People Dynamics - August 2017 by People Dynamics

WWW.IPM.CO.ZA AUGUST 2017 VOL35 NO.7

BUILD HR INTELLIGENCE Techno-Boss

NIGHTMARE Emotional Intelligence Deficiency

Stop Women Harassment Self-leadership

IN ACTIONÂ

J O U R N A L

O F

T H E

I N S T I T U T E

O F

P E O P L E

M A N A G E M E N T

1PM, annually, recognises initiative and excellence in Business Leadership and HR under the following categories:

Business Leader of the Year HR Director of the Year HR Team of the Year HR Practitioner of the Year HR Emerging Practitioner of the Year

Visit: www.ipm.co.za/excelle nee-awards to find out more Email: info@ipm.co.za Tel: 011 544 4400

INSTITUTE OF PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

CONTENTS

People Analytics

HR Trends

Diversity

Organisational Culture

HR Development

Self Leadership

Management

Employment Economics

Legally Speaking

Emerging Markets Leadership

Organisational Leadership

Industry Talent Development

28 OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

CEO’s message

ED’S NOTE

y this time of the year, annual plans should already have been turned into several milestones, with one or two achievements earning each of us a place in the organisational wall-of-fame. We hope that you continue to identify areas of improvement and help struggling performers turn things around through coaching, mentoring and personalised development programmes. There’s a star in each of us,

find it and let it shine through and see individuals thrive, teams flourish and organisations succeed! Sound people management skills are essential for any line manager, no matter what field or specialisation. A few articles in this issue bring out the importance of people-centricism (pages 6, 10 and 18). The issue also highlights the need to develop multiple-intelligence for a healthy transition from the boardwalk to the boardroom, from social savvy to professional success (page 8). We share some essential tips for organisational development and project success (page 26), as well as show HR executives how they can entrench HR’s strategic role and value drive in the organisation (page 4). On the membership front, we are greatly encouraged by exciting branch work that strengthens community partnerships on many fronts, including student outreach programmes, community of expert practitioner round tables, multi-stakeholder development fora and professional bodies network. A special thanks to the Lesotho Branch who invited us to their August meeting. It was an insightful “short-left” for our Interim CEO, Dr Jerry Gule. Let’s continue the good work!

IPM Lesotho Branch Visit

People Dynamics is the monthly journal of the Institute of People Management (IPM). The IPM is dedicated to the effective development of human potential. In terms of fast-emerging global challenges, it is critical to champion the strategic role of human resources and to acknowledge that both development and management are catalysts for growth. In the spirit of progress and support, the IPM provides members with effective leadership and access to appropriate knowledge, information and the opportunity to network with key local and international players. People Dynamics provides a forum for debate and discussion on all issues affecting HR practitioners in South Africa, the African continent

PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

and beyond. People Dynamics is distributed to all members of the IPM and to other key decision-makers in the industry. To receive People Dynamics regularly and enjoy additional benefits – including discounts on HR-related services and professional networking events - contact Welile Mabaso on welile@ipm.co.za. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the IPM. ISSN No - 1019-6196

AFRICAN HUMAN RESOURCES CONFEDERATION

Chiv

Dead H

alf the working population may not relate to this term. But that doesn’t mean chivalry is dead. Regrettably, it no longer is something that dominates uncle-nephew conversations nor does it find itself on school curricula. As a result, young men get confused about how to behave in the company of ladies. Too polite or chivalrous they may be accused of being pretentious or stereotyping. Keeping to themselves, they may be accused of being aloof or inconsiderate. Offering a hand, they may be brushed off with a snide snap: ‘who said I needed your help!’ Take heart. Stay humble. Stay focused on your business. The truth is, unless a man has had a full on interview with a woman about how she would like to be related to, there’s no telling what her expectations are. It can be sad and amusing at the same time, when colleagues are breaking the ice and one asks: so how would you like to be treated? And the polite response is: I am no patient, and expect no treatment here, thank you. It sounds harsh, uptight and inhuman. Yet, such responses ought to wake us up to the fact that, the workplace is primarily a place of work. The focus should always be work. And yes, if people don’t like being ‘treated’ or handled, don’t treat them. Don’t handle them. Just work with them. Ask them what you need to know. Tell them what they need to know; about what work is to be done; how it needs to be delivered and by when. Ask them whether there is any other information or help they need. And if they say no, accept that. Don’t push or set traps for them. Wait until they ask

CEO’s message

• substance abuse – a number

valry

you for help should they need any. Don’t try to create small talk. No, work is not a prison. And when people allow humanity to shove aside the unnatural behaviour we learn, the core feeling of humanity will prevail. Botho. Ubuntu. At the heart of chivalry are simple qualities like respect, kindness, consideration, courtesy, civility and gentility. And these are not preserved for chivalrous young men in an 18th century novel. Those qualities are very much part of human community life. Chivalry just happens to be associated with male behaviour directed at ladies, but every human being can relate to these qualities and can demonstrate them to the next person irrespective of gender. Personally, these are qualities I wish could be practised more. Then perhaps we would see less of the vicious attacks and violent crime men commit towards women. We would put love at the centre of human relations – treating other human beings as our own blood relation. There I said it – blood relations, yet some of the violence in the last couple of months involved people attacking their own blood. What sick society we live in! I don’t know of a parent who encourages her child to treat anyone with disrespect. In fact, to this day, I still overhear mothers asking their boy-children to ‘be nice to girls’, or to ‘play nicely with the other kids’. In a way, how a man treats his mother demonstrates his capacity to treat any woman. The appeal mothers make to their sons, therefore, might have an element of self-preservation. But why do we get so many reports about young and not-so-young men who demonstrate

a total lack of respect for other people, for life, and in particular, for women? What can be done about it? While we may not quite know why different people act violently or attack others, we know a few facts that may contribute to the scourge. • lack of proper parental guidance – if there are no daily positive, up-building conversations or no moral frame of reference used at home, a young person will form their own concept of right or wrong • poor socialisation – if a young person is surrounded by people lacking in respect and gentility, who have no regard for people’s feelings or wellbeing, then it’s likely to rub off • lack of role models or poor role modelling – when the most successful or

powerful people in a young person’s lives live loose and large, imposing their power and command and demonstrating that they can and WILL get anything they want, then young people may be wrongly inspired and want to emulate this sick behaviour • confusing messaging – while at home a young person may be taught respect, good manners and etiquette, if these get snide remarks or receive accusations of sexism, then instead of indifference, a young man may feel challenged in a typical way boys would test out their prowess or superiority in the ‘ring’ or playground. • poor media consumption – if a young person spends most time watching bad television or playing rough games, it is likely to embed in his subconscious, and he might act it out in real life

of violent cases, particularly in relationships, have been fuelled by alcohol or drug binge • bad association – friends like to dare each other, and bad friends are likely to lure each other into bad situations, where they challenge each other to see who is ‘baddest’ among them. • personality issues – often, someone from a wonderful family, with great upbringing and teachings just take a deviant course, totally uncharacteristic to the rest of the family • psychological illness – some people have mental or psychological issues that erupt into the most irrational behaviour, possibly from unresolved issues or childhood trauma; in most cases, this goes undetected and undiagnosed, until something drastic triggers it. And so, what’s to be done about it? Every family ought to subscribe to a good, wholesome, human-centric set of values to guide the development, behaviour and actions of the children. Every human being ought to remember that although fully empowered and capable of anything he or she can imagine, he or she has to account to someone, subscribe to some moral value system as well as submit to the constitution of his or her country and respect the bill of rights Every institution, club, establishment, facility should display a code of conduct that promotes human respect, civility and consideration for fellow members (scholars, students, colleagues, patrons, etc), and members are to be cautioned about behaviour that will NOT be tolerated. The community needs to demonstrate intolerance for incidents displaying lack of respect for and the undermining of others’ rights. Law enforcement or authorities should be informed of any threatening behaviour or action irrespective of who the instigator is. Chivalry, although far from dead, is being confused and marginalised by diverse cultures and clashing subcultures that relegate chivalrous men to the closet. Fortunately, those who have wives know the perfect recipient for their perfect attentiveness, etiquette and charm! You’d better be practicing. Don’t be surprised by: ‘and what do you want, now?’- thinking that you are on a bribery and corruption ploy. You have each day and every day to show her that you are no fly-by-night. Chivalry is here for her, and here to live! Here’s to you, Ladies… OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

People Analytics

EXTRACTING

FROM DATA

THROUGH PEOPLE ANALYTICS BY: ROB BOTHMA, HR Systems Industry Specialist at NGA HR and Fellow of the Institute of People Management

As the adage goes, “if you cannot measure it you cannot manage it” – and this takes on a special meaning when applied to the systems we use to manage our data. PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

People Analytics

or years now, the HR team has been accumulating huge amounts of data from various sources, but not too much value has been extracted from this data. Taking a step back, we should never forget that one of the primary roles of the Human Resources department is to facilitate growth of both the organisation and its people. Sadly though, this role has not been prioritised as it should have been,

with many organisations still expecting HR to mainly focus on administration and compliance function. With the rapid advancements in technology and the power of real-time computing now quite freely available, advanced functionality such as Analytics has moved from being a specialised area to a function that can and should be used throughout the organisation, and especially in HR. Research shows that Analytics is now one of fastest growing areas in systems, as it has the ability to produce dramatic returns for those organisations that are prepared to make the necessary investment. It is no wonder that vendors of HR systems are now ploughing huge amounts of money into developing functionality around People Analytics to provide the HR team with the opportunity to start adding real business value in the way they report on their “people data”. No longer is HR limited to only being able to provide the normal mundane transactional and historical reports that they have been limited to in the past. When looking at the power of People Analytics, a very good example I like to use is around the good old Staff Turnover Report. In the past HR could provide you with all the statistics of how many people have joined or left; their department, grades and all other types of statistical breakdowns. Traditionally it was the norm for an organisation to worry if their staff turnover was higher than the respective industry’s average. But this statistic can be misleading and as such have very limited strategic value. As CEO or HR director what I really want to know is what our turnover is in terms of our Organisational Talent. If we are losing high numbers of non-performers or staff with low potential, this is in fact not such bad news. On the other hand, however, if our staff turnover statistics are lower than the industry average, but our staff attrition is composed of high performers, well then this is of great strategic concern. According to a very interesting article entitled “What organisations need now from Human Resources” written by Louis Efron, a contributor to www.forbes.com, he states that in essence, for an organisation to have any meaningful impact in the economy today and for it to be truly sustainable, one of the issues the HR team really needs to focus on is to Accurately Measure the Right Things. This brings up some interesting ideas as to the value of the standard metrics often reported on by HR. Basically the rhetorical

question being asked is: “If you can’t measure or analyse your organisation, how will you quantify any improvements, or tell whether actions taken have added any value or not?” People Analytics has fast become the new buzz word in HR, with this strategically focused reporting mechanism able to provide the relevant decision makers with HR data presented in a graphical and intuitive manner through real-time dashboards, with a focus on predictive and trend analysis types of information. It is through People Analytics that HR is able to provide strategic information to the relevant stakeholders and provide input into the overall business strategy, which is where the true value of HRM is.

…true value lies in HR being able to measure the effectiveness of the new hires and how they are performing within their respective teams In essence, being able to report on a 100% completion of performance reviews is great, but if no effectiveness measures such as year-on year improvements, staff development or internal and external feedback are used, then the metric is purely administrative, and of limited value. Just as measuring the time to hire, even if turnaround time is improving, the true value lies in being able to measure the effectiveness of the new hires and how they are performing within their respective teams. Are they doing what they were actually hired to do! It is of vital importance that when measuring factors within the organisation, focus be what can be used to positively affect the execution of the strategy of the organisation. People Analytics is ideally suited to provide this type of information on the employee base, and the HR team needs to ensure that People Analytics is part of their HR solution, moving into the future. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

HR Trends

Is it time all HR teams were replaced by

“PEOPLE EXPERIENCE” TEAMS?

PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

HR Trends

BY: ANNE ALLEN, Director of People Experience, Xero

Human Resources has evolved over the decades. Few can recall the sedentary, clerical image attached to it back in the day. Yet, even at strategic level, human resource seems to be pulled less into “people” matters and more towards legislative issues and compliance advisory.

ompanies often cite people as their most valuable asset, yet don’t take a peoplecentric approach when it comes to planning and organising for success. To think of humans simply as a resource indicates a lack of understanding of the power of engaging an individual’s self-determination and actualisation in work. The pace and complexity of work means a broader, more holistic approach is essential to success; an organisation needs to work with people to reach their full potential in a sustained way. Recognising that the minimum provision in terms of human resource management just won’t cut it anymore, many organisations are opting for working with a more appropriately named People Experience team. So what’s the difference? In contrast to a Human Resources function, a People Experience Team is much more about engaging and inspiring individuals in their place of work and appealing to them as discerning individuals who make active choices about what they’ll do, when and where they’ll do it and for whom. There’s no compulsion - only choice - which means the most successful companies will have to have a deep and meaningful look at their value proposition to appeal to the best. Also, don’t mistake a People Experience team as simply an engine for choosing employee perks such as ping pong tables or nap pods. While perks are certainly part of a People Experience team’s scope, in many instances the team is tasked with a broad range of programmes and initiatives. The team will finesse many employee engagement factors and ways in which working for a particular company can be positioned more as a life-choice rather than simply a means to pay the bills. A People Experience team also develops and implements the organisation’s people strategy, which includes and recognises components such as the psychology of work, physical, mental and financial well-being, meaning, purpose and positive relationships as critical. The stakes are high. A people strategy also means maintaining a focus on succession planning and talent pipelining where emerging talents within the business are highlighted as potential future leaders and they are supported with development opportunities. This needs to not only align with individual career goals but also prepare the organisation for contingencies.

Clearly, a clever and sophisticated balancing act needs to be pulled off! The leader of a People Experience team needs to have a designation and a reporting line that puts them at the executive table to ensure the plan is executed. A people strategy that not only aligns with business strategy, but is six months ahead of the business, sets the organisation up for scale and ongoing success. The companies that understand how instrumental their people are to their success are some of the most successful in the world. Google, who has held a place on Fortune’s ‘100 Best Places to Work’ for more than a decade - and been listed at the top for half of that time - provides its people with the best experience possible. The

To think of humans simply as a resource indicates a lack of understanding of the power of engaging an individual’s selfdetermination and actualisation in work. organisation uses data to drive every people decision it makes, from how many interviews a job applicant should go through to who is in line for a promotion. Many People Experience teams are using employee engagement tools like Officevibe to measure metrics such as happiness, relationships with managers and colleagues as well as wellness, enabling them to make improvements and adjustments where necessary. Only with a team focusing on people’s experience within the business and leading innovation on all things people related, can an organisation attract the best people and empower them to do the best work of their lives and to love and grow their careers. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

Workplace Diversity

WOMEN SETTING Women up BY: PD CORRESPONDENT

here is something about women which men ought to envy: the sisterly love, caring and looking out for each other. You mess a woman up and they’ll all come crashing on you! Related or not, women lift each other up. They support each other’s endeavours, never miss each other’s birthdays; they rally around making each other’s engagement parties, weddings, roof wetting parties, baby showers and anniversaries a stunning success.

PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

They move together like eternal bridesmaids, swopping god-motherhood among each other. Their competition, if you can call it that, is a healthy one where each uses her skill to shine to benefit the rest of the sisters. They are often closer than twins and more loyal than siblings. When one finds herself in a sticky position domestically, romantically or financially, these girls don’t hold back from generously setting each other up. And, they

don’t think twice about lifting each other out of muddy situations. The best stokvels started out of a pair of friends that grew into a circle, ultimately to become a ‘society’ - literally. Why this kind of love, caring and mutual support fails to carry into the corporate environment is anyone’s guess. Suddenly, for these close friends, if they should end up working with each other, “setting each other up” takes a totally different meaning. They set each other up alright, but this time, not for success or safety but for failure. They sabotage each other’s efforts in the saddest way, to the extent that the ‘enemy’ takes advantage of the situation. Men and, surprisingly, other women outside the circle, cunningly play them against each other and while the ‘sisters’ are busy fighting in petty competition, real business moves on, and the “enemy” wins. Corporate environment seems to take out the worst out of the greatest among us. We ask experts why!

Workplace Diversity

Being a Woman IN A MAN’S WORLD

Outside the workplace women are able to express who they are with ease. Women are naturally nurturing and collaborating; only women take bathroom breaks in groups, showing sisterhood, nurturing and care. BY: MAVIS UREKE, Developmental Coach and Author of Self-leadership Matters – Accepting responsibilities and taking accountability for being the best version of yourself.

he challenge when it comes to the workplace is that it is a man’s world. Men do competition, make no mistake, they just do it in a smart way. They do not hold grudges or emote about competition, because it is a natural way of doing things for them. They even shake hands after one has been defeated. Women cannot shake hands when they have been defeated because their pysche tells them: ‘you weren’t supposed to leave me behind, what happened to you lifting me up and supporting me!’ Internally, unconsciously they question the sisterhood loyalty and that triggers anger, jealousy and bitterness, and if one is not emotionally literate and competent this leads to detrimental behaviour. A workplace is a man’s world; it’s designed for men and by men. If you look at the C- level, decision makers are still predominantly men. Work structures, in a way, also set you up for competition and because it is not natural for women to compete, many do not do it in a healthy way. Women then need to learn how to manage

their emotions so they become instrumental rather than detrimental in response to their natural being or psyche being triggered by the workplace setup. They also need to learn how to create women workplaces at the top of the value chain. Incidentally, at the bottom of the value chain women collaborate quite easily.

of ‘unnatural’ situations. Exposure to multiintelligence training has benefitted most successful executives, both male and female. Women get to realise when irrational thought or behaviour threatens, and deliberately tune themselves into the right frequency – focusing on constructive engagement with the interest

A workplace is a man’s world; it’s designed for men and by men. There is also camaraderie and support when doing work perceived as of low value or when working in cooperatives, NGOs, and so on. While women are highly intelligent, they just are not wired toward competition or competitiveness. Hence, to thrive in that environment, they need to develop acute self-awareness and strategies to take charge

channelled toward collective achievement, rather than on minor personal battles. Not surprisingly, as women gain mastery of self, and build awareness about their natural inclination versus environmental demands, they arguably become much more effective managers and leaders than their male counterparts. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

Organisational Culture

Barnes, Sartre, Fanon AND EMPLOYEE

ENGAGEMENT

PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

Organisational Culture

“No one is born hating another person... People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” – Nelson Mandela BY: JOHNNY JOHNSON, Brand and communications strategist at TowerStone

he world around us teaches us many things. Some good; some not so good. Companies we work for make up a significant part of our world, and the things this world teaches us shape our belief system and affect our behaviour. It is crucial, therefore, for organisational leaders to make sure that employees are exposed to culture that promotes employee engagement - a positive culture that fosters mutual understanding, is appreciative of unique qualities, tolerant of differences and restrained from casting stereotypes. Many among us may take this for granted as we enjoy great social interactions and the warm relationships with co-workers across levels and functions. Julian Barnes begins his book, Levels of Life, with the following words: You put two things together that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. I experienced this recently: on one hand the opinion of a young executive, on the other Jean-Paul Sartre’s preface to Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth. And it’s not so much that my world changed, but rather that something I thought I already knew was made crystal clear to me. During the day in question – the day these two things came together – I was facilitating a brandstorm. We came to the bit where we identified and prioritised stakeholders and the usual debate ensued on who comes first customers or employees? A young executive voiced his opinion saying that we had to segment employees into ‘management’ and ‘others’ because their expectations were so different. ‘They’, he felt, were different to ‘us’ in management because they were out to get whatever they could from the enterprise in exchange for giving back as little as possible. I was surprised by such a Freudian attitude, because I thought that a young person with so obviously a privileged background would have a more liberal outlook. There was a lot of disagreement and constructive conversation in the room, but I carried that executive’s opinion with me on my flight back home.

On the flight, I began reading Frantz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth. I was motivated to do this by having heard him often quoted and by hoping he would give me insight into decolonisation of the mind. (As an aside: he does.) The book begins with a preface by JeanPaul Sartre and it was his introduction to Fanon that addressed the concern I was feeling about the young executive’s comments about ‘them’ and ‘us’. Consider what Sartre writes: “During the last century (he would be referring to the 19 th century), the middle classes looked on the workers as covetous creatures, made lawless by their

is exchanged for a wage then he or she has to be given motivation that goes beyond a salary and benefits. There has to be a return that is more than just the negotiated salary or else the whole arrangement becomes one of working as little as possible for the best return that can be gained and, when there is dissatisfaction, withholding that labour. There has to be purpose. And the purpose must be shared by all levels of employees, from the managing director to the sweeper and the young executive in-between. Then there will be no ‘us’ and ‘them’, but just ‘all of us’ pursuing a shared purpose. I already knew this, but a conversation between a very ‘now’ young executive and a philosopher’s advice echoing over fifty years of time brought it into sharp focus. I thank them both. For whatever the enterprise, be it the local entrepreneur, the multinational or a country, there has to be this ownership of purpose, a drive towards something that is a shared value proposition. Especially so in a society such as ours, where a history of division still causes such dissonance.

A young executive voiced his opinion saying that we had to segment employees into ‘management’ and ‘others’ because their expectations were so different greedy desires; but they took care to include these great brutes in our own species, or at least they considered that they were free men – that is to say, free to sell their labour.” A bit embarrassing as one reads it, the ‘them and us’, but to be frank it is a view often expressed by management: that the labourer sells the company his labour, negotiates the best price he can get either individually or collectively, and that’s that. But Sartre goes on to write that “when you domesticate a member of our own species, you reduce his output, and however little you may give him, a farmyard man finishes by costing more than he brings in.” If the employee is not to be domesticated, subdued into a position of a basic transaction where grudging work

Which brings me back to Barnes and putting two things together: any organisation will benefit if the ‘them’ and ‘us’ are brought together by a purposefullydriven culture. Organisations should strive for unifying messaging and self-expression centred on personalisation of the organisation’s mission and objectives through individual values - at all levels of the operation. Inspirational symbols and team-strengthening rituals developed by different employees, rather than commissioned out to a consultancy, should be used to build deeper understanding of the composite cultures brought together into the company. As leaders, we must promote employee engagement through a culture of respect, trust and mutual support. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

HR Development

A WINTER

WORK EXPOSURE to treasure

With Kganetso Masego Matsana – Final-year Student, Wits University

he IPM Student Work Readiness programme is a combination of group workshops and consultations which culminate in practical workplace exposure for finalyear university students. It opens students’ eyes to realities of working life, workplace expectations, different organisational cultures, and the wide range of roles and functions that present career opportunities.

PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

IPM partners in private and public sector, small and large organisations participated in the programme, hosting students for organisational and industry induction - introducing them to different HR and related functions. Exposure programmes differ in duration and intensity depending on the host company’s size, nature of the business and aspects relating

to health, safety, environment, regulations and confidentiality policies. It is greatly appreciated that specialist partners are always willing to participate in the students’ workshops, and that companies open doors to provide the future workforce a different developmental dimension to complement the pedagogical learning. Worth applauding are hostings outside of human resources, by executives in business consulting, public relations, corporate affairs and enterprise management. Masego, one of the students hosted in the programme, was happy for People Dynamics to share her experience with you. “The IPM Wits Student Work Exposure Initiative was not only a mind blowing experience but also an experience I found quite necessary to understand the corporate world in terms of what it means to be a professional person, the standards and processes that take place within this world as well. Not many students have access to such exposure before entering the professional world of business and often they have no idea what to expect. My fellow students and I, who took part in this initiative, have been provided with an advantage. The experience as a whole has been nothing short of amazing and educative. Even as it came to an end, we felt like there was

HR Development

still so much to learn, and another week spent at the company would have been nice. Short though it was, we made sure we made the best of our time at Ubank and grasped as much information as we could. In other words, the information we received there was not only for career interest sake but also the kind of information we could take further into our futures which we have only just begun to build. On the first day, five nervous and excited students, myself included, showed up at the bank’s head office in Sunninghill at 10 o’clock. We met with IPM representatives who introduced us to the staff at the bank. Welcomed with warm arms, we already felt at home. Most of us had never really known much about Ubank but going there had proved to be one of the best experiences of our lives. After informing and educating us about what the company was all about through presentations led by the head of Marketing, Mr Modise, our first day came to an end leaving us excited and in high anticipation of the next few days. Next came the second day, Tuesday. We arrived bright and early, around 8am and after a hot cup of coffee our day begun. Our host introduced us to more staff members and allocated each of us to an individual staff member. The aim here was to rotate us around so we could learn more about the different aspects and individual input that comes to play in the business. The first person that I job shadowed was Mr Mike Madonsela who is head of channels at Ubank. I asked so many questions and he answered all in great detail. He was very informative and generous with his time. Not

only was he informative about what he did but he also provided great advice to me as a soon to be graduate and he spoke also about the importance of experience. I also spent most of the day going into meetings with him, even providing some input here and there whenever he asked for it and he made sure I understood every aspect of what was going on. I spent most of the day working with him individually and then attended one more meeting with the whole staff and my fellow university mates before our day came to an end. The next day, Wednesday, my mates and I were grouped together to review our

to compare differences between the older branches and the new ones. We also got to interact a bit with the staff of the different branches. After the visits, the day came to an end, leaving us with one last day to look forward to. Friday came too fast. It was our last day and like all the other days, we started our day with a cup of coffee - just like we’d seen all the staff members do too. After all we wanted to blend in. My university mates and I were this day hosted by three different staff members, Thapelo, who is in charge of payments and transactional products, Maria

The experience as a whole has been nothing short of amazing. different experiences. We discussed our aspirations against our respective studies (majors) and the experience at Ubank. We were asked to brainstorm and bring forward ideas on how we see Ubank making a difference and moving forward in the future. We had so much fun putting ideas together and we actually felt some sense of being valued as representatives of the company. We presented our ideas and they were quite amazed, and us of course, well, we shined with pride! On our fourth day, Thursday, we spent our time outdoors with our host. We went on a mini road trip to visit some of the Ubank branches. On this experience, too, we learned so much, we even got a chance

Msimango, the head of Human resources and Jay, who is product manager. Each of them had a valuable lesson to teach us in addition to explaining their roles and function in the company. I appreciated each and every moment there and I know it wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for IPM’s intervention and initiative and for that I am thankful. From that experience, I not only know what to expect once I graduate and enter the corporate world, I also walked away a different person from the one I walked in as, knowing better and carrying a number of lessons I only could have learned from the people there. THANK YOU!” OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

Organisational Effectiveness

LEADERSHIP IS...

taking up the challenge! By: PD CORRESPONDENT

urprisingly, leadership is not about grandeur or aplomb. That may or may never come in your lifetime. (Servant leadership). Everyone is a leader. Potentially. It takes a specific mind-set. And of course, it takes a compelling vision. It also takes persuasiveness, whether through convincingly reasoning out a concept others would want to

PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

subscribe to or by influentially modelling a behaviour that others would want to emulate. If someone asked whether you could be a leader based on followers on social media, the answer is yes!. But, to the extent to which those people continue to follow you, That’s why anyone can be a leader whether that leadership is based on a good

or bad concept or behaviour. (Fad, cause, social leadership). Hitler was no less or more of a leader than, for instance, Gandhi. But the two leaders are on totally different sides of leadership types. To continue as a successful leader, you need to sustain the interest of and alignment with those who follow you. In social media this is not through much effort - just an expression of what’s on your mind can get you followed or “liked”. And when some followers stop following or liking, it’s no big deal. You lose followers as you are likely to gain others along the way. (Charismatic, inspirational leadership) In real life, however, if you’re leading people towards a specific common goal you subscribe to, you always need to make sure that people stay on the bus, so to speak. You need to continually check their comfort

Organisational Effectiveness

TIPS

to step-up to your personal leadership challenge: • Find a cause or a gap (spot the opportunity) • Imagine what can be achieved about it (build a vision) • Set a target or goal and direction to attain the vision (crystalise the vision) • Pursue the course with passion, and experience leadership in action (influence others with inspiring actions and model behaviour) • In particular, use crises as opportunity to be creative, decisive in bringing up innovative solutions (proactive leadership) • Finally, where your personal life is concerned: Be the leader! • Take charge and don’t make excuses. A decision, even if it turns out not to be the best, takes you forward and teaches you lessons for better decisions down the line.

on the journey, their emotional investment in the ideals of your mission and levels of conviction held toward the goal. To be able to do this effectively, you can’t always lead from the front and assume all will be okay behind you. You need to have time among the followers and, now and again, fall behind to look out for signs of fatigue set-in, in order to support and encourage those lagging. This requires you to be great in communication, to have charted and verbalised the direction and plotted the course so it’s clear to everyone (Transformational leadership). This kind of leadership also needs you to be generously empowering to your team such that even while you are at the back of the pack, the group stays on track. (Participative, empowering and democratic leadership). Other than by having followers, leadership is also defined by your decision-making.

If you are in a position of authority or you make (almost) all decisions in what you do for a living, you are a leader. This is leadership in accordance with the Lewin context - based on power that you have. Again, someone might ask whether a housewife responsible for running a household can be considered a leader, and the answer is an emphatic yes. Leaders may be found anywhere - among entry-level clerks who take ownership of a variety of problems presented to them by customers demanding solutions. As that clerk delivers a satisfactory resolution for each customer, he or she demonstrates a form of leadership (Technical leadership). Leaders are found among janitors – people who take proactive steps in managing the domain they are in charge of, particularly being able to think on their feet and provide solutions in case of crises.

Imagine a janitor suddenly faced with unexpected water closure at a mall, for instance. A decision to offer limited access to the facility, making sure he or she provides as hygienic and pleasant an experience as possible with fewer cubicles, instead of giving access to the full complement of cubicles, only to be faced with an unpleasant, unhealthy situation, takes an alert and creative mind. It takes an empowered mind. It distinguishes leaders from envelop pushers. (opportunistic, assertive, spontaneous leadership). So, in case you were waiting for a big life event or a special calling for you to become a leader, wait no more. Seize leadership opportunities as they arise – in any of your roles, whether in your social, professional or domestic environment. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

Date(s)

Programme/ Workshop

Partner/Presenter

Target Audience

CPD Points

Non Member

Member

Jan 24

Learning & Development Community of Experts - Round Table

+ TPI*

L&D Specialists

0.5

R500

Free

Jan 27

Case Law & Related Lessons for Sound Management of Employee Relations - Breakfast

+ Cliffe Dekker & Hofmeyr / Michael Yeats

Intermediate to Senior/ Executive

R580

R350

Feb 10

The Role of HR in helping Organisations prepare for, and navigate the Digital Economy – A Strategic Response to the 4th Industrial Revolution

IPM

HR Managers, HR Practitioners

R980

R550

Feb 13

Research Community of Expert Practitioners Round Table

IPM

IR, Labour Relations Managers & Corporate PR

0.5

R500

Free

Feb 23

Healing the Toxic Labour Relationships in SA - Seminar

+ Labour Law Consulting/ Ivan Israelstam

CEOs, HR Executives, Labour Specialists

R980

R550

Feb 28

IPM HR Student Forum

+ Accenture*

HR Students, Representatives, Lecturers/Educators

R500

Free

Mar 2-3

HR Leadership - Seminar

+ Mavis Ureke

HR Executives, Senior Managers

R5150

R4150

Mar 9

Remuneration & Benefits Community Experts – Round Table

+ CDH

Human Capital & Remuneration Specialists

R500

Free

Mar 13

HR Tools for Entrepreneurs

IPM

Small Business operators

R580

R350

Mar 28

Organisational Effectiveness Community of Experts - Round Table

+ QBIT/Sibongile Mogale*

COO’s & OE Executives

0.5

R500

Free

Mar 29-30

Emotional Intelligence for Effective Management

+ Mavis Ureke

Managers

R5150

R4150

Apr 3-5

HR Master Class - Workshop

+ TPI*

Human Capital Specialists, HR Line Managers

R7850

R6550

Apr 11

Social Media & Corporate Strategy

+ 33Emerald*

HR Executives, Managers , Corporate Strategists

R1800

R1600

Apr 20

HR Business Partner Community of Experts – Round Table

+ Accenture*

HR Practitioners

0.5

R500

Free

Apr 21

Freedom & Youth – Leadership Discourse

IPM

Youth & Young Managers

0.5

R350

Free

May 9

Coaching & Mentoring Community of Experts Round Table

+ TalentLine*

Managers

0.5

R500

Free

May 16-17

HR Metrics - Workshop

+ HR Touch/Maggie Mojapelo

Human Capital Specialists, HR Managers

R5150

R4150

May 23

Employment Law & Industrial Relations

+ Cowan Harper & Associates

IR Specialists, Labour Union Officials

R1800

R1600

May 25-26

Job Evaluation - Workshop

+ 21st Century

Human Capital & Recruitment Managers

R5150

R4150

May 31

Disciplinary Enquiry Plans - Workshop

+ CDH

Line Managers, HR Managers & Employee Relations Officers

R1800

R1600

Jun 1-2

HR Metrics – Workshop

+ HR Touch/Maggie Mojapelo

Human Capital Specialists, HR Managers

R5150

R4150

Jun 6

Employee Wellness Community of Experts – Round Table

+ ICAS/Juanita Simpson*

HR Managers, COO’s, SHEQ Specialists

0.5

R500

Free

Jun 8

The Latitude of Employment Contracts - Workshop

+ LLC/Ivan Israelstam

Line Managers, HR Managers, Employee Representatives

R980

R550

Date(s)

Programme/ Workshop

Partner/Presenter

Target Audience

CPD Points

Non Member

Member

Jun 13

Job Profiling - Workshop

+ 21st Century

Line Managers, Human Capital & Recruitment Managers

R2900

R2450

Jun 20

Research Community of Experts – Round Table

+ HRSC

HR Strategists, Knowledge Managers

0.5

R500

Free

Jun 22

Mentoring & Coaching - Workshop

Mavis Ureke

Line Managers, HR

R1800

R1600

Jul 4-5

HR Business Partner Master Class

Improvid

Intermediate to Senior HR Managers

R7850

R6550

Jul 7

Dispute Resolution, Strike Management & Related Procedures

+ CDH

HR Executives, IR Managers, Labour Officials, GM’s

R1800

R1600

Jul 12

Employee/Labour Relations Community of Experts - Round Table

IR, Labour Relations Managers & Corporate PR

0.5

R500

Free

Jul 17

HR-Led Digital Transformation

+ Accenture*

HR Executives, Managers

0.5

R980

R550

Jul 20

Women’s Conference (Durban) Transcending & Digital & Life Barriers

+ Empowaworx

Women in Corporate, Public Enterprises, & Small Business

R1600

R1200

Jul 25-26

Project Management for HR Leaders

+ Mavis Ureke

HR Leaders, Managers

R5150

R4150

Aug 3

Human Capital - Return on Investment - Seminar

+ Mavis Ureke

Human Capital Executives, HR Managers

R3600

R2850

Aug 10

CCMA Cross Examination Techniques - Seminar

CDH

HR Executives, IR & ER Managers

R1800

R1600

Aug 17

Women’s Conference Transcending & Digital & Life Barriers

+ Empowaworx

Women in Corporate, Public Enterprises, & Small Business

R1600

R1200

Aug 23-24

HR Metrics - Workshop

+ HR Touch/Maggie Mojapelo

Human Capital Specialists, HR Managers

R5150

R4150

Aug 29-30

Remuneration for HR Managers - Workshop

+ 21st Century

HR Managers, Remuneration Practitioners

R6000

R5150

Sept 6-7

HR Business Partner Master Class

Improvid

Intermediate to Senior HR Managers

R7850

R6550

Sept 21

Managing & Optimising Diversity Workshop

+ Empowerworx

Directors, Managers, Line Managers

R11800

R1600

Sept 22

HR Directors Forum & IPM 2017 Convention Kick-off Meeting 1

+ Industry Experts / Convention Speakers

HR Directors, Human Capital Specialists

0.5

R5800

R4950

Oct 5

HR-Led Digital Transformation

+ Accenture*

HR Executives, Managers

0.5

R980

R550

Oct 5

IPM 2017 Convention Final Briefing & Submissions

+ Convention Committee Member(s)

IPM Convention Presenters

N/A

Oct 18-19

HR Metrics – Workshop

+ HR Touch/Maggie Mojapelo

Human Capital Specialists, HR Managers

R5150

R4150

Nov 19 - 22

2017 IPM Convention & Exhibition

+ Local & International Experts, Industry Specialist Suppliers

Business Leaders, HR Executives, General Managers, Human Capital Development Specialists, HR Strategists, IR/ER Officers & Managers, SHEQ Officers, Corporate PR & CSR Managers, Academics, Students, Entrepreneurs, People Development Professionals , HR Practitioners

R12790 (R11050 Early Bird Payable by 15 June)

R10790 (R8500 Early Bird Payable by 15 June)

Progressive Business Leaders, Academic Institutions, Business Chambers & Professional Bodies, Economic Development & Tourism Agencies, Wellness & Hospitality Groups

Management

THE

CURSE OF THE

BOSS TECHNO-CENTRIC

PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

Management

Decades after Marcus Buckingham’s lectures on focusing on employees’ strengths, the wisdom is yet to sink into some of our executives’ heads. They still try to force stumpy elephants into playing the piano. BY: PD CORRESPONDENT

rganisations are at pains to keep what talent they’ve discovered and developed. They look at ways of securing ongoing tenure of people in critical or specialist roles. The interest is to preserve internal expertise and to avoid losing their valued talent to competition. Failure to generate creative retention strategies has led to desperate HR executives prematurely enticing technical specialists into line management positions, creating a nightmare for the incumbents and a disaster for their direct reports.

You are ultimately relegated to a virtual corner, while the boss flies on with your techno-elite colleagues. Your worst nightmare is when he relieves his people management inadequacies by assigning one of the weisenheimer colleagues to supervise you. Peer mentoring as a concept is, in fact, a great way of getting colleagues to support others and get them up to speed. Yet, in a “gifted child” environment, the emotional immaturity of a supervising colleague may do little to pull you up. His own impatience, typical of another technocrat, will get him labelling you as

The problem with a techno-centric boss

Before reflecting on the downside of a techno-centric boss, we need to look at the advantages of having one. Most experts, particularly if they are naturally intelligent, appreciate working with similarly gifted people. A technocentric boss will be drawn towards those direct reports who can pick up concepts, ideas and briefs as quickly as he or she gives them. If you are one of these, you will find yourself on a steep growth trajectory on your common specialty, and you will enjoy the challenges of projects thrown your way. You will enjoy a great trust relationship with the boss and flourish. You will look forward to going to work every day, get so engrossed in your work, enjoying intellectual engagement throughout the day and ending each day on a high. If, on the other hand, you are not on par with the boss in terms of technical ability or capacity, you will find that he (or she) makes little or no time for you. The tendency will be for the boss to give you fewer assignments, spending little or no time coaching or helping you grasp what to him are basic concepts. He gets exasperated by your struggles, and due to his natural intelligence, he finds it difficult to relate to your slower pace. Frustrated with his own inability to draw you out and make you into the technical star that he is and that you potentially are, he avoids having to deal with you.

Your worst nightmare is when he relieves his peoplemanagement inadequacies by assigning one of the weisenheimer colleagues to supervise you. too slow to hopeless. The boss, instead of stepping in with support, will feel justified or vindicated in thinking of you as being a misfit in the team. While this scenario may seem idealistic, People Dynamics caught up with some real life victim. Patrice*, a high-flyer who was poached from his job as a super-performer was excited to join an energetic, highly motivated HR research agency team.

Although a seasoned HR practitioner, he was not familiar with digital aspects of the new agency, and needed some handholding to get running in his new environment. “The enthusiasm with which the team first welcomed me soon dissipated when I couldn’t master the system quickly enough to match everyone’s productivity levels. While I think everyone might have appreciated the quality of my reports, which received compliments from clients, the fact that it took me twice as long to produce, totally neutralised any positive effects. I confessed my challenges to the boss who tried to demo how the system works. But with each question I asked to figure out reasoning behind certain steps and functions, she just couldn’t hide her exasperation. After that once-off struggle, she assigned a colleague to help me. He was even worse at explaining the technical workings even though he was one of the best consultants in the team. After persevering sarcasm and professional isolation, I gave up and left the company, feeling like a dismal failure. My boss was devastated, but graciously conceded that the organisation had failed me. Meeting up with her a couple of years down the line, now apparently a Professor, she was happy that I had gone on to make a success of my career. Apparently after I left her company, she opted to go back into specialisation. ‘The line thing was definitely not for me. It stressed me terribly, and slowed down my own professional development and aspirations in the industry.’ She went on to confess that while it sounded good to be in charge of people when offered a promotion, having people looking up to her, just put her under ‘unnecessary’ pressure. ‘That’s just not my thing’, she said.” It turns out that, this age-old experience is what motivated Patrice, now a Development Consultant, to research talent motivation and retention strategies. He helps executives avoid the error of motivating people with responsibility that works against their strengths, but to rather develop tailored career paths (webs) that engage different types of employees, whether specialists or generalist. Everyone can thrive by focusing on what they are best at – avoiding the frustration of techno-fanatics whose people-management deficiency filters through to their direct reports, and ultimately to clients. *name changed OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

Employment Economics

RECESSION Spot the real cost

PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

Employment Economics

BY: BONOLO NAMANE, Intern at Mapitsi Holdings and IPM Coachee

ccording to Investopedia recession is an economic phenomenon, ‘a significant decline in activity across the economy, lasting longer than a few months. It is visible in industrial production, employment, real income and wholesaleretail trade.’ Heralding a recession, if no interventions are applied, is a technical recession. Technical recession is two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth as measured by a country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The science behind the diagnosis and to an extent, the prognosis of a recession as an economic cycle is well documented and there are key indicators in support it. What remains off the discussion table is the human side of things. The definition of recession allows us to conclude that the average individual - we shall name him Peter - would be hit with the reality of decline in industrial production, heightened unemployment, contraction of real income and depressed wholesale trade. The Maslow hierarchy of needs tells us that Peter has basic requirements, such as air, water, food, clothing and shelter which are the bare minimums for survival. Maslow further tells us that the second tier of Peter’s needs would be safety needs, among which is financial security, which, in the context of recession, could be narrowed down to job security. If we are to accept as per the definition that recession threatens employment, real income and economic production which would affect Peter’s ability to meet his physiological needs being water, food, clothing and shelter as air is free. Evidently, the threat to Peter would not only manifest in the financial sphere but also psychologically. It is in this context that this article examines recession in the workplace. We read that during the economic depression of the 1930s, several Wall Street executives and ordinary citizens committed suicide, this trend was repeated when the 2008 sub-prime mortgage mothballed into an economic meltdown. Why? An argument is advanced that if the crisis was to be understood in its entire manifestation to be no more than financial, the response would be to assuage whatever financial gaps that may result; committing suicide does not achieve this. In fact even life cover underwriters don’t honour the life insurance policies in the instances where suicide was committed. In a study undertaken in 2009 following the financial crisis, paid work was becoming increasingly

invasive and demanding on individual’s lives, diverting time and energy from other parts of their lives that were of equal value to them. Aspects of their well-being, such as time spent with children or friends, were forced out by abnormal work patterns. As work demands increase, so, too, did the difficulties in combining work with care responsibilities. Although working intensely may yield favourable outcomes, such as high earnings, prestige, satisfaction and opportunities for promotion, this may occur only at the expense of minimising non-work obligations in order to have sufficient chance to recover from work efforts. It is against this backdrop that when a

Aspects of their wellbeing, such as time spent with children or friends, were forced out by abnormal work patterns. recession occurs, employees face exposure to psychological distress on multiple levels as follows: • Increasing job demands • Downsizing and working short-time • Severe impact on employment relations • Intrinsic job insecurity • Salary cuts • Family conflict - strain from additional work responsibilities as company downsize and recalibrate jobs • Change in the way employees view their jobs and their leaders. So, how should organisations react during a recession? It is important to be cognisant that employees are impacted on more levels than just the financial. The outcome carries the deepest potential to undermine employee morale; the effect is psychological. When measures like short-time, retrenchment

and salary cuts are introduced, competent employees are likely to jump ship and join competitors. Initiatives such as leading discussions with an employee and communicate how the situation is to be resolved, should be prioritised. Where retrenchments are in the offing, these should be done deliberately and swiftly. Delaying or dwelling on matters only prolong the uncertainty and undermines the chances of the organisation’s survival during the period of recession. It helps if leaders of the organisation are actively involved in operations to be able to accurately determine the appropriate business remedy, including injecting reserves at the right time to increase production in anticipation of the inevitable economic upswing. The response by the organisation would not be the same and it would need flexibility to deal with different situations. This analysis must form part of the employee engagement package to limit the extent of uncertainty as much as possible. Some commentators have issued blanket statements suggesting that smaller firms stand a better chance to survive during a recession than their bigger competitors as consumers are likely to substitute them to realise maximum value from conservative pricing strategies by smaller firms. Whilst this might logically prove to be true, it assumes that bigger firms face a different set of circumstances and are not able to realign their business objectives in accordance with the conditions prevailing in the economic ecosystem. Empirical evidence from the 2008 crisis however suggest that bigger firms can survive as they have reserves to insulate them from bankruptcy to overcome times of crises. So, as in the case of leprosy, to avoid contagion, organisations need to assess the bare minimum required to ensure survival during recession. They need to proceed with clinical precision to amputate those organs that are extra to requirements – in the form of extra-curricular activity, inefficiencydriven over-time, executive perks and frills that are a luxury and probably exist for prestige and sentimental reasons rather than being a business imperative. The very last nip, note – not amputation – should on people. When the tide turns, you will need them even more, so if you spot a dead sprig – by all means, cut. But guard your talent with your life – you don’t want them exited to resuscitate competition! OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

Legally Speaking

EXTREMELY PUNITIVE PENALTIES

FOR WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

Legally Speaking

against by the supervisor who sexually harassed her. The Court cited section 60 of the EEA that says: 1. “If it is alleged that an employee, while at work, contravened a provision of this Act, or engaged in any conduct that, if engaged in by the employee’s employer, would constitute a contravention of this Act, the alleged conduct must immediately be brought to the attention of the employer. 2. The employer must consult all the relevant parties and must take all the necessary steps to eliminate the alleged conduct and comply with the provisions of this Act. 3. If the employer fails to take the necessary steps and it is proven that the employee has contravened the relevant provisions, the employer must be deemed also to have contravened that provision.”

By: IVAN ISRAELSTAM, Chief Executive, Labour Law Management Consulting

fter the landmark sexual harassment case involving Real Security was reported in 2003 one would think that employers would equip themselves, take decisive preventive action to avoid such dire consequences. Yet, to date, not all have. The automatically unfair dismissal claim was based on the fact that the employee was forced to resign because her employer allowed her to be discriminated

The Court awarded the employee compensation for unfair dismissal, unfair discrimination, medical expenses, pain, suffering and impairment of her dignity. In total she was awarded R82 000.00 which equated to 41 months’ pay which is almost three and a half years’ pay. Despite the warning that the outcome of this case sounded, employers are still not implementing measures to prevent sexual harassment and are obviously still losing cases in the Labour Court. For example, in the recently decided case of Christian vs Colliers Properties (2005, 5 BLLR 479) Ms Christian was appointed as a typist by the employer. Two days after starting work the owner of the business asked her if she had a boyfriend and invited her to dinner. He also invited her to sit on his lap and kissed her on the neck. When she later objected to the owner’s conduct he asked her whether she was “in or out”. When she said that she was “not in” he asked her why he should allow her employment to continue. She was dismissed with two days pay and referred a sexual harassment dispute. In a default judgement the Court decided that: • The employee had been dismissed for refusing the owner’s advances • This constituted an automatically unfair dismissal based on sexual discrimination

The automatically unfair dismissal claim was based on the fact that the employee was forced to resign because her employer allowed her to be discriminated against by the supervisor who sexually harassed her. • Newly appointed employees are as deserving of protection from sexual harassment as are their longer serving colleagues The employer had to pay the employee: • 24 months’ remuneration in compensation • Additional damages • Interest on the amounts to be paid • The employee’s legal costs 13 years after this case decision, employers are still getting into trouble because they fail to utilise the best available labour law expertise to: • Inculcate acceptance that a business can be ruined financially by allowing sexual harassment to occur • Design a comprehensive sexual harassment policy • Ensure that every owner, manager and employee understands the severe consequences of committing such acts • Communicate to all concerned that such misconduct will result in severe penalties including possible dismissal • Ensure that all employees feel entirely free to report sexual harassment. • Train all employees in the above listed issues as well as in what constitutes sexual harassment, how to deal with it, where to report it and the company’s supportive policy towards sexual harassment victim. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

Leadership

Do you have the

DNA

PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

to lead an emerging market business?

Leadership

e leadership It has become a common function for HR in multinational home-offices to facilitate deployment of senior executives to various offshore subsidiaries, and it’s not any executive who makes the cut. It may well be that a company has to look beyond its suite to find the perfect one. BY: AUGUSTE COETZER AND MICHELLE MOSS, Directors, Signium

he selection of leadership talent to run operations beyond any business headquarters has to be made carefully. The qualities necessary to run a major business are well known and well-articulated. Competencies needed for successful business leadership in an emerging market, however, are somewhat different. The pursuit of emerging markets by any business is often motivated by growth objectives, where local markets had become saturated. The agenda for any offshore operation would, logically, be strong business development. A mature organisation looking to exploit offshore opportunities will likely have a different competency profile among its leadership cadre than what new business development in a foreign country requires. Leadership may boast of rich industry experience, a proven track record and the ability to deliver efficiencies and optimise the current asset base. Yet, for new offshore operations, special lifecycle considerations are to be borne in mind, with recruitment establishing an appropriate leadership profile. After many years of identifying, pursuing and placing emerging market business leaders, even seasoned agents concede that there are no readymade formulae that apply in this challenging arena. Granted, an initial base of competencies applies across all markets, with core requirements including: • Commercial acumen and financial/ accounting savvy • Hard-core technical knowledge and skills

• Systems and digital knowledge • Diligence and hard work over long hours • Meeting deadlines and driving results • Brutal honesty • Exceptional motivation (being a selfstarter)

declared a priority while unscrupulous tendencies in the seats of power, nevertheless, entrench poverty • Transformational vision – where the business becomes an agent of socioeconomic change, requiring a leader to commit to human and community development • Entrepreneurship and innovation – where transformational solutions demand new ideas with profit potential; e.g. transactional banking by cellphone • External awareness – where business addresses ‘non-business’ issues; e.g. by supporting education in maths, science and IT • Versatility – where bosses multi-task to counter a skills dearth Some agencies will spotlight differences between the Eurocentric business model, believed to have its focus on profit maximisation, and an Afrocentric

It is critical for an emergingmarket leader to navigate the realities of the local environment, while being mindful of the business imperatives to make an offshore investment worthwhile. While these attributes are a great start, they won’t take you all the way in an emerging market. Here, leaders face additional challenges. These markets are prone to financial crises, intellectual property rights are insecure, bureaucratic delay is endemic, infrastructure, products and services are unreliable, local talent is sparse, assessing customer credit worthiness is tough and distribution channels can be messy. Corruption may be rife - impeding proper due diligence, and background checks can be difficult. An additional overlay of leadership skills is required, featuring: • An ability to deal with ambiguity – where poverty eradication might be

approach, seen to be focused on care for human relationships, employees and communities. These drivers, however, are not necessarily polarised. They may be complementary rather than contradictory. It is critical for an emerging-market leader to navigate the realities of the local environment, while being mindful of the business imperatives to make an offshore investment worthwhile. The leap into emerging markets is not for any business, just as much as leading those operations is not for any leader. It takes a special range of competences and a unique set of qualities to be successful at the helm of an emerging market enterprise. Have you got what it takes? OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

Organisational Leadership

PROJECTS AND OD INTERVENTIONS

DYNAMICS TO CONSIDER BY: RRE ELIJAH LITHEKO, ex-CEO, IPM

rojects and Organisational Development (OD) interventions are aimed at issues relating to organisational renewal, revitalisation and performance improvement to name but a few. Despite these noble objectives, literature does point out that some organisations fail to achieve the outcomes that they had hoped at the initiation of a project or an OD intervention. The common causes for failure to achieve the intended outcomes are attributed to the following: Organisational Dynamics – culture, leadership style, values, relationships, organisational politics, etc Lack of appreciation that people bring the following to the workplace which may not be congruent with their peers. These human factors according James Flaherty are:(i) Personal and Cultural history. This means that each of us has had a different history of interactions with people and circumstances, which has influenced subsequent ways we respond to issues; (ii) Immediate Concerns – immediate concerns are what the employee has on his/her mind at a particular time in point, the pressing things that distracts his/her attention from focussing on the task at hand; (iii) Commitments – The current commitments that an employee may have that may also serve as an obstacle to the attainment of PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

organisational goals; (iv) Future Possibilities – the future that each employee is trying to create for himself/herself has also the potential impacting positively or negatively on his/her engagement levels depending on whether the organisation’s initiative supports or negate his/her future plans; (v) Mood – mood gives meaning to present circumstances, defines our engagement in them, and colours our view of the future as well. Lack of understanding that any OD process has to be adaptable and that it must take into account the interests and views of key stakeholders in the organisation. This implies that for an OD intervention to have any chance of success, stakeholder engagement is a prerequisite. Lack of appreciation that resistance is an integral part of any change process and needs to be handled in an emotionally intelligent manner. Inability to resolve differences in a mature and rational manner. Single lens and top down approach Lack of adherence to change management, project management, OD and good corporate governance principles To ensure successful implementation of any OD intervention or project management process, it is critical that the designers of

these interventions not only take the above factors into account, but develop a checklist that will ensure that they will be addressed as they raise their heads along the way. In addition, the context in which the organisation is operating need to be taken into account, particularly in relation to the following factors. Finally, it needs to be recognised that organisational renewal will be achieved if the intervention succeeds in aligning the following organisational elements: Vision Mission Key strategic objectives Structure Processes Systems Culture Performance measures

Organisational Leadership

Environmental Factor

Context factors external to the organisation

Context factors internal to the organisation

Social

The socio-economic factors impacting on the workforce

Workforce demographics and inter-relationships

Technological

The need to keep abreast with technological developments to improve efficiencies

Evaluation of the systems to ensure systems integration

Environmental

Environmental factors that might have a bearing on the intervention must be assessed and appropriate strategic response developed

All internal dynamics that might slow the implementation of the intervention must be planned for appropriately

Economic

It is crucial that the designers of the intervention put appropriate measures to ensure that it delivers the desired outcomes within budget by the stipulated period.

It is also crucial that all governance processes are adhered to and that all expenditure related to the intervention can be accounted for

Political

The involvement of all key stakeholders and their buy-in is crucial for the successful delivery of the intervention.

Sponsors, champions together with a properly constituted steering committee should drive the intervention internally

Legal

Cognisance need to be given to all legislative requirements

This will require that designers ensure that the outcomes of the intervention are legally compliant

Extras

Acknowledgement that people backgrounds are different and this fact should not be lost sight of

Designers must put in place processes that will address this reality

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

Feature

CHALLENGES

different industry leadership face in skilling apprentices into professionals, expert practitioners and ultimately into a collective national genius

PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

Feature

There is consensus that the most successful leadership is transformational. By: PD CORRESPONDENT

ransformational leadership, as defined by Bass and Avolio, has four dimensions, colloquially known as the Four I’s. A most critical ‘I’ is ‘individualised consideration’, which focuses on individual development. In the workplace, leaders are encouraged to challenge employees to develop their strengths by finding their own meaning and expression in the organisation’s mission. At the end of the day, employees need to see how they align with the organisation’s ideals, and the value they personally contribute toward the achievement of goals. They need to feel incited and motivated to exercise their skills and hone their expertise, growing towards becoming leaders in their own right – fully transformed from followers and transcended to leadership. It is the hallmark of good leadership development to encourage people to have the courage and ability to try out new things. The key requirement is that an enabling environment allows leaders-in-the-making to make mistakes on their way to honing their genius and toward becoming experts The environment, therefore, also needs to provide for people to register their learning from mistakes. Investigating and analysing the source and circumstance of each mistake made in the system optimises learning for those directly involved and their colleagues to come. It helps predict situations that lead to error, and provide for creation of improvement mechanisms, safeguards and safety nets.

Learnings in the Banking Environment

Those in a banking environment, however, know how potentially costly honing a genius can be. If a finger were to mistakenly add an extra zero to an amount while crediting a customer, it may lead to a sticky situation for the bank, the employee and the customer in question. Of course, banks create a safety net through checks and balances, to ensure that a transaction goes through more than one person. In particular would delegations be critical, the higher the amounts.

And, what of our learner employee, the star-in-the-making who is the source of the error, you may ask. In the event that an incorrect amount has been credited to a customer, in most cases the bank can reverse the transaction if picked up in time. According to Thabo- an investment management veteran at Standard Bank, who broke ground as a teller back in the 1980’s - customers themselves, should know better than use money they have no idea how they got into possession of. Notwithstanding this assumption, a customer may have had a legitimate reason to believe that the money was meant for them, in which case the bank would have to negotiate the return of the funds, having proven that the transaction went through in error. The return, depending on where the funds had ended up, may take as short as a day to reverse, or months, even years to repay, particularly if tied up in an asset that might need liquidating. Generally, banks will cooperate in trying to resolve each other’s cases where a client has assets held in another bank that may be ceded in favour of the claiming bank, says Thabo. Worst case scenario is where a customer refuses to refund the money. The bank may be forced to go through debt collectors, and ultimately, even pursue a legal case against the customer, which may be a drawn-out process.

And, what of our learner employee, the starin-the-making who is the source of the error, you may ask. The bank will have conducted an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the error to prove that there was no negligence or foul play. Depending on the circumstances, the bank will follow its disciplinary process, with accounting demanded from the real source of the error – whether the employee himself, a colleague who may have created a confusion, a supervisor who might not have provided sufficient training, or a fund releaser who should have picked up the employee’s error in the course of authorising the apprentices’ transactions. This is not to stifle the development process and to discourage any further learning, but it is part of learning – technical learning and leadership learning: responsibility, accountability and consequence. It may well be that a technical malfunction occurred in the system, which failed to block the erroneous amount, in which case a claim against equipment providers may be legitimate. Where fraud is proven, the disciplinary process would lead to the responsible OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

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employee being charged, and if criminally convicted, the bank would claim the loss from its insurers. The banking example demonstrates an employee development-friendly environment and a multi-layered risk management strategy that helps contain the impact of learner errors, or experts’ errors for that matter. High-stakes, High-risk Learning Environment

The interesting point about the error-tolerance of a bank, versus, for instance, a hospital, is that hospitals deal with people’s lives. Moneys can be quantified, reclaimed and refunded, but how do you reel back from a young doctor’s mistake where surgery procedure erroneously amputated the wrong leg, or removed the wrong organ? This is a dilemma facing many health institutions today. While human resource development is just as passionately pursued in health institutions, the risk that errors carry in the health environment exceeds that of many industries. Aviation Industry

Perhaps rivalling the health sector is the airline industry. In aviation, an error often does not claim one life at a time – as would happen on a theatre operating table. A single crash may bring ‘instant’ demise of up to 300 people. The AirFrance Flight 447 crash in

May 2009 resulted in 228 people perishing. Not only did the airline lose customers, it lost its crew, and of course, the craft. Among the crew was a 32-year old ‘industry baby’ who was still building up his flight hours. The investigation into the crash provided a series of lessons for the aviation industry. It helped it introduce better safety standards and measures. The experience was ‘education’ for both young crew and seasoned pilots. It created higher awareness and fresh respect for ‘life in the skies’ among budding pilots. It reminded crew that automation is not there to replace human intelligence, decision-making and intervention. As a pilot, you remain in charge! An Astoundingly Costly Lesson

In case of injury or loss of life, airline passengers are entitled to claim from the Airline in question under the Montreal Convention, which replaced earlier and apparently more lenient versions. The provisions of the Convention, incidentally revised in 2009, say: “The carrier is liable for damage sustained in case of death or bodily injury of a passenger upon condition only that the accident which caused the death or injury took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking.” According to Article 21 of the

The investigation into the crash provided a series of lessons for the aviation industry. It helped it introduce better safety standards and measures. PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

Montreal Convention, in case of death of passengers, the airline is liable to pay up to approximately $174,000 for each passenger, as at 2014 rates. If there is demand for compensation higher than this limit, the airline can contest it. If it is proved that such damage was not due to the negligence or other wrongful act or omission or the airlines, its staff or agents, or if such damage was solely due to the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of a third party then the airline is not liable to pay the higher amount. But it cannot contest if the claim is within the limit. Source: Business Standard, 27 July 2014 According to Wall Street Journal (13 July, 2011), Air France was ordered to pay a compensation of $177 000 to the family of each victim, expressed as £120 000 in UK’s Rand Daily Mail (13 March 2013). Back to the case of medical claims

In South Africa and the UK the quantum value of medical claims made against public health are effectively bankrupting the system. This is to the extent that institutions may not be able to render services – offer medication, provide clinical equipment, maintain facilities and supply auxiliary services for health institutions as they should. They may as well shut down. These circumstances reduce opportunities of learning for residents who need to build practical experience and grow their genius toward becoming sought-after specialists in their chosen fields. In a vicious cycle, staff morale drops due to their inability to offer full professional service to patients, and interns seek out international or private (non-medical) opportunities, exiting the system as soon as obligatory service period elapses. While there is sympathy for student doctors who may not be able to gain the quality education that optimum facilities would have provided, there is also sympathy for the rest of dedicated self-motivated members of staff, whose interest is to serve the “client”. It’s a self-sabotage system, in that certain cases of poor care that lead to litigation are a result of untenable numbers that stream through the public health system for help. Some of these numbers are cases inherited from private institutions who may have offered partial or incomplete treatment, according to what is lucrative or convenient to them. Transferred cases often come with partial patient history and sketchy disclosure on complications experienced or anticipated - making this a public institution problem.

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staff who should be guiding interns though their development. Non-conducive Learning Environment

In a vicious cycle, the morale of the staff is down as they are not able to offer professional service to patients, and interns with international or private sector opportunities exit the system as soon as their obligatory service period elapses. Some numbers come from neighbouring countries, where as soon as illness sets in, there is realisation that the best medical care can be obtained across the border in ‘Mandelaville’. Patients arrive in critical condition – becoming priority cases due to complications. Some numbers, still, are intra-country migrant patients. Some are legitimate referrals due to specialisation limitations at smaller, tertiary and district operations; some are self-referrals. The selfreferrals visit a cousin in the institution’s catchment area and conveniently decide to have their clinical care administered in a foreign establishment rather than get to their own allocated facilities, which, in reality, possibly lack sophistication or certain specialisation. Also, the improvement in the HIV/

AIDS drugs quality and collection service has encouraged more participation in the programme, bringing more strain to institutions. The public health network seems to mete out ‘a penalty’ for excellence and efficiency. The more efficient an institution is, the more patients flock towards it, testing its capacity. In addition to being training centres, these institutions end up handling numbers far disproportionate to the census-based estimates allocated to them. They even draw patients who qualify for, yet ‘distrust’ private health care, claiming to feel more comfortable in public facilities. These exorbitant numbers place an unreasonable strain on public facilities, mechanical equipment, supplies, clinical human resources and non-clinical support

Inability to clear queues each day leads to cases of long commutes and uncertain diagnoses being accommodated overnight, which may well turn out to have been unnecessary had the patients been processed on day.Overstretched resources get tired; fatigue demoralises; low morale rubs off on fellow practitioners, growing absenteeism; absenteeism in return, placing even more strain on the staff on duty. As some come back on duty, others take off. There are several cases of stress-related illness and disability among clinical and support staff, yet since they need sustained earning, apparently, they want to hold on for as long as possible without being boarded. One would not want to be in the shoes of the leaders charged with running these institutions. Yet, were anyone to meet them, they’d find infectiously positive professionals, determined to make a difference to patients’ lives, everyday – irrespective of the patient’s age, colour, creed, origin or stature. A strong will can only sustain one so much, though. The reality of the situation is such that health interns are learning more about social reality, community issues, administrative complexities and operational fire-fighting than optimise medical and clinical development. Learning to Master the Legal Loopholes

The national health situation plays right into the hands of scrupulous lawyers, not unlike the infamous ‘ambulance chasers’. As a result, the system is poised for failure as it falls victim to a vicious cycle of insufficient supplies and poor facilities, low staff morale, stress, absenteeism that leaves a limping staff complement having to cope with an overflow of patients, including foreign citizens with no traceable address and hence no ability to claim dues from. It has been challenged that the strong appetite for medical litigation has little to do with the legal professionals caring about justice or patients, but more about a lucrative gap spotted in the government system and exploiting it primarily for legal practitioners’ benefit. The problem arises from a general notion that government has endless resources and hence will pay any law suit that is won against it. In reality, this extorts the taxpayer. Government has no money; it is hard earned taxes that pay out litigation claims. Secondly, the litigation has no effect in ‘teaching the system’ any lessons. The loss of lives in OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE IPM

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If litigation bankrupts the system, patients are likely to expire from sheer lack of services. leadership; introspection into why we do what we do; whom we benefit from our conduct; whether we are helping to up-build or destroy. If litigation is really to teach the system a lesson and help it improve, how about the litigation eagles giving a ‘tax’ amount toward rehabilitating the ‘medical delinquents’, and training/equipping the system to provide better service to curb further deaths, disabilities, and deformities created by an overwhelmed system. What about the individual income of doctors?

public health service, in South Africa, at least, often has bases beyond individual doctors’ or hospitals’ hands. Lessons need to span the full health value chain, starting with family values communication, community health education, demarcation and migration review, proportionate resource allocation, executive accountability, ethics among clinical and admin personnel in both private and public health system, right up to human resource management and training. Learners Abandoning ‘High-Risk’ Specialisations

• Congestion at public institutions is such that most staff operates under pressure • Pressure increases the probability of errors • Errors may lead to disabilities, deaths or unnecessary injury • The above lead to litigation • Litigation bankrupts the health system • A bankrupt health system can’t afford medicines, supplies, equipment, maintenance, etc for patient-care. • Aside from inherent risk in medical care, if litigation bankrupts the system, patients are likely to also expire from sheer lack of service.

Institutions that can avoid these precarious, high-risk litigation-prone services such as obstetrics and M&C, have simply elimiated them in their mix. Sadly, even medical students looking for specialisations shy away from these areas due to inherent risks and associated costs that undermine the HR investment and goodwill. Points to be made: • Negligence kills patients and destroys our health services

Put another way, one could say: errors in the medical system are working the doctors, nurses, clinicians and health support staff out of jobs. A different kind of transformational leadership is required in this situation. Not just transformation that will groom learners and interns, that may not happen effectively in the current system. We need individual transformational

PEOPLE DYNAMICS | August 2017

The same way as employees in the banking environment may be held to account for errors made, each doctor should account for his/her errors. A proper investigation of each case should be done, with the real sources of error unmasked and dealt with. If a case is proven to have resulted from carelessness and negligence, disciplinary steps should be taken, such that better care is taken when having someone’s life in one’s hands. The litigants may think that they are sorting out the system, yet medical leadership doesn’t necessarily expose doctors to personalised lawsuits, nor does it help address risky patient conduct. Should something be done about doctors’ salaries where negligence has been proven? Definitely. Consequence management has the effect of slowing people down to become more circumspect and deliberate - paying more attention to detail, until work pace picks up as higher proficiency levels are achieved. Proper training, guidance, consequence management, value-chain and customer education will contribute positively in reducing risks and undue expense for organisations and for the taxpayer. This has the potential of promoting a positive culture and learner-friendly environment, giving our young apprentices a fresh, positive attitude translating into excellent professionalised services across industries.