ARTICLE 50
Labour Broker Employees – Part 2
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC January 2010
Following on from last week, this week we will look at some of the other requirements pertaining to Labour Brokers, particularly with regards to the payment of PAYE/UIF/SDL payments.
Who is responsible for paying the PAYE/UIF/SDL. In 1990 the definition of an employee for the purpose of PAYE was extended to a “Labour Broker”. “A Labour Broker is defined as any person who carries on the business of providing the client with other persons to render services or perform work for such client for reward.” An additional requirement was put into place however and that was that the Labour Broker had to apply for and be in possession of a valid ‘exemption certificate’. So what does this mean?
Well essentially it means that like any person who is self employed, if more than 80% of the income of the Labour Broker is received directly or indirectly from one client, then the PAYE/UIF/SDL needs to be paid by the client.
So the reality of this is that Labour Brokers, who have one big client will not be issued with an exemption certificate and the client will have to deduct the statutory requirements and pay them over to SARS pretty much the same as if they were employing the staff.
Changes in the tax rates to Companies also make a significant difference to whether a company uses Labour Brokers and the Minister has now suggested and proposed the introduction of new measures. These measures include (but are not limited to), to discourage companies from providing services to a client, that converts income that would normally have been taxed as employment income into company income, as this is taxed at a lower rate.
The Minister has suggested that the term ‘employment company’ be used rather than ‘labour broker’, during the classification process. This then means that:
a. The income from services rendered by ‘employment companies’ will be subjected to employees’ tax. At this point (when the article I have used was written), the rate was not specified.
b. The allowable deductions of an employment company would be limited to the monies paid to shareholders and/or members and/or other employees of the company.
c. The income of an employment company would be taxed at a rate of 35% and any dividends declared by the company would be subject to STC which would result the actual tax rate being 42.22%
Note: These tax rates, in all probability may have changed – please check with a SARS office to ascertain what the correct rate is for the current year, as this legislation came into effect from 1 August 2000.
Next week we will have a look at some of the other requirements for Labour Brokers particularly with respect to the CCMA requirements.
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
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Friday, October 31, 2014
Thursday, October 30, 2014
HR - Labour Broker Employees – Part 1
ARTICLE 50
Labour Broker Employees – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC January 2010
There has been a lot of controversy in the news of late regarding Labour Brokers and indeed, I have some clients who use Labour Brokers for their staffing requirements. Most people are under the impression that by using the services of a Labour Broker, they will save themselves the staffing problems and hassles that are usually incurred when dealing with employees – let me be clear on this, nothing is further than the truth! Here are some issues that employers need to understand when using Labour Brokers. These are, but not limited to:
Labour Broker employees enjoy exactly the same rights as any other employee under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. This means that even if the Labour Broker loses the client or the contract comes to an end, the employee cannot just be dismissed. Let’s bring in the protagonists.
Mike is a Labour Broker who employs hundreds if not thousands of employees all over the country. He has clients in every major sector and enjoys a mainly good relationship with most of his clients who range from small 5 employee requirements to clients who have need of hundreds of employees.
George is one of Mike’s employees. George has worked for Mike for the last 15 years, with the majority of that being in a Distribution company (let’s call them ABC Logistics), where George is a driver.
ABC Logistics have undergone some intense restructuring of the company and have decided to go the route of ‘owner/driver’, which obviously has a huge impact on the 500 odd drivers that they employ from various Labour Brokers. The contracts with the Labour Brokers are slowly but surely not being renewed and Mike finds himself with 150 drivers that he no longer has any work for as his contract was not renewed. Mike’s contract with all of his employees is a ‘temporary’ contract that does not have an end date, as Mike thought that this would be the easiest way to manage the employees, in the event that he lost contracts.
Mike decides that since he has lost the contract and therefore has no work for all of these drivers and since they are all ‘temporary’ staff anyway, he will just dismiss them and then that will be the end of that.
Mike sent out notices to all of the drivers advising them that the contract with ABC Logistics was coming to an end and that it would not be renewed and therefore his contract with the drivers would also be coming to an end.
When the contract ended, Mike dismissed all the drivers. George found himself another job and went to the CCMA as he did not receive a retrenchment package (also known as severance pay).
Mike found himself in hot water with a huge bill to pay. Here’s the thing – just because you have a ‘contract’ in place that says that you are a temporary employee, doesn’t make it so. A ‘temporary’ contract that does not have an ‘end date’ gives the employee a permanent status which means that his termination can only be for a very good reason.
Labour law is also extremely clear on what the requirements are in terms of severance pay and it is well documented. When retrenching staff the value of their severance pay and/or retrenchment packet hinges on the number of completed years that they have worked and be warned, there is no ceiling on this. So in George’s case, Mike had to pay out 15 weeks salary, but had George worked for Mike for 30 or even 40 years it would have made no difference – Mike would still need to pay one week for every completed year of service.
The only way that Mike could have avoided paying the severance pay would have been if he had offered George reasonable alternative employment, which in this instance clearly was not the case.
Mike learned the hard way, that even though he was a Labour Broker, his employees still needed to be treated fairly in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Labour Relations Act.
Next week we will have a look at some of the other requirements for Labour Brokers.
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
Labour Broker Employees – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC January 2010
There has been a lot of controversy in the news of late regarding Labour Brokers and indeed, I have some clients who use Labour Brokers for their staffing requirements. Most people are under the impression that by using the services of a Labour Broker, they will save themselves the staffing problems and hassles that are usually incurred when dealing with employees – let me be clear on this, nothing is further than the truth! Here are some issues that employers need to understand when using Labour Brokers. These are, but not limited to:
Labour Broker employees enjoy exactly the same rights as any other employee under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. This means that even if the Labour Broker loses the client or the contract comes to an end, the employee cannot just be dismissed. Let’s bring in the protagonists.
Mike is a Labour Broker who employs hundreds if not thousands of employees all over the country. He has clients in every major sector and enjoys a mainly good relationship with most of his clients who range from small 5 employee requirements to clients who have need of hundreds of employees.
George is one of Mike’s employees. George has worked for Mike for the last 15 years, with the majority of that being in a Distribution company (let’s call them ABC Logistics), where George is a driver.
ABC Logistics have undergone some intense restructuring of the company and have decided to go the route of ‘owner/driver’, which obviously has a huge impact on the 500 odd drivers that they employ from various Labour Brokers. The contracts with the Labour Brokers are slowly but surely not being renewed and Mike finds himself with 150 drivers that he no longer has any work for as his contract was not renewed. Mike’s contract with all of his employees is a ‘temporary’ contract that does not have an end date, as Mike thought that this would be the easiest way to manage the employees, in the event that he lost contracts.
Mike decides that since he has lost the contract and therefore has no work for all of these drivers and since they are all ‘temporary’ staff anyway, he will just dismiss them and then that will be the end of that.
Mike sent out notices to all of the drivers advising them that the contract with ABC Logistics was coming to an end and that it would not be renewed and therefore his contract with the drivers would also be coming to an end.
When the contract ended, Mike dismissed all the drivers. George found himself another job and went to the CCMA as he did not receive a retrenchment package (also known as severance pay).
Mike found himself in hot water with a huge bill to pay. Here’s the thing – just because you have a ‘contract’ in place that says that you are a temporary employee, doesn’t make it so. A ‘temporary’ contract that does not have an ‘end date’ gives the employee a permanent status which means that his termination can only be for a very good reason.
Labour law is also extremely clear on what the requirements are in terms of severance pay and it is well documented. When retrenching staff the value of their severance pay and/or retrenchment packet hinges on the number of completed years that they have worked and be warned, there is no ceiling on this. So in George’s case, Mike had to pay out 15 weeks salary, but had George worked for Mike for 30 or even 40 years it would have made no difference – Mike would still need to pay one week for every completed year of service.
The only way that Mike could have avoided paying the severance pay would have been if he had offered George reasonable alternative employment, which in this instance clearly was not the case.
Mike learned the hard way, that even though he was a Labour Broker, his employees still needed to be treated fairly in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Labour Relations Act.
Next week we will have a look at some of the other requirements for Labour Brokers.
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
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Networking 101 - Networking & your competition
THE POWER OF NETWORKING
PART 67
Networking & your competition
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
Networking and your competition. Let’s take this discussion a bit further this week.
How do you Network effectively when you are competing with several other companies and businesses that offer the same product and/or services as you do and who operate out of the same area that you do? Clearly you need to stand out ‘head and shoulders’ above the crowd and you obviously should never, and I mean NEVER – put your competition down or malign them in any way. Concentrate rather on what you do and what you do that makes it different.
Let’s focus on what you do need to do – you need to work very carefully on every aspect of your Business, from your Business Presentation to your Business Card, your promotional/marketing items, such as pens, to the way that you present yourself as an individual, to your elevator speech.
Your Business Presentation needs to be professional, but also memorable. Going on and on about statistics and the like is extremely boring for the person listening. So if you want to use some statistics, choose one – perhaps put some humour into it (to make it stand out and be memorable) and use it at the end of the presentation where it will make and have the most impact!
You need to know what you want to say to people when you introduce yourself. Fumbling and stammering with lots of ‘Um’s and er’s and, and, and, and’s’ is really not going to cut it for you. Let’s face it – if you don’t know who you are and what it is that you do, how can you expect anyone else to? So take the time and prepare what you want to say to people.
I have written so much about Elevator speeches it really feels like a deje vu moment for me, yet it is of critical importance, especially if you are confined to a limited amount of time in which to introduce yourself and make an impression!
Take the time, invest it in yourself and your business. Make sure that what you are saying is clear and also that it makes sense. Make your statement make people want to contact you and engage with you, even if it is only to ask you what you meant!
For example my elevator speech is “My name is Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting. I am an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and I prevent loss!” Many people come up to me afterwards and say ‘What do you mean you prevent loss – how do you prevent loss?’ A huge foot in the door for me wouldn’t you say?
The more you work on your Networking, the more your Networking will work for you!
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
PART 67
Networking & your competition
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
Networking and your competition. Let’s take this discussion a bit further this week.
How do you Network effectively when you are competing with several other companies and businesses that offer the same product and/or services as you do and who operate out of the same area that you do? Clearly you need to stand out ‘head and shoulders’ above the crowd and you obviously should never, and I mean NEVER – put your competition down or malign them in any way. Concentrate rather on what you do and what you do that makes it different.
Let’s focus on what you do need to do – you need to work very carefully on every aspect of your Business, from your Business Presentation to your Business Card, your promotional/marketing items, such as pens, to the way that you present yourself as an individual, to your elevator speech.
Your Business Presentation needs to be professional, but also memorable. Going on and on about statistics and the like is extremely boring for the person listening. So if you want to use some statistics, choose one – perhaps put some humour into it (to make it stand out and be memorable) and use it at the end of the presentation where it will make and have the most impact!
You need to know what you want to say to people when you introduce yourself. Fumbling and stammering with lots of ‘Um’s and er’s and, and, and, and’s’ is really not going to cut it for you. Let’s face it – if you don’t know who you are and what it is that you do, how can you expect anyone else to? So take the time and prepare what you want to say to people.
I have written so much about Elevator speeches it really feels like a deje vu moment for me, yet it is of critical importance, especially if you are confined to a limited amount of time in which to introduce yourself and make an impression!
Take the time, invest it in yourself and your business. Make sure that what you are saying is clear and also that it makes sense. Make your statement make people want to contact you and engage with you, even if it is only to ask you what you meant!
For example my elevator speech is “My name is Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting. I am an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and I prevent loss!” Many people come up to me afterwards and say ‘What do you mean you prevent loss – how do you prevent loss?’ A huge foot in the door for me wouldn’t you say?
The more you work on your Networking, the more your Networking will work for you!
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Business Tips - Firing a Client - Part 1
BUSINESS TIPS
Firing a Client – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting February 2009.
Firing a client! To many small business owners out there this may sound like attempting suicide. That said, it is often in our own best interests to get rid of problem clients.
Perhaps it would be a good idea to define what the word ‘client’ means. The Concise Oxford Dictionary says “Person using services of professional man (lawyer, architect, social worker etc).” The Wiki says “A customer a buyer or receiver of goods or services”. Surely that would mean that if the client is a ‘buyer’ that the goods or services that they had received would actually need to be paid for.
Look I’m not saying that every time you have a difficult client you need to get rid of them, I am talking about the client who consistently gives takes up 80% of your time and energy but only contributes to 20% of your income. It’s the client who never listens when you tell them things, who never takes your advice but when the smelly brown stuff hits the fan, expects you to drop whatever you are doing and sort out their mess . . . at a discount!
It’s the client who you constantly battle to get money out of, in fact it takes you longer to get the money out of them than it did to do the job in the first place. I have some of these clients and my 2009 policy for them is that they actually need to pay me up front and then I will do the work for the amount of money that they have paid me. That way they get the work done that they want and need and I get paid on time – a win/win I am sure that you would agree. Alternatively, get a deposit up front, especially if what you are selling is a product. I sell a service you see and quite honestly, I cannot un-write a policy or procedure or un-teach something that has already been taught, so there is nothing that I can actually take back from them.
Another way to deal with clients who don’t pay on time and then cancel everything out of the blue (when you have already done the work) is to put a substantial cancellation fee into your Terms and Conditions. Don’t be shy or scared to phone them for money, it is after all your money and I have no doubt that they did not blink an eye when they contacted you at all hours of the day and night demanding your attention.
It really isn’t worth the aggravation and irritation! They will cost you more in time and effort and energy than what you will make off them in the long run.
Next week we will have a look at some additional reasons on why to get rid of some of your clients.
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
Monday, October 27, 2014
Motivation - Strong Desires
MOTIVATION – Strong Desire
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – January 2012
Napoleon Hill says “The starting point of achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires produce weak results, just as a small amount of fire produces a small amount of heat.”
I guess this means, more or less, the same as ‘you reap what you sow’ or ‘you get out what you put in’ and it certainly makes logical sense to me, which is probably why I am often really surprised at the number of people who sit back and wait for stuff to happen for them and then when nothing happens they lament – loudly – about how unfair life is and that they didn’t get what they deserved.
My eyes roll upwards and my head shakes from side to side as I try and grasp at their logic. Strangely enough though, on some level, this victim ‘hard done by’ role that they choose to go through life with, does seem to resonate with many and they are commiserated with and empathized with and held up as shining examples of how unequal some are.
Now actually seeing those words in print before my eyes, brought a smile to my face and a giggle to my lips. You see, for me going through life with that kind of attitude would not only be soul destroying it would also be exhausting! I mean can you imagine forcing yourself to feel like that all the time? Now that must be really hard work!
For me the level of motivation is directly attributable to the level of desire – if I really, really and I mean really, want something – I will do everything in my power to get it. The less I desire something, the less motivated I am and therefore the less amount of effort I will put into getting it. Yip, it’s official – I am definitely driven by my desires.
Here’s a thought though – often those desires and the achievements that are realized as a result of those desires, mean nothing to anyone other than yourself and for me, those are the greatest achievements. Let me explain – I write for my own enjoyment. Sure I share the writing with anyone in the world who cares to read the words and yes I do believe that they can change the course of someone’s world but to be quite honest, I don’t really worry about whether anyone is reading my words or what they may or may not think about my words – I write so that I can see the words and often I write about things that I most need to hear or to see or to understand. Every now and then I get a mail from a total stranger, in another country, on the opposite side of the world, who thanks me for the words that I have shared.
My achievement was writing an article, which was based on my desire to write. Once the article is written, I don’t give it much more thought. That said however, the achievement is made all the more sweeter, when I do hear from someone who has been touched by my words. That praise, that acknowledgement, those accolades just make my desire that much stronger and so the circle continues.
My desire is really strong and therefore my goals will be met and my challenges will be overcome and I will succeed. What about you – do you even know what your desires are?
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
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – January 2012
Napoleon Hill says “The starting point of achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires produce weak results, just as a small amount of fire produces a small amount of heat.”
I guess this means, more or less, the same as ‘you reap what you sow’ or ‘you get out what you put in’ and it certainly makes logical sense to me, which is probably why I am often really surprised at the number of people who sit back and wait for stuff to happen for them and then when nothing happens they lament – loudly – about how unfair life is and that they didn’t get what they deserved.
My eyes roll upwards and my head shakes from side to side as I try and grasp at their logic. Strangely enough though, on some level, this victim ‘hard done by’ role that they choose to go through life with, does seem to resonate with many and they are commiserated with and empathized with and held up as shining examples of how unequal some are.
Now actually seeing those words in print before my eyes, brought a smile to my face and a giggle to my lips. You see, for me going through life with that kind of attitude would not only be soul destroying it would also be exhausting! I mean can you imagine forcing yourself to feel like that all the time? Now that must be really hard work!
For me the level of motivation is directly attributable to the level of desire – if I really, really and I mean really, want something – I will do everything in my power to get it. The less I desire something, the less motivated I am and therefore the less amount of effort I will put into getting it. Yip, it’s official – I am definitely driven by my desires.
Here’s a thought though – often those desires and the achievements that are realized as a result of those desires, mean nothing to anyone other than yourself and for me, those are the greatest achievements. Let me explain – I write for my own enjoyment. Sure I share the writing with anyone in the world who cares to read the words and yes I do believe that they can change the course of someone’s world but to be quite honest, I don’t really worry about whether anyone is reading my words or what they may or may not think about my words – I write so that I can see the words and often I write about things that I most need to hear or to see or to understand. Every now and then I get a mail from a total stranger, in another country, on the opposite side of the world, who thanks me for the words that I have shared.
My achievement was writing an article, which was based on my desire to write. Once the article is written, I don’t give it much more thought. That said however, the achievement is made all the more sweeter, when I do hear from someone who has been touched by my words. That praise, that acknowledgement, those accolades just make my desire that much stronger and so the circle continues.
My desire is really strong and therefore my goals will be met and my challenges will be overcome and I will succeed. What about you – do you even know what your desires are?
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
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Motivation - It's YOU
MOTIVATION – IT’S YOU!
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
The quote today comes from Jeffrey Gitomer, who says “It ain’t the rain, the snow, the boss, the competition, the spouse, the money, the car, the job, or the kids – It’s YOU! And it always has been.”
Now to me that makes perfectly logical sense, but having said that, I often hear people complaining about whatever using the above excuses! Come on now, be honest – I am sure that you have too.
It’s all about taking responsibility and being accountable for your own actions (and thoughts too) and how many of us actually do that?
I was chatting to my friend Rachel Van Doorene of Woman Inc the other day and we were discussing morals and so on and she asked the question “how do you teach children what is right and what is wrong and responsibility?”
Well, that for me is an easy one – you see, I believe that we as individuals know somewhere deep inside of us, even as children whether what we are doing is right or wrong. How we act on that knowledge is of course a whole different discussion and one that we can perhaps have another time.
Think about it for a moment – when we are late for an appointment and speeding down the road, we know for sure, that what we are doing is wrong and that should we be caught, that there is a consequence. Yet how many times, when we have been caught and issued with the consequence, being a ticket – we say “Bloody traffic cops, have they got nothing better than to trap. . . . !” Well actually daarrlliinngg – it’s our own fault and we have no-one else to blame, but ourselves! Yet the last person that we seem to blame is ourselves! Bit of a cop out don’t you think!
I grew up on a huge farm in the then Rhodesia, my parents died when I was quite young, but I remember many of the lessons that my father taught me.
One of them was responsibility. We hunted ‘for the pot’ and fished ‘for the pot’. Animals were killed quickly and humanely and their carcasses were treated with dignity and respect. Let me explain. When I was about six years old, it was deemed that I was now old enough to go on the hunt with my father – a rare treat I might add. At that point I was already used to handling guns and was quite a good shot. I could also drive the ‘willies’ jeep (blocks were attached to the pedals and I sat on a wooden box on the seat) and the tractor (again wooden blocks) pulling a long trailer on which the tobacco and maize was transported to the barns. Anyway I digress.
Off we went at dusk, and I very excitedly followed my fathers lead – I was very clearly warned that whatever I killed, I would have to carry back to the jeep, I would be responsible for skinning, gutting and cleaning the animal and I would be responsible for cutting it up. You see, if I took the life of an animal, it was then my responsibility to care for the remains of that animal. I took this warning very seriously, and managed to ‘bag’ a duiker.
I clearly remember my father, placing the animal across my shoulders, as I had to carry it back to the jeep. As we trudged back carrying the various animals that had been ‘bagged’, the trail that the hooves of the duiker make in the earth, remains with me to this day.
I remember the pride that I felt as, when we got home, and I cleanly opened the stomach of the carcass, my father lifting out the still warm liver and rubbing it over my face as I was ‘bloodied’ after my first kill. We celebrated that night (as we did after every hunt) and gave thanks for the food that would grace our table and the animals whose lives we had taken in order for us to have that food to eat.
Yes, I did get to cut the carcass up, under the guidance of my father. We cut the portions and put them into the deep freeze and whenever we ate a portion, a great fuss was made about how it was my first kill, and how I had carried it myself and skinned and gutted it myself and how I had cut up the portions myself, and even how I had taken responsibility for the life that I had taken.
Taking responsibility is not always a pleasure – as it was in this case. Sometimes taking responsibility can be a very hard thing to swallow – like going to jail, or losing a loved one, but it is nevertheless the right thing to do, the honorable thing to do.
So the next time it is on the tip of your tongue to blame someone else for your action and/or inaction and/or thought – remember, it was your choice to start off with.
The blame, the responsibility, the accountability rests with you.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
The quote today comes from Jeffrey Gitomer, who says “It ain’t the rain, the snow, the boss, the competition, the spouse, the money, the car, the job, or the kids – It’s YOU! And it always has been.”
Now to me that makes perfectly logical sense, but having said that, I often hear people complaining about whatever using the above excuses! Come on now, be honest – I am sure that you have too.
It’s all about taking responsibility and being accountable for your own actions (and thoughts too) and how many of us actually do that?
I was chatting to my friend Rachel Van Doorene of Woman Inc the other day and we were discussing morals and so on and she asked the question “how do you teach children what is right and what is wrong and responsibility?”
Well, that for me is an easy one – you see, I believe that we as individuals know somewhere deep inside of us, even as children whether what we are doing is right or wrong. How we act on that knowledge is of course a whole different discussion and one that we can perhaps have another time.
Think about it for a moment – when we are late for an appointment and speeding down the road, we know for sure, that what we are doing is wrong and that should we be caught, that there is a consequence. Yet how many times, when we have been caught and issued with the consequence, being a ticket – we say “Bloody traffic cops, have they got nothing better than to trap. . . . !” Well actually daarrlliinngg – it’s our own fault and we have no-one else to blame, but ourselves! Yet the last person that we seem to blame is ourselves! Bit of a cop out don’t you think!
I grew up on a huge farm in the then Rhodesia, my parents died when I was quite young, but I remember many of the lessons that my father taught me.
One of them was responsibility. We hunted ‘for the pot’ and fished ‘for the pot’. Animals were killed quickly and humanely and their carcasses were treated with dignity and respect. Let me explain. When I was about six years old, it was deemed that I was now old enough to go on the hunt with my father – a rare treat I might add. At that point I was already used to handling guns and was quite a good shot. I could also drive the ‘willies’ jeep (blocks were attached to the pedals and I sat on a wooden box on the seat) and the tractor (again wooden blocks) pulling a long trailer on which the tobacco and maize was transported to the barns. Anyway I digress.
Off we went at dusk, and I very excitedly followed my fathers lead – I was very clearly warned that whatever I killed, I would have to carry back to the jeep, I would be responsible for skinning, gutting and cleaning the animal and I would be responsible for cutting it up. You see, if I took the life of an animal, it was then my responsibility to care for the remains of that animal. I took this warning very seriously, and managed to ‘bag’ a duiker.
I clearly remember my father, placing the animal across my shoulders, as I had to carry it back to the jeep. As we trudged back carrying the various animals that had been ‘bagged’, the trail that the hooves of the duiker make in the earth, remains with me to this day.
I remember the pride that I felt as, when we got home, and I cleanly opened the stomach of the carcass, my father lifting out the still warm liver and rubbing it over my face as I was ‘bloodied’ after my first kill. We celebrated that night (as we did after every hunt) and gave thanks for the food that would grace our table and the animals whose lives we had taken in order for us to have that food to eat.
Yes, I did get to cut the carcass up, under the guidance of my father. We cut the portions and put them into the deep freeze and whenever we ate a portion, a great fuss was made about how it was my first kill, and how I had carried it myself and skinned and gutted it myself and how I had cut up the portions myself, and even how I had taken responsibility for the life that I had taken.
Taking responsibility is not always a pleasure – as it was in this case. Sometimes taking responsibility can be a very hard thing to swallow – like going to jail, or losing a loved one, but it is nevertheless the right thing to do, the honorable thing to do.
So the next time it is on the tip of your tongue to blame someone else for your action and/or inaction and/or thought – remember, it was your choice to start off with.
The blame, the responsibility, the accountability rests with you.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Motivation - Keep Moving
MOTIVATION – Keep Moving
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – January 2010
William Golding in his “lessons In Life” piece says “Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever he is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any point between the beginning and the end of his journey, he stops moving and does not get off the bicycle he will fall off it. That is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing and I think of any society of living things.”
So what is it about the human race that we are all so incredibly unique and yet exactly the same? I guess if I knew the answer to that I would know the secrets of the Universe. What I do know though is that we all have to go through it all in the same way. There are no short cuts. We all start somewhere and we all end up somewhere else and in between those two points we have to move forward and grow as individuals. Sure there are times that we seem to go around in circles and sometimes we even travel backwards for a time, but essentially we are moving all the time.
Some of us move faster than others, some seem to whizz by with little effort, some seem to drag themselves about, some are relatively baggage free and some seem to be weighed down in the extreme, but what we do is move, searching, in every direction that we choose to take ourselves, for the meaning of life, for our life’s purpose, for whatever it is that we hunger for that always seems to be just out of reach.
The more we think we know, the less we actually know and the harder we look for it. I am constantly reminded of my own limitations when I celebrate something that I have just learnt only to discover that putting it into practice still needs to be accomplished. Just when I think I have it sorted the ‘lack of’ my knowledge pushes me ever onwards and upwards.
Sometimes I despair at the constant ‘striving’ to get there – it often reminds me of a journey I once took from Port Elizabeth to Durban. The road curved left and right at almost impossible angles and it felt like it was climbing ever upwards and as I was getting to the crest of one hill and I thought that it would not get any higher, I would reach the top only to discover that there was yet another hill, a little higher than the one that I had just climbed, ahead of me. Sure the view was nothing short of spectacular, but the terrain was hard, unyielding and unforgiving. I could not imagine how people lived there, yet everywhere typical little African huts dotted the country side. Children looked after herds of cattle and sheep and chickens and donkeys walked in the road. I remember feeling as though I was literally at the top of the world, yet at some point the road, still twisting and turning sloped ever downwards and with it the feeling of me returning to normalcy (whatever that may mean for me).
I also know that no matter if we are moving forward or round and round or backwards or up or down, that we move by the choices that we make or even don’t make. I know that we can control the speed with which we move and the direction that we move by the acceptance of the lessons that we learn. By embracing what we learn and by trusting ourselves and believing in ourselves and ‘what is’ we come to the realization of our dreams.
I know that in order for us to be the master of our own destiny we have to keep moving. I know that in order for us to attain and achieve our goals we have to keep moving. I know that the minute we stop moving we will literally cease to exist.
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
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – January 2010
William Golding in his “lessons In Life” piece says “Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever he is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any point between the beginning and the end of his journey, he stops moving and does not get off the bicycle he will fall off it. That is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing and I think of any society of living things.”
So what is it about the human race that we are all so incredibly unique and yet exactly the same? I guess if I knew the answer to that I would know the secrets of the Universe. What I do know though is that we all have to go through it all in the same way. There are no short cuts. We all start somewhere and we all end up somewhere else and in between those two points we have to move forward and grow as individuals. Sure there are times that we seem to go around in circles and sometimes we even travel backwards for a time, but essentially we are moving all the time.
Some of us move faster than others, some seem to whizz by with little effort, some seem to drag themselves about, some are relatively baggage free and some seem to be weighed down in the extreme, but what we do is move, searching, in every direction that we choose to take ourselves, for the meaning of life, for our life’s purpose, for whatever it is that we hunger for that always seems to be just out of reach.
The more we think we know, the less we actually know and the harder we look for it. I am constantly reminded of my own limitations when I celebrate something that I have just learnt only to discover that putting it into practice still needs to be accomplished. Just when I think I have it sorted the ‘lack of’ my knowledge pushes me ever onwards and upwards.
Sometimes I despair at the constant ‘striving’ to get there – it often reminds me of a journey I once took from Port Elizabeth to Durban. The road curved left and right at almost impossible angles and it felt like it was climbing ever upwards and as I was getting to the crest of one hill and I thought that it would not get any higher, I would reach the top only to discover that there was yet another hill, a little higher than the one that I had just climbed, ahead of me. Sure the view was nothing short of spectacular, but the terrain was hard, unyielding and unforgiving. I could not imagine how people lived there, yet everywhere typical little African huts dotted the country side. Children looked after herds of cattle and sheep and chickens and donkeys walked in the road. I remember feeling as though I was literally at the top of the world, yet at some point the road, still twisting and turning sloped ever downwards and with it the feeling of me returning to normalcy (whatever that may mean for me).
I also know that no matter if we are moving forward or round and round or backwards or up or down, that we move by the choices that we make or even don’t make. I know that we can control the speed with which we move and the direction that we move by the acceptance of the lessons that we learn. By embracing what we learn and by trusting ourselves and believing in ourselves and ‘what is’ we come to the realization of our dreams.
I know that in order for us to be the master of our own destiny we have to keep moving. I know that in order for us to attain and achieve our goals we have to keep moving. I know that the minute we stop moving we will literally cease to exist.
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
Friday, October 24, 2014
HR 101 - Desertion and the AWOL Employee – Part 3
ARTICLE 49
HR 101 - Desertion and the AWOL Employee – Part 3
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC January 2010
Over the last two weeks we have had a look at an example of desertion where the employee just did not ever come back to work and one where the employee did come back to work. This time let’s look at a different example.
So bring in the protagonists – Mike owns a chain of retail stores in various busy malls across the country. George is one of his managers. Let’s use the busy Christmas time type scene again. It’s a Thursday morning and Jane (the Assistant Store Manager) calls Mike to tell him that George has not arrived for work and there is a queue of clients (as well as the rest of the staff) waiting for the store to open.
Understandably, Mike is somewhat annoyed but he hurries off with the store spare keys to open up. Mike tries to contact George on all of the numbers that he has to no avail and then resigns himself to the fact that George won’t be in for the day. Mike’s procedures are well documented and he goes about doing a formal hand over to Jane, who grabs the opportunity willingly as she wants to prove herself and get ahead.
On Friday (day two) Jane advises Mike that once again George has not arrived at work and they try and contact him again, leaving messages all over.
Saturday (day three), Jane again advises that George has not arrived at work and again they try and contact him, leaving messages for him everywhere.
Sunday (day four), Jane makes the call again to advise Mike that George has not arrived for work.
Monday morning early George arrives together with a long story of how he was kidnapped. Mike, who was furious, now feels remorse about his anger and now starts feeling pity for his traumatised employee instead. A thought keeps popping into his head however because for someone who was kidnapped and physically restrained (as per George’s story) and held without food or water in a dark room, there is no visible signs of any trauma. Mike decides to ‘keep it tidy’ and asks George for the Police Case Number and hospital records where George was ‘checked out’ to ensure that he was okay, for the records.
Several days later after much nagging, George breaks down and admits that there is no case number as he did not report it to the police and he did not go to the hospital because well, there was no kidnapping. The actual event that took place was that George went out drinking with his friends on the Wednesday evening and they continued to drink through the night and then all of Thursday too. At some point it was decided in their alcoholic haze that they needed an excuse as to why none of them had gone to work and they came up with the kidnapping story. The alcoholic binge had continued through Friday and Saturday as well and George had slept through Saturday night and all day Sunday which is why he was able to return to work on Monday morning.
Furious again, Mike brought disciplinary charges against George for being AWOL (following the correct procedures of course) and George was found guilty. The days that he had been off were calculated as unpaid leave and the money was deducted from George’s salary. George’s elaborate story also had consequences. George was demoted and lost his title of Manager and Jane was promoted into his position.
That concludes the examples of the difference between ‘Desertion’ and being AWOL. Next week we will look at a new topic.
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 - Desertion and the AWOL Employee – Part 3
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC January 2010
Over the last two weeks we have had a look at an example of desertion where the employee just did not ever come back to work and one where the employee did come back to work. This time let’s look at a different example.
So bring in the protagonists – Mike owns a chain of retail stores in various busy malls across the country. George is one of his managers. Let’s use the busy Christmas time type scene again. It’s a Thursday morning and Jane (the Assistant Store Manager) calls Mike to tell him that George has not arrived for work and there is a queue of clients (as well as the rest of the staff) waiting for the store to open.
Understandably, Mike is somewhat annoyed but he hurries off with the store spare keys to open up. Mike tries to contact George on all of the numbers that he has to no avail and then resigns himself to the fact that George won’t be in for the day. Mike’s procedures are well documented and he goes about doing a formal hand over to Jane, who grabs the opportunity willingly as she wants to prove herself and get ahead.
On Friday (day two) Jane advises Mike that once again George has not arrived at work and they try and contact him again, leaving messages all over.
Saturday (day three), Jane again advises that George has not arrived at work and again they try and contact him, leaving messages for him everywhere.
Sunday (day four), Jane makes the call again to advise Mike that George has not arrived for work.
Monday morning early George arrives together with a long story of how he was kidnapped. Mike, who was furious, now feels remorse about his anger and now starts feeling pity for his traumatised employee instead. A thought keeps popping into his head however because for someone who was kidnapped and physically restrained (as per George’s story) and held without food or water in a dark room, there is no visible signs of any trauma. Mike decides to ‘keep it tidy’ and asks George for the Police Case Number and hospital records where George was ‘checked out’ to ensure that he was okay, for the records.
Several days later after much nagging, George breaks down and admits that there is no case number as he did not report it to the police and he did not go to the hospital because well, there was no kidnapping. The actual event that took place was that George went out drinking with his friends on the Wednesday evening and they continued to drink through the night and then all of Thursday too. At some point it was decided in their alcoholic haze that they needed an excuse as to why none of them had gone to work and they came up with the kidnapping story. The alcoholic binge had continued through Friday and Saturday as well and George had slept through Saturday night and all day Sunday which is why he was able to return to work on Monday morning.
Furious again, Mike brought disciplinary charges against George for being AWOL (following the correct procedures of course) and George was found guilty. The days that he had been off were calculated as unpaid leave and the money was deducted from George’s salary. George’s elaborate story also had consequences. George was demoted and lost his title of Manager and Jane was promoted into his position.
That concludes the examples of the difference between ‘Desertion’ and being AWOL. Next week we will look at a new topic.
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
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Desertion and the AWOL Employee – Part 2
ARTICLE 49
Desertion and the AWOL Employee – Part 2
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC January 2010
Last time we had a look at an example of desertion where the employee just did not ever come back to work. This time let’s look at a different example.
So bring in the protagonists – Mike owns a chain of retail stores in various busy malls across the country. George is one of his managers. Let’s use the busy Christmas time type scene again. It’s a Thursday afternoon and George is counting the hours until the weekend as he is taking his monthly weekend off and plans to go home to visit his mother who is in a small town about 200kms from where he lives. George’s mother is not very well and he is looking forward to spending some quality time with her.
The phone rings and it is George’s mother’s neighbour Annabel, who is calling to tell George that his mother has taken a turn for the worst and he must come home immediately. Mike happens to be in the store when the call comes in and he tells George to leave immediately and take the Friday off as well and that this extra day together with the weekend will give George sufficient time to sort something out for his mother and make whatever arrangements need to be made for her well being.
George gets to his mother and she insists that she wants to see the traditional healer from her home town which is more than 1000kms away. George takes her.
Herein lies the problem. You see Mike is expecting George to return to work on Monday and George does not return and also does not phone in to explain what he is doing. In fact George does not return to work for another two weeks and during this whole period he does not contact Mike or any other colleagues. After George not being at work for 5 days and in compliance with the Basic Conditions of employment Act and the Labour Relations Act, Mike follows the correct procedure. Mike tries to phone all the contact numbers that he has on record for George. Mike sends a telegram to George’s place of residence and even drives there to see if he can get hold of George. To all intents and purposes, George has disappeared.
Eventually Mike holds the disciplinary in abstentia, George is found guilty of desertion and he is dismissed.
When George eventually does return to work, he is informed that he has been dismissed and that there is another person employed in his position.
Now here is the question – under these circumstanced did George desert and abandon his employment or was it just a case of his being AWOL. The question that the CCMA has to look at also is whether the reason for George’s dismissal was a fair one.
Well the argument goes along the lines of, when George did not return on the Monday after his weekend off, surely Mike must have considered the possibility that George was not able to sort his mother out and that is why he had been delayed in returning.
Mike on the other hand, did also not have anyone to fill George’s position and it was also the busiest time of the retail year. George did not contact Mike during the entire period that he was away and he also did not respond to any messages that were left on his cell phone. George’s response to why he did not contact Mike was that he was concerned for his mother and did not think to phone as Mike knew that his mother was ill.
Now here’s the thing – in order to find an employee ‘guilty of desertion’ there must be a very strong indication that that employee has no intention of returning to work. Clearly this is not the case here and the result of this is that Mike lost his case.
Desertion is defined as “desertion is distinguishable from absence without leave in that the employee who deserts his or her post does so with the intention of not returning, or having left his or her post, subsequently formulates the intention not to return. On the other hand, the AWOL employee is absent with the intention of resuming his or her employment.”
Next week we will have a look at a typical case of being AWOL (Absent without leave.
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
Desertion and the AWOL Employee – Part 2
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC January 2010
Last time we had a look at an example of desertion where the employee just did not ever come back to work. This time let’s look at a different example.
So bring in the protagonists – Mike owns a chain of retail stores in various busy malls across the country. George is one of his managers. Let’s use the busy Christmas time type scene again. It’s a Thursday afternoon and George is counting the hours until the weekend as he is taking his monthly weekend off and plans to go home to visit his mother who is in a small town about 200kms from where he lives. George’s mother is not very well and he is looking forward to spending some quality time with her.
The phone rings and it is George’s mother’s neighbour Annabel, who is calling to tell George that his mother has taken a turn for the worst and he must come home immediately. Mike happens to be in the store when the call comes in and he tells George to leave immediately and take the Friday off as well and that this extra day together with the weekend will give George sufficient time to sort something out for his mother and make whatever arrangements need to be made for her well being.
George gets to his mother and she insists that she wants to see the traditional healer from her home town which is more than 1000kms away. George takes her.
Herein lies the problem. You see Mike is expecting George to return to work on Monday and George does not return and also does not phone in to explain what he is doing. In fact George does not return to work for another two weeks and during this whole period he does not contact Mike or any other colleagues. After George not being at work for 5 days and in compliance with the Basic Conditions of employment Act and the Labour Relations Act, Mike follows the correct procedure. Mike tries to phone all the contact numbers that he has on record for George. Mike sends a telegram to George’s place of residence and even drives there to see if he can get hold of George. To all intents and purposes, George has disappeared.
Eventually Mike holds the disciplinary in abstentia, George is found guilty of desertion and he is dismissed.
When George eventually does return to work, he is informed that he has been dismissed and that there is another person employed in his position.
Now here is the question – under these circumstanced did George desert and abandon his employment or was it just a case of his being AWOL. The question that the CCMA has to look at also is whether the reason for George’s dismissal was a fair one.
Well the argument goes along the lines of, when George did not return on the Monday after his weekend off, surely Mike must have considered the possibility that George was not able to sort his mother out and that is why he had been delayed in returning.
Mike on the other hand, did also not have anyone to fill George’s position and it was also the busiest time of the retail year. George did not contact Mike during the entire period that he was away and he also did not respond to any messages that were left on his cell phone. George’s response to why he did not contact Mike was that he was concerned for his mother and did not think to phone as Mike knew that his mother was ill.
Now here’s the thing – in order to find an employee ‘guilty of desertion’ there must be a very strong indication that that employee has no intention of returning to work. Clearly this is not the case here and the result of this is that Mike lost his case.
Desertion is defined as “desertion is distinguishable from absence without leave in that the employee who deserts his or her post does so with the intention of not returning, or having left his or her post, subsequently formulates the intention not to return. On the other hand, the AWOL employee is absent with the intention of resuming his or her employment.”
Next week we will have a look at a typical case of being AWOL (Absent without leave.
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
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Networking 101 - The Process & Practice of Networking
THE POWER OF NETWORKING
PART 66
The Process and Practice of Networking
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
I left you last week saying that “Networking in its purest form and if done properly is so much more.” Let’s take it from there.
Networking, for me is not only a practice (you know the story about practice makes perfect), it is also about the process. Yes it does take practice and the more you practice the better you will become at it and the reason that you will become better at it is because you will have defined your process and what works best for you.
What will work for everyone however is if you understand that networking is something that must be done all the time – it takes continuous effort and if you don’t regard it as an essential marketing tool you will be selling yourself very short. Networking done in this way means new business at very little or no cost what-so-ever.
We all see thousands upon thousands of adverts every week. Adverts on bill boards, in neon lights, on TV in the magazines and newspapers – hell you can’t even wait for the robot to change these days without someone shoving something in your face! Yet in all honesty, how many of these actually have any influence on our lives – personal or business for that matter? I know that I use the ad breaks on the telly to switch the kettle on or pour myself another drink!
So why on earth would I want to spend my hard earned cash on advertising? Well my answer of course, is I wouldn’t. Actually, I don’t advertise anywhere. I network! All of my business comes out of Networking!
Referrals from my clients and the people who I network with, have far more impact on prospective clients, than any kind of flyer or flashing neon lights or even a page in the newspaper.
What do you think would work best for you? Let’s have a look at networking and your competition next week.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
PART 66
The Process and Practice of Networking
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
I left you last week saying that “Networking in its purest form and if done properly is so much more.” Let’s take it from there.
Networking, for me is not only a practice (you know the story about practice makes perfect), it is also about the process. Yes it does take practice and the more you practice the better you will become at it and the reason that you will become better at it is because you will have defined your process and what works best for you.
What will work for everyone however is if you understand that networking is something that must be done all the time – it takes continuous effort and if you don’t regard it as an essential marketing tool you will be selling yourself very short. Networking done in this way means new business at very little or no cost what-so-ever.
We all see thousands upon thousands of adverts every week. Adverts on bill boards, in neon lights, on TV in the magazines and newspapers – hell you can’t even wait for the robot to change these days without someone shoving something in your face! Yet in all honesty, how many of these actually have any influence on our lives – personal or business for that matter? I know that I use the ad breaks on the telly to switch the kettle on or pour myself another drink!
So why on earth would I want to spend my hard earned cash on advertising? Well my answer of course, is I wouldn’t. Actually, I don’t advertise anywhere. I network! All of my business comes out of Networking!
Referrals from my clients and the people who I network with, have far more impact on prospective clients, than any kind of flyer or flashing neon lights or even a page in the newspaper.
What do you think would work best for you? Let’s have a look at networking and your competition next week.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Business Tips - Entrepreneurs in South Africa
BUSINESS TIPS – Entrepreneurs in South Africa
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC September 2010
Oh boy – am I going to make myself hugely unpopular with this one! Still sometimes a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do!
I, for one and sick and tired of the lament that many SMME’s have at the moment.
I am constantly told how ‘difficult’ it is because there are no opportunities and there is no funding. What a load of nonsense! There are huge opportunities out there – all you have to do is open your eyes and look! The majority of SMME’s walk around with blinkers on and wouldn’t see an opportunity if it bit them on the bum! There is also this whole sense of entitlement – what the hell is with that? Stop sitting around on your arse, waiting for things to happen, be done and dusted and fall into your lap. You have to work at getting things done, for things to come about!
Sadly too many SMME’s are so fixated on that idea of what they want to do that they fail to recognize the fact that it is about the ‘customer’s need’ rather than ‘their wants’. Even more sad is that this is something that they have probably learnt from one of their Corporate connections.
Then of course there is the whole issue around funding. Firstly, what makes you think that it is your God given right to demand funding from anyone – and not only just funding, but funding on your terms?
Let’s just put this into perspective shall we – if a person arrived at your front door, someone you have never met before and that you don’t know from Adam (presuming of course that he were able to get passed all the security and actually get to the front door), and this person asked you for a loan – what would you say? What would your reaction be? I know what mine would be and I am sure that yours would be no different.
The lending institutions have a right to lend you money (or not) and if they choose to lend you the money, they have the right to ask you whatever questions that they want to and they have the right to ask you to produce whatever documentation that they want to – of course, you also have rights too – if you object to being asked the questions or you have a problem with supplying them with the documentation and/or information that they want, you can always go somewhere else. No-one is forcing you to go, cap in hand, begging for money – you do that all by yourself. Be warned though, if you do go somewhere else, chances are that the ‘somewhere else’ will require the same time of information. So if you want the loan – suck it up!
Why do you think that it is like this? Do you think that the lending institutions want to make it as difficult as possible because they have nothing better to do? Personally, I think it is because they have been burnt before, over and over again. Think about it from your personal perspective – if you had lent a whole chunk of money to someone and they didn’t pay it back – how willing would you be to lend to someone else the next time? Or, how willing would you be to lend money to someone who has a track record of not paying it back? Or, what about when you got to the 10th or 100th person who you lent money to and only one was paying back – how would you feel then?
Remember the risk is all theirs. You go under or fall flat on your face or take the money for a fancy holiday in the Alps, instead of using it to build your business – they have lost their money. Sure they can go the legal route and usually that is exactly what they do, but that still means that they are without their funds for the duration and we all know that these things take forever and also cost an arm and a leg.
My suggestion to you, to avoid as much irritation, aggravation and frustration as possible, is to ask the institution to give you a list of all of their requirements. Whatever documents they give you to complete, complete them in full. Chances are, if you don’t give them all the information that they ask for, your application will be rejected and/or sent back to you for completion. Remember they hold all the cards in their hands and they can prolong your agony for as long as they like, so don’t give them added cause. If you are not sure of what something means – because some of the questions can be very ambiguous and can appear to be complicated, then ask someone. Be sure to get the person’s name and contact details and where possible, get them to confirm what they said in an e-mail – or you send an e-mail confirming what they said. Whatever you do don’t guess or assume or supply them with information that is not correct or true. They do check what you have supplied and if you are caught out in a lie, chances are they you will never get your loan, no matter how many hoops you then jump through.
Oh, and while I am on my soap box – the Government has offered to help and help doesn’t mean that they will pay 100% for what you want to do. Help means exactly that – they will assist you, not do everything for you. Expecting them to supply you with 100% of the money that you require to buy a franchise or a business is just unrealistic – you also have to contribute something. So don’t expect to have your own business that someone else has bought and paid for and you just sit back and rake in all the cash. Having your own business takes hard work, determination and many – and I mean many, sacrifices!
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 - Encouragement
BUSINESS TIPS – Encouragement
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC November 2009
Dr Renate Volpe, in her Political Intelligence nuggets says “Game 8: The Poker player. Encourages another person to share information, without revealing their own position.”
Oh I know these ones – they are the people who usually throw one or two words out and on very rare occasions an entire sentence may go into the pot and then they sit back and wait and watch and listen to everything that everyone else has to say. As the conversation wanes or stops altogether they will throw the next lot of words or sentence into the mix again.
Usually, they sit back with a huge self satisfied grin across their faces as they take in all the information that comes out of the conversation, whilst putting very little back in.
From this information they use whatever they need to for their own purposes, never, ever giving anything back.
From my own personal point of view they are like vampires, constantly sucking the life blood out of you. Always looking for new information, always on the periphery of any conversation, but never actually part of it.
In my opinion an exchange of ideas/information, is exactly that . . . exchanging or brainstorming and I always try and make myself aware of individuals who hang about just to listen in and not contribute in any way.
Should you require any additional information on Renate and what she does, please visit her website on http://www.drrenatavolpe.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
Monday, October 20, 2014
Motivation - What can be, must be
MOTIVATION – What Can Be – Must Be
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – December 2011
Today’s words come from Abraham Maslow who says “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is ultimately to be at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be!”
Sounds about right don’t you think? Yet for many it is one of the most challenging things that they ever attempt to do!
I think I can safely say that everyone has a life’s purpose – it’s ultimately the reason that we humans visit this planet called earth. Yet for so many, a purpose in life is the last thing that they think about or even contemplate and how very sad is that.
For many, merely putting one foot in front of the other in order to ensure that they have food for their children is about as much as they can allow themselves to think about. They are so focused on that, that any thought other than that, intrudes and is instantly banished. Any thought would be considered as an imposition, an evil or a bad thing as it detracts them from their sole purpose which is to put that food on the table.
Many of these souls are damaged in mind and/or in body – broken by the weight of their world. Damaged by what they consider their ‘lot in life’, imprisoned by their own minds and fears and how incredibly sad is that.
Here’s the thing though – it is my belief that we all have some sort of potential that we have to fulfill. We all have something inside of ourselves that drives us, something that makes us cling tenaciously to life itself and until we firstly discover what that “thing” is, what that potential is and secondly until we fulfill that potential we are doomed to wonder around as though we are lost.
I know that on a personal level, if I don’t write something every day it is as though I have forgotten to do something – something is missing or not completed.
If that is how I feel and I believe that I know what my life’s purpose is, I cannot even begin to understand or comprehend what people who are merely existing through life must feel.
Life is designed to be lived to the full, to be enjoyed and savored and to have fun. So dig down deep, find your passion and your life’s purpose and start living by being all that you can be and fulfill that potential that is so uniquely yours!
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
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – December 2011
Today’s words come from Abraham Maslow who says “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is ultimately to be at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be!”
Sounds about right don’t you think? Yet for many it is one of the most challenging things that they ever attempt to do!
I think I can safely say that everyone has a life’s purpose – it’s ultimately the reason that we humans visit this planet called earth. Yet for so many, a purpose in life is the last thing that they think about or even contemplate and how very sad is that.
For many, merely putting one foot in front of the other in order to ensure that they have food for their children is about as much as they can allow themselves to think about. They are so focused on that, that any thought other than that, intrudes and is instantly banished. Any thought would be considered as an imposition, an evil or a bad thing as it detracts them from their sole purpose which is to put that food on the table.
Many of these souls are damaged in mind and/or in body – broken by the weight of their world. Damaged by what they consider their ‘lot in life’, imprisoned by their own minds and fears and how incredibly sad is that.
Here’s the thing though – it is my belief that we all have some sort of potential that we have to fulfill. We all have something inside of ourselves that drives us, something that makes us cling tenaciously to life itself and until we firstly discover what that “thing” is, what that potential is and secondly until we fulfill that potential we are doomed to wonder around as though we are lost.
I know that on a personal level, if I don’t write something every day it is as though I have forgotten to do something – something is missing or not completed.
If that is how I feel and I believe that I know what my life’s purpose is, I cannot even begin to understand or comprehend what people who are merely existing through life must feel.
Life is designed to be lived to the full, to be enjoyed and savored and to have fun. So dig down deep, find your passion and your life’s purpose and start living by being all that you can be and fulfill that potential that is so uniquely yours!
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
Friday, October 17, 2014
HR 101 - Desertion and the AWOL Employee - Part 1
ARTICLE 49
Desertion and the AWOL Employee – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC December 2009
It would appear that there is much confusion around this topic and also what the difference between the two is.
Let’s take it one step at a time.
AWOL (Absent Without Leave) is exactly that. It usually pertains to the employee who does not come to work and then does not phone in to advise why they are not at work. They could be away for one day or they could be away for several days, but they usually come back to work with some or other long story as to why they were not at work and why they could not phone in. Your leave policy should have a procedure to deal with this and the consequences for the ‘missing’ employee.
Desertion is when an employee just walks off the job or does not come into work at all and who has in all probability gotten themselves another form of employment and therefore has no intention of coming back, but just ‘forgot’ to tell anyone.
Both of these carry consequences and these consequences can lead to their dismissal.
So let’s bring in my favourite protagonists. Mike owns a retail store in a busy mall and George is the store manager. Sarah is a sales consultant in Mike’s retail store and she reports to George. Jane is the head of the HR department.
One Monday morning during the December rush, at about 09h30, Mike received a call from Sarah advising that George had not arrived for work and that all the staff were standing outside the door, together with clients, as they were unable to enter the premises. Sarah further stated that she had tried to contact George and that his cell phone went directly to voice mail.
Understandably annoyed, Mike instructed Sarah to wait at the store with the rest of the staff as he was on his way. Mike contacted Jane and instructed her to try and get hold of George and briefly explained the situation. Mike requested and received the spare keys to the store and made his way to the store.
Mike got the store started and then appointed Sarah as acting Manager until such time as they could ascertain what had happened to George.
Jane in the meantime had also tried to contact on his cell phone but the phone went directly to voice mail. Jane then tried to contact George on his home number, this also went to voice mail. Jane then tried to contact George’s wife and that phone also went directly to voice mail. Messages were now left on all three phones.
Nothing was heard from either George or his wife during the course of the day and Sarah managed the store and closed up in compliance with laid down procedures, in George’s absence.
That evening, Mike again attempted to contact George and his wife, to no avail. Mike left messages on all the phones again.
The following day, Mike instructed Jane to try and contact Mike and his wife again. Again Jane could not get through and again messages were left on all of the phones. Jane noted all of this in George’s personnel file. Nothing was heard from George or his wife during the course of the second day that he was absent from work.
On the third day, Jane again tried to contact George and/or his wife, again without any success. Again nothing was heard from George or his wife.
By the fifth day, having still not heard from either George or his wife, Mike made the decision to follow the correct procedures in sending a registered letter and a telegram to George’s home address instructing him to return to work. Again no response was forthcoming and a disciplinary was held in abstentia and George was found guilty of desertion and dismissed.
In this particular instance George never returned to work and Mike never found out why he left. It was rumoured from time to time, but the staff that George had been seen working somewhere else, so it was clear to Mike that George felt that he could not face Mike and hand in his resignation and he had just decided to leave. The matter was closed.
Next week we will look at some additional examples of desertion and/or AWOL.
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
Desertion and the AWOL Employee – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC December 2009
It would appear that there is much confusion around this topic and also what the difference between the two is.
Let’s take it one step at a time.
AWOL (Absent Without Leave) is exactly that. It usually pertains to the employee who does not come to work and then does not phone in to advise why they are not at work. They could be away for one day or they could be away for several days, but they usually come back to work with some or other long story as to why they were not at work and why they could not phone in. Your leave policy should have a procedure to deal with this and the consequences for the ‘missing’ employee.
Desertion is when an employee just walks off the job or does not come into work at all and who has in all probability gotten themselves another form of employment and therefore has no intention of coming back, but just ‘forgot’ to tell anyone.
Both of these carry consequences and these consequences can lead to their dismissal.
So let’s bring in my favourite protagonists. Mike owns a retail store in a busy mall and George is the store manager. Sarah is a sales consultant in Mike’s retail store and she reports to George. Jane is the head of the HR department.
One Monday morning during the December rush, at about 09h30, Mike received a call from Sarah advising that George had not arrived for work and that all the staff were standing outside the door, together with clients, as they were unable to enter the premises. Sarah further stated that she had tried to contact George and that his cell phone went directly to voice mail.
Understandably annoyed, Mike instructed Sarah to wait at the store with the rest of the staff as he was on his way. Mike contacted Jane and instructed her to try and get hold of George and briefly explained the situation. Mike requested and received the spare keys to the store and made his way to the store.
Mike got the store started and then appointed Sarah as acting Manager until such time as they could ascertain what had happened to George.
Jane in the meantime had also tried to contact on his cell phone but the phone went directly to voice mail. Jane then tried to contact George on his home number, this also went to voice mail. Jane then tried to contact George’s wife and that phone also went directly to voice mail. Messages were now left on all three phones.
Nothing was heard from either George or his wife during the course of the day and Sarah managed the store and closed up in compliance with laid down procedures, in George’s absence.
That evening, Mike again attempted to contact George and his wife, to no avail. Mike left messages on all the phones again.
The following day, Mike instructed Jane to try and contact Mike and his wife again. Again Jane could not get through and again messages were left on all of the phones. Jane noted all of this in George’s personnel file. Nothing was heard from George or his wife during the course of the second day that he was absent from work.
On the third day, Jane again tried to contact George and/or his wife, again without any success. Again nothing was heard from George or his wife.
By the fifth day, having still not heard from either George or his wife, Mike made the decision to follow the correct procedures in sending a registered letter and a telegram to George’s home address instructing him to return to work. Again no response was forthcoming and a disciplinary was held in abstentia and George was found guilty of desertion and dismissed.
In this particular instance George never returned to work and Mike never found out why he left. It was rumoured from time to time, but the staff that George had been seen working somewhere else, so it was clear to Mike that George felt that he could not face Mike and hand in his resignation and he had just decided to leave. The matter was closed.
Next week we will look at some additional examples of desertion and/or AWOL.
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
Thursday, October 16, 2014
HR 101 - To smoke or not to smoke
ARTICLE 48
To Smoke or Not to Smoke
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC December 2009
This is one article that really is going to upset a lot of people and yet also make a lot of people very happy. This is definitely one for the employer!
As an ex smoker myself, I am constantly aware of all the smoke, the cigarette smoke, the cigar smoke and even the pipe smoke that is constantly around me, invading my space. I am aware of the damage that I have done to myself and the damage that smokers are doing to themselves (and us ‘passive’ smokers too) on a daily basis.
As a business owner, I am also aware of the fact that I have to protect my staff from smokers in terms of the Tobacco Products Control Act. As you are all aware I am sure, there is “No Smoking” allowed in public places – restaurants and pubs have to have designated smoking areas and smoking is not allowed in malls and indeed in most office buildings.
Here’s the thing though, no where in the law does it state that as an employer, I have to pander to the smoking requirements of my smoking staff! I don’t have to give my employees ‘smoke breaks’, in fact I can actually make them work the time in that they take as ‘smoke breaks’ without having to pay them any kind of overtime at all or alternatively, I can tally up all the time that the smoker used on ‘smoke breaks’ and deduct it from their wages at the end of the week and/or from their salaries at the end of the month! How cool is that?
I can ban smoking from the building altogether and I can choose exactly which area can be used for smoking purposes and there is no where that it is written that I have to provide shelter from the elements either. So if I choose to designate the car park as the smoking area and it is bucketing with rain – well quite frankly, sorry for you!
Think about it for a moment, as an employer I don’t have to provide my alcoholic employee with a ‘drinks break’ so why would I feel the need to supply my smoker with a ‘smoke break’ particularly if I am as anti smoking as most other ‘ex smokers’? Both are addictions? Both take time out of the workplace which impacts on the bottom line and both have serious health implications.
Now surely that is an incentive for smokers to quit, whilst they are still ahead!
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
To Smoke or Not to Smoke
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC December 2009
This is one article that really is going to upset a lot of people and yet also make a lot of people very happy. This is definitely one for the employer!
As an ex smoker myself, I am constantly aware of all the smoke, the cigarette smoke, the cigar smoke and even the pipe smoke that is constantly around me, invading my space. I am aware of the damage that I have done to myself and the damage that smokers are doing to themselves (and us ‘passive’ smokers too) on a daily basis.
As a business owner, I am also aware of the fact that I have to protect my staff from smokers in terms of the Tobacco Products Control Act. As you are all aware I am sure, there is “No Smoking” allowed in public places – restaurants and pubs have to have designated smoking areas and smoking is not allowed in malls and indeed in most office buildings.
Here’s the thing though, no where in the law does it state that as an employer, I have to pander to the smoking requirements of my smoking staff! I don’t have to give my employees ‘smoke breaks’, in fact I can actually make them work the time in that they take as ‘smoke breaks’ without having to pay them any kind of overtime at all or alternatively, I can tally up all the time that the smoker used on ‘smoke breaks’ and deduct it from their wages at the end of the week and/or from their salaries at the end of the month! How cool is that?
I can ban smoking from the building altogether and I can choose exactly which area can be used for smoking purposes and there is no where that it is written that I have to provide shelter from the elements either. So if I choose to designate the car park as the smoking area and it is bucketing with rain – well quite frankly, sorry for you!
Think about it for a moment, as an employer I don’t have to provide my alcoholic employee with a ‘drinks break’ so why would I feel the need to supply my smoker with a ‘smoke break’ particularly if I am as anti smoking as most other ‘ex smokers’? Both are addictions? Both take time out of the workplace which impacts on the bottom line and both have serious health implications.
Now surely that is an incentive for smokers to quit, whilst they are still ahead!
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
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Networking 101 - Building sustainable relationships
THE POWER OF NETWORKING
PART 65
Building Sustainable Relationships
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
This is what I left you with at the end of the Networking tip last week and it is something that I want to re-iterate again!
“Networking is about building relationships. Relationships that are mutually beneficial, that are sustained and worked at. Relationships that will, over time give you returns on your investment (which is the time that you have spent working on those relationships).
Attending a few networking meetings and handing your card out to a few dozen people is not going to do it. You have to meet up with those people, have a discussion, get to know them and what it is that they do – start a business relationship and then work at maintaining that relationship.
Networking for me is a foot in the door – it’s a fast way to meet people, especially like minded people who are as passionate about their business as I am about mine.”
So if attending a few networking meetings and handing your card out to a few dozen people is not going to do it – what will? As a natural networker, for me this is quite simple – I Network where-ever I am.
You see, you are never going to know where your next big deal is going to come from. It might be someone that you have met at a networking meeting, it might be someone that you have met through your social network and more importantly, it might be someone that you have never laid eyes on before, but who has been referred by someone that you have met while watching your son’s soccer match that you very nearly missed because you were ‘too busy’!
Networking is something that must become second nature to you. It must be something that you do without thinking. It must be an automatic response. It must be something that has access to every conceivable part of your life.
Many people who realise the importance of networking, and who actually ‘get it’ come adrift on this point. They see networking as something that only needs to be done at networking meetings, or in a business environment. To them networking is something that they do when they attend a local business event – where they hand out their 30+ business cards and then leave the function thinking that they have done the job well. They could not be more wrong if they tried!
Networking in its purest form and if done properly is so much more – stick around for next weeks tip to find out more.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
PART 65
Building Sustainable Relationships
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
This is what I left you with at the end of the Networking tip last week and it is something that I want to re-iterate again!
“Networking is about building relationships. Relationships that are mutually beneficial, that are sustained and worked at. Relationships that will, over time give you returns on your investment (which is the time that you have spent working on those relationships).
Attending a few networking meetings and handing your card out to a few dozen people is not going to do it. You have to meet up with those people, have a discussion, get to know them and what it is that they do – start a business relationship and then work at maintaining that relationship.
Networking for me is a foot in the door – it’s a fast way to meet people, especially like minded people who are as passionate about their business as I am about mine.”
So if attending a few networking meetings and handing your card out to a few dozen people is not going to do it – what will? As a natural networker, for me this is quite simple – I Network where-ever I am.
You see, you are never going to know where your next big deal is going to come from. It might be someone that you have met at a networking meeting, it might be someone that you have met through your social network and more importantly, it might be someone that you have never laid eyes on before, but who has been referred by someone that you have met while watching your son’s soccer match that you very nearly missed because you were ‘too busy’!
Networking is something that must become second nature to you. It must be something that you do without thinking. It must be an automatic response. It must be something that has access to every conceivable part of your life.
Many people who realise the importance of networking, and who actually ‘get it’ come adrift on this point. They see networking as something that only needs to be done at networking meetings, or in a business environment. To them networking is something that they do when they attend a local business event – where they hand out their 30+ business cards and then leave the function thinking that they have done the job well. They could not be more wrong if they tried!
Networking in its purest form and if done properly is so much more – stick around for next weeks tip to find out more.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Business Tips - Disclosure Documents
BUSINESS TIPS – Disclosure Documents
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC February 2010
Last week we looked at the ‘how to’ of researching, for the purpose of purchasing, a Franchise and one of the suggested requirements was getting a disclosure document and ensuring that this is updated on an annual basis.
Starting at the beginning – what is a disclosure documents? As its name suggests it is a document that discloses certain information about the company – in this case the company that you are wanting to purchase a franchise from. The Code of Ethics and Business Practices of the Franchise Association of Southern Africa (FASA) lays down the minimum amount of information that a Disclose document should provide. This is (but not limited to):
• Full and traceable information about the franchisor company, including contact details and details of professional affiliations. This information can be checked on the internet, with the FASA, with their auditors (whose information should also be included with the finances). In fact if you want go and visit them at their head offices and ask for a copy of their published financials – most medium to large companies will have this information at reception.
• Details of qualifications and business experience of the franchisor and their officers in the type of business being offered as a franchise. Don’t forget to have a look at their BBBEE requirements and collaborations – the last thing that you need is that their BBBEE alliances are purely ‘window dressing’ as this could have serious implications down the road.
• Details of criminal or civil action against the franchisor or his officers, either taken during the past three years or pending. Be sure to look at the things that matter. If the CEO has several traffic fines and/or offences pending that’s one thing, and in my opinion not really of a serious nature. That said however, if he has any hint of white/blue collar crime or anything to do with fraud or money laundering – that’s serious stuff.
• Full details of the franchise offer and the underlying business. This should include things like the royalties, cost of the actual business, cost of the fixtures & fittings (if they are in a retail or food chain type environment), cost of stock etc.
• Full details of the obligations of the franchisor vis-Ã -vis the franchisee. This should encompass all the expectations that the franchisor has in terms of what has to be met. Things like the franchisee needs to be VAT registered (even if they do not meet the minimum VAT requirements at this time). Minimum turnovers, keeping the branding uniform, procedures with placing and receiving of orders and so on.
• Full details of the obligations of the franchisee vis-a vis the franchisor. This should include things like policies and procedures, product training, supplying of stock, head office support and back up and so on.
• An explanation of the most important clauses of the franchise agreement, including restrictions placed on the franchisee. This would include issues that were ‘out of the norm’ in terms of a franchise agreement and the restrictions would include things like stock only being purchased from the franchisor and so on.
• Financial projections for at least two years and an explanation of the basis on which these projections were calculated. Remember though, that if this is a new Franchise the financial projections would be based on expectations of the market place as opposed to what the market place has delivered previously. It would also be quite a good idea to get these actual figures of what some of the other franchisees are actually achieving currently. That will give you a more realistic idea of what is happening.
• Full details of all payments, initial and ongoing, the franchisee will be expected to make, and what they can expect to receive in return for these payments. This should include all the start up costs as well as ‘start up costs’ for new products or new line items or new products.
• A list of existing franchisees and their contact details. Don’t be afraid to contact some of these people to hear what they have to say about the franchisor and the manner in which their business is run.
• An auditor’s certificate certifying that the franchisor’s business is a going concern and able to meet its obligations as they fall due. Be sure to ensure that the auditor is registered to the SA Institute of Accountants (or a similar body), their registration or membership number should appear on their paperwork.
• A statement by the franchisor to the effect that to their best knowledge and belief, the financial situation of the franchise company has not deteriorated since the day the auditor’s certificate was purchased. This statement should be signed by one of the directors of the company – certainly by someone who is an authorized signatory of the company.
These points are the minimum of what should be in the disclosure document. That said, there is nothing to stop you for requesting additional information, in writing, if you feel the need to.
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
Monday, October 13, 2014
MOTIVATION - Just take the first step
MOTIVATION – Just Take the First Step
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – October 2011
Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr said “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
Ironically, I had to give a speech the other day around the theme of liberty and chose the topic “Freedom from Fear”.
You see, as children we are fearless – well certainly we were when I was a child, growing up. I remember hearing the scary stories around the table or the campfire – you know the ones I am talking about. The ones that make you giggle and squirm deliciously whilst you try and show the grown ups (or grups as I called them then), just how brave you were.
To be honest, I never really heard the ‘traditional’ Grim’s Fairy tales because I preferred to sit at the cook’s fire at the staff quarters on the farm, and there I heard the traditional African stories - stories of a different kind. I heard tales of the tokalosh and skelms that hunted stealthly at night on unsuspecting prey. I heard tales of witchdoctors who were shape shifters and magic muti spells or ‘juju’ and I along with the other children would squeal with delight as we listened intently to this strange and mystifying folklore. The tales and stories being handed down from generation to generation. We would giggle behind our hands and try and make ourselves as tiny and as little as possible so as to be a very small target for the magic that was sure to come out of the darkness and we shivered in delicious anticipation and our toes curled in terror and we peered into the night to see if we would be the first to see which shape the witchdoctor had become.
Were we terrified – oh absolutely! But we were also fearless and brave! Our ancestors demanded it and we were willing to face the test and be recognized.
Slowly but surely as time passed, our fearlessness, our confidence in ourselves and our abilities, have been stripped away from us. Slowly but surely, the fear that most adults carry with them as part of their baggage, was shared with or indoctrinated into us. You know the ones . . . . the ‘don’t climb up there, you’ll fall” or “Don’t do that you’ll get hurt!”
And you know what? They were absolutely right . . . we did get hurt!
We lost our fearlessness and we replaced it with fear. We lost our self confidence and we replaced it with insecurities. We lost our trust - trust in ourselves and who we are – and we replaced it with self doubt – how terribly sad is that!
For many of us, this meant the end of our risk taking days. We could no longer be Captain Kirk going beyond time to exotic galaxy’s. We could no longer be Captain Hook sailing off to unmapped lands to face untold dangers. We could no longer be Zorro or Tonto or General Custer or Huckleberry Finn or even Tom Sawyer, going on wild and carefree and fearless adventures . . . and how incredibly sad is that?
As Entrepreneurs however we have once again become fearless. We have taken that first step into the unknown and unchartered territories. We have faced uncaring bank managers and unsupportive spouses and nagging children and hungry pets – oh yes! My cat bites me when I have been out of the house too long!
We have struggled to make sense of the numbers and battled with business plans or marketing or branding or the logistics and HR and hell . . . even government red tape and legislation, much of which many of us had never even heard of, much less had to contend with. We have faced our most ardent critics and judges – ourselves – and we have prevailed. We have once again found our fearless selves – even if it is only for a few moments at a time.
Fortunately for me, I never entirely lost the ‘wild child’ that I was and many of my friends will attest to that. I can often be fearless, but I long for the days when it was the natural order of things – when my toes curled in terror and I shivered in delicious anticipation of seeing the frightening apparition taking the form of the witchdoctor as he appeared out of the swirling mists and the darkness.
And so I challenge you to let go of the fear and to find your own freedom from that fear.
Take that step, irrespective of how scared and frightened you are – take that first step, you’ll find the next one will be so much easier.
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
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – October 2011
Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr said “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
Ironically, I had to give a speech the other day around the theme of liberty and chose the topic “Freedom from Fear”.
You see, as children we are fearless – well certainly we were when I was a child, growing up. I remember hearing the scary stories around the table or the campfire – you know the ones I am talking about. The ones that make you giggle and squirm deliciously whilst you try and show the grown ups (or grups as I called them then), just how brave you were.
To be honest, I never really heard the ‘traditional’ Grim’s Fairy tales because I preferred to sit at the cook’s fire at the staff quarters on the farm, and there I heard the traditional African stories - stories of a different kind. I heard tales of the tokalosh and skelms that hunted stealthly at night on unsuspecting prey. I heard tales of witchdoctors who were shape shifters and magic muti spells or ‘juju’ and I along with the other children would squeal with delight as we listened intently to this strange and mystifying folklore. The tales and stories being handed down from generation to generation. We would giggle behind our hands and try and make ourselves as tiny and as little as possible so as to be a very small target for the magic that was sure to come out of the darkness and we shivered in delicious anticipation and our toes curled in terror and we peered into the night to see if we would be the first to see which shape the witchdoctor had become.
Were we terrified – oh absolutely! But we were also fearless and brave! Our ancestors demanded it and we were willing to face the test and be recognized.
Slowly but surely as time passed, our fearlessness, our confidence in ourselves and our abilities, have been stripped away from us. Slowly but surely, the fear that most adults carry with them as part of their baggage, was shared with or indoctrinated into us. You know the ones . . . . the ‘don’t climb up there, you’ll fall” or “Don’t do that you’ll get hurt!”
And you know what? They were absolutely right . . . we did get hurt!
We lost our fearlessness and we replaced it with fear. We lost our self confidence and we replaced it with insecurities. We lost our trust - trust in ourselves and who we are – and we replaced it with self doubt – how terribly sad is that!
For many of us, this meant the end of our risk taking days. We could no longer be Captain Kirk going beyond time to exotic galaxy’s. We could no longer be Captain Hook sailing off to unmapped lands to face untold dangers. We could no longer be Zorro or Tonto or General Custer or Huckleberry Finn or even Tom Sawyer, going on wild and carefree and fearless adventures . . . and how incredibly sad is that?
As Entrepreneurs however we have once again become fearless. We have taken that first step into the unknown and unchartered territories. We have faced uncaring bank managers and unsupportive spouses and nagging children and hungry pets – oh yes! My cat bites me when I have been out of the house too long!
We have struggled to make sense of the numbers and battled with business plans or marketing or branding or the logistics and HR and hell . . . even government red tape and legislation, much of which many of us had never even heard of, much less had to contend with. We have faced our most ardent critics and judges – ourselves – and we have prevailed. We have once again found our fearless selves – even if it is only for a few moments at a time.
Fortunately for me, I never entirely lost the ‘wild child’ that I was and many of my friends will attest to that. I can often be fearless, but I long for the days when it was the natural order of things – when my toes curled in terror and I shivered in delicious anticipation of seeing the frightening apparition taking the form of the witchdoctor as he appeared out of the swirling mists and the darkness.
And so I challenge you to let go of the fear and to find your own freedom from that fear.
Take that step, irrespective of how scared and frightened you are – take that first step, you’ll find the next one will be so much easier.
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
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Motivation - Inspiration & Motivation
MOTIVATION – INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
This weeks quote comes from S’thandiwe Kgoroge who says; “It’s good to be inspired by other people, but strive for excellence at your own pace.”
So many times, we try and keep up with the people who originally inspired us, or the people that we look up to. Then when we are not able to do so, we sink to our knees in despair and beat ourselves up because we have failed!
Why?
Why do we feel the need to do things at the same speed/time as everyone else? Are we not unique individuals who should be walking life to the beat of our own drums?
Surely it would be better for us (and probably less stressful for those we are trying to emulate) to set our own goals and arrive at our destination in our own time, having now experienced the lessons along the way that we were intended to learn?
Don’t always be in such a hurry! Take time to enjoy the journey! Take time to understand the lessons and therefore to learn from them! Take time to enjoy your life. Take time to be ‘all that you can be’.
Take time to be you.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
This weeks quote comes from S’thandiwe Kgoroge who says; “It’s good to be inspired by other people, but strive for excellence at your own pace.”
So many times, we try and keep up with the people who originally inspired us, or the people that we look up to. Then when we are not able to do so, we sink to our knees in despair and beat ourselves up because we have failed!
Why?
Why do we feel the need to do things at the same speed/time as everyone else? Are we not unique individuals who should be walking life to the beat of our own drums?
Surely it would be better for us (and probably less stressful for those we are trying to emulate) to set our own goals and arrive at our destination in our own time, having now experienced the lessons along the way that we were intended to learn?
Don’t always be in such a hurry! Take time to enjoy the journey! Take time to understand the lessons and therefore to learn from them! Take time to enjoy your life. Take time to be ‘all that you can be’.
Take time to be you.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Motivation - Life
MOTIVATION – LIFE
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
Today’s quote comes from Oprah Winfrey who says “If you look at what you have in life – you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life – you’ll never have enough!”
Ain’t that the truth! Think about it for the moment – all the people (and I am pretty sure that you have them in your life too) that continuously moan and groan, all day long and day in and day out because they ‘don’t’ or they ‘can’t’! Not only in their personal lives, but also in their business lives.
They are forever crying about “I can’t make a living because of the Government, taxes, the VAT man, the red tape, the competition, the interest rates, the recession, the crime” man oh man, I could go on and on – pretty much like they do! I’d like to bet that even if the Government gave them everything that they needed, if they had preferential tax breaks, or the VAT man actually paid them to be VAT vendors (which he does just by the way), if there was no red tape, or if the competition went out of business, the interest rates came down, the economy was booming and there was no crime – they would still be finding sometime to moan about because they still would not be making a living!
It’s their attitudes that stink! If they changed their attitudes they would be changing their mindsets too and they would see all the opportunities that abound everywhere.
The problem with people like this is that they expect everything to just happen to them, instead of making things happen for themselves.
Opportunities, like most things in life, need some sort of action. It’s no good just seeing the opportunity – it’s not going to fall like manna from heaven, into our laps and the miraculously morph itself into something else, just for our benefit – we have to play our part and do something about it! We have to not only recognize the opportunity, we have to grab it and do something with it.
So the next time you hear someone moaning and groaning about all the things that they don’t have, get up off your rear ends and go and make something happen in your life so that you don’t become complacent and become just like them. Celebrate what you have and turn the dreams that you have of what you want into reality.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
Today’s quote comes from Oprah Winfrey who says “If you look at what you have in life – you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life – you’ll never have enough!”
Ain’t that the truth! Think about it for the moment – all the people (and I am pretty sure that you have them in your life too) that continuously moan and groan, all day long and day in and day out because they ‘don’t’ or they ‘can’t’! Not only in their personal lives, but also in their business lives.
They are forever crying about “I can’t make a living because of the Government, taxes, the VAT man, the red tape, the competition, the interest rates, the recession, the crime” man oh man, I could go on and on – pretty much like they do! I’d like to bet that even if the Government gave them everything that they needed, if they had preferential tax breaks, or the VAT man actually paid them to be VAT vendors (which he does just by the way), if there was no red tape, or if the competition went out of business, the interest rates came down, the economy was booming and there was no crime – they would still be finding sometime to moan about because they still would not be making a living!
It’s their attitudes that stink! If they changed their attitudes they would be changing their mindsets too and they would see all the opportunities that abound everywhere.
The problem with people like this is that they expect everything to just happen to them, instead of making things happen for themselves.
Opportunities, like most things in life, need some sort of action. It’s no good just seeing the opportunity – it’s not going to fall like manna from heaven, into our laps and the miraculously morph itself into something else, just for our benefit – we have to play our part and do something about it! We have to not only recognize the opportunity, we have to grab it and do something with it.
So the next time you hear someone moaning and groaning about all the things that they don’t have, get up off your rear ends and go and make something happen in your life so that you don’t become complacent and become just like them. Celebrate what you have and turn the dreams that you have of what you want into reality.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
Friday, October 10, 2014
HR 101 - Preparing for Disputes - Part 1
ARTICLE 47
Preparing for Disputes – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC November 2009
Over the last few months, I have been inundated with clients who have had the need to discipline staff. In every single instance, although I have previously taken them through the “how to” and the “what to” with their staffing challenges, they have chosen not to listen to or take my advice. The result now is that they are deep in the smelly brown stuff and getting them out of it is going to be expensive. Had they but listened in the first place, none of this would have happened and they certainly would not have been in the space that they have now found themselves in.
In all of the instances, a huge amount of time and resources, not to mention cost has been spent to ensure that the damage is now contained and that it does not spiral out of control.
Preparation of documents and a comprehensive documented statement of account is vital, so ensuring that the telling of the story and how it unfolded is critical and whilst it is always a good idea to leave ‘emotions’ at the door, explaining how you felt, your perceptions and expectations is always a good thing.
Having your story backed up with documentation is extremely useful, but having witnesses who can corroborate your story and the documents is even better and in all probability the most powerful thing of all.
Remember however, that a disciplinary hearing is still a process and it doesn’t matter how powerful your case is, you still have to follow the process, especially the most basic of all of the processes and they have to be followed completely and to the letter of the law. Not doing so will actually make things a whole lot worse instead of better. So please take notice of this.
From there, depending on the outcome of the findings, the dispute may be referred to the CCMA for conciliation, con-arb or arbitration.
Please be aware of the fact that should the dispute go to con-arb or arbitration, the responsibility of preparing the case properly will be yours. So if you are not sure of what to do make sure that you get someone who knows what they are doing to help you and guide you through the process.
The reason that you need to prepare yourself properly is because you can expect to go through a court type hearing with all the relevant proceedings and processes. You see you will not only have to present your evidence in a manner that is professional, but yet concise and easy to understand – you will also have to respond to and try and counteract the evidence of your opponent, also in a profession manner. You have to come across as believable and ensure that what you have to say bears merit rather than malice.
There may be a need for a “pre-arbitration” meeting with your adversary. In many instances this type of meeting could in fact resolve the matter, thereby removing the need for an arbitration meeting altogether. At worst the pre-arbitration meeting will assist in the reducing of time that it will take to complete the hearing and/or assist you in the preparation of the meeting. For the record though, although the CCMA would like the parties to have a ‘pre-meeting’ and that it could be to your own advantage to do so, the fact of the matter is that it is not compulsory.
Next week we will look at some of the most typical and also most important issues that can be discussed at the ‘pre-meeting’.
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
Preparing for Disputes – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC November 2009
Over the last few months, I have been inundated with clients who have had the need to discipline staff. In every single instance, although I have previously taken them through the “how to” and the “what to” with their staffing challenges, they have chosen not to listen to or take my advice. The result now is that they are deep in the smelly brown stuff and getting them out of it is going to be expensive. Had they but listened in the first place, none of this would have happened and they certainly would not have been in the space that they have now found themselves in.
In all of the instances, a huge amount of time and resources, not to mention cost has been spent to ensure that the damage is now contained and that it does not spiral out of control.
Preparation of documents and a comprehensive documented statement of account is vital, so ensuring that the telling of the story and how it unfolded is critical and whilst it is always a good idea to leave ‘emotions’ at the door, explaining how you felt, your perceptions and expectations is always a good thing.
Having your story backed up with documentation is extremely useful, but having witnesses who can corroborate your story and the documents is even better and in all probability the most powerful thing of all.
Remember however, that a disciplinary hearing is still a process and it doesn’t matter how powerful your case is, you still have to follow the process, especially the most basic of all of the processes and they have to be followed completely and to the letter of the law. Not doing so will actually make things a whole lot worse instead of better. So please take notice of this.
From there, depending on the outcome of the findings, the dispute may be referred to the CCMA for conciliation, con-arb or arbitration.
Please be aware of the fact that should the dispute go to con-arb or arbitration, the responsibility of preparing the case properly will be yours. So if you are not sure of what to do make sure that you get someone who knows what they are doing to help you and guide you through the process.
The reason that you need to prepare yourself properly is because you can expect to go through a court type hearing with all the relevant proceedings and processes. You see you will not only have to present your evidence in a manner that is professional, but yet concise and easy to understand – you will also have to respond to and try and counteract the evidence of your opponent, also in a profession manner. You have to come across as believable and ensure that what you have to say bears merit rather than malice.
There may be a need for a “pre-arbitration” meeting with your adversary. In many instances this type of meeting could in fact resolve the matter, thereby removing the need for an arbitration meeting altogether. At worst the pre-arbitration meeting will assist in the reducing of time that it will take to complete the hearing and/or assist you in the preparation of the meeting. For the record though, although the CCMA would like the parties to have a ‘pre-meeting’ and that it could be to your own advantage to do so, the fact of the matter is that it is not compulsory.
Next week we will look at some of the most typical and also most important issues that can be discussed at the ‘pre-meeting’.
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
Thursday, October 09, 2014
HR 101 - WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . Staff Take Time Off
ARTICLE 45
WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . Staff Take Time Off
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC November 2009
Once again the issue of what and how much time can be taken by employees has come up. There always seems to be so much confusion around this issue – here are the facts.
Annual Leave – This is a legal requirement
In terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCOA), employees are entitled to a minimum of 15 working days per annum. This is essentially the very minimum for employees that work an eight hour, five day week. Obviously the longer their day or week the more leave that they are entitled to.
When leave can be taken and the procedures for completing leave forms and authorization therefore needs to be documented into a “Leave Policy”.
Sick Leave – This is a legal requirement
Again the BCOA is quite specific. Rule of thumb is as follows: If you take the number of days that your employees generally work over a six week period, that is the number of days that they are entitled to take over a three year period.
So for example, if your employee works a five day week for six weeks, this culminates to thirty days. Therefore your employee is entitled to take thirty days sick leave over a three year period.
Obviously issues like doctor’s certificates and leave forms should also be taken into account and these requirements should be documented when you are putting your leave policy together.
Please remember that employees need to be reminded that “Sick Leave” cannot be accumulated. If it is not taken it is lost.
Maternity Leave – This is a legal requirement.
In terms of the NCOA, female employees are entitled to four months maternity leave. At this particular point in time, this is unpaid, however should the Company elect to put the employee on some sort of remuneration or even fully paid maternity leave, they are entitled to do so. Remember though that once the precedent is set, it needs to be consistently maintained.
As usual the Company’s requirements as well as the rules pertaining to ‘what to do’ when applying for maternity leave should be included in your leave policy.
Family Responsibility Leave – This is a legal requirement.
The BCOA allows for three days in any given year. There are several requirements as to when and under which conditions this leave can be taken. The BCOA have the basic requirements, however that said, as long as the basics are me and complied with the number of days as well as the requirements can be extended by the employer.
The BCOA stipulates that Family Responsibility leave can be taken by employees, in relation to the immediate family as defined by the law. The exact requirements together with the relevant documentary evidence should be included in the Company’s Leave Policy.
Please remember that employees need to be reminded that “Family Responsibility Leave” cannot be accumulated. If it is not taken it is lost.
These are all of the leave applications that are required by law. Other leave requirements such as (but not limited to):
Paternity Leave
Study Leave
Unpaid Leave
May very well be included in the Company policy, however this is not a legal requirement and is at the discretion of the employer.
Remember though, if you are not sure about what the requirements are, contact a Labour specialist – don’t just guess. Guessing will usually end up costing you in the long run.
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
WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . Staff Take Time Off
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC November 2009
Once again the issue of what and how much time can be taken by employees has come up. There always seems to be so much confusion around this issue – here are the facts.
Annual Leave – This is a legal requirement
In terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCOA), employees are entitled to a minimum of 15 working days per annum. This is essentially the very minimum for employees that work an eight hour, five day week. Obviously the longer their day or week the more leave that they are entitled to.
When leave can be taken and the procedures for completing leave forms and authorization therefore needs to be documented into a “Leave Policy”.
Sick Leave – This is a legal requirement
Again the BCOA is quite specific. Rule of thumb is as follows: If you take the number of days that your employees generally work over a six week period, that is the number of days that they are entitled to take over a three year period.
So for example, if your employee works a five day week for six weeks, this culminates to thirty days. Therefore your employee is entitled to take thirty days sick leave over a three year period.
Obviously issues like doctor’s certificates and leave forms should also be taken into account and these requirements should be documented when you are putting your leave policy together.
Please remember that employees need to be reminded that “Sick Leave” cannot be accumulated. If it is not taken it is lost.
Maternity Leave – This is a legal requirement.
In terms of the NCOA, female employees are entitled to four months maternity leave. At this particular point in time, this is unpaid, however should the Company elect to put the employee on some sort of remuneration or even fully paid maternity leave, they are entitled to do so. Remember though that once the precedent is set, it needs to be consistently maintained.
As usual the Company’s requirements as well as the rules pertaining to ‘what to do’ when applying for maternity leave should be included in your leave policy.
Family Responsibility Leave – This is a legal requirement.
The BCOA allows for three days in any given year. There are several requirements as to when and under which conditions this leave can be taken. The BCOA have the basic requirements, however that said, as long as the basics are me and complied with the number of days as well as the requirements can be extended by the employer.
The BCOA stipulates that Family Responsibility leave can be taken by employees, in relation to the immediate family as defined by the law. The exact requirements together with the relevant documentary evidence should be included in the Company’s Leave Policy.
Please remember that employees need to be reminded that “Family Responsibility Leave” cannot be accumulated. If it is not taken it is lost.
These are all of the leave applications that are required by law. Other leave requirements such as (but not limited to):
Paternity Leave
Study Leave
Unpaid Leave
May very well be included in the Company policy, however this is not a legal requirement and is at the discretion of the employer.
Remember though, if you are not sure about what the requirements are, contact a Labour specialist – don’t just guess. Guessing will usually end up costing you in the long run.
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
Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Networking 101 - The Basic Rules of Networking
THE POWER OF NETWORKING
PART 64
The Basic Rules of Networking
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
Now I am sure that you all know that you need to network. It is vital to ourselves as individuals and it is vital to our businesses to network. So why is it that so few of us network successfully?
One of the biggest challenges in my opinion, is that not everybody understands the most basic but vital rules about networking. Knowing these could help you to unlock a huge amount of opportunities, give you new ideas and help you to nurture new business friendships and relationships.
Many people feel that they invest a great deal of time, effort and even money to network. That said they don’t see any results and are left frustrated and annoyed at what their perception of no “end results”. To them I say, you are not networking correctly! Change your tactics, change your mindset and you will see a huge improvement in your leads and your business will grow.
Networking is not about giving out your business cards to all and sundry. What does that mean? Look at what you do with business cards – chances are that if you have gone to a meeting or even out for an evening with a whole bunch of people and several have just given you their cards (often without you even asking for one), you will turf that card as soon as you get home. Well they are probably doing the same thing!
Networking is about building relationships. Relationships that are mutually beneficial, that are sustained and worked at. Relationships that will, over time will give you returns on your investment (which is the time that you have spent working on those relationships).
Attending a few networking meetings and handing your card out to a few dozen people is not going to do it. You have to meet up with those people, have a discussion, get to know them and what it is that they do – start a business relationship and then work at maintaining that relationship.
Networking for me is a foot in the door – it’s a fast way to meet people, especially like minded people who are as passionate about their business as I am about mine.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
PART 64
The Basic Rules of Networking
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
Now I am sure that you all know that you need to network. It is vital to ourselves as individuals and it is vital to our businesses to network. So why is it that so few of us network successfully?
One of the biggest challenges in my opinion, is that not everybody understands the most basic but vital rules about networking. Knowing these could help you to unlock a huge amount of opportunities, give you new ideas and help you to nurture new business friendships and relationships.
Many people feel that they invest a great deal of time, effort and even money to network. That said they don’t see any results and are left frustrated and annoyed at what their perception of no “end results”. To them I say, you are not networking correctly! Change your tactics, change your mindset and you will see a huge improvement in your leads and your business will grow.
Networking is not about giving out your business cards to all and sundry. What does that mean? Look at what you do with business cards – chances are that if you have gone to a meeting or even out for an evening with a whole bunch of people and several have just given you their cards (often without you even asking for one), you will turf that card as soon as you get home. Well they are probably doing the same thing!
Networking is about building relationships. Relationships that are mutually beneficial, that are sustained and worked at. Relationships that will, over time will give you returns on your investment (which is the time that you have spent working on those relationships).
Attending a few networking meetings and handing your card out to a few dozen people is not going to do it. You have to meet up with those people, have a discussion, get to know them and what it is that they do – start a business relationship and then work at maintaining that relationship.
Networking for me is a foot in the door – it’s a fast way to meet people, especially like minded people who are as passionate about their business as I am about mine.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
BUSINESS TIPS – Creating a Successful Team – Part 3
BUSINESS TIPS – Creating a Successful Team – Part 3
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC March 2010
Following on from last week, here are the last few tips on how to get the best out of your team.
I know that as children we are taught to ‘share and share alike’. Be it food, or clothing, or toys – whatever, we are taught to share. Sadly, many of us lose this quality as we grow older. We become fearful that if we share we will lose it all. We become fearful that someone will ‘steal’ it from us so we hide it from view. We tell no one, we share it with no-one or we play the cards ‘close to our chests’ so that no-one can have a ‘look see’ for fear that it will be gone. No-where is this truer than in the work place and no-where is it more important for us to share, especially information, than in the work place. No matter what the information is, or whether we think it is important or not, it should be shared, it may very well be important to the work that someone else in the team is doing. Not only will knowing the information that you have, be valuable to them, but it may also add intrinsic value to their task and therefore make them more effective in terms of their performance. Sharing the information will also show them that you trust them and again, this creates an environment that is motivated and strong.
Having regular meetings to ‘brainstorm’ is also of vital importance. These meetings should be positive and staff should be able to feel that they can raise issues such as problems that may arise from time to time, without them being attacked for doing the wrong thing. There should be no ‘recrimination’ at this type of meeting, as it should be seen as an opportunity for everybody in the team to look for a solution to the problem. Often we are ‘too close to the wood to see the trees’ and having an outside point of view may be all that is required to find a solution to the table. Creating a ‘safe’ environment for people to share, not only their accomplishments but also to seek assistance for their challenges will go a long way to creating a strong and efficient team who will always be successful in any project.
It’s about creating and providing your team with the right conditions for them to work in. It’s about giving them the correct tools with which to perform their tasks. It’s about trusting them and guiding them and working with them.
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
Monday, October 06, 2014
Motivation - Believe Your Dreams
MOTIVATION – Believe Your Dream
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – September 2011
Eleanor Roosevelt said “The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams”.
Having recently watched “The Mountain Within” and read the book with the same title, by Herta Von Stiegel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRqt2wtIqzk), the issue around our dreams and hopes and goals and aspirations has once again hit home – hard!
In retrospect, I find that I am guilty of not dreaming enough! Strange as that may sound, the fact of the matter is that I have become too caught up in the day to day struggle of getting things done, of juggling the balls and ensuring that they all remain in the air. The fact of the matter is that realistically, I need to schedule some time in my diary – some quiet time to think, to dream and to engage with that part inside of me that allows thoughts and dreams to become reality.
Growing up on a huge farm in the then Rhodesia, “Dream time” was something that I did on a daily basis and it was done naturally and without any conscious thought to how important it is in everyone’s life.
Dreams of visiting Russia as I read books on the colourful character, that was Rasputin and the deep love between Nicolas and Alexandra, or the man of action that was Peter the Great and all the loves of Catherine the Great, turned into reality when I visited Russia in 2001. I can still remember the grown ups (or grups as I called them as a child) laughing at me and mocking me when I vocalized my intention of visiting Russia day. You see, this was the early 60’s and of course on-one visited communist countries then. I remember the sting of their laughter and my own 5 year old resolution – I would visit Russia one day!
I also remember standing at the canal, outside the Cathedral of the Resurrection in St. Petersburg, right at the spot where they tried unsuccessfully to drown Rasputin. My thoughts this time, full of emotion – full of pleasure, at the realization of the fact, that this particular dream had never died. This dream, had stood the test of time and had endured some 40 odd years to become a reality.
I cannot begin to tell you all the thoughts that went through my mind. I was exhilarated and humbled at the same time. Excited, sad, awed and also proud. One thing that I do remember though, is the thought that played itself over and over again in my mind (and I am sure that I even said the words out loud at some point too), “I told you I would come to Russia one day!”
And that’s exactly how it should be – that’s how it can be – our dreams turning into reality – our dreams becoming our future.
So, I don’t know about you, but I now have my diary at hand and I will book the time and hopefully I will be able to return to that childhood time, when ‘dream time’ was a natural thing and where I will once again be in charge of the future that I will take part in and that will become my reality.
What about you? Do you “dream” enough?
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
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – September 2011
Eleanor Roosevelt said “The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams”.
Having recently watched “The Mountain Within” and read the book with the same title, by Herta Von Stiegel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRqt2wtIqzk), the issue around our dreams and hopes and goals and aspirations has once again hit home – hard!
In retrospect, I find that I am guilty of not dreaming enough! Strange as that may sound, the fact of the matter is that I have become too caught up in the day to day struggle of getting things done, of juggling the balls and ensuring that they all remain in the air. The fact of the matter is that realistically, I need to schedule some time in my diary – some quiet time to think, to dream and to engage with that part inside of me that allows thoughts and dreams to become reality.
Growing up on a huge farm in the then Rhodesia, “Dream time” was something that I did on a daily basis and it was done naturally and without any conscious thought to how important it is in everyone’s life.
Dreams of visiting Russia as I read books on the colourful character, that was Rasputin and the deep love between Nicolas and Alexandra, or the man of action that was Peter the Great and all the loves of Catherine the Great, turned into reality when I visited Russia in 2001. I can still remember the grown ups (or grups as I called them as a child) laughing at me and mocking me when I vocalized my intention of visiting Russia day. You see, this was the early 60’s and of course on-one visited communist countries then. I remember the sting of their laughter and my own 5 year old resolution – I would visit Russia one day!
I also remember standing at the canal, outside the Cathedral of the Resurrection in St. Petersburg, right at the spot where they tried unsuccessfully to drown Rasputin. My thoughts this time, full of emotion – full of pleasure, at the realization of the fact, that this particular dream had never died. This dream, had stood the test of time and had endured some 40 odd years to become a reality.
I cannot begin to tell you all the thoughts that went through my mind. I was exhilarated and humbled at the same time. Excited, sad, awed and also proud. One thing that I do remember though, is the thought that played itself over and over again in my mind (and I am sure that I even said the words out loud at some point too), “I told you I would come to Russia one day!”
And that’s exactly how it should be – that’s how it can be – our dreams turning into reality – our dreams becoming our future.
So, I don’t know about you, but I now have my diary at hand and I will book the time and hopefully I will be able to return to that childhood time, when ‘dream time’ was a natural thing and where I will once again be in charge of the future that I will take part in and that will become my reality.
What about you? Do you “dream” enough?
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
Saturday, October 04, 2014
Motivation - It's not the what, it's the Who
MOTIVATION – IT’S NOT THE WHAT, IT’S THE WHO
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
It is said that “It’s not what you have, but WHO you have in your life that counts the most.”
Whilst on some level I agree whole heartedly with that statement, I would like to take it one step further and say that ‘It’s not only WHO you have in your life, but also who they have in their lives, that will count the most in yours’.
I have watched this in play over and over and over again – people sitting around a table chatting about this and that and suddenly a single comment is made and everybody interacts with everybody else in terms of somebody who knows somebody who can assist. It’s wonderful to watch this when it happens.
You see most people instinctively want to help others and sometimes this is the only way that they know how.
So I consider myself truly blessed, because I know a great many people, who know a great many people, and when I need help and assistance all I have to do is ask!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
It is said that “It’s not what you have, but WHO you have in your life that counts the most.”
Whilst on some level I agree whole heartedly with that statement, I would like to take it one step further and say that ‘It’s not only WHO you have in your life, but also who they have in their lives, that will count the most in yours’.
I have watched this in play over and over and over again – people sitting around a table chatting about this and that and suddenly a single comment is made and everybody interacts with everybody else in terms of somebody who knows somebody who can assist. It’s wonderful to watch this when it happens.
You see most people instinctively want to help others and sometimes this is the only way that they know how.
So I consider myself truly blessed, because I know a great many people, who know a great many people, and when I need help and assistance all I have to do is ask!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
Friday, October 03, 2014
HR 101 - Out with the Old, In with the New – Part 4
ARTICLE 44
WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . Out with the Old, In with the New – Part 4
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC October 2009
So following on from last week – let’s have a look at some of the other changes that were made to the Act that received a typical ‘knee jerk’ reaction. They are (but not limited to).
“Where an employee accuses an employer in court or at the CCMA of having dismissed him unfairly and the existence of the dismissal is established, the employer is assumed guilty of unfair dismissal until it proves itself innocent.”
So what exactly does this mean? Here’s the story
Sally owns a pre-school, nursery school type establishment and George works there as the gardener/handyman. Sally has a very strict “Code of Conduct” in terms of what the staff can or can’t do and one of the issues is that staff may not drink any alcohol or partake of any illegal substances whilst on duty or come to work still under the influence of either alcohol or drugs of any sort.
One morning George came to work and it was evident that he was still inebriated from the previous evening. Clearly it is not a good idea for an adult to be drunk around small children and Sally was obviously not impressed. Sally followed all the procedures correctly. With his written permission, Sally did a sobriety test and George was found to be well over the legal limit. Sally sent George home to ‘sleep it off’ and when he returned the following day he was given notice to attend a disciplinary hearing.
George was found guilty and dismissed and the next thing that happened was Sally was presented with the paperwork as George had gone off to the CCMA.
On the day the CCMA agreed that George was in fact guilty of being intoxicated and that George’s dismissal was the correct thing to do, however (and here is where it gets ugly) the arbitrator still decided that the dismissal had been unfair because George had not been given the change to cross-examine those who had raised the complaint.
You see, Sally, in her fury had neglected to bring every single person who has seen the state that George was in and who had actually reported his behaviour to her. Sally had taken it upon herself to just report what she had seen.
Herein lies much of the problem when it comes to disciplinary hearings – the more witnesses you have the better your case becomes. It doesn’t really make any difference whether they all say the same thing, what matters is that there is a ‘visual and physical’ component to the charges that have been made. Documentary evidence is good, but having witnesses corroborate the evidence that is set out in the documents is even better.
Knowing what the procedures are and following them is good, but understanding the law and applying it to those policies and procedures is even better.
It is also necessary for everyone to understand how important it is to get professional help when you are having HR issues, clearly trying to deal with this stuff by yourself becomes part of the problem.
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
WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . Out with the Old, In with the New – Part 4
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC October 2009
So following on from last week – let’s have a look at some of the other changes that were made to the Act that received a typical ‘knee jerk’ reaction. They are (but not limited to).
“Where an employee accuses an employer in court or at the CCMA of having dismissed him unfairly and the existence of the dismissal is established, the employer is assumed guilty of unfair dismissal until it proves itself innocent.”
So what exactly does this mean? Here’s the story
Sally owns a pre-school, nursery school type establishment and George works there as the gardener/handyman. Sally has a very strict “Code of Conduct” in terms of what the staff can or can’t do and one of the issues is that staff may not drink any alcohol or partake of any illegal substances whilst on duty or come to work still under the influence of either alcohol or drugs of any sort.
One morning George came to work and it was evident that he was still inebriated from the previous evening. Clearly it is not a good idea for an adult to be drunk around small children and Sally was obviously not impressed. Sally followed all the procedures correctly. With his written permission, Sally did a sobriety test and George was found to be well over the legal limit. Sally sent George home to ‘sleep it off’ and when he returned the following day he was given notice to attend a disciplinary hearing.
George was found guilty and dismissed and the next thing that happened was Sally was presented with the paperwork as George had gone off to the CCMA.
On the day the CCMA agreed that George was in fact guilty of being intoxicated and that George’s dismissal was the correct thing to do, however (and here is where it gets ugly) the arbitrator still decided that the dismissal had been unfair because George had not been given the change to cross-examine those who had raised the complaint.
You see, Sally, in her fury had neglected to bring every single person who has seen the state that George was in and who had actually reported his behaviour to her. Sally had taken it upon herself to just report what she had seen.
Herein lies much of the problem when it comes to disciplinary hearings – the more witnesses you have the better your case becomes. It doesn’t really make any difference whether they all say the same thing, what matters is that there is a ‘visual and physical’ component to the charges that have been made. Documentary evidence is good, but having witnesses corroborate the evidence that is set out in the documents is even better.
Knowing what the procedures are and following them is good, but understanding the law and applying it to those policies and procedures is even better.
It is also necessary for everyone to understand how important it is to get professional help when you are having HR issues, clearly trying to deal with this stuff by yourself becomes part of the problem.
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
Thursday, October 02, 2014
HR 101 - Out with the Old, In with the New – Part 3
ARTICLE 44
WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . Out with the Old, In with the New – Part 3
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC October 2009
So following on from last week – let’s have a look at some of the other changes that were made to the Act that received a typical ‘knee jerk’ reaction. They are (but not limited to).
“Employees are entitled to a disciplinary hearing even where they are accused of being on an unprotected (illegal) strike.”
For me this is just logical – I mean how can you discipline anyone for anything without a proper disciplinary hearing. The whole deal about this however is that as the employer, you have to prove that the strike was unprotected (which usually is not very difficult at all) and then you have to ensure that the staff member was actually on strike and not on ‘sick’ leave or even ‘annual’ leave.
In the apartheid era, this was often used as an excuse to ‘get rid’ of staff that you no longer wanted around. Nowadays the rule of “innocent until proven guilty” applies.
In fact whilst I am on the subject of disciplinary hearings – remember this. If your employee is caught say, stealing and you have them arrested, or they are arrested and end up going to jail. That’s not the end of the story – you still have to go through the motions of having a disciplinary (in abstentia), where they need to be found ‘guilty’ and then dismissed. This would also apply to someone who has gone AWOL (absent without leave) and who never ever comes back to work.
The reason for this is, if you don’t hold a disciplinary, find them guilty, and summarily dismiss them, the reality of the situation is that you could be forced to re-employ (and pay all the back pay) when they are released from jail and want to come back to work or they suddenly remember that they have to come back to work after being AWOL.
So, go through the motions, I know it is a pain in the rear end, but it certainly is less than the pain that you will feel if you don’t follow the correct procedures and then they come back and demand their jobs back.
Next week we will have a look at some of the other changes that were made to the law.
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
WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . Out with the Old, In with the New – Part 3
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC October 2009
So following on from last week – let’s have a look at some of the other changes that were made to the Act that received a typical ‘knee jerk’ reaction. They are (but not limited to).
“Employees are entitled to a disciplinary hearing even where they are accused of being on an unprotected (illegal) strike.”
For me this is just logical – I mean how can you discipline anyone for anything without a proper disciplinary hearing. The whole deal about this however is that as the employer, you have to prove that the strike was unprotected (which usually is not very difficult at all) and then you have to ensure that the staff member was actually on strike and not on ‘sick’ leave or even ‘annual’ leave.
In the apartheid era, this was often used as an excuse to ‘get rid’ of staff that you no longer wanted around. Nowadays the rule of “innocent until proven guilty” applies.
In fact whilst I am on the subject of disciplinary hearings – remember this. If your employee is caught say, stealing and you have them arrested, or they are arrested and end up going to jail. That’s not the end of the story – you still have to go through the motions of having a disciplinary (in abstentia), where they need to be found ‘guilty’ and then dismissed. This would also apply to someone who has gone AWOL (absent without leave) and who never ever comes back to work.
The reason for this is, if you don’t hold a disciplinary, find them guilty, and summarily dismiss them, the reality of the situation is that you could be forced to re-employ (and pay all the back pay) when they are released from jail and want to come back to work or they suddenly remember that they have to come back to work after being AWOL.
So, go through the motions, I know it is a pain in the rear end, but it certainly is less than the pain that you will feel if you don’t follow the correct procedures and then they come back and demand their jobs back.
Next week we will have a look at some of the other changes that were made to the law.
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
Wednesday, October 01, 2014
Networking 101 - Working at Networking
THE POWER OF NETWORKING
PART 63
Working at Networking
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
I am often asked, why is it that I am such a good networker. What is it that makes me a ‘natural networker’. Well quite honestly, there is only one response to both of those and that is – I work at it every single day of my life.
For me, it is like any other relationship in life – it has to be worked at or it will never be productive and it will never go the distance. That is why the divorce rate is so high – once married, people don’t continue to invest time and effort and respect into it. That is also why partnerships fail and businesses fall over.
We’ve all heard the words “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Hell, if the truth be told we have all uttered them at one point or another. I’d like to take that one step further and say – “It’s not what you know, it’s not even who you know, it’s who you know, who knows who you don’t know!”
For me, it’s getting to know all the ‘who I don’t knows” and that I can only do by getting to know all the “who I knows”, building a relationship with them, interacting with them, sharing all the ‘who I knows but they don’t knows” with them, so that they will share all the “who they knows, but I don’t knows” with me. Wow, that was a bit of a tongue twister, but I am sure you get my meaning!
For me Networking is one of the most powerful tools at my disposal. It is what I use on a daily basis, both consciously and subconsciously to build my business, to land that special deal, to broaden my ‘virtual’ company, which adds value to me as and individual and to my business, so it is extremely difficult for me to understand why so many people find their attempts at networking so frustrating, futile and unrewarding. They have got to be doing something wrong or they don’t understand the ‘how to’ or they don’t work at it.
Do you understand the Power of Networking? Do you have any idea what doors it can unlock and the number of opportunities that will come falling out of it – like a closet that has been filled to capacity and the door is suddenly opened, spewing its contents all over the floor.
If you don’t and you want to understand more about networking as a tool – stick around and I’ll share some more of the simple secrets about how to network next week.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
PART 63
Working at Networking
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
I am often asked, why is it that I am such a good networker. What is it that makes me a ‘natural networker’. Well quite honestly, there is only one response to both of those and that is – I work at it every single day of my life.
For me, it is like any other relationship in life – it has to be worked at or it will never be productive and it will never go the distance. That is why the divorce rate is so high – once married, people don’t continue to invest time and effort and respect into it. That is also why partnerships fail and businesses fall over.
We’ve all heard the words “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Hell, if the truth be told we have all uttered them at one point or another. I’d like to take that one step further and say – “It’s not what you know, it’s not even who you know, it’s who you know, who knows who you don’t know!”
For me, it’s getting to know all the ‘who I don’t knows” and that I can only do by getting to know all the “who I knows”, building a relationship with them, interacting with them, sharing all the ‘who I knows but they don’t knows” with them, so that they will share all the “who they knows, but I don’t knows” with me. Wow, that was a bit of a tongue twister, but I am sure you get my meaning!
For me Networking is one of the most powerful tools at my disposal. It is what I use on a daily basis, both consciously and subconsciously to build my business, to land that special deal, to broaden my ‘virtual’ company, which adds value to me as and individual and to my business, so it is extremely difficult for me to understand why so many people find their attempts at networking so frustrating, futile and unrewarding. They have got to be doing something wrong or they don’t understand the ‘how to’ or they don’t work at it.
Do you understand the Power of Networking? Do you have any idea what doors it can unlock and the number of opportunities that will come falling out of it – like a closet that has been filled to capacity and the door is suddenly opened, spewing its contents all over the floor.
If you don’t and you want to understand more about networking as a tool – stick around and I’ll share some more of the simple secrets about how to network next week.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
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