Businesses and employees at odds over workplace productivity
Two-thirds (66%) of global employers believe their organisation is more innovative if employees are in the office, according to research by VMware. Yet this is at odds with how employees feel about where they are most innovative and productive, with 82% of global...
Can virtual BPO operations remedy the jobs crisis?
Before Covid-19 came along, work was a place. Today, work is an activity, and loosening the physical shackles of having employees sit at desks in specific locations may help unleash a new wave of prosperity and employment for South Africa and the entire continent. By...
Four-day work week trend spins back into the mainstream
The four-day work week is nothing new. Reading about its anticipated return is akin to getting a letter from an old friend who disappointed you long ago and then disappeared, but for whom you still have fond feelings. By Johan Botes, partner and head of the employment...
Applying algorithms to workplace conflict could save millions
The NBA was recently rocked by footage of Golden State Warrior teammates involved in a fistfight during practice. By Martin Dippenaar, CEO of Global Kinetic It is certainly not the first time athletes at the highest level have been known to have the pressures of...
Bolster creativity to stave off worker apathy
Employers need to do more to provide fulfilling work, with recent research suggesting the majority of enterprise workers seek more stimulation and creativity in their job. This is the word from Jolene Castelyn, marketing executive at Ricoh South Africa, who comments:...
How to meet the needs of today’s distributed workforce while also building a more resilient business
We’ve all heard about the ‘Great Resignation’ and even ‘quiet quitting’ within the workplace on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while this may not have had as much impact in South Africa, largely affecting more specialist roles, it’s a reality that many people...
Temporary employment services support the growth of e-commerce
E-commerce has seen tremendous growth in South Africa in recent years, spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic that forced traditional retailers to develop an online presence. There is also a proliferation of small businesses offering goods and services online, allowing them...
How to manage a successful WFH/hybrid career
Next year will be the true test of companies' work-from-home and hybrid workforce strategies, as the novelty of having some staff in-office, some out of office, and some dipping in and out wears off and new routines become entrenched. But work-from-home and hybrid...
Win-win learnerships are the future
For many companies, learnerships remain a grudge purchase and a tick-box exercise for B-BBEE compliance. But what if companies could make their learnerships self-funding? If, during the 12 months of the programme, their learners were to actually contribute to...
The culture opportunity your business can’t afford to ignore
The ways in which a business creates and maintains its culture are changing. Previously, a business's culture may have centred around its office, but in today's do-anything, from-anywhere economy, this approach is no longer fit for purpose. By JG Pons, senior...
Managed services can alleviate the impact of a growing IT skill shortage
South Africa is in the midst of an ongoing and deepening IT skills shortage that is exacerbated by the high global demand for IT talent from the country's skills pool. The exodus of quality skills is often spurred on by attractive remuneration and the opportunity to...
Now is the time to re-engage employees
Looking back on 2022, it's clear that while the world slowly found its feet after Covid-19, people are still grappling with the repercussions of trauma, stress and burnout, on both a personal and professional level. By Sarah Rice, chief people officer at Skynamo Since...