It’s time to rebuild HR

National lockdowns, introduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, forced new ways of working and communicating – and required HR teams to move away from their traditional role of a support service, to that of leadership and reassessing the function’s value proposition to business.

BY THANDO PATO

The HR Indaba Conversation, which focused on rebuilding and reevaluating HR policies and procedures, was a unique opportunity for attendees to gain insight into Vodacom’s repositioning and rebranding, from a technology company to a major player in the fintech sector. Vodacom Business sponsored the conversation.

Vodacom South Africa executive director Njabulo Mashigo took delegates through the thought process at the start of the session, before handing the stage to a stellar group of panellists who discussed the rebuild that HR leaders are currently working with. There was unanimous agreement that 2020 was a year that changed the face of HR, with the pandemic forcing new ways of working and communicating, and HR teams moving away from their traditional role of a support service, to that of leadership.

In some instances, HR departments took over the traditional role of line managers as they introduced and implemented Covid-19 policies.

Panellist Vicky Tlhabanelo, human resources executive at Royal Bafokeng Platinum, said, “We need to hand our [temporary] custodianship back to our customers, especially line managers. We cannot just be implementers.” She was one of three HR executives who spoke on how companies could rebuild and move away from operating in survival mode – 18 months after lockdown entered the average person’s vocabulary. Panellists agreed that it was time for businesses to overhaul their

Verna Robson Vicky Tlhabanelo

“Dictating policy no longer works. Employee needs have come to the forefront. The one-size-fits-all approach no longer works.” - Verna Robson, HR group executive, Sun International

human capital policies, ways of working and the role of HR.

Employee engagement is at an all-time high, and the key is to maintain the momentum to ensure that employee needs inform future policies. Gone are the days where HR policies are dictated to employees by management. According to Verna Robson, HR group executive at Sun International, the model going forward must be more inclusive and directed by employee needs. She said, “We need to pull line managers into policy-making processes and have policies that speak to people’s preferences. We need to understand people’s needs and what drives their productivity, and give line managers accountability. Dictating policy no longer works. Employee needs have come to the forefront. The one-size-fits-all approach no longer works.”

A new playing field

Verna is reviewing Sun International’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to make it more employee-centric. “People need to feel seen as full human beings, not just a number. Businesses also need to consider the collective trauma experienced by their employees – through death of colleagues, loved ones, retrenchment, and unemployment.” Elanie Kruger, group CHRO at Tsebo Solutions, added: “We have a new playing field and while our role has always been to have the interests of the organisation first and foremost, the last 18 months have introduced some new challenges. We must promote unity and a high-performance culture, but also drive a people-focused agenda. We need to consider how we keep people safe in terms of the working environment, as well as protect them from burnout, which is very real.” She noted that more courageous conversations, with employees, employers and HR were needed. “We were all in the same storm, but in different boats,” said Elanie. “We have 30,000 employees and only five percent could work from home. We had to look at solutions that worked for our business.”

Verna said events like the HR Indaba were important platforms for HR practitioners to exchange information and learn from one another. “Organisations are creating great case studies of how to go forward. They are answering the question: ‘What does HR need to change?’” Vicky highlighted that HR teams were tired and burnt out and needed TLC and understanding. “We need to be able to take leave without explaining ourselves. We also need to take a break.”

During the breakaway session, delegates discussed the courageous conversations that needed to take place in order to drive change. 

Seen in the chat ....

“We [HR] need to be real and create safe spaces for employees. Social and psychological safety is an important part of organisational culture, especially when addressing things like racism. As HR practitioners we need to ask, what are the safety levels in the organisation? Because that determines the level of conversations that we will have.” - Siemonne Terblanche, HR advisor at Vopak SA