IPM dedicates its efforts to providing knowledge and tools for strategic people development and
leadership, which contribute to growth, profitability and sustainability of businesses.

OUR VISION:

Our vision is to be the Portal to Thought Leadership in People Management.

OUR MISSION:

Our mission is to provide members with easy access to the latest information, knowledge, expertise,
training and development systems, including process and networks in people management.

VALUES:

Member Centric, Integrity, Advocacy IPM is committed, through the constitution of its
structures and conduct. to the advancement of transformation and equity in the workplace. To this
end IPM welcomes all HR professionals, business leaders and public officials who are keen to drive
this national imperative.

IPM is a sister organisation to HR professional bodies across the globe, such as the Society for
Human Resources Management (SHRM) in USA, the Chartered Institute of People Development
(CIPD) in UK and the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) in Australia. IPM is strategically
positioned to continue fulfilling its role as the professional “home” for HR Professionals including
people managers at all levels. The IPM CEO, Rre Elijah Litheko serves on the Human Resource
Development Council (HRDC) which is chaired by the Deputy President, the hon. Mr Kgalema Motlanthe.

OVER 65 YEARS OF HERITAGE

The IPM is the oldest Human ResourceProfessional body in Africa and is the founding
member of the African Human Resource Confederation (AHRC), the AU of Human Resources.
Through its membership of the AHRC, IPM is affiliated to the World Federation of People
Management Associations (WFPMA), the United Nations of HR.

IPM has consistently leveraged on its global networks for the benefits of its members.
The IPM is strategically positioned to continue fulfilling its role as the home for HR professionals of
all persuasions, including People Managers. The IPM has been the conscience of the HR
Profession in South Africa and neighbouring countries for over 65 years. Through its work, it has
produced HR Professionals who are highly regarded in the business community.
The IPM has partnered with organisations that are thought leaders in their field of expertise, to run
programmes that position HR leaders not only on people related issues, but also on issues relating to
business sustainability and global competitiveness. It is because of this renewed focus that IPM
partnered with the University of Michigan and the RBL Group, to conduct the Global HR competency
study led by Professor Dave Ulrich and his partners. The CEO of IPM, Rre Elijah Litheko co – authored a
chapter on Africa in a book on Global HR Competencies due to be released towards the end of 2012.

In addition, IPM has been partnering with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in conducting
the worldwide survey entitled “Creating People Advantage” since 2008. The 2012 survey has
confirmed that “good people practices confer performance advantage.”

National Office Telephone: +27(0)11 716 7508
Facsimile: +27(0)86 545 9723 or +27(0)86 679 7401
Email: info@ipm.co.za Website: www.ipm.co.za
Branches in the Western Cape, Pretoria, Johannesburg,
Durban Coastal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga
and the Natal Midlands

The post About the Institute of People Management (IPM) appeared first on Human Resources South Africa.

Speaking at the official opening of a four-day Source Africa 2013 event, which is being held in Cape Town, October said that South Africa has been able to stop the decline of the clothing, textiles, leather and footwear sectors by implementing strategies which made the sectors globally competitive.

“Local retailers are increasing procurement from local manufacturers and there is confidence starting to be shown by the new investment in the sectors. CTCP stopped the employment decline in these sectors and more than 12 000 new permanent jobs have been created.

“Local retailers have committed to local procurement in support of manufacturing companies. Over 400 companies were assisted under the CTCP, with R1.5 billion worth of applications approved,” said October on Wednesday.

The programme, which was launched in 2010, is aimed at improving the global competitiveness of the sector through a range of structured interventions covering all aspects of business operations, from very specific technical skills through to generic business skills.

Other Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) countries have embraced the programme’s concept, said October, adding that Swaziland was in the process of implementing the programme.

“Some Less Developed Countries (LDCs) have taken full advantage of International Trade Agreements like Agoa [African Growth and Opportunity Act] to build on their industries.

“Through these interventions, countries like Lesotho have seen their textiles and clothing sectors growing to the extent that they are now one of the biggest manufacturers on the continent both in fabric and garments,” he added.

Agoa offers incentives for African countries to continue their efforts to open their economies and build free markets. It aims to expand US trade and investment with Sub-Saharan Africa; stimulate economic growth; and promote a high-level dialogue on trade and investment-related issues, among others.

Under the Act, Agoa countries are eligible to ship goods to the US without having to pay import duties.

October also highlighted that intra-trade amongst African countries was also important as the industry had growth potential.

“These sectors are labour intensive and have the potential to create large employment, especially in the garment manufacturing sector where the investment is low but the job creation is enormous.”

The event is supported by the USAID Southern Africa Trade Hub and is designed to highlight what Africa has to offer in textiles and apparel, giving the world a first-hand look at the quality, workmanship and sophistication available in the region. – SAnews.gov.za

The post Clothing, textiles can contribute to job creation appeared first on Human Resources South Africa.

Pondering occupation of the firm’s highest office one day? Then it’s time to get
commerce-savvy, if all you currently have in your arsenal is people expertise, a
survey of SA’s top corporate employers has revealed.

In the latest Jack Hammer Corporate Survey, by leading executive search firm Jack
Hammer Executive Headhunters, entities polled represented the financial services,
FMCG, retail and engineering industries. Asked whether their company would “ever
consider appointing a candidate to an MD or CEO role, from an HR-focused background
and with limited commercial experience”, the answer was a resounding “no” from 9 of
the 10 respondents.

Only one organisation said that someone with Human Resources expertise and focus
would be considered – but then only if they’d had responsibility for a P&L, and had
displayed commercial talent.

Yet interestingly, when asked about the importance of skills, leadership and
management (which implicitly require very strong people orientation) people
expertise are always ranked at the top of the list.

“It is clear then that while a people focus is highly regarded, and a key
requirement for someone who is going to be the head of an organization, without a
demonstrable track record of having been accountable for commercial issues such as
revenue generation, profitability, cost controls, etc, it is unlikely that even the
most extraordinary human capital executive will make it to the corner office,” says
Debbie Goodman-Bhyat, MD of Jack Hammer.

“It is evident that the HR discipline is still regarded as a ‘soft skill’, even
though organisations with great human capital strategies are clearly highly
competitive in all respects. Nevertheless, without the above-mentioned experience,
and some kind of commercial qualification or MBA, the HR exec’s route to the top job
is most likely going to reach a cul-de-sac,” notes Goodman-Bhyat.

She says that internationally, it would not be unheard of for a philosophy major to
land a major position, as employers were more accepting of diverse backgrounds, and
able to absorb unusual thinkers bringing new dimensions to the workplace. However
locally, a classic commercial education continues to be the non-negotiable.

“SA’s top corporates continue to seek the stellar numerical and analytical abilities
essential to interpreting facts and figures, even if it may sometimes come at the
cost of being better rounded in the workplace, with highly developed communication,
creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

“That’s not to say that commercial savvy and financial acumen are not essential
tools in a business leader’s kit – they certainly are. But South African corporates
(and their boards who are answerable to shareholders) are extremely risk averse when
making CEO appointments, and are unwilling to back strong leaders who don’t fit a
‘typical’ profile”.

ENDS

ISSUED BY: Lange 360
ON BEHALF OF: JACK HAMMER EXECUTIVE HEADHUNTERS
For more information contact:
Debbie Goodman-Bhyat at Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters on 021 425 6677
(www.jhammer.co.za)
Mervyn Dziva at Lange 360 on 021 448 7407

About Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters

Jack Hammer provides a fresh approach to executive headhunting by cutting through
the ordinary. They have achieved this over the last decade by using strategic
research to drill down and expand their market intelligence beyond the obvious and
source the real gems of talent. The knowledge gained in the process enables them to
give clients a competitive edge by ensuring they find the right executive talent -
in a manner that is both responsible and ethical.

Debbie Goodman-Bhyat

Debbie is the founder and Managing Director of Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters -
rated by the Business Day as one of SA’s leading executive search firms.
Jack Hammer, with Debbie at its helm, has become a cornerstone of the South African
headhunting sector, continually and vocally aiming to raise the bar in the local
executive search industry. As a result, in 2011 Jack Hammer was selected as the
exclusive South African partner of IRC Global Executive Search Partners, a top 10
global search firm, and has now extended its global footprint to more than 70 cities
worldwide.

Debbie is a founding member of the Cape Town Chapter of EO – a global
Entrepreneurship Organisation with more than 8500 members worldwide.

The post HR Executives being looked over for CEO roles appeared first on Human Resources South Africa.

He was announcing details on the country hosting the 37th International Small Business Congress (ISBC) in Sandton later this month.

Speaking to SANews following a media briefing on the ISBC conference, which will bring small business policymakers together on September 15 -18 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Davies detailed various initiatives the government was involved in to improve support to the country’s small businesses.

He said that even though on paper South Africa had very good small business policies that were in keeping with many higher performing economies, these policies had not proved as effective as they should have been.

However, he said despite this, business incubation had been identified by his department as one of the most effective ways to support small businesses, as it offered new small enterprises a sheltered environment, certain technology which they could have access to and helped business owners develop new skills.

Yet in comparison to other countries, South Africa didn’t have enough business incubators, said Davies, who pointed out that the department aimed to at least double this in the next few years, which would bring the number of incubators to 60.

Currently, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) has just over 30 incubators under the Seda Technology Programme.

Davies pointed out that the department’s emphasis was at present on increasing the number of incubators over the kind of support these offered and to whom, but that eventually government would look at the quality of these incubators, and ask what kind of incubation it wanted to support.

Commenting on a July report by Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) — titled “How the state and private sector can partner to boost support to SMEs: Lessons from Chile & Malaysia” — which argued that South Africa needed incubators that were more selective about the kinds of entrepreneurs they supported if the country was to create more jobs, Davies said the department was currently looking at ways to pick capable entrepreneurs to incubate.

What the country needed was not large numbers of low quality businesses, which were constantly reliant on capital injections from the government, but rather a few high quality firms active in the productive economy, he said.

To this end, Davies said government needed to balance the support it provided between the few high-growth firms that created many jobs and drove economic growth, with the large number of survivalist businesses – but with the balance in favour of more productive entrepreneurs.

The relationship between big and small companies in South Africa also needed to change.

“I think that in South Africa, we have had a relationship of marginalisation between big and small companies historically and there has been very little change, some here and there but not enough,” he said.

However, he said the amended Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) codes, which were put out for comment last week, aimed to remedy these problems by placing more emphasis on big firms developing black suppliers.

Commenting on repeated calls for the country’s labour laws to be simplified, Davies said he didn’t believe the solution to South Africa’s economic problems lay in doing away with labour legislation.

“I think you have this view… that the panacea to all South Africa’s problems is that we must just liberalise labour laws, remove rights of people, undermine collective bargaining…

“Well I think probably in light of Marikana, that those that have this as a propositional should rethink (this) because weak unions and inadequate protection of workers, I don’t think, is a recipe for any kind of stability and growth and performance in this country,” he said.

However, Davies conceded that on a case-by-case basis and through a negotiated process, there may be some changes that may need to be made in some places.

He said the kind of bargain that could be struck is that which is contained in last year’s Skills Accord, where business undertook to train more people in return for a concession from labour that allowed those involved in such programmes to be regarded as trainees and not employees under the Labour Relations Act.

“That’s the kind of bargain that can be struck,” he said, “but the idea that we can drive through the sort of move towards a labour market which is characterised by less protection, less collective bargaining, is a hiding to nowhere in South Africa.”

A number of countries, including the US, Brazil, Japan and most recently India, have passed laws to set aside a certain percentage of state procurement for small businesses and
Davies said the South African government was also looking into this area.

In 2007, the Cabinet okayed a proposal from the department to set aside 85% of government procurement of 10 goods and services for small businesses, but this was later turned down by the National Treasury over concern that the proposal was unconstitutional as it constituted a set-aside.

Davies, however, stressed that there was a need to scrutinise what goods and services were listed in any set-aside to avoid fronting by small firms that simply buy the goods from large companies or import these from overseas and add a premium.

What was essential was that any set-aside support productive capabilities of small firms, he said.

Turning to details of the ISBC 2012, Davies said it was the first time the event – which was first held in 1974 in Hawaii – would be held on the African continent.

Over 1 000 delegates are expected at the congress, with speakers coming from a range of countries – including among others Japan, Malaysia, India the UK and France.

Davies said the conference would provide a platform for policymakers to share ideas and best practices, when it came to boosting support to both survivalist micro enterprises and nurturing more high-growth firms.

The conference, which would also include training workshops for entrepreneurs, is being hosted in partnership with the City of Johannesburg, Nafcoc, Fabcos, the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa), Seda, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), MTN, Absa and Shanduka Black Umbrellas. – SAnews.gov.za

The post SA must double number of incubators to support small firms – Davies appeared first on Human Resources South Africa.

This is in line with the announcement made by Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant earlier this week to publish a notice indicating the intention to call on all interested parties to comment on the possibility of reviewing the sectoral determination for farmworkers.

The sectoral determination prescribes minimum wages and conditions of employment for workers in vulnerable sectors like farming and domestic work.

The minister has further called a meeting of the Commission for Conditions of Employment for Wednesday next week to advise her on a way forward regarding this matter.

“This process has been given a stamp of approval by all the interested parties including Cosatu, Agri-SA and the farmers unions.

“Today the department met with Agri-SA, who promised their full co-operation and agreed to participate meaningfully in negotiations. Likewise, the department also met all the other farmers unions today who also pledged their full co-operation,” said the ministry in a statement.

Negotiations are expected to start next week Thursday, with eight negotiators representing employers and an equal number representing workers.

The talks will be mediated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, an independent agency that falls under the Department of Labour.

“I would like to urge all the parties to go into these talks with openness and willingness to bring to a close the recent events that has been threatening to engulf our country and put it on a dangerous course regarding food security.

“Most of the representatives have shown that they are interested in putting the needs of the country first instead of their narrow interests and I would like to commend them,” said the minister.

The department is also planning to address the workers in the Worcester or De Doorns area as a report back on the actions that are being undertaken to deal with their concerns.

Farm owners in the area will also be given their opportunity to have their say when the department sends representatives to address them towards the end of next week. – SAnews.gov.za

The post Wheels set in motion for farmworkers’ wage review appeared first on Human Resources South Africa.

Throughout the year, many have been faced with the prospect of a bleak festive
season as news broke of tough trading conditions, and the chance that packages would
be frozen and bonuses slashed. In SA, top staff have felt ongoing pressure on their
packages as salaries and bonuses have taken a continued battering from the ripples
of the 2009 financial crisis.

Although the economic environment remains strained, the latest Jack Hammer Corporate
Survey reveals that companies are sticking with their bonus culture – and their
obligations – even though company performance may be tepid.

Asked whether their staff would be receiving a 13th cheque or bonus this year, 100%
of the companies polled answered in the affirmative.

The survey was conducted this month among South Africa’s top corporate employers by
leading executive search firm Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters. Entities polled
were from the banking, investment banking, wealth management and FMCG sectors, as
well as government, manufacturing and insurance.

All respondents indicated that their junior and mid-level staff would be receiving
end of year sweeteners, says Debbie Goodman-Bhyat, MD of Jack Hammer. “But what
needs to be kept in mind is that many companies are contractually obliged to
disburse 13th cheques regardless of performance,” she added.

“I would not say that the response indicates an easing of the extreme
belt-tightening experienced over the past few years,” says Goodman-Bhyat.

“Rather, companies have recognised that to withhold the expected 13th cheque because
markets are tough becomes a big issue with staff morale and ultimately productivity
and staff retention.”

The survey indicates that of the companies polled, 75% indicated without
qualification that employees would receive end-of-year bonuses or 13th cheques,
while bonuses linked to staff performance would also be paid should the company show
a profit.

What is clear is that in all sectors, from investment banking to manufacturing,
performance or profit share bonuses would be paid out to senior staff where
individual and company performance targets were met – but that the expected sums are
set to be smaller than they would have been prior to the global financial crisis.

“Since then, bonus sums have consistently remained weak. The bonus structures,
formulae and ‘potential’ have not changed, but the amounts disbursed have in almost
no instances reverted to pre-2008 highs,” says Goodman-Bhyat.

“Nevertheless, hope remains; because we still have executive candidates discussing
their bonus ‘potential’ and the sums they used to receive 3 or 4 years ago when
negotiating offers with a new employer. However the new reality has set in and a
‘new normal’ in terms of bonus payouts is emerging.”

ENDS

ISSUED BY: Lange 360
ON BEHALF OF: JACK HAMMER EXECUTIVE HEADHUNTERS

For more information contact:
Debbie Goodman-Bhyat at Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters on 021 425 6677
(www.jhammer.co.za)
Mervyn Dziva at Lange 360 on 021 448 7407

About Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters
Jack Hammer provides a fresh approach to executive headhunting by cutting through
the ordinary. They have achieved this over the last decade by using strategic
research to drill down and expand their market intelligence beyond the obvious and
source the real gems of talent. The knowledge gained in the process enables them to
give clients a competitive edge by ensuring they find the right executive talent -
in a manner that is both responsible and ethical.

Debbie Goodman-Bhyat

Debbie is the founder and Managing Director of Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters -
rated by the Business Day as one of SA’s leading executive search firms.

Jack Hammer, with Debbie at its helm, has become a cornerstone of the South African
headhunting sector, continually and vocally aiming to raise the bar in the local
executive search industry. As a result, in 2011 Jack Hammer was selected as the
exclusive South African partner of IRC Global Executive Search Partners, a top 10
global search firm, and has now extended its global footprint to more than 70 cities
worldwide.

Debbie is a founding member of the Cape Town Chapter of EO – a global
Entrepreneurship Organisation with more than 8500 members worldwide.

The post COMPANIES PAYING BONUSES DESPITE TOUGH MARKETS appeared first on Human Resources South Africa.

Unlike their global counterparts who, according to at least two recent international
surveys, tend to show a reluctance to hire women who are or could fall pregnant, a
local poll by a top SA headhunter found all the SA companies polled were not swayed
by family matters.

One international survey, conducted by UK executive search agency Hanson Search,
found that nearly 10% of employers questioned had ‘serious reservations about hiring
women aged between 30-40 years old’ because of a fear that they would at some point
fall pregnant. Another survey, conducted by UK agency Business Environment
specifically among female managers, found that a quarter of them were reluctant to
hire a woman who has children or was of child-bearing age.

The local survey, conducted among SA’s top corporate employers by leading executive
search firm Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters, stood in stark contrast. All of the
respondents indicated unequivocally that a woman interviewing for a top job* would
be neither overtly nor covertly discriminated against for reasons of having or
potentially starting a family.

Debbie Goodman-Bhyat, MD of Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters, says although it
would be prudent to consider that respondents had perhaps responded in what they
perceived to be the politically correct way, the anonymity provided and the nature
of the responses gave weight to the stated positions that top female execs of
child-bearing age would be welcomed.

“The responses show that what was most important to employers were skill and fit,
and that personal circumstances could be accommodated,” says Goodman-Bhyat.

Employers were asked two questions: “Would you be hesitant to hire a woman of
child-bearing age” and “Would your position change if she had recently married”.

All of the respondents answered no, or even ‘not at all’ to both questions.

Among the motivations for their answers, employers said current day egalitarian
parenting made employing younger men and women who are new parents or who plan to
become parents much of a muchness. Other comments include:

* Being as rare as top women in the corporate workplace are, you cannot fuss
about things like that. This may be an issue at a more junior level where you need
an employee who is going to be at their desk ploughing away, but not at an
executive level. We have just had one of our senior executives come back from an
extended period of maternity leave, and in retrospect it remains a good hiring
decision.

* There has never been a discussion where this was ever a factor. It is accepted
that this is part of life and consequently part of what needs to happen in
business.

* The company supports a flexible organisational structure that makes room for
people who need the space for the unexpected things that happen in life.

* The company will not be open to that kind of prejudice.

* There is a great deal of consideration that goes into making the decision. But
given that the company’s target market for filling top executive positions is
black women of child-bearing age, a huge percentage of its work force falls in
this group. The company therefore does its utmost to plan properly.

* The company recently appointed a six months pregnant woman to a top position.
Pregnancy only has a bearing related to timing of changes and becomes very
individual specific, but it always works around it and it is never a barrier to
entry.

* There are a myriad of options to manage maternity leave where it is of value
to the business and the individual. Most people who have a balanced life tend to
perform better in a working environment as well.

Goodman-Bhyat says that South Africa’s unique labour imperatives combined with the
country’s strive for gender equality meant that local employers tended to have a
different attitude to the appointment of younger women to senior positions.

“While there are still many improvements to be made to enable women to maintain a
better work-life balance, it is clear that employers are starting to realise the
value of accommodating women and putting in place processes to enable the retention
of this vital demographic,” says Goodman-Bhyat.

But she warns that, although attitudes may be changing significantly, actual
appointments continued to lag.

“Most industry average ratios show a continuing male to female segmentation of 70%
vs 30%. In some industry sectors this is even more heavily swayed to male
domination. However it appears that perceptions may be shifting, and that this could
soon start to effect a correlating change in gender representation in the C-Suite.”

* Note: The survey was conducted specifically to gauge attitudes relating to senior
executive positions, and can not necessarily be translated to the entire female
workforce.

ENDS

ISSUED BY: Lange 360
ON BEHALF OF: JACK HAMMER EXECUTIVE HEADHUNTERS

For more information contact:
Debbie Goodman-Bhyat at Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters on 021 425 6677
(www.jhammer.co.za)
Mervyn Dziva at Lange 360 on 021 448 7407

About Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters
Jack Hammer provides a fresh approach to executive headhunting by cutting through
the ordinary. They have achieved this over the last decade by using strategic
research to drill down and expand their market intelligence beyond the obvious and
source the real gems of talent. The knowledge gained in the process enables them to
give clients a competitive edge by ensuring they find the right executive talent –
in a manner that is both responsible and ethical.

Debbie Goodman-Bhyat

Debbie is the founder and Managing Director of Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters -
rated by the Business Day as one of SA’s leading executive search firms.

Jack Hammer, with Debbie at its helm, has become a cornerstone of the South African
headhunting sector, continually and vocally aiming to raise the bar in the local
executive search industry. As a result, in 2011 Jack Hammer was selected as the
exclusive South African partner of IRC Global Executive Search Partners, a top 10
global search firm, and has now extended its global footprint to more than 70 cities
worldwide.

Debbie is a founding member of the Cape Town Chapter of EO – a global
Entrepreneurship Organisation with more than 8500 members worldwide.

The post WOMEN – AND THEIR BABIES – WELCOME, SAY TOP SA COMPANIES appeared first on Human Resources South Africa.

The responsibilities of human resource management are commonly shared among three areas of the organisation: employee staffing, compensation and benefits and defining/designing work (these will be explored later in the article). The central task of hr will always be to obtain, develop, and keep hold of talented employees; align the employees with organisational objectives; and be an excellent contributor to the goals of the organisation. Those three challenges will never change in organisations today.
According to research the human aspect of resources within a company contributes around 80% of an organisations value. Therefore if the employees in an organisation are not managed properly, the organisation will face serious challenges in reaching organisational objectives. Therefore the main objective of the HR department is to allow an employee to reach its full potential in order to allow employees to best chance to contribute to the success of the organisation.

HR roles come with certain positive and negative aspects with regard to its employees. However, the negative aspects can be minimised and countered by improvements to their roles and functions. That HR can bring out of its employees.

The post Human Resource Management appeared first on Human Resources South Africa.

IPM 55th Annual Conference October 31 2011.
Resourcing the future- positioning Africa for success

Dr Graham Little PhD MIoD MHRINZ AFNZIM
Director and founder of OPD International Limited
OPD International Limited, PO Box 36656, Northcote Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: +6421909310 Email: info@opdcoach.com web: www.opdcoach.com

Paper presented to the Institute of People Management 55th Annual Convention October 31st 2011:

Abstract

Human performance depends on the mind, human resources deal with the human performance. It follows that the roots of HR must be in social science, the science of people, which must include the science of mind. But social science is flawed, it lacks adequate base for insight into cause, knowledge, psychology, variables, and tools for theory construction.

The more insightful and apt our technology the more effectively we manage. Therefore we need better science from which we can deduce better theory leading to better technology enabling better management of human performance as a strategic factor in organisational results .

Ideas are the way we ‘see’ or ‘view’ a situation. Ideas are our personal ‘theory’ and are psychologically the same as a scientific theory, except that scientific theory is bound by tighter rules.

Underlying OPD theory is the re-conceptualisation of social science with clear definition of the intellectual base of HR, such as general theory of cause, general theory of psychology, general theory of knowledge, and clearly defined tools for social science theory creation and precise rules for the application of those tools.
When people use the OPD theory to ‘see’ the organisation, they are enabled to apply the technology derived from the theory (the OPD-SHRM system) to act more effectively and get better results. The data with clients validates the OPD theory as correct.

Current global state of HR

In all organisations human performance is a crucial strategic factor in results. But HR is frequently seen and a cost based compliance driven function, and is not seen as an equal contributor to organization success .
Global HR best practice is under review. While these practices have provided unquestionable improvement can more be done? Research shows number of problems.

• Team leaders find HR an admin chore that does not add value.
• HR activities are delivered in uncoordinated silos as “latest new initiative” with limited long term, sustainable results.
• Once team leaders lift ‘foot off the pedal’ performance slips back and plateaus.

Why…?

Background fact: Globally there is no clear scientific and causal link between strategy and staff behaviour (including a definition of SHRM).

Proposition: If we had such a link team leaders could be guided to use it to achieve superior sustainable staff performance.

The problem

What exactly must HR Practitioners do to ensure full sustainable acceptance as the crucial partner in the rollout of strategy and in organisation success?

The re-conceptualization of social science

All systems exhibit outputs resulting from the operation of the internal mechanism within the system. Operation of the internal mechanism is called necessity. The use of variables and application of the principle of primary operations by W Ross Ashby enables conceptualisation of the mechanism of any system.
Conceptualisation of the mechanism in a system in relation to the system outputs is cause. Cause is not necessity it is our conceptualisation of the mechanisms hence is our conceptualisation or understanding of necessity.

This separation of cause and necessity is fully unique to this analysis. It is this understanding of cause and necessity and their separation that more than anything else is the foundation of the intellectual position of the re-conceptualisation of social science .

The post Advancing Impact and Status of HR appeared first on Human Resources South Africa.

Among some of the many reasons for the slow adoption of Social Media in HR
apart from IT’s control and limiting of Social Media access on Corporate
networks is the confusion caused by the huge amount of social platforms and
how HR professionals should select and manage the correct platforms (the
following link highlights the problem of selection -
http://www.hrneurope.com/blog/?p=1567 ). Additionally, HR departments remain
challenged by understanding which HR disciplines should be using Social
Media and how. Most importantly though the biggest questions revolve around
the business case for using Social Media in HR.

The benefits of Social Media adoption in HR are enormous as are the areas
where HR can apply the use of Social Media, examples of how top companies
are reaping the benefits Social Media are starting to come through in
abundance along with the rewards of these applications.

Vital Training is proud to announce their “Social Media and the HR Function
- Master the use of Social Media for effective Employee Retention,
Engagement and supporting Business Performance” programme to be run on the
1st and 2nd of December 2011. This 2 day interactive course is a pc-based
and delegates are encouraged bring their smart phones, wireless enabled
laptops, digital cameras and video recorders along for an interactive
session on social media. (Don’t worry if you’re an experienced social media
user – there’ll be plenty of opportunity to share your skills!)

Should you have any further questions about the programme or require
assistance with registration please do not hesitate to revert back to us.
Early registration is encouraged as seats to this programme are limited to
20 delegates only, due to the interactive nature of this programme.

Below you will find a brief overview of the programme plus the details on
the Programme Facilitator – Jon Ingham (Jon has been recognised as a top
online influencer in HR, Recruitment, Leadership and Talent Management
(including the #1 top influencer in talent management in 2010)

Overview

Social media is one of the main drivers of change in business at the moment.
In HR, it is enabling major transformations in recruiting, learning and
other areas.

Many HR teams are now using social media and other web 2.0 technologies to
improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of their people management
processes. Most of these teams are using social media in the same way as
traditional communication channels to ‘push’ information to employees.

However, social media also provides access to further benefits including
improving the quality of recruit, the capability of individuals and teams,
employee engagement and organisational culture. HR teams gaining these
additional benefits are using social media to ‘pull’ current and potential
employees closer to the organisation, and to enhance sharing and
participation across the workforce.

In addition, HR professionals have the opportunity to play a further role in
their organisation’s use of social media too. Businesses are using 2.0
tools to empower their employees to deliver better customer service; to keep
track of customer needs (social CRM); to support knowledge management and to
enable collaboration and innovation (enterprise 2.0). However many of these
projects present behavioural and cultural (rather than technological)
challenges, requiring HR to lead or at least collaborate in the
implementation of these systems.

Attend this workshop to understand how to gain all these sets of benefits
for your HR team and your organisation. In addition, we will also talk
about why you yourself might benefit from more personal involvement in
social media. And to start you off along this path, we will be encouraging
you to get onto Twitter to tweet the session and ask questions of the
trainer, and to contribute to a new blog summarising learning from the two
days.

Key Benefits for Participants

By attending this workshop, you will understand:

. The impact that social media, supported by changing workforce
expectations, is having on businesses, management and HR

. The opportunities for you to support and lead resulting changes in
your business

. How to align social media with HR programmes

. How social media supports employee engagement

. How to avoid the potential risks of using social media to
productivity and intellectual property etc

. How HR processes are impacted by these changes

. The requirements for developing a social media based HR strategy
and social media policy etc.

Programme Highlights

Listen to case studies of organisations which are using social media to
improve the performance of organisational management and HR processes
including recruitment, learning, communication and alumni management.

Watch and participate in practical demonstrations of the main social
technologies for individuals and organisations.

Network with your peers in a highly interactive environment.

Collect together a set of best practices in the development of strategies
and policies enabling you to take advantage of all the potential benefits of
social media in HR.

Who Should Attend

. All senior level HR professionals working in corporate roles or in
any HR function, particularly recruitment or learning

. HR practitioners with a particular interest in the use of social
media, and/or in the development of the HR profession

. Other business leaders responsible for talent management in their
organisations.

Programme Objectives

By the end of this workshop you will have:

. Learnt the social media basics including creating and using
Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Blogging, and LinkedIn.

. Gained practical experience and comfort in using these social
media tools

. Considered how social media could be used to support your
recruitment strategy and its effects on your employer brand

. Determined the best ways to use social networks for recruiting and
employer branding

. Experienced social learning and reflected on its application to
your own organisation

. Discovered how social media has changed internal communication

. Learnt how to increase employee engagement through the use of
social networks

. Ascertained the elements of an effective social media strategy and
policy for your organization

. Found out what to include in your social media policy and
procedures – the dos and don’ts

. Understood the legal implications of social media and the
workforce

. Explored the risks and opportunities of using social media in your
workplace – and how to manage and respond to an employee-related social
media crisis

. Developed an action plan to improve your own HR activities through
the use of social media

. Learnt how to get leadership buy-in from your CEO for social media
tools to enhance your productivity

. Uncovered how other companies and organizations are using social
media effectively

. Documented your learnings and other notes on a workshop blog for
later reference and support.

Programme Outline

Day 1

The focus of day 1 will be on fully understanding the range of opportunities
available for using social media to improve HR processes, and the actions
that HR professionals can take the act on these opportunities.

Many people (not just in ‘Generation Y’) have already felt the
transformational effect of social media in their personal lives, helping
them connect with other people, share information and work together to
achieve objectives they share. However some of the most significant
benefits of social media relate to changing the way that organisations work
and that their employees are recruited, managed and developed.

We will review these various opportunities and also look at developing
strategies and policies to harness the benefits of social media for HR and
other applications.

A) Introduction to Social Media

A quick overview of social media so everyone understands what we are talking
about, plus a particular focus on Twitter which we will be encouraging
people to use to note ideas and ask questions during the workshop.

. The importance of social media (why this technology is truly
a new ‘version’ of the internet, and how it supports changing expectations
in the workforce)

. The need to focus on relationships rather than interactions

. The importance of authenticity in using social media

. Potential legal issues to note when using social media

. Avoiding risks arising from use of social media (productivity
wastage, loss of intellectual property or organisational reputations etc)

. Gaining short and long-term benefits

. Cultural issues in social media use

. Introducing participants to Twitter which we will use as a
supporting Q&A tool throughout the workshop.

B) Social Communication and Learning

A review of social media tools within HR processes. Part 1: Communication
and Learning & Development

. Communicating organisation strategy

. Using social media for listening to and participating in
conversation with your employees

. Encouraging your employees to use social media to create and share
content, and develop and sustain relationships with one another

. Leveraging social networks to increase employee engagement and
retention

. A review of some recent case studies identifying how social media
has changed internal communication

. Supporting formal and informal learning and development

. The role of mobile learning

. A review of the main tools and some social learning and
communication case studies

. Using social learning tools to summarise workshop learning to date

C) Social Recruiting and other Applications

A review of social media tools within HR processes. Part 2: Recruiting,
other processes from the Employee Lifecycle

. Pull, push and social applications in recruitment & employer
branding

. Using social media for sourcing and maintaining relationships with
potential employees

. Mobile recruiting tools and opportunities

. Best practices in recruiting and employer branding plus best fit
needs for different contexts and strategies

. A review of the main tools and some social recruiting case studies

. Other applications of social media within HR (e.g. for performance
management etc)

. Group work: a review of the social features on some of the
workshop participants’ own career sites.

D) Strategies for Using Social Media within the HR Function

An overview of the approaches HR can take to focus its investments in social
media, introduce these technologies in the most appropriate places, and
implement them effectively.

. Identifying the right opportunities to develop use of social media

. Undertaking a competitor analysis

. Understanding the tools which your employees already use

. Identifying the right technologies to meet your context and
objectives

. Creating the appropriate social media content

. Developing leaders as sponsors and employees as advocates

. Linking social media with your existing technologies

. Planning for the development of socially integrated talent
management systems.

Day 2

The second day of the workshop will review the wider opportunities for using
social media within businesses.

Just like HR, other business functions are increasingly seeing benefits in
introducing social media. Common applications include, for example,
customer service, knowledge management, innovation and collaboration. The
drivers for this include the desire to take advantage of new technology; to
reduce the challenges of geographical distance; and to support employees
wanting to gain access to the technologies they use in their personal lives
while at work. However organisations are increasingly keen to influence the
influence the relationships between their employees (social capital) rather
than just the attributes of the individuals themselves (human capital),
These drivers and the consequent changes provide more significant new
opportunities for HR.

As well as reviewing these benefits, we will also review of each of the main
social media tools and discuss their use for individual employees (and
workshop participants) as well as for HR.

E) Supporting and Driving Business Benefits through Social Media

Reviewing the wider use of social media within organisations but outside of
HR and explaining the opportunities this provides HR.

. The main opportunities for organisational use of social media
(social customer relationship management, enterprise 2.0 etc)

. A review of business collaboration tools

. Managing adoption of social technologies through pilots and
large-scale implementations

. Supporting behavioural and cultural change

. The role of internal organisational capabilities and social
capital in providing competitive advantage

. Recent case studies from other companies using social media
effectively

. Developing social HR approaches supporting business use of social
media

. Reviewing why social HR fits most naturally within a social
business.

F) Maximising Value from the Main Social Media Tools

Probing deeper into the main public social media tools to ensure all
participants understand how to make best advantage of them.

. Training demonstration on LinkedIn, Facebook, Foursquare,
Youtube and Blogger etc – learning / reviewing the basics and getting the
maximum benefits from the tools and supporting app’s – as an individual and
for an organisation

. The benefits of using social media on a personal basis

. Opportunities for using social media as an HR professional

. Reviewing some HR Director blogs – drawing out learnings.

G) Measuring the ROI of Social Media

Understanding how to measure the impact of social media use within HR.

. Measuring the success of social media initiatives through the
use of a strategy map and scorecard

. Balancing qualitative measures and quantitative metrics

. Using social media technologies to provide measures for
activities and their outcomes

. Estimating and calculating Return on Investment (ROI)

. Worked examples using real metrics from social recruiting
case studies.

H) Action planning

A review of the remaining issues that still need consideration when
introducing social media, and an opportunity to reflect on and share the
actions participants plan taking within their own organisations after the
workshop

. Aligning social media strategy with corporate values,
strategies and objectives

. Managing participation on public social media systems

. Designing a social media policy and procedures to balance
risk management and employee rights – examples from other organisations and
the key do’s and don’ts

. Providing corporate governance of social media

. Risk management in social media (monitoring compliance with
policy, mitigating risks etc, e.g. responding to a social media related
crisis)

. Identifying training needs to develop internal social media
competency

. Developing a business case and getting buy-in from the CEO

. Group / individual work: participant action planning and
contributing to the workshop blog.

Trainer Profile

Jon Ingham is an independent strategic people management and organisation
development consultant. He regularly speaks and provides training in
Europe, the US, the Middle East and Asia and has also lectured in strategic
management, change management and human resources on executive MBA courses
in both West and East Europe.

Jon is also the author of ‘Strategic HCM: Creating Value through People’
(2006) and is currently completing a second book called ‘Social Advantage’.
He has also contributed a chapter to a newly published book, ‘An Executive
Guide to Integrated Talent Management’ which also features chapters from
Dave Ulrich, Ed Lawler, Peter Cappelli, Marshall Goldsmith and others. He
has also recently been recognised by HRExaminer as a top global influencer
in HR: (http://www.top100influencers.com/top-100-v1-73-jon-ingham).

Jon is an active user of social media and maintains two blogs, also called
Strategic HCM, and Social Advantage. He also manages a network of HR
practitioners interested in social media and social networking called
Connecting HR.

Currently working with Strategic Dynamics, Jon was previously with Director
of Human Capital Consulting, Europe for Buck Consultants / ACS and as Head
of HR Consulting for Penna. Before this he worked as an International HR
Director for Ernst & Young, and before that as an IT then change management
consultant for Andersen Consulting.

Jon has a BA in Psychology, a Masters in Engineering and an MBA. He is a
Fellow of the CIPD.

Testimonials

Feedback on Jon’s social media training:

Very informative, interactive and enjoyable

- Ann George, Learning & Development Manager, Spaghetti House

A very insightful and engaging session

- James Cullen, Group HR Director, HAYS

In terms of his own social media using activities, Jon has been recognised
as a top online influencer in HR, Recruitment, Leadership and Talent
Management (including the #1 top influencer in talent management in 2010

Email: mark.sales@vitaltraining.co.za

Web: www.vitaltraining.co.za

The post Social Media and the HR Function – 1st & 2nd of December 2011 appeared first on Human Resources South Africa.