PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT Otis South Africa have a strong program of training, education, and development, which extends beyond employees to subcontractors and even customers too. “Recently we launched a training center in South Africa,” explains Mr. Daphne. “This training center is not only for Otis technicians but is also open to our subcontractors, where we train their staff in ways and methods of being more efficient in their jobs. To Otis South Africa, it doesn’t matter whether a person works only for us or not. The center is open to customers as well. We share with them how we approach the life cycle of the product, and what to look at, so they can do it for themselves on the units.” Otis South Africa is currently in the process of launching a project incubator for up-and-coming businesses. “We will work with between five and ten new companies at a time, fostering them over the course of eighteen months in not only how to build a good business but how to make headway in the market too,” says Mr. Daphne. “We’ll also introduce them to other partners who may be able to help them grow their business and give them a flying start to their operations.” Otis South Africa are also developing an apprenticeship program for young engineers looking to get a foot into the industry. “We will take them on and train them up within our own business, before recruiting them as fully-fledged employees,” says Mr. Daphne. “We see this as a win-win scenario, as both the apprentice and Otis stand only to gain from the relationship.” REGIONAL LEADER “We are focused today on two things: Customer experience and structural efficiency,” says Mr. Daphne. “As a result, training is a priority for staff throughout the organization, whether they are normal staff or managers. This is to ensure professionalism and technical skill remains at the forefront of what we can offer. Our commitment is training, training, training.” “One of the most important things we did in 2016 was recommitting to the Africa-wide business,” says Mr. Daphne. “The route out of Africa previously was to Europe, but now I am in charge of Africa and keen to promote African markets. The African team is populated mainly by African people because we believe to be a global leader that we need to be an even stronger local leader. We’ve been leaders in this segment for a long time, and we intend to maintain that position.” c SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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