SAACI + SACIA

INDUSTRY VIEWS

Home-grown challenge

GLENTON DE KOCK is the CEO of SAACI.

INDUSTRY VIEWS

Compliance is key

KEVAN JONES is the executive director of SACIA.

Inside-out recovery

Confidence from within will aid the recovery of the business events industry, says Glenton de Kock.

As South Africa moves towards the road to recovery, the Covid-19 pandemic will have a lasting impact on our lives. We have witnessed many a business and professional lost to our business events industry. This impact will affect how the industry reopens. We are witnessing how the rest of the world is dealing with the return of the business traveller.

One view is that we need to stimulate city confidence before we see regional movement of the business traveller. This will allow for the return to offices for those companies unable to continue to operate remotely.

Confidence to meet in person starts with you, and we have seen some positive movement, none more notable than at the recent Africa’s Travel and Tourism Summit, held towards the end of September by South African Tourism and the National Department of Tourism.

The optimistic sentiment shared and felt is one that we need to share around the country. Our industry has demonstrated that we can meet safely and in a responsible manner. Organisations and employees around South Africa will adapt as we move either back to the office or on to the road. It’s clear for many of us, and more so the business traveller, as a society, we will be more mindful as we make our way out from behind our screens, our self-made home offices, and our casual wear.

Employees might have gotten used to conference calls and realised that some in-person meetings aren’t necessary. Some businesses might have adapted much better than they expected and decided to keep some of the changes they’ve put in place.

Depending on personal circumstances, some people might feel anxious about travelling.

However, business travel will undeniably be different, but it will pick up slowly. The new normal for business travel will be a more mindful, thought-out way of travelling. In the long run, it will benefit both employees and employers, leading to a better work-life balance for the former and a better return on investment for the latter.

Domestic travel will grow, and international travel will follow.

Checking the right boxes

Kevan Jones encourages the industry to keep on the right side of the law by working with competent people.

Everybody working in the technical production and live events industry will have come across instances where a competent person is required to perform a specific function – either signing off a temporary structure or operating as an event safety officer responsible for taking all reasonable and necessary steps to ensure compliance with the provisions of the SASREA Act (No. 2 of 2010). The Department of Employment and Labour (DoEL) has now issued a guideline that describes what makes an individual competent.

It’s essential to recognise that a measurement of competence is task-specific. In general, an employer is responsible for evaluating and deciding if a person is competent based on reviewing their knowledge, skills and experience. In addition, the person claiming competence needs to defend their level of competency against clear standards.

The simplest way for any individual to do so is to apply for a professional designation registered in terms of the provisions of the National Qualifications Framework Act (No. 67 of 2008). Why is this important to event organisers? Because it is an event organiser who must take all necessary and reasonable steps to ensure the safety and security of spectators and their property, and that of all persons present at an event at a stadium or a venue or along a route or their respective precincts.

If you don’t appoint a competent person as an event safety officer, any failure in the safety and security plan will come back to bite you. The consequences can be severe.

Suppose you are already working with an event safety officer. Why not ask them if they have a professional designation that recognises their skill, knowledge and experience in the events industry? I’m not talking about a general OHS certificate or someone with a health and safety certificate in construction. I’m talking about somebody who understands the legislation, standards and regulations that apply specifically to the events sector.

If they don’t, protect yourself by directing them to the Event Safety Council’s website (www.eventsafety.org.za) where you can download the DoEL guideline and learn more about professional recognition for event safety officers.