HR 101 – What to do When . . . You Need To Retrench a Single Person
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice.
So let’s bring in the protagonists. Mike owns a large factory that makes furniture with over 1000 employees and George is one of the workers. The credit crunch hasn’t quite hit Mike’s business yet, but he does understand that he needs to tighten things up. Mike does his research and he finds that there is one employee who is really not pulling his weight, who is constantly late and who is just generally difficult to work with and that is George.
Mike decides to use the current economic situation to ‘retrench’ George for operational reasons. George is called in and Mike goes through the whole ‘retrenchment’ process and George is subsequently ‘retrenched’ for operational requirements..
Here’s the problem – if, as is the case here, there are many employees, then the retrenchment process should have been done with all of the staff or at the very least all of the staff in the same department. Although Mike followed the procedure, he only followed it for a single staff member instead of all of the staff.
In this particular instance – George decided that he would take Mike on as he decided that he thought that he had been ‘unfairly dismissed’. Section 191(12) of the Labour Relations Act offers ‘a single employee who was retrenched a choice to refer a dispute to the CCMA for arbitration or the Labour Court for adjudication.”
Labour court cases usually cost a huge amount of money and so the rationale behind this choice was to give those who could not afford to take their cases to Labour court a chance to be heard. It only accommodates however, instances where “i) a single employee was consulted and subsequently dismissed; ii) the dispute related to whether the dismissal was substantively fair.”
So George is able to take his case for arbitration since he was the only employee that was consulted and dismissed.
Be careful people, when it comes to retrenchment, it is better to consult to all and not to just single out one person. It could become a really costly affair.
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, August 31, 2018
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Blogging 101 - What Makes a Blog Well Written - Part 1
Blogging 101 – What Makes a Blog Well Written – Part 1?
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
There’s very little, in terms of feeling a great sense of achievement, as writing the last word in your article or blog. It really gives me a sense of wellbeing that carries me well into the remainder of my day.
Checking my spelling and my grammar is something that I do as a matter of course. That said though, I have recently become more aware of a few more elements that are needed to ensure that my blog gets read by as many people as possible. As much as the feeling is absolutely great when you complete the blog, so too is it absolutely devastating, when you look at the statistics and see that no-one has read the article or blog. That can be absolutely soul destroying!
So how can we fix this?
Think about this for a moment. As we travel around town, to and from our places of work, to a meeting or indeed, just going to the local mall, we see the newspaper headlines that are strung from lampposts or advertisements up on billboards everywhere. The headlines are designed specifically to entice us to buy the newspaper or buy whatever is being advertised. So too, must our headlines (or titles if you will), entice the readers to read our blogs or websites.
The headline is very important – it must pack a punch, it must captivate the imagination, it must magnetically pull the reader in.
Having the right headline (or title) can actually mean the difference between having your blog being read by a multitude of people and not being read at all.
For me, part of my test is to read the blog out loud. This means the headline as well. Read it out loud and then ask yourself a few questions. What picture does it paint in your head? Does it make you want to read more? Does it capture and hold your attention? Does it draw you in and make you feel like you are a part of the whole story?
The next question is this – I use ‘Google’ to search what I am looking for, but it doesn’t really matter which search engine you use – if your headline was in the line up (of whatever it is that you are looking for), would you be compelled to click on it before you clicked on any of the others? If you really are stumped and you can’t think of a suitable headline, ask a friend. Brainstorm! Throw it out there and see what comes back at you. You will be amazed at the amount of help there is and even more amazing is the fact that as you practice your writing, your skill at writing will improve immensely.
Next week we will have a look at a few more points on how to write a great blog.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
There’s very little, in terms of feeling a great sense of achievement, as writing the last word in your article or blog. It really gives me a sense of wellbeing that carries me well into the remainder of my day.
Checking my spelling and my grammar is something that I do as a matter of course. That said though, I have recently become more aware of a few more elements that are needed to ensure that my blog gets read by as many people as possible. As much as the feeling is absolutely great when you complete the blog, so too is it absolutely devastating, when you look at the statistics and see that no-one has read the article or blog. That can be absolutely soul destroying!
So how can we fix this?
Think about this for a moment. As we travel around town, to and from our places of work, to a meeting or indeed, just going to the local mall, we see the newspaper headlines that are strung from lampposts or advertisements up on billboards everywhere. The headlines are designed specifically to entice us to buy the newspaper or buy whatever is being advertised. So too, must our headlines (or titles if you will), entice the readers to read our blogs or websites.
The headline is very important – it must pack a punch, it must captivate the imagination, it must magnetically pull the reader in.
Having the right headline (or title) can actually mean the difference between having your blog being read by a multitude of people and not being read at all.
For me, part of my test is to read the blog out loud. This means the headline as well. Read it out loud and then ask yourself a few questions. What picture does it paint in your head? Does it make you want to read more? Does it capture and hold your attention? Does it draw you in and make you feel like you are a part of the whole story?
The next question is this – I use ‘Google’ to search what I am looking for, but it doesn’t really matter which search engine you use – if your headline was in the line up (of whatever it is that you are looking for), would you be compelled to click on it before you clicked on any of the others? If you really are stumped and you can’t think of a suitable headline, ask a friend. Brainstorm! Throw it out there and see what comes back at you. You will be amazed at the amount of help there is and even more amazing is the fact that as you practice your writing, your skill at writing will improve immensely.
Next week we will have a look at a few more points on how to write a great blog.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Networking 101 - Business Card Rules
Networking 101 - Business Card Rules
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:
“Your business card should be professional, innovative and easy to read.”
Boy oh boy, I really wish more people would take note of this. I don’t know whether it is because of the onset of middle (ok older than middle) age and my eyesight is deteriorating or if it is just that people are not concerned about the writing on the business cards, but I am seriously battling to read both telephone numbers or e-mail addresses and on occasion, even names.
I have gotten to the stage where I am beginning to seriously think about tossing out the cards where I cannot read the numbers and letters. It’s got something to do with, not only the size of the numbers and letters, but the font and the colour too. It’s either that or I will have to invest in a magnifying glass!
The irony of all of this, is that the actual card is usually beautiful to behold with bold, clear logo’s. The name of the Company and what have you is also clear and concise, but when it comes to any of the details, often even the name of the person, the lettering is so small that it is almost impossible to read.
I’m pretty sure that if people only knew or understood how frustrating it is for people like me to try and read these cards, they would ensure that the writing and the numbers are clearer. I know that every time I battle with a card, I take out one of mine – just to make sure that I can read the information on my own card without trying to grow an extension to my arm or alternatively trying to grow squint as I bring it as close to my eyes as is humanly possible.
Your business card tells me, not only what the name of the company is, but also who you are and it allows me to contact you – if I cannot read the card, then I cannot contact you and if I cannot contact you, then I cannot refer you!
So take a moment now if you will, take out your card, have a look at it – is the lettering bold and easy to read, if you are not sure – take it to someone who perhaps already wears glasses or is hitting the mid 60’s (sorry guys and gals it had to be said one way or another) and see if they can read it easily. If they can’t chances are – neither can I, or anyone else for that matter.
For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:
“Your business card should be professional, innovative and easy to read.”
Boy oh boy, I really wish more people would take note of this. I don’t know whether it is because of the onset of middle (ok older than middle) age and my eyesight is deteriorating or if it is just that people are not concerned about the writing on the business cards, but I am seriously battling to read both telephone numbers or e-mail addresses and on occasion, even names.
I have gotten to the stage where I am beginning to seriously think about tossing out the cards where I cannot read the numbers and letters. It’s got something to do with, not only the size of the numbers and letters, but the font and the colour too. It’s either that or I will have to invest in a magnifying glass!
The irony of all of this, is that the actual card is usually beautiful to behold with bold, clear logo’s. The name of the Company and what have you is also clear and concise, but when it comes to any of the details, often even the name of the person, the lettering is so small that it is almost impossible to read.
I’m pretty sure that if people only knew or understood how frustrating it is for people like me to try and read these cards, they would ensure that the writing and the numbers are clearer. I know that every time I battle with a card, I take out one of mine – just to make sure that I can read the information on my own card without trying to grow an extension to my arm or alternatively trying to grow squint as I bring it as close to my eyes as is humanly possible.
Your business card tells me, not only what the name of the company is, but also who you are and it allows me to contact you – if I cannot read the card, then I cannot contact you and if I cannot contact you, then I cannot refer you!
So take a moment now if you will, take out your card, have a look at it – is the lettering bold and easy to read, if you are not sure – take it to someone who perhaps already wears glasses or is hitting the mid 60’s (sorry guys and gals it had to be said one way or another) and see if they can read it easily. If they can’t chances are – neither can I, or anyone else for that matter.
For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Business Tips – Bookkeepers & Financial Year End – Part 1
Business Tips – Bookkeepers & Financial Year End – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty)
I’m really getting to the point where I am beginning to feel like I am ‘sounding like a broken record’! Problem is that many SME’s don’t seem to be listening and that is really sad.
Every day I meet people who haven’t listened and who are now paying the price and I mean “paying” in every sense of the word. People who are trying to negotiate payment plans with SARS and people who are trying to hide from the Sherriff of the court, who has arrived to attach their possessions and even people who have had to liquidate their businesses and their stories are all the same – they didn’t understand or know how to do the finances of their businesses.
If only they had listened!
Sure a good bookkeeper/accountant will cost you money. Sure there will be administration that you will need to do on a daily/weekly/monthly and annual basis, but look at what you have to gain from than – a business where you actually know what’s going on! For me there’s actually nothing worse than not knowing where I am financially.
Here are some of the things that a good bookkeeper/accountant should be doing for you (so NO, it’s not just about the numbers, it’s also about delivering a good service and understanding your business too).
Your bookkeeper/accountant should ensure that you are properly registered – not only as a company but with all the different legislative bodies that you need to be registered with. You don’t automatically have to be registered with all of them as some of them are industry specific. For example if you run a pub or bar or restaurant, you would need to have a liquor license but if you run a book store you wouldn’t. If you have staff, you need to be registered as an employer both with SARS and the Department of Labour, and so on. Your bookkeeper/accountant would need to ensure that you are properly registered and that your annual fees (where applicable) are paid and up to date.
The bookkeeper/accountant should also ensure that your books are maintained on a monthly basis and that they are accurate and calculated and recorded and documented in compliance with the GAAP (Generally accepted accounting principles) requirements.
It is the responsibility of the bookkeeper/accountant to ensure that the monthly/bi-monthly and annual statutory requirements are met on or before the deadlines.
As most of you know by now, there have been many changes to legislation over the last few months, but here’s the thing – legislation changes all the time. Your bookkeeper/accountant needs to keep up to date with, not only all the changes that have taken place, but also the changes that are being proposed for the future. The bookkeeper/accountant should be keeping you up to date with all of the changes, especially in terms of SARS (VAT and Tax). Changes in these two elements could have a financial implication on your company if they are not correctly and timeously implemented.
Next time we will look at some additional issues that your bookkeeper/accountant should keep you informed about.
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 – Viljoen Consulting (Pty)
I’m really getting to the point where I am beginning to feel like I am ‘sounding like a broken record’! Problem is that many SME’s don’t seem to be listening and that is really sad.
Every day I meet people who haven’t listened and who are now paying the price and I mean “paying” in every sense of the word. People who are trying to negotiate payment plans with SARS and people who are trying to hide from the Sherriff of the court, who has arrived to attach their possessions and even people who have had to liquidate their businesses and their stories are all the same – they didn’t understand or know how to do the finances of their businesses.
If only they had listened!
Sure a good bookkeeper/accountant will cost you money. Sure there will be administration that you will need to do on a daily/weekly/monthly and annual basis, but look at what you have to gain from than – a business where you actually know what’s going on! For me there’s actually nothing worse than not knowing where I am financially.
Here are some of the things that a good bookkeeper/accountant should be doing for you (so NO, it’s not just about the numbers, it’s also about delivering a good service and understanding your business too).
Your bookkeeper/accountant should ensure that you are properly registered – not only as a company but with all the different legislative bodies that you need to be registered with. You don’t automatically have to be registered with all of them as some of them are industry specific. For example if you run a pub or bar or restaurant, you would need to have a liquor license but if you run a book store you wouldn’t. If you have staff, you need to be registered as an employer both with SARS and the Department of Labour, and so on. Your bookkeeper/accountant would need to ensure that you are properly registered and that your annual fees (where applicable) are paid and up to date.
The bookkeeper/accountant should also ensure that your books are maintained on a monthly basis and that they are accurate and calculated and recorded and documented in compliance with the GAAP (Generally accepted accounting principles) requirements.
It is the responsibility of the bookkeeper/accountant to ensure that the monthly/bi-monthly and annual statutory requirements are met on or before the deadlines.
As most of you know by now, there have been many changes to legislation over the last few months, but here’s the thing – legislation changes all the time. Your bookkeeper/accountant needs to keep up to date with, not only all the changes that have taken place, but also the changes that are being proposed for the future. The bookkeeper/accountant should be keeping you up to date with all of the changes, especially in terms of SARS (VAT and Tax). Changes in these two elements could have a financial implication on your company if they are not correctly and timeously implemented.
Next time we will look at some additional issues that your bookkeeper/accountant should keep you informed about.
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, August 27, 2018
Motivation – Don’t Compromise your Life
Motivation – Don’t Compromise your Life
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I was extremely lucky to have ‘discovered’ my passion, quite by accident although I like to believe that it was by some sort of design. I couldn’t bear to think of working at a job that I wasn’t passionate about or that I hated. On some level I guess, I do understand that there are some jobs out there that are done by individuals who have no passion for what they do or perhaps have no ambition to do anything else – it really saddens me when I think of them though and it just makes me that much more grateful for being able to work at and in a field that I love and am absolutely passionate about.
Actually it reminds me of my younger brother, who at the age of about four or five, was asked “what do you want to be when you are grown up?” and he replied without hesitation “I am going to be an accountant and I am going to be a millionaire!” All the other little boys were wanting to be train drivers and ambulance drivers and policemen or whatever their perception of a ‘fun job’ was at that time. It was easy to change their minds by talking to them about other adventures like the ones that sailors had or explorers had, but my brother’s very serious statement stood and his mind could not be changed. At fifty something, his choice has stood the test of time as he is a senior international partner with a well known audit group and he has been with them for around thirty years now and he is a millionaire – so yes, he has achieved the objective that he had as a little five year old boy.
His and my story though are the exception and not the rule as sadly, the reality of life is that often it is easier to find your lover or your life partner than it is to find a job that you truly love. How sad is that?
The ideal time to make the decision about what you want to do, of course, is when you are starting out. Again sadly, the majority of our youth have no cooking clue about what it is that they want to do – the ‘drop out’ rate at universities and colleges evidence the amount of indecision that there is out there and even more end up in dead end jobs doing what they have no passion for and what they hate, just to put food on the table.
The question for me of course is; is this how we compromise our lives? Is it acceptable that we make do with second best and we then spend the rest of our lives wondering about “what if . . . ?”
We all try and pay attention to the needs of our loved ones, we try and pay attention to the needs of our bosses and all the other external factors that need attention in our lives, but we very seldom pay attention to our own needs and what we need to fulfill our own dreams and aspirations.
Often we allow others to make decisions about our lives and often these decisions are based on their aspirations or dreams. Sometimes it’s family members who feel the need to live their lost lives vicariously through yours. Here’s the thing though, living your life like this will not bring any fulfillment in their lives or your life for that matter.
The bottom line is that you have to look out for yourself – you have to what’s best for you in order for you to be able to be there for others or for you to take care of others.
You cannot compromise your life! You have to live your life to the full and become all that you can be in order for you to fulfill your destiny.
I know that I am, but what about you?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I was extremely lucky to have ‘discovered’ my passion, quite by accident although I like to believe that it was by some sort of design. I couldn’t bear to think of working at a job that I wasn’t passionate about or that I hated. On some level I guess, I do understand that there are some jobs out there that are done by individuals who have no passion for what they do or perhaps have no ambition to do anything else – it really saddens me when I think of them though and it just makes me that much more grateful for being able to work at and in a field that I love and am absolutely passionate about.
Actually it reminds me of my younger brother, who at the age of about four or five, was asked “what do you want to be when you are grown up?” and he replied without hesitation “I am going to be an accountant and I am going to be a millionaire!” All the other little boys were wanting to be train drivers and ambulance drivers and policemen or whatever their perception of a ‘fun job’ was at that time. It was easy to change their minds by talking to them about other adventures like the ones that sailors had or explorers had, but my brother’s very serious statement stood and his mind could not be changed. At fifty something, his choice has stood the test of time as he is a senior international partner with a well known audit group and he has been with them for around thirty years now and he is a millionaire – so yes, he has achieved the objective that he had as a little five year old boy.
His and my story though are the exception and not the rule as sadly, the reality of life is that often it is easier to find your lover or your life partner than it is to find a job that you truly love. How sad is that?
The ideal time to make the decision about what you want to do, of course, is when you are starting out. Again sadly, the majority of our youth have no cooking clue about what it is that they want to do – the ‘drop out’ rate at universities and colleges evidence the amount of indecision that there is out there and even more end up in dead end jobs doing what they have no passion for and what they hate, just to put food on the table.
The question for me of course is; is this how we compromise our lives? Is it acceptable that we make do with second best and we then spend the rest of our lives wondering about “what if . . . ?”
We all try and pay attention to the needs of our loved ones, we try and pay attention to the needs of our bosses and all the other external factors that need attention in our lives, but we very seldom pay attention to our own needs and what we need to fulfill our own dreams and aspirations.
Often we allow others to make decisions about our lives and often these decisions are based on their aspirations or dreams. Sometimes it’s family members who feel the need to live their lost lives vicariously through yours. Here’s the thing though, living your life like this will not bring any fulfillment in their lives or your life for that matter.
The bottom line is that you have to look out for yourself – you have to what’s best for you in order for you to be able to be there for others or for you to take care of others.
You cannot compromise your life! You have to live your life to the full and become all that you can be in order for you to fulfill your destiny.
I know that I am, but what about you?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Friday, August 24, 2018
HR 101 – What to do When . . . Staff Need to be Dismissed Fairly
HR 101 – What to do When . . . Staff Need to be Dismissed Fairly
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
So what does actually constitute a ‘fair dismissal’?
The CCMA usually looks at two specific aspects of what a ‘fair’ dismissal is by looking at either whether the dismissal is ‘substantive’ or ‘procedural’. This means that a commissioner would look at the charges and the evidence and then decide whether the employee was dismissed substantively and procedurally fairly.
Substantively fair would mean ‘does the punishment fit the crime’. For example if an employee was dismissed because he reported to work five minutes late for the first time in two years – this would be considered a ‘substantively unfair’ dismissal.
Procedurally fair would mean ‘were the correct legislative and company procedures followed’? For example if the employee took money out of the till for taxi fare and was caught and just dismissed there and then, without a formal disciplinary hearing taking place – this would be considered a ‘procedurally unfair’ dismissal.
Also on the table is whether the employer is consistent in the manner in which the discipline is metered out. Gone are the days when some staff can be disciplined and dismissed for a specific transgression and others, committing the same transgression, go unpunished or punished to a lesser degree.
So remember discipline must be the same across every sphere – be it senior management, middle management and right down to the general worker. Being consistent is an absolute must.
Procedural fairness ensures that the manner in which the disciplinary action has taken place together with the compliance of the disciplinary policy within the company is correct and fair.
Many CCMA cases are awarded to the employee, simply because the correct procedures were not followed or enforced. It is therefore in the best interests of the employer to ensure that their policies and procedures are both compliantly correct and procedurally fair.
According to the Labour Relations Act, the consequence of not following procedure and issuing a procedurally unfair dismissal is financial compensation to the employee. The compensation is limited to a maximum of 12 months of the employee’s salary.
The consequence of a substantive unfair dismissal is either financial compensation to the employee or the employer will be forced to re-instate the employee. In the instances where the employee is re-instated, the employer will have to also pay the employee from the time that they were dismissed up to, and including, the time that they started working again. Again the compensation (if they remained dismissed) would be limited to a maximum of 12 months of the employee’s salary.
The value of the compensation is governed by the severity of the unfairness of either the procedure or the substantive nature of the employer.
In other words, the less the employer follows the BCEA (Basic Conditions of Employment Act) and the Labour Relations Act, the greater the amount of compensation that will be awarded to the employee.
The high number of cases where the employee is awarded compensation, together with the value of the compensation, evidences that employers are not following the correct procedures and this means that they are then obliged to pay huge fines or penalties.
Losing great sums of money in this manner, in my opinion is like committing financial suicide.
The bottom line therefore is quite simple. Ensure that you have the correct policies and procedures in place. Not only will this ensure that you are in compliance with the law, it will also remove all the emotion from the workplace and the situation.
Should you require assistance with obtaining templates, procedures or templates at affordable prices, please contact Nikki Viljoen.
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 – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
So what does actually constitute a ‘fair dismissal’?
The CCMA usually looks at two specific aspects of what a ‘fair’ dismissal is by looking at either whether the dismissal is ‘substantive’ or ‘procedural’. This means that a commissioner would look at the charges and the evidence and then decide whether the employee was dismissed substantively and procedurally fairly.
Substantively fair would mean ‘does the punishment fit the crime’. For example if an employee was dismissed because he reported to work five minutes late for the first time in two years – this would be considered a ‘substantively unfair’ dismissal.
Procedurally fair would mean ‘were the correct legislative and company procedures followed’? For example if the employee took money out of the till for taxi fare and was caught and just dismissed there and then, without a formal disciplinary hearing taking place – this would be considered a ‘procedurally unfair’ dismissal.
Also on the table is whether the employer is consistent in the manner in which the discipline is metered out. Gone are the days when some staff can be disciplined and dismissed for a specific transgression and others, committing the same transgression, go unpunished or punished to a lesser degree.
So remember discipline must be the same across every sphere – be it senior management, middle management and right down to the general worker. Being consistent is an absolute must.
Procedural fairness ensures that the manner in which the disciplinary action has taken place together with the compliance of the disciplinary policy within the company is correct and fair.
Many CCMA cases are awarded to the employee, simply because the correct procedures were not followed or enforced. It is therefore in the best interests of the employer to ensure that their policies and procedures are both compliantly correct and procedurally fair.
According to the Labour Relations Act, the consequence of not following procedure and issuing a procedurally unfair dismissal is financial compensation to the employee. The compensation is limited to a maximum of 12 months of the employee’s salary.
The consequence of a substantive unfair dismissal is either financial compensation to the employee or the employer will be forced to re-instate the employee. In the instances where the employee is re-instated, the employer will have to also pay the employee from the time that they were dismissed up to, and including, the time that they started working again. Again the compensation (if they remained dismissed) would be limited to a maximum of 12 months of the employee’s salary.
The value of the compensation is governed by the severity of the unfairness of either the procedure or the substantive nature of the employer.
In other words, the less the employer follows the BCEA (Basic Conditions of Employment Act) and the Labour Relations Act, the greater the amount of compensation that will be awarded to the employee.
The high number of cases where the employee is awarded compensation, together with the value of the compensation, evidences that employers are not following the correct procedures and this means that they are then obliged to pay huge fines or penalties.
Losing great sums of money in this manner, in my opinion is like committing financial suicide.
The bottom line therefore is quite simple. Ensure that you have the correct policies and procedures in place. Not only will this ensure that you are in compliance with the law, it will also remove all the emotion from the workplace and the situation.
Should you require assistance with obtaining templates, procedures or templates at affordable prices, please contact Nikki Viljoen.
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, August 23, 2018
Blogging 101 – The Pros and Cons of Weekend Writing
Blogging 101 – The Pros and Cons of Weekend Writing
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I have often been asked why I don’t have a weekend post. Well the truth of the matter is that generally speaking, I am battling to keep up with the writing of the daily articles right now, even the thought of having to write another one or two more articles a week, is enough to send me into a state of panic.
The reality though is that many people only work on the internet during the week, although we small business owners would generally not fit into that particular category. Depending on who you target with your blogs, this would mean that there would be a lower number of readers over the weekend but that the number of readers on a Monday would increase sharply as these readers played “catch up”.
Many individuals though, just stop following a blog if they feel that they have missed too many ‘episodes’ and some also feel really overwhelmed if they have too many unread articles waiting for them from their favorite blogs.
So in view of this, is there even a point to posting something over a weekend?
Well here’s the thing, even though there are many individuals who aren’t on the internet over the weekend, there are still many who are and these clearly are the folk that you need to target.
All the articles that I have read on the subject though really emphasize the need to write shorter, thought provoking articles. These are sure to catch the attention of the individuals who brave the internet on the weekends as well as appeal to the Monday morning folk who play ‘catch up’. The weekend readers are also more likely to end up with a burning desire to ‘know more’ and hopefully will then also begin reading your posts during the course of the week.
Remember though to keep it short and interesting.
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 – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I have often been asked why I don’t have a weekend post. Well the truth of the matter is that generally speaking, I am battling to keep up with the writing of the daily articles right now, even the thought of having to write another one or two more articles a week, is enough to send me into a state of panic.
The reality though is that many people only work on the internet during the week, although we small business owners would generally not fit into that particular category. Depending on who you target with your blogs, this would mean that there would be a lower number of readers over the weekend but that the number of readers on a Monday would increase sharply as these readers played “catch up”.
Many individuals though, just stop following a blog if they feel that they have missed too many ‘episodes’ and some also feel really overwhelmed if they have too many unread articles waiting for them from their favorite blogs.
So in view of this, is there even a point to posting something over a weekend?
Well here’s the thing, even though there are many individuals who aren’t on the internet over the weekend, there are still many who are and these clearly are the folk that you need to target.
All the articles that I have read on the subject though really emphasize the need to write shorter, thought provoking articles. These are sure to catch the attention of the individuals who brave the internet on the weekends as well as appeal to the Monday morning folk who play ‘catch up’. The weekend readers are also more likely to end up with a burning desire to ‘know more’ and hopefully will then also begin reading your posts during the course of the week.
Remember though to keep it short and interesting.
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, August 22, 2018
Networking 101 - Reciprocity Rules
Networking 101 - Reciprocity Rules
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:
“Reciprocity is vital in successful networking.”
Right on the money again Renate.
I am still, after all this time, amazed at some people. As those that know me be now know, when I get a business card, it is an opportunity. I send off a mail to the person who gave me the card, telling them a little bit more about me and then I follow that up with a call to set up an appointment.
The whole idea of the meeting is for BOTH of us to share a little bit more about who we are and what it is that we do. It’s to explore synergies and see how we may be of assistance to one another and it is also an opportunity for BOTH of us to give each other referrals.
You would probably not believe me if I told you the number of people who are only interested in telling me what it is that they do and who they need to be put in touch with. I sit there is wide eyed amazement!
I mean come on people, I know that it is better to give than to receive, but I also need to put food on the table! I mean do they really think that I give up an hour of my time to listen to what they need and how I should connect them to all and sundry in my database, and they don’t even think about perhaps connecting me to someone in their data base?
Ok don’t get me wrong, I do try and assist where I can, but as they continue to contact me to get referrals from me, and never give me a referral – well at some point the pages of my database are going to close and when that happens, no amount of prying will get them open again.
As much as I need to give in order to receive, so to do you need to give in order to receive. It’s common courtesy and good manners. It’s also sound business sense.
So go on, give as much as you get – all that will happen is that you will get even more!
There is plenty, actually an abundance, to go around.
For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:
“Reciprocity is vital in successful networking.”
Right on the money again Renate.
I am still, after all this time, amazed at some people. As those that know me be now know, when I get a business card, it is an opportunity. I send off a mail to the person who gave me the card, telling them a little bit more about me and then I follow that up with a call to set up an appointment.
The whole idea of the meeting is for BOTH of us to share a little bit more about who we are and what it is that we do. It’s to explore synergies and see how we may be of assistance to one another and it is also an opportunity for BOTH of us to give each other referrals.
You would probably not believe me if I told you the number of people who are only interested in telling me what it is that they do and who they need to be put in touch with. I sit there is wide eyed amazement!
I mean come on people, I know that it is better to give than to receive, but I also need to put food on the table! I mean do they really think that I give up an hour of my time to listen to what they need and how I should connect them to all and sundry in my database, and they don’t even think about perhaps connecting me to someone in their data base?
Ok don’t get me wrong, I do try and assist where I can, but as they continue to contact me to get referrals from me, and never give me a referral – well at some point the pages of my database are going to close and when that happens, no amount of prying will get them open again.
As much as I need to give in order to receive, so to do you need to give in order to receive. It’s common courtesy and good manners. It’s also sound business sense.
So go on, give as much as you get – all that will happen is that you will get even more!
There is plenty, actually an abundance, to go around.
For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 12
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 12
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
So here we are almost at the end of this particular journey.
Many of the institutions that you will engage with, will almost definitely ask you for your business plan.
By taking you on this particular journey in the manner that I have however, means that I have taught you how to create your own business action plan. How cool is that and not nearly as difficult as you thought it may be.
Although not quite the same as a business plan, your business action plan evidences the research that you have done, whilst explaining what your business is all about. It also gives you a step by step, logical chain of events that will ensure that you grow yourself a strong and sustainable business.
Now all that is left for you to do is to document everything you have learnt in this series and your business action plan will be ready to go.
Don’t forget to start off by defining exactly what your business is and what the main benefits are to your clients or target market.
Make sure that your plan is easy to read and understand by demarcating the various sections and keeping them separate from each other. For example, operational and administrative issues are very different and should be kept apart. Don’t forget to include all the legal/legislative requirements as well as your branding, marketing and sales requirements.
The financial aspects of your business are also extremely important and this should include your pricing module as well as cash flow predictions.
Each step of your business action plan should include the next action step that you intend to take in order for you to achieve your goals.
As your business grows, so too should your business action plan. It should evolve and monitor and even be used as a measurement tool to see what has worked, in order for you to continue to grow your business successfully.
Good luck and remember to always have fun!
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 – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
So here we are almost at the end of this particular journey.
Many of the institutions that you will engage with, will almost definitely ask you for your business plan.
By taking you on this particular journey in the manner that I have however, means that I have taught you how to create your own business action plan. How cool is that and not nearly as difficult as you thought it may be.
Although not quite the same as a business plan, your business action plan evidences the research that you have done, whilst explaining what your business is all about. It also gives you a step by step, logical chain of events that will ensure that you grow yourself a strong and sustainable business.
Now all that is left for you to do is to document everything you have learnt in this series and your business action plan will be ready to go.
Don’t forget to start off by defining exactly what your business is and what the main benefits are to your clients or target market.
Make sure that your plan is easy to read and understand by demarcating the various sections and keeping them separate from each other. For example, operational and administrative issues are very different and should be kept apart. Don’t forget to include all the legal/legislative requirements as well as your branding, marketing and sales requirements.
The financial aspects of your business are also extremely important and this should include your pricing module as well as cash flow predictions.
Each step of your business action plan should include the next action step that you intend to take in order for you to achieve your goals.
As your business grows, so too should your business action plan. It should evolve and monitor and even be used as a measurement tool to see what has worked, in order for you to continue to grow your business successfully.
Good luck and remember to always have fun!
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, August 20, 2018
Motivation - Choosing Wisely
Motivation – Choosing Wisely
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
W. Clement Stone says “Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them.”
Life for me has a natural segregation in terms of the people that I choose to associate myself with. We all know people who we cannot abide in our space – you know the ones that make the hair stand up on the back of your neck! I avoid those. There are people who you meet for the very first time, who you just get a ‘feeling’ about – you know the ones that something is just not right and you can’t quite put your finger on what it is. I avoid those too.
There are those folk who are negative about everything – you come away from spending time with them and you are completely and absolutely exhausted and thoroughly depressed, you can barely put one foot in front of the other you are so tired. I avoid those too, they are definitely not good for the soul.
I am also not too good with people who have hidden agendas. The ones who say one thing and mean another. The ones that are always undermining what you say, who twist your words to suit the occasion or even worse, who twist your words to suit whatever issue they happen to be championing. Those are just hard work.
I am a pretty open and transparent person. What you see is what you get. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I am very loyal and very protective of my friends and most of my friends are also business acquaintances and clients – they trust me and I trust them. Most of my friends are people who have high moral standards, their word is their bond and they believe in being fair, not judging folk on where they work or what they wear, but rather on who they are as people, what they stand for and how they treat people. Most of my friends strive to make a difference in the world that they live in, they care about their fellow human beings and they lend a hand when and where they can.
I really enjoy being around optimistic people, folk who have great energy. Folk who make your hearts feel light when they are with you. Folk who light up the room with their positive personalities. Folk like most of my friends.
Quite frankly, I am proud to be associated with them, I am proud of their achievements and I am proud to be ‘counted’ with them. They are like minded individuals who strive and work together for the ‘common good’ and what more can you ask of anyone.
I am more than happy to know that my life has touched theirs and that their lives have touched mine and I am more than happy to ‘become like them’.
I guess I am well and truly ‘shaped by my environment’.
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 (Pty) Ltd
W. Clement Stone says “Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them.”
Life for me has a natural segregation in terms of the people that I choose to associate myself with. We all know people who we cannot abide in our space – you know the ones that make the hair stand up on the back of your neck! I avoid those. There are people who you meet for the very first time, who you just get a ‘feeling’ about – you know the ones that something is just not right and you can’t quite put your finger on what it is. I avoid those too.
There are those folk who are negative about everything – you come away from spending time with them and you are completely and absolutely exhausted and thoroughly depressed, you can barely put one foot in front of the other you are so tired. I avoid those too, they are definitely not good for the soul.
I am also not too good with people who have hidden agendas. The ones who say one thing and mean another. The ones that are always undermining what you say, who twist your words to suit the occasion or even worse, who twist your words to suit whatever issue they happen to be championing. Those are just hard work.
I am a pretty open and transparent person. What you see is what you get. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I am very loyal and very protective of my friends and most of my friends are also business acquaintances and clients – they trust me and I trust them. Most of my friends are people who have high moral standards, their word is their bond and they believe in being fair, not judging folk on where they work or what they wear, but rather on who they are as people, what they stand for and how they treat people. Most of my friends strive to make a difference in the world that they live in, they care about their fellow human beings and they lend a hand when and where they can.
I really enjoy being around optimistic people, folk who have great energy. Folk who make your hearts feel light when they are with you. Folk who light up the room with their positive personalities. Folk like most of my friends.
Quite frankly, I am proud to be associated with them, I am proud of their achievements and I am proud to be ‘counted’ with them. They are like minded individuals who strive and work together for the ‘common good’ and what more can you ask of anyone.
I am more than happy to know that my life has touched theirs and that their lives have touched mine and I am more than happy to ‘become like them’.
I guess I am well and truly ‘shaped by my environment’.
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, August 17, 2018
HR 101 – What to do When . . . You Want To Retrench Your Staff
HR 101 – What to do When . . . You Want To Retrench Your Staff
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour and Best Practice requirements.
Did you know that there are certain instances when you actually don’t have to pay severance pay? How cool is that!
Here’s the deal – Mike is the owner of a retail store in a busy mall and George is one of his sales persons.
The sales in the store have been dropping steadily and Mike is forced to retrench some of his staff – George is one of these individuals.
Mike is very concerned about his staff and their responsibilities and goes out of his way to try and find them alternative employment and manages to secure a position of sales person with one of his colleagues, for George. This position is a little different to straight retail though and it means that George will be on the road (although still locally) and he will have to work a little harder to ‘make’ the sale. In a retail environment, a customer usually walks through the door with the intention to purchase something. In this environment, George is given ‘leads’ and he will have to close the sale.
George is not impressed and refuses to take the position, saying that his job is in a store and it is not his intention to go running around after other people to look for sales.
George is retrenched without a package and goes off to the CCMA. The CCMA find in favour of Mike due to the following.
Mike did get alternative employment for George and said employment was within George’s scope – it’s not like George was expected to go from being a sales person to being a labourer.
The position that Mike secured for George was a positive one and one that George, if he put his mind to it, could do very well in.
George refused to take the offer and the reasons that he gave for turning down the job offer were totally unreasonable.
So there you have it, if you are ever in a position where you have to retrench and you don’t really have the money to pay out huge retrenchment packages, then ensure that you find your employees reasonable alternative employment.
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 – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour and Best Practice requirements.
Did you know that there are certain instances when you actually don’t have to pay severance pay? How cool is that!
Here’s the deal – Mike is the owner of a retail store in a busy mall and George is one of his sales persons.
The sales in the store have been dropping steadily and Mike is forced to retrench some of his staff – George is one of these individuals.
Mike is very concerned about his staff and their responsibilities and goes out of his way to try and find them alternative employment and manages to secure a position of sales person with one of his colleagues, for George. This position is a little different to straight retail though and it means that George will be on the road (although still locally) and he will have to work a little harder to ‘make’ the sale. In a retail environment, a customer usually walks through the door with the intention to purchase something. In this environment, George is given ‘leads’ and he will have to close the sale.
George is not impressed and refuses to take the position, saying that his job is in a store and it is not his intention to go running around after other people to look for sales.
George is retrenched without a package and goes off to the CCMA. The CCMA find in favour of Mike due to the following.
Mike did get alternative employment for George and said employment was within George’s scope – it’s not like George was expected to go from being a sales person to being a labourer.
The position that Mike secured for George was a positive one and one that George, if he put his mind to it, could do very well in.
George refused to take the offer and the reasons that he gave for turning down the job offer were totally unreasonable.
So there you have it, if you are ever in a position where you have to retrench and you don’t really have the money to pay out huge retrenchment packages, then ensure that you find your employees reasonable alternative employment.
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, August 16, 2018
Blogging 101 – Full Time Blogging
Blogging 101 – Full Time Blogging
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Someone asked me the other day if I had ever considered writing – blogs, articles, whatever - full time. My knee jerk reaction was to burst out laughing and reply “No, not for me thank you”. That was the end of that particular discussion. Much later though, I did think about it . . . . carefully . . . and I must admit, that although I do love to write, writing full time, meeting daily deadlines and doing research on stuff that I am perhaps not that interested in, will be the quickest way to put me off writing forever! So my knee-jerk reaction was not so far off the mark after all.
Here’s the thing though – just because writing full time is not for me – doesn’t mean that it can’t be for you. There are probably a few other things that you need to think about before you make that decision though, such as (but not limited to):
Do you really love to write? I mean really, really love it! Is it something that you think about all the time? Do the stories and words just run around in your head and continuously spill out as you frantically try and get them written down? Do they make ‘little tornadoes’ in your mind until you can think of nothing else, but getting them written down and then as soon as they are written, is your mind instantaneously filled up with the next story or more words? Whenever you go somewhere, as you look around you, are the words describing the experience or what you are looking at, forming in your mind and demanding to be written? If I was asking myself these questions and I had to reply “no” to any one of them – I would seriously re-think whether I was meant to be writing full time. You have to have the passion, if you don’t, you will end up hating to write.
Are you leaving your current job? Ok, so this one is a biggie! For me this is a big question – you see, I am passionate about what I do. My business has been going since 2003 and each day put’s me that much closer to my goal – the one that the dream was started and built on. My business is how I make my bread and butter and would I be prepared to either “dump” the whole thing or put everything on hold whilst I write full time? I think not! Even if I were to decide to go the writing full time route, it would need to start slowly as it is not something that I have been trained to do – better to start off, say blogging part time and see how that goes. My advice on this one would be caution – a lot of caution!
Learning and research. Talking about not being trained to write for a living, are you prepared to learn? I know that many people pay ‘lip service’ to the whole idea of ‘learning new stuff until the day we die’, but the reality is that many folk don’t want to be ‘learning’ new stuff every day. I know that from my own experience, every time I write a new blog or an article, I have to do some sort of research and in so doing, I learn something new. So, contrary to popular belief, it’s not just about my opinion, it’s also about the facts and to get to the facts, you have to do the research – are you willing to spend that kind of time. If not, then I seriously suggest that you don’t go into writing full time.
Collaboration. Here’s another thing that many people pay ‘lip service’ to. Many ideas are born out of ‘brain storming’ or people discussing issues or people sharing experiences. Are you one of those kinds of people or is ‘your stuff’ exactly that – ‘Your stuff’? Often writing an article is a very personal or even intimate thing that is torn from you. It can be painful or even embarrassing – would you be able to share then? Perhaps I should also ask – COULD you part with it then? I know from my own experience that there are some stories that I had to write down, that is often how I have dealt with some of the issues from my past, but that doesn’t mean that I am willing to part with them or share them, but what about if you are being paid to write that particular story – how would you feel about parting with it then?
Endurance and patience. Just like any other enterprise, you have to endure and be patient. Chances are that you are not going to be earning huge amounts of money from stuff that you have written, five minutes after you have written it and before the ink is properly dry on the page. I have often heard journalists talking about how badly they are paid and how they write for the ‘love of it’. That writing is not a job, it’s a ‘calling’ or even a ‘responsibility’. The reality is that like any other job or business endeavor, it takes time. Again from my own experience, I have been writing my blogs now since about 2006 and I am only now starting to reap the rewards. Has it been worth it – absolutely! Without a doubt!
Could I do it full time – absolutely not! The question here of course actually isn’t about whether I could write full time or not – the question is, can you?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Someone asked me the other day if I had ever considered writing – blogs, articles, whatever - full time. My knee jerk reaction was to burst out laughing and reply “No, not for me thank you”. That was the end of that particular discussion. Much later though, I did think about it . . . . carefully . . . and I must admit, that although I do love to write, writing full time, meeting daily deadlines and doing research on stuff that I am perhaps not that interested in, will be the quickest way to put me off writing forever! So my knee-jerk reaction was not so far off the mark after all.
Here’s the thing though – just because writing full time is not for me – doesn’t mean that it can’t be for you. There are probably a few other things that you need to think about before you make that decision though, such as (but not limited to):
Do you really love to write? I mean really, really love it! Is it something that you think about all the time? Do the stories and words just run around in your head and continuously spill out as you frantically try and get them written down? Do they make ‘little tornadoes’ in your mind until you can think of nothing else, but getting them written down and then as soon as they are written, is your mind instantaneously filled up with the next story or more words? Whenever you go somewhere, as you look around you, are the words describing the experience or what you are looking at, forming in your mind and demanding to be written? If I was asking myself these questions and I had to reply “no” to any one of them – I would seriously re-think whether I was meant to be writing full time. You have to have the passion, if you don’t, you will end up hating to write.
Are you leaving your current job? Ok, so this one is a biggie! For me this is a big question – you see, I am passionate about what I do. My business has been going since 2003 and each day put’s me that much closer to my goal – the one that the dream was started and built on. My business is how I make my bread and butter and would I be prepared to either “dump” the whole thing or put everything on hold whilst I write full time? I think not! Even if I were to decide to go the writing full time route, it would need to start slowly as it is not something that I have been trained to do – better to start off, say blogging part time and see how that goes. My advice on this one would be caution – a lot of caution!
Learning and research. Talking about not being trained to write for a living, are you prepared to learn? I know that many people pay ‘lip service’ to the whole idea of ‘learning new stuff until the day we die’, but the reality is that many folk don’t want to be ‘learning’ new stuff every day. I know that from my own experience, every time I write a new blog or an article, I have to do some sort of research and in so doing, I learn something new. So, contrary to popular belief, it’s not just about my opinion, it’s also about the facts and to get to the facts, you have to do the research – are you willing to spend that kind of time. If not, then I seriously suggest that you don’t go into writing full time.
Collaboration. Here’s another thing that many people pay ‘lip service’ to. Many ideas are born out of ‘brain storming’ or people discussing issues or people sharing experiences. Are you one of those kinds of people or is ‘your stuff’ exactly that – ‘Your stuff’? Often writing an article is a very personal or even intimate thing that is torn from you. It can be painful or even embarrassing – would you be able to share then? Perhaps I should also ask – COULD you part with it then? I know from my own experience that there are some stories that I had to write down, that is often how I have dealt with some of the issues from my past, but that doesn’t mean that I am willing to part with them or share them, but what about if you are being paid to write that particular story – how would you feel about parting with it then?
Endurance and patience. Just like any other enterprise, you have to endure and be patient. Chances are that you are not going to be earning huge amounts of money from stuff that you have written, five minutes after you have written it and before the ink is properly dry on the page. I have often heard journalists talking about how badly they are paid and how they write for the ‘love of it’. That writing is not a job, it’s a ‘calling’ or even a ‘responsibility’. The reality is that like any other job or business endeavor, it takes time. Again from my own experience, I have been writing my blogs now since about 2006 and I am only now starting to reap the rewards. Has it been worth it – absolutely! Without a doubt!
Could I do it full time – absolutely not! The question here of course actually isn’t about whether I could write full time or not – the question is, can you?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Networking 101 - Don’t Forget to Market Yourself
Networking 101 - Don’t Forget to Market Yourself
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:
“Not marketing yourself is like blinking in the dark. You know you are doing it. No-one else does.”
What a chuckle I had with this one! It really did appeal to my sense of humour and I had this video moment of a cartoon with everything black as the lights are off and here and there you get a flash of white, that then very quickly turns back to black as someone blinks in the dark!
Marketing yourself need not be expensive, you don’t have to hire one of those marketing guru’s to do it for you – actually it is exceptionally easy to do it for yourself.
Let’s take this one step at a time:-
• Always, always, always have your business cards close at hand. Your business card should have the name of your Company and all of your contact details on it. If your Company name does not say who you are (i.e. if your Company name is ABC Plumbing we all know what you do, but if it is ABC Consulting that is just another story altogether), if possible have something on the back of your card that gives people an indication of what it is that you do, like a list of your services.
• Whenever you send an e-mail out, even if it is just one of the funnies you share with friends, have your signature in place. Your Company name, contact details, web address etc. You never know who your friend may forward your ‘funnies’ to.
• Get onto some of the networking sites – not only business ones, but the social ones too, like Facebook (have you any idea how much business is done on Facebook?) – always put your Company details and your contact details in your profile.
• When you meet people, even socially, always ask what they do and always find an opportunity to tell people what it is that you do.
This is marketing in its most basic form, inexpensive but vital to the growing of your business.
So go out there – meet people, build relationships, build your brand and above all, remember to have fun!
For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:
“Not marketing yourself is like blinking in the dark. You know you are doing it. No-one else does.”
What a chuckle I had with this one! It really did appeal to my sense of humour and I had this video moment of a cartoon with everything black as the lights are off and here and there you get a flash of white, that then very quickly turns back to black as someone blinks in the dark!
Marketing yourself need not be expensive, you don’t have to hire one of those marketing guru’s to do it for you – actually it is exceptionally easy to do it for yourself.
Let’s take this one step at a time:-
• Always, always, always have your business cards close at hand. Your business card should have the name of your Company and all of your contact details on it. If your Company name does not say who you are (i.e. if your Company name is ABC Plumbing we all know what you do, but if it is ABC Consulting that is just another story altogether), if possible have something on the back of your card that gives people an indication of what it is that you do, like a list of your services.
• Whenever you send an e-mail out, even if it is just one of the funnies you share with friends, have your signature in place. Your Company name, contact details, web address etc. You never know who your friend may forward your ‘funnies’ to.
• Get onto some of the networking sites – not only business ones, but the social ones too, like Facebook (have you any idea how much business is done on Facebook?) – always put your Company details and your contact details in your profile.
• When you meet people, even socially, always ask what they do and always find an opportunity to tell people what it is that you do.
This is marketing in its most basic form, inexpensive but vital to the growing of your business.
So go out there – meet people, build relationships, build your brand and above all, remember to have fun!
For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 11
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 11
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Putting structure and foundation into your business is extremely important. It allows you to formulize your infrastructure and means that you work in a consistently ordered way rather than in chaos.
Creating ‘process’ and ‘administration’ sheets will clearly reveal the action that needs to be taken on things that need to be done on a day to day basis. This enables you to create your operations and administration manuals. These are the policies, procedures and templates that you would use to ‘run’ your business effectively and efficiently.
Writing your processes down shows people (and your staff and even yourself) how you will conduct your business. Here are some of the steps that you can use to develop your own processes.
1. Name each process, for example – Client’s Quotes.
2. Make a list of the actions that are needed to complete the process. Taking the above example – exactly step by step what is done when you receive a request for a client for a quote on your product or service. For each action the name of the person (or the title of the office holder) who is responsible for performing that action, should be recorded. In the above instance if you have stock in house, George the warehouse manager may have to check to see if there is sufficient stock available. If there is insufficient stock then Jack who is in charge of procurement, may have to order some more in, or alternatively if it is a service, the availability of the person concerned may need to be taken into account. The amount of time it takes (or should take) to complete each action should also be stipulated. This will ensure that productivity can be measured too.
3. Once all of these are listed you will be able to define the process correctly.
4. The above steps need to be repeated for each process in your business.
Get your friends, family, colleagues to go through your processes carefully with you, to ensure that you haven’t left any important steps out and don’t forget to update them from time to time to ensure that the information is still relevant and correct.
Make sure that you keep it simple. The simpler the process or procedure, the less the opportunity for employees to commit fraud or forget the steps and the easier it is to remember.
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 – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Putting structure and foundation into your business is extremely important. It allows you to formulize your infrastructure and means that you work in a consistently ordered way rather than in chaos.
Creating ‘process’ and ‘administration’ sheets will clearly reveal the action that needs to be taken on things that need to be done on a day to day basis. This enables you to create your operations and administration manuals. These are the policies, procedures and templates that you would use to ‘run’ your business effectively and efficiently.
Writing your processes down shows people (and your staff and even yourself) how you will conduct your business. Here are some of the steps that you can use to develop your own processes.
1. Name each process, for example – Client’s Quotes.
2. Make a list of the actions that are needed to complete the process. Taking the above example – exactly step by step what is done when you receive a request for a client for a quote on your product or service. For each action the name of the person (or the title of the office holder) who is responsible for performing that action, should be recorded. In the above instance if you have stock in house, George the warehouse manager may have to check to see if there is sufficient stock available. If there is insufficient stock then Jack who is in charge of procurement, may have to order some more in, or alternatively if it is a service, the availability of the person concerned may need to be taken into account. The amount of time it takes (or should take) to complete each action should also be stipulated. This will ensure that productivity can be measured too.
3. Once all of these are listed you will be able to define the process correctly.
4. The above steps need to be repeated for each process in your business.
Get your friends, family, colleagues to go through your processes carefully with you, to ensure that you haven’t left any important steps out and don’t forget to update them from time to time to ensure that the information is still relevant and correct.
Make sure that you keep it simple. The simpler the process or procedure, the less the opportunity for employees to commit fraud or forget the steps and the easier it is to remember.
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, August 13, 2018
Motivation – Why you Should Succeed
Motivation – Why you Should Succeed
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Michael Jordan says “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”
If the great Michael Jordan attributes his success to his failures, why is it that the majority of folk are so scared of failure? Why does it make us quiver in our boots, break out in hives and reduces us to tears? I don’t understand it!
Have I felt fear before – of course I have! Have I been afraid of failing – of course I have! I am no different from any one else out there, but here’s the thing – once you understand that we all fail on some level every single day, there is absolutely no reason to fear failure. Ok, I am not talking about the type of failure that constitutes a life threatening or debilitating situation here – of course that should be looked at separately and individually and the risks taken into account. But I am talking about the everyday failures that we encounter – things like making the wrong career choice and perhaps going into something that you have no passion for as a result of that, or not researching something properly and then purchasing a very expensive something that then does not meet your requirements or even starting a business that just does not get off the ground and you end up going into liquidation. Yes, those are the everyday failures that many people experience, deal with, get over, learn from and then move on to bigger, grander and more spectacular successes than they ever could imagine.
Why do you think that is? Are they any different from you and me? Not really hey! The one thing that sticks out about them though, is their “mindset”, the way that they react to any given situation that they find themselves in.
I was watching Masterchef Australia 2011. There was a young chap that got into the top 50 (I forget his name now), in that particular journey he ended up in 3 consecutive elimination challenges, having failed in the pressure tests. Gary (one of the judges) asked him why he was grinning from ear to ear on learning that he was once again in an elimination challenge – his response was something like “No worries mate, I get to cook again!” Most of the other contestants had only cooked once or twice but because he kept finding himself in the bottom 3 and he had to cook his way out of that, he had ended up at this point cooking 5 or 6 times and his take on this was that the more he cooked, the more he showed what he could do and the better he was becoming at it. The result, he was in the top 24! How cool is that! Was he afraid of failing - I am really sure that he was, but he knew what he wanted to achieve and that is what he focused on.
How do you think Michael Jordan felt standing there, taking a shot that he absolutely knew, could lose the game? I’m sure he also felt a profound sense of fear and clearly he did not give up, but took the shot anyway. Was he upset about his failure to deliver the shot – I have no doubt that he was! Thing is though, he didn’t give up on the game, he went back and practiced more. He took what he had learnt from missing that particular shot and turned it around and he delivered, time and time again!
It never stopped him from doing what he loved, he got up, dusted himself off and tried again, doing things slightly differently to ensure that he got a different outcome. Were all the outcome’s successful – I doubt that too, but the point is he kept going, he kept learning, he kept trying and that is what makes him and all the other successful people out there different.
It’s about us controlling the failure and not the failure controlling us, by taking what we have learnt and applying ourselves to changing the outcome. It’s about us keeping the objective in mind (and in sight). It’s about us believing in ourselves and our dreams.
Quite frankly, it’s about seeing things differently!
So going forward, instead of focusing our attention on beating ourselves up when we haven’t quite reached our goals or indeed our perception of what we need to be in order for us to ‘succeed’, lets’ turn the attention around and the focus on ‘how else can we get there’!
Never lose your dreams or your passions – they are what drive you, they are what makes you want to get up in the morning, they are what makes you want to be all that you can be!
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 (Pty) Ltd
Michael Jordan says “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”
If the great Michael Jordan attributes his success to his failures, why is it that the majority of folk are so scared of failure? Why does it make us quiver in our boots, break out in hives and reduces us to tears? I don’t understand it!
Have I felt fear before – of course I have! Have I been afraid of failing – of course I have! I am no different from any one else out there, but here’s the thing – once you understand that we all fail on some level every single day, there is absolutely no reason to fear failure. Ok, I am not talking about the type of failure that constitutes a life threatening or debilitating situation here – of course that should be looked at separately and individually and the risks taken into account. But I am talking about the everyday failures that we encounter – things like making the wrong career choice and perhaps going into something that you have no passion for as a result of that, or not researching something properly and then purchasing a very expensive something that then does not meet your requirements or even starting a business that just does not get off the ground and you end up going into liquidation. Yes, those are the everyday failures that many people experience, deal with, get over, learn from and then move on to bigger, grander and more spectacular successes than they ever could imagine.
Why do you think that is? Are they any different from you and me? Not really hey! The one thing that sticks out about them though, is their “mindset”, the way that they react to any given situation that they find themselves in.
I was watching Masterchef Australia 2011. There was a young chap that got into the top 50 (I forget his name now), in that particular journey he ended up in 3 consecutive elimination challenges, having failed in the pressure tests. Gary (one of the judges) asked him why he was grinning from ear to ear on learning that he was once again in an elimination challenge – his response was something like “No worries mate, I get to cook again!” Most of the other contestants had only cooked once or twice but because he kept finding himself in the bottom 3 and he had to cook his way out of that, he had ended up at this point cooking 5 or 6 times and his take on this was that the more he cooked, the more he showed what he could do and the better he was becoming at it. The result, he was in the top 24! How cool is that! Was he afraid of failing - I am really sure that he was, but he knew what he wanted to achieve and that is what he focused on.
How do you think Michael Jordan felt standing there, taking a shot that he absolutely knew, could lose the game? I’m sure he also felt a profound sense of fear and clearly he did not give up, but took the shot anyway. Was he upset about his failure to deliver the shot – I have no doubt that he was! Thing is though, he didn’t give up on the game, he went back and practiced more. He took what he had learnt from missing that particular shot and turned it around and he delivered, time and time again!
It never stopped him from doing what he loved, he got up, dusted himself off and tried again, doing things slightly differently to ensure that he got a different outcome. Were all the outcome’s successful – I doubt that too, but the point is he kept going, he kept learning, he kept trying and that is what makes him and all the other successful people out there different.
It’s about us controlling the failure and not the failure controlling us, by taking what we have learnt and applying ourselves to changing the outcome. It’s about us keeping the objective in mind (and in sight). It’s about us believing in ourselves and our dreams.
Quite frankly, it’s about seeing things differently!
So going forward, instead of focusing our attention on beating ourselves up when we haven’t quite reached our goals or indeed our perception of what we need to be in order for us to ‘succeed’, lets’ turn the attention around and the focus on ‘how else can we get there’!
Never lose your dreams or your passions – they are what drive you, they are what makes you want to get up in the morning, they are what makes you want to be all that you can be!
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, August 10, 2018
HR 101 - What to do When . . . Your Staff Are Insubordinate
HR 101 – What to do When . . . Your Staff Are Insubordinate
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour relations and Best Practice Requirements .
I tell you – there is some justice in the world. Let’s start at the beginning – what is ‘insubordination’? Well the dictionary says ‘ disobedient and rebellious’. Sounds pretty straightforward doesn’t it? Well usually it can be, however that said there is also a little word called ‘insolence’ and insolence should not be confused with insubordination because this is where the whole issue could become quite confusing. The dictionary says insolence is ‘offensively contemptuous, insulting’. Very similar, but also very different and the courts take this view as well.
So let’s bring in the protagonists. Mike owns a small retail store in a busy mall and George is his manager/sales assistant. Mike is busy doing the administration and the store seems to be a bit busy but there are moments of quiet.
1st example :- Mike looks up, sees no-one in the store and asks George to bring him the lever arch file entitled “Invoices” – George replies, “I’m busy right now” – that is considered insolence. George hasn’t refused to comply with the request/instruction, but he has been rude.
2nd example:- Mike looks up, sees no-one in the store and asks George to bring him the lever arch file entitled “Invoices” – George replies, “Get it yourself” – now this would be considered both insolent and insubordinate. You see George has implied that he will not comply with the request/instruction and he has been rude.
3rd example:- Mike looks up, sees no-one in the store and asks George to bring him the lever arch file entitled “Invoices” – George ignores him. Mike asks if George heard him, George confirms that he did. Mike repeats the request and George now refuses to fetch the file saying “it’s not my job”. Now that is straight forward insubordination – George has categorically refused to comply with what is a reasonable request/instruction.
Now here’s the thing – insolence is not a dismissible offence, but insubordination is. The rules still apply though. In the above example, if this is George’s 1st offence, you would not be able to dismiss him, but you could discipline him.
You see subordination is seen to be at the very core of the relationship between the employee and the employer. In the instances where you have a healthy subordinate relationship between the employee and the employer it means that there is an obligation that is maintained. Instructions given by the employer are complied with and the employer is respected. In any business, the employee is expected to ‘obey’ and be ‘respectful’ to the employer. Businesses would not be able to function properly if this were not the case.
One of the things that the courts really look at when dealing with cases of insubordination, is whether the employee (in this case George) intended to challenge the employer (in this case Mike’s) authority.
In this case, the insubordination would be considered minor as there would be no ‘loss to company’ and merely an irritation to Mike. A disciplinary with a warning would more than suffice.
If Mike had to leave the store to attend a meeting and at the point of departure, instructed George to ‘Lock up and arm the alarm’ and George either refused or just did not do it and as a result of this, the store was ransacked and there was a significant loss of stock, Mike would be well within his rights to discipline and find George guilty of gross insubordination – which is a dismissible offence, and then dismiss George.
Make sure that you understand the difference though. If in doubt consult with a reputable Labour Attorney. It will save you money 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
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour relations and Best Practice Requirements .
I tell you – there is some justice in the world. Let’s start at the beginning – what is ‘insubordination’? Well the dictionary says ‘ disobedient and rebellious’. Sounds pretty straightforward doesn’t it? Well usually it can be, however that said there is also a little word called ‘insolence’ and insolence should not be confused with insubordination because this is where the whole issue could become quite confusing. The dictionary says insolence is ‘offensively contemptuous, insulting’. Very similar, but also very different and the courts take this view as well.
So let’s bring in the protagonists. Mike owns a small retail store in a busy mall and George is his manager/sales assistant. Mike is busy doing the administration and the store seems to be a bit busy but there are moments of quiet.
1st example :- Mike looks up, sees no-one in the store and asks George to bring him the lever arch file entitled “Invoices” – George replies, “I’m busy right now” – that is considered insolence. George hasn’t refused to comply with the request/instruction, but he has been rude.
2nd example:- Mike looks up, sees no-one in the store and asks George to bring him the lever arch file entitled “Invoices” – George replies, “Get it yourself” – now this would be considered both insolent and insubordinate. You see George has implied that he will not comply with the request/instruction and he has been rude.
3rd example:- Mike looks up, sees no-one in the store and asks George to bring him the lever arch file entitled “Invoices” – George ignores him. Mike asks if George heard him, George confirms that he did. Mike repeats the request and George now refuses to fetch the file saying “it’s not my job”. Now that is straight forward insubordination – George has categorically refused to comply with what is a reasonable request/instruction.
Now here’s the thing – insolence is not a dismissible offence, but insubordination is. The rules still apply though. In the above example, if this is George’s 1st offence, you would not be able to dismiss him, but you could discipline him.
You see subordination is seen to be at the very core of the relationship between the employee and the employer. In the instances where you have a healthy subordinate relationship between the employee and the employer it means that there is an obligation that is maintained. Instructions given by the employer are complied with and the employer is respected. In any business, the employee is expected to ‘obey’ and be ‘respectful’ to the employer. Businesses would not be able to function properly if this were not the case.
One of the things that the courts really look at when dealing with cases of insubordination, is whether the employee (in this case George) intended to challenge the employer (in this case Mike’s) authority.
In this case, the insubordination would be considered minor as there would be no ‘loss to company’ and merely an irritation to Mike. A disciplinary with a warning would more than suffice.
If Mike had to leave the store to attend a meeting and at the point of departure, instructed George to ‘Lock up and arm the alarm’ and George either refused or just did not do it and as a result of this, the store was ransacked and there was a significant loss of stock, Mike would be well within his rights to discipline and find George guilty of gross insubordination – which is a dismissible offence, and then dismiss George.
Make sure that you understand the difference though. If in doubt consult with a reputable Labour Attorney. It will save you money 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, August 08, 2018
Networking 101 - Keeping Confidences
Networking 101 - Keeping Confidences
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:
“The keeping of confidences, is an unwritten rule of successful networking.”
Ain’t that the truth! I met with a lady (let’s call her Anne) a couple of days ago for a more in depth ‘one on one’ meeting and she really had me reeling. You see we had initially met at one of the networking meetings that I go to on a regular basis. I had taken her card, as well as the cards of the people who sat on either side of her and I was now having my customary chat to ascertain exactly what it was that she did, who her target market was so that I could understand how best to either refer her or connect her up with people that she could add value to or who could add value to her.
During the course of the discussion, she started talking about one of her clients, let’s call him Tim. Apparently Tim had quoted on a job for his client, let’s call him James and then when he received the relevant materials for the job, he noticed that his supplier had given him a whopping discount. The bottom line was that the materials that he had quoted on (and usually put a 15% mark up on as part of his fees) had in fact been supplied to him at cost plus 10% as the supplier was clearing out his warehouse for new stock. This in financial terms meant that Tim was paying 50% less than what he had quoted on.
Tim now faced with a dilemma because there were several options. One would be not to say anything, and keep his quote exactly the way that it was thereby increasing his margins and his profits exponentially, two would be to tell James the truth and pass the saving onto the client and three would be to tell James of the windfall and suggest that they split the unexpected windfall between them. Personally I liked the third option the best – it would be a win/win for both of them.
Whilst we were having this discussion, my friend James saw us chatting and came over to greet me. Without missing a beat – Anne asked for his opinion and in order to get it, started telling him the entire story, before they were even introduced.
Well I am sure you can guess what happened next. You see my friend James was Tim’s customer and as luck would have it, Tim had decided to keep all the extra profit for himself. The amount in question would have run into hundreds of thousands of Rands.
James, of course was absolutely furious over what he then perceived as Tim trying to rip him off and cancelled the whole deal. Tim, later found out that it was Anne who had talked and now she too has lost a client and I, well I would really think hard about referring either Anne or her client Tim to anyone in my data base. I would be constantly wondering who was saying what about whom and who was being over quoted.
I am quite frankly astounded at how easily people talk about other people’s business!
For me the only time that you give out other people’s names is when you are referring them or connecting them. If you really feel the need to tell the story, tell it – but leave peoples names out of it.
The world is a very small place and trust is so easily broken – once broken it is very difficult to rebuild – it’s easier to just not lose the trust in the first place.
For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za .
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:
“The keeping of confidences, is an unwritten rule of successful networking.”
Ain’t that the truth! I met with a lady (let’s call her Anne) a couple of days ago for a more in depth ‘one on one’ meeting and she really had me reeling. You see we had initially met at one of the networking meetings that I go to on a regular basis. I had taken her card, as well as the cards of the people who sat on either side of her and I was now having my customary chat to ascertain exactly what it was that she did, who her target market was so that I could understand how best to either refer her or connect her up with people that she could add value to or who could add value to her.
During the course of the discussion, she started talking about one of her clients, let’s call him Tim. Apparently Tim had quoted on a job for his client, let’s call him James and then when he received the relevant materials for the job, he noticed that his supplier had given him a whopping discount. The bottom line was that the materials that he had quoted on (and usually put a 15% mark up on as part of his fees) had in fact been supplied to him at cost plus 10% as the supplier was clearing out his warehouse for new stock. This in financial terms meant that Tim was paying 50% less than what he had quoted on.
Tim now faced with a dilemma because there were several options. One would be not to say anything, and keep his quote exactly the way that it was thereby increasing his margins and his profits exponentially, two would be to tell James the truth and pass the saving onto the client and three would be to tell James of the windfall and suggest that they split the unexpected windfall between them. Personally I liked the third option the best – it would be a win/win for both of them.
Whilst we were having this discussion, my friend James saw us chatting and came over to greet me. Without missing a beat – Anne asked for his opinion and in order to get it, started telling him the entire story, before they were even introduced.
Well I am sure you can guess what happened next. You see my friend James was Tim’s customer and as luck would have it, Tim had decided to keep all the extra profit for himself. The amount in question would have run into hundreds of thousands of Rands.
James, of course was absolutely furious over what he then perceived as Tim trying to rip him off and cancelled the whole deal. Tim, later found out that it was Anne who had talked and now she too has lost a client and I, well I would really think hard about referring either Anne or her client Tim to anyone in my data base. I would be constantly wondering who was saying what about whom and who was being over quoted.
I am quite frankly astounded at how easily people talk about other people’s business!
For me the only time that you give out other people’s names is when you are referring them or connecting them. If you really feel the need to tell the story, tell it – but leave peoples names out of it.
The world is a very small place and trust is so easily broken – once broken it is very difficult to rebuild – it’s easier to just not lose the trust in the first place.
For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za .
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za
Tuesday, August 07, 2018
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss - Part 10
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 10
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
One of the questions that I am asked on a regular basis is “How do I cost myself/product/service”?
To be quite honest, the first time I heard the question I was quite surprised until I understood the ‘why’ of the question that was asked.
You see there are several issues that need to be taken into account when working out your pricing in order to ensure that you are able to cover your overheads, productions, distribution, labour costs and marketing costs. Don’t forgot though, that you also want to make a profit too and this also needs to be factored into your calculations.
Your goals and how much you want to make also has a huge impact on the pricing strategy, so that is something else that you need to be really clear about.
As usual, research needs to be done. You need to check out consumer demands which will also affect the end pricing.
Also, have a look at your competition. What they are selling their product or services for. Don’t go too low because people may think that your product or service is inferior and don’t go too high or you will price yourself right out of the market. Rather make yourself competitive and make your service the deciding factor.
For many though, at first you will probably be guessing at what your costs will be – don’t let this deter you, but do try and be as realistic as possible.
As your business grows and stabilizes you will be able to ascertain what your exact or real costs are and will then be able to adjust your pricing accordingly.
Take care with your margins though as getting that particular formula wrong could have long lasting effects on your business.
Find the correct formula, document it and stick with it and you will be on the right road to success.
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 – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
One of the questions that I am asked on a regular basis is “How do I cost myself/product/service”?
To be quite honest, the first time I heard the question I was quite surprised until I understood the ‘why’ of the question that was asked.
You see there are several issues that need to be taken into account when working out your pricing in order to ensure that you are able to cover your overheads, productions, distribution, labour costs and marketing costs. Don’t forgot though, that you also want to make a profit too and this also needs to be factored into your calculations.
Your goals and how much you want to make also has a huge impact on the pricing strategy, so that is something else that you need to be really clear about.
As usual, research needs to be done. You need to check out consumer demands which will also affect the end pricing.
Also, have a look at your competition. What they are selling their product or services for. Don’t go too low because people may think that your product or service is inferior and don’t go too high or you will price yourself right out of the market. Rather make yourself competitive and make your service the deciding factor.
For many though, at first you will probably be guessing at what your costs will be – don’t let this deter you, but do try and be as realistic as possible.
As your business grows and stabilizes you will be able to ascertain what your exact or real costs are and will then be able to adjust your pricing accordingly.
Take care with your margins though as getting that particular formula wrong could have long lasting effects on your business.
Find the correct formula, document it and stick with it and you will be on the right road to success.
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, August 06, 2018
Motivation - Belief
Motivation – Belief
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
James Allen wrote “Belief always precedes action”.
Well I doubt that it can be any clearer than that! Why is it then that people still try and do things that they don’t believe in or in fact fail to take action even if it is something that they do believe in? It’s a shame that so many have gotten it wrong!
I think that on some level, it’s the whole ‘begging bowl’ mentality that we seem to have bought into and also on some level the fact that parents and teachers ‘do’ everything for kids these days, it’s left us with this whole idea that ‘someone’ will do it for us.
Thinking back on my childhood, my parents certainly did stuff for me, don’t get me wrong, but they also taught me ‘how to’ do things for myself and once taught I was expected to do them for myself. Some of my earliest memories is of helping in the kitchen and believe me it was no ‘mod con’ kitchen that most middle class youngsters have access to today – it was a farm kitchen. We had an old ‘wood’ aga that was used for everything but baking (which required a more precise temperature) and it was a very hungry beast that had to be fed most of the day. Sure it produced some divine tasting meals on a regular basis, but everyone had to help – whether that help was to chop the wood into the correct size or carry the cut wood to the box that lived beside the stove or every-time you went out of the back door, to check the heat of the stove and if it was in need of a log or two, to do the honours. When it came time to prepare the meal, I remember having to stand on a wooden box to reach the table as I peeled vegetables and then cut them up for the meal. Today children get home and sit around on their cell phones or watch TV whilst frazzled mothers who have had long hard working days, struggle to juggle everything that needs to be done before they fall exhausted into bed long after everyone else is asleep.
I went to boarding school long before my 5th birthday – the farm was at least a 3 hour drive from the nearest school. There all your books were supplied and of course everyone had the same brown paper covers. Unlike today, the brown paper came in rolls, not the precisely pre-cut sheets that we get today and the teacher showed us how to cover the first one and the rest we had to do ourselves. Today I hear mothers of teenage children talk about having to go home to cover the school books for their offspring and I often wonder if the child is paralyzed.
School projects were done by school children who all had access to the same raw materials and whose own efforts were rewarded with the appropriate marks. Nowadays parents do the projects for the children, who reap rewards from the efforts of others – now how exactly does that make any kind of sense at all?
I hear parents of children who are about to embark on their tertiary journey, bragging about their children who are ‘following’ in the footsteps of their fathers, mothers etc., in terms of their career choice and when you speak to the child, their passions are in totally different directions. Shouldn’t people be ‘being the best that they can be’ and if you agree with that statement, surely you can only be the best that you can be at something that you are passionate about, or something that you totally believe in?
So is it any wonder then, that people sit around and wait for something to happen? Is it any wonder that there is this whole sector of the population, who work in jobs that they hate? Stuck in lives that they despise, but unable to escape their drudgery because of their inability to act. Think of all the people who say that they hate Mondays or that ‘can’t wait for the weekends’ and how sad their lives must be because they are going through the motions, without passion. How very sad is that.
If only they believed in themselves and their ability to find a passion and then act on that passion, they could be bouncing out of bed every morning, excited to start the day, excited to live life to the full, to be all that they could be . . . and, it all starts with one little action!
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 (Pty) Ltd
James Allen wrote “Belief always precedes action”.
Well I doubt that it can be any clearer than that! Why is it then that people still try and do things that they don’t believe in or in fact fail to take action even if it is something that they do believe in? It’s a shame that so many have gotten it wrong!
I think that on some level, it’s the whole ‘begging bowl’ mentality that we seem to have bought into and also on some level the fact that parents and teachers ‘do’ everything for kids these days, it’s left us with this whole idea that ‘someone’ will do it for us.
Thinking back on my childhood, my parents certainly did stuff for me, don’t get me wrong, but they also taught me ‘how to’ do things for myself and once taught I was expected to do them for myself. Some of my earliest memories is of helping in the kitchen and believe me it was no ‘mod con’ kitchen that most middle class youngsters have access to today – it was a farm kitchen. We had an old ‘wood’ aga that was used for everything but baking (which required a more precise temperature) and it was a very hungry beast that had to be fed most of the day. Sure it produced some divine tasting meals on a regular basis, but everyone had to help – whether that help was to chop the wood into the correct size or carry the cut wood to the box that lived beside the stove or every-time you went out of the back door, to check the heat of the stove and if it was in need of a log or two, to do the honours. When it came time to prepare the meal, I remember having to stand on a wooden box to reach the table as I peeled vegetables and then cut them up for the meal. Today children get home and sit around on their cell phones or watch TV whilst frazzled mothers who have had long hard working days, struggle to juggle everything that needs to be done before they fall exhausted into bed long after everyone else is asleep.
I went to boarding school long before my 5th birthday – the farm was at least a 3 hour drive from the nearest school. There all your books were supplied and of course everyone had the same brown paper covers. Unlike today, the brown paper came in rolls, not the precisely pre-cut sheets that we get today and the teacher showed us how to cover the first one and the rest we had to do ourselves. Today I hear mothers of teenage children talk about having to go home to cover the school books for their offspring and I often wonder if the child is paralyzed.
School projects were done by school children who all had access to the same raw materials and whose own efforts were rewarded with the appropriate marks. Nowadays parents do the projects for the children, who reap rewards from the efforts of others – now how exactly does that make any kind of sense at all?
I hear parents of children who are about to embark on their tertiary journey, bragging about their children who are ‘following’ in the footsteps of their fathers, mothers etc., in terms of their career choice and when you speak to the child, their passions are in totally different directions. Shouldn’t people be ‘being the best that they can be’ and if you agree with that statement, surely you can only be the best that you can be at something that you are passionate about, or something that you totally believe in?
So is it any wonder then, that people sit around and wait for something to happen? Is it any wonder that there is this whole sector of the population, who work in jobs that they hate? Stuck in lives that they despise, but unable to escape their drudgery because of their inability to act. Think of all the people who say that they hate Mondays or that ‘can’t wait for the weekends’ and how sad their lives must be because they are going through the motions, without passion. How very sad is that.
If only they believed in themselves and their ability to find a passion and then act on that passion, they could be bouncing out of bed every morning, excited to start the day, excited to live life to the full, to be all that they could be . . . and, it all starts with one little action!
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, August 03, 2018
HR 101 - What to do When . . . Your Staff Want to Take Family Responsibility Leave
HR 101 – What to do When . . . Your Staff Want To Take Family Responsibility Leave
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice Requirements.
Welcome back to my protagonists. Mike owns a small retail store and he has one employee – Jane. Jane is married and is now pregnant – what is Mike’s responsibility.
Well here is what the law says in terms of granting Family Responsibility Leave:
1. The law states that your employee is entitled to have 4 (four) months maternity leave. Granted you don’t have to pay her while she is on maternity leave, but she is entitled to take four months and furthermore, you will be obliged to take her back after those four months are up.
2. Should Jane’s now new born child become ill, Jane is entitled to now take 3 (three) days Family Responsibility Leave per annum. Jane is also entitled to take her own sick leave if her child is ill and should that also run out, she would be able to link her annual leave to this as well, and finally when she runs out of annual leave, Mike will be requested to give her unpaid leave.
Here’s there thing though, Jane will have to provide documentary evidence to prove that the child is ill. The normal ‘sick’ leave policy and rules still apply and Mike is entitled to ask for a doctor’s certificate.
3. During the time that Jane worked for Mike, her father passed away. Mike is obliged, by law to allow Jane 3 (three) days Family Responsibility Leave (provided that she has not already taken it for a sick baby – the law states 3 days per annum). Jane will have to produce documentary evidence again, to prove that the person who died, was in fact her father or that they are a member of her immediate family. The law states that an immediate family member is as follows:
a) Spouse or life partner;
b) Parents
c) Children.
Remember to though – the employee is only entitled to 3 (three) days Family Responsibility leave per annum. It cannot be accumulated and it cannot be paid out.
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 – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice Requirements.
Welcome back to my protagonists. Mike owns a small retail store and he has one employee – Jane. Jane is married and is now pregnant – what is Mike’s responsibility.
Well here is what the law says in terms of granting Family Responsibility Leave:
1. The law states that your employee is entitled to have 4 (four) months maternity leave. Granted you don’t have to pay her while she is on maternity leave, but she is entitled to take four months and furthermore, you will be obliged to take her back after those four months are up.
2. Should Jane’s now new born child become ill, Jane is entitled to now take 3 (three) days Family Responsibility Leave per annum. Jane is also entitled to take her own sick leave if her child is ill and should that also run out, she would be able to link her annual leave to this as well, and finally when she runs out of annual leave, Mike will be requested to give her unpaid leave.
Here’s there thing though, Jane will have to provide documentary evidence to prove that the child is ill. The normal ‘sick’ leave policy and rules still apply and Mike is entitled to ask for a doctor’s certificate.
3. During the time that Jane worked for Mike, her father passed away. Mike is obliged, by law to allow Jane 3 (three) days Family Responsibility Leave (provided that she has not already taken it for a sick baby – the law states 3 days per annum). Jane will have to produce documentary evidence again, to prove that the person who died, was in fact her father or that they are a member of her immediate family. The law states that an immediate family member is as follows:
a) Spouse or life partner;
b) Parents
c) Children.
Remember to though – the employee is only entitled to 3 (three) days Family Responsibility leave per annum. It cannot be accumulated and it cannot be paid out.
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, August 02, 2018
Blogging 101 - The Monday Blues
Blogging 101 – The Monday Blues
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Sadly for many, Monday mornings are a challenge! They symbolize the return to the drudge that is their working life. For many the stress of starting a new week can seem overwhelming. Some just can’t get going and like my staff in my corporate days, need a good swift virtual kick up the rear end to get them going.
With this in mind, your blog needs to pack a punch to make a statement, to stand out from the rest.
Remember, like most of us – people get to work and usually the first thing that they do is look at their mail boxes and discover . . . . 27 million e-mails in their inboxes (me, exaggerate – don’t be ridiculous). By the time they have waded through the first 20 or so, the delete button become the favorite new toy of the day, so believe me when I tell you that the title of your Monday blog needs to jump off the screen screaming READ ME!
Oh – and when they drop everything to open up and read your blog, best it be worth the time and trouble they took to click onto your article, or believe me (again) that the little delete button will be working overtime!
For me, the “Motivation” series that I have going, works really well, although in all honesty they are more of a challenge or a ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ kind of well . . . motivation (usually meant for me specifically), and as such I believe that it sorts of ‘set you up’ for the coming week.
Hopefully, they inspire, motivate and even challenge you to get done whatever it is that needs to be done.
The point though is that you have to be different, innovative and clearly unique. Make your message so exciting or profound that the reader is left, excitedly looking forward to reading your next article.
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 – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Sadly for many, Monday mornings are a challenge! They symbolize the return to the drudge that is their working life. For many the stress of starting a new week can seem overwhelming. Some just can’t get going and like my staff in my corporate days, need a good swift virtual kick up the rear end to get them going.
With this in mind, your blog needs to pack a punch to make a statement, to stand out from the rest.
Remember, like most of us – people get to work and usually the first thing that they do is look at their mail boxes and discover . . . . 27 million e-mails in their inboxes (me, exaggerate – don’t be ridiculous). By the time they have waded through the first 20 or so, the delete button become the favorite new toy of the day, so believe me when I tell you that the title of your Monday blog needs to jump off the screen screaming READ ME!
Oh – and when they drop everything to open up and read your blog, best it be worth the time and trouble they took to click onto your article, or believe me (again) that the little delete button will be working overtime!
For me, the “Motivation” series that I have going, works really well, although in all honesty they are more of a challenge or a ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ kind of well . . . motivation (usually meant for me specifically), and as such I believe that it sorts of ‘set you up’ for the coming week.
Hopefully, they inspire, motivate and even challenge you to get done whatever it is that needs to be done.
The point though is that you have to be different, innovative and clearly unique. Make your message so exciting or profound that the reader is left, excitedly looking forward to reading your next article.
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, August 01, 2018
Networking 101 - Don’t Forget Your Business Cards!
Networking 101 - Don’t Forget Your Business Cards!
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I went to a Networking dinner the other night and was totally amazed that around 80% of the people that I met did not have a business card with them!
I mean, this was a Networking event, not a visit to the neighbour’s house for an informal braai – although quite frankly you should have a business card to two with you when you go there too.
Going to a Networking event without a business card is just plain stupid! Even if your business cards are still at the printer, or you forget to pick them up – make sure that you have something with your Business name and contact details. This was a huge event (with over 1000 people present) and I had the opportunity to actively network with a minimum of 30 people. I walked away with 27 business cards, of which 23 have the names and contact details of the various individuals written on the back of my ‘old’ business cards.
Not having business cards at a networking event actually tells its own story – it tells me that you are not serious about doing business with anyone. Well that or you have no idea about what networking is about!
Going to a networking event is an opportunity to give your cards out freely and always ask for one in return. Contact the people whose cards you have taken and follow up. Phone them, book an appointment to see them and exchange referrals.
Always, always, always have a sufficient supply of cards with 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.
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I went to a Networking dinner the other night and was totally amazed that around 80% of the people that I met did not have a business card with them!
I mean, this was a Networking event, not a visit to the neighbour’s house for an informal braai – although quite frankly you should have a business card to two with you when you go there too.
Going to a Networking event without a business card is just plain stupid! Even if your business cards are still at the printer, or you forget to pick them up – make sure that you have something with your Business name and contact details. This was a huge event (with over 1000 people present) and I had the opportunity to actively network with a minimum of 30 people. I walked away with 27 business cards, of which 23 have the names and contact details of the various individuals written on the back of my ‘old’ business cards.
Not having business cards at a networking event actually tells its own story – it tells me that you are not serious about doing business with anyone. Well that or you have no idea about what networking is about!
Going to a networking event is an opportunity to give your cards out freely and always ask for one in return. Contact the people whose cards you have taken and follow up. Phone them, book an appointment to see them and exchange referrals.
Always, always, always have a sufficient supply of cards with 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.
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