Each month I will interview an exceptional individual that is creating their career success – you will learn about their life, business & work and gain invaluable insights from their experience.

YM:  Congratulations on your appointment as the Manager of the IPlex, Cape Town. How has the first 100 days been?

TC: Thank you.  It’s been exciting and challenging at the same time.  I love supporting the existing clients in-house, and meeting new clients from all different types of businesses.

YM: You have extensive experience in the film industry, as a production manager.  What does a production manager do, it sounds glamourous?

TC: Production Manager basically makes sure that everyone has everything they need, working hand in hand with the line producer. We make sure the film comes in on budget, but at the same time, making sure that each and every department, from catering to the director, get what they need to make it a success.  So you need great organizational skills, and work well under pressure.

YM:  What motivated you to change careers, after ten years in the film industry?

TC:  The main thing is job stability, in film we are 99% freelance. That, and maintaining a personal life within working 14 to 16 hours, no matter the day.  Those are the main reasons, as I still love the film industry.

YM: A career change is simultaneously exciting and scary. How do you manage it?

TC: All it takes is a leap of faith, and literally, that’s what it is. A leap takes 2 minutes, and then you’re in.  After that, the best part is learning new things and taking on the challenges.

YM:  How important is team work in your current role?

TC: Team work is very important, without it, we can’t function here. We’re all an integral part of the daily functioning of the iPlex.

YM: What makes the IPlex, the “place to be” for the start up or seasoned entrepreneur?

TC: The supportive environment, and enthusiasm we have for something that is not even ours.  Just watching it grow and be successful, we provide a base and support system so that the work environment becomes 2nd nature to the overall project.

YM: The #1 secret project that you are currently working on is…

TC: Secret incubator for several SME’s

Connect with Tina

Visit IPlex

Linkedin Profile

Read More Career Interviews

Linda Chingosho

Read Part 1 of Strategic Human Resource Planning here

IT Systems

In selecting and maintaining the ideal personnel for the organization, it is wise for the HR management to consider deciding on which IT systems that will, according to a set criteria, select the best matching applicants who will spearhead the development of the company’s competitive advantage.

Turnover Rate

This may also assist the company in determining the potential employee turnover rate each year. Even though companies need to aim at avoiding high turnover rates for the sake of their reputation and skill loss, turnover each year is inevitable due to retirement, structural adjustment issues, maternity issues, just to name a few.

However, for management to appreciate the value of low employee turnover rates, and thus plan strategies to prevent this, they need to thoroughly understand the HR process, and how it contributes to the development of the organization. The 5-P model may be used to understand the operations of the organization, and how to improve the human resource function. In so doing, HRM can become more efficient in formulating strategies that will recruit the best employees to tailor-fit the organization’s purpose.

When considering employee turnover rates, management must find out why skilled personnel constantly leave the company, what is causing employees to lose motivation and interest in their jobs, who is likely to retire or take maternity leave in the coming year, what is the cost: benefit of developing and cross training employees as opposed to hiring over qualified and experienced new hires. Formulating answers to such questions will assist in developing the ideal strategy and policies that will minimize mistakes and reduce high employee turnover rates.

Reward

Employees need to be compensated for what they are worth in order to discourage them from leaving the organization voluntarily. However, due to the fact that employees are not likely to produce 100% productivity rates, it is strongly suggested that compensations that are generally lower than an employee’s potential input to balance out the deficit in productivity levels. This knowledge will ensure that, during the planning phase, management considers the balance that needs to be struck between relevant employee hires and the stipulated budget applied to payroll.

To justify the consideration of lower salaries and benefits, HRM needs to plan in advance how the organization intends on motivating the employee to avoid low morale and to keep optimum operational levels despite the fact that the workers may never actually produce 100% productivity. Such considerations will enable HR to plan the structure of hiring tools, best assess the personalities and aptitudes of the new hire, and determine whether they will fit in with the culture of the HR process and organization.

References

Bowen, D. E., Ledford Jr., J. E., & Nathan, B. R. (1991). Hiring for the organization, not the job.

Academy of Management Executive, 5(4). Retrieved from Business Source Complete.

Kleiman, L., S. (2011). Human resources information systems. Encyclopedia of Business. 2^nd. ed. Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Gov-Inc/Human-

Resource-Information-System-HRIS.html

Kleiman, L., S. (2011). Human resources planning. Encyclopedia of Business. 2^nd. ed. Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Gov-Inc/Human-Resource-Management-HRM.html

McClure Franklin, G., Rainsford, P., & Thomas, E. (2004) Human resource planning and policy

development: Strategies for Small Businesses. Retrieved from http:// sbaer.uca.edu/research/asbe/2004-fall/08.pdf

Guest : Linda Chingosho

This article was written by Linda Chingosho, an Independent Business and Management Consultant based in Pretoria, South Africa. Linda is an MBA (Project Management) final year student with Walden University (Online) and also possesses an HND in Computer Studies (Management of Information Systems). She has lived and worked in 3 continents, successfully applying her management, scholarly, and training skills to promote various industries and individuals across the globe.

Linda can be contacted on 0843217443, or by email to linchin6791@yahoo.com.

Graduates

In a previous article, I discussed Graduates and their First Job

Assuming that you are one of the fortunate graduates to have survived the job hunting jungle, what happens thereafter?   Well the employer has selected YOU (can you believe it?), over 98 other graduates for the position of (insert title).  It doesn’t matter that other graduates where smarter, good looking, talented or competent.  The employer rejected them and chose YOU.

The Offer

But then you get the offer. And your initial enthusiasm for the position evaporates before you’ve walked out of the building.  You wonder whether you can really get ahead on a net pay of Rxxx per month. You are unconcerned about the other items before net pay.  You realise that your dream of buying a BMW will have to wait. Unless you settle for the 1982 model.  Maybe the other graduates knew something that you didn’t.  You are rethinking whether you should accept the offer. Or go back into the job stampede with other graduates.

Graduates & Pay Negotiation

Unfortunately there is not that much room for graduates to negotiate with employers.  The reason is due to market supply/demand factors, employer job grades and remuneration bands.  While pay is always negotiable, the employer is unlikely to view your package in this way.

A graduate that does not have adequate work experience, is not in a strong position to negotiate higher pay compared to those who have already worked before.  Unfortunately, graduates that expect higher pay solely on account of having a degree or diploma, won’t win this round. The minimum required for the job offering Rxxx was the degree or diploma. It was not the maximum requirement.

Graduates & Field of Study

Generally, graduates from the science and commerce fields,  command higher pay compared to those from humanities and arts.  Until the market changes this position, don’t expect the pay gap between graduates with Accounting 3 versus English 3 to close.  Bear in mind that many graduates from humanities & arts struggle to land jobs, before they can even consider negotiating pay.

You versus Other Graduates

So you are special?  You are not in the same league as other graduates?   Well it may help in the negotiation process to know your potential and demonstrating to the employer why you are special.  In the course of an interview, it will come down to the how much you will be getting.  If you have clearly shown that you stand above other graduates applying for the job,  you could try to negotiate. You do not need to automatically accept what is given and reply “ok” ending it there.  You could discuss the pay with the employer when an offer has been made.  Graduates should discuss pay in the context of job responsibilities and their potential contribution. Remember we are assuming that you are special, not in the same league as other graduates.

In the end,  getting a job is not only about the pay.  There are other graduates that would jump on board for the position that you’ve been offerred. You should investigate the package that the employer offers graduates – thoroughly checking out the opportunities, training, development, benefits, incentives and perks.  You may discover a lot more hidden value in the offer than what you expected.

Travel Perk for HR?

There are HR professionals and then are HR professionals on the move. The latter are usually working out of the company HQ in Johannesburg, but you are unlikely to find them at their desk. They have a hidden “travel perk”. As part of their ever expanding job description, these HR professionals are regularly on the move. They must travel to regional offices. You will meet them on flights to Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein and Nelspruit. While they try to schedule their flights during “normal” working hours, their day is a lot longer. They are up at 3am, boarding the flight at 6am and brewing their coffee by 8am. The locals are crawling into the office at this time.

During these visits, the movers are supposed to “move’ the locals to adopt the latest HQ driven programmes. They consult, connect and train line managers and staff. The HR professional is supposed to assure the regional office; that those in the ivory castles, are in touch with their reality on the ground. If they do their job properly, they quickly build a fan base, across provinces and cities. Eventually it doesn’t matter whether their work is valued in HQ. As long as the regional offices have given them a “thumbs up”, they hold the power cards. (Very useful in the event that the HR professional is dismissed and needs to substantiate their performance)

In the war for talent, these HR professionals on the move can provide your organisation with a hidden travel advantage. Due to their frequent flyer status, they can quickly identify and target talented individuals on their local travel.

Travel Stop

A recent example comes to mind – to fly out of OR Tambo International Airport (Domestic Departures), you are likely to make several travel stops. On the way to the airport during peak times, you will stop several times in the snail paced traffic. More stops in the parking lot. While you could use the self-service stations and bag drops, you will definitely have to stop at the security terminals. Well I want you to make a special travel stop after you have collected your baggage. Talent is standing in front of you.

Every day, passengers passing through these terminals stop and ask the travel information desk, for directions. While locals should be familiar with the domestic terminal, tourists struggle to understand the signage and facilities. They are rushing to the boarding gates. They don’t know how to access Wi-Fi. They are looking for the business lounges or toilets.

Travel Desk

After they collect their baggage, they are likely to stop at the Sunglass Hut kiosk. Their kiosk stand is in the direct line of vision for the confused tourist. While the kiosk is well stocked with sunglasses, few tourists are buying. But they stop to ask them for directions. Having observed this interaction on numerous occasions, eventually I managed to chat with Vusi (not his real name!), in between him running the “travel” kiosk, dealing with the odd customer and another tourist.

It turned out that that Vusi spends a great deal of time, helping tourists find their way around the airport. It is not part of his job description. He does not ask or get a travel tip. Vusi could easily refer tourists back to the information desk. Or ignore them. Or worse, place a “We are not the travel  information desk” sign. Or pleased his employer, by trying to sell them a pair of designer sunglasses.

But Vusi consistently goes out of his way to help them. He provides concise responses and makes their domestic departure, that much smoother. I suspect that it is the location plus his warm disposition that attracts tourists day after day.

According to the Sunglass Hut website, “…people want their sunglasses to celebrate their individuality. Sunglasses help you feel cool and confident in your style; they say something about you and are a way of expressing your personality.”

Vusi doesn’t wear sunglasses. But I doubt that needs them. He is already celebrating his individuality through the unpaid work that he does, and creating more goodwill for Sunglass Hut, than they realise.

The seat belt lights have been switched on. My flight from Cape to Johannesburg is landing. Better go, there may be talent standing on the other side. Travel safe!

(HR Future, March 2011)

Talent Management, Retention and Succession Planning

The IIR Talent Management, Retention and Succession Planning Conference from 23 to 26 April, is designed to assist HR professionals develop effective strategies to find, retain and develop their talent.  The conference covers aligning performance management with talent management, managing talent risks,  talent management strategies, keeping your best people, making top talent resilent, building your talent/leadership pool and the use of social media in talent acquisition

I’m participating on 24 April (Day 2 of the Conference) :

1.   Roundtable Talent Discussion

I’m facilitating an informal round table discussion with delegates on a topical talent issue.  Expect robust talent discussion and challenging stuff. After the discussion, I will provide feedback  to the rest of the delegates.

2.  Reward, Retention & Talent presentation

I plan to address the following

Designing Reward Strategies to engage your talent – the missing link that HR professionals should pay attention to
How Remuneration & Benefits can be used to retain talent in short & long term
The role of Offers & Counter offers in talent retention – should you even consider it and does it work

If you are attending the conference, I’d love to meet and interact, don’t miss the round table talent discussion & presentation.

Simon Nko

Desirable Qualities of an Effective Manager

1.         Manager is patient

A manager needs patience, as Arnold Glasow explains in a poster, “you get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it” Many managers forget this when at first they do not succeed in achieving their objectives. The manager forgets that achievement takes consistent efforts. It is as though the manager has forgotten that the successful Apollo 11 trip to the moon was preceded by ten unsuccessful attempts. When the manager gives up, they lose both the battle as well as the lesson.

2.       Manager is impartial

A good manager is impartial. Partiality can be one cause of conflict in a work team. The manager needs to avoid focusing only on the weaker members of a team because this can engender resentment amongst those who are taking greater responsibility for the performance of the team. It is important not to exalt one at the expense of another and also, as Abraham Lincoln warned, not to do for someone what that person can do for themselves. He identified this as “helping men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do themselves.” Others have called this behaviour, “keeping a dog, but barking you.”

3.        Manager takes responsibility

A good manager takes responsibility when things go wrong. A manager follows the dictum that “responsibility supersedes relaxation, needs trump wants, seeking precedes sleeping and praying comes before playing.”

4.       Manager is open learning

A good manager learns from every situation that arises, the manager remembers the following:

If a barber makes a mistake, it’s a new style

If a driver makes a mistake, it’s new path

If an engineer makes a mistake, it’s a new venture

If parents make a mistake, it’s new generation,

If a politician makes a mistake, it’s new law

If a scientist makes a mistake, it’s a new invention

If a tailor makes a mistake, it’s a new fashion

If a teacher makes a mistake, it’s new theory

If our boss makes a mistake, it’s a new idea

If an employee makes a mistake, it’ a big mistake

5.      A Manager Inspires

A manager also needs to instil an indefatigable zeal in the team. The objectives can only be accomplished through teamwork and the instillation of the principle of teamwork depends on the manager.

A former director of Ebony Management Services, Mr James Lekgetha, said about office management[1], “The manager must set leverages and limitations within which an official can incur expenses.”  Each member of staff should have a set of objectives within which that person functions and in terms of which they report to the manager. Objectives must be appropriate to the responsibilities of the position. They must be measurable and time-bound. They must be associated with performance measurement criteria. This will assist the manager and others to know what is expected of them and their performance.

^[1] Lecture entitled ‘Management Planning  & Communication within the Church ’ prepared for the Christian Education Movement, delivered  on at The Methodist Church Of Southern Africa,  Katlehong Central ,on 04 august 1989

Simon Nko contributed this guest post, Manager 5 Desirable Qualities

Job Hunting

So you’ve been job hunting for months without positive results.  You have been actively job hunting – spreading the word that you are available in the market and looking (urgently) for another job. During your job hunt, you are likely to interact with a lot of people online and offline – family, friends, former employers, recruiters, HR consultants, professional bodies, forum members and more.

It is one thing to spread the word about your job hunt to others.  But it is not good to just sit and wait for referrals and opportunities to come pouring because you’ve done your part.  The real question is

Are you building relationships?

Or are you aimlessly dropping your information and hoping that somebody, somewhere, will connect you with some job in some company?

Excluding those that  know you and your work, unless you build relationships, others may get your information and ignore it. Or file it away Forever.

To accelerate your job hunt, build relationships with each person that you meet during the process. Notwithstanding whether you connect with them online or offline, you must get to know the individual and their world. And building a relationship, is more about them and less about yourself. Even though you really, really desperate for a job.

By expressing a sincere interest in their world, whether it is their business or even career, you will be building a bridge for that person to remember you, when an opportunity arises. Or even recommend you to the decision maker for the position.  If the person is the decision maker, they will keep you at “top of mind” not necessarily for the current job, but another job in future.  

Public Holidays

Let me get off the ground with a sensitive topic: public holidays. As we prepare for the long weekends ahead, it is worthwhile to consider the impact of public holidays on your talent and performance.

Rewind: in the second week of December 2011, government, acting in accordance with the Public Holidays Act, 1994, declared that 27th December was a public holiday. (You didn’t know that the Public Holidays Act existed?). Employers that had not planned for another public holiday, were left scrambling to reschedule their year-end operations. And the additional overtime bill. According to accounting firm, BDO, the estimated loss of turnover in respect of this day, was R 7 billion.

Public Holidays – April

Excluding the festive shutdown in December, for many organisations, April is another month that is best written off. Their talent vanishes; some perform a disappearing act that would make Houdini blush. Others have mentally departed from the building. Depending on the nature of the business, the gap between budgeted and actual numbers widen and deadlines have to be revised (again).

Globally Generous - Public Holidays

Are we taking too much time off? To place our public holidays in the global context, I looked at the latest Worldwide Benefit and Employment Guidelines by Mercer. The number of public holidays in other parts of the world varies from Mexico (7), UK (8) and Brazil & China (11) to Russia (12), India (16) and Columbia (18). When I checked earlier this year, South Africans are officially entitled to 14 days away from the office. We are comfortably sitting in the generous category of the global table.

Public Holidays & Performance

While public holidays provide an opportunity for talent to unwind and return to their job with bubbling energy, it does not necessarily work this way. The real challenge is not with the public holiday, but the losses incurred in the week before and after it. A week or even two, before the long weekend, we mentally slow down. Others shut down completely, so you can forget about getting any productive work from them. The reality is that many talented individuals are occupying the wrong jobs, in the wrong organisation, surrounded by the wrong people. They look forward to the holidays, as temporay, paid relief from their working lives. After we drag ourselves back to the office, the journey to “normal work”, is rather slow.

Managing the impact of Public Holidays

In the short term, it is unlikely that employers can change the number of public holidays. Given the record wage settlements in recent years and falling productivity, employers assisted by HR, should proactively manage the impact on their business.

My first suggestion is to plan projects so that talent are stretched until they leave the office. Instead of pushing deliverables to the other side of the holidays, motivate staff to raise their performance bar. There is great satisfaction in completing an engagement so that you don’t have to worry about it during your public holidays.

Secondly, revisit applications for additional leave. Those employees that take additional leave for extra-long weekends, don’t really help those that are coming to the office. Just spend a Monday morning in the office, when the rest of your department are returning on Tuesday. You are unlikely to perform at your peak. You should have stayed under the duvet. Rather close the department for that day.

Finally, provide opportunities for talent to use their down time for the benefit of the organisation. In the corporate rat race, we often lose time for thinking and reflection. Get your staff to think about the critical problems in the business and their team. They don’t have to undertake any work, just wear their thinking hats over their public holidays. When they return after the break, go through the inputs and use it to engage them further.

I penned this column during my holiday.

(HR Future, April 2011)

Job + Skills

In today’s competitive job market, employers are inclined to find talent that can contribute to the growth of the company through their skills, rather than their qualifications.  While qualifications are required, employers are placing increased emphasis on skills.  When job hunting, you must factor in the skills that the employer is seeking for that job.

The following 5 skills stand out

1.   Research Skills

Job seekers should possess the ability to research not because they wanted to land a job in a research company but in order to do research in the course of their daily activity. If you pitch up at an interview with no/poor research of the employer, you can write this yourself off making it to the offer stage.

2. Thinking Skills

Many organisations have employees that can’t or won’t think. You should not be one of them. Employers need talent that can think under different situations and formulate solutions to their challenges. Of course, if you think too much, you may ask uncomfortable questions!

3. Technology

With the advent of information technology, the majority of job openings require people who are computer literate.  Employers do not necessarily need talent who are graduates from technology or IT.   Rather they need talent that understand technology in the context of their field of work and can use it to advance the organisation.

4. Communication skills

From a tea lady to a CEO, communication skills are a non-negotiable.  Talented as you are, you won’t go far without excellent verbal and written skills. Employers need talent that expresses their thoughts and are clearly understood by others. If you’ve ever attended a death-by-powerpoint-presentation, you will understand what happens when you don’t have this skill.

5.  People / Team Player Skills

The modern working environment consists of (dysfunctional) personalities,  that have to work together for the benefit of the organisation. To get your job done, working with others as a team player is part of the game.

Talent

1.Generation Y

Employers were talking about Generation Y five years ago. They will still be talking about them five years from now. What will your organisation be saying? Stop trying to get Generation Y to do what you want. Start trying to do what they want.

2. Celebrate!

Small wins, quick wins, any win. Often

3.Social Media

Don’t ignore the big four: Google, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. If you are not already using social media to attract and engage talent, you are missing out the opportunities to achieve your objectives at a fraction of traditional costs.

Reward

4. Total cost packages

Total Cost packages (cost to company packages, guaranteed packages et al) have been around since 1990′s. Should you adopt, retain or dump it? Review the remuneration structure and get up to speed on the developments in this area.

5.Incompetence

Don’t reward incompetence. No excuses. Or you’ll keep getting more of the same results.

6.Wellness

The adage that “prevention is better than cure” hasn’t changed. Invest in wellness programmes and initiatives. Dig deeper if your organisation is the reason “why”; healthy employees that joined six months ago; are suddenly having physical and emotional break downs.

(HR Future, January 2012)