Business Communique | June 2021

An initiative of

BUSINESS COMMUNIQUE ISSUE 01 / JUNE 2021

INSIDE THIS ISSUE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE WORKPLACE : WHAT IT IS, WHY IT MATTERS AND HOW TO IMPLEMENT IT // POSITIVITY, BALANCE AND MENTAL HEALTH… AND HOW TO ACHIEVE IT // VIRTUAL EXPERIENCES AND ENTERTAINMENT : HOW TO MAKE THEM WORK FOR YOUR BUSINESS

BUSINESS COMMUNIQUE / ISSUE 01 / JUNE 2021

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE WORKPLACE

WHAT IT IS, WHY IT MATTERS AND HOW TO IMPLEMENT IT

In a country as culturally and historically rich as South Africa, there has long been a massive focus on how to successfully implement a more diverse, inclusive workplace. Because of South Africa’s complex and complicated history, it’s important to truly understand exactly what diversity is, why it matters in the workplace, and how to seamlessly integrate it into your business.

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) goes beyond employing a racially, culturally or genderdiverse workforce.

It’s about harnessing the untapped potential and skill that unique employees, managers and directors are able to bring to the table.

In an attempt to close the diversity gap that’s prevalent across various industries in South Africa, many businesses are looking for new, effective ways to diversify their workforce on all levels. Why? Because diversity is the key to exponential growth.

It’s Time to Start Investing in People D&I is an incredibly valuable investment opportunity for a variety of reasons.

According to Deloitte’s recent report, Approaching D&I In South Africa, companies and businesses who are more diverse are also more innovative, more adapted to change, and can exceed their financial targets again and again.

BUSINESS COMMUNIQUE / ISSUE 01 / JUNE 2021

Diversity not only improves your business’s daily operations, but it also builds and unshakeable foundation for future growth. A more diverse business is more likely to attract skilled applicants, retain exceptional talent across the business hierarchy, and gain respect as a brand that genuinely cares about the people behind it.

The psychology behind it is simple.

The Journal of Psychology in Africa explains that by having the right diversity management, companies can address certain issues that could have hindered their growth and performance, including prejudice, discrimination, communication gaps and more.

That leaves businesses with a team that’s cohesive, committed and completely aligned with the goals and mission of the business.

Going Above and Beyond Employees, stakeholders and partners need to understand that you see D&I as more than just a way to adhere to governmental targets. You need to show them that you consider it an invaluable and non-negotiable way to enrich your industry, grow your business, and connect every member of your business on a human level.

The best way to do this is by working with a professional team that’s well versed in what it takes to make diversity an integral part of your business as seamlessly and profitably as possible.

If you’d like to learn more about the 30% Club or our annual Gender Mainstreaming Awards, reach out to our team today and let’s start working towards real social, economic, and human growth together.

BUSINESS COMMUNIQUE / ISSUE 01 / JUNE 2021

INSERT BY COLLEEN LARSEN, CE BUSINESS ENGAGE

WE'VE REALISED HOW MANY ARE STRUGGLING TO ADAPT AND KEEP AFLOAT DURING THESE NEW TIMES, AND THEREFORE WE HAVE DECIDED TO INITIATE THIS MONTHLY DIGITAL COMMUNICATION AS A WAY TO PROVIDE INSIGHTFUL INFORMATION TO THOSE WHO NEED IT.

BUSINESS COMMUNIQUE / ISSUE 01 / JUNE 2021

POSITIVITY, BALANCE AND MENTAL HEALTH …AND HOW TO ACHIEVE IT

During a time where uncertainty and chaos are the new normal across the world, it can be difficult to encourage positivity in the workplace – let alone make it a part of every-day operations. However, that’s precisely why mental health (and real strategies to protect it) should be a priority for businesses around the country and beyond.

Here are some of the reasons why mental health matters in the workplace, how to implement it, and what businesses can expect in the long-run.

A Healthy Workplace is A Happy Workplace Encouraging positivity and mental health in the workplace goes beyond reducing employee burnout (which is an all-too-real reality for countless professionals across the world). By showing your employees that you care about their personal interests and not just their performance, you can maintain a workforce that’s: Engaged Motivated Aligned Loyal

Employees who feel engaged, valued, and seen at work are more likely to be more innovative and creative than before. They’ll also be more likely to consider their current position as a life-long career investment and not simply a stepping stone to their next job title. You’ll be able to inspire confidence, trust, and loyalty in every member of your team, which will not only maintain close professional relationships and open communication, but also help create a balanced and positive culture for years to come.

BUSINESS COMMUNIQUE / ISSUE 01 / JUNE 2021

HOW TO ENCOURAGE POSITIVITY AND MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE Business Engage is a dedicated team of industry experts who are ready to help. If you’d like to find out more about how you can achieve a more balanced, diverse, and perfectly-aligned workplace as easily as possible, then reach out to our highly skilled team today and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Diversify Your Team While this may seem unrelated to mental health at first, having a diverse and inclusive workplace shows every member of your team that they are valued and respected. It gives you the opportunity to broaden your approach to what mental health is and change your perspective on how to implement it in a way that suits every employee, director, and manager.

Provide Professional Resources and Support Unfortunately, it’s not possible to personally reach out to every single member of your team every day. However, you can still support them by making sure there are tangible resources available for employees who might be struggling with their mental health. Professional counselling, workshops and online mental health resources are all valid ways to show your team members that you’re willing to take action, take initiative and take their best interests into consideration every single day.

Have an Open-Door Policy Encourage open communication by making an open-door policy a part of your business. This not only gives employees the freedom to reach out to their respective managers, but it empowers these managers with closer connections to their employees.

You're Invited

BoardWalk

17 June 2021 | 09:00 - 11:00 CAT Virtual Event - Microsoft Teams

Guest Speaker - Wendy Mahoney

Click here to register About The BoardWalk

Conscious Leadership and Social Cohesion

Wendy is an Innovation Behavioural Specialist.

She is the MD of Newmella Holdings (Pty) Ltd which is a Change Management Consultancy focused on the Behavioural Psychology of Innovation. She chairs the 30% Club for KZN (KwaZulu-Natal), which drives Inclusion within the corporate space; she serves on the KZN NBI (National Business Initiative) council, is a NED for Dare Restoring Worth (a Youth Mentorship and Coaching Academy, est. 2013), is an Executive Consultant to the Institute of Inventors and Innovators and serves on the Tedx Gresham Place Advisory Board.

Wendy lectured a course in Business Innovation Management at Vega School, a tertiary education college and subsidiary of ADvTECH; has a Bachelor of Business Administration and Marketing cum laude and a Master of Arts in Brand Innovation cum laude. She is also a Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and an internationally accredited Trainer of NLP. Wendy is a seasoned conference speaker and has presented on TED. Her corporate positions include Executive Director European Times, Director Sales and Marketing CNBC and Forbes Africa, General Manager Sales Trudon South Africa and Director TDS Namibia.

It was during Wendy’s existential crisis and exit from corporate that she began her research into Brand Innovation driven by a desire to innovate her life. Her team of specialized associates now enable and inspire a globe of problem solvers and solution seekers who innovate inclusively with ease.

The team refer to their methodology as Head (Innovation and NLP Training, PDMP Assessment), Heart (NLP Behaviour Coaching, ICAT Assessment), Hand (Design Thinking Facilitation, Empathy Map Insights, NDIP Assessment).

An Initiative of

The Concept The Board Walk is an initiative that has been created to nurture the development of aspiring directors who are currently in senior management positions and help them to unlock their future potential. It aims to expose these individuals to existing directors (both executive and non-executive) and partners during an interactive networking session that will encourage meaningful engagement and dialogue.

The Name The Board Walk paints the picture of a promenade or walkway and it holds the underlying meaning of the bridge that an aspiring director needs to cross to become “Board-ready”, as well as the journey that needs to be embarked upon.

As they take their first steps down this path of opportunity, these aspiring directors will benefit from those already sitting in the higher echelons of corporate South Africa to offer their guidance and share their insights and challenges.

Each attendee will be given access to an e-manual on Social Cohesion, Conscious Leadership and Conscious Capitalism

BUSINESS COMMUNIQUE / ISSUE 01 / JUNE 2021

VIRTUAL EXPERIENCES AND ENTERTAINMENT With so many social distancing protocols in place, it’s hard to feel truly connected despite the countless social media and virtual conferencing platforms. People around the world are looking for newer, better ways to facilitate real connections while we’re apart.

Here’s why your business needs to embrace virtual experiences, how we did, and how you can do the same.

Keep Your Business Connected Through Virtual Experiences While it might be hard to imagine a virtual event could ever replace the excitement and atmosphere of real, in-person events, they do hold incredible power. They might also unfortunately be our only option for quite some time.

Grow Your Audience Virtual events are a fantastic way to reach a larger audience. Viewers can tune in from anywhere in the world to attend your event – even from the comfort of their couch. This means that the guests who might not have been able to attend your event due to cost or schedule-limitations, can now be a part of the excitement with ease.

Archive Your Events Your virtual event platform could act as an archive for previous events that your guests can watch again and again. This also gives you an easy way to access previous events to see what worked and what didn’t. This way, you can create a standard for each event that you’ll host in the future.

BUSINESS COMMUNIQUE / ISSUE 01 / JUNE 2021

Save Costs, Time and Labour Organising an in-person event – especially during a pandemic – is a stressful, time-consuming and overwhelming feat that few businesses have the time or resources for. Turning your event into a virtual experience could drastically cut the costs involved with catering for, hosting and planning for hundreds (or even thousands) of attendees, without losing the chance to connect with your audience.

Remember That Virtual is Versatile There are countless streaming, presentation and conference platforms available, so you will have the freedom to choose one that perfectly suits your needs. Take a moment to identify exactly what you need your virtual tools to do, and then take the first step towards creating an engaging and memorable virtual event that can reach an audience spanning the entire world.

How Business Engage Has Embraced Virtual Entertainment Instead of being limited by a lack of in-person events, we’ve made our virtual tools work for us. Our virtual event, the 8th Gender Mainstreaming Awards Ceremony, was streamed live to hundreds of viewers across the world and we received comments about how everyone felt they were in the room even though attendees were spread far and wide.

We’ve used a variety of different platforms, including YouTube, MS Teams and Zoom, to reach our audience and share our exciting news and events with the world. You can do the same.

You are welcome to reach out to Business Engage if you’d like to learn more about how we implemented virtual events and entertainment, without losing our personal touch. We’re happy to provide our insight and connect you to some of our amazing team behind the virtual events.

Join as a member of Business Engage Membership runs for one year from the date of payment of the membership fee.

Benefits include: Free access to the monthly Virtual LeadersWalks and BoardWalks which include attendees from across Africa – recordings available when possible | Access to thought leadership, research, events, best practice | Corporate Gender Intelligence events with speakers from across the world | Annual Voices of Change event in August.

Click To Sign Up For Membership

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