Coaching for productivity Unpack social productivity ...

VOLUME ONE • 2016

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF PRODUCTIVITY SA

Coaching for productivity Unpack social productivity Enhancing employee relations

What?

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CONTENTS

02

CEO’s desk

03

Ed’s note

04

Toxic leadership style affects productivity

06

Employee relations are the building blocks of progress

08

Demystify bottlenecks for the African Entrepreneur

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Goal Setting

12

Coaching for productivity improvement

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Poor workplace relations a bottleneck to productivity

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Individual planning as a key to Productivity Improvements

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Traffic and Productivity

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The Impact of HIV and AIDS on Productivity

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Competitiveness Inspires Productivity

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Personal productivity

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Productivity: Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

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Driving change procedure with productivity improvement

contents

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Productivity SA CEO: Bongani Coka

Designer & project co-ordination: Joanne Brook,

Productivity SA Acting

Isikhova Publishing & Communications (Pty) Ltd

Executive Manager: Rebecca Phalatse

Tel: 011 883 4627 • Email: [email protected]

Editor: Maupi Monyemangene Email: [email protected] Contributing writers: Bongani Coka, Dr Mthandazo

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All correspondence should be addressed to the Editor, Productivity SA, Reg no 1975/00044/08

Ncube, Lalane Janse Van Rensburg, Molebogeng

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced,

Monageng, Ntwanano Mueti, Rachel Letswalo,

adapted, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any

Reche Naidoo and Sello Mosai

form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

Photography: www.123RF.com and Productivity SA.

recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of Productivity SA.

Productivity SA Physical address: International Business Gateway, Midrand, cnr New Road and Sixth Road Tel: 011 848 5300 Fax: 011 848 5555

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The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the publishers or its agents. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of its contents, neither the owners nor the publishers can be held responsible for any omissions, errors, or for any misfortune, injury or damages

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02

CEO'S DESK

CEO’s desk Following the euphoria of December and consequent heightened consumer activity during the festive period, January and February has brought many an elated individual back to mother earth with a thud. With the year now in full swing and the rand in a downward spiral and the recent increase in the Repo Rate, the financial outlook for most households does not look rosy at all. The effect of an increase in the Repo Rate increases the burden on consumers. What impact does the prevailing economic environment really have on employee productivity within the workplace? The economic downturn as well as the increased costs of daily living are proving to have an adverse impact on businesses more so the Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs). Consequently the number of indebted employees have swelled. An increase in the cost of living without an increase in income requires us to manage our resources smarter. South Africans have to constantly contend with increases for petrol, electricity, food and other essential items. What can be done to counter the impact of the changes? As the dollar further leaves the rand behind, our cost of living increases but when the dollar plummets our cost of living remains. This cycle compels one to enter into unwanted debt. A study conducted in 2015 by the World Bank ranked South Africa as the world’s top borrower. 86% of South Africans took a loan between 2013 and 2014. The difference in culture between other countries and South Africa is another paralyzing contributor to spending priorities. For instance America: Healthcare - Overall, healthcare is more expensive in South Africa. Employers contribute far less to its overall cost, and people make far less in this country than in America, which makes healthcare even more expensive from a cost of living perspective. Transportation – South Africans are one of the most car obsessed individuals, willing to pay 50 – 60% of their annual earnings on a rapidly depreciating asset. Cars are not just a method of transportation but a status symbol to many. Whilst for a New Yorker, subways are only a logical means of transport though the advantage also lies in the sophisticated transport system that has tentacles throughout the city. A stressed employee may lead to a company experiencing the following:

Absenteeism: 70% of unscheduled absenteeism is related to stress-related illnesses of which one of the causes is financial distress. Engagement: On average a financially-stressed employee will spend 20 hours per month dealing with financial issues at work. Fatigue: “Present-eeism” where an employee is physically present but mentally absent due to distractions linked to financial concerns or loss of sleep from worrying. Six hours of productivity is stolen per month per employee. Alertness: Approximately 70% of workplace accidents are stress-related, one of the causes being of a financial nature, costing the company a considerable amount of money. Commitment: Financially stressed workers are less satisfied with the roles and pay and are more likely to go searching for greener pastures affecting the turnover of the company. Ethics – Financially stressed workers are more tempted to steal from their employer and a good percentage has been caught doing so. Some of the costs raised through theft cases are tightened security/policies, human resources, legal expenses and employee replacement. Financial worries do not go away just because someone is at work. How can we change this culture? How can we improve workplace productivity despite the financial difficulty individuals are swallowed into? Educating employees about how to improve their personal finances is one of the most effective ways to reduce overall stress, which automatically accelerates productivity. Organisations should incorporate robust, on-going financial education as part of the company’s wellness program. These programs should include workshops on budgeting, reducing expenses, managing credit card debt and maintaining debt-to-income ratios. The cost of providing personal financial education is minimal compared to the cost of having financially stressed out employees. Employee’s should also take onus and have a financial plan, be motivated to save, make investments and steer towards financial security. ~If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there ~ Lewis Carroll~

Bongani Coka CEO: Productivity SA

VOLUME ONE • 2016 PRODUCTIVITY LEADER

ED’S NOTE

Ed’s note In an interview following a football game that did not proceed so well, a well-travelled and successful coach popularly known as the “The Special One” said that success or victory has many fathers and failure has one father”. The erstwhile coach of the English Premier League outfit Chelsea FC, Jose Mourinho was responding to one of the questions from the reporters regarding the performance of the team. In essence Mourinho was perhaps saying that good coaching results in success for most football teams but everyone wants to take credit. However when the team performs poorly, the blame lies squarely on the coach‘s shoulders. However given that Manchester United FC seem to be courting the services of the “Special One”, it wold seem that coaching indeed turns average performers into winners within the sporting fraternity. Does coaching have the same effect within the workplace? Look for a discussion on the topic on page 12 as Productivity SA employee, Reche Naidoo, looks at the importance of coaching within the workplace. To advance his argument, Naidoo cites the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 2009 as saying “Organisations are increasingly using Performance Coaching to bring out the best in their employees. 51% of companies now consider coaching crucial to their strategy.” This should make for an interesting read. Coaching resonates with leadership and on page 04, the Executive Manager for Productivity Organisational Solutions (POS), Lalane Janse Van Rensburg eschews the matter or leadership and the impact it has on productivity within the workplace. Borrowing from ancient Chinese philosopher and writer, Lao Tzu, the Executive Manager for POS highlights that a wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say: “We did it ourselves”. Van Rensburg looks closely at toxic leadership and surmises that toxic leadership can be visualised as the snowball effect that occurs within the organisation, with added twist of negativity and toxicity and eventually detriment. Some of the effects associated with toxic leadership can be categorised, identified and determined by a combination of self-centred attitudes, motivations and behaviours that have negative influence and effects on subordinations, the organisation and work tasks. A toxic leader tends to leave the organisation in a significantly worse state than prior to their interaction. Do have a look on this topic. Much has been said about the need for the growth of entrepreneurship in the country as way to mitigate job losses and also create jobs. That the informal sector

has a great role to play in enabling economic growth is uncontested. However a stumbling block that may be hampering entrepreneurship growth may culture. On page 8, our guest writer, Dr Mthandazo Ncube, relays a study that examined the critical success factors for the development of business development consultants with relevant knowledge for sustainable improvement of African entrepreneurs. Page 18 sees the manager for Value Chains and Competitiveness, Sello Mosai, ponder on the impact of HIV and Aids on productivity. Since the onset of the HIV&AIDS virus in the early eighties, the epidemic has claimed a stunning 39 million lives. By the end of 2013 statistics indicated that 35 million people were living with HIV globally. It is estimated that worldwide about 0.8% of the adult population aged between 15 and 49 years are living with HIV. Although the burden of the epidemic continues to vary considerably between countries and regions, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most severely affected. Within the Sub-Saharan Africa region, nearly 1 in every 20 adults live with HIV. This amounts to about 71% of people living with HIV worldwide. South Africa has about 5.3 Million people living with HIV&AIDS. Be sure to read more on the issue on page 18.

Maupi Monyemangene Editor [email protected]


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OPINION

Toxic leadership style affects productivity BY LALANE JANSE VAN RENSBURG & RECHE NAIDOO In order to conceptualise and understand any form of leadership, it is important to recognise and appreciate all forms of leadership. A great quote on leadership was expressed by the former president of the United States of America (USA), Ronald Reagan who said "The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things." Unfortunately not all leaders lead by example. Oft there is a type of a leader that instead of facilitating productivity contaminates the work environment. This is what you may refer to as toxic leadership. What is toxic leadership?

Toxic leadership can be identified by a combination of self-centred attitudes, motivations and behaviours that have a negative influence on the organisation and carrying out of duties. A toxic leader tends to leave the organisation in a significantly worse state than prior to their interaction. The toxic leader does not take cognitive consideration of their fellow employees neither for the organisation - which is an interrelated eco-system. Toxic leaders often portray narcissistic personality traits where they believe and constantly state directly or indirectly that that their self-worth is greater than those surrounding them. Toxic leaders instil fear into the organisation, either by direct actions of power, influence or more subtle charismatic actions of manipulation and elegance. Whilst toxic leadership does fulfil the satisfaction of short terms goals, due to their toxic methods, the long term life span of healthy work environment and employees begins to deteriorate. It can therefore be said that although a toxic leader has short term productivity improvement potential, they are detrimental in the long run. Typical behaviours of a toxic leader resonates around deception, intimation and dependency by using methods like: • Assigning large amounts of work to the extent that the employee has been set up for failure. This can be used as a further tool to criticise the performance of the employee. • Use of disciplinary systems to strong-arm employees


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and add another gadget to their extensive negatively defined repertoire and to keep track of employees. This environment is often classified as punitive. Abusive of organisational structures in terms of hierarchies, personal relationship and the equilibrium flow. These leaders can be very possessive of material and physical objects, very territorial. The outcomes of constant exposure to toxic leadership is evident when subordinates willpower; initiative; enthusiasm; creativity; autonomy; and potential begin to fade away. Consequently, the teams or organisations morale will be inevitably destroyed due to the constant paltering of toxicity and negativity within the workplace. The result of toxic leadership can be seen as the dilution of the uniqueness of the individuals under the mentorship of toxic leadership. Research states that as human beings we are driven by intrinsic satisfaction, however, under the climate of toxic leadership the internal satisfaction of the individual is negatively influenced. By failing to recognise and appreciating an employee for their uniqueness, and merely concentrating on their mental output is limiting by nature. Toxic leaders have limited their interaction with employees and have created the blinker theory and will therefore fail to recognise the true potential of their employees, whilst stifling their development and altering the trajectory of their potential. Research further states that there is a correlation between toxic leadership and high turnover or increased absenteeism. Once toxic leadership filters through to the fundamental structure of the organisation and alters the environment and climate, the foundations have now been laid for the develop-

ment for the next generation of toxic leaders to be groomed. Toxic leadership is able to foster and create an environment of mistrust, prosecution whereby all employees fend for themselves. Therefore, it can be concluded that an environment on these premises simple does not foster a culture of productivity but achieves the opposite. How can do you counter or prevent the effects of toxic leadership? It starts with each of us – if you recognize these toxic symptoms in your organisation – as a leader you should follow basic steps such as: • Step 1: Acknowledge the environment as one that needs improvement. • Step 2: Provide a positive solution/climate intervention. • Step 3: Shy away from “naming and shaming” • Step 4: Reinforce inspirational leaders publicly. • Step 5: Do not reward “bullying” behaviour in your teams. • Step 6: Lead by example when setting realistic deadlines/targets. • Step 7: Deal swiftly and diligently with outlying toxic leaders. An employee under the influence of toxic leadership cannot be the most productive version of themselves. Therefore it is of utmost importance as individuals, that we locate and attach ourselves to positive environments, climates and inspirational leaders to ensure that we become the greatest version of ourselves and consequently the most productive version. Productive employees can be inspired by great leaders, toxic leaders however have the reverse effect and need to be channelled towards team goals as negative energy hardly ever transforms into positive outcomes.

The outcomes of constant exposure to toxic leadership is evident when subordinates willpower; initiative; enthusiasm; creativity; autonomy; and potential begin to fade away.

Lalane Janse Van Rensburg is an Executive Manager within Productivity SA‘s Productivity Organisational Solutions (POS) and Reche Naidoo is an intern within POS.


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OPINION

Employee relations are the building BY RECHE NAIDOO “When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.” – Simon Sinek. This quote by Simon Sinek the author and inspirational leader outlines the ideal desired workforce, whom believe in the organisation’s vision and mission as well as in their fellow employees. Whilst employees within an organisation are willing and able to contribute to the goals and objectives of the organisation, one of the factors that impede this progress and adds friction to the productive operations of the organisation is employee relations. Employee relations can be conceptualised as the relationship between employees in an organisation. Employees within an organisation have the fundamental need to perform tasks to the best of the ability in order to achieve the goals of the organisation, whilst all employee’s intentions within an organisation should be orientated in this manner. It is inevitable that individuals whom work together for several hours a day, week in and week out will experience conflicts in their relationships. These conflicts between employees in organisations can lead to decreased productivity and satisfaction in the workplace.

Does the employee or employer prefer frequent communication or autonomous employees? Do they prefer written communication or does informal conversations pertaining to the same topic suffice? Our uniqueness as individuals transcend into the workplace, as do our likes and dislikes, our strengths and weaknesses and our preferences. Thus, every employee within an organisation must be treated as unique individuals and our interactions with every individual must be aligned to their uniqueness to ensure that the relationship achieves its potential of being the most effective and productive it can be. Communicating effectively is a great means to enhance the relationship between employees and employers. Employers can create and facilitate the relationship between employees and managers through the development and maintenance of a culture underlined by high levels of productivity and positivity. A productive culture facilitated through relationships in the workplace can be achieved through employee recognition and/ or reward programs for high performance. The added advantage of creating employee recognition and employee reward performance programs is facilitating competition between employees – which provides a catalyst to achieving outcomes, as we perform at a far higher level with competition than in comparison to the absen-

Feedback to employees remains one of the desired foundations to employee and employer relationships.


OPINION

blocks of progress teeism of the concept. A major factor that can determine the success derived from employee relationships is the quality and quantity of information that is available to employees based on their interactions with each other. The extent to which employers provide quality information to employees is congruent to the level of success that can be achieved. When employees receive productive attention from others in the organisation it is not only valued, but it seen as a unique and personalised experience which has the power to create the basic foundations of either a productive or counter productive relationship. Feedback to employees remains one of the desired foundations to employee and employer relationships whilst also being able to improve the relationship between the two parties. Furthermore, the employee’s expectations are clarified, the employee’s becomes more effective and productive in achieving their assigned goals which are aligned to the vision and mission of the organisation. Providing support, like feedback, is an important concept in the relationship between employees and employers. Support creates a solid foundation whereby the employee is able to flourish and increase their productive capacity. In order to encourage support to employees having an open line of communication and an ‘open door policy’ allows the encouragement of employees to discuss work related and personal issue with management and appropriate structures in order to enhance their performance on the job.

The following, but not limited to are parameters in which the relationship between employees and employers can be based on: • Mutual respect • Mutual reliance • Openness and transparency • Support, development and nurturing • Mentorship and training of employees • Respecting boundaries • Creating environments for loyal employees If relationships within the workplace is visualised as a social networking platform, research states that this simulation will positively affect productivity in the workplace. A recent study pointed that “social networking and good relations between workmates may increase the productivity of a less efficient worker.” Employee engagement plays a major role in the desired relations between employees. When employees enjoy their work, and perform well within organisation subsequently becomes a reference point for information and an unconscious motivator and inspiration to fellow employees. These positive productive employees draw in other employees due to their infectious energy, consequently creating workplace synergy whereby the infectious productivity culture is manifested within the workplace. The following are ways in which employee relations can be improved in the organisation, but are not limited to: • Cooperate with others – work simultaneously towards the same vision and mission • Managers becoming a coach, mentor and teacher. • Become an inspirational role model • Believe and strive towards the vision of the organisation. • Provide for and ask for productive feedback.

Reche Naidoo is an intern within Productivity Organisational Solutions (POS).


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RESEARCH

Demystify bottlenecks for the African Entrepreneur BY DR MTHANDAZO NCUBE It is not an anomaly to hear many a local entrepreneur decrying what they term as a misunderstanding of the African way of doing business. What does the African way doing business actually entail? Is it the misconception that the African way of doing business is slow, tardy and wrought with corruption? Far from it! The African way of doing business may simply be translated into conducting business in a manner that takes an intrinsic consideration of the demographics of that particular region. Narrowing down to home, South Africa definitely needs Black-owned Business Development Consultancies for various reasons. To fully encapsulate what these reasons, The Black Business Development Consultants conducted a study to examine the critical success factors for the development of business development consultants with relevant knowledge for sustainable improvement of African entrepreneurs. Insights were gained into finding ways of facilitating and accelerating cultural business transformation alongside the technical strides by pointing into the values, attitudes and behaviour that, while still rooted in the history of the nation,

assimilate the relevant elements of the best-practice models of today’s African entrepreneurs. A total of 159 owners and employees of Black-owned Business Development Consultancies and SMME managers who met the inclusion criteria were selected using purposive sampling. Data was collected using an interview schedule with three sections namely: Section 1 (Demographic variables such as Age, Gender, business category, annual turnover etc.), Section 11(consisting of 35 items related to general items on consulting, innovation, leadership, technology, systems thinking and entrepreneurship) and Section 111(15 capacity related investigative questions). Face-to-face interviews were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to analyse the data.

Culture is known to be developed by people in order for them to cope with their environment.

Introduction The post-1994 government of South Africa put measures in place to redress the economic imbalances of the past through creating the small-business enabling environment. As part of the economic redistribution strategy, the government has among other initiatives - enacted the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act of 2003/2004 and


RESEARCH

the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act of 2000. These statutes require that preference be given to businesses owned by Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDIs) in the procurement processes of government departments in particular as well as their agencies. Over the past sixteen years many Black-owned businesses have entered the economic arena to take advantage of the opportunity, and the question that arises is whether there is a need for Black-owned Business Consultancies to enhance the success rate of HDI entrepreneurs. In its own right, consultancy is a special kind of expertise that requires acquiring, packaging and selling specific knowledge that is to be applied or acted on by clients. This knowledge is acquired through rigorous research and development and networking. In order to do this, consultants need to among other things, have passion for their work. Currently in South Africa it is safe to assume that anyone can call themselves a consultant as there are no barriers to entry; there is no recognised accreditation or examining body for management consultants and neither are there any generally accepted industry standards or practices. Martin (2007) concurs with this assertion. He ascribes the perceived lack of appropriate ESP (Enterprise Support Practitioners or Business Development Consultants) education and training programmes to the fact that no generally accepted industry standards exist in South Africa. The construct here is that because of the absence of barriers to entry and minimum entry requirements and practice standards, the issues of ethics and professionalism are unintentionally compromised; hence the need for industry regulation. In this regard, KUBR (2002:129) is of the view that professional awareness and behaviour come when the early juggling with a little knowledge gives way to skilled application of a generally accepted body of knowledge according to accepted standards of integrity. Literature supports the notion that business development is a complex and dynamic process and that each organisation is highly unique, depending on the nature of its environment, products and services, leadership, age and size. In fact, McNamara (2010) acknowledges that there is no “cookiecutter” or one-size-fits-all solutions that work for every problem in all organisations. So, if this is the general pattern, what about African entrepreneurs whose businesses have different factors at play? What kind of consultancy approach would optimise the success of African entrepreneurs? Do Black-owned Business Development Consultancies play a pivotal role in the empowerment of African entrepreneurs? During the early stages of the study, it was established that SMMEs and Consultants acknowledge a pressing need

for Black-owned Business Development Consultancies if the fight against poor entrepreneurial performance in the country is to be won. Investigations were then made to ascertain the importance of black business development consultants in the context of the African culture. Culture is known to be developed by people in order for them to cope with their environment and maintain the cohesion and identity of the community in interacting with other communities. In particular, black South Africans are a very culturally conscious people whose culture and subcultures have been passed down from generation to generation through many centuries and most unique is that it has been developed largely as a means to cope with the callousness of apartheid. The Black culture in South Africa and most of Southern Africa, if not Africa as a whole, is based on the “Spirit of Ubuntu (Humanness)”. Developing “Culture Consciousness” among Black Management/SMME consultants can play a meaningful role in economic development of South Africa and Black Economic Empowerment in particular. World over, there is growing interest in exploring the role played by national culture in the economic performance and development of particular countries. For example, the North American culture has for many decades been widely regarded as a major business factor in the dynamism, competitiveness and achievement of American businesses. In Japan, enormous changes generated by the new economy, globalisation, the telecommunications revolution, deregulation, demand for new qualities that have not previously been prominent in Japanese values and practices, specifically flexibility, speed, creativity and individual initiative. Consequently, this requires fundamental cultural change, going far beyond mere cultural adaptation. There have not been clearly documented approaches for business development experts to effectively organize and manage activities of African entrepreneurs. KUBR (2002:113) strongly argues that in developing countries like South Africa, in particular in rural areas, traditional cultures reflect the people’s poverty, political history and respect for the forces of nature. The South African market seems to have very little or no knowledge of the critical success factors for development of sustainable black business consultants who have in-depth knowledge of the intricacies of doing business with African entrepreneurs. South Africa also lacks a professional body for the profession consulting and practicing professionals should keep abreast of developments in theory and practice. It was noted that some unskilled consultants simply use “cut and paste” methodologies when developing solutions for different clients, without a thorough understanding of a


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client’s situation because of lack of capacity. The possible explanation for this practice could be a lack of skill or simply “gold digging”. Some consultants are simply employees that have left their consulting jobs to set up their own consultancies before gaining critical mass in the industry, or those coming straight from school. But, is this all about skill? There seems to be a challenge on this subject. More than half of SMMEs assert that Black-owned Business Development Consultancies are guilty of not customising their products or services for specific client situations. Cutting and pasting means clients with similar businesses are given the same solutions without proper problem diagnosis. Consultants are not immune to cultural moulding either, because, their personalities and value systems have been molded by the culture in which they have grown up, worked or socialized. If they have to be effective in their assignments, management/SMME consultants need not only have thorough understanding and concern for the assignment at hand but also need to be sensitive to the culture of the client. The study sought to examine the critical success factors for the development of business development consultants with relevant knowledge for sustainable improvement of African entrepreneurs. The primary objectives of the study were to: • To explore whether lack of systems approach on the part of Black-owned Business Development Consultancies in their consulting projects has contributed to lack of growth and effectiveness • To determine the adequacy and gaps in current offerings. • To explore possible ways of capacitating African con sultants for the African Entrepreneur The study focused primary on Gauteng, with Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal. The research findings showed that Black-owned Business Development Consultancies lack of mentorship and government assistance, up to date knowledge and small business linkages for networking. SMMEs views concurred that lack of mentorship was responsible for their high failure rate, which was further worsened by lack of government assistance. SMMES views that the levels at which Black-owned Business Development Consultancies possess up to date knowledge is satisfactory as evidenced by a high confidence in themselves and good small businesses linkages on various business opportunities were not significantly different by Gender, Citizenship, special category, who generally agreed. Furthermore the views by type of ownership were not significantly different on Black-owned Business Development Consultancies lack of mentorship and small business linkages but were statistically and significantly different on lack of government assistance and possession of up to date knowledge. Views of SMMEs respondents from Gauteng

and Kwazulu-Natal agreed on up to date knowledge of consultants were as those for SMMEs respondents from Eastern Cape were relatively neutral. The findings that SMMEs agree that Black-owned Business Development were more driven by a need to survive than passion for small business development were not significantly different by gender, citizenship, category of business, these generally agreed on type of ownership and province. However statistically significant differences were observed by race and age. The views of SMMEs on up to date knowledge and small business linkages by close cooperation, sole proprietorship, cooperatives, private company generally agreed whereas those of partnerships, public limited company were neutral, while company respondents disagreed. The views of SMMEs on lack of government assistance and mentorship by younger respondents aged18-35 years agreed, whereas those aged 36-62 were neutral while those older than 63 disagreed on lack of government assistance and agreed on lack of mentorship. After looking into plenty variables the study ultimately surmised that in order for success, there is a need for Black-owned Business Development Consultancies. South Africa definitely needs Black-owned Business Development Consultancies for various reasons. Although the enabling environment has brought about positive outcomes, the preferential treatment afforded to Historically Disadvantaged Individuals has also unintentionally led to the rapid entry of unskilled players into the industry. These players have either been brought into the industry by lack of wage employment opportunities elsewhere or by an opportunity that has been identified to start viable enterprises in consulting. Moreover some entrants have just identified loopholes to loot in the industry because of the perceived low barriers to entry. Coming from a disadvantaged background, Black-owned Business Development Consultancies are reeling with such challenges as lack of financial resources to attract and retain skilled employees, acquire requisite infrastructure and technology. This situation is affecting their effectiveness in discharging their duties. Although it has been established in this thesis that Black Business Development Consultants have basic consulting skills, they lack fundamental accounting and financial management skills required to adequately assess business needs. Furthermore Black Business Development Consultants are yet to adopt systems approach in their consulting assignments hence they are found wanting when they have to deal with complex SMME problems that require them to use multiple lenses and a holistic approach to problem solving.

Dr Mthandazo Ncube is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Insedlu Business Companion. Insedlu Business Companion offer professional business advice to SMEs. They also offer accounting services.


OPINION

Goal Setting BY BONGANI COKA The first quarter of the year generally signal a period where many an individual sets goals for the rest of the year. Be it the workplace or at home, the buzzword is “I take a resolution to be much better individual and be more productive”. By definition, a resolution is when a person makes a promise to do an act of selfimprovement. A goal is an aim or desired result. A resolution is in essence a promise to attain a set goal and a New Year provides the opportunity to set new goals. German writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said “We must always change, renew or rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise, we harden." Goals and resolutions are without an inkling of a doubt a positive step towards change for the better however the Achilles Heel lies in the execution thereof. Some of the key stumbling blocks that hamper the realisation of goals include reasons such as “going it alone”. In order to overcome this stumbling block it is essential to surround yourself with people who inspire you to be more, do more, and have more. Remember, your buddy should be a positive force in your life, not a negative one. Avoid the so-called "energy vampires," or people who drain you mentally and emotionally, even if they are willing partners. The second reason behind faltering resolutions is “unrealistic resolutions for goals”. It goes without saying that you need to set a goal that is actually achievable in the time frame you have set for yourself. This also means being realistic with yourself and taking a hard, long look in the mirror. Resolutions require changes in behavior, and most of us do not

want to face the fact that there is often a laundry list of changes to make. It thus becomes strategic and progressive to pick a resolution that you have confidence in acquiring and stick with it. It is far better to succeed at a smaller, more manageable resolution than to fail at a larger, loftier one. Once you have set the pace in attaining the fundamental goals then it becomes easier to reach loftier heights. Thirdly “The lack of a plan” is a massive bottleneck in attaining set goals or resolutions. As it were, life will not go according to plan if you do not have a plan or as it has become somewhat of a cliché "if you fail to plan then you are planning to fail". The best resolutions are those that actually include a plan of action. Most of us set ourselves for failure because we commit to a resolution, fully knowing that we have no plan in place to actually achieve that resolution. One needs to create a plan that will help you achieve your goals. “Time Management” is the fourth loophole we fail to plug as we venture on the quest to become better. After sometime we realise that our goals require more time than initially anticipated. The guitar lessons that looked to be a walk in the park now seem like a complex mathematical equation that requires famed physicist Albert Einstein‘s intervention. Last but not least “a lack of selfbelief” is the mother of all killers for ambition. Most people are generally never able to outperform their self-image. At times all one needs is to keep going is a pat on the back – from yourself. Congratulate yourself for your progress. The problem is that many individuals have a very black and white attitude. They see it as either you have achieved your goal or you have failed, but there is a grey area. If your goal was to read twenty books and you only read twelve, do not beat yourself up for it. Rather, congratulate and reward yourself for making the effort towards your goal. That will give you the energy and stamina you need to traverse your journey of individual improvement.

The best resolutions are those that actually include a plan of action.

Bongani Coka is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Productivity SA.


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Coaching for productivity improvement BY RECHE NAIDOO The ability to coax the best out of a person is perhaps as intriguing as the propensity for most individuals to be oblivious of their immense potential. A coach possess the unique insight to ignite the power of self-belief. As more and more organisations shift away from a militant approach, we see a more interactive form of coaching emerging. As the world continues to transform and development spreads across the spectrum, traditional techniques of developing employees are not as effective as they used to be. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 2009 states “Organisations are increasingly using Performance Coaching to bring out the best in their employees. 51% of companies now consider coaching crucial to their strategy.” The importance of the role of coaching has been echoed by the founder and former CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates who stated that “everyone should have a coach”. The underlining objectives, goals and outcomes of effective coaching is fundamentally the growth and improvement of an employee, which consequently leads to an increase of the productive capacity of the organisation. Coaching aims to facilitate the enhancement of knowledge, skills and abilities of an individual for the purpose of increasing their performance. Whilst all individuals desire to improve their quality of their life, the manner in which this enhancement can be achieved is often not effective. Coaching creates a platform which is solely dedicated to fulfilling the need for improvement. The extent to which professional athletes depend and lean on a coach to improve their performance, may very well portray the future relationship between employees and coaches. Perhaps there will come a time within when employees will gasp in awe if a workplace does not have a dedicated coach other than the traditional line manager? Time will tell however what is a fact currently is that the benefits of coaching are: The benefits of coaching to individuals include, but are not limited to: • Improved visualisation of opportunities and possibilities • Individual’s performance, goals and targets are improved • Improved morale and engagement within the working environment • Ability to identify solutions to specific work-related issues • Openness to learning and development

The benefits of coaching to organisations include, but are not limited to: • Improved organisational performance and productivity • Increased creativity, learning and knowledge amongst employees • Smooth change management implementation • An increase in innovation • High retention of talent A newly revolutionised and popular branch of coaching is that of executive coaching. Executive coaching has truly established itself as an independent brand of coaching. The benefits of executive coaching include, but is not limited to: • Transformation of manager into leaders • Enhance the ability to manage business complexities Looking at the benefits of coaching, this begs the question as to why organisations are not investing in such a unique and personalised experience whereby there is great opportunity to improve. The answer to this question is most likely the element of cost. However in the same breath, the cost of coaching interventions may be mitigated by the return on investment. According to research, organisations perceive coaching as an investment in higher business performance rather than a cost. Organisations further deem coaching “as the most cost effective way of getting higher performance from key individuals”. According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Association Resource Centre Inc, in 2009, the average return on investment on coaching is calculated as seven times the initial investment within organisations. The further and outstanding evidence based upon coaching is that organisations within the Fortune 1000 all stated that coaching has greatly yielded a return on investment. A further indication of the upsurge in the demand of executive coaching is that Forbes magazine stated that “corporate America is spending more than $1 billion annually on executive coaching”. Whilst research does provide inconsistencies regarding the exact multitude of the return on investments, it is clear that the debate surrounding the topic depicts the great benefit of coaching. An employee who has received coaching subsequently becomes a reference point for information and an unconscious motivator and inspiration to fellow employees. The coached employee’s further serves as a knowledge sharing hub whereby the benefits can be transferred to the organisation which further introduces an identifiable culture of excellence within an organisation.



OPINION

Poor workplace relations a bottleneck to productivity BY RECHE NAIDOO Hard or as unfathomable it sound, a study at a United States of America (USA) has revealed that amongst the people who partook in the research, 66% of employees would prefer to be paid less and work under a good employer, rather than being paid more and work under a bad employer. That is quite telling given that the general belief may well be that happy employees are those who are well remunerated. It would seem that other factors such as getting to share a cup of tea with your boss is the least of an employee‘s worries. However if statistics such as the ones revealed by this study are anything to go by then good relations spur productivity more than money does. It is critical to employers to note that a higher salary may not equate to happy and productive employees and employers have to be wary that every facet of a negative relationship between a subordinate and line manager is a sure recipe for a reduction in the productive capacity of employees. As much as it has become somewhat of a cliché, one of the primary reasons for poor relations between employees is the lack of clear, concise and concrete information. Once the communication lines become muddled, performance takes a beating as there are no succinct guidelines on what needs to be performed. Poor communication can occur due to various factors but all lead to an incongruence and misalignment between the employee communicating and the employee receiving the communication. Once that bridge of communication has collapsed it becomes difficult to attain similar goals and targets due to the divergence between individuals in the perception of the transmitted message. Poor management practices which are considered toxic for the organisation, can lead to the following, but is not limited to: • Negatively influencing employee morale • Increase stress which may lead to health issues. • Employees not going the extra mile for the organisation • Employees focus on completion rather than quality of performance • Employees experience insecurity concerning their job • Employees are likely to miss work to be tardy thus having a greater negative effect on the team

It is not out of kilt to hear employees complain a helicopter that consistently hovers over their heads and muddies their approach to work. This helicopter refers to micro-management of employees. Not trusting employees to get the job done is a significant barrier to productivity. Micromanagement can discourage, frustrate and make individuals feel uncomfortable. The platform to be productive in one’s own personal capacity is constantly diluted, the joie de vivre (joy of life) within employees is not activated nor expressed. Micromanagement creates the blinker effect whereby employees are being forced to visualise every aspect of the job from the micromanager’s perspective. Therefore, the most valuable assets of the organisation which is the employees are ultimately not utilised to their maximal potential. Dictators within an organisation feed off maintaining power and see every other individual within an organisation as a threat thus, aims to control and misalign employees to their direction. These individuals further do not want to share success with fellow employees and ignore the powerful forces that work behind the scenes of interactions between employees and even sabotage other employees to ensure that they remain the main contributor of success. A significant factor that can stifle productivity in the workplace within the confides of the employee/employers relationships is that of friendship. Perceptions of favouritism may emerge among the co-workers of the employee who is friends with the boss. Friendship blurs the lines between employee and employer - hence supporting the friendship relationship instead of objective working relationships. Reviews might be altered in light of the conscious feelings of the reactions it might have on the friendship. Reviewing of performance of friends will be extremely difficult to do due to the fact it may be perceived as a personal attack. The relationship itself is embedded and underlined by conflict of interest. Leaders within an organisation are able to lead and inspire employees within an organisation and foster a greater depth of team work than was ever imaginable under the tutorship of managers. Whilst employee relations may hinder the relationship between employees, it does however occur due to the fact that when intelligent driven employees are focused on achieving goals of the organisation, they be in conflict with each other. A healthy competition underlined by mutual respect allows the organisation to achieve a far greater levels of success, owing to the fact that employees are continuously trying to improve their performance. To leave you with a concluding remark by Dale Carnegie, the famous writer and lecturer “throw yourself into some work you believe in with all you heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.”



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Individual planning as a key to Produc BY NTWANANO MUETI It’s well known that New Year’s resolutions do not have a high success rate. While many people opt to ditch the annual goal-setting event, majority of adults set at least one resolution come New Year’s. Unfortunately for many who set new resolutions, the results turn into a pattern: January 1, we start off determined to follow through on our goals. Excited and energized, we think that this year will be different from the last, when our resolutions went by the wayside. But come February or even mid-January, the majority of us have abandoned our goals altogether. The reason these resolutions fall by the way side is the absence of a proper plan for execution. The focus should be on the "what" not the "how." When you are more concerned with the goal you set than on the specifics of how you are going to undertake it, or even whether it is realistic and feasible, you can set yourself up for failure.

There are two common mistakes that people tend to make before they even start to make their New Year resolutions: they think about what they "should" do, rather than what they really want to do. And worse they think in about what they should stop doing, rather than what they actually want to achieve. "What should I do this year?" "What should I stop doing?", "What do other people suggest I should work on?” There are a series of productivity planning techniques one can practice to increase productivity and improve the rate at which they start getting things done. These are methods used by the highest-paid and most productive people in every field. This requires that you concentrate your talents and abilities where they will yield the highest payoff to you at the moment. It is the key to personal productivity and is essential to success in personal strategic planning. “Productivity is how well one manages their resources (inputs)”.

The reason these resolutions fall by the way side is the absence of a proper plan for execution.


OPINION

if preceding task has been ticked off by having such planning in place, the productivity levels of planning will be efficient and effective. Six personal productivity planning

Focus on opportunities

Celebrate outcomes

Focus on key results

Project results

Set deadlines

Have a steady pace

ctivity Improvements Steps towards productivity planning To be successful at any task, you need to really want it. Unless you take time to consider what it is you really want. Objectives and goals are thought as a statement of the purposes for which organised individual have to form. This will appear as to be the first logical step before any process starts. Once the objectives and goals has been set, thus will be task developed by an individual to fit the appropriate outcome. The individual needs to defer the task to fit the project plan. This way, you can associate a task with the project it will advance and the context where it will be actioned. Resource planning (time, money, person responsible, raw material and equipment) needs to be put forth in relation of task to be completed, this will assist the turnaround time and work to be done in order to complete the milestone set afore. It should also allow the individual to create sequential planning that will only make a task available

“You could become functionally productive but that doesn’t mean that anything if you’re not working on stuff that you care about”. Parts of planning is an instrument to be used to assist in the performance of an assigned task. For a plan to be of maximum value, it must not only have to be logical in design or how it sound like a “good to have”, but it must contain reference to means to be used for various change. Uncovering things you care about: there is a very interesting relationship between your immediate needs and your later wants, or objectives. A need is predicated by a want and a want is important because it is really just a deeper need. Map yourself Having something you need to do, try to find the “wants” that underpin this need. This is a very effective way to probe and analyse yourself, teasing out the things that drives you. You’ll find that needs and wants are deeply connected by a thread and that thread is importance. This will assist in uncovering your path when mapping yourself, this should lead back, eventually, to things about you care most, which defines you. “We must make the goal kow-tow to individual, rather than make the individual kow-tow to the goal”. – Hunters S. Thompson.

Ntwanano Mueti is a Senior Productivity Advisor within Productivity SA ‘ Workplace Challenge Programme.


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Traffic and Productivity BY LALANE JANSE VAN RENSBURG AND RECHE NAIDOO It is rightfully said that change is the only constant however we may just to add that change is no longer the only constant but getting stuck in traffic in South Africa has become a guaranteed fact. This words not only ring true for South Africa but from Lagos, Nigeria, Tokyo in Japan and New York in the United States of America, the roads are choc a bloc as the traffic rush is no longer a rush but simply a jam globally. There has been little room left to manovouer and the roads have literally become blocked and traffic is slowly turned into serious logjam for productivity.

Traffic congestion is defined as the demand exceeding the capacity of the transportation system. People all over the world experience or have experienced traffic congestion, therefore are familiar with the emotional reactions on a daily basis. Unfortunately, traffic congestion is not limited to emotional reactions and have a far more in-depth consequence on individuals and on the wider eco-system of a country. These consequences include, but are not limited to: • Loss of productivity due to late arrival at work and cancellation of meetings. • Children being stranded whilst waiting for transport to get to school and back. • Stress related ailments. • Higher fuel consumption. • Increased air and noise pollution Finding a solution to traffic problems would greatly increase the quality of our lives. However, the underlying reason for traffic is due to the fact that people have to travel to work, school or various destinations on a daily basis. S. According to TomTom’s annual survey, bottlenecks during peak time congestion is nearly doubling journey times. Tom Tom further stated in 2014 that the average commuter spent an extra 100 hours a year travelling during rush hour. According to research Cape Town and Johannesburg are ranked 55th and 77th respectively as the most congested cities in the world. It is estimated that traffic congestion costs South Africa over R1 billion rand annually. Whilst planning for traffic by adding additional time on a journey is sensible, the basic premise is underlined by a loss of productivity. Even if traffic congestion does not affect the travel time to the destination there is a possibility of arriving too early.


OPINION

According to Stats SA, South African’s who use their own personal transport spend at least an hour and a half in traffic everyday whilst people who use public transport spend two. The problem of traffic congestion has resulted in various solutions. The most common being the introduction of flexi-time and working from home which has mixed results and is further pivoted on the context of working demands. Employees may demand higher wages due to the rising cost of transportation or change jobs, consequently leading to employees compromising their work fit for convenience which could diminish their productive capacity and actualisation of their potential. Some initiatives that can be utilised to combat traffic congestion are: • Alternate modes of transport – mainstream non-motorised transport. • Car-pooling with colleagues. • Efficient lanes exclusive to buses and taxis. • Walking and cycling to the office. • Staggered and/or extended working hours Being stuck in traffic whilst problematic does provide an opportunity for individuals to increase their productive capacity. Hours spent behind the steering wheel can be converted into mind activities such as: • Learning a new language via audio apps/text to speech apps. • Indulging in audio courses and/or motivational and developmental self-help guides. • Relaxing (Listen to music, meditate, positive self-talk). • Planning and organizing the rest of the day. • Planning at least one innovative improvement to your day.

• Listening to reports via conversions apps. • Planning for a blog or an article. The saying “Time is money” bears great accuracy and relevance when confronting the situation of traffic congestion. An organisation whose employees spend less time in traffic and more time using their skills, abilities and knowledge ultimately reaps the profit benefit. The reality of ‘tomorrow’s work environment’ is not just upon us, it can be accomplished with the current technology and climate available. The world of work has been greatly influenced by technology thus the requirement for an employee to be at their desk is not entirely necessary anymore. The additional flexibility and autonomous working environments make it possible for employees to work and collaborate virtually as the reality of tomorrows working environment is upon us.

South African’s who use their own personal transport spend at least an hour and a half in traffic everyday whilst people who use public transport spend two.

Lalane Janse Van Rensburg & Reche Naidoo (Lalane Janse Van Rensburg is an Executive Manager within Productivity SA ‘s Productivity Organisational Solutions (POS) and Reche Naidoo is an intern within POS.


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The Impact of HIV and AIDS on Productivity BY SELLO MOSAI The global situation and trends of HIV&AIDS Since the onset of the HIV&AIDS virus in the early eighties, the epidemic has claimed a stunning 39 million lives. By the end of 2013 statistics indicated that 35 million people were living with HIV globally. It is estimated that worldwide about 0.8% of the adult population aged between 15 and 49 years are living with HIV. Although the burden of the epidemic continues to vary considerably between countries and regions, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most severely affected. Within the SubSaharan Africa region, nearly 1 in every 20 adults live with HIV. This amounts to about 71% of people living with HIV worldwide. The Approximated Impact HIV/AIDS on the SA Economy South Africa has about 5.3 Million people living with HIV&AIDS. What this translates to is that the country ranks top globally when taking into consideration the high infection rate and the size of South Africa‘s population. Due to the impact of the pandemic, the South African government and the business community have earmarked the prevention and eradication of HIIV&AIDS as a top priority. Most people living with HIV&AIDS fall within the 20 to 40 years old age group and considering that the pandemic in South Africa might still be at an early stage of development, it is arguable that the high tide of related illnesses and deaths are to be felt even more. The stigma surrounding HIV&AIDS within an inhibitive cultural environment has meant statistics on the clear-cut prevalence of HIV&AIDS within the South African society are still relatively vague. According to the Antenatal Survey Data, prevalence rates rank around 26.5% (SABCOHA/BER, 2003) and the Human Science Research Council (HSRC)/Nelson Mandela Founda-


OPINION

tion (NMF) survey on prevalence, behavioral risks and mass media (2002) puts the figure at 15.6% amongst 15-49 year old adult population. However, particularly the latter survey has shown that non-participation of interviewees remains high. Only 65% of the sample participated and only 62.5% gave specimen for anonymous HIV-Testing. Considering that non-participation might be related to a person’s HIV-status, this could implicate a substantial bias in survey results. Although the impact of the HIV&AIDS pandemic remains the most devastating on mainly poor households due to poor resources, it also has a significant impact on the overall productivity and economic growth of the country. The Impact HIV/AIDS on Productivity The impact of the HIV&AIDS epidemic goes far beyond the household level as the number of people affected with HIV within businesses or the working world are usually those in the prime of their working years. On the upside, the impact of interventions such as antiretroviral against HIV&AIDS around the world has brought about dramatic improvements in the general health of the affected and has also lowered mortality rates. This has to a certain extent mitigated the impact on productivity levels within the workplace. As HIV infection progresses to AIDS, affected workers are likely to be more absent from work. The periods of absenteeism may affect the productivity of the company. AIDS deaths may directly to a reduction in the number of available workers, since the deaths occur predominantly among workers in their most productive years. As younger, less experienced workers replace experienced workers, worker productivity may be reduced. Companies that have a health programme may find themselves responsible for substantial medical costs. The insurance scheme of the company may become more expensive as insurance companies increase the costs of coverage in response to high HIV prevalence rates. Higher costs could impede savings for investment and expansion

of businesses, thereby hampering the capacity of a firm and subsequently the economy to create more wealth and jobs. HIV&AIDS in the workplace may also lead to increased funeral expenses for workers thereby exacerbating the poverty levels in households. Morale and productivity of the remaining workers may also suffer. Equally important in the increase of costs may be the growing demand for training and recruitment to replace the ailing personnel of the firms. Another impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the community is the impoverishment of households, which leads to a decline in the demand for some types of goods. The companies producing those goods may find themselves with a shrinking market, which may eventually lead to declining profits for the companies involved in the production of the goods. In conclusion HIV is still one of the most stigmatised medical conditions in the world. We could perhaps justify stigma attached to the disease in the early 80’s, when we knew very little about the virus, but the situation is completely different today. We know how the virus is transmitted and we know how to manage our health and live a productive life through ARV treatment and changed lifestyle. We need to continue to encourage testing, disclosure and open living with HIV&AIDS.

The impact of the HIV&AIDS epidemic goes far beyond the household level as the number of people affected with HIV within businesses or the working world are usually those in the prime of their working years.

Sello Mosai is the Executive Manager for the Value Chains and Competitiveness unit within Productivity SA.


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• • • • • • • •

Competitiveness Inspires Productivity BY RECHE NAIDOO Competition within the workplace and in most spheres of life provides a catalyst to achieving outcomes. In essence, human beings perform at a higher level in the presence of competition than in its absence. Employees generally have a desire to not only achieve, but to attain more than their counterparts. Subsequently this serves as a catalyst for productivity. However be that as it may, competition has to be healthy. Healthy competition allows for collaboration to take place between employees and encourages knowledge-sharing. Competition can be either direct competition (whereby an individual competes with another) or cooperative competition (whereby a team works together to achieve team outcomes). To surmise the importance of competition, the legendary American entrepreneur, cartoonist and film producer, Walt Disney, said “I have been up against tough competition all my life. I would not know how to get along without it.” The importance of competition within our lives should be not underestimated as it has and will continue to propel us towards numerous accomplishments and improvements. The benefits of well managed competition within the workplace, can be categorised as: • Inspires productivity

Providing individuals with motivation to achieve objectives and increase work output. It provides a platform for cohesive teamwork, as well as, a platform whereby strengths on team members are projected and optimal team performance is achieved It can improve overall commitment to quality Competition inspires creativity within individuals Inspires creativity and efficiency within the workplace Competition serves as a test of an individual capability and gauges the degree to which individuals are able to work under pressure and stressful situations Competition within a workplace creates an atmosphere whereby merely meeting targets is not personally acceptable, there is a need to produce work that is of the greatest quality Healthy and effective competition will result in higher productivity and efficiency being achieved which subsequently leads to an increase in the net income of the organisation Competition within teams allows for team building to occur. Putting a group of individuals together does not justify a team, but give those individuals a goal or a target and you will see how team work fosters. WebWorkerDaily states that "If you find a way to work together, you can help compensate each other’s weaknesses and build on both your strengths," When channelled effectively, competition has a wide variety of benefits within teams such as: • It encourages individuals and teams to work hard and to achieve objectives • Facilitates effective team work, as well as, provides a platform whereby strengths of team members can be utilised in order to obtain optimum performance of a team • It allows for individuals and team to achieve great accom plishments in the context of stretching targets, realistic time frames, clear guidance, and supportive management Competition does not entirely eliminate mediocrity and laziness, but it creates an interpersonal need and a climate where this type of behaviour is unacceptable. The art of competition acknowledges what we want, it allows us to focus our efforts based upon an objective, goal or outcome we desire. Therefore, competition acts as the lubricant that brings us closer to satisfying our desire. Can we seek personal reflection by what drives our competitive urge? In conclusion, one of the most famous athletes and basketball players of all time, Michael Jordan stated that “You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that.” Therefore, it can be said that your greatest competitor is the person who stares at you in the mirror. Let competition and productivity inspire you, because you are capable of being the greatest and most productive version of yourself.

Reche Naidoo is an intern within Productivity Organisational Solutions( POS).


OPINION

Personal productivity BY BONGANI COKA With the rate of resolutions currently on a high, it beggars the question as to whether there are truly any productivity planning techniques an individual can practice to increase productivity and improve the rate at which they start getting things done. The answer to that is a resounding yes. There are a series of productivity planning techniques one can practice to increase productivity and improve the rate at which you start getting things done. For starters you can increase your productivity by concentrating on your strengths, and the strengths of others and on your major opportunities where major breakthroughs are possible. You need to place emphasis on the opportunities of tomorrow, rather than the problems of yesterday. After all Productivity is how well one manages their resources (inputs) and it is vital to work on matters that you truly care about. It is easy to be functionally productive but that does not mean much if you are not working on stuff that you care about. It is critical to uncover your needs. Needs and wants are deeply connected by a thread and that thread is importance.

Uncovering your needs will assist in uncovering your path when mapping yourself, which should eventually lead back to things you care about the most and these are things which define you. You excel when you know that what you are doing is what defines you. We will never change our lives until we change something that we do daily. Improvement is based on two things and that is primarily the decisions we make and the disciplines we practice. Acting on our decisions daily is what makes a goal a reality. So identify daily disciplines you intend to practice in 2016. Be specific in creating your goals. For example, do not say, “I am going to read more this year.” Instead, break it down into measurable increments: “I am going to read two chapters per day in whatever book I am reading or I am going to read two books a month.” Most importantly it is progressive to set realistic expectations for your improvement. For instance if your resolution is to lose weight one needs to be realistic on how many kilograms you can reasonably lose in a month. Often when football managers are asked what their strategy to defeat their opponents is, the common response is that we will focus on our strengths. That rings true to personal development. It only makes sense to spend 80% of your time working on your strengths. This refers to your skill set, not your character. There are two weak areas in character that must be addressed because they will hurt you: self-discipline and attitude. In honing your skills, focus on developing and growing in your areas of strength. Growing in a weak area might bring you up to average in that area but growth in a strength area has the potential to make you exceptional. Lastly any improvement has to come about because we have assessed the past and weighed in on the failures and successes. It is important to review the year gone by and set goals as you enter into the New Year. One way to stay on track is to regularly ask yourself this question: “Is what I am doing today getting me closer to my goal tomorrow?” Develop good habits and the discipline to keep them, and evaluate every day, and you will stay on course toward achieving your long-term goals.

Growing in a weak area might bring you up to average in that area but growth in a strength area has the potential to make you exceptional.

Bongani Coka is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Productivity SA.


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Productivity: Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication BY MOLEBOGENG MONAGENG Productivity at its core is simple because it embraces the attitude of the mind that seeks to continually improve on what already exits and believing that one can do things better today than yesterday. The question then is why is productivity a boardroom language but not a company-wide phenomenon? After all is business not all about harnessing the intellect from every person within the company? For most executives the main reason for not benefiting from company-wide productivity improvement initiatives is that they associate this with complex and costly methods. What can be learnt from the Japanese approach to productivity is that their productivity improvements are basic and progressive whereby small improvements leads to radical improvement through the concept of Kaizen. Kai- means change, Zen means good and the essence of this concept is change for the better which translates to continuous improvement by everyone, every day and everywhere. This concept focuses on achieving productivity improvements by encouraging ideas of improvement from the employees at all levels in the company, especially those involved with the direct value adding activities of the company. Kaizen is the real dynamic of productivity. In essence Kaizen means everyone involved in making improvements every day and everywhere and every brain in the company is essential for its success. For Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan this has been a phenomenal success whereby they attribute their success to the good thinking of their employees. This is further reiterated in their motto that says “Good thinking, Good products”. It is the continued improvements of kaizen that makes The Toyota Production system such a great success translating into good quality products. This is a culture that companies needs to instil in their employees by deploying strategies that allow creative and innovative thinking from employees at all levels and strategies that are geared at improving business operations. The best way then to apply Kaizen is by getting top management’s commitment through the setting of performance goals; once this is done then employees at all levels below management will focus on the achievement of their goals by making changes born from their creative and innovative thinking. What makes this approach towards productivity improvement simple is that conventional and fixed ideas are

discarded and instead of investing exorbitant amounts of money, wisdom is used to achieve significant results. Kaizen has come to be synonymous with company-wide efforts to improve upon and intelligently streamline business practices and manufacturing methods while simultaneously respecting the product and the people involved with making it. Kaizen that yields results is based on certain guiding principles: • Discard traditional ways of thinking and embrace new ideas • Always think of how it can be done not why it cannot be done • Go see for yourself to grasp the current situation • Measure and examine whether the process is efficient using quantifiable data such as time to complete or hours spent on a job. • Compare what is measured against the requirements, simply speak with data and manage by facts • Innovate and search for new, better ways to do the same work or achieve the same result. • Look for smarter and more efficient routes to the same end-goal that boost productivity • Take action to contain and correct root causes of problems • Celebrate success in order to boost the morale of the employees and ensure work as a team From this simple perspective of productivity companies can enjoy the fruits of productivity by being operationally fit and profitable from a simple approach of suggestions and continuous improvement by its employees. The benefits of productivity are multi-pronged and are not all concerned with expanding the company’s bottom line. The benefits also includes the reduction of unemployment in the countries where businesses enjoy immense success. Today emerging economies like South Africa continually face challenges hampering equitable resource redistribution. The emerging economies are stuck with a myriad of obstacles that stall growth and development. The challenges are not singular and include deficiencies in infrastructure, exchange rate instability, high interest rates, high inflation and poverty. The lack of adequate primary education, political instability, and high foreign debt add to the basket. It is no coincidence that the vast majority of emerging economies are concentrated in Africa and this may be rightfully or wrongfully attributed to various institutional legacies. However the reality is that the continent is facing a host socio economic challenges. Unemployment is one of the major economic growth bottleneck.

The vast majority of emerging economies are concentrated in Africa

Molebogeng Monageng is a Workplace Challenge Facilitator within the Workplace Challenge Programme (WPC).


OPINION

Driving change procedure with productivity improvement BY RACHEL LETSWALO For time immemorial the only constant has been change and bar any fantasy land scenario, that constant will remain. On an individual level change is often dealt with swiftly through adaptability and fewer variables. However from a business perspective it may be a little bit harder to deal with variation due to the various external factors that necessitate change. It is also worth noting that when change does come, businesses may not be ready for change. However as the saying goes it is survival for the fittest and only the toughest remain standing. The onset of the global financial meltdown in 2009 is a case in point. Within a business environment, change can vary from entry of new competition, need for new products, equipment, technology and materials. An inability to deal with or embrace change can translate to an unfavourable bal-

ance sheet. The effects of an unfavourable balance sheet are well documented. These are fundamental realities that will affect employees and the organisations during times of change and to counter the effects of change, it is critical to achieve productivity improvement through a proactive and defined approach. These are some of the change/productivity improvement realities: • Change will not go away, it may only happen faster • Change similar to productivity improvement, however well planned, will not occur without challenges • Successful change requires each and every individual to play their role • There is always a guarantee that things will be different even if the change or improvement is small. Change calls for a progressive change of mentality which leads to adaptation. In a business sense the organisational change management should be in an improving direction. The one progressive way or method of managing change within a business is that of productivity improvement programmes. Productivity management moves from the premise that there should be preparation of change to come, change must be managed and the must ultimately be the reinforcement of the outcomes of change. It is almost near impossible to implement productivity improvement without a well thought out change management strategy to take everyone through the improvement. The two variables are intertwined and charting ahead without the other usually has limited impact or negative impact. Productivity improvement by its nature dictates the following phases: • a re-evaluation of the status quo phase, • the quest for a defined and better status quo phase and finally • a sustainable future status quo phase that is different from the current situation.


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This productivity process at every phase calls for change as a catalyst to achieve productivity improvement. Productivity improvement programmes can assist organisations adapt to the environmental changes, both internally and externally, thereby helping organisations achieve their goals and objectives. The programme will call for a change in the organisation’s critical areas such as process, people or structure. The systematic nature of productivity improvement tools allows for proper and relevant diagnosis of change elements, identification of solutions, improved performance and enhancement of productivity for sustainability purposes. Productivity improvement pro-gramme as a change management process can have three forms current state, transition state and future state.

holders and allows for reinforcement of the link between the before and after. The forms of measurement could be partial, total or multifactorial productivity measurement.

Productivity improvement programmes can assist organisations adapt to the environmental changes, both internally and externally.

1. Current state: Proper diagnosis and selection of Productivity Strategy from the following strategies Ø Working smarter> increasing output with same input Ø Pare down strategy> decrease input at a faster rate than output Ø Working effectively>increasing output while input is decreasing Ø Cost reduction strategy>maintain the same output with decreasing input Ø Growth management strategy>increasing output at a faster rate than input

3. Future state: Impact The productivity initiative outcomes include improvement of goods and services, reduce inputs quantity, improve quality of inputs/resources and increase quantity of outputs. Impact can include improvement in organisational performance, GDP contribution, higher quality of work life, motivation and increased competitive edge

Tips for good consulting Productivity practitioners Ø Use of dynamic but comprehensive approach Ø Examine client organisation holistically Ø Approach project from a general to specific perspective and micro to macro Ø Determine real causes of the clients’ most critical problems Ø Prioritise and classify the problems and Ø Determine the relative importance of the various prob lems and allot time to solve them. Due to the simple fact that change is inevitable, it is proactive for productivity management evolve according to the prevailing environment. Productivity tools, techniques and methodologies require constant review, improvement and innovation.

Current state: Prerequisites for success Top management commitment, programme objectives understanding, alignment with organisation’s goals, monitoring, evaluation and rewards are the key prerequisites for a successful productivity improvement programme. To ensure the success of the productivity improvement programme, it is key to apply proper diagnosis of the situation and correct selection of the strategy, tools and technique. 2. Transition state: The first step here involves design and implementation of the productivity improvement programme. The second step involves identifying tools and techniques that supports the programme design in ensuring the achievement of the organisation’s goals. Finally we look at productivity measurements: This step helps determine efficiency levels; whether the strategies results in improvement, understanding by stakeRachel Letswalo is a Senior Productivity Advisor within Productivity SA ‘s Turnaround Solutions programme.


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