What subjects are keeping South African Human Capital and Human Resource professionals up at night in November 2024?
As a business we look to analyse various data sources and statistics including:
- Website search traffic
- Google Analytics and Google Trends
- Keyword Ranking tools
- Business media
- Tracking of social media posts including LinkedIn
Typically, we will look at this data between the 10th and the 14th of each month and use this to guide our decision-making and solutions for our clients.
Workforce Planning
Without a doubt, a key focus area for Human Capital and HR professionals is the subject of “Advantages and Benefits of Workforce Planning” – a key phrase which is trending.
This makes a lot of sense as employers with more than 50 employees are going to be subject to higher scrutiny as they are expected to build workforces to more accurately reflect the makeup of the South African population.
Recruitment and the development of staff are going to be increasingly more strategic subjects for growth businesses in the coming years as they look to integrate and retain key talent within their organisations to comply with Employment Equity Plans.
Finding a B-BBEE consultant
A second trending keyword or key phrase relates to “finding a B-BBEE consultant” or executing on “B-BBEE empowerment solutions”.
Legal Sector Codes are causing consternation
The Legal Sector Codes of 2024 were approved in September 2024 and have created much discussion in the industry around their scope and application.
Our partners from BEE123 have recently published a useful blog on the subject.
Public Sector wage discussions remain challenging to navigate
With more than 1.3 million public servants, South African government finances are inextricably linked to the outcome of wage discussions.
On one hand, we have the National Treasury trying to implement some form of austerity to balance the books while on the other side of the debate there is a question of the cost-of-living crisis and the development and retention of portfolios including education and healthcare.
Treasury Director-General Duncan Pieterse has recently proposed a voluntary retirement programme for 30 000 public servants in an attempt to bring down this wage bill with an estimated cost saving of about R4bn over 2 years.
Ray Mahlaka from Daily Maverick covers this discussion in an article here.
Hospitality sector is acting:
While this is more anecdotal rather than data-led, there are signs that the hospitality sector are reconsidering some of their hiring practices.
Following high-profile raids in September, industry feedback suggests that many restaurant owners are revisiting the makeup of their workforce and are prioritisng the appointment of South African staff over foreigners.
South African executives open up about Mental Health challenges
October was recognised as Mental Health awareness month and a standout feature was the number of executives who opened up the discussion around an issue that is estimated to cost the South African economy over R200bn per year.
Lee Naik, CEO of Transunion recently wrote about it in his monthly newsletter and urged business leaders to move from awareness to taking action.
Does your organisation need to form a Social and Ethics Committee?
Later this week we look forward to hosting a workshop in conjunction with our partners from Moodley Attorneys around the formation of Social and Ethics Committees.
If you are wondering why your Social and Ethics Committee is important, check out our recent article entitled: “The Role of the Social and Ethics Committee in Human Capital Development”
If you are unable to attend our workshop but would like to set up a consultation around the formation of a Social and Ethics Committee, we look forward to engaging with you.
Partner with us to assist with your Human Capital requirements
If you are looking for a strategic partner to assist you with your recruitment, Human Capital Development, Workforce Planning and Social and Ethics Committee planning then please do not hesitate to contact us.