Green it!

Martin Butler presented an article recently on New ICT technologies: A business perspective on their impact in 2010 and beyond at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB).  As a business leader myself, this article was so fascinating and I would like to share what Martin eluded to when it comes to talent management and building a strong brand.

Talent Management

Employees’ preferences and tastes will increasingly be a determining factor in the devices an computers with which they want to do their work, instead of corporate hardware policies. To this effect, the competition for people in the talent market will play a role. InfoWorld suggests that companies should let users manage their own PCs and that unsanctioned applications be invited into the organisation. Users may have good reasons for wanting specific tools to work with.

Brand Awareness

Coca Cola used to be the world’s largest brand, topping the list of several brand ratings across the world for many years. This is no longer the case. A recent brand rating has put Google in the top spot. People everywhere, even young children, know the term – they know they can simply “Google” the web to find answers they want. The impact of ICT technology on brand awareness is phenomenal. Besides what Google has accomplished, the fastest growing brand in the world is also from the ICT sphere, namely

BlackBerry. Another interesting example is that, in the USA, the second most-aspired-to car for young people to buy is a Subaru. Why? It is one of the sought-after cars modelled on play stations and computer games. Children have been driving the Subaru for 10 to 15 years on TV screens. And now, as young adults, they want the same brand in real life.

Green IT

So far it has been mostly preached and not so much practised. But it is expected that many more companies will take green IT seriously in 2010, as IT manufacturing sophistication and energy efficiency considerations start to make economic sense. Energy consumption will be the major selling point of mobile devices within the next three years. A key prediction by Gartner Research is that by 2014, most IT business cases will include carbon remediation costs.

Extreme convenience

Consumers want the information they need, when they need it, in the format in which they need it. The growing popularity of RSS Feeds and Google Alerts is a good example. Another example is Amazon’s Kindle with its user-directed functionality, which has set new standards of convenience for eReaders. It will certainly be challenged by iPad and other eReader devices. All in all, the quest for convenience seems to have sparked a spectacular shift to mobile devices. People’s appetite for wireless and instantaneous services is ravenous, and this will increasingly dictate demand patterns in the market place.

Decreasing IT assets in organisations

Several trends are driving down investment in IT assets by organisations. One factor is that software can replace hardware. For example, software can be used in one bigger server to emulate five individual servers. Another factor is cloud computing, which means that one does not need to own hardware to be able to use it. Similarly, software-as-a-service means that one does not have to own the software to be able to use it. Gartner predicts that 20% of businesses will not own any IT assets by 2012.

Chief Fire Officer: Cape Town

Our client, a subsidiary of a global company, is engaged in every aspect of the oil and natural gas industry, including exploration, production, refining, marketing, chemical manufacturing, and power generation. You can be part of a team working across a range of disciplines to tackle the world’s biggest energy issues head on.

Reporting to the Manager: Health, Environment & Safety, your key responsibilities will include: • managing continuous risk assessments for fire protection and overseeing the implementation of approved mitigation measures across the Refinery and related facilities • training the emergency management team • ensuring the Refinery is properly integrated and aligned with local disaster authorities and other industry neighbours • managing the maintenance of all emergency response and fire equipment • acting as On-Scene Commander in the event of refinery emergencies • budget management.

Key requirements for appointment: • Higher Diploma in Fire Technology or equivalent (e.g. Fire Engineering Science) • passing of a medical evaluation • valid Code EC1 driver’s licence. • At least 12 years’ relevant experience, of which five years’ in a Senior Management role will be advantageous.

Key competencies: • strong knowledge of fire brigade regulations and standards impacting on refining operations • sound awareness of the legal issues relating to the fire brigade within the petrochemical or oil and gas industry • demonstrated project management skills • ability to work within a team.

To apply, please forward your CV to HR Inspiration via e-mail: info@hrinspiration.co.za by 28 May 2010. For a confidential discussion, please call Zelda Pieters on 021 930 9022.

In line with our Clients Employment Equity Policy, we would especially welcome applications from members of the designated groups.

Are your staff geared up for the world cup?

ARE YOUR STAFF GEARED UP TO HOST & SERVE SOCCER FANS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE?

Soft skills / people’s skills is an important part of their individual contribution to the success of any hospitality organisation .

2010 soft skills courses to boost your employers service delivery.

• Time Management
• Presentation Skills
• Telephone etiquette
• Effective Teamwork
• Waste Management
• Emotional Intelligence
• Mentoring / Coaching
• Conflict Management
  

As dealing with customers face – to face are generally more successful if YOU train YOUR staff to use these skills.

• Quality Customer Service
• Diversity in the Workplace
• Effective Communication Strategies
• Health and Safety in the Workplace
• Business Etiquette & Corporate Courtesy
• Conflict Management
• Root Cause Analysis
• Diversity Management
  

Soft skills are defined as business skills that falls into one of the following categories

Interactions with Co-workers

• Networking - this is the building of strong relationships or alliances with others. Networking is important in building connections across an enterprise - if you do not know something yourself, it's important to know who can help.
• Communication - the effective sharing of information with others - including oral, written, and even non-verbal communication.
• Teamwork / Collaboration - the ability to work successfully in a group setting, including assuming the role of a team player - someone that puts the goals of the team ahead of their personal goals.
• Demonstrating Empathy - the capability to share one's feelings with others, as well as understand the emotions of others.

Professionalism and / or Work Ethic

• Professionalism - includes dressing appropriately for the work setting, arriving on time, speaking in a respectful manner to co-workers, customers and clients.
• Integrity - acting in a truthful and honest manner, this skill is typically aligned with the values expressed by the company.
• Optimism - this person anticipates the best possible outcome and provides positive feedback when someone is faced with adversity.
• Enthusiasm / Motivation - the skill required to remain devoted to, and supportive of, an idea, corporate goal or work assignment. To continue to remain engaged in the pursuit of a goal.
  

Critical Thinking or Problem Solving

• This last category of soft skills deals with one's ability to think critically and solve problems at work.
• The ability to pull together data to solve a problem in the workplace is a widely valued talent in a business setting.
• One of the keys to being an effective problem solver is developing the solution to the problem in a reasonable timeframe. It is also important to be able to explain how the solution to a problem was solved in both a logical and systematic manner.
  

Call now to equip your staff by allowing them to reach their full potential, if you wish to enquire or make a booking for one of the above courses.

Tel: 0219309022 E-mail: Zelda@hrinspiration.co.za OR www.hrinspiration .co.za

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Are you in a state of flourishment?

Healthy employees are happier and more productive. A happier staff make for a more involved and motivated staff. An involved and motivated staff are a more efficient and productive staff. A more productive and efficient staff play a significant role in client satisfaction, business growth and financial success.

HR Inspiration commits to developing inspirational interventions that will lead to organizational and individual excellence. We believe that a high-level of wellness is a necessity for enhanced levels of individual and team performance and in turn for organizational distinction.

Wellness is a positive approach to living which results in physical, psychological and spiritual well-being.

Such high-levels of wellness can only be achieved by following a holistic approach. For the purpose of this intervention, we propose the following model which involves a balanced, controlled approach to each of the six dimensions of wellness, as illustrated in the diagram below.

Emotional intelligence

Your emotional intelligence reflects the way you feel about yourself and life. It relates to how much you are in touch with your personal awareness and feelings, your ability to understand and accept them and how you express, control and allow healing of your feelings.

The way you express your emotions has implications for your passions and goal-setting ability and the way you control them influences your ability to take responsibility.

Intellectual wellness

Intellectual wellness has to do with the positive application of your thinking, reasoning and creative abilities, a positive attitude towards new information and ideas, a willingness to think critically about things and an ability to re-evaluate and develop your insights on a continuous basis.

Spiritual connectedness

Your spirituality is seeking for meaning in life. It has to do with your beliefs about what is really important and worthwhile spending time on. It also has to do with the appreciation of deeper things in life. This powerful facet of our experience includes an intense awareness of the gift of living.

Our spirituality also expresses our interpretation of the inexplicability of the universe and our willingness to submit to Someone or something much larger than we are.

Career

The career facet includes all the activities that you are involved in, all the skills that you master and all the experiences of a lifetime that can be linked with work and generating income.

Fulfilling relationships (Social belonging)

Your need to belong is satisfied by interdependent relationships involving giving and receiving with friends and loved ones. You need to understand how different every person is and not measure their worth relative to yours.

Physical wellness

There is a strong link between your wellness and your health and quality of life. The notion seems to be that you are healthy if you do not have a cold, are not on antibiotics or sick in bed. However, this one-dimensional view of health is changing fast. For physical well-being we require healing in areas that we often would not even dream of connecting to our wellness.

The success you achieve in each of above areas is determined by choosing behaviour that improves the quality of your daily life, which will ultimately lead to:
personal success, successful personal relationships, and overall happiness in your life.