HR VOICE Highlights from the 2018 - SABPP AGM

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HR VOICE Highlights from the 2018 - SABPP AGM
THE OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION FOR ALL HR PROFESSIONALS

                         HR VOICE                    JULY 2018 · ISSN 2304-8573

                                                  Highlights
                                              from the 2018
                                                SABPP AGM

SABPP IS NOW REGISTERED AS AN NPO 117218
HR VOICE Highlights from the 2018 - SABPP AGM
INSIDE
HR VOICE JULY 2018

BOARD DESK                                                PAGE 3    CONTACT US
•   Top 20 highlights from SABPP AGM
                                                                    LEARNING & QUALITY ASSURANCE
                                                                    Naren Vassan
                                                                    naren@sabpp.co.za
COO’s DESK                                                PAGE 10   KNOWLEDGE & INNOVATION
•   SABPP Staff Affairs                                             hrri@sabpp.co.za
•   Profiling a Professional Member                                 MARKETING & STAKEHOLDER
                                                                    RELATIONS Ceanne Schultz
                                                                    events@sabpp.co.za
LQA                                                       PAGE 19   HR AUDIT Annetjie Moore
•   Celebrating achievements in Learning and Quality                annetjie@sabpp.co.za
    Assurance                                                       HR STANDARDS
                                                                    hrstandards@sabpp.co.za

                                                                    PROFESSIONAL SERVICES &
HR STANDARDS                                              PAGE 25   PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATIONS
                                                                    Zanele Ndiweni
•   SABPP HR Candidate Development Programme -filling               registrations@sabpp.co.za
    the gap                                                         or Tebogo Mahesu
                                                                    professional@sabpp.co.za

                                                                    SOCIAL MEDIA Jaco du Plessis
                                                                    jaco@sabpp.co.za
INDUSTRY NEWS                                             PAGE 27
                                                                    ADDRESS 223 Jan Smuts Avenue,
•   Optimists to the adapted: we all have different                 Rosebank, Parktown North,
    needs                                                           PO Box 2450 Houghton, 2041, South Africa.
•   What do the Courts say about reinstatement of                   T: 011 045 5400 / F: 011 482 4830
    violent strikers?                                               010 007 5906
                                                                    www.sabpp.co.za
•   How to help employees thrive in an age of uncer-
    tainty                                                          DESIGN BCORE
•   Wearables in the workplace                                      www.bcore.co.za
•   The Future of Talent will be managed by talent
                                                                    ADVERTISING HR Consultants and providers
                                                                    who want to advertise their products and
                                                                    services in the HR Voice, should please
                                                                    contact Ceanne Schultz from SABPP.
STUDENT CHAPTER                                           PAGE 36   T: 011 045 5413
                                                                    events@sabpp.co.za
•   Some of the people skills required in the Human Re-
    source field.                                                   EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS Please send
                                                                    editorial submissions to Ceanne Schultz
                                                                    ceanne@sabpp.co.za
EVENTS                                                    PAGE 38
                                                                    CONTRIBUTORS
•   July Events                                                     Marius Meyer          Tanya Mulligan
                                                                    Xolani Mawande        Boipelo Molelengoane
                                                                    Annetjie Moore        Nontokozo Masondo
                                                                    Leoni van der Vaart   Ceanne Schultz
                                                                    Rochall Daniels       Zanele Ndiweni
                                                                    Naren Vassan          Neil Coetzer
                                                                    Derisha Pillay
                                                                    Charlotte Choga
                                                                    James Comey
                                                                    Rob Jardine
                                                                    Amanda Pukwana
                                                                    Tshepiso Hlapolosa-Mbambisa

                                                                                            INSIDE ­· PAGE 2
HR VOICE Highlights from the 2018 - SABPP AGM
HR VOICE JULY 2018

BOARD DESK
                     Top 20 highlights
                     from SABPP AGM
                     Siphiwe Moyo and Marius Meyer

                                            Welcome to the July edition of HR Voice. In
                                            this month’s Board desk we are providing
                                            feedback to the HR community about the
                                            SABPP AGM which has held on 21 June.
                                            Overall, the Board of SABPP is satisfied
                                            with another successful year for SABPP
                                            in building the HR profession. In fact, last
                                            year we celebrated our 35th anniversary
                                            and we are proud that we achieved several
                                            milestones throughout the year. In certain
                                            cases, we managed to sustain successful
                                            initiatives from the past, in other cases, we
                                            started with new projects adding value to
                                            the HR profession, students and learning
                                            providers.

                                                                    BOARD DESK ·­ PAGE 3
HR VOICE Highlights from the 2018 - SABPP AGM
HR VOICE JULY 2018

The top 20 highlights at the SABPP AGM were as follows:

      Our best AGM: With 168 delegates attending our AGM, this a new record attendance at our most important meeting
      of the year. We thank you all for attending, and to those who tendered their apologies. Delegates were very impressed
      by the Global Talent Survey presented by our guest speaker, Nicol Mullins from Mercer, a new SABPP alliance partner.
1.    Moreover, the Chairperson of the SABPP HR Governance Committee, Elizabeth Dhlamini-Kumalo launched the HR
      Governance Position Paper of SABPP. With this publication we have now clearly defined the role of the governing body of
      an organisation (i.e. the Board or Council) regarding human capital, including the position and function of the HR Director
      in ensuring sound HR Governance in driving corporate governance. If you missed out on the AGM, please download the
      SABPP Annual Report from twitter @SABPP1 or read the version emailed to you.

      Professional Registration Growth: The year 2017 was another successful year in welcoming a large number of new HR
      professionals joining the SABPP family with a total of 950 new professional registrations. The new online professional
2.    registration system ensured that we have made the transition to the full automation of the professional registration
      process, thereby eliminating unnecessary paper work as we now have a digital registration system in place. We encourage
      all members to use the Your Membership (YM) system for easy access to all information they need.

      Renewals: While we were able to show large numbers of new professional registrations (1067 in 2016 and 950 in 2017),
      retaining members has been a problem in the past. In 2017, we turned it around by exceeding our budget target for
3.    professional registration renewals, due to significant work done by our retention office and other key SABPP stakeholders
      reaching out to our members. Admittedly, members who don’t renew their professional registrations also lose their
      status as Ex-Officio Commissioners of Oaths appointed by the Minister of Justice and this fact may also have contributed
      to the high retention rate.

      Interaction with clients: Over the last year we interacted directly with more than 100 corporate and government clients
4.    and we managed to visit most of them at their offices in all nine provinces, as well as in Botswana, Swaziland and
      Zimbabwe. As we always say, if we have not visited you, there is only one reason for that - you have not invited us.

      HR Standards & Audits: SABPP managed to continue attracting international interest with our HR standards and audit
      work, in particular from Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Botswana, Swaziland, Tanzania, Ghana and Namibia.
      In fact, we have now audited the first organisation outside South Africa, i.e. in Botswana. We welcome our neighbours
5.
      in Botswana to the HR Standards and Audits journey and we congratulate them with this major achievement. The 3rd
      Annual HR Audit Tribute was launched last week. This publication summarises the outcomes of the audits, including
      some case studies of lessons learned.

      Annual Conference: The 5th Annual HR Standards Conference is always the highlight on the SABPP calendar and we
6.    thank HR professionals for their participation in this special occasion when we also celebrated our 35th anniversary as an
      HR and quality assurance body. The 6th Annual HR Standards conference will be on 18 September 2018 in Johannesburg.

                                                                                                        BOARD DESK ·­ PAGE 4
HR VOICE Highlights from the 2018 - SABPP AGM
HR VOICE JULY 2018

      Leadership Standard: The development and launch of South Africa’s first leadership standard was probably the top
      highlight of the year. Now that leaders have a clear guideline on leadership, we look forward for leaders to rise and taking
7.    their organisations and society forward with focus and dedication. We thank all business leaders who already signed the
      leadership pledge as a visible expression of their commitment to making the leadership standard work and in improving
      their own leadership practice.

8.    Payroll Standard: The new payroll standard has been an historical achievement and we thank our alliance partner, the
      South African Payroll Association for collaborating with us in developing the first payroll standard for South Africa.

      #HRFactSheet: We continued with our series of monthly HR fact sheets, so much so that we have now reached the
9.    milestone of 50 Fact Sheets for the HR community. Back issues are available from google, twitter and the SABPP
      website. Search under #HRVoice to download previous editions.

      Quality Assurance is green: The Learning and Quality Assurance Department has yet again received green status for
      SAQA uploads, and several new providers were registered during 2017. The SABPP quality assurance function celebrated
10.   their 15th year as South Africa’s HR quality assurance partner or “HR SETA.” The new online quality assurance system
      launched in November streamlined all quality assurance processes and further promoted digital HR in the learning and
      quality assurance environment.

      A record number of articles: Our Knowledge and Innovation Department managed to mobilise a large pool of authors
11.   and produced a record of more than 200 articles this year. In most months, the target of one article a day was achieved.
      These articles are available from google, the SABPP website, twitter, Instagram and the Talent Talks platform.

      HR Risk Management book: Using our experience of auditing a total of 42 organisations in six provinces and Botswana,
12.   we also published our first book on HR Risk Management, a significant milestone in supporting HR Directors and
      management teams to mitigate human capital risks in organisations.

      Student Chapters: Building on our visits to several university campuses over the last few years, we have now formed a
13.   total of 12 student chapters throughout the country, growing the total number of student members to more than 2000.
      We are proud of this strong HR youth talent pipeline as the future HR Managers of the country.

      Social Media: Having opened an Instagram account over the last year, more than a 1000 photos about SABPP activities are
      now available on Instagram for HR professionals all over the country. Moreover, our twitter platform have now reached
14.   the significant milestone of 16 000 followers, making SABPP the second most followed professional body in South Africa
      (after SAICA). Our goal is to reach 20 000 followers by 2020. We thank our HR professionals and other stakeholders for
      their social media engagement and for being so active on social media.

                                                                                                         BOARD DESK ·­ PAGE 5
HR VOICE Highlights from the 2018 - SABPP AGM
HR VOICE JULY 2018

         Provincial footprint: SABPP managed to launch our ninth provincial committee in the Northern Cape, thereby ensuring
         that we now have provincial committee presence in all nine provinces. We thank our provincial leadership and committees
 15.     for accepting our invitation to champion the HR profession at a regional level. In particular, a special recognition certificate
         was issued to the Chairperson of the SABPP Eastern Cape Committee, Nandi Sishuba for achieving the fastest growing
         SABPP membership for a province outside Gauteng.

         Alliances: This year was the most successful year for SABPP in terms of converting good alliances into tangible value-
 16.     adding partners building the HR profession. A special word of thanks to all our alliances for partnering and collaborating
         with SABPP in taking the HR profession to new heights with tangible outputs for our members and their organisations.

         Research: The SABPP research portfolio is growing and we supported several post-graduate students with their studies.
 17.     In particular, we are proud of the first master’s study on HR governance by a member of the SABPP HR Governance
         Committee. Congratulations to our new HR governance master’s expert, Merriman Ponoane for successfully completing
         his research paper.

         Revised Code of Conduct: The launch of the new SABPP Code of Conduct by the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee,
         Sindiswa Maseko was a significant milestone during 2017. While our four values stay the same, i.e. responsibility,
 18.     integrity, respect and competence, we have managed to operationalise the values into 23 explicit commitments in living
         the values in a professional and practical way.

         SAQA recognition extended: As a reward for the above 18 highlights and meeting all the requirements of the NQF Act,
 19.     SAQA extended our status as a recognised HR professional body until 2022.

         Opening of new Board elections for 2019-2020 period: Concluding the AGM we also looked forward by launching the
         process of electing the 13th Board of SABPP. To accommodate all members throughout South Africa and the other
         countries where we have registered HR professionals, the nominations and voting will be done via the online system. We
 20.
         want to encourage our members to start identifying possible nominees before we formally open the elections process
         to the whole HR community. The next Board will play a key role in taking the HR profession into the 2020 era, and we
         therefore need the best possible Board in directing SABPP forward during this new period on the HR professionalisation
         journey.

A special word of thank you to the Pearson Institute of Higher Education for hosting the SABPP AGM at their beautiful campus
in Pretoria. On behalf of the SABPP Board we want to acknowledge the SABPP management and staff, and all our committee
members for ensuring the above successes over the last year also resulting in excellent financial performance ensuring the
sustainability of SABPP. Furthermore, we want to thank all our HR professionals for their hard work and dedication in doing
good professional work at their organisations. Let us reflect on our successes, but also be open and honest in dealing with all
challenges and problems we need to confront as true professionals who are always ready to improve the status quo.

In the spirit of our positive engagement during the AGM, as our valuable HR practitioners registered with SABPP, we will continue
to build on the above 20 highlights by adding value to the life, work and careers of HR professionals. Over the next six months we
will further improve our engagement with you as we pursue a formal strategy to increase your membership benefits. Two new
membership benefits already in implementation phase are as follows:

                                                                                                               BOARD DESK ·­ PAGE 6
HR VOICE Highlights from the 2018 - SABPP AGM
HR VOICE JULY 2018

    •          Launch of #HRFactsZA on Twitter. We will provide you with a daily HR Fact highlighting the importance of HR
        and people to business success, you are most welcome to share these facts with your teams and clients. Please follow
          SABPP on Twitter @SABPP1 to benefit from these facts using the hashtag above.
             • We have negotiated a member discount with Outsurance on short-term insurance for all SABPP members
                with a valid South African ID and assets in South Africa. You will receive a separate announcement about this
                   via email and social media. This is the beginning of similar discounts to be announced soon. We thank
                      Outsurance for this offer to SABPP professionals.

                          As HR Professionals, learning providers and learners, we have now all managed to complete the
                            first half of the year. Yet, there are many projects, studies, assessments and examinations ahead
                                of us. In some areas we may be excited about our achievements, and we should celebrate
                                   these milestones. In other areas we may have fallen behind, or we may have experienced
                                      challenges or even disappointments. Be that as it may, we have six months to give it our
                                         best to ensure that we achieve our goals for 2018. Let us work towards a successful
                                            second half of the year.

                                                 SABPP greetings

              Chairperson                                                             CEO
              Siphiwe Moyo                                                        Marius Meyer
                 @SiphiweMoyo                                                       @MariusSABPP

                                                                                                     BOARD DESK ·­ PAGE 7
HR VOICE Highlights from the 2018 - SABPP AGM
HR VOICE JULY 2018

Pearson Institute for Higher Education in Pretoria Sponsored   Delegates seated at the AGM
SABPP a venue for Annual General Meeting on 21 June 2018

Frank de Beer, Brian Matthee and Theo Veldsman

                                                               Elizabeth Dhlamini-Kumalo, Chairperson: SABPP HR Gover-
                                                               nance Committee

Harambee joined SABPP and exhibited their products

                                                               SABPP Board Members
                                                               Top left to right: Prof Karel Stantz, Marius Meyer,
                                                               Frank de Beer
SABPP and Mercer sign a Memorandum of Agreement                Bottom left to right: Thandi Thankge, Bebe Oyegun-Adeoye

                                                                                                  BOARD DESK ·­ PAGE 8
HR VOICE Highlights from the 2018 - SABPP AGM
HR VOICE JULY 2018

Siphiwe Moyo SABPP Chairperson and                             Francis Wilkinson
Xolani Mawande SABPP COO                                       HR Tuks Chairperson, University of Pretoria

HR Training Providers Awarded Accreditation                    CRS Awarded Corporate Partner Subscription

                                Companies Awarded certificates for attending HR Standards
                                Workshops in 2017

                                                                                                   BOARD DESK ·­ PAGE 9
HR VOICE Highlights from the 2018 - SABPP AGM
HR VOICE JULY 2018

COO’s DESK
                    by Xolani Mawande SABPP COO

SABPP Staff Affairs                                                   Thokozile Mvelase
SABPP welcomes two additional members to the SABPP fam-
ily who we trust will be assets and play a pivotal role in our        Another addition is Ms. Thokozile Mvelase, who was appointed
quest to professionalise HR.                                          as Interim HR Standards Officer. This is what she had to say: “I
                                                                      believe in a positive attitude in everything you do. I studied a Na-
Amanda Pukwana joined the SABPP team from 1 June 2018 as              tional Diploma in Human Resource Management and Practices,
the Interim Head: HR Standards and Projects to manage our             Certificate in Human Resource Management. I look forward to
HR Standards Department for the rest of the year.                     work with SABPP in the next couple of months.”

“My vision as part of the SABPP team is to utilise my HR general-
ist experience in providing practical solutions to meet and exceed
client requirements, to add value by contributing creative ideas in
positioning the Board as a solution provider as well as contribut-
ing my HR management experience to the team.”

Amanda Pukwana                                                        Thokozile Mvelase

                                                                                                                 COO’s DESK· PAGE 10
HR VOICE JULY 2018

Congratulatory Note                                              Student News

SABPP would like to congratulate Bongi Ndaba on the arrival      On the 18th of May the COO Mr Xolani Mawande together
of her two bouncy baby boys! Congratulations Bongi, we trust     with his intern Ms. Boipelo Molelengoane ventured to the
and believe they will bring you joy and you will enjoy mother-   North West to attend an event at the Mahikeng Campus of
hood. We miss Bongi, but we wish her a wonderful maternity       North West University. The university held a debating event
leave with the twins.                                            that was as intriguing as it was informative both for the
                                                                 attendees and the students. The SABPP also handed out
                                                                 membership certificates to newly registered members.

                                                                 From left: Nthabiseng Mabale; Samuel Masebe and Caro-
                                                                 line Segakweng all pictured with the COO Xolani Mawande
                                                                 receiving their student membership certificates

                                                                 Student Awards News

                                                                 On the 18th of May the North West University: Mahikeng
                                                                 Campus also had an award ceremony to award the best
                                                                 performing students in the Human Resource field and the
                                                                 SABPP sponsored the prizes. There were two recipients
                                                                 being awarded for best performance in Bachelor of Com-
                                                                 merce in Human Resource and Industrial Psychology as
                                                                 well as two students in Bachelor of Administration in Hu-
                                                                 man Resources respectively

                                                                 SABPP Article Writing development for Staff

                                                                 This month our staff were tasked with writing without a
                                                                 specific topic to allow creativity. We are now in the third
                                                                 month of our six-month training aimed at developing the
                                                                 staff to be HR Voice contributors. Feedback and recom-
                                                                 mendations are most welcome. This month we feature
                                                                 four articles from the following:
                                                                 Boipelo: YES to Youth
                                                                 Nontokozo: The “Mind-Power” Impact
Provincial News                                                  Ceanne: The Role of Marketing
                                                                 Zanele: Nelson Mandela Month
On the 17th of May, our CEO Marius Meyer made a trip to the
Western Cape to orientate the SABPP Western Cape Commit-         Profiling a professional member feature
tee on the top 10 SABPP products and services including a full
HR Standards workshop. The response from the Committee           We continue presenting the monthly feature where we pro-
Members was as follows:                                          file a member. This month sees the feature Mrs. Tshepiso
“A very good and interactive session”                            Mbambisa, a professional member who is excelling in her
“A really productive day”                                        field. If you would like to be featured or know someone that
“The feedback is so positive and we really appreciate it”        we could feature, please send an email to xolani@sabpp.
                                                                 co.za. Please note we do not plan to feature a company but
                                                                 rather individual members in an attempt to motivate other
                                                                 members.

                                                                 Until next time, let’s keep the SABPP engine of HR profes-
                                                                 sionalism running smoothly.

                                                                                                      COO’s DESK· PAGE 11
HR VOICE JULY 2018

                    Article 1 :
                 Boipelo Molelengoane

                                                                      “We know that millions of these young people do not complete
                                                                      school, when they do, they do not have the skills that our
                                                                      economy needs.” (Khoza, 2018)

                    Boipelo Molelengoane – HR Intern                  What does this mean for us, the youth? This means that we
                                                                      now have a chance at furthering ourselves and ensuring
                                                                      that we have the right skills necessary for advancement and
                                                                      placement in the corporate world. Now this is not only great, it
                                                                      is also more than just the usual EPWP, it is offering youth paid
                                                                      work while gathering the skills they need, that the country
YES for Youth!                                                        needs in order to position ourselves economically as Pres.
                                                                      Ramaphosa said it “will underpin the industrialisation of the
It can undeniably be said that the welcome of Cyril Ramaphosa         economy.” (Tech Financials, 2018)
as the new president of South Africa was somehow similar to           The YES initiative is intended to cater for 1 million youth
the enthusiasm that overtook the nation when Mr Mandela               between 18 and 34 years old who have been unemployed for
was inaugurated as president. A fellow African friend of mine         more than 6 months and are black people (African, Coloured
who is Nigerian asked me, “how do you feel about this new             or Indian) (Tech Financials, 2018). Let me reiterate once more
president of yours? Do you think he is different or is it a case of   that this will be a paid initiative, the salary will be equivalent
different bottle same wine?” I simply said to him “We’ll see”.        to the National Minimum Wage. In order to get yourself
                                                                      registered, head on to www.yes4youth.co.za
Well the aura spoke for itself. #CR17 dominated. The reason
why I said we will see is not because I didn’t have a reply, it       Sources: Khoza, A. 2018. ‘Ramaphosa launches YES
was because a man is more than his words. A man is his deed.          initiative to address youth unemployment’. Fin24. (Online)
Well I can proudly say that Our President has risen to the            Accessed: 12 June 12, 2018 https://www.fin24.com/Economy/
occasion and is definitely proving himself through his deeds.         ramaphosa-launches-yes-initiative-to-address-youth-
The question then rises that, how is he rising for us the youth?      unemployment-20180327

According to an article launched by Fin24, President                  ‘SA President Ramaphosa: YES to Upskill Youth for Industrial
Ramaphosa said it saddened him to see young people                    Revolution’. Tech Financials. March 2018. (Online) Accessed:
standing on the streets aimlessly. See he wasn’t just saying          12 June 12, 2018. https://techfinancials.co.za/2018/03/27/sa-
it, he was doing something about it. This was at the launch of        president-ramaphosa-yes-to-upskill-youth-for-industrial-
the Youth Employment Service, commonly referred to as the             revolution/
‘YES initiative’. The YES initiative was launched by government
together with business and organised labour. Mr Ramaphosa
further said the initiative was aimed at addressing the               For more information about the YES programme, read the
most pressing socio-economic challenges in the country,               SABPP Fact Sheet on YES, published on 1 June 2018. Down-
particularly poverty and unemployment among the youth.                load it from the SABPP website www.sabpp.co.za

                                                                                                                COO’s DESK· PAGE 12
HR VOICE JULY 2018

                   Article 2 :
                  Nontokozo Masondo

Nontokozo Masondo (SABPP Retention Officer)

The “Mind-Power” Impact

One of the most commonly uttered phrases, “As a man
thinketh, so is he” holds a wealth of meaning and direction
to a generation that could consider digging deeper into the
essence of this proverb. A generation that is esteemed with
greatness, showered with opportunity and holds potential to
be the greatest there ever was. In order to change the world,
one is first to determine the power of the mind and the amount
of impact it holds.
                                                                   important factor. Aspects that help bring
What we see today, the technology, the infrastructure,
                                                                   out the best in employees include healthy
the healthcare facilities, the engineering, the machinery,
                                                                   eating, team synergy, a conducive working
the systems and processes are all products of ideas that
                                                                   environment, positivity, encouragement and varied
were birthed in somebody’s mind and through hard-work,
                                                                   opportunities for growth.
determination and resilience, materialized. It does not end
there, this just being the beginning. We have a whole new
                                                                   “Power” is the state of being and the ability to dominate
generation of aspirants that are ready to be discovered, a
                                                                   and conquer a certain area, it is the position of being in total
whole era that desire to have an impact, to make a change and
                                                                   control and having influence. Power needs a sober mind and
to have a voice.
                                                                   clear motive in order to function effectively, it should be feed
                                                                   with knowledge and strengthened with positivity. Therefore,
What I would refer to as the ‘Mind-Power Impact’ is the
                                                                   a power-filled mind gives self-assurance to employees,
engine of such a generation, the driving force, the fuel and
                                                                   allowing employer-confidence on staff members and leading
fire to carry out every single idea and vision sought for a time
                                                                   more effective and efficient organisations.
like this. The “Mind” holds the capacity to bring all things
that were not there, into existence. It serves as the ground on
                                                                   Cultivating our minds into those of powerful, influential
which different seeds are planted and plowed and the ripeness
                                                                   leaders and game-changers depend entirely on us and how
and goodness of the fruit depends on the fertility of the soil.
                                                                   we nurture and take care of our inner self. Great leaders
It is therefore vital to ensure that we have employees who
                                                                   empower even greater leaders, they govern our organisations
are psychologically in the correct state of mind to take care
                                                                   in a manner that will produce individuals that are capable of
of our businesses, clients and assets. One of the significant
                                                                   running effective businesses, contributing positively to our
components of Human Resource Management, Employee
                                                                   economic state. Mind-Power is a tool that unlocks destinies,
Wellness, is primarily concerned about the well-being of
                                                                   a weapon that advocates for purpose being revealed, a shield
staff members together with their abilities to better perform
                                                                   that preserves and grooms potential and a guide that provides
their duties and possibly exceed expectations, thus making
                                                                   direction.
Wellness Programmes within the workplace a significantly

                                                                                                            COO’s DESK· PAGE 13
HR VOICE JULY 2018

                     The role of Marketing in an Organisation.

                     Marketing plays a vital role in the occupational world today and
                     is fundamental to the success of any organisation. Marketing
                     is sometimes misconstrued and seen by many as a mixture of
                     advertising, stunts and ‘sneaky’ salesmen that mislead customers
                     into buying something they don’t want. Therefore, what is marketing
                     and why is it so important to intertwine it into the fabric of business
                     today?

                     The following definition describes marketing succinctly. ‘Marketing

Article 3:
                     is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating
                     and satisfying consumer requirements profitably’. (Chartered
                     Institute of Marketing)
Ceanne Schultz       Marketing is one of the core subdivisions within an organisation and
                     its responsibility is to recognise customer needs and wants and to
                     yield or alter products in an effort to answer to market demands. It
                     is frequently found that the marketing department will work with
                     management to meet the market demand, create new markets and
                     in most cases satisfy customers’ wants.

                     The duty of marketing is to gratify customers by maximising the
                     distribution value to them. It is not startling that marketing plays
                     such a serious role in today’s business world, it is well-thought-out
                     and fundamental to the success and should be intertwined into the
                     core fundamentals of any business.

                     At the SABPP, the marketing department therefore maximises all
                     its relationships with their alliances and partnerships. By doing so,
                     the SABPP is visible in different industries which then creates brand
                     visibility, in return the SABPP can be sure that new members are
                     signed up, offering members the services they need.

                     To grow the HR Profession and the SABPP in general, I welcome
                     any ideas about how we can market SABPP. Please send your
                     suggestions to me on ceanne@sabpp.co.za

                                    Ceanne Schultz (SABPP Marketing Officer)

                                                                    COO’s DESK· PAGE 14
HR VOICE JULY 2018

                               Article 4 :
                                   Zanele Ndiweni

                                                                            Zanele Ndiweni (Membership Manager)

Nelson Mandela Month

July is the month of celebrating South Africa’s first black          Nelson Mandela will be forever missed for his powerful
president Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela’s birthday. Mandela              speeches and contribution to humanity.
was born into the Madiba clan in the village of Mvezo, in the
Eastern Cape, on 18 July 1918. He was a nonviolence anti-            ‘What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived.
apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist,       It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that
who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.           will determine the significance of the life we lead’ – Nelson
                                                                     Mandela
Mandela passed on, in 2013 at the age of 95. Before his death,
in 2009 Mandela’s birthday (18 July) was declared Mandela
Day, an international day to promote global peace and
celebrate the South African leader’s legacy. He even won the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 – a symbol of global peace-making.
The annual event is meant to encourage citizens worldwide to
give back the way that Mandela has throughout his lifetime.
He spent 67 years of his life fighting for the rights of humanity.
Therefore, most people give back by giving 67 minutes of their
time supporting their chosen charity organisation or serving
for their local community. Mandela Day calls us all to make
the world a better place. Each year we look back on what has
been done and forward to what will be done.

Make every day a Mandela Day by being a contributing citizen.
Celebrate Madiba’s life and legacy in a sustainable way that
will bring about enduring change as this year we will celebrate
100 years since Nelson Mandela’s birth.

                                                                                                            COO’s DESK· PAGE 15
HR VOICE JULY 2018

#MemberVoice

PROFILING A
PROFESSIONAL
MEMBER
Ms Tshepiso Hlapolosa
HR VOICE JULY 2018

Tshepiso Hlapolosa was born and bred in Johannesburg and
still calls the ‘City of Gold’ home. Fondly referred to as ‘Tshepi’
she comes from a family of five, which includes her identical
twin sister who is a mere 9 minutes younger than her. She
is married and although a career woman values family as an
extremely important source of grounding and support with a
husband that is her biggest cheerleader in his own “brutally
honest” way sometimes.

Her career started at Eskom in the Distribution Division, her
mentor and the man she attributes to her love for people
development Mr Ken Hall provided her great exposure
including union negotiations, best practices in talent
management and customer centricity. She participated in
various Committees including the Competency Framework
and Distribution Employment Equity and Skills Development
Committee which had a lasting impression and ignited the
passion that she carries today.

Tshepiso is focused on bringing out the best in people and she
clearly articulates her role in Bytes as a continuation of what
she aims to achieve. She is particularly vocal on practices that
are for the benefit of a healthy organisation which include, but
are not limited to:
• Consistent fairness to all employees and benchmarking
     on best practices
• Ethical practices that bring about a culture of doing the
     right thing at all times
• Listening to clients or customers’ needs
• Skills development.

One of her passions is the lack of skills in South Africa, and        Her specific passions within HR are employment equity,
the need for reinvention in order to compete in this ever             training and development, staff reward and retention.
changing environment. The ICT Sector is often impacted with           Investing heavily in ‘her people’ with a belief that employers
the need for Digitization which requires innovative thinking to       will get the best out of staff if they create an environment
create a competitive advantage in the market, and this need is        where at least the following are satisfied:
punctuated by the Fourth Industrial Revolution which already
is impacting businesses. She is of the opinion that getting           •   A defined organisational culture that is known by all,
the right skills is no easy feat and is coupled with the need             communicated and practiced by senior management and
to continuously drive interest in developing skills internally            leaders
and knowledge sharing with other industry players through             •    An environment that encourages growth and treats staff
the likes of SABPP. Her belief is that a significant amount of            at all levels with dignity and respect
work is required to make a meaningful impact on economic              •   Measurable and defined KPIs that will challenge
and skills disparity and she is fully committed to playing her            employees to greater standards
part in this journey.                                                 •   A culture of innovation and keeping up with changes in
                                                                          the market
Tshepiso holds a Human Resources Management qualification
and a Marketing & Sales Management Certificate both                   She is the current Chairperson of the Bytes Systems
from University of Johannesburg. She is currently reading             Integration Talent Optimization Committee and looks forward
towards a Post Graduate in Labour Law through Unisa. She              to actively contributing towards the SABPP Learning and
is a certified Human Resources Professional through the               Development Committee.
SABPP, Commissioner of Oaths and currently works as an
Organisational Development consultant at one of the leading
IT firms in the country, Bytes Technology.

                                                                                                             COO’s DESK· PAGE 17
HR VOICE JULY 2018

                                                                 FACEBOOK/SABPP
                                                                 JOIN THE DISCUSSION

She has a love of style and fashion and counts shopping as one
of her favourite pastimes and fully subscribes to the notion
of ‘retail therapy’ although she feels that she doesn’t get as
much time due to her dogged commitment to her work and
family. Cooking has become a new passion and she enjoys
experimenting with new dishes and cooking methods but
cherishes her ‘Date Nights’ that normally include dinner, a
movie or both. During her spare time she enjoys spending
time with family, friends and socializing as she believes in
creating sustainable relationships with peers, industry leads
and making an impact in the learning and development space.
 Although Tshepi is very much an introvert she is a ‘peoples’
person’ and is fiercely competitive, passionate and defensive
when it comes to matters that impact or affect the wellbeing
of people in general.

Her life motto is “Shoot for the stars and you won’t be
disappointed to catch the moon.”

She can be contacted at Tshepih@gmail.com . Follow Her on
                                                                  TWITTER/SABPP
twitter @TshepiH8                                                 JOIN THE DISCUSSION

                                                                               COO’s DESK· PAGE 18
HR VOICE JULY 2018

LQA
UPDATE

Celebrating achievements in Learning and Quality Assurance
We are proud to announce that VIP Leadership Academy has
been awarded full accreditation for coaching and mentoring
unit standards within their scope of SABPP accreditation.           #QualityVoice
                                                              Assessor and Moderator Workshop
                                                              18 May 2018 @ Regenesys Business School

                                                              The SABPP Learning and Quality Assurance department host-
                                                              ed its 4th Annual Assessor/Moderator Capacitation Workshop
                                                              at Regenesys Business School on the 18th May 2018. The
                                                              workshop was attended by both SABPP constituent asses-
                                                              sors and moderatos alongside representatives from SABPP
                                                              accredited training providers.

                                                              The topics covered were:
                                                              a.   Assessment tools and methods – Naren Vassan – Head
                                                                   of Quality Assurance Assessment in the new landscape
                                                              b.   Occupational Qualification vs Traditional Unit standard
                                                                   based methodology – Karen Nell – Cool Ideas
                                                              c.   Challenges experienced when doing External Modera-
                                                                   tion/Verification and impact on learners and providers
                                                                   – Ronel Coetzee, SABPP Manager: LQA

Dr Bill Price (MD VIP Leadership Academy) with Naren Vassan
(HOD: SABPP Learning and Quality Assurance)

                                                                                                              LQA· PAGE 19
HR VOICE JULY 2018

Delegates at the Assessor Moderator Workshop         LQA Manager Ronel Coetzee with Gizelle McIntyre from College
                                                     of Production Technology

Delegates enjoying the Assessor Moderator Workshop   Left: Maritsa Grewe from Milpark Education and right: Karen
                                                     Nell from Cool Ideas

                                                                                                     LQA· PAGE 20
HR VOICE JULY 2018

SABPP’s First Annual Learning and Development                   The conference kicked off with delegates arriving in excite-
Conference                                                      ment to listen to the 12 guest speakers whom too, travelled
                                                                from various parts of South Africa. The conference approach
30 May 2018                                                     differed with the SABPP L&D Committee opting for an “Un-
MTN, 14th Avenue Fairlands                                      conferencing” set up to encourage an energizing and free-
                                                                wheeling exchange. The morning session saw the MTN au-
On the 30th May 2018 SABPP proudly hosted its First Annual      ditorium at full capacity as delegates received presentations
Learning and Development Conference with the venue kindly       from SABPP Learning and Quality Assurance Head Mr Naren
sponsored by MTN. Excitement built with this project in the     Vassan and SABPP CEO Mr Marius Meyer. It was encouraged
works since the inception of the revised SABPP Learning         that delegates study the SABPP Learning and Development
and Development (L&D) committee in 2017. The conference         standard and integrate key factors of the standard into their
brought together just under one hundred Human Resource          respective organisations. A highlight of the day however was
and Learning and Development practitioners from all corners     the panel discussion shortly after presentations by afore-
of South Africa with some delegates travelling from as far as   mentioned SABPP Staff, Vijayen Naidoo (QCTO) and Dr Carin
the Western Cape.                                               Stoltz-Urban. Closing the morning session was Imran Cassim
                                                                with an exciting twist and some laughs as he shared with del-
                                                                egates MTN’s stance on Learning and Development as well as
                                                                new ways they’re incorporating into their L&D strategy.

Delegates during the morning
Auditorium session
                                                                Panel Q& A session: Vijayen Naidoo (QCTO), Dr Carin Stoltz-Ur-
                                                                ban, Marius Meyer (SABPP CEO) and Naren Vassan (SABPP
                                                                Head: LQA)

Vijayen Naidoo (QCTO), Dr Carin Stoltz-Urban, Dustin Hogg
(Duletata Holdings and SABPP L&D Committee Chair) and
Marius Meyer (SABPP CEO)
                                                                Imran Cassim (MTN: Senior Manager – Learning and Develop-
                                                                ment)

                                                                                                                LQA· PAGE 21
HR VOICE JULY 2018

The latter part of the conference allowed delegates to choose
which of the plenary sessions they wanted to attend, and the
line-up was as follows:

Changing landscape of learning and impact on industry
Chris Vorwerk

Adult learners’ self-directedness
Prof Jennifer Roberts

E-Learning: The value and challenges and different tools for
learning
Adi Stephan

What is the value of designing an alignment matrix for learn-
ing material?
Linda Coetzee

Understanding generations and behaviour in workplace
Adriaan Adams

Training cost analysis & Return on Development (ROD)
Guy Blackbeard

Gamification – value & impact on companies
Darren van den Berg

DTI Codes – Skills Development – impact on companies
Madelè Dekker

Learning and Development Value Mapping
Andre Panday

Conversation on RPL
Dr Deonita Damons

Adult learners’ self-directedness
Prof Jennifer Roberts

How to use technology and analytics to drive learning impact,
skills gaps analysis and planning in alignment with business
strategy.
Trevor Rammitlwa
                                                                Plenary sessions

                                                                                   LQA· PAGE 22
HR VOICE JULY 2018

We believe the conference was a great success with thanks to all delegates, our kind sponsors namely Services SETA and MTN
for most of the sponsored items and the venue for the day. We believe that the conference with its respective speakers addressed
through discussion and interaction, the modern challenges that adults face in the world of work. There was great interaction be-
tween delegates and the guest speakers around current and possible solutions for adult learners, good techniques for designing
learning material, how technology can be used as a learning enabler and the fun games to help employees learn.

SABPP would like to thank MTN for sponsoring the venue, all professional delegates for their attendance, the Services SETA for
the goodie bags and our remaining sponsors for their contributions to the success of the conference. We invite you to join us at the
2019 L&D Conference.

                                                                                                                     LQA· PAGE 23
HR VOICE JULY 2018

Below are some photos of delegates and speakers being
presented with gifts

Comments from speakers and attendees, sponsors:
Dr Carin Stolz-Urban: “Thanks so much for the opportunity
to speak at this conference. I have to commend the SABPP
again on this initiative, I think it is wonderful. Well done.”

Dr Pierre Joubert – Vaal University of Technology: “Congratu-
lation with the conference. It was very informative”

Mr Richard Leeming (CEO) Academy of York: “Great job yes-
terday by yourself and your team”.

Ms Maritza Kruger - Academic Dean, iCOLLEGE (Pty) Ltd – “I
would firstly like to thank the SABPP team for a great confer-
ence yesterday, I really found it very informative and think it   Audience at MTN Auditorium
was a great success. Well done to you all”.

Mr Andrew Grunewald, - Sales & Leadership Academy Lead-
er - Thank you for organising a great day on Wednesday. I
thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and it was most informative.

Ms Merencia Van den Heever – Training Advisor: Anglo
American - Once again thank you for a wonderful confer-
ence, it has really exceeded my expectation and I have gained
a lot of knowledge. I am really looking forward to next year’s
conference.

Mr Trevor Rammitlwa - The conference was well organised
and the audience I presented to was great.

Below are some photos from the conference.

Vijayen Naidoo (QCTO) Presents to audience                        Breakaway sessions at Conference

                                                                                                     LQA· PAGE 24
HR VOICE JULY 2018

HR STANDARDS
 SABPP HR Candidate
 Development
 Programme
 filling the gap
 Amanda Pukwana

Students who have completed a formal qualification generally     and behaviours as an enabler to applying the SA HR Stan-
face a challenge in transitioning from formal schooling to en-   dards in the workplace. To this end, the organisation is able
tering the world of work. In addition, those who are fortunate   to achieve business success through the application of the HR
to gain employment are most of the time not provided with a      Standards and the candidate is able to gain the foundational
structured programme that will equip them with the requisite     skillset required for successful progression within the HR ca-
skills to ensure their successful progression in their chosen    reer path.
field.
                                                                 Who qualifies for the HR Candidate Programme?

                                                      HR Candidate
To address this issue, in 2015 the SABPP launched the HR
Candidate Development Programme to equip new entrants to Continuing
                                                                 •   Candidates with an HR qualification who do not qualify for

                                                      Professional Development
                                                      Development   Programme
the HR profession to be trained in HR Management through             registration on the SABPP professional ladder due to lack
action learning, by applying the knowledge they have gained          of sufficient experience as required by the different levels
through their studies. The programme is structured around            on the ladder. Candidates must be working in an HR de-
a framework using the HR Competency Model whereby the                partment or be in a position involving HR or HR support
newly qualified HR professional can gain the knowledge, skills       work. This involves candidates on permanent or fixed-

                                                                                                    INDUSTRY NEWS· PAGE 25
HR VOICE JULY
         DECEMBER
              2018 2017

    term contracts e.g. internships or working as an unpaid
    volunteer, for example at an NGO.
•   Candidates who are currently registered at HR Profes-
    sional level or below as a specialist, who wish to gain
    generalist skills.
•   Candidates who are studying part-time towards an HR
    qualification and working in an HR role.

Candidates enrolled on the programme are supported by
an SABPP appointed supervisor who will guide, mentor and
assess their competence throughout the programme. Suc-
cessful completion of the programme requires candidates to
submit a Portfolio of Evidence (POE) as well as evaluation by
the SABPP Professional Registration Committee. The Com-
mittee will thereafter determine the level of registration the
candidate qualifies for.

The duration of the programme is 70 weeks, however this var-
ies depending on prior HR knowledge and exposure to HR in
their daily functions.

For further information, visit the SABPP website or send an
e-mail to hrstandards@sabpp.co.za.

Amanda Pukwana is Head of HR Standards and Projects at
SABPP

                                                                 INDUSTRY NEWS· PAGE 26
HR VOICE JULY 2018

INDUSTRY NEWS
#UnemployedVoice

Optimists to the
adapted: we all have
different needs

In the previous version of “Unemployed Voice”, published in
the June edition of HR Voice, we challenged organisations to
strategically embrace corporate social responsibility to posi-
tion themselves as social enterprises. In this month’s edition,
we share some of the results of a recent research project that
aimed to advance knowledge of the psychological experience
of unemployment in South Africa. Specifically, we investigated
whether different types of unemployed people existed. Such
investigation (and eventual identification) will help stakehold-
ers (also HR professionals) to tailor intervention programmes
to suit the specific needs of different groups. It will also ad-
dress the commonly accepted referral to “the unemployed”
that implies that they are one large homogenous group.

To achieve this aim, we surveyed 381 unemployed individuals
in the North West province. Using their responses to three
psychosocial constructs (negative and positive experiences,
the importance attached to employment, and job search in-
tensity), we clustered them into four groups: optimists, the
desperate, the discouraged, and the adapted.

                                                                   As displayed in the figure, optimists constituted 12% of
                                                                   the unemployed. They experienced unemployment as
                                                                   neither negative nor positive, and although they attached
                                                                   the least value to employment, they searched intensively.
                                                                   The optimists were younger (24 years or younger), had a
                                                                   higher level of education (Grade 12 and higher), and had
                                                                   been short-term unemployed (less than one year).

                                                                   The desperate experienced unemployment as very neg-
                                                                   ative, attached the most importance to work, and also
                                                                   searched intensively. They constituted 31% of the un-
                                                                   employed. The desperate were, in general, more mid-
                                                                   dle-aged (25 to 49 years), and most of them had relatively
                                                                   lower levels of education (Grade 11 and below).

                                                                                               INDUSTRY NEWS· PAGE 27
HR VOICE JULY
         DECEMBER
              2018 2017

The discouraged also experienced unemployment as neg-
ative, although slightly less than the desperate. In addition,
they reported the highest levels of positive experiences. Al-
though they still considered jobs as important, they searched
less than the optimists and the desperate. They constituted
37% of the unemployed. The discouraged mainly resided in
poor townships, quite a number of them had relatively lower
levels of education (Grade 11 and below), and more than half
of them had been unemployed for longer than four years.

Lastly, the adapted seemed almost content with their situa-
tion. They reported the fewest negative experiences and even
some positive experiences. The importance they attached
to work was also somewhat lower, and they spent the least
amount of time applying for jobs. The adapted constituted 20%
of the unemployed. These individuals were more long-term
unemployed (two years and longer), and the majority had a
level of education equal to, or below, Grade 12.

Our findings have some implications for practitioners. Dif-
ferent groups of unemployed were identified. From a psycho-
social perspective, the optimists were psychologically more
resilient (i.e., they had fewer negative experiences), whereas
the desperate were at risk (i.e., they had more negative ex-       FACEBOOK/SABPP
periences). Interventions for these two groups should focus
                                                                   JOIN THE DISCUSSION
on optimising the former’s “optimism” (by attending to pes-
simistic attributions) and lowering the psychological distress
experienced by the latter. Given the larger number of desper-
ate unemployed (compared to the optimists), priority should
be given to tailored interventions aimed at reducing negative
experiences and assisting with achieving their desired goal of
employment. The discouraged and adapted are risks from an
economic perspective, with little job search activity. Interven-
tions should, however, not blindly focus on “activating” these
two groups, as they can turn into desperate (and at risk) rath-
er than optimistic (and resilient) job seekers.

Following the caution not to blindly “activate” the discouraged
and adapted, job creation and entrepreneurial interventions
are recommended in conjunction with psychological interven-
tions. These interventions will also help to create more opti-
mists.

Dr Leoni van der Vaart is a senior lecturer at the North-West
University, Vaaltriangle Campus in Vanderbijlpark. She recently
completed her PhD at North-West University on unemployment
in South Africa. The title of her study was “The experiences and
motivation of unemployed people in South Africa: A person- and
variable-centred perspective”. SABPP has an alliance with
Optentia at North-West University to share the results of their
research programme on unemployment with the HR professional
community.

                                                                    TWITTER/SABPP
                                                                    JOIN THE DISCUSSION

                                                                             INDUSTRY NEWS· PAGE 28
HR VOICE JULY
         DECEMBER
              2018 2017

#LabourLaw

                                      Strike violence amounts to the abuse of the right to strike

What do the
                                      and is the antitheses of constitutional values. Much has been
                                      written about strike violence and the Courts have recognised
                                      it as being a ‘scourge’ and made it plain that we should not as

Courts say about
                                      a society be subjected to ‘the tyranny of the mob’.

                                      While still in its formative stages, the Draft Code of Good

reinstatement of
                                      Practice: Collective Bargaining, Industrial Action and Picket-
                                      ing (2017) is a direct response to the strike violence pandemic
                                      in South Africa and seeks to address the deficiencies in the
                                      Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, as amended (“the LRA”).

violent strikers?                     Whether a ‘Code of Good Practice’ (which is, essentially, noth-
                                      ing more than a guideline) will be a sufficient deterrent re-
                                      mains to be seen.

                                      Employers are often at the receiving end of such violence, but
                                      the effect that it has on a continued employment relation-
                                      ship is often overlooked. Strike violence constitutes serious
By Neil Coetzer and Tanya Mullingan
                                      misconduct and usually renders continued employment in-
                                      tolerable. In many instances such conduct constitutes crim-

                                                                         INDUSTRY NEWS· PAGE 29
HR VOICE JULY
         DECEMBER
              2018 2017

inal conduct and is particularly egregious in the context of        The cornerstone of the employment relationship is the trust
the workplace, given the duty of subordination and good faith       relationship and the duty of good faith. It is obvious that where
owed by the employee to the employer. To expect employers to        employees, either individually or in common purpose with
simply allow employees who have engaged in wanton destruc-          other persons, participate in strike violence the duty of good
tion of property, intimidation or violence to just resume their     faith is directly impacted. Such conduct effectively negates the
duties alongside other employees is often beyond the pale.          employer’s Constitutional right to fair labour practices and
                                                                    destroys the relationship of trust between the parties.
The resort to violence, and more particularly the desire of em-
                                                                    Notwithstanding this, the area of strike law is fraught with dif-
ployers to stop or avoid it, also has the effect of placing undue
                                                                    ficulty and employers should seriously consider taking advice
pressure on the employer to reach wage settlements which do
                                                                    before making any decision to dismiss striking employees. A
not necessarily accurately reflect the work-wage bargain. This      hasty decision could have substantial financial consequences
in itself has drastic implications for smaller employers who        for the employer, often many years after the actual decision to
often battle to contain costs and remain competitive.               dismiss has been taken.

The question then arises whether reinstatement would be an
appropriate remedy in circumstances where employees are
dismissed following their engagement in strike violence, re-
gardless of the fairness of the dismissal.

The provisions of the LRA dealing with the remedy of rein-
statement have been considered on several occasions by
our Courts. The Labour Appeal Court has recognised that in
assessing the appropriateness of an order of reinstatement,
fairness towards both parties is a consideration, as is the
practical workability of a resumption of the employment re-
lationship.

In the recent judgment of KPMM Road and Earthworks (Pty)
Ltd v Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union & oth-
ers (2018) 39 ILJ 609 (LC) the Labour Court denounced strike
violence and held that the manner in which employees con-
duct themselves during a strike directly affects the employ-
ment relationship. In this case the Labour Court held that “..it
would be hard for an employer to overcome the resentment
towards employees where a part of its factory was burned
down by striking employees”.
                                                                    Neil Coetzer                         Tanya Mulligan
In National Union of Metalworkers and other v Lectropower           Partner                              Senior Associate
(Pty) Ltd (2014) 35 ILJ 3205 (LC) the Labour Court stated un-       Cowan-Harper Attorneys               Cowan-Harper Attorneys
equivocally that reinstatement would not be an appropriate
remedy in circumstances where employees engage in mis-
conduct, including violence, during a strike. In particular, the
Court held as follows:-

“Employees who misconduct themselves during a strike, pro-
tected or unprotected, ought not to expect this court to come
to their assistance in any subsequent litigation, let alone or-
der their reinstatement. Regrettably, intimidation, assault and
damage to property have come to characterise strikes to the
extent that they appear to be considered an inevitable conse-
quence and an integral component of the exercise of the right
to strike.This court should express its disapproval of any act
of misconduct committed during the course of a strike and
which impacts materially and negatively on the rights of the
employer and those employees who elect not to participate in
the strike...for the above reasons, I intend to make no order of
reinstatement or compensation….”

                                                                                                        INDUSTRY NEWS· PAGE 30
HR VOICE JULY
         DECEMBER
              2018 2017

How to help employees thrive in an age of uncertainty
Rob Jardine – Head, Research and Solutions at The NeuroLeadership Institute South Africa

It’s fairly obvious that our world is in a constant state of flux    The uncertainty around work:
right now. Change is the name of the game, and this state of         •   Threatens an employee’s Status, as their value in the
affairs will undoubtedly continue for the foreseeable future.            workplace and as a productive member of society comes
From relentless technological disruption to political upheav-            into question.
als to economic instability, people are feeling more and more        •   Means that Certainty is no longer guaranteed for employ-
uncertain about their place in this unstable world.                      ees, as they wonder whether they will have a job in the
                                                                         next five years.
One of the areas that concerns people the most, of course,           •   Causes employees to feel as though they are losing their
is insecurity about their jobs and the workplace of the fu-              Autonomy because they cease to feel in control and think
ture. The 2018 Global Human Capital Trends report, recent-               that they may not have options.
ly released by Deloitte, highlights a number of ways in which
                                                                     •   Threatens an employee’s Relatedness as they believe
this fear is manifesting in the workplace. For example, out
                                                                         that they don’t belong anymore.
of more than 11,000 respondents, 49 percent indicated that
their companies have done nothing to help older employees            •   Triggers a sense of Fairness in employees as they feel as
find new careers as they age. This puts a significant portion of         though they may not be treated equally.
the globe’s population at risk, as people need to retire much
later because of our increasing life spans. In addition, by 2020,    Finding the positive in change
37% of organisations expect a growth in contractors, 23 per-         One of the ways in which the world of work changes in re-
cent in freelancers, and 13 percent in gig workers. This puts        sponse to this unpredictable world is shifting organisational
job stability even more in doubt as companies can start to hire      cultures, which requires a change in behaviour from employ-
temporary workers with specific skills on a job-by-job basis.        ees. When getting employees’ buy-in in terms of this culture
                                                                     shift, companies should bear in mind three things:
Delving into employees’ reactions to change
Neuroscience, which focuses on how the human brain works,
                                                                     1. The brain has an extremely limited capacity for change. Did
can provide a very interesting framework for interpreting why
employees feel so threatened by all these changes at work,           you know that the brain is only capable of two hours of con-
and what happens to their productivity and motivation when           scious thought a day? Because this limited capacity is often
they do. Neuroscience tells us that the central organising           drained when we receive new information, many of our day-
principle of the human brain, which applies to all areas of our      to-day actions are governed by learnt behaviour. Think about
lives, is to maximise reward and minimise danger. Believe it         it – much of what we do is automatic, such as driving to work,
or not, the brain scans for threat every five seconds, so fear       sending emails, and attending meetings. We simply wouldn’t
is a significant driving force in how we interact with the world     be able to survive if we had to use our limited conscious
around us. It is this response that has kept humanity alive for      thought for everyday actions at all times.
so long. This is a biological remnant of our caveman begin-
nings, when physical danger from other people, animals, and
                                                                     If you want your employees to adapt easily to changes, make
the elements were a very real threat to your life.
                                                                     sure these changes are simple and broad, so that they can
Although these systems in our brains are now very seldom ac-         resonate on some level with every employee and can easily be
tivated by physical threat, they are still triggered when a social   assimilated into their unconscious. Having lengthy three-day
threat is detected. The fear of uncertainty in our jobs creates      strategy planning sessions to discuss changes will only over-
the same reactions in the brain and body as the fear of being        whelm and alienate your employees, and this is often where
attacked by a lion in the wild. As humans, if we feel like we’re     traditional organisational change practices fail.
in danger, then our brain is put into what we call a threatened
state, which can be triggered by any of the five areas of human      A good example is the recent work The NeuroLeadership
social experience: Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness,         Institute did with Microsoft in transforming their leadership
and Fairness (SCARF ®). Being in a threatened frame of mind          principles. Previously, Microsoft had over 100 competencies
has a very negative effect on our capacity to solve problems,
                                                                     linked to leadership, which employees were finding it hard
make decisions, and collaborate – all vital for ensuring a prof-
                                                                     to relate to. We guided Microsoft to rather focus on three big
itable, productive workforce.
                                                                     ideas as their leadership principles: Create clarity, generate

                                                                                                   INDUSTRY NEWS· PAGE 31
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