Latest news with #humanresources
Zawya
4 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Committee Raises Alarm Over Staffing at Public Works and Infrastructure Department
The Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure has expressed grave concern over the worsening human resource challenges at the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) and the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE). During a briefing by the department on its recruitment, vacancy filling and staff retention strategies, the committee noted with alarm that the current vacancy rate stands at 14%, significantly above the acceptable 10% threshold, and continues to rise. The committee said if this situation continues, it could undermine service delivery, delay infrastructure projects, and contribute to low staff morale. The committee noted the continued failure to fill critical senior management positions, including deputy directors-general, head of Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) and executive for supply chain management. The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Carol Phiri said, 'This prolonged leadership vacuum is stalling crucial decision-making processes and weakening the strategic direction of the department, and this ongoing trend poses a serious threat to the department's operational capability'. The DPWI informed the committee that, despite completing key recruitment steps, such as advertising, shortlisting and interviews, final appointments remain stalled due to pending Cabinet and ministerial approvals. The committee said it is equally troubling that 56 of the 129 current vacancies are unfunded, due largely to unbudgeted cost-of-living adjustments. the DPWI cited cost-containment measures imposed by the Department of Public Service and Administration as a major impediment to recruitment. Furthermore, the committee expressed disappointment that it was not invited to attend or contribute to the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa recently hosted by Infrastructure South Africa. The committee believes that parliamentary oversight bodies must be included in such important national engagements to ensure alignment with legislative priorities and transparency. The committee will continue to monitor the situation closely and expects decisive action to address these longstanding human resource and governance issues. In addition, going forward the department must clarify its acting policy with the portfolio committee. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
Zawya
4 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Smooth business handovers: A survival guide for South Africa's entrepreneurs
In today's dynamic business environment, leadership transitions are inevitable. Whether due to a c-suite reshuffle, a merger, or an acquisition by a larger group, periods of transition can be destabilising for businesses of any size. In fact, research based on over 40,000 corporate acquisitions spanning over four decades has shown that 70% of mergers and acquisitions fail to fulfil their expectations. Amogelang Montane, human resources business partner at Business Partners Limited Amogelang Montane, human resources business partner at Business Partners Limited, believes that effective leadership is at the heart of any successful business transition. 'Any big change, when not managed properly, can result in operational inefficiencies, employee uncertainty, and even a knock to revenue. However, many of these results are often avoidable, and with a well-planned handover strategy, it's possible for your business to make it through these times of uncertainty.' While any change in leadership can be challenging to manage, Montane notes that mergers and acquisitions require particularly careful consideration – especially when a smaller business is being acquired by a larger company or corporation. 'When a business merges with another or is acquired by a larger group, the shift in company culture, operational processes, and management structures can cause significant disruption to the 'norm' employees have become used to. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in particular, may struggle to integrate into a larger corporate framework without a clear roadmap.' Montane lists four key considerations for entrepreneurs to ensure business continuity during these types of transitionary periods. - Clear communication Transparent communication with employees, customers, and other key stakeholders is vital. 'Ensuring that all parties are kept up to date about changes and their implications will help manage expectations and reduce uncertainty across the organisation,' says Montane. - Strategic planning A comprehensive transition strategy should be in place before any major leadership or structural change. This includes clear succession planning, especially for family-owned businesses and founder-led SMEs, notes Montane. 'These smaller, tight-knit businesses often face challenges when ownership or leadership is transferred. Without a structured succession plan, conflicts may arise, threatening the business's continuity,' he explains. - Talent retention It's estimated that 47% of key employees leave within the first year following a merger or acquisition, and 75% leave within the first three years. 'This is why keeping employees motivated and aligned with the company's vision during a transition is one of the greatest human resources responsibilities in a merger. The loss of talent after an acquisition can be so significant that it erodes value from the transaction,' says Montane. He adds that conducting due diligence around culture and operational processes is also critical when merging two organisations. 'While HR is responsible for supporting employees on a day-to-day basis, it is up to the leadership team to provide reassurance, guidance, and opportunities for professional growth to retain key talent.' - Financial stability Ensuring access to capital during periods of transition can help businesses to persevere through potential financial instability. 'As a financier to SMEs, we have seen first-hand how well-planned transitions supported by the right funding can ensure business continuity,' adds Montane. While leadership transitions can be daunting, they also present an opportunity for businesses to evolve and strengthen their competitive position. By implementing a structured approach, SMEs can mitigate risks and emerge stronger on the other side of change. 'As South Africa's SME sector continues to grow and evolve, businesses must embrace change as a constant. With the right leadership and strategic planning in place, transitions can be transformed into catalysts for success,' concludes Montane.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Powering Talent Recruitment With AI
Power soft skills, multi skills responsibility HR human resources concept. personal attribute ... More development, digital Personality, problem solving, adaptability, leadership, creativity, collaboration You don't have to look too far to find a business solution (or a cluster of business solutions) powered by artificial intelligence. But one area where the technology is extremely useful is in human resources. Human resources, as an administrative department, is involved in managing people. But instead of people managing people, it turns out we can have smart tools doing a lot of that work. Think about the process of talent recruitment. What does it mean to open a job candidate search, and find the right person for an open position? AI is reinventing how companies do this in a big way. To understand the ways that AI is reinventing talent recruitment, think about the fundamental process of search. A while back, I wrote about how Sam Altman revealed to an interviewer that he himself uses AI for Internet search, instead of the traditional Google search engine. And he's not alone, either. There's a reason why people are using AI models like ChatGPT when they want to find out something on the web. Think about the vast difference between typing in keywords to get hyperlinks, and simply asking an intelligent entity a question. To wit: Pick a question out of the hat. Suppose you want to find the best landscape architect in Phoenix, Arizona. The old way would be to type the following into the Google search bar: 'best landscape architect Phoenix, Arizona,' and then scroll down through a list of results, reading each one and evaluating each one in sequence. All that while wondering if you have the right set of results in the first place. The new way is to type in the entire question – in this case,'where can I find the best landscape architect in Phoenix, Arizona?' and reading a paragraph written by an LLM model. It's so many orders of magnitude quicker and easier, and in addition, you can imagine what realms of data the machine moved through, in an instant, where it would have taken you, as the user, days or weeks to do even part of the same kind of search. A talent search for an open job role is very much like that, too. The task is to collect various candidates and resumes, sort through them, and figure out which one is best. In fact, it's sort of like finding a landscape architect or any other professional services firm, except you're dealing with individual people instead of companies – so traditionally, unless a person has a big promotional online footprint with a repository trove of data about themselves, the research process is a little more involved. So again, when you apply AI, the model does all of that work – it goes out and gets all of the candidates and their resumes, other data about them from GitHub or bylines from a website or whatever is desired, and then presents all of them together. But it also makes the decisions – it picks the right ones based on the criteria that HR people provide. And that's gold for a human who needs to make the decision, but may not know where to start. One of the benefits of this type of search is that you get your people in place quicker. That's in addition to the labor-saving power that these tools provide. 'AI-powered screening tools can evaluate thousands of applications within minutes, identifying promising candidates based on relevant skills, experience, and potential,' writes Lisa Thomas for the People Development Magazine. 'Sophisticated matching algorithms transcend simple keyword matching to comprehend semantic relationships between position requirements and applicant qualifications. These technologies also help mitigate unconscious bias by objectively focusing on capabilities and qualifications rather than demographic characteristics.' So there's a clear ROI from this technology. The question is how a company integrates this into their existing workflows. Like any new change, it's important to brainstorm the logistics of how this will work, and how stakeholders will deal with the inherent learning curve of deployment. It's important to note that there's more than one station point where AI can help out with talent recruitment: this resource from Korn Ferry shows some of the impactful aspects of this where AI has made contributions, including Sourcing, applications, interviews, screening, etc. A company called Mercor is pioneering this process, connecting candidates with short-term contract work opportunities. There's a lot of focus on evaluation according to skills and experience. 'Fundamentally, the bottleneck has gone from crowdsourcing to talent assessment,' Virat Talwar, a product manager at Mercor, said in a press statement. 'We very quickly realized that the biggest problem for the labs was scalably and accurately assessing an individual's abilities to determine if they'd be a good fit for the work, so we built our technology and product to do exactly that.' All of this is fundamental to getting the right people for the job. Given the right kinds of integration, this is something that companies will be doing in the future. It's just a question of how much ground will be given to the AI engines, and how they will collaborate with the human people who still staff the HR department. That in turn leads into a whole conversation about job displacement and how this is going to work in society. That's a whole other ball of wax, but it's something we should be thinking about as we move forward.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Arabia, US Sign Security Agreements
Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz signed on Monday several security agreements with corresponding US agencies. The agreements fall within the scope of the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) and the Facilities Security Forces and focus on human capital development, knowledge transfer, and strengthening security agencies' capacities in drug control, training, and critical infrastructure security. The deals are part of efforts to strengthen international partnerships with counterpart agencies.
Arab News
6 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Saudi, US security agencies sign agreements
RIYADH: Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud, Saudi Minister of Interior, has signed a number of agreements with US counterpart agencies, the Saudi Press Agency said. The agreements fall within the framework of Saudi Arabia's General Directorate of Narcotics Control and the Facilities Security Forces' mandate to develop human capital, transfer knowledge, and enhance the capabilities of security agencies in drug control, training, and vital facilities security. The minister signed the agreements under the directives of the Saudi leadership, SPA said. The agreements fall within the framework of strengthening international partnerships with counterpart agencies.
