2009
Keep it real
I suspect that 2009 is going to be a year demanding
change.....
At Staff Training we are gearing up for that. Accountability and empowerment is
our main focus this year. With improved understanding and EQ, this will be a better
country, a better world. We plan to contribute, we invite you to do so as well.
On a personal level I am keen to explore the relationship between fairy tales,
fables and business and will devote some time to sharing this with you...I hope
you will enjoy reading them and mostly pondering the reality of these tales as
much as I enjoy writing them. See the blog here.
A huge thank you to all of you who helped to make 2008 our best year ever, we
hope to see a lot more of you in 2009. Please let us know at any time what we
can do to assist, as always, we have the motto: The impossible simply takes a
bit longer.....
Regards
Debbie
2008
Put your feet up .................
This year the Staff Training team are focussing on excellence. We will strive
to make every system, every function, every bit of client contact, every workshop
and every daily duty one of excellence. Tweaking, honing and polishing is our
aim for 2008. Revisiting the little things and making sure that we are doing them
well. Our trainer feedback forms for 2007 showed a 91% excellence rating, it is
our goal to push this up to 95% for 2008.
Our IT team are performing little miracles on a daily basis as we are keen to
give you a truly pleasurable online experience. 2008 will be an explosive year
on the internet if the gurus are to be believed. At Staff Training it is our passion
to keep up with trends and we are particularly proud of our online presence and
vision. We trust that it will continue to make your life easier.
The employee tendencies and management challenges mentioned in my 2007 address
are still very much at the forefront of our areas of interest as a training company,
as people remain the most valuable and effective asset (area) of any business.
Highly skilled and highly motivated staff cannot help but be successful. How to
get everyone there is the challenge. Towards the end of 2007 we developed an Accountability
workshop to assist with this and we believe that it will be a popular one in 2008!
We are also finding that the number of inhouse workshops we present are increasing
monthly and the extent to which we are able to customise these for our client's
exact demands, has increased. Personally I find these very gratifying as one is
able to see the fruits of your labour when returning to the client a month or
three later. There is little more motivating than a quick 'thank you' from an
individual 3 months after Assertiveness
Training or a copy of a promotion letter emailed to you after a delegate has
attended Management Training. For these
I thank every delegate who has taken the time out to give us feedback, it is the
fuel on which our team operates.
In summary, our new slogan Assess, Address, Achieve encompasses all we stand for
and will continue to strive toward in 2008. Thought, transparency, realism, passion
and success, may this be a great year for all!
Regards
Debbie
PS! Don't forget to take time out, put your feet up and think about what you need
to achieve, often the best ideas come when doing nothing!
2007 Message
Something to think about..........................
As a small business owner, one of my passions is perpetually seeking knowledge
that will assist in the growth and success of Staff Training. As a team we are
only as strong as our weakest link and I believe that knowledge gives us strength.
I encourage all Small Business Owners to empower yourself in any way possible
and if you can take anything from this message that will assist you in your often
difficult entrepreneurial quest, please do so. Do so with confidence and know
that there are others just like you that sometimes find it challenging, but I
think it was Thomas Edison that said " I have not failed, I have just found
2000 ways NOT to make a light bulb!"
Regards, Debbie
South African business optimism is at an all time high according to a recent
survey of SME's (companies with between 50 and 250 employees) carried out by Grant
Thornton. (2006)
One of the emerging priorities for this sector is the implementation of their
BBBEE (broad based black economic empowerment) policy. Consequently there is considerable
focus on empowering employees from within the ranks. One of the only ways to accomplish
this, will be the continued training and education of all South Africans.
This training needs to be undertaken in a systematic and organised manner. This
is only achievable, firstly with good record keeping, secondly by appointing a
good skills development facilitator and thirdly by making a decent skills development
budget available.
Learnerships are available where compensatory payments are made by the SETA's.
The claims process is however stringently documented (read as time consuming)
and many providers are not in the position to educate without being reimbursed
within a reasonable period of time.
The delay therefore often requires that the company wanting to train, needs the
financial resources to do so prior to being compensated by the SETA's. For documentation
on learnerships and the claims process you can refer to:
WSP and ATR.doc
and our SETA_claims page
Cash Flow
Focussing on the employee, when management is concerned with daily operational
activities, is still a bit of a luxury for many managers and small business owners.
The fact is that many companies have reached a point where they have proved profitability
on paper, but in reality, cash flow is a problem.
The reasons identified for this include:
Slow payment by creditors - especially government and some large corporates.
Banks - the waiting period imposed on cheque clearances and cumbersome process
of obtaining finance
Bureaucracy - the plethora of paperwork and documentation that has to be completed
for compliance with legislation and contractual obligations.
Expansion programmes - the planning and execution
Labour Law - understanding it and remaining compliant
A lack of urgency in the completion of tasks by staff
Poor budgetary planning
Not only do the above factors contribute to cash flow problems, but they also
contribute greatly to the stress levels of your average SME management and/or
owners.
In addition, our own most recent Management
Development workshops have brought certain issues to the table:
Employee Tendencies
South Africa's young adults are bright and capable, but not necessarily keen!
The 18 to 26 year old group of employees seem to be showing certain traits that
make it difficult for management to operate at an optimum level.
There is limited ownership or responsibility.
There is little sense of urgency.
There is a culture of entitlement.
There is a general lack of pride in the workplace and within the individuals.
These are areas of learning that are being addressed and incorporated into each
and every workshop we offer today!
Management Challenges
Management on the other hand, face
their own challenges:
Balancing an open style of management with getting the job done on time.
Cross cultural communication and acceptance from all parties.
The feeling of marginalisation amongst minority groups
Finding the time to pay attention to productivity, legislation, development planning
and employee matters in a fast and dynamic environment
Coping with traditional culture of employee's not to question authority
Coping with stress - surveys have shown that South African business owners are
the third most stressed group in the world!
Once again we are in a position to address these areas of learning within our
workshops.
Solution
What then appears to be the solution?
As we see it, managers need to take a step back and work at their
job as opposed to working in their job. Taking time out to observe
and think about the future is the one most productive exercise
any manager can perform.
What should they be looking for?
Firstly - Their own vision......
Is everyone still on track to implement the vision of the directors and management
of the company?
Is this vision still relevant? Does it need honing and/or adaptation or a 180
degree turnaround?
Secondly - Your staff......
Employees are your most valuable resource and assett. Are they well maintained?
Can you find all the paperwork necessary for them within a second? Are they able
to operate as individuals? Do they understand benchmarking?
Concentrating on Vision
There is no excuse! Take time off to think! Keep on challenging yourself and your
ideas - incorporate De Bono's 6 hat thinking technique at least once a month -
if not more often.
Our management workshop
and advanced communications
workshop incorporate the De Bono 6 hat thinking if you require any assistance
on this!
Concentrating on Staff
Let us use the following analogy:
If you were to purchase a car, the first thing you would do would be to shop around
and take a good look at the models available on the market. When looking for
employees, have a good look around! Pay sufficient attention to the recruitment
process to ensure that you have the best available selection to choose from.
Once you have settled on a certain make of car, you would want to decide on the
model. Similarly with job candidates, once you have decided on your candidates
to interview, you need to whittle them down to a shortlist.
Now that you have the make and model of the car you have in mind, you would start
looking at the best available price and/or supplier. This is where relationship
building really enters the picture. To decide on the final incumbent, takes
a bit of relationship building from both of you. Is this person someone you can
work with for a few years? Do they have the same passion for the industry, company,
business practice as you do?
The next step in purchasing the car would be to ensure that you are satisfied
with your final purchase. You will most probably check out all the extras and
take it for a final test drive. How do you test drive a potential employee?
Using a practical interview has become common practice in many companies. Let
the applicant demonstrate their skills to you in various ways.
Our interviewing skills
workshop can be of great assistance to you with this process.
Okay! Decision taken! Now for the paperwork!
In both cases, cars and employees, it is wise and necessary to have the contractual
agreements in place prior to taking delivery!!
Where to from here?
As you would no doubt proudly introduce your new car to many of your friends,
an induction process needs to be followed for the staff member as well. This remains
true, whether we are speaking of a new staff member or one that has recently been
promoted and is taking on new duties.
The induction process needs to include all expectations from the company's perspective,
preferably a standard operating procedure for the company, clear instructions
on the policies and procedures that the new staff member is expected to follow
and preferably someone to "hold their hand"
I'd like you to read the preceding paragraph again!!!
The "Standard Operating Procedure"
This document (the operating manual) should be a well compiled, well read, well
used, occasionally altered, procedure and policy book that documents the
general requirements for all staff members, the expected duties
at individual posts, the company standards, vision and mission as well
as the disciplinary procedures and appeals process.
Incidently, in case you missed it, that was HUGE JOB NUMBER ONE for most
SME managers!
To assist Small Business Owners, we at Staff Training have put together a package
of links and downloads that will make this onerous task slightly easier. At the
very least, it should assist you via reassurance that your documentation is up
to scratch.
This will be an ongoing process and we invite you to visit this page often to
access the new documentation as it becomes available to you. Please also email
us at documents@stafftraining.co.za
to add your requests for information that you are unable to find on the list.
Employee files and good business practice
Letter of appointment guideline
Why performance appraisals?
Performance appraisal
template
Certificate of Service guideline
Legalities
Disciplinary procedures
guideline
Notice to attend a disciplinary
hearing guideline
Disciplinary hearing checklist
guideline
Employees rights guideline
Employees appeal letter guideline
First written warning guideline
Final written warning guideline
Dismissal letter guideline
Record for employee
file guideline
Basic conditions of employment
act
Useful links regarding employment procedures, legalities and policies
Various
Basic Guides to Employment from the Department of Labour
Forms and sample
documents from the Department of Labour
Legislation
documents from the Department of Labour
Useful
documents from the Department of Labour
ccma website
Registration docs for
UIF and other SARS docs (SARS e-filing)
Useful information and guidelines regarding training, learnerships and government
policies
National
Skills Strategy 2005 to 2010
State of Skills in South
Africa
Human Resources development
strategy
