Opportunities for improvement have never been better
Some time ago I met a chap who proudly informed me that he had been driving his car for 78,000 km without a service, proving beyond doubt that it was a very good car. Well, it only proved to me that he was an unrealistic chancer. I never did find out when the vehicle finally broke down and what it cost him to fix it.
You know that if you want your car to perform optimallly over the long term and be in a state to trade in one day, it has to be maintained in good order. This is known as common sense. Why then, do so few organisations pay scant attention to maintaining the overall effectiveness of their human resources? Perhaps it's a question of priorities, but it makes less and less sense today - particularly since your HR component represents the initiative, productivity and performance of any organisation
When certain components of a vehicle's maintenance are neglected, the performance of the entire vehicle is affected - costing far more to fix down the line than regular routine maintenance. When, for instance, the technical skills aspect of staff development is taken care of to the detriment of human relations and personal motivation, you get people who are great at fixing things but even better at destroying relationships. As a result their behaviour frightens away your best people, and your best customers. This ends up costing your company a fortune - but since it is a "hidden expense", it is often last ot be addressed.
Now here's the interesting part. Any company doing business in South Africa today has been given a strong financial incentive to develop its people. Firstly, expenditure on T&D (training and development) is deductible from taxable profits, and secondly, skills levies are now recoverable from the relevant SETA's (Sector Education and Training Authorities) if conducted by accredited T&D providers, making the nett cost of training inexpensive in real terms.
The Skills Development Act of 1998 was promulgated to finance the upliftment of all the people of South Africa through T&D with the view to building and maintaining a stronger economy, and creating jobs, stability and security for all its citizens.
The Skills Levies Act of 1999, which compels companies to pay 1% of the payroll to the National Skills Fund, has resulted in a steady inflow of funds to the various SETA's creating a healthy pool of capital which must be spent on T&D. But a great many companies have been slow to take advantage of these opportunities, often simply due to ignorance. Your money is sitting ready to be claimed back from your SETA - if you're simply prepared to take action and invest in developing your staff.
Whoever you may be, it pays you and your company to take advantage of the development opportunities that abound - not just for the rebates, but to play your part in a steadily strengthening economy which ultimately benefits us all. Despite the challenges we still face, we now live in one of the most exciting places to be - with the best climate in the world (thrown in free!).
When you take advantage of these opportunities, as I'm sure you will, try and make sure that you're getting all the parts properly serviced. Remember that knowing is no guarantee of doing. To do, we need to put our knowledge into action. That's why when we've serviced the vehicle, cleaned the windscreen and checked the tyre pressure there's just one thing left to do.
Fill the tank up with fuel. There are a whole heap of brands and octanes to choose from below.
Paul du Toit (February 2004)
