Content recent news 06 07 08 09
Zimbabwe: unions fails to agree on negotiators Chinese shoemaker ups investment IBM launches Master Nigeria: C’wealth Council to open job centres
legal watch 10 11
Uganda: government vows on labour Egypt: cabinet to increase social security cabinet
people & positions 13 Recent Appointments Emirates Announces new appointment 13 New UBA chairman Appointment
06
10
13
insight 16
Castor Project revolution
viewpoint 18
CEOs are not idea killers!
research
19 HR as a strategic business 20 KPMG rethinking human resources in changing Africa
features 23 24 26
Kenya’s talent agenda The Life and legacy of Nelson Mandela Striving for excellence HR is more than administration
HR politics 31 35
President of Ghana Appraises his ministers Ghana Strikes! The Cost and effect on productivity
31 35
PERSONNEL MESSENGER 03
content
Editors Remarks
“We are delighted to bring you Personnel Messenger, our HR Magazine for Africa HR professionals and people in management”
Welcome to another edition of Personnel Messenger. In this edition we are looking at performance management. Performance management is one of the areas in Africa that organizations constantly battle to get right. There is a new era emerging in Africa where organizations are beginning to move towards a reward based performance management system. This means that organizations are beginning to see that, the current system of rewarding all employees annually, regardless of their performance is not yielding the results they desire nor is it developing high performing cultures. Organisations are now looking at performance management critically, by opting towards the objective approach to managing performance rather than the subject approach currently used by many organizations in Africa. Lastly, organizations are beginning to link performance to rewards; this means that those who perform are rewarded and those who do not perform are not rewarded, rather poor performance is managed using performance improvement plans (PIPs). In this edition we take a look at different aspects of managing performance focusing on the process.
appraisal process for Ministers; the PM HR team share the results of their productivity analysis on Ghana strikes for the year 2013, looking at the cost and the impact of the strikes on productivity. Elsewhere in this issue Esther J. Tseko shares with us what it means to be the HR manager for Danadams one of the leading pharmaceutical company in West Africa (PAGE 26); Mr. Sridhar, the managing Director of Interworld Products (Nigeria) Limited, talks to us about what the CEO really wants from HR. This issue also includes the latest in labor laws and news from around Africa and much more. As always a huge thank you to persons who contributed to writing the wonderful and insightful articles in this edition and also a warm thank you to my editorial team for their hard work in our quest to bring to our readers an HR magazine that connects HR professionals and people managers across Africa.
Anita Wiafe-Asinor
Here is the rundown in this edition; I take a critical look at the President of Ghana’s
Editorial Desk Chief Editor Anita Wiafe-Asinor News Editor Paul Asinor Researcher (s) Monika Biskupska Caleb Martins Contributors Esther J. Tseko Gurumoorthi Sridhar Karen Okundayor Bright-Davies
Personnel Messenger is produced by Occupational Management Limited (OML Africa). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced in print or electronic format or any format in any media whatsoever without the written permission of OML Africa. Personnel Messenger accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinion expressed herein. Personnel Messenger is registered with the Media commission of Ghana. CONTRIBUTE We welcome suggestions for features , news stories, ideas for articles and contributions from practitioners, professionals, experts, academics and specialist writers. Please send a short written proposal to personnelmessenger@omlafrica.com or Call +0302973379.Please include your telephone number and e-mail address. SUBSCRIPTIONS Personnel Messenger is a subscription magazine available online and in print. To find out about subscription packages visit our website at www.personnelmessenger.com
Advertising & Subscription For advertising and subscription to PM Contact us: Call: +233 (0) 302973379 / +233 (0) 572101953 Email: personnelmessenger@omlafrica.com Website: www.personnelmessenger.com PERSONNEL MESSENGER 05
recent news
Zimbabwe:
CIVIL SERVANTS’ UNIONS FAIL TO AGREE ON NEGOTIATORS THE HERALD
C
ivil servants’ unions met in Harare recently for more than seven hours but failed to come up with nine substantive negotiators to second to the National Joint Negotiating Council, a platform they meet with Government for salary talks. In fighting among the unions deepened with labour leaders failing to agree on the number of seats each body should get on the Apex Council, a body that brings together Government staff associations for salary negotiations. Government on gave the unions a 48-hour ultimatum to come up with the list or risk having salaries imposed on them by the employer. The Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), the Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (TUZ) and the College Lecturers’ 06 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
Association of Zimbabwe (Colaz) accused the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) and the Public Service Association (PSA) of being selfish as they each wanted three seats out of the nine available.
There are 12 civil servants unions battling for seats Zimta and PSA however, dismissed the allegations, saying some of the union leaders that wanted to represent civil servants were “generals without any army” as they did not have a significant membership base to speak of. TUZ chief executive Mr Manuel Nyawo said no one should monopolise Apex Council seats. They (Zimta and PSA) want to
play big brother,” he said. “They want three seats each because they call themselves kings but we don’t tolerate such a mentality. We want everyone to be heard and as such the meeting was adjourned.
MOROCCO TAKES ACTION ON UNEMPLOYMENT
BY SIHAM ALI Two years after Morocco pledged to assist jobless youth, the promise will finally be made good. The “Moubadara” project for jobs in non-governmental sectors and the TAETIR mentoring programme for long-term unemployed graduates are both set to get under way in 2014. The National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC) will also be
recent news expanded to cover the whole country. And for the first time, non-graduates will be able to use its services. A new employment monitoring centre will also link jobless citizens to intermediation services. The government decided to pay particular attention to supporting the self-employment sector. New measures have been introduced in the draft Finance Act, which is currently being examined in parliament. Plans to simplify taxation will make it easier for unemployed youth to start their own businesses, Finance Minister Mohamed Boussaid told lawmakers. The government
push to expand programmes and widen eligibility comes after the Moukawalati selfemployment scheme fell far short of expectations. Since its 2007 launch, Moukawalati has claimed credit for 5,139 small businesses and 14,117 jobs. The new government plan, however, is being hailed by both coalition and opposition lawmakers. If implemented effectively, the long-awaited measures can reduce unemployment among young graduates, Istiqlal MP Mustapha Hanine told Magharebia. Young people, meanwhile, are voicing eagerness to see action on their
young people to suffer. At the end of a lengthy job search, Jbilou decided to venture into business on his own. With the help of his parents, he opened a toy shop two years ago. “I had no idea how to go about making a success of my business. I think the government should help young people with guidance and training. I hope that the promises for 2014 will be kept”, he says. Bouchra Zaim, 29, graduated seven years ago. She says she hopes to benefit from one of the programmes planned for 2014. “I have no particular requirements or preferences,” she says. “For me, the most important thing is to be able to work at long last.”
CHINESE SHOEMAKER UPS INVESTMENT TO CREATE JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN ETHIOPIA Source: Xinhua
Chinese footwear maker Huajian Group plans to make Ethiopia the hub for the global footwear industry and create more than 100,000 jobs locally in the next 10 years. The company, which first moved to Ethiopia to offset rising labor and raw material costs in China, says it has teamed up with the China-Africa Development Fund and the Ethiopian Ministry of Industry to establish a light-manufacturing base in Ethiopia.
Ababa, the proposed zone will have facilities for shoemaking, other light manufacturing, commercial facilities and residential communities. It will house more than 50,000 families and generate revenue of $4 billion from exports.
To be called the EthiopiaChina Light Manufacturing Special Economic Zone, the development received the green light from the Ethiopian government in October this year, says Wei Yongquan, general manager of Huajian Group. Covering an area of 318 hectares near the Ethiopian capital Addis
A four-line shoemaking plant and a shoe materials plant in the park have helped the Chinese company make 837,4000 pairs of shoes in Ethiopia in the first 10 months of this year and generate revenue of $13.06 million.
According to Wei, Huajian has invested more than $6 million on shoemaking facilities since 2011 at the Oriental Industrial Zone in the Oromia region of Ethiopia.
Wei says that one of the biggest advantages of making shoes in PERSONNEL MESSENGER 07
recent news Africa is the huge cost savings. “The average monthly wage for a worker in Ethiopia is about 400 yuan ($66), while the same is around 3,000 yuan in Dongguan, Guangdong province, where the group is based, and around 2,500 yuan, in Ganzhou, an inland city in Jiangxi province. “Since there
are very few factories in Ethiopia, we do not have any problems in finding labor.” Huajian’s plants in Ethiopia employ 3,200 people. The availability of local leather also provides cost savings of more than 30 percent compared with the Chinese mainland, Wei says.
Animal husbandry output accounts for about 20 percent of the gross domestic product of Ethiopia, while its livestock population is ranked among the best in Africa and the 10th in the world, according to an investment guide published by the country’s Ministry of Commerce.
IBM LAUNCHES MASTER THE MAINFRAME CONTEST IN KENYA By Semaj Itosno, Nairobi, Kenya IBM has unveiled its Master the Mainframe competition in Kenya to allow students showcase their talent and explore future employment possibilities.
scalable and secure solutions and platforms for cloud, mobile and big data analytics,” said Felix Orondo, Team Leader for the Master the Mainframe initiative in Kenya.
Through the contest, students learn everything from how to log KENYA: KNUT WARNS onto mainframe environments OF STRIKE OVER to developing code and problem 53,000 TEACHERS solving. The contest is part of the PROMOTION company’s System z academic By Rita Damary initiative which lets students around the world take charge of The Kenya National Union of world-class zEnterprise computing Teachers has warned that it is not platforms and showcase their going to backtrack in its quest talents, while learning sought-after to have 53,000 teachers who enterprise computing skills. have upgraded their academic credentials promoted. Recently The competition, which is open in Nakuru during a meeting with to students from all Kenyan executive secretaries from the universities, has already attracted Rift Valley region Knut secretary entries from students at local general Wilson Sossion said they universities. As a three-part will do anything to ensure that the contest which is taking place in teachers get what belongs to them. a number of countries, Master the Mainframe serves as an Sossion said Knut is ready to introduction to programming call for a national strike if the and application development contentious issues are not fully and students require no initial addressed by the Teachers Service mainframe experience to Commission and other parties participate. representing the government. “We have submitted a proposal to the “Mainframes have always government that Sh18 billion be been at the center of the global set aside for the hiring of 40,000 economy as well as the backbone teachers,” Sossion said. He said of most cities infrastructures. 6,000 teachers from the Rift Today, mainframes are growing Valley are eligible for promotion in popularity as technology after a verification exercise was evolves, demanding more open, conducted in a Nakuru hotel. 08 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
Sossion said TSC holds that only 20,000 teachers qualify for promotion, something that Knut is contesting. However, the TSC averted another strike in January, after a holding a fruitful meeting with Knut representatives. It was agreed that a joint committee be formed to verify the documents submitted by teachers.
KENYA: SAP HELPS BIDCO STREAMLINE ITS HR PROCESSES By Lilian Mutegi
In a bid to further integrate its human resource (HR) business processes more efficiently Bidco Oil Refineries has implemented SAP’s ERP Human Capital Management (HCM) which is a fully integrated HR and Payroll solution. SAP’s ERP Human Capital Management (HCM) will help the company find a solution that will uniformly integrate and centralise payroll and HR reporting needs therefore provide rich HR reporting functionality in line with the rest of the SAP ERP systems.
recent news ZAMBIA: KAFUBU MALL TO CREATE 300 JOBS By Chatula Kampo
CONSTRUCTION of the US$20 million Kafubu Mall in Ndola is nearing completion and the trading facility is expected to create more than 300 permanent jobs once completed. Thor Development Limited, the company contracted to build the mall located opposite Ndola Golf Club, would hand over the facility to the developer at the end of January. The project commenced in April last year and over 450 local people have been engaged during the construction process. Government has expressed happiness with the quality of work done at the mall scheduled to be completed in April this year.
NIGERIA: C’WEALTH COUNCIL TO OPEN JOB CENTRES IN NIGERIA Source: Xinhua
The Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) said it is planning to open a job centres in Nigeria where youths can go to search for job vacancies. Chairperson of the council Ahmed Adamu said this on Friday when he visited Media Trust Ltd, publishers of the Trust titles in Abuja as part of his advocacy tour of the country. While commending Media Trust for a job well done as a society watch dog, he said “We want to create job centres where information on job alert can be easily accessed with a database for job opportunity for young people to access job opportunities.”
ZAMBIA
Adamu also said the council was launching the Youth Campaign Against Election Violence (Y-CAEV) in Nigeria as the country gears up for the 2015 general election. PERSONNEL MESSENGER 09
legal watch
Uganda: Government vows on labour laws By Donald Kiirya,The New Vision
G
overnment has vowed to enforce laws geared towards protecting workers from occupational hazards. “Uganda Government is set to establish a National Occupational Safety and Health profile, which will guide the development of a policy as well as the establishment of an Occupational Safety and Health services for Workers,” minister of state for labour Mwesigwa Rukutana said. He was presiding over the Eskom Uganda Limited’s celebrations marking 1000 days without lost time injury in Jinja. According to Rukutana, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that there are over 2.3 million accidents at workplaces every year, which leads
10 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
to loss of lives and $2.8 trillion.“It is therefore, uplifting to see that a Ugandan Company can achieve 1000 days without lost time injury. We applaud all staff of Eskom Uganda Limited for proving to the World that Ugandan Companies take safety at work very seriously. By achieving Zero lost time injury, Eskom Uganda limited has helped to contribute to lowering losses and human suffering associated with injury, accident and occupational diseases,” he said. In the past the country has faced challenges due to inadequate awareness and sensitization on occupational safety and health, but this is changing.
KENYA: RULES ON WORK PERMITS TIGHTEN By Ibrahim Oruko
Work permits will now only be issued for a two-year, nonrenewable period, according to Director of Immigration Jane Waikenda. Employers will have to include the name of an understudy before the work permit is issued. The plan is to ensure the understudy takes over the job when the foreigner’s work permit expires. “This is to ensure that Kenyans get the opportunity to acquire the foreign employee’s skills and take over. There will be no renewal of any foreign worker’s permit after two years,” said Waikenda. Waikenda said those with active
legal watch work permits will be allowed to complete their terms but renewal will be conditional on identifying Kenyans to understudy. She denied that the new regulations were specifically targeting residence permits for citizens of the UK, US and France. She said the new regulations apply to all foreigners seeking to live and work in Kenya. The review was in line with the pre-election pledge by the Jubilee Alliance to prioritise job creation, she said. “It is not as if we don’t want foreigners. We cannot refuse them an opportunity to work here but the priority must be given to Kenyans. The Jubilee government promised to create jobs to Kenyans and this is one of the areas being considered,” she said. Government has decided that strict measures are needed to ensure that only deserving foreigners get work permits who offer specialised services.
Residence and work permits are needed by any foreigner wanting to stay in Kenya, whether in gainful employment or not. Some foreigners with pending applications have complained to the Star that they were being referred to the Office of the Director.
It is not as if we don’t want foreigner However Waikenda said that she was not directly involved in issuing work permits as there is a committee that deals with applications.Government is also tightening up on foreign investors. They will now have to show proof that they have Sh50 million in their accounts to get a Class G work permit as opposed to the $100,000 (Sh8.7 million) required by the constitution. Existing investors will be asked to top up their balances.
Waikenda says this is necessary to avoid and to ensure that briefcase investors are not licensed.
EGYPT: CABINET TO INCREASE SOCIAL SECURITY PENSION BY 50 PERCENT By Egypt State Information Service (Cairo)
The Cabinet, under Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawy, decided on Thursday 16/01/2014 to increase the value of the social security pension by 50 percent as of January 1. About 1.5 million families will benefit from the decision. Beblawy made the remark in a press conference held following a cabinet meeting. Beblawy further said that the increase, worth about EGP 1.2 billion until the end of the fiscal year in June, will be covered by the State budget.
PERSONNEL MESSENGER 11
people & positions
Recent Appointments
EMIRATES ANNOUNCES NEW APPOINTMENT IN NORTH AND WEST AFRICA By The Herald Team
E
Adil Al Ghaith
mirates has demonstrated its commitment and the importance of its African route network with the appointment of Adil Al Ghaith as Vice President Commercial Operations for North and West Africa. Adil joined Emirates
in 1999 by enrolling in the Management Training Programme for UAE Nationals. He was subsequently appointed Designate Sales Manager for Melbourne, Australia. From 2001 until 2007, Adil was the Area Manager for Yemen, Qatar and Egypt. In 2007, he was promoted to Vice President for Pakistan and three years later for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen In his new position, Adil is responsible for Emirates’ business operations in a number of markets, including Egypt, Tunis, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Sudan,
Senegal, Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast. Commenting on his recent appointment, Adil Al Ghaith said, “I’m really looking forward to leading the Emirates team in North and West Africa and expanding our services and our satisfied customer base. There is scope for strong growth in these markets, and together with my highly experienced and capable team, I’m confident of our success.” Adil Al Ghaith holds a degree in Business Administration from Seattle Pacific University, Washington State.
NEW UBA CHAIRMAN APPOINTMENT HIGHLIGHTS DYNAMIC GROWTH IN AFRICAN MARKETS By Biz tech Africa
global network. Heirs Holdings Chairman, Tony O. Elumelu, who retired as Group Managing Director and CEO of UBA in 2010 and whose strategic vision is responsible for today’s UBA, confirmed that Keshi’s appointment would add significant value to UBA’s shareholders.
UBA Appointment United Bank for Africa (UBA), the pan-African financial services group in which investment company Heirs Holdings has a strategic interest, has announced the appointment of a new board
chairman, Ambassador Joe Keshi. The appointment of Ambassador Keshi, who brings significant foreign service experience, signals the increasing importance of UBA’s pan-African and
Elumelu said, “Joe Keshi brings to this position a track record of rigorous governance, an international perspective and experience in policy formulation. These qualities are critical to UBA’s strategy of consolidating its position as the leading panAfrican financial services group in Africa.”
PERSONNEL MESSENGER 13
people & positions SABC CEO Resigns By Buhle Ndweni
ment agreement with the state broadcaster’s board, according to technology news site TechCentral. The site reports that it has “learnt that a number of other senior executives are poised to leave the broadcaster”. This includes former Telkom Group Executive Brenda Kali, who played a key role in Mokhobo’s turnaround strategy for the SABC. Lulama Mokhobo SABC CEO SABC CEO Lulama Mokhobo resigns. Following heavy media speculation last week, SABC CEO Lulama Mokhobo has resigned after her situation at the public broadcaster became “untenable” The SABC’s Group Chief Executive Lulama Mokhobo will vacate her position at the end of
14 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
February. “The SABC board and [Mokhobo] have amicably agreed to part ways,” spokesman for the broadcaster Kaizer Kganyago said in a statement adding that the process to replace Mokhobo would begin as soon as possible. Mokhobo has signed a settle-
TechCentral says Mokhobo has had enough of the politics in the organisation and that there were reports that “suggested Mokhobo has had her authority undermined on a number of occasions”. She has only served two years of her five-year term, and her departure will throw the broadcaster into yet another leadership crisis.
insight
Castor Projects revolutionises performance management By All Scan, Eldaline Botha
C
astor Projects Consultants (CPC), one of SA’s leading mobile device repair service providers, announced recently that it is implementing Intuitive Dashboards to revolutionise the speed of performance management reporting against critical service key performance indicators (KPIs). Using Intuitive Dashboards, senior managers gain instant, interactive access to accurate management data submitted by CPC’s technical staff located across SA, empowering them to rapidly analyse their performance, improve effectiveness and enhance client service. Previously, performance information was manually
Stephan Haupt, Director, Castor Projects 16 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
consolidated from 45 individual reports, taking four hours a day to produce management reports. As a result of implementing Intuitive Dashboards, which provides customisable dashboard views of the most critical information required, CPC will save five working days a month. In addition, Intuitive Dashboards provides an accurate perspective of CPC’s overall performance across product, HR, forecasting and financial KPIs. Intuitive Dashboards unites critical management information residing in existing disparate data sources, presenting users with relevant information in a visually engaging, interactive dashboard format. By delivering proactive alerts to potential variances and shortfalls, as well as highlighting trends, users can take fast action to maintain performance levels and maximise opportunities, which ultimately aids efficiency, service delivery and costeffectiveness. Stephan Haupt, Director of Castor Projects, comments: “We needed a solution that would enable us to make faster, more proactive decisions on a day-to-day basis, so we can focus on critical areas of the business that need immediate attention. We used to spend up to four hours a day pulling data together to produce management reports, but using Intuitive Dashboards, we now have realtime access giving us an accurate picture of how we’re performing. Intuitive Dashboards is extremely easy to use, so we can drill-down
to analyse our data more deeply with just a few mouse clicks. I’m also impressed by the highly visual, customisable dashboards which makes it extremely simple to interpret and act on our data.” Haupt concludes: “We operate in a highly competitive market and it’s imperative we deliver a service that is second to none. Intuitive Dashboards enables us to manage productivity more effectively than ever before, because we can now act quickly to deal with potential performance shortfalls across our business. There are so many applications for the software across the organisation – if we have the data, we can now analyse it and use it to spot trends. Intuitive Dashboards is an essential business enabler for forward-looking organisations which have the desire to drive significant performance improvements and exceed their clients’ expectations with exceptional service.” South Africa-based Allscan, a leading document imaging and BI solutions provider, is managing CPC’s implementation of Intuitive Dashboards. Chris Botha, Managing Director at Allscan, comments: “Intuitive Dashboards is the perfect solution for organisations that need the power to analyse, interpret and manage critical operational data. Using Intuitive Dashboards, CPC can now achieve their strategic goal of realising actionable business insight from their management information, in order to gain a sustainable competitive edge.”
viewpoint
CEOs Are Not Idea Killers! What the CEO wants from HR By Gurumoorthi Sridhar
I
n our quest to understand what the CEO wants from the HR department continues. In our last African HR Leaders conference, we asked the Managing Director of Interworld Products (NIG) Limited Mr Gurumoorthi Sridhar, to share with us what the CEO really wants from the Human Resource department. Here is what he said about what the CEO wants from HR. In my interactions with HR professionals I have been made to believe that the chief executive officer (CEO) is not considered to be a normal human being. The CEO is portrayed as dominant and unreasonable. On behalf of all CEO, since I am one of them, let me make it clear to all HR professionals, that reality is quite different from perception. There could be CEOs with Dominant characteristics, but then we need to analyse why they behave like that. They are always under pressure from the board to perform better every year. I remember when we achieved an incredible performance in 2011, the board, while appreciating it, reminded me that 2012 should be at least equal, if not better than 2011. As we all know change is the only permanent thing in life. Some adverse conditions can pull you down temporarily, but then the CEO still expected to try and perform better. Stress factor comes in, and due to that the CEO may behave in a dominant way to achieve the desired result.
18 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
It is important to know that sometimes, dominance is required to wake up sleeping staff. CEO is a leader; he is to lead by example. Leader has to be dominant; otherwise followers will go haywire. Take the case of the Nigeria football team. Even the coach said a player like Shola Ameobi commands respect in the dressing room, and he wants a player like that on the field to ensure the other players work as a team. Therefore a dominate characteristic is not always a bad quality. However, misuse of dominance or over use of it can be bad, and many CEOs are aware of that. By this I mean the “Carrot policy” alone will not work, carrot and stick policy is the trump card to a win situation. I want to make it clear that most CEOs are very interested in the human resource management. Take me as an example; I just saw the title of one of the sessions for the conference “ Are your assets leaving and your liabilities staying “. This is a very appropriate and relevant subject to discuss and I was anxious to know what to the speaker would cover in the session and that is how ended up attending the conference all the way from Nigeria.
All CEOs do not kill ideas. Many would welcome ideas as long as they help to achieve the corporate objectives. Revenue growth and bottom-line growth are always in the minds of CEOs, and due to that, the CEO has to be tough at times. As the saying goes “when things get tough the tough gets going”. In our organisation, we do staff training, development, and offer incentive to not only sales staff, but for all staff. We recognise employees that perform well throughout the year with best staff of the year awards, and every year we continue to improve on these motivational factors. In conclusion all CEOs, including myself, are not monsters or dragons. HR professionals need to understand the challenges affecting CEOs and support the CEOs to take the company in the right direction. I would also like to add that in spite of my in-depth professional experience as a leader, I have learned a lot of positive aspects to Human resource management, gained insights into how HR professionals perceive the CEO and I must add that the speakers are very powerful.
research
HR as a strategic business partner for success By Made It in Africa
H
uman Capital is rated 10% higher than operational excellence as a major challenge for businesses – according to the latest Conference Board Challenge Survey of 729 global CEOs. Yet HR in the majority of organisations continues to be treated as a peripheral function. The 2013 Global Assessment Trends Report (GATR) found that less than half, 41%, of firms surveyed are confident that their human capital strategy is properly embedded in their organisational strategies, and that most senior business leaders are unclear on who should actually bear responsibility for these critical issues. Erna Oldenboom, director of the HR as a Strategic Business Partner Programme at the UCT Graduate School of Business, says that there would be no confusion if organisations integrated their HR into their overall business strategy. “HR is a strategic business partner that should be involved from the very beginning, in the vision, mission, and procedures of the organisation,” she says. “In this way all HR approaches and systems can better contribute to and support solutions for recruitment and retention, salary, reward, training, support, codes of conduct, client relations and so on.” The GATR also identifies the top priorities for HR globally as: engagement and retention (55%),
leadership development (52%), performance management (49%), workforce planning and talent analytics (43%), training (42%), succession planning (38%), and external hiring (38%). The report is based on a survey of 592 HR professionals from around the world.
HR is a strategic business partner that should be involved from the very beginning, in the vision, mission, and procedures of the organisation “These findings clearly illustrate that globalisation demands stronger HR capabilities. Demographic shifts across the world are dramatically affecting the availability of qualified personnel. HR needs to step up its game; to take the traditional roles of HR and look at how they are affecting the business – there is an urgent need for HR to integrate more fully into the strategic goals of the business,” says Oldenboom. Oldenboom says that HR leaders are increasingly aware of this, but at the same time not enough is being done to put it into practice. She says that “those who want to remain relevant must focus on strategically supporting their organisations and the customers they serve”.
She believes that many HR leaders are more than willing to partner with the business, but given the unique situation of each individual company, amongst other factors, they have little in the way of concrete guidance as to how to fulfill that role. The role of the HR manager, director, or executive must parallel the needs of his or her changing organisation. Successful organisations are becoming more adaptive, resilient, quick to change direction and customercentered. Within this context the HR professional who is considered necessary by managers and executives needs to be aware of the impact that strategic alignment of HR into their business’ goals can have. However, for many HR practitioners strategy may not be something they have been taught to consider. According to Brad McCaw, a principal at Mercer and co-author of the ’2012 Mercer HR Transformation Survey’ report, the gap between perception and activities in the HR domain can be addressed by investing in the skills and training of HR staff, while also increasing awareness and people management skills among line management, to ensure their activities encompass not only the day-to-day work that needs to be done, but also support the strategic direction of the business. Measurement and analysis are also vital. Oldenboom says that if the HR role in an organisation is not transforming itself to align with PERSONNEL MESSENGER 19
research forward thinking practices, executive leadership must ask HR leaders some tough questions. “Today’s organisations cannot afford to have an HR function that fails to contribute to and
even lead modern thinking,” says Oldenboom. For Oldenboom, this is the new function of HR, and instead of falling into confusion about
who should take responsibility for human capital issues, organisations should align their human capital agenda with overall goals by placing HR at the strategic centre of their businesses.
RETHINKING HUMAN RESOURCES IN A CHANGING AFRICA BY KPMG AFRICA
Workforce analytics, talent management and technology will continue to reinforce the need for HR to make people an important agenda in Africa’s boardrooms. With the continent’s business climate hotting up, shrewd leaders are recognising the potential of HR integration to revolutionalise the traditional HR function, turning it into a strategic component in the drive for increased profitability.
importance, but only 17% felt that HR currently does a good job of demonstrating its value to business. The forces of globalisation, talent constraints and new technology are driving rapid change to the HR function in Africa and elsewhere. Interestingly, 55% of the respondents expressed the opinion that the metrics that define success in HR today will fundamentally change over the next three years.
The Economist Intelligence Unit at KPMG International conducted a study between May and June of 2012 into human resources (HR) to consider the impact of technology and what HR might look like a decade from now. The report that was generated is entitledRethinking Human Resources in a Changing World and it offers a fresh view of the path ahead for leaders of the HR function.
The report’s main findings included the following
The key challenges The value of the HR function can elicit sharply contrary views, even within the same organisation. While the ‘war for talent’ is widely understood to be crucial to almost every business, the HR function is still often dismissed as nonessential or ineffective. Eighty-one percent of the respondents said they believe implementing the most effective talent management strategy is key to competitive success. Fifty-nine percent felt HR will grow in strategic 20 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
HR is struggling with the challenges of managing an increasingly global, virtual and flexible workforce. What is needed is for the HR function to manage, hire and identify talent globally while retaining important local insights. Retaining talent remains HR’s biggest concern, particularly in the African context. Tim Payne, a member of KPMG’s HR Transformation Centre of Excellence, says he believes “talent management should be the top priority for HR, but many business leaders don’t feel that HR is delivering for them. I believe that is because talent management is so often anchored in the present rather than focusing on the unique roles, capabilities and skills the organisation needs to succeed in the future.” Finding ways to engage with workers will help address
the challenges of this global, flexible and remote workforce. Importantly, while this needs to be achieved, it must not be done at the cost of loyalty and/or career development. Companies need to maintain employee engagement in the face of a less committed and more flexible workforce. The study found that employee engagement measures from virtual teams typically are lower than those for on-site teams that work close to each other. Technology has already transformed HR and the application of data analytics will foster even more profound change. According to the respondents, the area most in need of IT investment in the next three years is data analytics. It is felt that this is going to be the next technological quantum leap for HR.
Interviewees shared their view that the application of analytics, if done properly, will enable a more robust understanding of employee-related needs and opportunities. For example, 57% of the respondents said data analytics is already helping to identify future talent gaps. In markets like Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa, where new and disruptive technologies have already been embraced in
research many areas of business, as well as in the rest of Africa where IT development is increasing rapidly, there is a daring, forward-thinking and entrepreneurial culture ready to embrace those technologies that could enhance the HR function. KPMG believes that powerful technologies, emerging in times of heightened financial constraints, present a rare opportunity for HR to enact long-overdue reinvention.
This reinvention involves becoming more empirical and having to provide hard evidence for opinions. For Africa to hold on to and maximise the interest in it as the place of the next big wave of investment, business leaders need to lay hold of the possibilities presented by new HR technologies and strategies. If not, the rest of the world will move ahead regardless and African businesses will become increasingly unviable.
However, those companies that embrace the opportunity to reinvent will afford their HR unit much-needed credibility at the highest levels of business. When such changes are made, HR executives will gain the confidence necessary to force their arguments, as leaders, on what is good business. This article was first published on the KPMG blog.
PERSONNEL MESSENGER 21
features
Kenya’s talent agenda: top issues By Michael Holtzmann
H
igh-potential talent is a scarce resource among organisations of all kinds, in Kenya and elsewhere. Leadership development programmes help to attract and retain top talent. PwC’s recent CEO Survey shows that companies here and elsewhere in Africa are focused on building up the leaders of tomorrow and managing some very specific talent challenges along the way. High potential in high growth markets One of those challenges is the availability of high-potential middle managers and skilled production workers. In Kenya, many companies are creating jobs but not enough for the large number of people with university degrees. Graduates who do excel in the formal sector very quickly find themselves in high demand as they acquire skills and expertise. Companies may be tempted to rush high-potential candidates through to middle-management positions. This creates a number of risks, one of which is that potential is inherently latent: you don’t know if someone will rise to the occasion until you try. Trying without preparation is a recipe for failure. Companies can give their high-potential talent platforms to grow into their roles and opportunities to try new things, helping to prepare them before they advance to managerial roles. Will someone who is technically savvy also make a good team leader? The answer to this question depends very much on preparation, training and support
in the new role. Identifying high-potential talent in the first place requires that companies pay attention to behavioural competencies. Managerial induction programmes must specifically address this aspect of talent development. The mix depends very much on the company and its talent needs, but generally a programme of 10 percent classroom learning, 20pc applied learning and 70pc on-the-job training makes sense. An effective talent management strategy will create the space for that 70pc to occur and enforce accountability among the people who coach and mentor the inductee through it. Too often, we witness an ad hoc approach instead, largely driven by the need to accelerate talent development. Other times, companies fail to look beyond their embedded hierarchy or industry to find the right people. These challenges point to a need for workforce strategy at a country level. Relevant accreditation and training bodies can work together to create a plan to address Kenya’s talent needs, for example. An effective workforce strategy will ensure that training is informed by technical content and behaviours contributing to the resilience and effectiveness of tomorrow’s leaders. This will help create the jobs of tomorrow. Paying for performance Our survey also shows that the competitive market for top talent influences compensation, with 97pc of CEOs in Kenya
indicating that they must match pay conditions among peer companies to retain top talent. One way to combat undue salary inflation is to evaluate the talent pool overall and implement clear career planning and succession policies internally. Experience globally shows that there can be significant return on investment from looking at the talent pool internally but this also entails challenges. Internal candidatesjust like external candidates-must be supported in their journey. Internationally, there is a wide variance between high-level and entry level or average compensation. That’s informative, because the market for top talent and corresponding pay expectations are not uniform worldwide. Companies in Kenya can attract top talent from anywhere but their Boards will want to justify a return on investment. High levels of economic growth and correspondingly high expectations for company growth may justify higher compensation. Leadership development insights In our survey, CEOs also shared their views on leadership development programmes, in terms of what works. Overall, there is broad recognition that if companies nurture and pay attention to human capital-and treat their people like an assetthey will earn a greater return on this investment. A portfolio of leadership development programmes will help to grow more diversity within the talent PERSONNEL MESSENGER 23
features pool; no company knows for sure where its next CEO will come from, especially as regional and ‘one-Africa’ strategies cause workforces to become increasingly diverse. The leaders of tomorrow view themselves as conduits between what is happening in the market (with clients, customers, markets, regulators and governments) and the kinds of products and services delivered. Leadership development is less about leading than it is about influencing different actors to identify trends and shape outcomes. Any leadership development programme must
work to grow that capacity and agility among top talent. One of the most valuable tools for doing so is feedback. Companies can implement policies to facilitate feedback and an environment for acting upon it, as well as create the space for busy, talented people to trial different behaviours or take on something new. A culture that inspires fear of failure will have the opposite effect. Feedback must be seen as a valuable and necessary professional gift between the members of the organisation. Overall, leadership development programmes are helping to change expectations. Leaders are
not heroes but instead they are human and connected to their organisation, markets and other individuals. Our survey shows that connected leadership is very much on the minds of today’s CEOs. Michael Holtzmann is the Director of PwC’s People and Change consulting practice for the East Market Region in Africa, which includes PwC firms in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia and Mauritius. More information about PwC’s CEO Survey is available at http:// www.pwc.com/ke/en/africabusiness-agenda/index.jhtml
THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF NELSON MANDELA – 10 LESSONS FOR HR PROFESSIONALS SA Board for people practices
On 5 December 2013 South Africa and the world have lost one of the greatest leaders of mankind, Nelson Mandela. We mourn his passing, but we celebrate his legacy. Recognised globally as an icon, no other South African has had more impact on so many people throughout the world than Nelson Mandela. He is the best example of true moral leadership in the most difficult of times. We have much to thank Tata Madiba for one of the most successful political transitions the world has ever seen. His biggest achievement was the eradication of apartheid, thereby helping the country to turn around from an oppressive regime to a fully-fledged modern democracy. As the leader of the liberation struggle and later as first democratic president of South Africa, Mandela’s life provides us with a powerful legacy – and some profound lessons for human resource (HR) professionals: 24 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
1 Humanity: Nelson Mandela
epitomises what humanity is all about – the continuous pursuit of what humanity stands for – a world where human dignity is respected and valued. As HR professionals we are champions for humanity in the workplace. Mandela reminded us: “Our definition of the freedom of the individual must be instructed by the fundamental objective to restore the human dignity of each and every South African.”
2 Diversity: No other leader
taught us more about diversity than Nelson Mandela, his whole life was about creating and building respect for diversity, not only at a political level, but also in all spheres of society, including the workplace. The biggest irony of Mandela’s legacy is that while he achieved freedom for blacks,
he also realised freedom for whites – freeing them too from apartheid and the belief of white supremacy that dominated South Africa for many decades. He also warned against tribalism and xenophobia, two challenges that still need to be addressed in South Africa. HR professionals play a fundamental role to create diverse workplaces, and more focussed work still needs to be done to attain true inclusive workplaces.
3 Accountability: Mandela
was a strong believer in accountability in both the private and public sector. In particular, leaders should be held accountable. He said: “If you want to take an action and you are convinced that this is a correct action, you do so and confront that situation.” HR professionals should be much stronger in striving towards accepting
features accountability for their work, and not blame line managers and other stakeholders when things go wrong.
4 Adaptability: Mandela’s life
is a wonderful example of adaptability. As he asserted: “Human beings have got the ability to adjust to anything.” He learned that throughout his life, and ultimately adapted from revolutionary to prisoner to politician to president. HR professionals should adapt to changing circumstances, and as business partners ensure that HR strategy and services are continuously adapted to the needs of organisations and the realities of the changing environment.
5 Change: Mandela said
that while it is difficult to change society, it is even more difficult to change yourself. While sticking to our values and principles as HR professionals, we need to build, develop and change ourselves every day if we want to become better at what we do.
6 Conflict: The greatest part
of Mandela’s life was about dealing with conflict. He learned and grown as an individual through these tough experiences, and was prepared to die for his convictions. Mandela expressed his view on conflict as follows: “One of the most important lessons I learnt in my life of struggle for freedom and peace is that in any conflict there comes a point when neither side can claim to be right and the other wrong, no matter how much that might have been the case at the start of a conflict.” HR and
Employment Relations professionals specifically are facilitators of conflict resolution in the workplace, and their skills in dealing with conflict situations are of paramount importance.
7 Integrity: In a country still
plagued by fraud and corruption, Mandela’s example reminds us of the importance of integrity. He valued integrity throughout his life. Referring to corruption, he labelled South Africa as a “sick society.” HR professionals should be people of integrity and build ethical organisation cultures to create more ethical organisations and ultimately an ethical society.
8 Relationships: Life is about
relationships at the individual and collective level. As a strong supporter of worker rights, be believed in good relationships between employers and employees. Likewise, he established good relationships with the business community. HR managers are key builders of relationships in the workplace and broader society.
9 Opportunity: Mandela said:
“You pass through this world once and opportunities you miss will never be available to you again.” Every day HR professionals are faced with many opportunities of making a difference, we must seize these chances of having impact.
10 Leadership: Mandela’s
greatest legacy was his leadership during moments of suffering and opportunity. He excelled as a leader in the most challenging times. As HR professionals
we have to show greater leadership in leading our HR functions and coaching managers in people skills.
In conclusion, the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela offers HR professionals with ample opportunities to live his legacy on a daily basis. Inequality and skills gaps can not be perpetuated. A few years back Mandela made this statement: “The future of South African businesses will be evaluated largely on its human resources development.” Skills development is at the centre of human resource management, and as a community of professionals it is our duty to society to rise to the occasion in developing the people of South Africa. Likewise, Mandela labelled affirmative action “corrective action,” and twenty years after the birth of our democracy, we are still haunted by the reality of apartheid’s inequalities. Thus, HR professionals could play a key role in addressing the two national challenges of poor people development and inequality, given the fact that these two issues go hand in hand. Therefore, rectifying these gaps is not only key to sound people management, but also an imperative for nationbuilding and stability. As a community of more than 100 000 HR professionals in South Africa, we are a strong group of change agents who can continue being the custodians of humanity in the workplace and socio-economic environments of employees. SABPP will continue to play our role in building the country Mandela was dreaming about. As Nelson Mandela said: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It PERSONNEL MESSENGER 25
features is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
Marius Meyer is CEO of the SA Board for People Practices (SABPP), the HR quality assurance and professional body.
You can follow SABPP on twitter @SABPP1.
STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE! HR IS MORE THAN ADMINISTRATION! By Karen Bright-Davies
Danadams Pharmaceuticals limited was founded by Dr. Nana Yaw Adu-Gyamfi in 2005. The aim of the company is to create a healthy Africa, where all Africans have an opportunity to achieve success. Danadams believes in “quality first”, a work philosophy that is infused in every product, every process, and every employee. Their mission is to develop, test, produce, sell and deliver top quality, safe and effective drugs at affordable prices in West Africa. They primarily focus on manufacturing and selling antiretroviral agents for HIV treatment and anti-malarial medications. Danadams began with twenty employees and has been steadily growing towards becoming one of Ghana’s leading pharmaceutical companies. Danadams currently employs over 200 workers who produce and distribute high quality and effective drugs all over West Africa. In 2010, the company upgraded to obtain the World Health Organization (WHO) certified status and also launched its own new range of antiretrovirals (ARV), anti-malarials, injectables, antipsychotics, anti-diabetics drugs, amongst many others. At the moment, Danadams is the only locally-based ARV manufacturer in Ghana, and the company has used its ability to fulfill the government’s supplemental needs. We caught up with Esther Tseko, 26 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
the HR manager of Danadams to find out about being the HR manager for one of Ghana’s leading pharmaceutical company.
handling HR in addition to her secretarial duties.
This lead her to acquire a degree in Human Resource management, in June 2010 Esther was appointed assistant HR manager for both Danpong Group of Companies and Danadams Pharmaceuticals Industry Limited. She was promoted to the position of HR Manager for only Danadams Pharmaceuticals Industry Ghana Feature Esther Janet Limited in 2011. Esther also Tseko (Danadams) coordinates the activities of the Board of Directors for both Esther Janet Tseko is the HR Danpong and Danadams. She also manager at Danadams. Esther serves as Danadams’ liaison officer holds a degree in Bachelor of for their international business Science (BSc) Administration relationship management. (Human Resources Options), One of Esther’s achievements is which she acquired at Central University College, Accra in 2010. the introduction of new Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) and Prior to that, she obtained the Stenographer Grade one certificate HR policies as per WHO (World Health Organisation) guidelines from the Government Secretarial School, Accra in 2001 and General for Pharmaceutical companies. Certificate of Education (GCE ‘O’ Esther is proving to be an asset Level) certificate from New Juaben to Danadams and is working hard to challenge the traditional College of Commerce, Koforidua view of HR managers in Ghana in 1994 in Ghana as mere administrators. She is demonstrating that HR can be Esther joined Danpong Group part of all areas of the business. of Companies on in July 2002 PM caught up with Esther to as a Secretary to the Chief gather more insights into her role Executive Officer. In June 2005 at Danadams. when Danadams Pharmaceutical Industry Limited commenced PM: What is your relationship business, she was appointed like with the CEO? administrative assistant and Esther: I started as a personal executive secretary to the Chief assistant to the CEO and Executive Officer (CEO). The progressed become the HR company did not have an Human manager. I have a good relationship Resource (HR) manager or an with the CEO. It is about knowing the person. Before I became the HR administration manager at the manager, the CEO did not see the time, so Esther was tasked with use of HR and he tried to perform
features the role of HR himself. Those times he would go to the factory floor and try and manage the workers. But now he has left the managing of HR and the workers to me and the managers. He has confidence in me which makes it easier for us to work together. PM: What about your relationship with managers? Esther: It is very good. The only problem I have with some managers is that sometimes their subordinates go straight to them and bypass HR. Some managers have an issue with their subordinates coming to HR with their issues, because they view it as their subordinates reporting on them to HR. But I do my best to reassure them that I am there to support both management and employees. PM: What about your relationship with the workers? Esther: I have a very good relationship with staff. The staff use to want to know everything that is discussed at the top but I have managed to get them to understand that this was not possible. However, I also made sure that I encouraged the managers to have departmental meetings with their staff regularly to provide feedback on key issues and seek input from staff. This has really improved the relationships between staff and their managers and also with me. I think the sharing of information has increased the trust level for all parties. PM: In Ghana, performance management is a big issue. What has been your experience when it comes to performance management at Danadams? Esther: We do performance reviews twice in a year. We do one in the middle of the year where we give the appraisal forms to staff to rate themselves in the areas of
behavioural competencies and performance. The managers then meet with their staff to discuss performance and sometimes I also sit in some of these performance appraisal meetings when necessary. If the manager feels that an employee does not deserve the rating they have given themselves, the manager will discuss this with the employee and adjust the rating accordingly. Then at the end of the year, we have another appraisal called End-OfYear appraisal. The end of year appraisal measures the over-all performance from the beginning of the year to the end of the year and is more comprehensive. The end of year appraisal covers the areas of performance outcomes, attendance, communication, and the relationship with other staff members, the person’s skills on the job, achievements of targets and so forth. PM: How do you rate the performance outcome? And how does this link to salary increments? Esther: We express marks over a hundred. So from 90% upwards, employees receive between 5 to 10 % salary increments. We have two forms of salary increments: the first is the general salary increments which is normally across board and is based on inflation and the second is performance based increment which is based on the individual’s performance output. PM: So you are saying that the performance outcome is based on whatever percentage the person gets at the end of their appraisal, and that their overall percentage rating is linked to their annual salary increment. How is this working out? Esther: It is working very well because it keeps staff on their toes. I would say that it keeps productivity level consistent because the people know that they
have to put in the effort in order to get their annual increment. They also know that the harder they work the higher their rating and the better the salary increment. If a staff member does not meet the performance expectation they do not receive all their increment. PM: When you say someone does not receive their all their increment, what does that mean? Esther: I mean they get the general increment but not the performance based increment. PM: What about people who are not performing well? What happens to them? Esther: We interview those that are not performing well and find out what the problem is. Sometimes the department where the person is working isn’t where he or she can perform very well, in such situations we move people to different departments better suited to them following an interview. PM: Do you monitor the progress of the employee when they move to other departments? Esther: Yes, when we move you, we give you a letter and the head of your new department is also given a copy, so the new manager is expected to be monitoring their performance, and the manager will feedback to HR as to whether the staff member is improving or not. PM: A lot of the time, we talk about how to manage poor performance, but actually, when we have people who perform well, we have to manage them too. So how do you manager good performers? Esther: We send them to do courses abroad to further develop them. We operate quarterly and annual awards and that goes to people who are performing well.
PERSONNEL MESSENGER 27
features PM: So you are saying you use development, and the awards? Is it working? Esther: Yes, if someone is given an award, we also give a citation in addition and publically recognize them. So it pushes people to work, because they know that there is something at the end. PM: Tell me about some of the employee engagement initiatives that Danadams has implemented and how this is helping the company? Esther: Yes, we have what we call the twelve tribes. This concept has been a success story for us. The twelve tribes represent each department in the company. They meet and they come -up with projects to improve the company, every tribe is supposed to come out with a project. For example one tribe initiated a project for us to use energy saving bulbs. It cut down our electricity consumption by 50%. Last year on World AIDS day one of the tribes organized blood screening and we had over 500 people coming. The blood screening is now part of our corporate social responsibility. The company initially wanted to expand and create a place for a gynecologist unit, and then a tribe came up with the idea of a gynecologist doctor, so now we have a gynecologist doctor that comes in twice in a week to the clinic and it has really increased our sales. PM: So do the other workers get to contribute ideas? Esther: Yes, the tribe leader for their department meets with them to seek their contributions and ideas. Because the company is large, we see people forming friendships only with those in the same department, like a family. It has introduced some healthy competition into the business in terms of who can come up with the best improvement projects.
28 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
PM: What else do you do to keep workers engaged? Esther: We also have meetings where staff can bring out issues that are going on in each department and we discuss and come up with solutions together. We also have our meet the CEO meetings where staff can come and discuss a range of issues directly with the CEO. PM: What are some of the challenges you face day to day? Esther: Most of the challenges come from line managers. If you try to do your HR activities in their department, they think that you are interfering. PM: So how are you dealing with them? Esther: I let them know that I am not trying to do their job but it is the duty as the HR manager to know what is happening with employees. PM: What would you say to other HR practitioners in Africa in terms of how to add value to the HR function and also to the business? Esther: They should come out with strategic ideas for the company. If the CEO sees these things he or she is likely to give their support. Most of the time, the managers believe they can do the job of HR because they see it only as an administration function. If you think strategically, it will give more meaning and gain more respect for the HR function. I blame the universities; the subjects they are teaching are based on old theories of personnel. So some people graduate in HR and they don’t know what they are supposed to do. PM: So seeking experience outside the classroom is important? Esther: Yes, very important. I would say you learn HR when you start working in HR.
PM: What about the issue around compliance with the labor laws, and even to a certain extent, international labor standards? It is something that is really affecting the HR profession especially in Africa. Esther: HR professionals in Africa need to do more to make sure that their companies follow the labour laws. You can do this well if you come out with policies for the company and this will help you understand the law as well as the international requirements. PM: So what do you like most about your job? Esther: I like coming up with ideas. It is not just about sitting there for people to come to you with their complaints but you have to come out with ideas that will make your work better. Most HR managers don’t come up with strategies to make their work better. You have to come out with strategies and things that will contribute to the growth of the company. PM: What do you least like about your job? Esther: I don’t like confrontation, so when I have to confront line managers, it is very tedious for me,but I have to do it as it is part of my job to address difficult issues. PM: What has been your major achievement and how would you measure your own performance? Esther: The introduction of the breakfast meetings with the CEO has yielded good results. That’s where staff can come and meet the CEO and freely discuss any the issues in their department. This meeting is purely staff-led with no managers present so that Staff can express themselves freely. As a pharmaceutical company, we need Standard Operating Systems (SOP), so I have ensured that we put in place all the required 15 SOPs. We did not have HR
features software when I took over the HR management, so I had one developed last year to help enter employee data. It helps our reporting system. PM: What are your HR key objectives for the next quarter? Esther: I will be working on objectives that I was not able to achieve in the last quarter. As a pharmaceutical company we are looking at WHO qualifications. The government cannot use the donor funds coming in to buy local drugs unless they are certified by WHO, so if we are certified they could buy our products. It is the same for all the African countries. There is no country in West Africa that has that. There are only two companies that have been certified by WHO in Africa. PM: Esther it has been a pleasure to talk to you about your role as HR manager at Danadams and thank you for sharing your experiences with us. We can see that you are striving for excellence at Danadams and you are certainly demonstrating that HR is truly more than administration.
PERSONNEL MESSENGER 29
Carpet Cleaning
JANITORIAL SERVICES
a subsidiary of ROSTECHZ GHANA LIMITED
ROSTECHZ CLEANING SERVICES
*Floor & Upholstery Cleaning *Window Cleaning *Toilet Cleaning
Bronze Package
*Floor & Upholstery *Window Cleaning *Toilet Cleaning *Lawn Maintenance
Silver Package
*Floor & Upholstery Cleaning *Window Cleaning *Toilet Cleaning *Lawn maintenance *Ironing of Cloth
Gold Package
MAID SERVICE PACKAGES
anet vil le East Airp , No. K2 ort
Tel: +23 3 Cell: +2 302812406 33 302 97384 +233 20 9 53616 3 2 +2 Email: r 33 545662993 ostech zltd@gm Website ail.com : rostec hzghan altd.co m Loc. M
FLOOR CLEANING
WINDOW CLEANING
HOSPITAL CLEANIN
HR politics
President John Mahama
President of Ghana Appraises his Ministers; an A-plus or B minus? BY ANITA WIAFE-ASINOR
T
he president of Ghana His excellence John Dramani Mahama appraised the performance of his Ministers in December 2013. I conducted a review of the appraisal process based on the little information provided in the media to identify whether the process was an A-plus or a B-minus. So far in his Presidency two milestones have provided us an insight into President Mahama’s approach to people management. The first milestone was in July 2013 when the president launched the Code of Ethics for Ministers of State and all Government appointees. The introduction of the Code of Ethics was the first time a government administration in Ghana had attempted to direct the behaviour
conduct of Ministers of State and governmental appointees. The aim of the Code of Ethics is to act as a guide to help Ministers and other appointees to determine acceptable and unacceptable behaviour conduct under the ethics of the government and the law. The Code of Ethics attempts to remove the ambiguities and uncertainties that surrounds the conduct of public officials and instead assist ministers and government appointees to understand and anticipate areas of conflict of interest, self-dealing, bribery, corruption and other inappropriate actions in the performance of their duties. The objective is to prevent unacceptable conduct and abuse of office by public officials by clearly
setting the ethical boundaries within which their actions and inactions could be deemed to be acceptable or unacceptable. At the launch, the President stated that the Code of Ethics reflected the government’s vision to maintain a clean government imbued with systems and clear procedures and guidelines for performance and delivery. The introduction of the Code of Ethics from a Human Resource (HR) perspective was a good sign of a manager who seeks to set standardise procedures that govern the ethical behaviour of his subordinates. The second milestone was in December 2013 when the President appraised his Ministers. The appraisals of his Ministers PERSONNEL MESSENGER 31
HR politics demonstrated that the President seeks to achieve his vision through the targets he set for his government through his Ministers. The actions of the President from an HR perspective can also be said to be going in the
right direction. However, as with many HR initiatives, a lot of the time it can be a reactive response by management to be seen to be addressing the burning issues. So I was interested to find out whether the appraisal process of the
President was viable and whether the process included an element to assess behaviour conduct of his Ministers in support of the Code of ethics.
ABOUT THE APPRAISAL PROCESS: Phase one: setting objectives and targets
Phase three: rewarding performance
The process started early in 2013 when all sector Ministers signed performance agreements with the President by presenting their targets for the approval of the President and the Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe AmmissahArthur. Under the agreements to continuously stay in office was dependent on the performance and delivery of the Minister in relation to the development agenda of the government and the initiatives to enhance accelerated growth and development.
The detail on how Ministers will be rewarded has not been disclosed. However, it has been disclosed that the presentation of their reports will be used to determine the performance of all Ministers and it shall also be used to provide corrective measures where performance expectations fall below set targets. How the Ministers who do not meet their targets will be managed in relation to improvement plans or sanctions has also not been disclosed by the Presidency.
Phase two: reviewing performance
Critical analysis
We know that the projection of the 2013 national budget and the vision of the President as outlined in the 2012 Manifesto of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), forms the benchmark for assessing the achievements and failures of the various ministries. The appraisals were therefore based on the targets set by the Ministers. The appraisal review process involved all Ministers submitting reports to the policy unit at the presidency on their achievements in 2013. Following the submission of the reports the appraisals were then conducted in line with the policies and programmes outlined by the Ministers in their presentations to the President. 32 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
It is clear from the little we know so far that the appraisal process implemented by the President has the basics required for an appraisal process, such as performance agreements, target settings, reviews etc. However, we do not know the criteria by which the appraisals are being completed, e.g. the performance measures or indicators being used. We also do not have key details about the process, which makes it difficult to assess whether the President’s performance appraisal system is viable.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW We do not know the structure of the review process, whether
the Ministers are being rated or scored and if so based on what scale or scoring method; we do not know whether behaviour competencies are being assessed and if so whether they link to the Code of Ethics. We do not know how performance that fall short of expectations (through no fault of the individual e.g. due to lack of resources) would be addressed. We do not know whether appraisal outcomes are linked to reward and if so how rewards will be allocated. We do not know how the reward system for the Ministers link to the reward systems of their relative Ministries. There is no indication as to how poor performing Ministers will be managed e.g. whether performance improvement plans (PIP) would be used. We do not know whether the process is fair and transparent and how any disputes arising will be addressed and by whom. We also do not know whether the Ministers self appraised themselves before submitting their reports to the President. Additionally, we do not know aside from the President, whether those assisting the President with the appraisals have the required expertise in the area of performance management. We do however, have some knowledge about some of the key elements of the appraisal process; We know that the process is focused on tangible achievements which is good.
HR politics performing colleagues.
SO IS IT AN A-PLUS OR B-MINUS? As a result of having so many questions relating to the President’s appraisal process still to be answered, I would rate the current process based on what we know so far as a C-minus. My rating is based on the fact that the appraisal process included the basics one would expect to see in an appraisal process and the fact that the Ministers were involved in the process in relation to setting their targets, agreeing and signing performance agreements. This implies that the President is not using the usual top-down approach to appraising people commonly used in Ghana and Africa wide, but is attempting a top-down-bottom – up approach to appraising his Minister. However, there has been no information provided as to whether the Code of Ethics was included in some form as part of the appraisal process; this lost the President marks. In my view key elements of the Code of Ethics can be extracted and used to set behavioural competencies that can be assessed as part of the Appraisal process. This would also affirm the Code and turn it into everyday practice. Finally, my rating was based on the fact that the process is focusing on tangible results.
PM RECOMMENDATIONS: HOW THE PRESIDENT CAN GET AN A-PLUS In order to give the President’s appraisal system an A-plus, the questions raised would need to be answered and PM would have to conduct an independent comprehensive assessment to evaluate the process and feedback the outcome. Aside from the comprehensive evaluation and the queries relating to the appraisal process being answered; we want to see the appraisal process working not just at the Ministerial level but right down to the lowest staff levels in the Ministries. The issue is that, the President should not only be serious about the performance of his Ministers at the top but he should also be serious about the performance of individuals at the bottom. By this I mean, in order for the Ministers to achieve their targets they need their subordinates to also deliver on their set targets. It is possible to have a scenario where Ministers are scoring high in appraisal reviews but in actual fact their Ministries may be performing badly. This is because with a few hard working people in the team it is possible to hit targets because the hard working people usually carry their lazy or non-
To minimise this type of scenario I would recommend a cascading appraisal system to the President, where accountability, responsibility and results will begin from the top down to the lowest level and up again. To make sure this works, rewards of Ministers should be linked to their individual performance outcomes and the overall performance of their Ministries. By overall performance I mean the overall performance outcomes of the subordinates in their Ministry. This would mean that the performance appraisals of Ministers would not look at the achievement of set targets alone but also at the performance of the Ministry as a whole. But for the appraisals to work in the way described in this article, the President would have to address the issues surrounding HR systems, processes and procedures in the public sector. If people are to be managed in line with the labour law of Ghana (Act 651), in terms of “pay for productivity”, then effective HR practice needs to be implemented in the public sector. Some of these systems include effective HR policies, retraining of current HR personnel in the public sector, re-training of managers, standardisation of procedures, and implementation of effective disciplinary and grievance practices, a strategy to change the culture of public sector workers, including those in management, implementation of effective sanctions for breaches or lack of compliance to HR policies and procedures as well as development and updating of job descriptions etc. If the President could at least achieve 25% of the recommendations, he would be PERSONNEL MESSENGER 33
HR politics moving in the direction of an A-plus rating. In conclusion, the appraisal of Ministers from an HR perspective is a positive initiative by the President; however, there is room for much more transparency and
34 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
possible improvements to the appraisal process. It is also positive that the Presidency intents to share with the public the outcome of the appraisals. But we would like to also know the basis for the outcomes. Performance appraisals should not be taken lightly nor
should they become a regimented ritual, for this reason the president should include an annual review clause where his appraisal process will be reviewed to keep it current and viable.
HR politics
Ghana Strikes! The Cost and Effect on Productivity By PM Editorial
S
trike action, also called labor strike or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the Industrial Revolution, when mass labor became important in factories and mines in Western countries. Strikes are sometimes used to pressure governments to change policies. Occasionally, strikes destabilize the rule of a particular political party or ruler; in such cases, strikes are often part of a broader social movement taking the form of a campaign of civil resistance. In this article we explore the effects of strikes on productivity and the cost implications in Ghana. In 2013, the number of labor
strikes by workers in the public sectors was alarming. The reasons for the strikes were mainly over salaries, unpaid allowances, condition of service and disputes over the single spine salary structure relating to market premium payments. The striking organizations included the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), the Federation of Universities Senior Staff Associations of Ghana (FUSSAG), University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), (UTAG), the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) and the Government Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA). The labor strikes affected millions of students preparing for exams.
It also affected thousands of patients since only a few health professionals went into work to handle emergency cases. The number of strikes in Ghana, especially in the public sector, is a cause for concern given their operational scale, the costs involved and their length of time. Many of the strikes in the public sector are driven by wage disputes. Often, the government backtracked on its promises of wage increases or allowances. For the most part, these strikes have been effective in achieving resolutions for some of the grievances of workers, albeit at a high costs; lives have been lost, revenues have suffered and working hours have been wasted. So who is to be blamed? Generally, PERSONNEL MESSENGER 35
HR politics when a wave of labor strikes paralyzes public sector services, the government is often blamed, because it is viewed that the government is responsible for ensuring that resources are prioritised and shared fairly across sectors and ensure that civil servant wages are synchronized equitably. In Ghana some of the unnecessary disruptions to the provision of public services could have been avoided if the implementation of the Single Spine had been well planned, the sensitization of workers well communicated and the budgeting process well thought out. Additionally, the power of labor unions may need to be kept in check, especially unions of essential emergency professionals, such as doctors and nurses. But there must be a careful balancing act since the collective bargaining rights of workers and unions need to be protected as well. when a wave of labor strikes paralyzes public sector services, the government is often blamed, because it is viewed that the
government is responsible for ensuring that resources are prioritised and shared fairly across sectors and ensure that civil servant wages are synchronized equitably. In Ghana some of the unnecessary disruptions to the provision of public services could have been avoided if the implementation of the Single Spine had been well planned, the sensitization of workers well communicated and the budgeting process well thought out. Additionally, the power of labor unions may need to be kept in check, especially unions of essential emergency professionals, such as doctors and nurses. But there must be a careful balancing act since the collective bargaining rights of workers and unions need to be protected as well.
THE COST
Since it is difficult to measure the cost of productivity in sectors like the health and education, arriving at productivity estimates is problematic because it is difficult to value the output of those sectors as nothing is ‘produced’ and/or sold for a monetary value in the marketplace. As a result an estimated cost of strikes in Ghana 2013 was calculated using the Single Spine salary Structure of Ghana, estimated working days, and the number of strike days (used as an absence indicator to THE IMPACT calculate the cost of the strikes). Table 1. shows the summary of the After the strike season in Ghana we got a sense of the impact on the findings. economy and the environment. The morale and enthusiasm of the public decreased. The residue
Estimated potential cost of the strikes in Ghana – 2013; Table 1
36 PERSONNEL MESSENGER
left behind after the strikes were frustration, concern and helplessness. Aside from the emotional impact, the strikes affected productivity in terms of low output and the disruption of work.
HR politics CALCULATION PRINCIPLES EXPLAINED Please note that due to the lack of availability of accurate data, the figures above are estimated. The calculations have been done using figures from various sources. The cost has been calculated using entry salary of each profession. On the single spine, the number of working days, the number of strike days and the estimated total number of employees for each profession. This example is based on junior staff salaries only. This means that if this example included salaries of people in management, then the figures would be higher than what is represented in Table 1. Even with this simple example it is clear that the strikes last year cost Ghana a lot of money. These are monies that can be used to better the countries development.
RECOMMENDATIONS The number of labor strikes and the cost of these strikes should be a wake-up call for the Ghanaian government to consider the following: Firstly, the government needs to look at labor markets with a renewed interest to revise laws governing the role and powers accorded to collective bargaining unions with a view to streamline them. From a human resource management perspective, it has become near enough impossible for the government and those in the private sector to firmly implement normal management directive without the threat of a strike. Secondly, the government needs to consider revising the minimum wages, salary increases and dispute resolution policies in line with the latest economic developments
in the country and international standards to ensure fairness and equity. Thirdly, the government needs to ensure that negotiations involving unions that represent essential emergency professionals do not break down and go to strike since people’s lives may be at stake. Fourthly, the government needs to deliberately incorporate salary increase policies in the national budgeting process. These reforms would go a long way in minimising the number of strikes in Ghana. Finally, the government needs to effectively implement pay for productivity into the public sector and enhance the role of Human Resource management in the public sector as well as develop a firm strategy to deal with illegal strikes. The unions also need to look at the impact of their actions on the public and the countries as a whole before embarking on strikes.
CONFLICT RESOLUTION The shutting down of public services spells disaster for everyone concerned. It is for this reason that the employer (i.e. the government) and unions need to know how to deal with conflict and strikes. In the interests of preventing the potential disaster that strikes can cause both parties, both parties need to understand eight basic principles: What constitutes a strike in legal terms The economic effects of a strike for both parties The effects of a strike on the employment relationship The effects of the strikes on the public
How to resolve constructively the conflict that causes industrial action How to behave during a strike How to minimise the damage caused by a strike How to bring a strike to a speedy end.
The government and the unions appeared to lack understanding in some of these areas and to a large extent this made the strikes longer than necessary in 2013. The area that needs the most work is how the government brings strikes to a speedy end. There have been several instances where the government has failed to find a common ground with the unions and strikes have continued. It is important that where the government and the unions are unable to find common ground they do not delay in bringing in the services of a mutually agreed strike resolution expert. An independent expert in the field of conflict resolution will not only have techniques of bringing the parties together but will also be able to see solutions that the emotions of the parties have prevented them from seeing. The expert should also be able to help the parties rebuild their relationship once the strike is over. The government and the union need to learn to bring in experts to help resolve conflicts. Strikes cost money and affects productivity. It is vital that labor issues are handled firmly and fairly in order to reduce cost and the impact on productivity. References en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike
PERSONNEL MESSENGER 37
directory I.T ACCOLM Location: P.O. Box MP 1219, Accra Ghana Contact: 0302 235873 Email: info@accolm.com Website: www.accolm.com
DREAMPACK Location: Madina, Taxi Rank near Ecobank P.O Box KD 313, Kanda, Accra Contact: 0277292913 Email: dreampackgh@gmail.com
Email: kwameotu@gmail.com
RETAIL
KOBELA COMPANY LIMITED Location: No. 44 Castle Road, Adabraka. Opposite Crown Prince Hotel Accra Contact: 0302 242680 Email: kobela.coltd@gmail.com Website: www.kobelagh.com
CHEMITECH LUBRICANTS Location: 2nd Floor Dansoman Market Complex Contact: 0302 322973 Email: info@chemitech-lubricants. com
PROPERTY INVESTORS AFRICA Email: info@ propertyinvestorafrica.com Website: http://www. propertyinvestorafrica.com
GOODLUCK AFRICA Contact: 0307 020096 Email: info@goodluckafrica.com Website: http://goodluckafrica. com
DESTINY BOOKSHOP Address: P.O. Box 19878, Accra North Contact: 0244753111 Email: asgift@yahoo.com
PROMOBILE Location: #F485/2, Anahor Street, Nyaniba Estate, Osu accra Contact: 0302 974364 Email: promobilegh@gmail.com, Sales@promobilegh.com Website: http://www.promobilegh. com
MAX INTERNATIONAL Contact: 001 6132001524 Email: darlenemcgregor@gmail. com Website: http://www.maxinafrica. com
QUANTUM SHIFT Location: Opposite STC Yard, Endeco House, South Industrial area Contact: 0302 232913 Email: admin@quantumshift.net Website: www.quantumshift.net
DATAVOICE Location: 1st Floor allied oil Building, School Junction. Adjiringarnor-Accra Contact: 0265 766060 Email: info@dvnsgh.com Website: www.dvnsgh.com
TELEXFREE Contact: 0266 186863 Website: www.telexfree.com LOGISTICS GREENVINE Contact: 0241356060 Email: info@greenvineghana. com/ joedegraft@gmail.com Website: www.greenvineghana. com PRIME LOGISTICS Address: P.O. Box OS 2090, Osu Contact: 0303 2919236 Email: Info@plpmsgh.com PRINTING COLOR MAX Location: 12 Colormaxlane, Spintex Road Contact: 0302 811335 Email: info@colormaxghana.biz
POWER TOUCH MANUFACTURING Contact: 020 8750871 Email: info@daprofherbal.com Website: www.daprofherbal.com TAKHILLA FARMS Location: 25 Konta Residential Area Contact: 0244734253 Email: Kuri_buk@yahoo.com Website: www. takhillafarmsgetafricaonline.com SERVICES GOLVIC VENTURES Location: P.O. Box KS 10367 Kumasi Contact: 0244231036 Email: info@golvic.com KISHRON EYE WEAR Location: No. B25/22 Kwei Stru Loop, North Kaneshie- Behind Elike Clothing Contact: 0302 230219
ROSTECHZ CLEANING SERVICES Location: P.O. Box 9289 Cantoments, Accra-Ghana Contact: 0302 973843 Email: rostechzltd@gmail.com STIRLING SOLUTIONS Location: P.O. Box VV 51, Valley View University, Oyibi Accra Contact: 0302 681783 Email: dojustice2000@yahoo.com STRATCOMM AFRICA Location: 28 Samora Machel Road, Asylum Down, Accra Contact: 0302 7011677 Email: stratcomm@stratcommafrica.com SUCCESS INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE Location: Gicel Estates (SCC) Block A6, New Weija-Accra Contact: 0303 930263 Email: info@successicollege.com Website: www.successicollege. com
PERSONNEL MESSENGER 39