HR Wired

On today's episode of HR Wired, we have Saurabh Kumar, CEO at In2IT Technologies o our productivity and profitability segment talking about Technology in the workplace and how it can influence and affect productivity and profitability; on our HR chat, we have Nicol Mullins Principal Consultant - Mercer Consulting talking about how AI will shape the Future of Work, employers focus on human skills and employees crave jobs with purpose; on policy and compliance, we have Ivan Israelstam, Chief Executive of Labour Law Management Consulting talking about Why retrenchments is currently on the rise in South Africa; and finally on getting hired, we have Rudi Kruger, General Manager of LexisNexis Data Services talking about the Importance of reference checks on job applicants.

---

This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

As usual, Gavin, Sibongile, and Soji open the show with some HR updates from around Africa; we then moved to productivity/profitability on the topic 'Cultivating a growth mindset: Encouraging loyalty from a younger workforce ' our guest is Rob Jardine – Head, Research and Solutions at The NeuroLeadership Institute South Africa. On HR chat, we spoke to Mandisa Nyathikazi, Executive director of ATI on the subject of Africa’s latest scarce skills and the roles of Artisan Training Institute. Finally, of policy and compliance, we spoke to Jennifer Barkhuizen, Head of Communications for Managed Integrity Evaluation and we asked if you serving yourself and your potential employer honestly?
2018 Deloitte Millennial Survey reflect a very different reality, where most companies are viewed as failing miserably at fulfilling their societal and ethical roles and are seen as being solely motivated by profit. This is quite worrying, especially as millennials are considered to be the largest generation ever to enter the workforce and are now taking up positions of influence and leadership within businesses.
Inspiring millennial loyalty through continuous learning opportunities
One of the ways that organizations can encourage millennials to be loyal to them is through ensuring that they are regularly given opportunities to stretch themselves. Forty-eight percent of this generation put opportunities for continuous learning as an important item on their ‘Ideal Company to Work for’ Wish List. In addition, 81% of millennials believe that continuous professional development and self-paced learning will ensure they perform at their best in their job and keep pace with the changes that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will continue to bring. However, a mere 36% of millennial respondents believed their employers were helping them prepare for this evolution.
It is crucial that the youth is made aware of viable future vocations. According to the Artisan Training Institute.

---

This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Joining us in this conversation, Deon Oberholzer, CEO of Gestalt Growth Strategies and Co-Founder of ProudAfrique Human Capital.
The Commission for Employment Equity says it is concerned at the high representation of foreign nationals when there are local skills available. The latest Employment Equity report paints a worrying picture of the slow pace of transformation in the South African workplace over the past 20 years.

Deon Oberholzer, CEO of Gestalt Growth Strategies and Co-Founder of ProudAfrique Human Capital unpack the 5 key findings of the Employment Equity Commission Report 2018, share his thoughts on the proposed amendments to the Employment Equity Act and whether revisiting the definition of designated employers, setting of sector targets as an enabling provision to monitor and measure compliance is the right step in addressing transformation in the workplace or not.

---

This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Karlien Holliday, who is the Rewards Director at GETRewards South Africa, joins us to chat about how the way we incentify employees has changed and how we can be more innovative with this to improve workplace productivity.
Incentivising employees the right way could lead to increased productivity and happy, loyal employees. Will rewarding employees lead to deeper engagement in the long run? and what would be the impact on our bottom line?

---

This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

There's no such thing as free Wifi And Leadership is failing employees across Africa. We started the show as usual with HR updates from across Africa, especially with what is happening in South Africa's electricity provider that has resulted to load shedding across the country.
On our HR chat, we had Dr. Martin Combrinck who is a Director at WELLCOSA; WLLCOSA is the Wellness Council of South Africa (WELLCOSA) is the leading respected resource for creating and executing successful healthy workplaces. WELLCOSA helps to build high performing and healthy workplaces. We assist businesses and health professionals to improve employee well-being and create healthier organizational cultures. on our HR chat about the current trends in employees' wellness in Africa.
On Policies and compliance, Gusti Coetzer, (director at Signium Africa) explains to us What to do when Integrity may get you fired; with Rising levels of perceived corruption which have sharpened the ethical challenge for those in responsible positions. When the spoils might run into billions, it seems you can be fired for doing the right thing and rewarded for doing what you know to be wrong. How do you stay on the side of the angels, stay in your job … and stay out of jail?
Finally, Riaan Graham, who is a Sales Director of sub-Saharan Africa at Ruckus Networks explains why free wifi is not really free, though there are many advantages of internet access.

---

This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Many employers failed to double check that the qualifications submitted by job candidates are genuine. The common law entitles employers to know all facts about a prospective employee that are relevant to a job application. That is, the employee is obliged to:
•Divulge information relevant to the decision to appoint where it is clear that the employer requires such information
•Answer certain questions truthfully
•Desist from exaggerating job qualifications
For example, where an employee applies for the job of a driver he/she would be required to divulge that he/she does not have a driver’s license.
Generally, job applicants are required to answer relevant questions truthfully during the screening process. However, what is relevant is a matter for debate. For example, a job applicant may well be able to claim that she was not obliged to answer truthfully a question as to whether she was pregnant because this has nothing to do with her ability to do the work. He employer might then argue that the maternity leave would interrupt the continuity of the job. However, the employer would then need to prove that the job required continuity and that no alternative interim measure could be implemented to solve the continuity problem.
It is not enough for the employer to prove the employee guilty of misrepresentation. The employer must prove that honesty is an essential requirement

---

This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

On the episode of HR Wired, like we always do, we shine the spotlight on the most important aspect of business and that is the talent; Sibongile joins us remotely to bring major HR updates; on HR Chat, we have Lauren Salt who is a senior associate for Employment and Compensation Practice at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg.
, she chats with us about the South African Employment Equity and how there's no provision for the Transgender individuals.
South Africa’s Employment Equity Act (EEA) contains a number of anti-discrimination provisions, as well as mechanisms for employers to collect, analyze, plan and report on employment equity information. The mechanisms, however, do not cater for those employees who do not identify with being either male or female. The practice of gathering and reporting only gender binary information for employment equity purposes might, therefore, be discriminatory. 
“Where an employer forces an individual who, either biologically or otherwise, does not identify with a particular gender, to choose to be either male or female, this could amount to discrimination,”
Lauren explains that Chapter II of the Employment Equity Act (EEA) requires designated employers to implement affirmative action measures in respect of designated persons. Besides identifying non-white racial groups as designated groups, the EEA identifies women as part of such group. As a result, the central focus of the information gathering, analyzing, planning and reporting processes set out in the EEA is the delineation of the workforce into racial and sex categories. The template forms attached to the EEA envisage that 100% of the employer’s workforce is either male or female.
Ivan Israelstam also joins us to clarify the case of falsification of credentials and how that is not always dismissable.
To close of the show, we have Dr. Anish Shivdasani founder & CEO of Giraffe to chat with us about the current HR trends globally and then bring it back home in Africa.

---

This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

As usual, on this show, We shine the spotlight on the most important aspect of business and that is the talent/Human Capital.
Johan Botes joins us on productivity/profitability to talk about how employees are protected in mergers and acquisition. On HR Chat, we chatted about How to deal with questionable employee comments on social media with Grant Wilkinson, Executive, Global Business Solutions. Ivan Israelstam clarifies whether employees can be dismissed for misconduct or poor performance. To close the show, we look at the recent announcement by SAB-Inbev on extending employees parental support to include all types of families.

---

This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Nearly a third of millennials entering the formal workplace for the first time suffer from Imposter Syndrome – the persistent fear of being “found out” or exposed as a “fraud” in the workplace.

Dr. Gillian Mooney of the IIE discusses how to identify and understand the signs of impostor syndrome early in one’s career while providing tips on how to avoid losing confidence and to become an empowered, valued and productive team member.

---

This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

The world is constantly evolving – technology is advancing at a rapid pace, global barriers are being eradicated and individuals are questioning societal norms and challenging traditional stereotypes – all of which affects businesses operations.
Fred Prince, Remuneration and Benefits Manager at Ackermans, notes that businesses need to adapt when it comes to its remuneration and benefits programmes, stating that the traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is no longer effective and fails to reflect the changing landscape.
Fred highlights the various employee benefits which need to be relooked by businesses when retaining employees, namely, Benefits like maternity leave; Flexi-hours & the opportunities of working remotely; as well as the importance of tailoring.
Fred who is the Remuneration and Benefits Manager at Ackermans Joins Gavin to discuss how businesses can adapt to the changing landscape with their employee benefits package.

---

This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app