Mind The Gap Solutions

Workplace Diversity: The Benefits.

Workplace diversity and inclusion is a crucial element toward business productivity in the 21st century, but what exactly are the benefits of a diverse workforce?

Despite it being critical for South African businesses to be legislatively compliant to BBBEE and Employment Equity Regulations which includes it’s own benefits, research has shown that having a diverse workforce has a broad scope of benefits outside the realm of legislative compliance which can contribute to long-term growth.

Increased creative problem-solving and innovation.

Having team members and employees from different backgrounds would mean that a diverse number of solutions would be proposed to a particular problem. This is because different cultures approach problems differently. Companies with higher diversity rates are 1.7 times more likely to lead in markets and be more innovative according to Josh Bersin’s Research.

Better client relations.

With clients being so vastly diverse, having a diverse workforce to match helps clients relate, increasing positive experiences when interacting with customer service. This, in turn, increases the companies reputation among customers, reaping the benefits of better communication methods.

More learning.

When employees are faced with hurdles, whether a larger problem or a simple creative block, learning from others who face the same problems with different creative solutions and tips to the problem could increase productivity among employees and strengthen working relationships and morale. Diversity plays a big role in creative problem solving, leading to a diverse range of opinions and solutions to consider.

Better reputation among job seekers.

A total of 67% of job seekers reported that workplace diversity was very important when considering working for their company in 2018 according to a survey conducted by Glassdoor, an employer that considers diversity and inclusion important is seen as fair among employees, with staff being treated equally regardless of race or gender. These companies are known to be flexible, adaptable and resilient, qualities that contribute to long-term growth.

Better employee retention.

Employees that are valued regardless of their backgrounds, race or gender are generally happier, in return, increasing employee retention and reducing employee turnover. This includes better opportunity windows to employees looking to up-skill and get promoted.

What do you think are the other benefits of diversity in the workplace?

Sign up to our free webinar, Friday 25 September.

Sign up here where we’ll be unpacking ways to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the benefits of implementing these strategies.

With our expertise in BBBEE, Skills Development and Training, Employment Equity, Talent Management and Psychometric Assessments we focus on simple Skills and People Development solutions to support individuals and companies achieve their desired goals, by bridging the gap from compliance to strategy.

Get in touch with us today for a look at the comprehensive services we offer.

5 Tips for New Managers Leading During a Crisis.

Why a focus on diversity transformation is key in the coming future.

With the impact COVID-19 has had not only on the emotional well-being of many South Africans, but also the large impact it has had on the economy, one could be wondering about the coming future and what to expect. At the start of 2020, South Africa’s unemployment rate was unchanged from 2019, standing at 29%, with projections indicating that it could reach as high as 50% in the coming future due to the pandemic

Companies have had no choice but to close doors or work remotely, halting production unless they were deemed essential. This has had a devastating effect on small businesses and their employees, causing a chain reaction.

With all the uncertainty in the air, individuals have been forced to scramble frantically, looking for other means of income, often falling for pyramid or “get rich quick” schemes and losing more in the process. It is apparent that, even with the processes put in place to aid in the fight against poverty during this time, poverty will become rife, with the poor only becoming poorer due to lack to access to education, skills development and internet connectivity, forcing some to go out on the streets or breaking lockdown rules looking for an income to feed their families. The reality is clear, addressing radical transformation earlier this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa was quoted saying that South Africa was witnessing a “total deconstruction” of it’s economy due to COVID-19.

Yet, while we all have to face this reality as it is currently, companies would need to look to the future. The projection of diversity transformation is being considered to rebuild the economy, with clear economic strategies being considered which must be “inclusive, empowering to women, young people and to black people in the main”, as stated by President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier in May. “We must be able and visionary enough to set up this compact to be able to rebuild the economy… and (state owned) entities must function in a way that is developmental, in a way that is ethical and in a way that must be innovative.”

“We are going to have to go for growth in a big and exponential way, and be willing and be brave and courageous enough to massify whatever needs to be done, because playing around on the edges with whatever efforts we are making – that time is over now.”
-President Cyril Ramaphosa

In short, it is imperative that we understand that economic growth will be dependent on strengthening the laws of economic diversity and inclusion, and therefore prepare for it in order to move forward within the projected economic landscape. Our foresight must include a level of resilience and adaptability, considering compliance as not just a tick-box routine, but a sustainable strategy in order to benefit, with non-compliant companies facing the possibility of being left-behind and falling under.

Take part in our poll below to voice your opinion. What would you like to see in the future of economic growth in South Africa?

Should you need assistance with compliance to B-BBEE, EEA and SDA related legislation, do get in touch with us. We offer cost-effective turnkey solutions, bridging the gap from compliance to strategy.

Have a look at our website here for an overview on what we offer.

Other than hard-skills, what do potential employers look for?

We’ve either experienced it or heard of it. Some will spend years completing their higher education and become highly skilled in their field of study, but then to their frustration, struggle for a year or more to find that job they’ve been studying for.

Being skilled technically is for sure a great advantage, and having the hard-skills to do the job is essential, but there are other things employers seek other than knowledge of the said-skill. Soft skills, although a buzzword to some, actually hold a lot of weight with potential employers; stating that 70% of bad hires lacked the soft skills needed to fit into their team or work productively with their superiors. Although these candidates had the hard skills required to do the job, they didn’t have the active soft skills needed to further those hard skills into meaningful, productive work. Here are a few examples of what employers look for in potential candidates:

Emotional intelligence.

Originally defined by the two researchers; Peter Salavoy and John D. Mayer in 1990, originally describing it as “a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action.” EI or EQ, as abbreviated, can be divided up into four pillars:

Self-awareness
Self-management
Relationship-management
Social awareness

Some of the greatest, and most popular leaders of a generation have these traits, although it may seem like a broad term. Leaders like Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa to name a few, all had a form of emotional intelligence. The ability to become catalysts of change, empathise with others, have a keen understanding of conflict management, and the ability to show resilience and adaptability when necessary.

What does this mean for the average person looking to get hired by potential employers?

As a potential employee, being able to work as part of a team, whether with other colleagues or superiors and not cause unnecessary stress among team mates is exceedingly important. One can agree that working with someone who instills trust and morale is better than working with someone who causes emotional distress or doesn’t actively participate at all, no matter how skilled the individual in their field. It does, however, go beyond this.

Self-awareness is critical.

Once we understand our strengths and weaknesses, and are willingly work on both, we become more efficient and productive. This not only means we can climb the ladder with our strengths but also delegate our work based on our weaknesses, strengthening morale among our colleagues who are welcomed to deliver valuable input, increasing trust.

Self-management is the key to being resilient.

Self-management goes beyond controlling our emotions, it is the ability to be goal-oriented, be self-motivated, take initiative, and the ability to adapt when circumstances call for change. People who efficiently self-manage are likely to be more transparent about their strengths and weaknesses and work with integrity. Within times where change needs to come about, whether working from home or change of company structuring, our ability to be resilient becomes a critical part in motivating others to do the same.

Relationship management is the core of team work.

We know at times, there will be conflict among colleagues and team members, nothing runs smoothly 100% of the time. The ability to settle disputes and conflicts among team members effectively, improve relationships and motivate colleagues all come in to play when we manage our relationships effectively. Being able to influence and make points assertively that stem from rationality and not a place of emotional turmoil proves useful in conflict disputes, where self-management comes back into the equation. Employees who display traits of motivation, not only in the interest of themselves, tend to be high-qualifying candidates to potential employers. It shows a measure of leadership and initiative.

Social awareness and empathy.

Empathy can be defined as “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” Without it, be will not be able to effectively manage our working relationships with other people. Actively listening to team mates and colleagues, and validating their concerns helps to form connections. This aids in the level of service orientation we provide, not only among colleagues, but clients as well. It provides an interesting and useful way of being relatable or relating to others, whether to an audience or an individual.

The good news is that these traits can be learned.

Going on a soft skills course can surely provide the tools you need to implement these traits and more in your career. Sign up here if you want to learn more about our short courses and training on Emotional Intelligence and so much more. We also offer B-BBEE, EEA and SDA related services to South African businesses. Contact us here for a look at the comprehensive services we offer.

What makes a great leader? Here are 5 defining traits.

“Leadership is an action, not a position.” -Donald Mcgannon

There is a difference between good leadership and great leadership. Great leaders have certain defining traits that enables them not just to empower themselves, but to empower their employees as well. It’s commonly thought that these are naturally occurring personality traits of a select few, and while that may be partly true, these traits can actually be learned through soft skills training. Although there are a wide array of traits to be learned and discussed, we’ll be highlighting 5 of the traits great leaders have that close the gap between just good leadership and great leadership.

They have great communication skills.

Consistent, clear communication not only makes the mission, vision and values clear, but it also enables employees to clearly understand what it expected of them. A great leader listens well, using active listening when communicating with employees regarding their concerns to provide constructive feedback.

2. They are self-confident.

Often-times we view self-confidence as arrogance, especially in the corporate work environment, but genuine self-confidence uplifts not only oneself, but it uplifts others too. Self-confident leaders are able to keep their employees morale up when times seem grim. They can empathise with employees and uplift them without invalidating their concerns.

3. They are committed.

A great leader adopts the “do as I do” philosophy, instead of the “do as I say” method. They get their hands their hands dirty with their employees, doing the tasks that seem mundane, working alongside others to get the task done. These leaders earn the respect of their teams and drive productivity and work standard among employees, leading to workplaces that are overall happier and less stressful.

4. They delegate.

Any great leader would know that they cannot do everything by themselves. They also understand that delegating tasks could offer helpful insights by others. Certain tasks can be done by other employees who may have a better understanding of what needs to be done. Having confidence in employees abilities ultimately establishes strong morale among teams.

5. They take accountability.

A great leader understands that not everything will always run perfectly. They will always take responsibility of their own performance and their team’s performance, whether good or bad. When good, they will credit their team, validating each individual’s input that contributed toward the outcome, but when problems arise, great leaders will always identify the root cause and seek sustainable solutions to rectify the problem, while not forgetting problem solving techniques that includes the inclusion of their team.

The first step to great leadership is understanding the gaps in your leadership style and set goals to learn these skills and implement them. Our range of professional and personal development courses can help close this gap. Sign up here for updates on our skills courses and offerings. Alternatively, contact us for inquiries on the other services we offer South African businesses.

Which one of these seven leadership styles best describes you?

Leadership styles can differ from person to person, and some may adopt varying styles in their leadership methodology. Evaluating your individual leadership style will help you identify any problems that may arise with that specific style and create solutions based upon the immediate needs and reactions of your team.

1. The Authority

Known as the “follow me” leader, authoritative leaders take the time to explain their thoughts and allow their team to voice their solutions and concerns. Authoritative leaders are confident and empower others, and have a straight-forward no-nonsense communication style.

2. The Autocrat

Known as the “do as I say or else” type of leader, autocratic leaders don’t lend opinions from others and make decisions based on their own knowledge and skills. Although not a popular leader style in today’s working environment, autocratic leaders make on-the-spot decisions when teams are too new or inexperienced to give valuable input.

3. The Democrat

Known as the “what do you think?” type of leader, democratic leaders usually get their employees involved when making final decisions, genuinely taking their solutions and opinions into account. This style promotes employee morale and creativity, enabling employees to voice their opinions with validity.

4. The Pacesetter

Known as the “do what I do” type of leader, pacesetting leaders push their team to do their tasks better and faster. Pacesetting leaders are excessively driven and tend to want to see results quickly, putting pressure and stress on employees. This style has it’s advantages and disadvantages, pushing driven employees to brush up on their skills to do better, but causing other employees large amounts of anxiety, ultimately leading to them not feeling good enough.

5. The Coach

Known as the “consider this” type of leader, coaching leaders see talent in others and work to unlock their potential. Patient and unbiased, these leaders empower others by ways of teaching, mentoring and coaching, believing all people have potential with a push in the right direction.

6. The Affiliate

Known as the “people come first” type of leader, this leader gets up close and personal with people, supporting the emotional needs of their team, opening up pipelines that connects him/her to their team. They promote collaborative relationships between team members and reassure others during times of stress.

7. The Laissez-Faire

Known as the “highly-skilled-people leader” these leaders typically lead teams who are already highly skilled, putting trust in their team to make the right business decisions with equal input. Although it can have it’s advantages when leading highly skilled individuals, this aloof leadership style may result in lack of direction without the right input.

Want to develop your leadership style? Our soft skills courses give individuals the opportunity to develop their soft skills for career advancement. Sign up here for our course calendar. Contact us for information on the comprehensive services we offer South African businesses.

Self-confidence building tips.

Self-confidence isn’t just crucial to our personal lives, but to our career advancement as-well. Think about whether or not you’ve seen a well-known leader that lacks self-esteem.

Those who lack self-confidence are often sensitive to rejection and fail to learn from the criticism of others. They preoccupy themselves with personal problems and fail to find solutions, often socially withdrawing and failing to make an impact, even if they desire to do so.

It is fundamentally important that we evaluate our self-esteem before trying to focus on our career advancement. It is well known that we can’t expect others to accept us if we haven’t yet accepted ourselves.

Here are a few ways you can build your self-confidence to advance from quiet worker to empowering leader:

Do something that scares you.

Whether you’re afraid of speaking to new people or showcasing your talents, getting out and doing it is the number one way of overcoming your fear. We often build up tension in our minds about how the outcome is going to be, but most of the time, it isn’t as bad as we imagine it.

Visualise yourself as the person you want to be.

Visualisation is important. When we see ourselves as a better version of who we currently are, we slowly start becoming that better version. Controlling how you see yourself is critical to your self-esteem.

Learn from criticism.

Fundamentally understanding that people will have varying opinions on our skills and personas will impact the way we learn from what they have to say. Granted, we may not agree with some of the opinions of others, but learning not to preoccupy ourselves with them and looking at them objectively will help you better your techniques.

“Believe you can, and you’re halfway there.”
Theodore Roosevelt

Want to join a course on building self-confidence and assertiveness? Our comprehensive courses are designed to build soft skills for career advancement. Sign up here for updates on our course calendar. Contact us for a look at the services we offer.

How to manage your time better.

Time management is considered to be one of the most important aspects of productivity, tackling task lists, understanding priorities and battling procrastination can seem like daunting tasks when we’re faced with so much to do and so little time to do it.

Failing to manage time can lead to consequences that go beyond not being able to do the job set out to do, it can also bleed through to your personal life.

When a task is particularly challenging or we have too much to do without a relevant deadline, procrastination becomes prevalent, further delaying our ability to get things done. Tasks will carry over for weeks or even months without getting done. This can affect our ability to feel productive, often leading to feelings of failure and futility, further adding stress to our lives.

Our eating and sleeping patterns become unhealthy, especially when we have a multitude of tasks to do. When we feel that we have too little time to do the tasks set out for us we will set aside the fundamental habits that keep us happy and healthy, delaying our usual routines to get tasks done.

Our overall quality of work diminishes as a result. The consequences of not effectively managing our time can certainly have a domino-affect, so we have compiled a few guidelines to better manage time.

Don’t change your routine.

Some people work better in the morning, and some work better at night. Schedule your tasks around what works for you, don’t schedule your routine around your tasks.

Prioritize.

Not sure where to start? Sometimes the most challenging, urgent and largest projects seem the most daunting, but do them first. Getting the largest tasks out of the way first don’t just aid in productivity, but in work quality too.

The multitasking myth.

Multitasking simply doesn’t work. Doing two projects at once will require you to split your energy between them, meaning each project will only receive half the attention. When we give the full extent of our energy to one task at a time, it will be done properly.

E-mails and Social Media.

According to statistics, the average worker checks emails a total of 30 hours a week, and the average person spends approximately 4-6 hours on their smartphone a day. Limiting the time we spend checking emails and social media helps us concentrate on our tasks at hand without distraction. Limiting our time to certain periods in the for inbox check-ins can be advantageous to our productivity.

Saying no and delegating.

When we understand the tasks we need to do, and have set them out accordingly according to our task-list, it can be daunting when additional tasks are assigned, leading to work anxiety and burnout. Refusing additional tasks assertively is important if you already have a multitude of tasks to do. Delegating tasks to others can also be advantageous, as they may have different insights to the task at hand.

Need to up your time management skills? Our Effective Time Management course will help you implement the above techniques and more. Sign up for notifications to our course calendar. Contact us for more information on our services.

Self evaluate your Emotional Intelligence with this quick quiz.

Ever wanted to know where you stand on the emotional intelligence scale? Saying yes to these five questions may prove your emotional intelligence is higher than you think.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) seems like a buzzword lately. While everyone is talking about EQ, it’s for good reason. It is one of the most sought after soft skills professionally and personally, often being regarded just as important has hard skills.

Up to 65% of employers report that bad hires were a direct result of lack of emotional intelligence. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2022 EQ will be regarded as one of the top 10 job skills required for workers to thrive.

Take our quick quiz to find out where you stand on the EQ scale:

People with higher EQ are not only generally pleasant to work with, but have other equally positive traits displayed not only in the workplace, but in their personal capacity too. Here are a few examples for what people with a higher EQ do better:

They reaffirm trust.

They are open to others’ ideas.

They communicate better.

They uplift and empower.

They are empathetic and understanding.

Emotional Intelligence is critical to self-improvement and career advancement and can help during critical times. EQ can help build trust between peers so that distressing times can be faced together. Let’s uplift and empower each other.

Keen to self-improve? We offer short courses on critically needed soft skills and provide the tools to create career advancement. Subscribe to email alerts and keep up to date on the comprehensive services we can offer South African businesses to all B-BBEE, EEA and SDA related legislation. Visit our website for more information on our services and to get in touch.