The number of new business start-ups has fallen to an all-time low, says Adcorp, the JSE-listed human capital management group.

The group’s February 2012 Employment Index highlights with alarm the closure of 440 000 small business closures over the past five years. The gravity of the situation is emphasised by the fact that 68% of all South African workers are employed by small business employing fewer than 50 people.

Loane Sharp, labour economist at Adcorp, identifies several contributing factors:

the 2009 recession;

an increased tax incidence that has fallen significantly more on small businesses than on medium and large enterprises; and labour laws and regulations that have been “particularly onerous” for small businesses.

The Adcorp analysis reveals that employment grew at an annualised rate of 1,5% in February, with the economy having created 24 000 jobs compared to the 80 000 jobs created in January.

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While no significant changes in all kinds of jobs – formal, informal, permanent and temporary – were seen during October, South Africa’s labour productivity fell to its lowest level in 40 years.

Adcorp’s monthly Employment Index for October 2011, released in Johannesburg this morning, reveals that throughout 2011 labour productivity growth has been negative, with an all time low reached last month.
Labour productivity is a leading indicator of job creation.

Meanwhile, this month’s Index also shows that employment dropped slightly in the mining (-7.8%), construction (-7.0%) and manufacturing (-4.5%) sectors on an annualized basis. Adcorp labour market analyst Loane Sharp says these losses were offset by job increases in wholesale and retail trade (+4.4%) and financial services (+3.0%). (more…)

Business has changed – it started with the ‘war for talent’, and continued with the ongoing skills shortage and our younger generations’ new expectations. So as leaders we need to involve ourselves continuously in creating a company culture in which our people are happy and want to stay with us.

People who are happy at work are naturally more productive, which impacts positively on individual and company success.

I am a firm believer in a happy culture, and I have seen five main drivers, both at DAV and at many of our client companies:

1. Contribution

All people have a desire to know they contribute to their colleagues and leaders as well as to their company’s success. Let’s communicate on an ongoing basis about how our people contribute to larger company goals. When people see that what they do makes a difference, and that their views and opinions matter, they feel valued and appreciated. At DAV,
we create an environment where we consistently appreciate what our people bring to the table.

2. Conviction

When people keep going even when things get tough they develop a sense of resilience, efficiency and effectiveness. It’s challenging, however, to stay motivated which is how we can help: Let’s keep reminding our people of the ultimate goal and looking for different ways to motivate them. When we can convince people of the value of staying strong, believing in themselves (and their company) and working towards victory, their level of pride and resilience is amazing.

In 37 years DAV has seen difficult times and recessions. I believe what made the difference every time was our conviction we would not only get through it, but emerge better people and better professionals. (more…)

There are few worse feelings for a manager than when a valued employee announces he or she is leaving. Last month we chatted about how to spot signs of discontent, now what can we do if they are there?

Luckily – in most cases – employee resignation is a process, not an event, so we have time to address the situation. The best news for anyone charged with leading people: we can interrupt the disengagement process and salvage key talent at critical, predictable points along the decision path to departure. (more…)

Engineering News asked top recruitment consultant Diane Gotthardt about the future of engineering recruitment and DAV’s future therein:

1. What are the current trends in South Africa in terms of sourcing key staff in the engineering/technical/mining sectors and for sectors like renewable energy?
We are still in a skills short market. Excellent Engineers are being fought for globally and being paid high international salaries. Specifically in industries like Mining and Power Generation. It’s a global playing field and employers in SA need to come a long way to attract and retain key players in Engineering. In sectors like renewable energy we are starting to see some movement there but it’s early days. Some companies are progressive and have started looking for “green experts” but reports indicate that the massive boom for companies in the wind turbine manufacturing will come closer to 2015

DAV is listed with the Adcorp group and their Employment index for June indicates the following:
• Employment dropped sharply at an annual rate of 8.3% during June, the second consecutive monthly
decline. This represents a loss of 127,100 permanent positions and 5,712 temporary positions.

• Employment grew substantially in the high-skilled management and professional services categories
(21.9%), whereas employment declined sharply in the unskilled and semi-skilled categories (20.3%).

• Based on our monitoring of trade union activities so far this year, we estimate that South Africa will
lose 24.9 million days due to strikes and work stoppages in 2011 – an increase of 22% over 2010.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) – an international grouping of the world’s largest multinational corporations, South Africa’s labour laws and regulations rank 133rd among 139 countries in the world i.e. the 7th-lowest internationally.

“As the WEF notes in its 2010 Global Competitiveness Report, South Africa has the 8th-highest level of industrial conflict in the world (more…)

We all know that it is important to focus on Employment Equity and the reasons these policies, procedures and the measurements have been put into place. Hopefully this is accompanied with a sense of pride, reason and backed with knowledge. But what about the other (previously) disadvantaged minorities? Focus is concentrated on legalities whereas the softer side, may I say the humanity, seems to falter. Certainly a notion as strong as empowerment is filled with meaning and sentiment, a collective strive for a splendid integrated nation. Although the minorities I refer to, stretch further than females, this article has its focus on this group. (more…)

We live in a fast-paced business world, even myself being a laid back Capetonian, and we all want top talent in our organisations. Not only do we want top talent, but many of us want top BEE talent with specialized skill sets. Is this talent pool elusive? No! Whilst we know these candidates are out there, they are in high demand. So we need to move quickly if we want to build and maintain a sustainable ‘A’ Team.

Recruitment is cyclic. It’s unpredictable. It’s ever-changing. And for a while now our clients have had the upper-hand, or dominated the market space, but this may be changing. In today’s’ market we may be experiencing a shift; the scales may be tipping slightly more in favour of the candidates. This shift is occurring when clients tap into the talent pools of candidates with specialized skill sets, such as qualified Compliance Managers with CIS exposure from asset management. It is in these instances that we are noticing the increase in control that these candidates exert in today’s market. (more…)

There’s something about Africa that gets into your soul. Whether in a farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills, looking out over the spread of Cape Town from breathtaking Table Mountain, transported into ancient history at Giza, encountering gorillas in the mist in the Congo or swept away in awe at the endless Skeleton Coast, few people forget the moment Africa seized their souls.

Africa is the last great growth frontier in the World, with South Africa as the gateway.

We at DAV strongly believe in the opportunities for Africa’s growth and so have opened a dedicated Africa and Emerging Markets Division. Our team is ready and fully geared up to place people for our clients throughout Africa – sourcing worldwide, in South Africa and in the relevant African country. Whether you are looking for board-level executives, scarce skills specialists, expats, large-scale project search, to be SA or in-country based or move between SA and in-country, we will find the best people for you.

Let’s have a closer look at this magnificent continent. (more…)

Most organisations have now come to the realisation that their only true market differentiator is their people (and what their people know) but unfortunately, this market differentiator is becoming more and more difficult to hang on to. (more…)

The best we can do today is to start adapting to, responding to and preparing the wild cards that will surely be coming our way. So, here are some trends predicted to occur in time for the 2020 workplace: (more…)