheaval, employee stress, business challenges, and opportunity has cre ated a critical moment for businesses, and if they don’t meet it, they risk alienating employees falling behind technologically, and missing opportunities to retain, engage and develop their workforce,” he says.
“In terms of the companies with which I consult, it is clearly beneficial to get employees to be part of the decision-making process and have a high level of engagement which leads to productivity and helps the business realise its strategy,” he adds.
The research, which was undertaken by Yonder Consulting, comprised 17,054 online surveys, across
nine European countries and South Africa, from employees below director level. Respondents work at organisations with more than 250 employees.
“Europe and SA are regions and we commissioned the survey to understand the cultural and work ing practices in these regions and ensure relevancy. Surveys like this also allow us to take a global view and consider different lines of thinking from leader ship,” he said.
Kiveshen notes that HR leaders in South Africa can now look at the data points and decide on the steps to take to retain top talent.
The research shows that while workplaces have seen major economic, social, environmental, and techno logical changes recently, the pandemic accelerated trends including remote working, shifting employees’ expectations, learning and development, purpose and belonging at work, and employee wellbeing.
In South Africa, Yonder found that:
• 80 percent of employees worked from home, but 96 percent experienced connectivity issues;
• Leaders viewed as honest, trustworthy, caring, supportive, approachable, inspiring and compe tent are perceived to have performed better;
• 53 percent of employees struggled to motivate themselves; and
• 58 percent believe their leaders are not prioritis ing health and wellbeing.
Research from Workday gives HR leaders data to stem the great resignation – and retain talent.
“There is a sense of ubuntu in the research, which shows the culture and nature of who we are as a people. This stands out. The research also showed that senior managers in South Africa were more likely to demonstrate a clear vision during the pandemic,” he said.
Looking ahead, Kiveshen notes that the new era will be all about self-awareness and connecting with employees taking the hybrid ways of work ing into account.
“The reality is that it always starts from an HR perspective. Understand what people are going through with empathy and engagement as well as the challenges and working together as a team to understand how we move forward. This needs to come from the leaders. So, we need to understand the data and take action,”
Kiveshen says that the last year has dramatically accelerated the urgency and importance of organisations embracing development in five key areas:
• Inclusion and belonging: Organisations investing in diversity, inclusion, belonging, and equity are reaping substantial bottom-line benefits and outperforming competitors.
• Digital acceleration: Digital transformation takes centre stage and is the top priority for business leaders. Employee support and services will need to be delivered virtually and digitally.
• Enabling experiences: Creating compelling employee experiences that connect, support, empower, inspire and engage workers in the new, more flexible workplace.
• Agile organisation: Automating and augmenting work to enhance, elevate, and extend employees’ expertise, enabling leaders to effectively manage, mitigate, minimise disruption and redirect resources.
• Skills imperative: Building critical skills and competencies for the organisation.
“The research also showed that senior managers in South Africa were more likely to demonstrate a clear vision during the pandemic.”
CHROs have over the past year become chief empathy officers, chief advisors, chief technicians and brand ambas sadors. They have learnt how to pivot, be resilient, show vulnerability, keep a close eye on the wellbeing of employees and balance that with the sustainabili ty of the business.
There is little doubt that CHROs have been tested and come out stronger on the other side.
Most of them have proven both the tangible and intangible value of HR during this critical time, and this year's nominees certainly deserve the recognition for the exceptional work they have been doing within their companies.
Nominees have undergone intensive interviews and a rigorous judging process, and the winners will be announced at a glittering awards ceremony on 17 November 2022 during an exclusive gala dinner.
The award categories are:
• CHRO of the Year
• Young CHRO of the Year
• Strategy and Leadership Award
• Transformation and Empowerment Award
• HR and Technology Award
• Learning and Development Award
• Talent Management Award
• Employee Value Proposition Award
The judges for the CHRO Awards are extremely experienced in the field of human resources and are highly regarded by the CHRO community.
The panel consists of industry leaders working for South Africa's leading companies. They are:
• Caryn Baird: Independent Advisor & Executive Coach. Joined the panel in 2021.
• Dr Rozett (Roze) Phillips: NED, Faculty and African Futurist GIBS Business School Joined the panel in 2022.
• James Ramakau: Manager Talent Management and Learning, Anglo American and Chairperson, SABPP. Joined the panel in 2022.
• Jane Waters: COO Allen & Overy. Joined the panel in 2019.
• Moula Mokhobo-Amegashie: Managing Partner Drayton Glendower & Mokhobo. Joined the panel in 2019.
• Paul Norman: CHRO MTN Group. 2019 CHRO of The Year. Joined the panel in 2020.
• Raisibe Morathi: Group CFO Vodacom. Joined the panel in 2019.
• Richard Sutton: Global Stress Resilience Expert. Joined the panel in 2019.
• Shirley Zinn: Non-executive director. Joined the panel in 2019.
• Tswelo Kodisang: Group Chief People Officer, FirstRand. Joined the panel in 2022.
• Tumelo Seaketso: Director of Organisation Transformation, Deloitte Consulting. Joined the panel in 2022.
• Vukani Mngxati: CEO Accenture Africa. Joined the panel in 2019.
• Xolile Sizani: Executive Director, Nzuri Management Consultancy & Investment. Joined the panel in 2020.
Group executive Human Capital and Transformation, Blu Label Telecoms.
Antoinette started in accounting before moving into IT, becoming part of a team that set up the first data warehouse in the FMCG industry, in the role of sales development manager at Clover SA. She later changed careers and moved into sales. After eight years in sales development and capabil ity building, and now also with an MBL and PhD under her belt, Antoinette started her own business. After four years of running that business, she joined Blu Label Telecoms.
Human resources executive, Assore
Bongani has more than 20 years of experience in HR. He joined Assore in 2018. He got his professional start at Tiger Brands as a trainee HR Manager and has held various positions in HR, including HR Manager at Distell, HR Consultant at SABMiller and Director Human Resources at the HSRC.
Bongani completed a BCom, holds an industrial relations degree from UKZN, and has also completed a Senior Managers Strategic Insights pro gramme at the University of the Witwatersrand Business School.
Head of human capital, Risk Benefit Solutions
Desereé has more than 15 years’ experience in HR and learning and devel opment, and is passionate about people and culture. She has extensive experience as a ‘gets the job done’ executive with strong expertise across the entire HR value chain, operations and strategy execution. She started her HR career at Metropolitan Retail as a learning and development spe cialist and moved up the ranks into management. Desereé holds an MBA specialising in executive management, and a BCom in industrial and organ isational psychology.
Group HR executive, Transaction Capital Risk Services
Dineo has successfully developed an HR strategy for the group and designed robust human resources programmes and initiatives which are aimed at motivating and developing teams. She is in the process of establishing TCRS Group Learning Academy, as well as a relocation journey through a change management process, and serves on five different boards (within the TCRS Group) as a director. She holds several qualifications including a master’s degree (cum laude) in management and innovation from Wits University.
Group executive head of HR, Santam Insurance
Enid is an experienced HR executive with a demonstrated history of work ing in the insurance industry. She has held executive HR positions in various industries, including technology and banking, and has been inte gral to Santam’s transformational talent management agenda. Enid was instrumental in ensuring Top Employer certification for the company. She is skilled in labour relations, succession planning, organisational development, recruiting, and human resources, and has a postgraduate qualification in management studies from the University of Cape Town, which focused on organisational behaviour and labour relations.
Fifi’s career highlights include a key role in changing company culture to support the key pillars of the business strategy by creating an amazing employee experience. She has relaunched company values, and introduced initiatives to support business such as talent management. She has also set up corporate and investment banking oper ations client service centres from start to finish, including consulting with unions – for Barclays Africa and other projects. Fifi has several qualifications, including a BTech in human resources management from the University of Johannesburg.
John SkeltonJohn joined The Capital in 2016 to bring about a complete 180 degree shift in the cul ture of the organisation. He has extensive knowledge of entrepreneurial cultures in South African businesses where he has gained experience of organisational design and change management through the positions he previously held at Dimension Data and Nando’s. He completed his formal education at Rhodes University in the field of industrial psychology and completed a postgraduate in enterprise manage ment. He also completed the Management Development Programme at GIBS.
HR director, Hyundai Automotive South Africa
Khanya is an experienced human resources director with a demonstrated history of working across a range of industries, including automotive, FMCG, staffing, construc tion, consulting, agriculture and recruitment. Prior to joining Hyundai, she was the HR director at LSC Staffing Solutions. She is skilled in the entire human resources portfolio, ranging from talent management and sourcing to consulting and perfor mance management. She holds a BA (Hons) in psychology from University of South Africa, and has completed the Executive Development Programme at Gibs.
Kim has more than 10 years' experience within human resources specialising in global executive search, talent management, and HR operations, within the phar maceutical, retail and data analytics industries. Prior to joining Vantage Data, she worked for companies such as Gilead Sciences and MassDiscounters. Kim started as a commercial negotiator at Mortimers Cooper in the UK, before taking on the role of senior executive search consultant at SynerGem Europe. She holds a BCom in human resources, marketing, and supply chain management from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Lee-Ann has been in the HR space for more than 17 years. She has previously worked at Goldfields, providing strategic direction for the human resource discipline, includ ing overall planning, direction and guidance to ensure an employee-oriented, high performance culture with an emphasis on empowerment, quality, productivity and standards, goal attainment, and the recruitment, ongoing development and reten tion of a high performing workforce. Lee-Ann has also held key HR roles at Telkom Media, Absa and Nedbank. She holds an Honours in Political Science and a BA in Psychology from the University of Johannesburg.
Marlize, who has more than 20 years of experience in HR, is a well versed strate gic human resource professional with a passion for working closely with people at all levels in the organisation. Marlize has previously held the role of HR executive consultant at 21st Century, and has held HR roles in both the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan. She has several qualifications including a master’s degree in stra tegic human resources management and a BTech degree in human resources management.
Michele has held strategic senior management and executive positions in human resources, both locally and internationally at several organisations, including Eskom, Productivity SA, ArcelorMittal and General Electric. She joined Imperial Holdings as the human resources director for the Imperial Vehicle Retail, Rental and Aftermarket Parts division (which subsequently rebranded as Motus) in August 2016. She holds a BSocSci from the University of Cape Town and is cur rently registered for an MBL 3 at the University of South Africa School of Business Leadership.
Head of HR, Mediamark
Mpho is a seasoned HR professional with over two decades of experience in the HR environment. She has a wide range of experience dealing with HR planning, strategy, performance management, organisational development, labour relations, retention strategies and skills development. Furthermore, she has a demonstrated history of working in the broadcast media industry. She is a graduate of Wits Business School and has completed programmes at both the University of the Witwatersrand and Rand Afrikaans University.
Nina has been working for Home of Living Brands for 10 years, and has held vari ous positions within the company, both as human resources general manager and human resources business partner. She began her career at the company in 2012.
Prior to joining Home of Living Brands, Nina was an HR business partner at IBM. She holds an Honours in Industrial Organisational Psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Executive head of HR, Vodacom
Njabulo is an international HR leader with a track record of partnering with CEOs, management teams and board members to drive business performance and transformation, and is passionate about people and organisational development. Her career began at 19, after she completed her studies at Rhodes University. She is a non-executive director and remuneration committee chairman of Mezzanine and Xlink. Njabulo holds an MBA from GIBS and has completed Heineken's Global Talent development programme through INSEAD Business School.
Phil, who joined Startek in 2017, has extensive experience in human resource management, customer services, and as team leader, operations. He holds a postgraduate diploma in business management from Regent Business School and MAP Business Management Marketing and Related Support Services from Wits Business School. His previous roles include being the senior manager of human resources at Aegis Outsourcing South Africa, customer service manager of Operations at Aegis (CCN/South Africa), and team leader of Operations at AOL Dimension Data.
Group CHRO, Dark Fibre Africa
Portia has a passion to drive transformation and initiate programmes that improve humanity and business results. She strives for self development and improvement, and is passionate about developing leaders to unleash their poten tial and achieve personal and business success. She has several qualifications under her belt, including a Master of Philosophy in leadership coaching from Stellenbosch Business School and an MBA from the University of South Africa. Portia is also a mentor with the National Mentorship Movement and has previ ously served as a non-executive member on a number of boards.
Over the past 25 years, Pumeza has demonstrated expertise in organi sational effectiveness, strategic human resources, change management, business strategy, and financial management. She has successfully shaped high-performing cultures with progressive technical resources and robust development programmes that positively impact revenue growth. She holds a BSc in Biochemistry and Psychology from UKZN, and a board leadership qual ification from the GIBS. She has previously held leadership roles at EOH and SAP Africa. Pumeza is also a certified member of the Institute of Directors.
Renske is an experienced business and human resources professional who has led the human resources and people management functions of compa nies across various industries, including retail, telecommunication and real estate. Prior to joining Redefine Properties, Renske was the head of HR at iBurst. She holds several qualifications including an MCom in Industrial and Organisational Psychology from North-West University. She has completed various other professional courses and is also a registered psychologist.
CHRO, Bitco
Riani is an experienced HR professional who began her career as a media assistant. She started her career in HR as a junior human capital practitioner and soon moved to more senior positions. She joined BitCo as an HR manager in 2015 and, three years later, was promoted to head of HR. Riani has been involved in recruitment, payroll admin, employment equity and BBBEE. In her current role, she looks after the entire strategic HR module and strives to build and develop an effective HR model.
Group HR director, Sun International
Verna moved into the HR environment as she wanted to ensure that the labour laws are interpreted in a simple manner, for both employees and employers to understand their rights and obligations. She has been an HR executive since 2008 when she became the HR business partner at Absa Wealth. She was and was the employee relations manager at Sun interna tional for six-and-a-half years before taking on her current role in 2015. Verna holds a BProc in Law from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Chief people officer, Adcorp Group
Vinolia is an accomplished human capital business executive with a demon strated record of improving the human capital function in order to transform business performance and revenue. Her career highlights include being cho sen as one of MultiChoice’s Top 5 Senior Women Managers and profiled in the Mail & Guardian SA’s book of Top Women in Leadership (2011). She holds an executive MBA from GIBS, a BSc in Computer Software Engineering from Unisa and a postgraduate qualification in ICT.
Avanthi Parboosing’s two decades of experience in the governance space paved the way for her chief people officer position at Life Healthcare.
BY NOMAHLUBI SONJICAWhen Avanthi Parboosing took on the role of chief people officer (CPO) at Life Healthcare two years ago, her change in career was met with some surprise.
But the experienced executive blocked out the noise and focused on the expectation of the role and what needed to be immediately done to entrench herself into her new set of responsibilities. “I took every concern and discomfort and turned it into an opportunity to learn.”
Avanthi’s journey into the people space was unexpected as she had, for the past 20 years, been an executive within the governance and ethics space, having served as a group secretary for a number of listed entities, including Impala Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore.
In December 2020, the chief executive of Life Healthcare, Peter Wharton-Hood, told her that she had out grown the governance role and needed to take on a bigger challenge.
Avanthi was cautious and needed some convincing. “By my own observation, I was a good company secretary. I liked operating in a comfortable but challenging space and doing what I know best. I enjoyed the breadth and depth of the company secretary role and was nervous about letting that go.”
Peter, she says, was patient. He had a particular vision for the company, and closer to home, a specific plan for her career. That was reassuring.
“I took every concern and discomfort and turned it into an opportunity to learn.”
“He re-focused my attention and diluted my discom fort around the ability to execute and influence in the CPO role. I can honestly say that there is a deep trust within the current group executive, and we work well as a team, supporting each other in our various areas of responsibility,” she said.
“Leadership’s collective belief is that one of the cru cial ways to drive this organisation forward from a strategic perspective is to ensure that we look after our people, and having this collective view from my colleagues and from the business at large, certainly makes the role easier to execute,” she added.
Without any formal human resources background or training, Avanthi quickly learnt that the role needed a strong technical team, both in South Africa and internationally.
“Life Healthcare directly employs circa 17,000 people across its southern African and international oper ations. It’s a big company with a global footprint. Fortunately for me, there is an exceptionally strong technical HR team, both in the international and South African operating environments, who I work closely with to deliver on key objectives. The tech nical aspect of HR is absolutely key, but I have the right people, in the right roles, at the right time. The team is phenomenal.”
Avanthi’s role manages more than just the peo ple portfolio. She also holds executive responsibility for diversity and inclusion, communications and reputation management, sustainability (ESG) and stakeholder engagement. Although not a typical col lection of portfolios, Avanthi says it works.
“We understand that for our business to grow sus tainably, we have a duty to develop our people, while enhancing stakeholder value and minimising the impact of our operations on the environment. We are aware that it is critical in today’s world to iden tify, understand, and manage material ESG impacts, and the HR portfolio is key to contributing in this space. It’s interesting to observe how critical HR has become to almost every aspect of business – espe cially today – where the focus on ESG has become completely entrenched in every investor’s mind.”
As challenging as her job is, Avanthi is delighted to have taken on the challenge. There are no regrets.
“It’s been a tough few years for the healthcare indus try in general and certainly a tough two years for Life Healthcare. A focus on critical elements of a progressive people function is integral to the com pany’s sustained performance during difficult times, and the executive team continues to work tire lessly to respond to the challenges brought on by the pandemic.”
Difficult decisions also needed to be taken, and Avanthi played a key role in assisting with the roll out of the company’s mandatory vaccination process. “We needed to deliver on the promise of always putting our people first and making Life Healthcare a safe space. It was one of the most dif ficult processes to go through, but we got it right. We managed it with respect and care, and we got to where we wanted.”
There has also been some real traction in the diver sity space, a key component of the CPO role and one for which Avanthi has real passion.
Together with the CEO, she created and led the com pany’s very successful Women-in-Life Programme, and as the responsible executive for inclusion and diversity, paid personal attention to hiring processes, taking deliberate stances on all the company’s diver sity and inclusion initiatives.
Avanthi admits that the handling of extremely com plex people matters takes up a large portion of her time. “There is a certain level of dexterity required in managing people matters. There is a need for sensi tivity and compassion – sometimes managing issues with an iron fist in a velvet glove. This is the part of the HR role that requires the most attention – doing
“When our people feel valued, they organically contribute to exceptional business performance and operational outcomes.
That’s where the magic lies.”
what’s right for our people, while taking care of the organisation as a whole. I’m trying to master that art.”
Having been in the governance space for more than 20 years, Avanthi says she did not realise how much that journey had prepared her for her current role as CPO.
“Some decisions in my current role often have to be taken care of quickly, but in a measured manner, because taking a decision about an employee in an organisation can often impact that person’s entire life.”
Her interaction with various listed boards during her career as a group secretary has also helped her in her new role. “I fostered incredible connections during my governance career, observing some of the best corporate leaders within the boardroom space, and learning from them. I have also worked with phenomenal executive teams. Without sounding sentimental, the most rewarding part of my career thus far has been the ability to engage with great minds – and soaking up lessons along the way.”
After Impala and Kumba, Avanthi took a two-year hiatus to focus on her children. “After a very short while, I realised that the kids didn’t quite need me as much as I thought they would. These were little humans with their own lives – and I fitted into their universe only after the end of the school day. What was I to do the rest of the day?”
Avanthi then created and managed her own strategic governance consultancy, The Good Practice, work ing with companies such as FirstRand, Woolworths, UNISA, and Anglo American on strategic governance. “Ironically, some of my key projects as a consultant were squarely within the people space, including assisting with the re-organisation of departments and managing labour-related issues.”
Avanthi spends long hours and some of her weekends ensuring that she is on top of remunera tion-related issues and trends.
“Succession planning and talent management have been an easier adjustment for me because I’ve been exposed to these areas during HR and remuneration committee discussions over the years. The real focus for me has been getting to grips with the acutely technical issues linked to rewards structures. This is where the real work begins – understanding how remuneration philosophy drives the entire contin uum of the recruitment and retention circle – from start to finish,” she says.
Avanthi does not believe in micro-management, but in having the right people in the right positions, at the right time delivering what is expected of them.
Working during the “chaos” of the Covid-19 pan demic was hard for Avanthi, but it was also a defining moment.
“If I was going to fail, it would have been at that point in time, but the teams I work with were incredibly supportive and astute – we work well under pressure and there is a level of resilience that surfaces when the going gets tough.”
Her aspiration is to create a workforce that does not want to leave Life Healthcare. She also feels strongly about bringing talented people into the organisation who are a “culture-add” as opposed to a “culture fit”.
“Our people are the foundation of our success and our sustainability. To achieve our vision of being a people-centred organisation, I need to ensure that we continuously focus on creating an empowered and inclusive workforce and environment. When our people feel valued, they organically contribute to exceptional business performance and opera tional outcomes. That’s where the magic lies.”
Avanthi is a mother of two children. Her eldest son is studying towards a BSc degree at the University of Toronto. Her daughter is in Grade 12 and will be moving to Canada next year to hopefully study a degree in life sciences.
Personally, Avanthi is passionate about animal welfare and education. She also provides pro-bono advisory on governance issues, when needed.
“I have three rescue dogs who take up a lot of my time, and a wonderful husband who supports me – while growing flowers on a farm he owns with other shareholders. A CPO and a farmer. It’s a good combination! We both have to nurture and grow that which has been entrusted to us!”
To truly foster a company’s transfor mation imperatives, CHROs need to get more granular. That’s according to Xolisa Dhlamini, managing executive for distribution at Sanlam Corporate, who highlights how the group’s emphasis on holistic employee benefits is playing a key role in generating shared value.
Financial inclusion is essential to South Africa’s eco nomic growth, particularly for those who were (and continue to be) marginalised. But for Xolisa, greater empowerment must happen on a micro-level, where individuals have equal access to financial services and the know-how that comes with it. And, he says, this extends to health- and self-care, because a truly empowered person has the autonomy and confi dence to make informed decisions about all aspects of their lives – not just their money.
The 2022 Sanlam Benchmark Survey – which includes feedback from individual members and not only employers or consultants – revealed there is a growing demand for integrated employee benefits that address health, wealth, and self-care needs. The past two years of Covid-19 have undoubtedly impacted employ ees: 66 percent of respondents said they were kept awake at night worrying about being able to weather an emergency. However, 49 percent of employer funds and 53 percent of umbrella funds now believe that an integrated health and wellness programme delivers higher productivity and staff happiness.
“We've moved on from employees only wanting a retirement fund,” says Xolisa. “People now want broader solutions and benefits, like free medical consultations, will-drafting, budgeting tools, and access to counsellors. They want to be holistically well, beyond a medical aid benefit.”
For Xolisa, holistic employee benefits are an inte gral part of a corporate's sustainability efforts – employee benefits need to be more than an expense; they need to contribute to transforma tion. The challenge, he says, is how to get corporates – and HR practitioners – to think differently about the employee benefits they offer, and to realise that these benefits are an integral part of transforming the economy.
“Transformation is a means to an end – the end being that all South Africans participate meaning fully in the economy,” says Xolisa. And access to financial services and growing wealth is part of this because transformation is underpinned by giving individuals in the economy the ability to participate meaningfully in it.
“Sanlam Corporate provides the digital infrastruc ture and guidance to do this through advisors. We give employees the access and the tools, but we also provide insights and support to help them make the right decisions. That way, they become more active in the economy and drive truly broad-based eco nomic empowerment. But we don’t make decisions for them; we give them the flexibility of choice,” he says.
Xolisa believes that delivering on these evolving employee benefits contributes directly to trans formation by enabling broad-based economic empowerment – and this can only happen through the participation of individual members. A one-sizefits-all approach no longer works, and for employees to be empowered, they need flexibility.
Transformation is not just about a B-BBEE scorecard; inclusion at every level is crucial to build an economy that’s accessible to all.
Employees now require holistic value propositions including group risk, investments, healthcare, retire ment savings, corporate wellness offerings, rewards programmes, and more. Through the Sanlam app, an employee can engage with their employee bene fits digitally and be empowered to decide their levels of risk cover, or switch investment portfolios where member choice is permitted.
“Sanlam Corporate, as a provider of employee benefits solutions to corporates, views its value proposition as an enabler for transformation at an individual level,” says Xolisa. “It’s about shifting peo ple from being simply included in the economy through financial services and employee benefits to being actively involved, so they can be empowered to make decisions with confidence.”
Xolisa notes that employers and HR practitioners are beginning to recognise and respond to these challenges as employees are communicating their evolving needs to employers, or performance is being impacted.
“The latest benchmark survey found that 53 per cent of employers utilising umbrella funds now believe that an integrated health and financial well ness programme delivers higher productivity and staff happiness; only three percent don’t believe there’s a causal link between employee health and overall staff productivity levels,” adds Xolisa. “People also seem to be placing more value on the role their employee benefits play in their lives, and the indus try is responding by introducing more innovative and holistic offerings – like Sanlam.”
Xolisa highlights that transformation has its foun dation in social sustainability, and inclusion and diversity are pivotal to bringing about lasting and meaningful change. “Companies like Sanlam are contributing to a sustainable and more diverse eco nomic system, where individuals – through their employee benefits – are becoming more active in the economy, and they are being empowered to do more,” adds Xolisa.
“Employee benefits that are holistic, integrated, and allow flexibility of choice create an impact on a micro-level. And it’s at this level that real, lasting change takes place,” concludes Xolisa. “This is what true inclusion means for the individual; arguably, it’s the linchpin of the transformation journey.”
“It’s about shifting people from being included in the economy to being actively involved.”
More than 100 top HR leaders delved into self-care, looking after staff in times of crisis and retaining talent during the inaugural CHRO Day. Managing editors Caylynne Fourie, Nomahlubi Sonjica and Reabetswe Rabaji were there to capture the wide range of insights shared on the day.
Executives at CHRO Day 2022 enjoyed a day of entertainment, insight – and a rollercoaster of emotions.
On a day themed “superheroes”, South Africa’s leading HR professionals gathered on 12 May 2022 for the first CHRO Day at the glamorous Marble restaurant, one of Johannesburg’s top attractions.
As this was the first CHRO Day ever, the guests had no idea what spectaculars were in store for them.
Puns and Things kicked off the entertainment with song and spoken word in a medley about superheroes – in this case, our HR leaders. Strength and persever ance were the main messages, and attendees were captivated by the amazing vocalists.
When guests were asked to participate in the song, titled “Superhero is you,” CHROs heeded the call and sang along, giving a round of applause for the per formers. The atmosphere was jovial, electrifying, with laughter, and tables were abuzz with delightful conversations.
The executives were captivated by Stephen McGown's shocking story about how he became Al Qaeda’s lon gest-held prisoner. Stephan shared his gruelling story,
but closed off his recollection of his time as a prisoner of war by offering some positive words. He told guests to never be complacent and to not forget who they are, no matter what situation they are in.
“I realised I had to stop giving my energy or I wouldn’t cope. I had to keep my head above the water. One of the profound things I realised is that we start to forget who we are and what our strengths are. I realised it is easy to have an impact in a situation when you know who you are,” Stephen said.
“If you can laugh, smile during your worst times, then you’re definitely the definition of a superhero,” he added. “Be kind to people, no matter their religion, creed and ethnic background.”
After Stephen’s keynote, it was time for guests to take a deep dive into HR metrics for financial reporting with panellists, Edwin Hlatshwayo, Glencore Alloys chief people officer, and Mercer South Africa consult ing lead Carla Daniels.
In this discussion, Edwin revealed that strike action, sexual harrassment, assault, disrespect and racism were some of the leading reasons of upset among mine workers.
“Companies that develop employees become talent magnets themselves, which is tied to talent retention.”
“I made the point that if these five issues were resolved, there would never be another strike again for some years to come, and I was laughed at,” said Edwin.
He added: “I proved my theory right, that says, when you propose something and deliver on that proposal, your colleagues are automatically confident in your abilities and you get buy-in from them, because you delivered.”
Carla noted that the biggest trends informing HR metrics are:
• Companies investing in – and understanding –their people
• Metrics on the number of skilled positions ver sus the number of positions that are not filled by skilled individuals, and how that gap can be closed.
• A focus on ESG – the Sustainability Standards Board is working on a framework to embed ESG. Even though it will be focused on the climate at first, metrics from a people perspective will be brought in.
• Great concern around living wage and quality of
living of employees.
• A focus on wellbeing and using this information to inform decisions and collating the data.
• Data as a matter of urgency, now more than ever.
After a short break, attention turned to a discussion on being born anew during times of crisis, which was led by Sun International Group HR director Verna Robson and ACSA HR director Lungile Langa.
Lungile shared that transparency was key during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. “It was important to show people the numbers,” she said.
Verna admitted the task the company was faced with at the time was difficult. “My days used to start at 6am and end at midnight. I think you need to take care of yourself, otherwise you will not survive. It was a very daunting period,” she recalled.
In another session, guests were engrossed in Standard Bank's chief people and culture officer, Sharon Taylor's presentation on a range of topics including what the company has done differently
in the last two years and what kind of leadership an organisation should have.
She noted that most people get promoted for their technical capabilities and not so much for their leadership capabilities.
"You’ve got to pick leaders for the role that they play and not because they want some senior position with all the perks. Leadership is a calling and unless you can engender followership, you are not a leader.
Leadership is not about a position, it’s about what you can achieve and whether you can take people with you on a journey," Sharon said.
As the day progressed, award-winning organisa tional psychologist and career coach Phiona Martin led a discussion on the talent war. “Companies that develop employees become talent magnets them selves, which is tied to talent retention,” she said.
In the last, highly anticipated session of the day, Busa president Bonang Mohale, Drayton Glendower’s managing partner Moula Mokhobo-Amegashie, and Institute of Directors Southern Africa CEO Parmi
Natesan interrogated the board reshuffle.
Moula shared that Covid-19 had changed the way of transacting. “We’ve moved from physical trans actions to virtual transactions. We reach our candidates, clients, consumers and our communities virtually and boards have not been spared from that change in how it is that they conduct their work.”
Parmi emphasised the importance of succession planning: “The last thing you need when an organ isation is on the growth trajectory is to have a leadership vacuum.”
Bonang touched on excellence and said leaders should constantly ask themselves if they are con tinuously learning. “The day you feel, even as a CEO, that ‘I’m no longer learning’, even after three years – that’s an indication for you to leave it to younger, cleverer, more educated and highly productive peo ple,” he said.
CHRO Day was made possible by Momentum Corporate, Mercer, Sanlam, Servicenow, Workday, Floatpays, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, Health impact and SkillsTown.
At CHRO Day 2022, South Africa’s leading HR professionals gave their views on the hot topics driving people management. The survey covered both organisational aspects as well as macro factors nationally and internationally. CHRO South Africa managing editor Nomahlubi Sonjica took a close look at the survey data to better understand HR sentiment around mental wellness, youth unemployment, the great resignation, employee benefits and leadership.
The CHRO Day Survey was done in partnership with
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CHROs were asked why organisations are losing top talent postpandemic. 92 percent indicated that employees' world views and perceptions about work have changed, while 66 percent said employers have reverted to pre-Covid approaches to work. A group comprising 50 percent said the reason companies were losing talent was the way the organisation treated them during the pandemic.
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Employee benefits, like pension and provident funds, group insurance, investments and annuities and standalone retirement administration services are an important competitive advantage for organisations. This is the view of 85 percent of CHROs, with 68 percent believing these benefits translate directly into measurable financial benefits. A meagre seven percent say benefits are a luxury they cannot afford.
is important when communicating the workplace benefits package to be sensitive to the financial challenges people might be facing in the current climate and employee case studies of those who have benefitted may be a useful tool in bringing to life what a workplace benefits package can do for other colleagues,” said Laura Stewart-Smith, head of client engagement in Aviva.
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This year’s HR Indaba Online took innovation to a new level, with an innovative Pitch Fest and jam-packed insight sessions, featuring some of the country’s top CHROs.
New York Times bestselling author and renowned cultural guru Stan Slap opened the HR Indaba Online on 7 June 2022, with a live keynote all the way from California on how to achieve maxi mum commitment from employee culture.
He started with a provocation that even the smartest companies in the world subscribe to the most dangerous strategic myth: that a strategy has to be planned well to be successful. But in actuality, it has to be implemented well to be successful.
“Implementation starts with being able to enrol the ferocious support of your culture for that strategic or performance goal. If you can do that, you’re well on your way to achieving perfor mance insurance,” Stan said. “You are building a base camp on Mount Delusional if you think that any strategy, performance goal or human capital plan will ever be successful without the hardcore support of this particular group.”
He explained that a company’s customers are most often employees themselves, making them part of the overall culture of the organisation. “They will decide to protect or reject your company based in large part on how they perceive you treat people just like them.”
Stan further provoked the audience to wake up, wipe the drool off their desks and to greet reality.
“In the real world, neither business logic or management authority, nor any compelling competitor urgency will ever con vince an employee culture to adopt a corporate cause as if it were their own. In that killing field between company concept and cultural commitment lies many failed strategic plans.”
He pointed out that a culture is powerful, self-protective, inclu sive,exclusive, hereditary, neurotic and rational.
“Respecting what your culture wants from you is the difference between its defiance and its compliance. The key is to recog nise that it’s not the responsibility of the culture to understand business logic, it’s the responsibility of the business to under stand the culture’s logic. If you get that right, your human capital strategies will be successful.”
Stan explained that, in order for your culture to give you the levels of accountability, resilience and unity you need to cre ate a successful human capital strategy, you need to give them three things: certainty, trust and energy.
The virtual conference and expo featured contemporary topics with unique insights from some of the country’s foremost thought leaders and HR professionals.
These included:
• Mandatory vaccinations: Where we are now and where we are headed, with Johan Botes, Head: Employment Practice, Baker McKenzie; Steven Teasedale, Chief People Experience Officer, Discovery; Dr Noluthando Nematserani, Head: Centre For Clinical Excellence, Discovery and Gerhard Papenfus, Chief Executive, National Employers' Association of South Africa.
• Value for money: Maximising the value and sustainability of wellness initiatives, with Allan Sweidan, co-founder, The Panda App; LettieBasani Phume, Group Human Capital Executive, Momentum Metropolitan; and Navlika Ratangee, MD, ICAS.
• The great resignation: Understanding its impact on the war for talent, with Zain Reddiar, Independent Consultant, Samsung Africa; Roshni Gajjar, MD, StratAstute Consulting and Ncumisa Mtshali, Executive Head of Human Resources, Bryte Insurance.
• Hybrid carbon copy: Think twice before replicating hybrid work models, with Desereé van den Berg, Executive Head: Human Capital, Risk Benefit Solutions; Dieter Veldsman, Thought Leader, Academy to innovate HR; and Nicola Tager, Global Head of Careers, Investec.
• Talent swap programmes: How to put them together and what to expect, with Terryn Palani, Group Executive: Talent, Capability and EXX, Vodacom; Michaela Voller, CHRO, Dimension Data and Lisa Andrews, HR Director - Talent & Organisation Africa, Unilever Africa.
• What is left of leave? Mastering the leave liability balancing act, with Andile Mabindisa, HR and Talent Executive, CSIR; Sthembiso Phakathi, Director: Human Capital, Deloitte; and Dolores Mashishi, MD, DSM Advisory.
Building on its pioneering status of being Africa’s biggest online HR conference and virtual exhibition, the Online HR Indaba this year hosted an innovative, live in-studio Pitch Fest – where participants explained their value proposition in seven minutes or less.
Host, comedian and MC extraordinaire Chris Forrest had both in-studio partners and the virtual audience of HR professionals in stitches as he expertly managed the three rapid-fire rounds, which took place between the insightful Online HR Indaba sessions. Attendees also had the opportunity to engage with service providers’ representatives via their virtual stands.
Pitch Fest kicked off with Jannie Malan, a principal solutions consultant for Workday South Africa. He highlighted the “growing acceleration gap” – which is only getting bigger and is hampered by outdated ERP systems. “Workday has long realised that skills are going to be the new currency, and we can leverage the innate ability of the platform to surface insights so that organisations can plan for long-term success,” he said.
Other highlights from Pitch Fest included:
• Zeelo, a tech-enabled transport solution for employees.
• SmartAdvance, which enables employees to access safe and affordable financial services and products, while employers can manage and track the upliftment of employees through a dashboard and smart reports.
• Trainiac, a learning design consultancy that provides strategic content and engagement solutions.
• TalentSmith Technology, which showcased how HR professionals can enhance their organisations’ attraction, selection, onboarding, and engagement of talent, especially in a remote working environment.
• HRTorQue Outsourcing, which provides easy, practical solutions to realworld HR, payroll, tax, and accounting challenges.
• ASI, which provides bespoke employee benefits solutions and employee wellness programmes.
• InterviewME, a South African ‘One-Way’ video SaaS interviewing platform that helps companies with their initial screening and first interview process.
• SmartWage, which helps companies connect with their workforce and offers a range of HR solutions such as payslip delivery, announcements and surveys, and leave requests – all on WhatsApp.
• Oracle’s Oracle ME, a comprehensive employee engagement platform geared toward the deskless employee that empowers talent and allows employees to connect.
• CoachHub, a unique digital, measurable, and scalable coaching solution.
Reshmili Lutchman, group executive: corporate services at the Water Research Commission, is motivated by predicting and identifying innovative approaches and improved solutions to business challenges.
BY MANDISA NYATHIeshmili Lutchman, group executive: corporate services at the Water Rese arch Commission (WRC), says her di verse portfolio, covering HR, legal and compliance, information technology, corporate social responsibility and spaces, made her see value in HR.
The benefit “is the opportunity to see how the dif ferent portfolios integrate”. The strategy that Reshmili has used is to straddle the fine line between what has traditionally worked and what will work in the future, based on the needs, strengths and mindset of the current and future workforce and the direction of the organisation.
Reshmili, who has more than 15 years of experi ence is always in pursuit of new challenging and creative endeavours.
“I am motivated by predicting and identifying innovative approaches and improved solutions to business challenges to reach excellence in any aspect of work undertaken,” she says, adding that observation, inspiration, and determination are the foundation to her achievements to date. Reshmili’s philosophy is that leveraging diversity brings perspectives and techniques that allow a business to organically evolve and grow. “I believe
that it is important to always remain on the cutting edge of advancements and use that to systemati cally build strategies that will close the gap of the company’s vision and current reality,” she says.
Reshmili has been involved in community projects with the Water Research Commission. Among those was completing a research project that included two schools in Mamelodi, Pretoria.
Her involvement in the projects was to develop a social model that was researched in the two schools with the end results being the establish ment of a sustainable food garden that assists with food security.
For Reshmili, moving to WRC helped her to expe rience growth in her career path. She joined the research commission in 2003. “I was coming from a big company to a small business, and there’s always the assumption that when you are in a small business, it’s easier, but in reality it was a lot different or a bit more complex, because the dynamics within a small business are very strong. So, I had to quickly adjust,” she says.
As part of her adjustment, she had to build trust with her colleagues and create better
relationships with the employees. “When you build trust in those relationships, you create a safe space for people to say what they need to say, knowing that there won’t be any repercussions. This is to create psychological safety and that also means it’s not just about the big things, it is also about your everyday actions and how you respond that creates the biggest impact.”
Despite her busy work schedule, Reshmili managed to find time to obtain her remote pilot’s licence, which allows her to fly drones commercially. This was achieved in an industry that is known to be unusual for women to work in.
For her, obtaining the drone licence was an achieve ment as she was the only woman in the class at the time. “This was also another achievement of mine, as I went into a field that generally does not see a lot of females, and it was an experience acquiring the skill as the older you are, the more your dexter ity decreases.”
With all the fascination and the fun she now has of flying a drone, Reshmili acknowledges it was not an easy thing to learn.
Reshmili says the WRC has grown in its space and
the sector and with that she had the opportunity to grow with the organisation and evolve in the different disciplines that she currently manages under her portfolio. “This shows that growth needs not only be lateral but can be multidimensional. I will always be grateful to the leaders who saw my potential and supported my growth,” she concludes.
Reshmili’s highest qualification is an MBA in Strategic Human Resource Management from UKZN. She also holds a BA and BA Hons degrees and is an accredited Ethics Officer from The Ethics Institute of South Africa. She has attended the Stanford Business School and University of Singapore’s programme in International Management.
In 2015, Reshmili had the privilege of attending the Prince of Wales Sustainability Management Programme held by the University of Cambridge. In the governance space, she has completed four board exams from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries together with Cobit V5 and ITIL V3 which covers the ICT governance space. She also recently graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition as an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and is a certified Conscious Coach Practitioner.
“When you build trust in those [employee] relationships, you create a safe space for people to say what they need to say, knowing that there won’t be any repercussions”
BY PUSELETSO MOMPEI
Mental health matters have, in recent years, climbed up the HR leader’s list of priorities as the pandemic, compa ny financial wellbeing and the macro environment in South Africa take their toll on people.
“In 2021, I attended the Managing Mental Health and Wellness at Work course at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB). We discussed how employees’ mental health disorders affect both the individual and their organisations,” said Alison Palmer, head of HR at Dariel.
“These negative impacts can be broken down into direct costs, indirect costs and intangible costs. For the indi vidual, the direct costs come in the form of healthcare and medication expenses; for the organisation, it’s the
direct cost of the employee’s sick leave or time off work. Indirect costs for the individual include the time and energy consumed in managing the disorder; while the employer is affected by the loss of productivity through presenteeism,” she added.
Taking these direct, indirect, and intangible costs into consideration, every employer’s top priority must be to create awareness of the importance of mental health to remove negative connotations and taboos, as well as the barriers to disclosure by employees.
“In the second Annual Mental State of the World report from Sapien Labs, it was found that South Africa ranks as one of the worst countries regarding mental health,” said Cindy Squair, senior consultant, facilitator and coach at Circle and Square.
This can be largely attributed to high levels of grief, uncertainty, stress and anxiety brought on by Covid19, added to the already heightened emotion South Africans live with every day.
To put this into perspective, the University of Oxford’s Our World in Data confirmed that South Africans work longer hours than anywhere else in the world. In 2017, the research found that South Africans work 2,209 hours per year and this number has increased by 28
When organisation’s take a deep look at the real direct, indirect and intangible costs of mental health disorders, there will be little doubt that investing in employees’ mental wellness will provide lasting benefits to the employee and the company.
“If I did not feel like waking up in the morning, I was not afraid that I was going to get fired.”
minutes per day since Covid-19, amounting to an extra 12 hours a month.
“Add to this the socio-economic challenges we are facing as a country: high unemployment, poverty, social inequality, inadequate public services, vio lence, political instability and economic stress – it’s very clear that people are carrying a lot on their shoulders,” she said.
According to Cindy, there are some red flags that HR leaders need to look out for as they signal that mental health needs to be addressed:
• High turnover in any business is a big warning sign that people are unhappy and/or that the culture is toxic.
• Experienced, high performing and engaged individuals/leaders suffering from burn out. Symptoms include change in behaviour and performance, inability to manage pres sure or frustrations, irritability or emotional roller-coaster and withdrawal from social situations.
Proactive HR leaders have therefore moved on from hosting annual wellness days, to taking a more stra tegic approach on mental health.
HR director sub-Saharan Africa at Mondelēz, Cebile Xulu, said the company does not treat wellbeing as an event, but something that allows people to have healthy connections with their leaders and colleagues.
“Our wellbeing programme is not a one-size-fits-all. Every single person can find something that is rel evant for them. We consistently engage with our employees and we have activities every month,” she said.
The company has recently been recognised as the top employer for Africa. “One of the reasons we are a top employer is we take a holistic view of employee wellbeing. What we’ve done is that we are consistent in our messaging. We make sure people have a healthy connection with their employers,” she added.
Cebile explained that she struggled with men tal health during the pandemic. “For the first time in 2020, I had extreme anxiety – not from work, but from what was happening during the pan demic. What was key for me, is I didn't have to explain myself to my leaders. I was given space to go through that and find the support I needed until I was okay. If I did not feel like waking up in the morning, I was not afraid that I was going to get fired,” she said.
Cebile said it is also important to engage employ ees in order to create a healthy environment. “If employees are not engaged, leaders will continue prescribing what needs to happen. The top talent have options and they are the ones who are going to leave.”
Companies, Cebile said, need to hold onto the gains that came out of the pandemic. “We need to look across the organisation and work towards making everybody’s life easy. The worst thing you can do is keep quiet in a toxic environment. Do not keep quiet!”
The pandemic also prompted HR leaders to take a closer look at the employee assistance programmes (EAP), to include mental and financial wellness, among other services.
Curro’s HR executive Beverley Bennett said the organisation’s extensive EAP “varies from covering mental health issues or any other emotional sup port needed”. Among others things, it assists with financial wellness, credit health and legal assis tance, as well as counselling and coaching. This is viewed as all encompassing in terms of any mental health aspect which can come to the fore.
Tsebo’s Group CHRO Elanie Kruger cautions that not all organisations have such wellness pro grammes, but it is the responsibility of HR leaders to make sure that the environment and culture that is created is one where employees feel psychologi cally safe and where they can excel.
“Notwithstanding corporate support and programmes, it is important to promote the impor tance of teams and the role of team members in
supporting one another. Managers should also be compassionate and sensitive to the needs of employ ees and ensure that they can refer, guide and coach employees accordingly, including referrals for psycho logical counselling where needed,” she said.
Elanie added, “Every employee has a different life journey and may experience different challenges affecting their mental wellbeing. As an organisation we believe it is important to first acknowledge these differences and challenges, communicate and make available support to address these and to help our managers to be compassionate and understanding where employees experience mental health issues.”
Fortunately, HR leaders have recognised the start of the mental health epidemic and organisations are working on de-stigmatising mental health challenges, which leads to more structured and entrenched well ness programmes and support in the workplace.
“It’s my hope that this will facilitate the removal of the stigma and provide much-needed support for sufferers. Make no mistake, if an organisation is not introducing measures to assist its people in improv ing and maintaining good mental health, both the employee and the organisation will suffer,” Alison concludes.
The Deloitte Global 2020 Millennial Survey of more than 18,000 millennials and Gen Zs across 43 countries revealed that 48 percent of Gen Zs and 44 percent of millennials felt anxious or stressed all or most of the time, with a higher proportion among women and young parents. This means that almost 50 percent of an organisation’s staff aged from their early 20s to early 40s have high levels of anxiety or stress. This can only have a negative impact on the employee, their family, and their ability to perform well in their chosen field.
Hybrid work models that developed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic have raised an unexpected challenge – that of keeping employees engaged, especially when it comes to learning. SkillsTown’s employee experience platform is disrupting the way companies have traditionally looked at learning management.
BY NOMAHLUBI SONJICAIt’s time to re-think the way your employees learn, and a traditional learning management system (LMS) isn’t going to cut it. So says Kevin Hardy, MD of SkillsTown Middle East and Africa – the company behind South Africa’s most disruptive employee experience platform (EXP).
With most companies adopting a hybrid work model post the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s become a challenge for businesses to keep their employees engaged, especially when it comes to learning.
“We see it every day,” says Kevin. “Employees can now be found all over the globe, and it’s far more difficult to keep a handle on what they are doing – or not. At the same time, many of us now sit in online meetings all day, resulting in extreme digital fatigue. As a result, the last thing people want to do is invest more time online in compulsory company training, or even their own per sonal development.”
SkillsTown has the solution for this, and the answer lies quite literally in the name.
“Our employee experience platform is not just about training; it centres around creating an experience for our users in order to drive employee engagement,” says Kevin.
SkillsTown’s EXP combines different forms of online learning such as webinars and e-learning, with knowl edge management features, the ability to coordinate and
set up events, unique capabilities to create and share your own content, and so much more.
“We provide different ways of engaging,” he clarifies. “Our EXP comes standard with over 200 online personal and professional development courses, but also provides the means to store important company-wide data such as a CEO’s welcome or your onboarding programme. You can create your own podcast, and if you’ve missed an import ant meeting, it’s a central repository where all your Teams meetings can be stored. Instead of convoluted policy documents sitting on your intranet, you can break these up into short, attention-grabbing bits of informa tion in less than five minutes – what we call ‘essentials’ – and share them quickly and easily with the rest of your organisation. Our video feedback feature allows your staff to practise various scenarios, such as pitching a product or solution, and then being rated on it by their peers and manager. All in all, our EXP is so much more than just a learning management system – it’s a com plete user experience.”
Tom Bos, director of SkillsTown adds: “Our EXP gives employers insight into what is happening in their com pany now that everyone is spread out. Which part of
“Our EXP [employee experience platform] is a true community of collaborative learning.”
your strategy is resonating with your people, and is the information you’re disseminating relevant and in tune with their needs? Our platform is a central point of inter action with your employees, and most importantly, one that you can quickly and easily monitor and report on.”
While a traditional LMS is very one-directional – at its most basic, a place to merely store training courses – the SkillsTown platform is relevant to both the employer and the employee.
“A learning management system focuses solely on courses. But this doesn’t necessarily lead to successful engagement or skills development,” points out Tom. “We develop our own content, which is built into the plat form for our clients, but it’s also easy to personalise and integrate your own content as well. Our EXP is a true community of collaborative learning.”
The SkillsTown approach is different in that it’s also a great tool for breaking down barriers from the top down, allowing CEOs and all employees in the company to share their thoughts and engage with each other, thereby setting new standards of communication.
And because everyone has full visibility, it makes report ing easy, especially for CHROs who often spend half their time reporting back to the business.
While most HR platforms take weeks to implement, SkillsTown’s EXP can be up and running in just three days. A dedicated team from South Africa and the Netherlands ensures that customers are onboarded as soon as possible, and from there it’s only a matter of time before engagement scores start improving.
Both Kevin and Tom emphasise how user friendly the employee experience platform is. “Like Google or Netflix, no one taught us how to use it,” Kevin points out. “And our platform is the same – users jump on and can find what they’re looking for immediately. It’s all about the user and their experience at the end of the day.”
SkillsTown is a Dutch company and part of the Salta Group, an international organisation operational in 20 countries. Its expansion to Africa is only two years in the making, and yet, it’s already making its mark.
“We’re a passionate company and quite simply, people on a mission,” says Tom. “We have a very engaged team around us who want to deliver results for our customers. We’re also highly experienced and highly regarded in the professional and lifelong learning space, which helps us to deliver a platform that is not only useful, but engages and excites as well.”
“Quite simply, we want to be a part of our custom ers’ success,” adds Kevin. “We partner with our clients and become an integral part of their team, building our EXP around their feedback. We also continually adapt it to ensure that it's intuitive, easy to navigate and most importantly, delivers on their needs. With our new approach to learning, we’re enabling both employers and employees to thrive.”
“Every CHRO is struggling with the same thing and every CEO is asking how to keep their employees engaged in the hybrid space. Talk to us, and we’ll show you how,” Kevin concludes.
“I want to see more vulnerability in our leaders because it is a source of strength; it humanises and makes leaders accessible.” - Qhawekazi Mdikane, CMO of Momentum
“We need to stop glamourising burnout and seeing it as a badge of honour. My biggest achievement is recognising that I matter.” - Avanthi Maharaj, Google South Africa CHRO
The annual CFO and CHRO South Africa Women’s Dinner, themed Women of Excellence, saw leading public and private women leaders celebrating an ethos of women who lift as they rise.
Welcoming the chance to come together and network after the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic, female CHROs – alongside their mentees – reflected on their successes and the road ahead for the next generation of women leaders.
The powerful community of executives had the unique opportunity to learn from pioneering female leaders, who reflected on their firsts, career lessons, self-care and finding purpose.
Leadership coach Inge Walters, who rounded off the evening’s events, facilitated a thought-provoking dis cussion on women celebrating one another. She encouraged attendees to consider their “biological advantages” – innate strengths that they often don’t even know they have.
“On average, women are far less likely to speak about their achievements,” she said. “Yet it’s easier when they do it with a sense of authenticity, speaking rather about their learnings and what they’re excited about exploring. We can help one another to do this.”
The evening was made possible by principal partners ACCA and Momentum Corporate, executive partners Sanlam, ServiceNow and Mercer, and associate partners GIBS and SoluGrowth.
“Not everyone wants to be a CEO, they want to be the best they can be, and that’s enough. Your opportunity will come.” - Elanie Kruger, CHRO of the Tsebo Group
“We need to embrace our success in all its diversity and make it work for us all.” - Ruwayda Redfearn, recently appointed as the first female CEO of Deloitte Africa
“As we have transformed, we have seen the evolution of what the workplace is, and an environment created for women to thrive. Sadly, this has also led to some ‘icy’ women, who feel compelled to fit in with a male-centric architecture to succeed.” - Andisa Liba, chief people officer at Floatpays
“It’s important for women to share their honest stories and real experiences to inspire women who are not in their position.” - Portia Mkhabela, head of ACCA Southern Africa
For Ndima Rawana, HR head at PPC, integrity, ethics and honesty are key to running a successful company.
BY NOMAHLUBI SONJICANdima Rawana, HR head at PPC, says in his travels he has discovered that most organisations around the world are not as diverse as those in South Africa
“HR people in South Africa are con sistently challenged and require a broader skills set in comparison to counterparts overseas.The understanding of the role of HR in most countries abroad is not generally pro active, but reactive,” he says.
“Because we are a diverse nation and face complex risks in our lives, that gives us different perspectives on our approach to different problems in the work place,” he adds.
Meeting other HR professionals around the globe has also helped Ndima discover the importance of being honest and straightforward with employees and this is what has helped him to create lasting trust rela tionships that go beyond the workplace.
“Honesty and acting with integrity go a long way and as an HR leader who understands the importance of this, the teams I lead tend to respond well in what ever strategies or business directions we undertake. I have seen this in the US, where my counterparts tend to be direct and are quick to get to the point. In most cases employees just want to hear the truth and pre pare themselves for whatever situation they may face,” says Ndima.
He also found out that in some countries employees are encouraged and allowed to engage and discuss business matters in their own languages. Ndima says
this is a huge, missed opportunity in South African organisations where we think employees can easily express themselves in English.
He points out that business leaders must spend time with employees outside of a workstation and engage informally in whatever appropriate language as much needed work-related ideas can come out of those conversations.
Before getting into HR, Ndima wanted to be a geolo gist. “I was good at mathematics and geography, but I went to a boarding school in the Eastern Cape that did not have good career guidance,” he says.
“I was walking with my mom in a small town called King William’s Town and we saw this new building, labelled ‘Human Resources Department’. It looked very nice among the old looking buildings. That’s how the seed was planted. I went to the then University of Port Elizabeth and I was asked what I wanted to do. I put down geology, human resources, and I can’t remember the third choice, but human resources it was,” he adds.
Choosing to do human resources was an opportunity for Ndima to make a difference in people.
“All the processes that are linked to the human resources function actually made sense to me, and are things I naturally navigated towards – such as recruitment and selection, talent management, trans formation, organisational development and skills development. All the functions that are related to
human resources made sense to me and I thought I could be a part of this profession,” says Ndima.
Getting a promotion to become HR manager for the Spar Group in KwaZulu-Natal is one the highlights of Ndima’s career and was an important milestone as he left his family behind for the first time, to be on his own.
He left Spar to join SA Breweries as an HR special ist for District South (Port Shepstone, Mthatha and Butterworth). He later moved to Johnson Matthey, an automotive company, where he worked as the head of HR.
This move, Ndima says, was interesting and different in that he was working for an international company that exposed him to different management sys tems.“After two years of joining them, I was made site services director, which was the first time for me to actually sit on a board,” says Ndima.
“Johnson Matthey gave me a different perspective. I managed to travel the world. I met HR colleagues from different parts of the world.”
In June last year, Ndima joined PPC. He and his wife Kutlwano, the chief of people at Rectron, started new jobs at the same time. “We both went through inter views at the same time. We never applied for the roles. We were headhunted,” Ndima says
With both of them working in the same industry, it is difficult to not talk about work. “If not managed prop erly, it can be exhausting to come home and still talk
about work. We do work around it, but our conversa tions will always go back to HR,” says Ndima. “It’s an interesting dynamic, but it presents an opportunity to share ideas, to collaborate and advise each other.”
One of his main priorities when he joined PPC was to take the company’s HR back to basics for it to grow.
“To improve things, it’s important for the foundation to be right,” he notes.
He has crafted a people strategy that focuses on put ting HR basics in place, building critical skills and competencies, driving talent management processes, ensuring a future fit organisation through digital isation of HR processes, and improving employee engagement and experience. This strategy is backed by a vision of becoming a trusted HR business partner and focusing on entrenching a purpose-led, perfor mance-driven culture.
His next career goal is to lead an HR function with a big group. “My current role also includes overseeing some group functions and broader HR scope, so I am on track with accomplishing this,” he says.
He also has plans to run a livestock farming business in the Eastern Cape. “I’m a part-time farmer. I just want to make sure when I get to the age when I do my own thing, I will be able to do that commercially. If I die doing it, I will die a happy man,” he says.
Ndima is currently working on community projects to help the disadvantaged, especially in rural areas, and would like to do more for young people in preparing them for a workplace. “I find a lot of young graduates get into a workplace unprepared and this is a huge gap in our education system,” he says.
“HR people in South Africa are consistently challenged and require a broader skills set in comparison to counterparts overseas.”
Desereé van den Berg, Risk Benefits Solutions’ executive head of human capital, shares her personal journey of completing the Tankwa Camino, a 10-day, 256km hike from Calvinia to Ceres – and the life lessons she’s learnt along the way.
The Tankwa Karoo captured a part of my heart and soul during a short ho liday in 2019 and when I heard about the Tankwa Camino in 2020, I was immediately curious. I started nagging my sister to join me for “a modern-day Great Trek which will take participants through one of the most starkly beautiful areas of our country, the Tankwa Karoo. Inner strength and a strong mind will keep you on track, but your emotions need to be as educated as your intellect”.
She finally gave in, and so the story began for this 10-day, 256km endurance hike from 29 April to 8 May 2022. We started training at the end of 2021, which was way too late considering our exist ing level of fitness. To top it off, I tested positive for Covid-19 on 31 January 2022 and was woman down for more than a month with secondary infec tions and a heart rate that did not allow me to walk more than 10 steps at a time without resting.
We were part of a group of about 40 hikers who started at the red post box in Calvinia – all eager, full of smiles and excited.
Our days started early in freezing cold weather. I vividly remember the cold on the first night and taking down a wet tent in the dark the follow ing morning. The toilet along the route and in the camp is a plastic bucket with a seat and lid. Inside is a black plastic bag. Around it is a steel structure that is covered only on three sides for some privacy. We soon referred to it as the “green house”.
After seeing the first one on day one I announced loudly, “this is not going to work for me”. As the days pass you long for the sight of the green house as it marks another 5km done.
Along the journey you meet other hikers, learn who they are and why they chose to do the Camino, and share tears, laughter and words of encouragement - forming friendships for life.
The landscape is diverse and initially all you see is gravel, dust and stones. As the days pass you see
a flower, a cloud, an animal – there is beauty to be discovered.
At the end of each day, you arrive at camp greeted by whistles and cheers from the staff and fel low hikers already “home”. You immediately start scouting for your gear and a spot to set up for the night. You shuffle your tired body to get warm water in your 5l bucket for a splash shower before gathering your camping chair and utensils as the dinner bell rings. Evenings are spent huddled around a fire listening to stories about the area and its history while enjoying a hearty warm meal.
My sister and I finished our adventure walking together side by side into Ceres, greeted by the tourism council, vuvuzelas, banners, smiling faces and loved ones.
As I walked in solitude on most days with only the sound of my feet hitting the gravel, my beating heart and breath, I heard my thoughts and felt my emotions with every step. As my body eventually found its own rhythm, it provided ample time for self-reflection.
The Tankwa Camino blessed me with so much. I share some reminders for not only leaders but for us as human beings.
• Life is a greenhouse: Preparation and planning are important, yet life happens. Build resilience as life will sometimes throw a “greenhouse” at you that you did not expect. Sometimes you just got to suck it up. You choose your reac tions and behaviour, focus on what you CAN control.
• Check your bladder: Sucking on a tube as your bladder runs dry and you have many kms to go, is a sinking feeling. You cannot be every thing and anything to everyone. Look after your own wellness first. Choose what you spend your time on.
“In life, find your purpose and remove those tiny stones that distract you from your purpose.”
• Camping is enough: Appreciate what you have. Live with gratitude. Sleeping in a tent in a warm sleeping bag with a tummy full of food surrounded by nature and wonderful people made me rich.
• Too tired to talk: Listen! Really listen. You will be amazed at what you learn. How much do we miss because we listen to respond as we are too caught up with our own biases and in our own thinking?
• Whistle and cheer: Celebrate each other, sup port each other. Some days I needed a fellow hiker to get me through the last 3 kms, other days I did the same for a fellow hiker. Arriving at camp with the cheers and whistles welcom ing you “home” is the greatest feeling after a long day.
• Guess what – they survived: No connectivity for days and work and home survived just fine without me. Switch off.
• Remove that stone: On the Camino you must stop and remove the tiniest stone from your hiking shoes immediately. Leaving it for just another km can leave you with blisters that will not allow you to achieve your purpose, finish the hike. In life, find your purpose and remove those tiny stones that distract you from your purpose.
• More than just “bossies”: There is beauty around you even in the Karoo, there is more than just “bossies”. You eventually see the flower, the animal, look up for the bluest blue sky and the brightest stars. Just open your eyes and your heart. It is there, always.
A select group of CHROs were the pièce de résistance at a memorable morning of mouth-watering food, good company and new experiences during the first ever CHRO SA cookout.
You would have been forgiven for thinking that the HR executives who attended CHRO South Africa’s first ever members-only cookout held at The Cookery in Craighall, Johannes burg, were in an episode of The Final Table or on one of Gordon Ramsay’s cooking shows.
The stakes were very high and each participant –including CHRO team members – brought out their best culinary skills in an attempt to outdo each other on the 13 courses that the witty, friendly and energetic chef Emilio (Milo) Coccia assisted them in preparing.
Solly Mathebula, head of HR at Heineken, said he had a great experience at the cookout.
“It was nice for us as HR leaders to come and unwind and get away from all the hustle and bus tle. I loved this event and I’m looking forward to the next. The event was well organised. I loved our chef Milo. He led the teams to cook beautiful meals.”
Dolores Mashishi, managing director at DSM Advisory, said the event was “interesting” as they as HR leaders were able to step back and enjoy being outside the confines of their jobs. “As HR leaders we always advise our staff members to relax, but we never do it. CHRO today gave us that opportunity. When I walked in, there was music playing and the ambience that welcomed me, immediately turned up my mood.”
“We got into cooking, which cuts off the work talk and it became about us. Personally, cooking has become therapy for me, so I was in my happy place.”
The event for her was “liberating” as she was able to share her own experiences with the participants and listen to others’ stories. “The model that CHRO SA uses to bring CHROs together is a winning model. The key thing they do is to get the HR com munity to learn from each other and know each other,” Dolores said.
Penny Hlubi, HR director at Bosch at the time, said the event was “sterling. It was a lovely buzz, which is one of the things I miss about South Africa. There was so much a sense of family. Yes, we do get together, and CHRO organises the best events. It was good to let our guard down and do something that not only we enjoyed, but learnt a lot from – particularly because I get teased on the webinars because I’m always cooking by the time I dial into them! To actually experi ence chef-like cuisine was a stepping stone for me.”
Lethabo Tshakuma, head of people and organisational development at Heineken, said the event was refreshing. “I have received a lot of invitations from CHRO before, but I never had time. However, our boss said we should go and play with other kids. I was expecting to be in a boardroom, but when I came here it was a relaxed environment. I was happy it was not formal and we were not talking about strate gies,” she said.
I joined the CHRO South Africa team, as a marketing manager, in April 2022. Now, a few months into the job, I can tell you that my role has no limits – and I have had the amazing opportunity to work closely with all our communities and meet our amazing CHROs at the many events that have already taken place.
The timing has been great, as we have been able to get back to hosting fantastic in-person events this year, including the Women’s Dinner, CHRO Day, the CHRO Summit in Cape Town and many others which I have had the privilege to work on.
With a background in public relations and media studies, it will come as no surprise that I love working with people, telling stories and providing memorable community experiences. This is where you, the community, and the amazing team here at CHRO South Africa have given me absolute freedom to wave my magic wand.
One of the reasons why I joined this amazing organisation is because of the business model. They provide a comfortable and safe platform for executives that are in the loneliest positions (at the top) to engage and empower one another.
I am inspired by the work we do here at CHRO South Africa. Who would have thought that human resource executives would be so fun, open and engaging?
During a corporate membership cookout session at The Cookery in Craighall Park I got the opportunity to cook with Lethabo Tshakuma, head of people and organisational development at Heineken. She is not only career driven but she is also family orientated, the special Sunday home cooked meals she prepares for her family are very important. My take from this session is that we are “all individuals before our work titles”.
I also enjoyed working on the production of the Women's Dinner video. Everyone has a story to tell and the ladies shared their different journeys to inspire and empower other women.
I was raised by a single mother, that is why I am inspired by independent and career-driven women. Working with women who hold executive and director positions creates a sense of hope for young women like myself that the world is evolving, women are given a chance to sit in boardrooms where decisions are made.
I am very passionate about women who inspire and empower others, and joining CHRO South Africa has been one of the best decisions I’ve made as I get to interact with inspirational women on a daily basis.
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