I would like to assist you, our valuable delegates and clients
to become part of a dynamic group of South Africans who are
keen to excel in business, career and life.
Did you know?
The
average paycheck lasts the average person 11 days! Less
than 30% of our workforce really love their jobs! The
average person only retains 35% of the new information they
are given! Approximately
40% of our economy is driven by small and medium business owners. Approximately
95% of entrepreneurs fail in their first attempt. Most
people only use 2 of the 6 trains of thought necessary to solve
a problem. The
digital age has brought along with it, the age of information,
if you are not informed, you will fall behind. Less
than 10% of our population are well provided for in their old
age. Less
than 50% of the population are happy!
Do you want a happier and
more fulfilling career?Do
you want this happiness to spill over into your personal life?
Do you want access to information that will
assist you in achieving this goal?
Coming Soon! (February 2006)
For a nominal fee of R65-00 per month
you will have access to.....................
Free
advice on how to run your personal finances, enabling you to
take control of your own life! This alone will cover the R65-00
subscription fee!
A
forum where you are able to post questions and comments on the
problems that you are experiencing in an every day working environment
and get valuable advice on how to address these!
Guidance
from a panel of trainers who alone have 256 years of business
and experience to draw from!
A
free 1 year entrepreneurial course to the value of R2400-00!
Insight
and advice on how to approach life and work, so that you gain
maximum benefit from both!
Free
access to the thinking process that enables you to approach
a problem logically and completely.
Access
to a group of willing and keen employers, employees and forward
thinking individuals who all have the same goal as you..........to
live a happier and more successful life!
Discounts
on our successful training workshops.
This is my promise to you, R65-00 per month
will provide you with all of the above plus more............no
extra costs, no partial content............make use of this
introductory offer.
Provide us with your name and email address ............the
first 100 members will receive free membership!
Yup! That's who I want to be! Click
here to register as one of the first 100!
Regards
Debbie
Focus on employees, employment and staff training
for SME's
by Debbie Engelbrecht
Last updated November 2005
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.
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 getting paid at least within a reasonable period of time.
This therefore often requires that the company wanting to train, needs
the financial resources to do so prior to being compensated by the
SETA's.
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 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.
The most useful source of information and enlightenment on how to
ensure the smooth running of your finances has come to me via my membership
of a group of SME's known as the Business Warriors. The founder, Peter
Carruthers has established himself as a respected and knowledgable
entity in the world of small business today.
Membership (at approx R150-00 per month) of this group gives you a
certain and extremely necessary insight into the problems and innovative
solutions that are out there in small business today.
Follow this link to one of the most valuable and relevant areas of
information available to the small business owner!
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 exerciseany 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.
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.
In both cases, cars and employee's, 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.
The
average paycheck lasts the average person 11 days!
