HR 101 - WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . You Need to Conduct a Disciplinary

HR 101 - WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . You Need to Conduct a Disciplinary

By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd.

Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Law and Best Practice requirements.

The mindset of most individuals is that the conducting of a Disciplinary hearing is a ‘waste of time”.  Whilst that may be the perception – it is really the only way that both parties, the Employer and the Employee, get to do battle in a way that is completely fair and without any emotion.

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act is very clear on the subject.

Staff can no longer just be summarily dismissed – the staff member is thereby protected from an employer hell bent on dismissal.  Staff members, no longer get to do as they please and then get away with it – the employer is thereby protected.

There are now rules and regulations governing how things get done – this is called the Disciplinary Procedure.

Many cases that have landed up in the CCMA, and been lost by either of the parties because the correct procedures were not followed and not necessarily because of the alleged transgression.

They are not difficult, they are completely fair and they can ensure a fair outcome.  If the employee is dismissed and feels that justice has not been served – they can firstly ‘appeal’ the decision and if they still do not feel that justice has been served they can then take the whole issue to the CCMA.

Let’s step back a moment and see what the procedures are:

·                    The staff member must be served with a Notice to Attend a Disciplinary Hearing.

·                    The charges must be clear and concise. 

·                    The staff member must be given a minimum of 48 hours to prepare their case from the time that the Notice is served to the time that the hearing takes place.

·                    The staff member has the right to have representation (this means someone inside of the company – no lawyers at this point)

·                    The staff member has the right to have an interpreter if there is a need.

·                    The staff member has the right to call any witnesses, if there is a need.

And guess what – the Employer has the same rights.

The Disciplinary must be chaired by an impartial person, who has not been involved with any of the issues leading up to the hearing being called for.  This way, both cases get to be heard without any pre-conceived perceptions.

The Chairperson must hear both sides of the story, before making a ruling.  The Chairperson can ask as many questions as they feel the need to, in order to reach a decision.

And finally the penalty must fit the crime. 

Next week we tackle a new issue.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Blogging 101 - Always Proof Read

BLOGGING 101 – Always Proof Read

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC July 2010

Just because you are writing on a blog, or posting on twitter, or even on some of the social sites such as FaceBook, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t view or treat your writing with any less respect than if you were say, writing an article for a newspaper column or for a magazine.

I am sure that I would be absolutely on the money if I were to assume that articles of this nature would be checked, several times to ensure that the spelling was correct or, that the links actually worked, or that the language that you used was grammatically correct.

I know and understand that common sense is in really short supply these days (if not altogether a rare commodity) but logic should tell you that, at the very least, the article or post should be read over again, at least once.

For me, often the thoughts and ideas come at me in bits and pieces and usually over a period of time.  Additionally ideas ‘pop-up’ while I am busy writing and rather than lose the momentum, I jot them down either on the page (if I am writing by hand) or on the screen page (if I am writing directly onto the computer).  This, of course means that the piece will not flow. The sentences will not be in the right order and arguments, discussions or even points to ponder, will seem stilted, all over the place and not always make any kind of sense (except to me of course).

Obviously, I have to go back and put everything where it should be or change things around so that the story unfolds correctly.

There are times too, when perhaps an explanation needs to be expanded to make the point clearer or additional material needs to be added to make the piece complete.

Often it is only by the fourth or fifth reading that I am satisfied with the ‘unfolding’ of the story and then, although I usually correct spelling mistakes as I go along, I read it again to check for any more spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.

After this comes what I call the ‘audience test’.  Here’s the thing – reading something quietly in your mind is not the same as reading it out loud, to a captive audience, where you pause at the required moment to add emphasis to what you are saying and put all the correct inflections on the words as you say them.

Forget for a moment  that my ‘captive audience’ is usually my cat, who may or may not be fast asleep on the couch in my office – there are usually a few more changes to be make at this point.  Changes made, the cat gets to hear it all over again and once the words roll off my tongue, without pause to correct or add something else, and the meaning is clear, then and only then, is the piece complete and ready for posting.

Think about it for a moment – you want people to take the time to read and understand what it is that you have written – not so?  Then it stands to reason that you should take the time and trouble to make that reading experience an enjoyable one.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Networking 101 - Make An Impact

Networking 101 - Make an Impact

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd

Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:

“Make an impact!  Walk into a room knowing that you have something important to offer, that is worth sharing.”

As usual Renate is spot on the money!  This is a great tip indeed.

I know that, since I have finally ‘got’ the whole networking thing and actually, I walk into a room differently and people have noticed.  It’s like I have a secret weapon and whilst I am quite happy to share with anyone that wants it, it is actually mine and that is a very powerful emotion to have.

It’s like having your ego constantly stroked and it certainly puts me on a ‘high’ (without the use of any kind of other substance). 

You see, in most instances – I know something that those people don’t know and that makes me a very special person.  The fact that I am willing to share my secret with anyone and everyone – well that makes me kind of unique, don’t you think!

What ‘anyone and everyone’ does with the secret that I share with them of course is an entirely different thing altogether and that often is very sad.  Actually I used to get very upset and frustrated, when people didn’t understand the whole networking context – now I understand that sometimes things just are what they are.  So I share with those that want to hear, to learn and to understand and the rest, well life will take care of them I guess, and at the end of the day it really isn’t my problem at all.

I look at the world differently and I see people differently, and it has nothing to do with whether I like someone as an individual or not, it has to do with that person’s circle of influence, who they are connected to and who I am connected to.  It has to do with adding value to people’s lives and having value added to mine. 

It has to do with having a secret that I am dying to share with you – would you like to hear it?

For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za

Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.

Business Tips - Planning to Succeed - Part 1

BUSINESS TIPS – Planning to Succeed – PART 1

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd 

It’s no secret that in order for you to succeed in life, there has to be some sort of plan and obviously this also applies to business success as well.  In fact I would even go so far as to say that the ‘devil is in the detail’.  The more information and detail in the plan, the more you can ‘measure’ yourself to see how you are doing and the more likely it is to succeed. Clarity is King!

The problem of course is that many folk have no idea what needs to go into a plan and this statement is backed up and evidenced by the many businesses that fail because individuals have failed to make plans or set goals of any kind.

Here are some guidelines on what you need to look at in order to plan properly.

Vision
Your vision, of course, is your dream or your intention.  It is the ultimate goal.  It could be something as dramatic as having your particular product in every home in the country by xxxx date or as simple as providing training to 500 SMME’s (small, medium, micro enterprises) on a monthly basis.

What it should perhaps include however is what kind of product and why it should be in every household or what kind of training and why it will make a difference.

Mission Statement
For me, the mission statement is a simple plan on the ‘how to’ achieve your vision.  So how do you intend getting your product into every household or how do you intend getting the SMME’s into your training.  At this stage I wouldn’t go too in depth but rather have the basics down as these can be fleshed out at a later stage or as and when you get to the information that you need.

At this point it is also a good idea to start getting your figures in place – the budgets.  Number crunching is not always as difficult as we seem to think it is – just start with the basics and then the detail can be fleshed out from there.

Culture Statement
I must admit, when I ask this particular question, I am often met with a very confused look as well as the statement -  “The What . . . . ?”  Every business has a culture and pretty much like we are ‘masters of our own destiny,’ we also have a choice about the type of culture we want our businesses to be.  The way that you deal with customers and your suppliers or your staff would largely affect the type of culture that your business will become. In many instances, the culture of the company is determined by ethnic or religious influences but whilst we may be influenced by these external factors, it is equally important to ensure that our ethics also influence the culture of the company.

Often, it’s “Who we are” and our beliefs (and I am not talking about religion here), that are what attract people to do business with us.

Goals
Whether we want to admit it or not we all have goals – some of them are really simple and we make them without even thinking, like “I need to get to work by 08h30am this morning”.  Of course that is a goal – is it one that you need to write down – not necessarily.  Some of them can be seriously difficult and complicated, well actually – if the truth be told, we make them seriously difficult and complicated.

For me the easiest way to put my goals into perspective is to break things down into bite size chucks.  Where do I want to be in a year or two years or three years or even five years.  That’s the end goal – then break it down into the components – what do I need to do to get there and how long will that take me.  Once you have written all of that down, it is easier to set goals with time lines, be those timelines hours, days, weeks, months or even years.

Let me give you a simple example.  I want to paint my home and I want it done and completed at the end of say 6 months.  What do I need to do to get that done?  How many rooms are there, in which order will I paint the rooms.  What has to be done before I can paint (preparation), how long will that take me for each room (preparing the walls, covering or moving furniture, purchasing paint, brushes, etc.)?  What has to be done once the room has been painted (clean-up and uncovering and moving furniture etc.).

Now I have an idea of all the tasks that must be done and I can assign a time frame to each and if my time frames are reasonable and I stick to them, I can complete my task within the time period that I gave myself or not – you see here I can now adjust my ‘end result’, if that is what is required.  I have documented my goal and set a plan in place in order to achieve my goal – I can measure myself at every step along the way and see how I am doing.

In the same way and in every aspect of your business, this simple type of goal setting and planning can be implemented to ensure that you achieve whatever it is that you wish to do.

Next time we will have a look at the rest of the guidelines that I spoke about at the beginning of this blog.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Motivation - Understanding Ourselves

MOTIVATION – Understanding Ourselves

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd

Carl Jung says “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves”.

I know that one of the lessons that I learnt in life at a very young age, is that the “cute” things that first attracted me to a potential love interest was also the first thing that irritated me to such an extent that I ‘fired’ their butts at the first opportunity.

It wasn’t until years later however, that I began to understand the reasons behind this.  You see it’s the things that others do that irritate me that I mostly need to change in myself, be it a physical trait or a mindset that needs a change or even a tweak.

For myself, the greater the irritation, the greater my own need for me to change something within myself.

From my blood pressure rising as I drive and try and negotiate the traffic in Gauteng, to losing my sense of humour as I watch in disbelief, yet another stupid advert.  The manner in which I react to any given situation reflects my attitude at the time as well as my choice (or lack thereof) to react in the manner that I have.

So the next time that you become irritated by something someone does or says – stop for a moment and think about why it is that you are irritated.  Look into yourself, into your heart and the very core of your being, and if you are honest - brutally honest with yourself, you will understand what it is about yourself that you need to change.

In that understanding, a decision is made and in that decision being made an action to change takes place.

In making that change, the direction of your life will also change and you will grow as an individual.

Who would have thought, that the irritating presence or irritating action of a person has brought about some of the most significant changes in my life!

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Business Tips - Why Twitter - Part 5

BUSINESS TIPS – Why Twitter – Part 5

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC

I will be out of the office for a week or so with no connectivity, so this is the last blog post for a while.

As promised last week, here are some additional tips on tweeting and the last in this particular series.

Isn’t the electronic age exciting?  I know that I am always on about the fact that I am a technophobe, but that is just because I don’t understand the technical jargon – on a logical level though, I do understand what different things can do and that, well that just confuses a lot of IT people who think that they can spin me a yarn and I will just accept it – that very seldom works, but I digress – again!

What I am trying to tell you is that technology makes things so much easier and instead of us trying to do everything ourselves, some really clever people have made it possible for us (with the use of links and automation) to do a great number of things with the click on a button.   For example, if you sign up for Tweetlater and set it up correctly (ok this is where you can’t ask me the questions as I don’t have a clue how to do this), it will automatically send a thank you message to all of the people as they ‘follow’ you.  How clever is that?

The other really cool thing is if you link all of your social networking sites to your twitter account.  That way everyone on those sites, are linked to you and that will also increase your following as well as increase the traffic that you drive to your website or blog.

Finally, don’t forget to look for a BIG/SUCCESSFUL person who is in the same niche market as yourself.  Once you have found them, follow them.  The fact that they may be big and successful in their own right, doesn’t exclude them from being a potential client of yours.  They may be doing research for something that they need to read up on and you may very well have the answer that they are looking for.

Be warned though, you will only be able to follow a maximum of 2000 people, until you have 2000 people following you.  Once you have the required 2000 people following you, the sky is the limit.

Oh and as always, don’t forget to have fun!

Happy tweeting!

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Motivation - Understanding That We Are All Role Models

MOTIVATION – Understanding That We are All Role Models

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

For the record, whilst I do understand that we are all role models in our own right – this particular subject makes me extremely nervous on a personal level.

Let me explain why, so that you too can be aware of it and then we will move forward on to the ‘understanding that we are all role models’.

Being a role model is not a difficult thing at all.  We have all ‘looked up’ to people in our lives.  We have all, at some point or another followed someone’s way of thinking or doing or looking.  That in itself is a healthy thing and not bad at all.  It’s when someone ‘hangs’ onto your every word and actually almost (if not in fact) ‘hero worships’ you or puts you onto the proverbial pedestal.  This is where it actually goes pear shaped!  You see at some point you are going to fall off that pedestal and when that happens there is usually a great deal of hurt and anger and animosity.  You didn’t put yourself onto the pedestal and yet you are the person who gets blamed for falling off the damn thing!  So now you know why I get very nervous when people want me to ‘mentor’ them, it actually makes me want to run in the other direction.  For the South Africans amongst us – remember Hansie and all the emotion, disbelief and anger that came out of that one (myself included).  Putting people onto a pedestal is not a good thing at all – they are after all . . . just people.

So now, let’s have a look at ‘Understanding That We Are All Role Models’.

It’s often a really frightening thing to know that someone out there looks up to us as a role model.  Can you imagine someone really wanting to be us, or wanting to live the life that we have.  I often hear people saying things like “Nikki, I would love to have your energy” or “Nikki I would love to be able to Network the way you do.”  My usual response is to either growl at them or if I am in a really good mood, explain that it is all in the choices that they make.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t think that I am good enough for someone to want to emulate, or that I am not proud of my achievements.  I also understand on some level that I do make a difference in the lives of many people – that’s a choice that I made many years ago – to make a difference, and for me that is very exciting as it opens up all sorts of opportunities for me.  What scares me the most is that I consider myself a ‘work in progress’ and I am continually working on the person who I am and who I want to be.  I cannot control how quickly (or slowly for that matter) I change or evolve and now I have to consider the people who are trying to keep up with me.  The mind boggles!

What is equally if not more scary is that this is how people, supposedly intelligent people, follow other people into all sorts of disgusting, horrible and often even purely evil, avenues of life.  Think about all the gangs, rip off artists and scammers, or cults and then what about the leaders of this world – people like Hitler and Robert Mugabe and Idi Amin.  Believe it or not there are still those amongst us, yes they walk amongst us, who still think that these people are heroes.

On the flip side of the coin, this is also the avenue that we can make the most difference and how exciting is that.  It also, in my opinion, makes us responsible for the way that some people see the world and how they will ultimately act in the world and how they will behave in the world and quite honestly that makes me feel really proud, especially because it is as a direct result of me . . .  well just being me.

How incredible is that?  It means that I, little old me, will have either a positive or a negative effect on someone in the world today. It makes me responsible for the way that I interact with people (oh dear, now that means I have just kicked my own rear end), it means that I have to be careful of the choices that I make today because someone else is watching what I am doing because what I do will influence what they say, or think or do.

Just writing this piece has made me realize just how much more aware I need to be, on the daily choices that I often make without even thinking.

This knowledge and awareness makes me understand that I can literally change the world, one person at a time, and that’s really cool.  It’s a big responsibility and I still have no desire to step onto the pedestal, but it’s also really mind blowing to understand the power that I have and that you have too.

The question remains however – what are you going to do with your power today?

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

HR 101 – What to do When . . . . Your Staff Want to Strike – Part 7

HR 101 – What to do When . . . . Your Staff Want to Strike – Part 7

By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting CC.

Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Law and Best Practice requirements.

To continue from last time.

What exactly is an “Unprotected or Prohibited” Strike?  Well it’s really quite simple and literally means what it says – if the employees or the union have not followed the correct procedures or if they are striking over anything that is not ‘protected’ (see previous articles on this subject), then the strike is not protected, which basically means that they are not protected, in any way from being dismissed (of course, as usual there are procedures that would still need to be followed).

Should the employees embark on an Unprotected or Prohibited Strike, the employer can go to the Labour Court for an urgent interdict to stop the employees from continuing the strike.

If the employees continue to strike, the employer can start thinking about dismissal.  Actually you don’t need to wait until you get an interdict, which they usually then ignore, but it is a good idea to wait as it puts the employer in a much stronger position should there be a question of ‘fair dismissal’.

To re-iterate, in terms of the dismissal, the employee still needs to follow the correct procedures, which would include:

• issuing a written ultimatum to the employees stating that they should return to work or face possible dismissal – please note that the ultimatum must be very clear.  The employer must ensure that the staff understand, in simple clear terms, that if they do not come back to work they will face a disciplinary hearing that may result in dismissal.  If the ultimatum is not clear, then the employer may end up having to face charges of ‘unfair’ dismissal at a subsequent CCMA hearing. If your workforce are not proficient in English (or whatever language you ‘work’ in), get the ultimatum translated into the language that they use – this will ensure that they do understand the meaning of what it is that you are trying to convey. Don’t, whatever you do ‘threaten’ that there may be a disciplinary – make sure that they understand that if they don’t come back to work within 24 hours (or whatever time frame you set like . . .  by tomorrow the 22nd January 2009) disciplinary action WILL be taken that may result in dismissal (be careful not to say ‘will result in dismissal because that indicates that the verdict has already been handed down before the disciplinary has even taken place).  Also be careful about attaching any further terms and conditions – make sure that they are legal.  Make sure that the employees have sufficient time to consider the ultimatum – don’t for example say that they have to be back at work within the hour – that’s just unreasonable.  If there is a union, get the union involved and get them to intervene.  Unions, generally speaking, do not want their members going off on an unprotected or prohibited strike and they will usually try and persuade the employees to get back to work. 
• The Labour Appeal Court, has in the past indicated that it is not enough just to issue an ultimatum to get the employees back to work and then if they don’t you can dismiss them – they still need to have the chance to be heard.  It is not necessary to have a formal hearing, but what the employer does need to do, is ensure that staff are dismissed on charges that are ‘fair and reasonable’.  Depending on the number of staff involved, it is suggested however, that a formal disciplinary hearing take place.  In the instances where it is not practical to have a formal hearing for each staff member (imagine doing disciplinary hearings for say 100+ staff members), employers should write to the union advising them that in view of the fact that the employees have not adhered to the ultimatum, you (the employer) are now considering dismissal and that the union now has 24 hours within which to give explanations or make representations as to why you (the employer) should not dismiss the striking employees.

Next week we will have a look at ‘how’ the employer actually goes about the dismissal process.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://wwwviljoenconsulting.co.za

Marketing 101 - The E-Mail Way - Part 2

Marketing 101 - The E-Mail Way – Part 2

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting 

Following on from last week –

One of the things that I have learnt from managing my database and Networking is that people have to constantly be reminded about you.  Who you are, and what it is that you do.

In view of this it is extremely important to have your branding on everything that you do.  Every mail that you send out should be properly branded and by using e-mail marketing, something (even if it is just a short newsletter of sorts) should go out on a regular basis, in order to build up and or maintain your data base.

Small businesses do not have the kind of cash flow that supports the big name brands such as Coca-Cola®, who spend millions on ad campaigns on TV, in the newspapers, in magazines and on billboards (to name but a few), to get their name embedded in the minds of Joe Public.  So how do we do it?

Again one of the most cost effective ways to run an ad campaign would be through the use of e-mails.  This would have a similar impact at a fraction of the cost.  

E-mail also reaches the entire world which means that your product or service would also reach friends, family and customers where-ever they are in the world.  E-mail marketing knows no boundaries.

We are living in a technological age and this also means that most of what we do can be automated and this includes the use of E-mails for marketing.  There are systems available that add new customers or friends or e-mail addresses to your data base.  You don’t actually have to physically add all the addresses in yourself, this can be automated making the task even more simple and even more cost effective – how cool is that?  In fact, if the truth be told, there are even systems that will send follow up mails and prompt clients and prospective client to respond and even update their own information on your database as well as unsubscribe.  Now that’s technology for you!

Next week we will continue with some more advantages of e-mail marketing.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za 

Networking 101 - Networking with Integrity

Networking 101 - Networking with Integrity

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:

“Resist short term gain, at the expense of trust and integrity.”

Now this is an interesting one!  Many times, a few days after meeting someone at a networking meeting, I have phoned said person only to be told – “I’ve not gotten anything out of the meeting from anyone, so this networking thing doesn’t work for me!”

Oh how sad and how very short sighted!  Here’s the thing see – if you go to a networking event purely with the intention of getting some work or selling a widget at that meeting, please don’t go.  All you are doing is wasting everybody’s time and energy and more to the point, disillusioning yourself!

Think about this logically for a moment.  If you do a cold call and you manage to get past the gate keeper and in to see the top brass – how often will you make a sale of your widget and/or service at that first meeting?  The answer is pretty much NEVER!  So why on earth would you think that you could get it right at one networking meeting?

The truth is that networking doesn’t, by itself, get you any business!  What it does do is get you to meet people, far more people than you would if you were going door to door and cold calling.  It is still what you do, after you have met with those people, that counts.  It’s how you build the relationship thereafter that makes the difference!

Networking is about ‘warm’ calling – once you have met or even seen someone at a networking meeting, when you call them up – even if they don’t remember seeing or meeting you there, once you introduce yourself and say you were at that meeting, they will remember being there too and it is easier to set up the appointment!  Once you have your foot in that door, the building of the relationship can start taking place and the referrals of your own ‘circle of influence’, can take place and the meeting of the other persons ‘circle of influence’ can start to take place and big business can start being done.  It has to start somewhere though and that somewhere is at the networking meeting!

So in essence, networking is about meeting new people in order to start building relationships.  Once you have grasped that, you will be well on your way.

For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za

Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.

Business Tips - Why Twitter - Part 4

BUSINESS TIPS – Why Twitter – Part 4

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC

As promised last time, here are some additional tips when tweeting.

Since it is all about giving to get, (and I believe this to be true irrespective of whether you own a business or not), don’t just tweet to drive the numbers to your website.  Engage in conversation, join in discussions and respond to those who send you a tweet.  Yes I know that it may seem a little awkward at first, they are strangers after all, but remember – you are in cyberspace and that makes you very safe!

The more you engage with people, the more involved you become and the more involved you become, the more friends you make and let’s face it, we can always do with a few more friends!  Actually if the truth be told, because of twitter and facebook, I have reconnected with old friends and acquaintances that I had lost contact with – some of whom I have not spoken to or seen in over 35 years.  They are both an incredible medium.

Despite the fact that this is cyberspace and as far as I am concerned, you are safe – there are some scary people out there and it is always better to be safe than sorry.  So, no-where is it written that you have to put personal details such as your home or physical address or contact details and certainly it would be wise to exercise caution in these particular areas.  I always look at the following as a guideline before following another tweeter:

1. If, when looking at their profiles, everything is written in a foreign language, then there is really no point in me following them as I cannot understand what they are on about and

2. If their tweets (and for goodness sake have a look at more than one or two, to be fair) don’t hold my attention or deal with anything that I find even remotely interesting, then quite frankly – what is the point?

Exercise reasonable caution and you will be fine.  Remember though you can always stop following someone – there is no law that says you have to engage with anyone.

Next time we will have a look at some additional tweeting tips.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Motivation - Unleashed Imagination

MOTIVATION – UNLEASHED IMAGINATION

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

Today’s quote comes from William Arthur Ward who says “Nothing limits achievement like small thinking; nothing expands possibilities like unleashed imagination.”

How’s that for a mouthful of absolute truth!  We have an ad-campaign running here at the moment (although I forget what the product is) that has a young child saying something along the lines of “they say we should think of out the box!  I say throw the box away!”  The first time I heard it, I was astounded – not only by the words, but by my reaction to them!  You see as an Internal Auditor, many people out there think that I should dress a certain way and behave a certain way, much like a character in some soap opera.  It is their perception of how an ‘auditor’ should be.  I have never fitted into that particular box and I have no intention ever, of fitting into any kind of box, for that matter. 

I have always stated that I ‘think outside the box’ and yet here was a totally new concept!  Throw the box away!  How cool is that?  Not having a box to be inside or outside of meant, for me, that much more opportunity.  The mind boggled – well mine did anyway.

I guess that when most people say  that you need to ‘focus’ on the business, they mean always keep your mind on your business.  But what if . . . .  what if, we didn’t so much focus on the business, but rather take the focus off the business and we just allowed ourselves to see and I mean actually see what opportunities there are out there?  Remove the box from our vision, take the blinkers off or however you want to say it – but really look at the different ways that we could collaborate or form joint ventures or work opportunities!

For me it opens up a whole different view – this last week has seen me collaborating with Personal and Business Coaches, and mentors as well as graphic designers and power point facilitators.  I am doing trade exchanges with web designers and IT guru’s and Media people.

Now suddenly the more I look around me, the more opportunities I see.  The more opportunities I see the more my imagination finds ways for me to become involved, the more I become involved the more I am inspired.

So fire up your imagination, lose your blinkers and kick the box out of the way – there is more than enough to go around and there is no reason at all, for you not to have a share.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.

Marketing 101 - the E-Mail Way - Part 1

Marketing 101 - The E-mail Way – Part 1

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting August 2009.

On a personal level, I am often quite resentful of e-mail marketing – probably as much as I used to resent what we used to call ‘junk mail’, remember how it used to fill our letter boxes to overflowing.

It must work though, as it didn’t seem to stop the hundred and thousands of companies that had their leaflets shoved into literally millions of letter boxes throughout the country.  Nor does it seem to stop the thousands of people throughout the world who market their wares both legal or not, by means of internet and e-mail marketing.

Let’s have a look at some of the advantages that are directly attributed to e-mail marketing.

The reality of the situation is that e-mail is one of the most useful and widely used tools known to the world today.  Most people have access to email either at home or at work (if not both).  It is easy to use and relatively inexpensive.  Many of us get some sort of e-mail marketing on a daily basis.

Most of us, in a business sense and particularly small businesses do not use e-mail effectively as a marketing tool, which is quite silly really because e-mail marketing is probably the easiest and most cost effective way in which to reach a large number of people/customers, in a short space of time and with very little effort.

In view of the fact that e-mail marketing can be used to promote the sale of products or services or in actual fact pretty much anything, e-mail marketing is the obvious way to go.

If we actually used e-mail marketing properly it would drive more customers into out stores or to the services that we deliver and seeing that most people log on to check their e-mails at least once a day, we can be sure that our messages reach their targets pretty quickly and efficiently.

Next week we will continue with some more advantages of e-mail marketing.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Networking 101 - What is an Elevator Speech

Networking 101 – What is an Elevator Speech?

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:

“Your elevator speech should sound natural, be interesting and be no longer than 15 seconds.”

Ok, ok – I can hear you all saying ‘what’s an elevator speech?’  So here is the explanation.

An elevator speech is usually a ‘one’ liner that gives a taste of who you are and what it is that you do.  It is used in most semi facilitated networking events, where everybody gets to introduce themselves to everyone present, quickly.  What usually happens thereafter is that you go round a second time and everyone gets a longer time (say a minute or two) to give a little more detail.  It is used specifically, when there are a large number of people present and time is limited.

Here’s the best way that I know how to describe it.

Imagine that you are in a lift with Madiba (for those of you who don’t know who Madiba is – it’s Nelson Mandela).  It’s one of those slow creaky lifts and he is getting off at the next floor.  You have exactly that much time to tell him who you are, what it is that you do and make an impression! 

Pretty tall order I know, but then if you are going to do something in life, you might as well do it properly!

Take some time and prepare something short and I mean short!  I recently attended a networking event and one of the ladies got up to do her elevator speech and she took longer than the opening of parliament!  Don’t do that – not only is it disrespectful to the rest of the people there, they also need to be heard, but it’s also extremely boring.  People will ‘switch off’ and travel elsewhere in their minds, while you waffle on.

It must be something catchy, something that will ‘grab’ the attention of whomever you say it too.  It must make them want to do the 30meter dash to your side, before anyone else gets to you – in order to do business before anyone else can. It must make you stand out in the crowd, so that they will never forget you – they may forget your name, but they will never forget you.

To give you an example – here’s mine (and no you can’t use it – find your own!).

“My name is Nikki Viljoen.  I am part of a dedicated team of people and committed Corporates’ who are passionate about helping SMME’s start up and grow successful, sustainable businesses.  I have helped thousands of people during the 30+ years that I have been doing this. Who here would like to start-up or run a business that is effective, efficient and sustainable?”

Now everyone wants to talk to me – why?  Well because there is not a single Business owner on the planet who would not like to run their business like that.

Remember it has to make you stand out in the crowd.  It’s about what makes you different – imagine if you will that you are - say a bookkeeper and there are 5 other bookkeepers at the meeting or in the room – what makes you different, why should people do business with you and not one of the other 5?  See what I mean?

Getting your elevator speech just right is extremely important, especially if you are at a networking event with a number of people.  So take the time to perfect it.

For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za

Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Business Tips - Why Twitter - Part 3

BUSINESS TIPS – Why Twitter – Part 3

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC

Twitter for me, as you no doubt have seen in the last two posts, is about communicating with a much larger audience.  Most sites that you get onto today have a link onto twitter – especially the social networking sites.  This of course means that your ‘tweets’ are reaching a much larger audience and this of course also means that you are driving more and more traffic to your own website.

Most of the professional social networking type websites such as (but not limited to) Facebook, have Twitter groups.  These are individuals who are passionate about their tweets and who love to grow their following and who love to interact and share information, knowledge, experience and generally just have good fun.  Write a little something about yourself – remember to keep it short and to the point – find these groups and let them know what you are about.  Generally speaking, people who are interested in what you have to say, will be interested enough to follow you, thereby exposing your blog and/or website to a whole different group as well.

One of the quickest ways to get people interested in following you or driving traffic to your blog or website is to post a question with a poll.  Yep, people are curious as to what other people think and love to see statistics on ‘who thinks what’ (actually how many people agree with what they think is more like it!).  If you make the topic of the poll something to do with what it is that you do, not only will it drive people to your website, it will in all probability keep them there too and get them coming back, time and time again.

When I started my whole Networking experience, I started asking questions – lots and lots of questions.  You see, I had come from a Corporate Environment and being on the road for almost three weeks of the month, I was pretty isolated from the rest of the Company.  From there I went straight into my business and met the real world – in great abundance.  There was so much new stuff that was happening that I was completely clueless about and so much that I needed to know.  So I traded.  For every question that I asked, I tried to ensure that I also ‘gave’ some useful information in return.  As I used the new information that I was given I, in turn shared it with others and so the blog was born. One of the most important things I discovered though is that generally speaking, people love to share their experiences and their knowledge.  Actually if the truth be told, generally speaking, people love to help others.

So don’t be scared to ask for help, but remember the ‘give to get’ thing.  Don’t always just take – give as well!  You’ll be amazed at just how good it will make you feel.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Motivation - Where is Greatness Found?

MOTIVATION –  Where is Greatness Found

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – January 2011

William Arthur Ward says “Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position or prestige.  It is discovered in goodness, humility, service and character.”

Well that should certainly shake things up a little, don’t you think?  There are all these powerful (well they think they are) people in the world who are so full of their own importance, puffed up and proud and according to this statement – they are not great at all!  That’s just really funny!

I guess that is why people like Nelson Mandela is one of the “greatest” men on the planet as opposed to, I don’t know – someone like George W Bush, who perhaps was one of the most powerful men on the planet (when his puppet masters pulled the strings you understand).

So who are the great leaders of the world today?  Sadly when I look around, I don’t really see any?  What I see are men who think that they are great, but who are destroying rather than building.  I see men who are concerned only with ‘what’s in it for them’ rather than for the greater good and I understand the ‘how’ and ‘why’ conspiracy theories spring up all over the place – because it’s all about the money, human kind be damned!

Then I look around and I see ordinary people, doing extra-ordinary things – making a difference one day at a time, one person at a time.  I see ordinary people who have become celebrities and have used that platform to make a difference, one day at a time, one person at a time. I see people who have very little, helping people who have even less, one day at a time, one person at a time and I understand that I am in the presence of greatness.

So where does this take us to, during the beginning of this New Year – to traditionally, the place and time when people start all over again, with new hopes, new determination and new resolve?  Who knows?

To borrow the line from Oprah Winfrey – “what I know for sure” though, is that there is hope, there is resolution and there is a change-a-coming and that we have the choice as individuals to be a part of that change or to sit back and reflect, in years to come on how we ‘missed the boat’.

I know what choice I am making – do you know what choices you are going to be making?

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

HR 101 - What to do When . . . Your Staff want to Strike - Part 6

HR 101 - WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . Your Staff Want to Strike – Part 6

By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting CC.

Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.

So what is a ‘lockout’ actually? A ‘lockout’ is when the employer, locks the striking employees, out of the office/warehouse/factory/store etc. There are two types of ‘Lock Out’ – a ‘defensive’ and an ‘offensive’ ‘lock out’. An employer is not obliged to remunerate an employee for services that the employee does not render during a protected strike or a protected lock-out,

In terms of the Labour Relations Act of 1995, Section 64 (which is the section that deals specifically with “Lock outs”), there are several reasons when the ‘lock out’ can be a really useful tool if there is a strike.

The union has to give ‘Notice of Intention to Strike’ and when they do this you are entitled to issue a “Lock Out Notice’ which means once the strike begins – so does the ‘lock out.’

Let’s have a look at the benefits of a ‘lock out’.

Well firstly a benefit would be that the employer does not have to pay the employee for the duration of the strike.

Secondly, the union officials and their shop stewards very often do not advise the employees of the employers right to ‘lock out’ and often the employees only find this out after the fact, which places them on the ‘back foot’  so to speak.  The Lock Out notice must be placed on the Company Notice board so that all employees are aware of what action the employer is going to take.

Giving a notice of lock out changes the ‘power play’ quite drastically.  The striking employees are no longer in control of when they come back to work.

A defensive ‘lock out’ must always be in response to a strike, because the employees  can not return to work until such time as they have dropped their demands.

Be careful though, the opposite of a ‘defensive’ ‘lock out’ is an ‘offensive’ ‘lock out’ and that occurs if you declare a ‘lock out’ that is not in response to a strike.  This would then mean that your employees would have to accept the employers demand to come back to work.  If you declare an ‘offensive’ ‘lock out’, you will not be allowed to use any replacement labour and this is in terms of the Labour Relations Act of 1995 section 75(1)(b). 

An ‘offensive’ ‘lock out’ lets the striking employees and the union officials know,  just how serious you are about the offer that you have put on the table.  An ‘offensive’ ‘lock out’ should only be used together with negotiations on an ‘ongoing’ basis and it is highly likely that this will then result in a settlement which should bring the strike to an end.

So make sure that you know and understand exactly which ‘lock out’ you are declaring and why.  Declaring the wrong one could cause you a lot of wasted time and energy, not to mention costs incurred.

The bottom line of course is that prevention is always better than cure and although it costs the employer ‘an arm and a leg’, the reality of the situation is that it also costs the employee, usually a lot more than what they bargained for.

So no matter how deadlocked talks appear to be, it is in your own best interests to continue to talk to union officials and shop stewards.  They too, more often than not, would also like to see a settlement sooner rather than later.

Next time we will have a look at Unprotected or prohibited strikes.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Marketing 101 - Personal Branding - Changing Your Mind Set

Marketing 101 - Personal Branding – Changing Your Mind Set

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting March 2010.

Like most things in life, there is branding and Branding and then there is BRANDING!

There is branding that belongs to a product such as Coca-Cola or Nissan and then there is personal branding that belongs to an individual, like Edith Venter, our well known South African socialite.  Then of course there are those who not only have a personal brand but also a business brand.  Here Edith carries dual branding because of her business, Edith Venter Promotions.

Just like businesses change and rebrand themselves, and the two that popped into my mind almost immediately, are Pick ‘n Pay and  Castle Larger (neither of them have been in the very recent past, but they have both been rebranded at some point).  Both companies changed their branding, their logo’s, their look and with it upgraded their image to something similar but also quite different to what it was before.  The new look seemed more modern but make no mistake, it cost them millions!

So cost aside, why would an individual ‘re-brand’ themselves – I mean at the end of the day, you are still ‘you’ – or are you?

Some individuals need to change their brands because they have moved on from what they used to do or because they were associated with another brand and the relationship has gone sour or a marriage that has not survived, whatever the reason, understand it is going to be a long, painful and probably very costly exercise.

Here’s the thing – when you started out branding yourself, you did it one step at a time, one person at a time.  You did an incredible job of letting the world know who you are and what it is that you do.  You told everyone who would listen (and even some who didn’t) all about your passion.  You got yourself interviewed on TV and radio and wrote articles that were published in magazines and newspapers.  You got yourself photographed with as many famous people as you could get close to. You wrote blogs and had an opinion on every subject under the sun.  You interacted on Facebook and told the world about your accomplishments and you ‘Twittered and Tweeted’.  Friends, family and colleagues were carefully instructed on what to say about what it is that you do and anyone who got your title wrong or made the slightest mistake about what you do, were gently corrected.

You created an all powerful brand . . .  that is you.

Now, due to whatever circumstance that has occurred in your life, that brand has to change – but remember, for years you have been telling the world that you are . . well “You” and now you want to tell them that you are no longer the ‘old you’, but a ‘new, improved you’.  Remember though, that people (no matter how ‘open minded’ they say they are) are basically creatures of habit and just because you have had a mind set change or undergone a personality change, their perception of you will in all probability, remain with the ‘old you’.  So don’t be expecting them to change their mindset or perception over night.

Make sure that you understand the process that you are about to undertake when rebranding yourself – it’s not a ‘quick fix’ kind of process, but rather one that is very long term and just like you branded yourself the first time, one step at a time, one person at a time – so to will the journey be for rebranding yourself (although in truth it will probably be a little faster, since at the end of the day – you are still . . .  well ‘You’).

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Networking 101 - Recognizing the Opportunities

Networking 101 Recognising the Opportunities

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:

“Don’t expect colleagues with similar credentials and expertise to be referral sources.”

This one always makes me smile!  Don’t get me wrong, Renate is spot on the money, it’s the insecurities of the human race that makes me smile!

I’ve said this so many times, I feel like I should actually make a recording – there is enough opportunity and work out there for all of us to get more than we could possibly handle!

So what we should be doing is referring colleagues with similar credentials and expertise. 

I can hear the buzzing – why?  Well firstly, why not?  Secondly, because by doing this you start and nurture a relationship with them, and then when they get too busy to cope with their workload, (presuming of course that you are not too busy yourself), instead of just getting new staff in to do the work that they have to train and then keep after the project is finished, the two of you could join forces in a joint venture or strategic alliance and do the work together!  For me it’s a no brainer!

I honestly cannot understand what this ‘jealously guarding your clients, potential clients or any rumour of any kind of work that may be available in your area of expertise,” is all about.  When you behave like this you are so focused on keeping everyone at bay, that you end up losing your clients and your potential clients too, because you have kept them at bay too!

Seriously people, there is more than enough to go around and then some – you just need to recognise the opportunity and then do something about it!

So go on, share your information, share your resources and refer as many people as you can – what will happen is that people will start referring you and before you know it, you will be so busy you won’t know what to do with yourself.

The more you give, the more you will get!

For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za

Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Business tips - Why Twitter - Part 2

BUSINESS TIPS – Why Twitter – Part 2

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC June 2010

Everyone is ‘twittering’ about twitter!  From what I have heard, it is often asked “what is twitter” or “how does it work?” and my personal favorite “What are you doing?”

Those of us who use social networking as a marketing tool, this last question is often seen on sites like Facebook, or MySpace or Linked in.  The fact of the matter is that people are interested in learning more about you – be that in your personal capacity or in your business capacity.  That’s just human nature – we are a curious species.

So for me it makes perfect sense to use Twitter as a marketing tool.  As individuals “follow me” on twitter, so they link into my website and my blogs.  If they like what they read, chances are that they will start looking out for my daily link and many of them don’t even wait to do that, they signup on the website to get the blogs sent to them on a daily basis.  How cool is that?

Now, I’m not saying that everyone who “follows me” will be interested in all of the articles that I write, but since (in my opinion) there is something for everyone, it stands to reason that as I link up to people who I follow and then they follow me – more and more traffic is driven to my website and we could all do with that, I am sure you will agree!

From a marketing point of view, those who “follow me” on twitter have found something in my articles that interest them – this of course means that they are my ‘target market’.  Here’s another cool thing – not only are these individuals looking at my information, but I am also looking at their information.  Not only am I making a difference in their lives, but they are also making a difference to and adding value to mine.

What an incredible way to collaborate!  What an incredible way to interact with and meet new people!

Man, I love technology – yes, I know that I always say that I am a technophobe (but that is because I don’t understand the technical terminology) and that I don’t always understand it, but I do know, a little bit about what it does and I sure do love it!

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za 

Motivation - Where we Stand

MOTIVATION – WHERE WE STAND

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

Today’s quote comes from Johann Wolfgan Von Goethe who said “The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.”

Well I don’t know about any of you, but I certainly would like to be moving in a forwardly direction!

On a personal level though, I think that we as individuals don’t take enough time and trouble to stop – turn around and see just how far we have come.  I mean think about it for a moment, how on earth would be know if it is the greatest thing in the world or not, if we don’t even acknowledge that we are moving forward and not sideways or backwards, although I am sure we are very conscious of that fact when it occurs!

For me it is not just ‘moving’ forward and achieving that is important, but also acknowledging to myself that I am moving forward and that I am in fact achieving – otherwise what would be the point?

I know that I am certainly very guilty of this oversight.  Once a year though, on New Years eve in fact, (I don’t celebrate New Year, in the traditional sense – but that is another story for another time), I discourage visitors and switch the phone off, light the fire – a huge big fire, open up a bottle of particularly good red wine and have a braai (or barbeque for those who are not “African”) for one. 

Now I know that that may sound frightfully morbid or sad, but for me it is extremely self satisfying.  You see, it is the time of the year that I take out the goals that I set for myself at the beginning of the year, I ‘tick off’ and acknowledge each one of the goals I have achieved that were on the list, and add all the goals that were not on the list but that I have achieved anyway -  and the ones that I haven’t – well they couldn’t have been that important anyway (and if they were – then  I add them onto the new list).

I think that we as individuals are so busy chasing after the goals that we have set and beating ourselves up about the ones that we did not achieve, that we forget about the ones that were not on the list, but that we have achieved anyway.  Situations change, perceptions change, new opportunities present themselves and yet we somehow feel the need to rigidly stick to something that was written down on paper.  Why?  My answer to that is this, once I have ticked off all that I have achieved, added all the ones that weren’t there – I drink a toast (well several actually) to myself, pat myself on the back and burn the list with the goals on it!  Why you may ask?  Well it’s quite simple, I don’t want a constant reminder of what I did not get to,  glaring at me all the time, so I erase it! 

Then I make a new list for the new year – a clean slate with new exciting visions and attainable goals – well attainable as I write them down on New Years eve.  But hey, guess what?  Situations change, perceptions change and new opportunities present themselves, so nothing that I write down on my piece of paper is carved in stone and it’s not the end of the world if I don’t achieve them because, well, next New Year’s eve, they too will be celebrated and then burnt.

Do I ever have any regrets?  Sure I do – one of them is that I only perform this ritual once a year.  It doesn’t seem like it is often enough.  Perhaps I will put it on my list this year, that I will perform this ritual twice a year!  Yip, that’s what I will do and if I manage to achieve that, then I will drink a toast (or maybe several) and if I don’t – well, it’s not the end of the world – you see, I will have achieved other goals, I will have acknowledged that I am moving forward in the right direction, I will have recognized and done something with the new opportunities that presented themselves and I will have celebrated all of that.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.

HR 101 - What to do When . . . Your Staff Want to Strike - Part 5

HR 101 - WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . Your Staff Want to Strike – Part 5

By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting CC.

Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.

Replacement labour is the topic on the table today.  Let’s have a look at the reality of a strike.

A strike can have devastating financial implications to a company.  Look at the results of some of the strikes that took place over the last couple of years.

Think about Pick ‘n Pay – the last really bad one that I remember is when shoppers were confronted with “Toi Toi-ing” staff as they tried to enter the stores to do their shopping.  I remember Jeremy Mansfield of Highveld Stereo trying to make light of the situation by saying something along the lines of “I have never felt so welcome in all of my life – there were what seemed like hundreds of people singing and dancing as they came towards me with arms open wide to greet me and welcome me into the store!”  Ja Boet – and I also believe in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy!  Jokes aside, many customers did not want to be personally ‘welcomed’ into the store and despite assurances that they would not be harmed in any way, they chose to shop elsewhere.  I have no doubt that millions of Rands worth of turnover was lost by the company.

Now in this situation, Pick n’ Pay would have no alternative but to hire replacement labour if they wanted to have any kind of turnover at all and if they did not want to close their doors to the public.

It is a given however, that replacement staff, irrespective of whether they have been supplied by a labour broker or sourced by yourselves or even if you use your own staff from other areas, will invariably be subjected to intimidation and even physical and verbal abuse in some instances.  So you need to ensure that they necessary precautionary steps are in place to ensure that your replacement labour is protected.

You can (and perhaps should) for example install some additional security surveillance such as CCTV type camera and video set ups or hire additional independent security.  Whatever you do, inform the union of what you are doing or intend to do in order to re-enforce their responsibility to ensure that they control their members.

Be aware though, that all of these additional bits and pieces will have a financial implication too.  Don’t for a minute think that a strike is not going to cost you and ultimately prevention is always better that cure (and often a lot cheaper in the long run).

Next week we will look at what a ‘lock out’ is and the benefits or implications of having one.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Sales 101 - What is Soft Selling

SALES 101 What is “Soft Selling”?

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC

I’ve been hearing the term ‘soft’ selling for some time now and to be quite honest, I had no clue as to what it meant.  I mean, for me – selling is selling!  Sure there are different ways to sell and some of them work for me and some of them don’t – much the same, I would imagine, as it is for you.

It stands to reason that if I don’t know what ‘soft’ selling is, there are others that also don’t know.  So after a little research – this is what I found.

Apparently there are those amongst us who, when they are ‘soft’ selling properly, they don’t even know that they are selling – sounds really strange doesn’t it?  I mean we all go out to sell and in the retail sector, in particular, everything is geared around getting the sale!

Here’s the thing though.  There are instances, particularly in the consulting or coaching or advisory arena, when your clients don’t ‘feel’ like they are being sold to and you don’t feel like you are selling.

Actually, now that I think about it, this makes perfectly good sense.  Think about it for a moment – when you are feeling like death warmed up and go off to the doctor, at no time do you see yourself as a client, a patient perhaps, but not a client.  You see the doctor’s advice as something to be trusted and it has a win/win kind of feel about it – he makes you feel better and you pay him for doing that for you (although in all honesty I still feel like a client when I go and get the meds).

It appears that this can be done in any kind of business and it is all about the ‘mind-set’ of the individual who is actually doing the selling.  The mindset is one of respect, service and ensuring that there is a ‘win/win’ situation.  Actually, if I think about it a little more, this is when we build relationships with our clients.  It’s like my favorite waiter at the Mugg & Bean (I can get quite irritated if he is not there) or the chap that the camera shop – I won’t buy anything unless he is there to explain stuff to me.  The bottom line is that I trust them and they make me ‘feel’ special and they take care of me and they meet my needs.

Sure they still have to follow procedures and whatever the sales process is that their jobs require them to, but they do that quietly and without fuss and usually out of sight, but what they do is make the ‘experience’ for me, one that is pleasant.

So perhaps what we need to do is go back to the basics – the thing that made the ‘Mom and Pop’ corner shops such a success, the building of relationships with our clients.  It must be like a second nature to them, to think of us whenever they need our product or our services.

Remember though, you still have to have your sales process in place and in order for you to be in control of your sales ‘efforts’ you still have to have to know who your target market is, you still have to have your business proposition in place and you still have to have your sales strategy and sales processes in place.

That said though, I really like the sound of a ‘soft’ sale – it sounds a lot less stressful than a ‘hard’ sale or even a normal one.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Networking 101 - Find what is Unique to You

Networking  101 - Find what is unique to you

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:

“Brand your uniqueness:  Remember; 45% of what you do, others do better than you, 45% of what you do, others do as well as you, 10% of what you do is unique to you.  Focus on the 10% that is unique to you!”

Oh man is Renate ever spot on the money with this one! So many times I have been in a networking environment where there have been in excess of 100 people and they all look just the same and many of them are in exactly the same field doing pretty much the same thing. I have looked around in absolute confusion (I have never been very good and names or faces for that matter), then when I get to the point that I follow up and meet with them, I just make sure that I am at the meeting well in advance and hope to hell that they recognise me! Not ideal I know, but it works for me!

Remember the 70’s (for those of you who are old enough to do so), I mean there was such an explosion of new acts and new musicians entering the arena that they only way that they could actually be remembered (or even make any kind of splash for that matter) was to dress up – David Bowie with his unique hairstyle and his infamous ‘Bowie Dot’ in the middle of his forehead, or what about Leo Sayer who used to dress up as a clown and don’t forget Alice Cooper (it wasn’t enough that he had a girl’s name) and his band Kiss who had the most bizarre images painted in black and white on their faces and used to bite the heads off live chickens on stage (talk about making an entrance!) and smash their guitars into a million pieces, all on stage!

Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating for one minute that you purchase your local Fancy Dress store, in order to have a sufficient number of costumes on hand.

What I am saying is that branding is a must! You have to show people that unique side of you – and we all have it and we need to flaunt it.

I for example, am a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl. I don’t look like a typical auditor and I really don’t think like a typical auditor (I could think of nothing more boring – urgh!), that is part of who I am and that is something that sticks in the minds of many of the people who meet me at networking events. Now I am not suggesting that you all rush out and buy up all the jeans and t-shirts in the city – don’t do that! What I am saying, is that often who you are as a person, is what is most unique about you – so don’t try and re-invent the wheel.

Be yourself, work on who you are and what you value most about yourself – expand on that, and you will probably find that that, is your most powerful and yet most inexpensive tool that you have. With very little effort and a great deal of value, you will have branded your most unique self.

For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za 

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za 

Motivation - Without Dreams

MOTIVATION – WITHOUT DREAMS

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC

Today’s quote comes from Harry Kemp, who says:

“The poor man is not he who is without a cent, but he who is without a dream.”

Well this is good news for me specifically, that’s for sure.  A great deal of my ‘down time’ is spent dreaming.  Sadly though, this is not the case for everyone.

I once had to interview of the staff members, for a client of mine.  He had just bought another company out and when the staff of both companies welded together, there were obviously a great number of overlaps.  So he needed to ascertain who was best for the job at hand.  I did the interviews and checked what they were doing against what the job description was and then against what their CV’s said that they could do and then asked them what they wanted to do – what their passions were.

One chap looked at me quite blankly, when I asked him what his passion was.  He really struggled with the question, grappling for an answer.  Seeing his dilemma, I asked the question “If you won the lotto and you received R20 million, what would you do?”  Sweat broke out on his brow – he was still at a loss.  I asked him what car he drove, he told me it was a 1995 Mazda 323 (this interview took place in 2007), so I asked him, if money was not a problem, what car would he like to have.  He hung his head as if he had done something wrong.  My heart went out to him, it really did.

You see, he was married and his first child had just been born.  He came from a background that was extremely poor and his only focus was how to get food on the table, clothes on his back and a roof over his head.  When he married, his focus did not change, but now included the notion that he now had someone else to be responsible for, and when his baby daughter arrived it increased the pressure because now he had a family to provide for.  He was so busy putting one foot in front of the other that he had not taken the time out to dream!

How incredibly sad is that.

I tried to think how my life would be if I didn’t have dreams and I must admit, I never got it right – I could not imagine my life without the many pictures, video’s and cartoons that flood through my brain at regular interviews.  I’d probably be dead and even then considering my spiritual beliefs, I would still be getting those images!

It’s fun isn’t it – to dream about the next house that you will buy, the next car that you will drive, the places that you hope to visit, the businesses that you build?  Well I think it is!

My life certainly is much richer for the dreams that I have and for the many dreams, in my life that have actually come true – because it’s not just about dreaming, but also about making those dreams a reality.

So whatever it is that you do today, don’t forget to dream!

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.

Business Tips - Why Twitter - Part 1

BUSINESS TIPS – Why Twitter – Part 1

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC

For the last couple of years now, I have been listening to all the hype about “Twitter” and “Tweeting” and “Tweets” and “Twits” so on.  Actually, now that I think about it, my technophobia aside – I really do love technology, I love the world that it opens up to me.  The fact that I am not sure how the technical side of things work doesn’t really phase me at all.  I do know that “Twitter” is another form of international communication and what I really love about it is that it allows me to put a one-liner up which will drive a considerable number of people to my website.

For example, on a daily basis I tweet – Today’s blog (and then the title of the blog), add the URL address of my website and that’s it.  Looking at the statistics afterwards shows me exactly how many people come to visit my website and they usually stay for a while and look around.  How do I know this?  Well the stats show that the average time anyone spends on my website is in excess of 5 minutes.  See, my website is very content rich with loads of information that pertains mostly to SMME’s (small, medium, micro enterprise), Entrepreneurs and start ups but actually in general to everyone.  The information is presented in bite sized chunks, with my own brand of humour and I know that many have not only learnt something but have also enjoyed a chuckle whilst doing so – and that’s always a bonus.

I also know that when I started the whole ‘twitter’ scenario, I was addicted.  I couldn’t get enough of the site.  I found myself standing in a queue and instead of reading my book (which is what I used to do), I would be logging onto the site via my phone to see ‘who had posted what tweets’ – it was an exciting time of information overload.  Back at the office, I found myself logging onto the site at every opportunity and found myself going from one site to the other as I devoured all the information that others had so thoughtfully found and shared with me.

Reality hit me really hard one day, when I got up and it was still dark outside.  I did the daily things that are routine to me and immediately logged onto the site.  During the course of the day, I felt hungry and thirsty but every time I wanted to get up and get something to eat or drink, I found myself caught up in whatever it was that I was reading and thought ‘as soon as I finish this article I will go and get (insert food or drink here)’.  Of course I got so involved that getting something to eat or drink just never happened.  After what seemed like a couple of hours, not long at all, I suddenly realized that it had gone very dark and I thought it must be because there was going to be a Highveld storm.  One of those that we are famous for – you know when suddenly the thick black clouds come over and then the rain comes down in sheets for about 10 minutes and then the sun comes out to play again?  Sadly it wasn’t!  What it was, was the onset of night – in fact it was after 7pm.  I had sat in front of my computer playing on twitter and going from site to side from around 5.30am to after 7pm without eating or drinking anything.  Needless to say, no work had been done for the day either and I gave myself a helleva fright.

The solution to the problem of course was clear, I went out and bought myself one of those oven timer clocks and limited my use of twitter to 15 minutes a day.  When the clock alarm goes off, it doesn’t matter where I am and what I am reading, I have to close the site down!  Addictive it is and I am not the only one to say this either!

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing some of the things that you can do with Twitter – I hope you will stick around and enjoy the journey with me.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

HR 101 - What to do When . . . Your Staff Want to Strike - Part 4

HR 101- WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . Your Staff Want to Strike – Part 4

By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting CC.

Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice.

This week we will look at some tips on ‘how to’ control a strike action.

Often what happens within an organization is that the union has given notice of intention to strike to Management, the employees then go on a mission to increase their numbers and support.  They do this by asking non-union member to join them in the strike.  This usually becomes intimidation and as we have all often seen in the past this can lead to violence.

Make sure that the unions are advised, as soon as the notice of intention to strike has been given, that they are obliged to ensure that all non-union members are not intimidated in any way.  Advise them that it is their responsibility to ensure that they control their members.

Put a notice on notice boards and/or send out an e-mail or a memo to all the staff stating that you have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy in terms of intimidation.  Make sure that they understand that any employee who intimidates another employee will be requested to attend a disciplinary hearing and that if they are found guilty of intimidation, they may be dismissed.

Be aware that proving intimidation is very difficult as the only witness that you may have is the person who was actually intimidated and they often don’t want to give evidence at a disciplinary as this may result in further reprisals against them.

Misconduct, in the form of violence and verbal abuse, should also not be tolerated at all, during a strike.  Again all employees and the union should be notified in writing, that under no circumstances with misconduct in the form of violence, verbal abuse or destruction of property will not be tolerated and anyone found in the Act of Misconduct will face disciplinary procedures and those found guilty may dismissed.  It’s also a good idea to make sure that the union understand that any losses incurred as a direct result of misconduct, will be for their account and that the union will be held liable.  Ensure that the union officials understand that any form of misconduct or intimidation will result in the Company approaching the Labour Court for an urgent interdict.

If possible get a written undertaking from the union acknowledging that they have a duty to control their members during a strike.

If any acts of misconduct or intimidation occur during the strike, make sure that disciplinary hearings are undertaken after the strike is over.  It is of the utmost importance that you do this in order to set a precedent, irrespective of whether the strike had the desired effect or not.  This re-iterates your stand on misconduct and intimidation and sends a clear message that you have ‘zero’ tolerance in terms of intimidation or misconduct.

As usual, prevention is better than cure and so it is a good idea to ensure that you have all of these policies in place before you are in a ‘strike’ type situation.  Put your rules in place, or negotiate your rules with the union about strike related conduct before you are in any kind of dispute and when you are more likely to get a reasonable resolution in place. Obviously, if there is a pre-agreement in place and this is breached in any way, you have to take action – but having a pre-agreement in place means that you are in a much stronger position to do so.

Next week we will look at replacement labour.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za