PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS FOR SALE - Challenging Positions

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PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS FOR SALE

Mark Corke & Challenging positions

4 September 2008

In the book "Getting to Yes" by Fisher, Uri & Patton, one of the underlying themes is the value in not taking positions when negotiating. Their reasoning is that once a position has been taken, it is very difficult to move away from it without losing. For me this was illustrated so well during the last week.

Our whole existence is about negotiating: From negotiating with our kids about getting into the bath, eating their vegetables, getting into bed on time, coming home on time, to arguing about where they are going to sleep, and with whom! Negotiating prices with plumbers, salaries with bosses or employees, leave entitlements with staff and even Christmas party budgets with the whole company. We all negotiate all the time.

"Start out with an ideal and end up with a deal." Karl Albrecht I am regularly tasked with effectively negotiating a person's pension as part of his exit plan from a business. I do this by negotiating the best price for my client; the seller of a business. It is a heavy responsibility, and we are rewarded handsomely, I think. In doing so, I tend to live the deal somewhat, and as a result all this, negotiating becomes somewhat second nature. And so when the phone rings, I am very careful to understand what the other person is saying before make a potentially deal breaking or deal limiting statement.

At the beginning of the year Suitegum conducted a business valuation on a very nice business for a sprightly owner who is intent on retiring in his fifties. The business is an excellent one with good cash flows and in an industry which is witnessing the floundering of one its stalwarts. Our hero is picking up customers left right and centre from the ensuing disappointments created by the struggling competitor.

I should point out at this juncture that before we take on the task of selling any business, we always conduct a proper well thought out market related valuation. This does not mean that every business for which we do the valuation exercise ends up being sold by us, or at all. In fact we have several clients who have their businesses valued on an annual basis so that they know where their retirement plans are headed. So it is normal to not hear from a business owner for some time after a valuation is complete. We certainly don't hound them to sell to a "confirmed and qualified buyer"!

Anyway, some time after the valuation had been completed, we were called by the owner of the business to say that he did not realise the complexity, and the time required away from his core activity in selling a business. Would we step in to help? He had taken it upon himself, in addition to all his other duties, to sell his business - a once off transaction for him, but an almost every day occurrence for his target market.

We agreed the terms of Suitegum acting as his negotiator, and he gave us the list of suppliers and customers to whom he had spoken about selling, and who are interested in acquiring.

When we went to see the first of the potential buyers on the list, I became very concerned when the person told us that he had seen our valuation, and disagreed with it. Not so much with the fact that he disagreed with it - that is normal - but that he had seen it at all. Effectively the seller had drawn a line in the sand, which had magically transformed into a price ceiling which would now never be achieved with this buyer. Forgive me for mixing so many metaphors into one paragraph.

Of course the counter offer is well below the valuation, and backed up by as much bluster and hot air as you’re ever likely to see. I politely asked the financial advisor of the interested party (I call him an “interested party” because he is no longer a “buyer”) to walk me through his reasoning. There is no logic of any merit, but there was no point in entering into any debate. Nor is there any point in calling this “buyer” to argue up the price.

Instead I concentrated on connecting with him on a social level, and will not make the promised call next week. When he calls me eventually, I will inform him regretfully that we feel that we are able to achieve a much higher price in the open market amongst our 150 odd serious, well qualified investors. This last bit is true, fortunately.

I hope that his greed and knowledge of the industry will cause him to reconsider his own position. Remember our position is simply a higher one. How high? He does not know, and the pressure will be on him to make an offer.

It is unfortunate though that every potential buyer on the seller’s list has had exposure to our valuation. They all have the same ceiling. Our seller has taken a position, from which we are going to be hard pressed to move as the buyers all sharpen their pencils which are increasingly resembling swords.

I am confident that we will be able to find a buyer at the best price possible, even if it is after a bit of a fight. The South African testosterone filled negotiation has a weakness - how do you back down? How do you find reason to force a price upwards?

Compare this deal to another for which we never mentioned a price, but rather suggested a guideline value at which bidders should enter the market. As the seller has become more and more cooperative and excited about the deal, and as buyers are gently allowed to discover that other buyers exist, we have forced that price up from an initial asking price of 40M to 60M. Why?

Because the business is worth every penny, future prospects are brilliant, and the buyers know that they would be getting more than a fair deal. And of course we are interested in maximising our commission.

Cheers
Mark Corke

MOTIVATION - THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE

MOTIVATION – THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

It is said that “two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different.”

I believe that it is all in the perception of the individual – why else would some people see the glass as ‘half full’ and others see it as ‘half empty’?

I also believe that our perception is influenced by our mindsets and the choices that we make about things – why else would some people cry ‘the end of the world is at hand’ and others see it as ‘huge opportunities presenting themselves’?

I believe that many people sit back and wait for others to do things for them and on their behalf and then have a huge amount to say when things are not done to their satisfaction, whilst many others just make things happen by just getting on with the business of ‘doing’ as apposed to waiting and watching and hoping that something will happen and then of course there are those again that go through life in a bit of a daze and who are constantly wondering “what the hell happened”?

I believe that there are those who choose to go through life, walking on the dark side and who are content to wallow in the doom and gloom, whilst others prefer to live in the sunshine and smile at the rain. I know which ones company I would prefer to be in.

I believe that no matter which path you choose to walk down, and no matter how different people are to you – you have the right to choose your own path, you have the right to be accepted and you have the right to be ‘different’.

Remember though, that although you have all of these rights, so to do the people who see things differently from you and you need to respect their views and accept that they have the right to be different to you too.

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

WHAT TO DO WHEN. . . . You Want to Dismiss Staff - Part 8

ARTICLE 10

WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . You Want To Dismiss Staff?

Part 8


By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting CC.

Today we are going to look at Incapacity and Poor work performance and the guidelines for dismissing someone therefore:

To ensure that the staff member is given every opportunity to improve the following must take place where appropriate:

- the staff member’s work performance should be evaluated on a regular basis
- staff should be given instruction that is in a clear and concise language that is easily understood, so as to avoid miscommunication
- staff should be given training that pertains to the position that they work in.
- staff should be encouraged to have mentors within the organization who would be able to guide them and steer them in the right direction
- should the employer still find that the employee is struggling to meet laid down requirements and/or criteria, counseling sessions should take place in an endeavor to get the staff member to render satisfactory service.

In the event that a new employee fails to meet the criteria in terms of work performance, the employer should not dismiss the employee until the employee has had an opportunity to state their case or to respond to the allegations. In other words the employer would need to follow the usual disciplinary procedures.

A new employee should also not be dismissed unless the previous requirements in terms of evaluation, instruction, training, guidance counseling etc., had been met. Should the staff member still continuously fail to perform in a satisfactory manner, disciplinary procedures must be followed prior to the dismissal.

As always the procedure leading to the dismissal must include an investigation to establish the reasons for the unsatisfactory performance. Both the employer and the employee should try to think of other ways to remedy the matter – other than dismissal. Dismissal should always be a last resort.

The employee also has the right to be heard and has the right to be assisted by another employee, colleague or union member. The employee also has the right to seek assistance and guidance from the HR department.

The guidelines for dismissal for poor work performance should also include but not be limited to:

a. whether or not the employee failed to meet the performance standard and/or criteria for the position that they fill
b. if the employee did not meet the required standard and/or criteria whether or not this was not met because
i. the employee was aware, or could reasonably be expected to be aware of the required performance standard – for example, Joe used to be a waiter at the Wimpy where the cutlery was wrapped up in a paper serviette and placed on the table for patrons to help themselves. Joe now works in a 5 star hotel restaurant, where the waiters are expected to lay the cutlery out in a specific manner for specific courses. Joe has no clue what the difference is between the cutlery and what it is supposed to be used for. If Joe is dismissed at this point you will be inviting trouble in through the door.
ii. the employee was given a fair opportunity to meet the required performance standard – for example, Jane has never worked an electronic touch till before and the sales person who installed it, showed all the staff members how to operate it in a 15 minute demonstration. There are no operator manuals with instructions and Jane is completely out of her depth. If Jane is dismissed at this point you are inviting trouble in through the door.
iii. dismissal was an appropriate sanction for not meeting the required performance standard – for example, Alex started as a data capturer in the financial department in a large corporate. Alex has only done data capturing on Pastel and can capture 150 units a minute with consistent accuracy. This company uses SAP and after the first month Alex’s speed is only at 50 units a minute. If Alex is dismissed at this point you are inviting trouble in through the door.

Clearly from the above, it can be seen that dismissing someone for poor work performance can be done and it is not that difficult, providing of course that you follow the correct procedures consistently.

Next week we will have a look at Dismissal due to Incapacity and Ill Health.

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

CUSTOMER SERVICE - The Customer is always right

CUSTOMER SERVICE

The Customer is always right


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

We’ve all heard the phrase “The customer is always right”. The phrase was apparently first coined in 1909 by the founder of Selridge’s Department Store in London. It was used to instil a greater sense of awareness amongst the employees, of their attitude towards customers and how they interacted with them. It is used today, rightly or wrongly, by business to indicate or give the impression of providing good service.

In many businesses today, particularly where there are call centres in place, this has become merely lip service. Nowadays though, with the internet, e-mails and logs, the networks and people who are linked with working networks, when a client chooses to complain, very few companies can afford not to listen. With the introduction of industry ombudsmen there are even more complaint channels available to people who wish to voice their complaints.

This makes consumer power bigger and better than it has ever been. The question of course is do we, as consumers, complain enough, or do we just put up with bad service, poor quality and indifferent sales people for the sake of a quiet life?

If a client takes the time and/or trouble to voice a complaint it should be seen as an opportunity, by the business, to right a wrong, or as a second chance. The fact is that customers who complain give business the opportunity to improve their service and thereby retain the patronage of their clientele.

Ironically, the reality of the situation is that very few of us take the time and trouble to complain or express our dissatisfaction directly to a company usually because the perception is that it is not really worth the effort. Many South Africans just tolerate bad service. What we usually do is ‘vote with our feet’ and of course our voices, when we tell all of our friends, family and colleagues or in fact anyone who will listen about the bad experience that we had. This does not help the situation at all, as we have not dealt with the root of the problem.

Human nature being what it is though, means that we usually complain a lot more that we praise. So when we moan and groan quite liberally to all and sundry we very rarely spread the news when service or quality is exceptional. The result of this of course that we as consumers have the ability and potential to make or break a small business.

Clearly it is of the utmost importance to deal with customer complaints effectively and efficiently.

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

THE POWER OF NETWORKING - PART 78

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

PART 78

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

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

“Always remember, to acknowledge peoples’ contributions, thank them, compliment them sincerely, and return favours where possible.”

Isn’t this just common courtesy ? Think about it for a moment – here I use Dr Renate Volpe’s nugget cards on a regular basis as a theme on whatever it is that I am writing. How pleased do you think she would be if I had not asked permission? How pleased do you think she would be if I did not give her the credit for the ‘tip’ that she has written? How pleased do you think she would be if I didn’t acknowledge that it is her writing and therefore her IP (intellectual property)?

Quite frankly, I don’t think she would be very pleased with me at all. In fact for the record, whenever I use one of Renate’s nuggets, I mail her a copy of what I have written, because without her nugget, her ‘tip’ or her statement, I would not have had anything to write about.

Now, ask yourself this question, how would you feel if someone consistently took your contributions, your writings and muses and used them to promote whatever it was that they were doing, without asking your permission to do so, or without even giving you the credit of having contributed it in the first place. I am sure you would not be very happy about it at all.

So make sure that whenever you use something of someone else’s, where possible ask permission first. Make sure that you thank them and give them credit for their good work. Let’s face it, if the work wasn’t good you would not be using it in the first place! Always, always reciprocate if you can.

Just treat them and their work, the way that you would want to be treated.

For more information on Renate, please visit her website at www.hirs.co.za

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

PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS FOR SALE - ALIENATION OF ASSETS

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Here is some more useful information regarding what you need to do in order to optimize the sale of your business.

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PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS FOR SALE

Alienation of Assets
23 August 2007

Selling the shares of your company may be the first step to your financial ruin. Not initially, you'll appreciate, but more likely about two years after the sale of the shares. First of all, it is important to know that there are two ways of selling your business; either as the obvious sale of the shares or interest in the company or close corporation, or as a sale of the business as an asset of the company or close corporation. With that in mind, let me tell you a story of a factory owner who was fooled into letting a buyer into his company via the share trade route:


Make a small fortune - start with a big one
It was important for the purchaser of the business that he retain the supplier contracts, obviously. In this case both the seller and the purchaser assumed that the best way of achieving this would be by way of a transfer of shares. After all, the contracts were with the legal entity - the company, not the owner of the company, and as they conspired; why should the management of the supplier be made aware of the new ownership, anyway?


This is a ploy often used where the purchaser has a checkered past, and feels that he may not pass the credit vetting process of the suppliers' credit departments. Far too often, this subterfuge is perpetrated in collusion with a desperate seller, thinking only of the immediate payment for his shares, as was the fact in this case study. The purchaser had approached the seller with an offer which was never tested on the open market or through a market related valuation. The spectre of several million Rands in the hands of the owner of a growing business, battling with cash flow, was too much for the owner to resist.


All the legal documentation had been drafted at the purchaser's expense, the lump sum was attractive and the purchaser wanted to do the deal in the next month. No time was afforded to the seller to consider his options, prospects or safety. Certainly no guidance was offered either. No war stories and warnings were related by any transfer intermediary. And there was definitely no opportunity to compare the virtues of several prospective purchasers. The final nail in the coffin of the seller was his panic when the purchaser hinted that he was looking at another, similar business.


Initially the seller had no need to worry. He was paid in full, in cash, and on time. There was no quibble about the stock value, and the purchaser was happy for him to stay in the business for no more than 3 months. The dream deal? So it at first seemed, and it was this phrase which the seller used as he boasted over beers with mates.


Two years later, the seller had spent a large portion of his selling price on the financing of a block of residential flats which were about to break even in their monthly cash flows. He'd purchased a nice holiday home on the coast, and his youngest son was in his last year at a rather expensive private school in the KwaZulu Natal Midlands. Money was beginning to tighten up a bit, but he was unconcerned because the net cash flow from his flats would soon turn positive.
Then the sheriff arrived.


While the seller had been blissfully getting on with a less stressed life, the new owners of the business had continued to run the business. The business continued to grow. And as growing businesses do, it sucked up all profits into its cash flow. Then two big deals were clinched. Unable to raise further financing from their bank, they had started to run their accounts to the limit, and then beyond. Payment periods had been extended into new months. With evidence of their new orders in hand, they managed to convince their suppliers to make those big deliveries so that they could get the big orders out, enabling them to normalize their accounts once more. As the majority of their raw product arrived, a strike matured at the fuel depot, which slowed down one of their suppliers, causing the delivery deadline to their customer to be missed.


The new managing director, a fit and apparently healthy man, suffered a minor heart attack on a Sunday evening. An absolute catastrophe for the business. Through a superhuman effort, his colleagues were able to deliver, eventually. The penalty clauses for late delivery meant that their gross profit warranties were squeezed, and consequently they were unable to make good on their promises to normalize their accounts. Suppliers lost patience and insisted on dealing with the business on a cash only basis until all outstandings were paid.


It was only a matter of time, and as the business crashed, the owners withdrew as much cash as possible from their turnover to help keep their own private heads above water. In the liquidation that followed, personal sureties of the directors were dusted off by suppliers.


This is where our seller's destiny started to turn south. Because of the secrecy surrounding the deal, his suretyships had never been replaced with suretyships from the new owners and directors. In fact he had long forgotten that as he applied for credit facilities all those years ago, he had signed an automatic suretyship embodied in the application forms. Haven't we all? In the absence of recourse to the current owners, the lack of proceeds from the liquidation, and the juicy assets owned by the only suretyship they had recourse to, creditors went with due process. Our hero today sits in sadder and more humble circumstances. His son, unable to secure a bursary or scholarship for university studies, started his own business running tourists between ORTI and the game lodges of Mpumalanga. He signs no sureties, and asks an attorney to comment on all agreements he signs. His mom died last year at the young age of 61.
So what's the alternative?


There's a difference between selling your shares in a company and selling the business as an asset of your company or close corporation. My advice on the matter: Think long and hard about selling the shares of your company, rather than the business as an asset of your company, and when you have considered all the angles; do the latter, almost without exception. In fact I cannot think of a single good reason for the sale of a company's shares. I'd be interested to know if you have any ideas on the matter. Email me if you have any comments.


CheersMark Corke

MOTIVATION - WHERE WE STAND

MOTIVATION – WHERE WE STAND


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MOTIVATION - WHERE WE STAND

MOTIVATION – WHERE WE STAND


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHAT TO DO WHEN. . . . You Want to Dismiss Staff - Part 7

ARTICLE 10

WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . You Want To Dismiss Staff?

Part 7


By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting CC.

Today we are going to look at what the guidelines are if you want to dismiss for misconduct.

Employers should consider the following before dismissing a staff member for misconduct:

Whether or not the employee failed to comply with a Company rule or Company standards governing conduct in the workplace or whilst they were representing the Company and

If the rule or standard was broken and/or not met, whether or not
i) the rule or standard that was broken was a valid or reasonable one – for example – the Company is a nursery and they have a standard rule that employees dress up around a theme for spring day. This year the theme is ‘pot plants’ and George refused to dress up as a pansy. Dismissing George for misconduct would be inviting trouble through the door.
ii) the employer was aware, or could reasonably be expected to be aware of the rule or standard – for example – Jane has been on maternity leave for 3 months. During the time that she was away the Company took a stand regarding “Facebook” and a memorandum was issued stating that staff could no longer access “Facebook” during working hours as it affected productivity. The first thing that Jane did when she got back to work was log onto “Facebook” to catch up with all of her friends. Dismissing Jane on the grounds of misconduct would be inviting trouble through the door.
iii) the rule or standard has been consistently been enforced by the employer – for example, George and James are both store managers in a retail chain. George was caught “borrowing” money out of the till for taxi fare. It was George’s first offence of this nature. George is the top salesman in the Company and his store consistently over performs. George is counseled and is given a written warning. A month later James is also caught “borrowing” money out of the till for taxi fare. It is also James’ first offence of this nature. James, on the other hand, is a trouble maker. He is always stirring up trouble with the unions and the staff. His sales are very poor and his store’s turnover is always below target. If James is dismissed for misconduct at this point, it would be inviting trouble in through the door.
iv) dismissing the staff member for misconduct, the punishment must ‘fit the crime’ for the rule or standard that was broken – for example, let’s use the retail environment again. The till float in James’ store, very seldom balances. It is usually out of balance by a minimum of R1.00 or less. Dismissing the cashier for misconduct in this instance would be inviting trouble in through the door.

As you can see from the above, it is very important to dismiss someone for misconduct for the right reasons as apposed to jus seeing an opportunity for getting rid of someone and using that.

It certainly is not difficult to dismiss anyone, but the correct procedures must be followed.

Next week we will look at dismissing someone for Incapacity: Poor work performance.

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

INTERVIEW ON NETWORKING

Good Morning Bloggers

On 22nd July I was the guest speaker at the Women In Finance Hot Tables networking even.

I was subsequently interviewed on Networking by Catherine Gargan of CNBC and the interview was aired on Saturday night.

Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MFf06rAx-E

THE POWER OF NETWORKING - PART 77

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

PART 77

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

Now I know that being a small business owner means that you are all over the place. You’re the salesman, the administration manager, the operations manager, the HR manager and even, amongst other things, the tea lady on occasion!

Believe me, I really get it when you tell me that you are so busy doing all that needs to be done, in your business – what with trying to hold your head above water, and trying to make good on the promises that you have made to your clients, that there just is no time (or inclination for that matter) to go beyond what you are already doing to be proactive.

Some would say that “as a micro business owner you don’t actually want or need to be proactive, you want to be reactive”! It seems that “being proactive requires far more work than being reactive and it is therefore both impossible and completely unnecessary to do anything more than meticulously deliver on your promises.”

Well maybe, but then I wonder what excuse you will give to the tax man when he comes a-calling and you are not properly registered, or the Department of Labour, when you have not submitted what needs to be done? I can assure you neither could give a damn whether you want to be proactive or reactive.

How about new clients – would you rather be proactive or reactive when you are looking for new clients? I tell you what, why don’t you just sit and look at the telephone and hope that it will ring and then you can snatch it up and answer it – well that’s being reactive isn’t it?

Or you could go out and network, build up a data base, build relationships with the people you connect with at the meetings, whether they need your services or not, and then when they refer you to someone in their data base, who has a huge amount of work for you, you can smile about exactly how proactive you were.

I don’t know about you, but I certainly think that the extra effort and work is worthwhile in the end, especially when I look at my bank balance.

What about you? Are you ‘reactive’ or ‘proactive’? Which one works best for you?

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

PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS FOR SALE - PLANNING

PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS FOR SALE – PLANNING, BY MARK CORKE

For those who would like to sign on for Mark’s weekly tips and seminar – Here is the link.


Over the last two weeks I have written about the different business leagues that SMEs must traverse on their way to greatness and the resulting rewards their owners receive en route, initially, and then in the final sale of their businesses. Those writings certainly caused a response, and we have been busy on the phones as a result. Much of the response centered around how much more expensive it is to run a company than a close corporation. Those people all missed the point: You want to maximize the selling price of your business, and if investing a bit of money helps achieve this, then all the better.


Don't Go for Broke


It is important, when one considers the possibility of one day selling a business, that one understands that there must always be an upside in the sale of a business. In order for a purchaser to put pen to agreement, he must believe that he is going to take this "money spinner" which the broker and seller have been raving about, and turn it into something really exciting. If the buyer sees more upside than risk, the seller will close a deal. Most serious buyers live by a simple maxim of "when in doubt, look about". They look about until they find a reason to move on. It is a frustrating time for all concerned.


It will never help the seller's cause if he waits until he has sucked the business dry of any immediate growth, leaving possibilities only for the most enterprising buyers with great big steel dangly things. Last week we saw how the perception of "onerous" can be a deterrent to real value realization. Moving one's business into the league of real value requires "onerous" to be tackled and dealt with. Not so long ago the Boks were dealing with "onerous" as they dealt with all manner of stumbling blocks and difficulties, not all physical and psychological, but political as well. Thank goodness they prevailed, moving from a losing side with very little public support to the glorious team that no South African will ignore today. Planning for the final event was onerous. Implementing the plan was both meticulous and onerous. A simple self belief and excellent leadership (gratefully away from home interference) made it all happen.


When my father died just prior to Christmas, two years ago, the important people whom he would have wanted to deliver the eulogy were on holiday abroad. As the oldest of my siblings, I volunteered to do the job. I locked myself away for a day, and worked hard to prepare the address. It went off without a hitch, and the copy was published in several newspapers nationally. A difficult and onerous job, well prepared, turned into something Dad would have been proud of.


Planning for one's demise may seem a bit dark, but the prudent amongst us do it all the time - wills, life assurance, dread disease cover, key man insurance etc.
If you're a prudent person, you have those things. And yet; is your business prepared for sale? If you are incapacitated, unable to work, knowing your business is going downhill, wouldn't you be just that little bit happier knowing that you can call your local business broker, and provide him with something meaningful to sell, prepared when you were not as desperate as you feel in your hospital bed.


Many businesses reach a value in excess of the value of the owners' homes. Lying incapacitated, they watch their businesses die, and sell their homes to keep the wolf from the door. Once recovered, they have neither a home nor a business. Try another approach: Incapacitated; sell the business you cannot run anyway, settle your bond, recuperate without the financial stress. Then once recovered, use your debt free home to finance your new start in life. I have seen it happen, and it works a dream.


We are in contact with about 80 private equity funds. Collectively, they have access to more than R20 billion Rands. They buy businesses which are well prepared for sale. The others... well let's just say the people with money ignore them.


CheersMark Corke

MOTIVATION - HONESTY IS BEST

MOTIVATION – HONESTY IS BEST


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

It is said that ‘no matter the consequences, those who are honest with themselves, get farther in life.”

I am sure that you will have noticed that it says “who are honest with themselves.” – that’s not to say that should then feel the need to be dishonest with those around you. I think that it means that you have to be honest with yourself before you really expect others to be honest with you.

Before you can reach your full potential you have to understand and therefore be honest with yourself regarding your driving factors, such as but not limited to:

What is my passion?
What’s in it for me?
What are my goals?
What do I hope to achieve?
Why am I doing this?

These questions cannot be answered untruthfully if you are hoping to achieve anything of significance.

Strategies and plans will not achieve any level of sustainability and goals will not be met if the very foundations that they are built upon are one of deceit. Perceptions and expectations will not be met and even if you did achieve some sort of success the taste of victory will be somewhat hollow.

What you achieve as an individual and the level of success is determined by the person that you are. The kind of person that you are is determined by the values and morals that you have in your life.

So – tell me, actually better yet – tell yourself. Are you honest with yourself?

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

WHAT TO DO WHEN. . . . You Want to Dismiss Staff - Part 6

ARTICLE 10

WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . You Want To Dismiss Staff?

Part 6


By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting CC.

Staff who take part in, or participate in any way, a strike that does not comply with the provisions in chapter iv, are by default, guilty of misconduct.

Please remember, just because they have taken part in an illegal strike, and that that is considered “misconduct”, it does not necessarily mean that they deserve to be dismissed. It still has to be determined whether or not a dismissal is fair.

In these instances the following needs to be taken into consideration:
- the seriousness of the contravention of the Act
- whether any attempt was make to comply with the Act
- whether or not the strike was in response to any unjustified conduct by the employer.

Before dismissal takes place the employer must, discuss the intended dismissal or any other action that they intend to take, with the trade union concerned.

The employer also needs to make it very clear, in simple language that all can understand, the terms and conditions of what is required and what the consequences will be, should they not comply with the requirements.

Once again the employees should be allowed a reasonable amount of time, in which to make a decision to either agree to the requirements and/or reject them.

Once again there may be instances where the employer cannot reasonably be expected to comply with these requirements, with the employees concerned. In these instances the employer may disregard the guidelines. Again this must be documented and a copy retained in the employee’s personnel file.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za

THE POWER OF NETWORKING - PART 76

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

PART 76

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

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

“Get out there and tell people what it is that you do and how they can benefit from a business relationship with you.”

I don’t know about you guys but my crystal ball doesn’t work very well. Actually if the truth be told, it doesn’t work at all!

I need people to tell me what it is that they do – they need to explain it in detail. Particularly if their business is based around being a consultant. I mean exactly what is it that you consult about?

The same goes for someone who does training, what is it that you train? Tell me, I can’t just guess!

Sometimes getting information out of people is like pulling hen’s teeth!

Remember, I cannot refer you if I don’t know what it is that you do – so put it out there – tell me what it is that you do, I will then tell you what I do and we can see what kind of synergies we have together and we can also see who we can refer each other to, in our respective data bases, thereby adding value to both.

A win/win situation – wouldn’t you agree?

For more information on Renate, please visit her website at www.hirs.co.za

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

ADVANTANGES YOU WILL GAIN, BY PREPARING YOU BUSINESS FOR SALE

ADVANTAGES YOU WILL GAIN, BY PREPARING YOUR BUSINESS FOR SALE

Good Morning Bloggers

For the next while, on a Tuesday – I will be posting articles from Mark Corke of Suitegum.

Mark is a Business Broker, who writes articles on, and runs seminars on “Preparing you Business for Sale”.

Both Mark and I are of the opinion that ensuring that your Business is Prepared for Sale at all times will ensure that your business always commands the highest value. It actually increases the value of your Business quite considerably.

Here are some of the issues that Mark will be covering:

Here are the advantages you'll gain
Learn to unlock the value in your business, making it something to be desired by your new customer; the business buyer.


Cross the threshold to safeguard your family's future by preparing your business for sale so that in the event of a calamity, clear selling decisions can be made and acted upon by people not normally in control.


Discover the new opportunities in your own business as your mind opens up to new methods and techniques highlighted by the need to have a business prepared for sale.


You will notice that properly prepared businesses cause the owners to find more profit in the day to day transacting, even if they decide to never sell their "babies".


Explore real life examples of business sale strategies which have worked to provide the sellers with millions of Rands more than what they originally expected to receive in Present your business for transfer.


Isn't it time that you too achieved the peace of mind that a business prepared for sale provides the owner, knowing that in a time of stress or disaster, the business can be quickly sold for a good price, instead of auction value.


Join the growing list of savvy business owners who are able to provide their prospective purchasers with a meaningful report which enables them to compose a business plan which financial institutions fall over each other to finance, without giving away secrets and intellectual capital in "Prepare your business for sale".


Educate yourself to instruct attorneys as to the essential sections of an agreement of sale both legislated and street wise.


Take a giant step to discovering the different types of buyer profiles you can expect to encounter as you approach the time to finally hand over your business to a new owner, and learn to short circuit the crooks and tyre-kickers.


Let's be honest, we all know selling businesses is not for sissies, and it is realistically something which you are unlikely to do more than a few times in your life, so getting the value right, safeguarding your family's future, putting the deal to bed with a good, well financed buyer, and finally making the deal stick is important.


Of course it doesn't do any harm if you prepare your business for sale, but never sell it, because the journey of this preparation is going to open your eyes to so many other ways of making that baby sing in an honest to goodness way.

If you would like to sign up for Mark’s newsletters, Here is the link.

Please feel free to tell all of your friends too – they will thank you for it!

MOTIVATION - HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS

MOTIVATION – HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

Good Morning all – this article was not written by me, it was sent to me by a colleague who it had been sent to. That said, it carries my sentiments exactly. The first paragraph is by my colleague and from there the whole piece has been written by Steven McManus. All I can say to Steve is, thank you for this exceptionally well written piece. I agree with you and well done for writing it. It puts things squarely in perspective without any hype and drama.

Hi there
I don’t know about you, but I feel that South African journalism, and their overriding desire to sell their media, has a lot to answer for. Have you noticed how, over the years, media has become more sensationalist and dramatic, in an attempt to grab our attention and make us buy their news over their competitor’s? I have always felt that South Africa is an incredible land of opportunities. But to see and seize these opportunities, we all need to stop the griping, and actually start being thankful for how good we have it in South Africa. This article by Steven McManus really puts some perspective on things.

If you care about South Africa, please help spread the good news to counter the negativity by reading just how good things really are and sending this everyone you know…….

I believe that part of the reason we are going through mass negativity at present is because we are constantly bombarded with bad news. I believe that if we all keep reading, talking, thinking, and worrying about the bad stuff all the time, we will end up attracting it.

At the beginning of 2008, almost as soon as most South Africans returned to their everyday lives, having enjoyed a relaxing summer holiday, the perfect storm erupted. In quick succession there has been the unanimous unseating of the country’s President as leader of the ANC in December 2007, followed by a nationwide power crisis with regular “load shedding” which started in January 2008 and which we are told this will continue until after 2010. In addition South Africans are dealing with the perceived high level of crime (perception is reality), increasingly high levels of inflation (9.4% in February 2008), petrol at the highest levels ever and according to the popular media and dinner talk, more people than ever are considering immigrating to greener pastures.

After the last few months one may ask “Is there any good news about South Africa?” Yes!! After digging around on the internet, I have found plenty of good news about South Africa, which I would like to share with you to help put the constant bad news in perspective:

Cheap Petrol
Although the price of petrol in South Africa has increased dramatically it is still amongst the cheapest in the world. The highest price in South Africa is the Gauteng (inland) price for 95 octane unleaded petrol which as at 2 April 2008 is R8.91 per litre. In contrast according to a survey of 9 700 petrol stations in the UK by www.Petrolprices.com, for unleaded petrol, the minimum price in the UK is £1.03, the average price is £1.07 and the highest price £1.19 per litre. Using an exchange rate of £1=R15, this means that the average price per litre in the UK is over R16 per litre, nearly double South Africa’s price.

Cheap Housing
Housing in South Africa is still amongst the cheapest in the world. According to the April ABSA housing index the average price for middle segment housing (Residential houses nationwide between 80m2 and 400m2 ) is just R929 000. In contrast according to the BBC News Survey of UK house prices (which fell 3.6% in the last year) as at February 2008 the nationwide average is currently (Rand figures are conservatively calculated at £1=R15) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/uk_house_prices/html/houses.stm):
*Detached (A house not joined to any other) £342 800 (R5 142 000)
*Semi-Detached (A house which is joined to another house on one side) £200 037 (R3 000 555)
*Terraced (Streets of houses joined together in long rows) £176 732 (R2 650 980)
*Flat (A flat is part of a bigger building where all the flats share a front door) £200 967 (R3 014 505)

Lower Unemployment
According to Statistics South Africa the unemployment rate fell fractionally to 23% in September 2007—the lowest since records began in 2001. The government’s target is to cut the rate to 14% by 2014 (http://www.southafrica.info/business/economy/development/lfs-280308.htm)

Winning the War on Crime
The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute have conducted research on the victims of crime which shows the picture of South African crime as more typical of a developing country. These statistics show that South Africa has lower rates of violent crime than many African and South American countries. (http://www.unicri.it/wwd/analysis/icvs/pdf_files/No57/c04_57.PDF)

According to the South African Police Service Statistics, the incidence of most types of crime has reduced since 2001. Their latest report for the 6 month period April to September each year since 2001 (http://www.saps.gov.za/statistics/reports/crimestats/2007/april_sept2007/crime_report20062007.pdf) reveals the following rates of incidence per 100 000 of the population:
*The incidence of murder, although still unacceptably high is clearly decreasing 2001=22.7, 2002=22.9, 2003=21.0, 2004=19.7, 2005=19.6, 2006=20.0, 2007=18.7
*The incidence of rape, is also still unacceptably high but has clearly decreased in the past 2 years 2001=55.1, 2002=52.3, 2003=51.1, 2004=53.7, 2005=55.6, 2006=49.6, 2007=47.8
*The incidence of common assault has decreased dramatically in the past few years 2001=260.1, 2002=275.2, 2003=279.1, 2004=269.4, 2005=229.5, 2006=201.6, 2007=191.4

Stock Exchange Growth
*South Africa’s stock exchange (the JSE Limited), ranks 18th in the world in terms of total market capitalisation
*South Africa’s stock exchange ALSI (All Share Index) has risen from 7510.4 on 30 April 2003 to over 30 000 in April 2008, an increase of nearly 400% in 5 years (http://www.jse.co.za/)

Sporting Successes
*South Africa are the Rugby World Cup champions (http://www.rugbyworldcup.com)
*South Africa is the number 1 ranked rugby team according to the IRB as at 31 March 2008 (http://www.irb.com)
*South Africa is the number 1 ranked cricket team according to the ICC for One Day Internationals as at 22 March 2008 (http://icc-cricket.yahoo.com/rankings/rankings.html)
*South Africa are hosts of 2010 world cup (http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/index.html)
*South Africa has 2 golfers ranked in the top 10 in the world according to the Official World Golf Ranking for Week 13 - March 30th – 2008 (http://www.officialworldgolfranking.com/home/default.sps)

Competitive Nation
*South Africa ranked 44th out of 131 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2007/8 (http://www.gcr.weforum.org)
*South Africa has been ranked 28th among 108 countries measured for responsible competitiveness, according to the global think tank AccountAbility. (http://www.accountability21.net)
*South Africa ranks 52nd out of 157 countries in the world in terms of economic freedom, ahead of Italy (60th), Brazil (70th), the United Arab Emirates (74th), Greece (94th), India (104th) and China (119th), according to the Index of Economic Freedom 2007 (The 2008 Index of Economic Freedom covers 162 countries across 10 specific freedoms such as trade freedom, business freedom, investment freedom, and property rights http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index)

Rich in Resources
*South Africa is one of the world leaders in mining and minerals, with a significant share of the world’s reserves and production.
*South Africa has, according to the SA Department of Minerals and Energy, nearly 90% of the world’s platinum, 80% of the world’s manganese, 73% of the world’s chrome, 45% of the world’s vanadium and 41% of the world’s gold. (http://www.southafrica.info/business/economy/sectors/mining.htm)
*South Africa still has huge potential for the discovery of other world-class deposits in areas yet to be exhaustively explored.

Infrastructure Development
Since 1994, the South African government has channelled substantial resources into social programs and services, with varying degrees of success.
*Households with access to clean water: 85% in 2001, 80% in 1996
*Households using electricity for lighting: 69.7% in 2001, 57.6% in 1996
*Households in formal housing: 63.8% in 2001, 57.5% in 1996
*Households with chemical or flush toilets: 51.9% in 2001, 50.5% in 1996
*Pupil-teacher ratio: 38:1 in 2003, 43:1 in 1994
*People who have completed grade 12 schooling: 20.4% in 2001, 16.3% in 1996
*People with access to electricity: 70% in 2003, 32% in 1994

Lower Cost of Living
Despite recent inflation and price increases, South Africa still has one of the lowest cost of living levels in the world. According to the latest Xpatulator (http://www.xpatulator.com) cost of living survey of 228 global locations covering every country in the world, Johannesburg is the 71st, Pretoria is 58th, Cape Town is 51st, and Durban is the 36th cheapest place in the world to live. This means that 192 of the 228 global locations are more expensive places to live compared to Durban, while 157 locations are more expensive than Johannesburg. A detailed cost of living comparison of Johannesburg and London reveals that overall London is 74.5% more expensive than Johannesburg:
*Alcohol & Tobacco (alcoholic beverages and tobacco products) is 56.7% more expensive in London
*Clothing (clothing and footwear products) is 85.3% more expensive in London
*Communication (fixed line, internet, and mobile) is 16.18% less expensive in London
*Education (school & tertiary) is 55.6% more expensive in London
*Furniture (furniture, household equipment and household appliances ) is 51.8% more expensive in London
*Groceries (food, non-alcoholic beverages and cleaning material) is 46.7% more expensive in London
*Healthcare (general healthcare, medical and medical insurance) is 92.9% more expensive in London
*Household (housing, water, electricity, household gas, household fuels, local rates and residential taxes) is 104.3% more expensive in London
*Miscellaneous (stationary, linen and general goods and services) is 180.7% more expensive in London
*Personal (personal care products and services) is 145.2% more expensive in London
*Recreation & Culture is 4.8% more expensive in London
*Restaurants Meals Out and Hotels is 219.26% more expensive in London
*Transport (public transport, vehicle costs, vehicle fuel, vehicle insurance and vehicle maintenance) is 89.80% more expensive in London

Higher Purchasing Power
The lower cost of living in South African means that your salary goes much further in Johannesburg compared to London and most other places. Using the cost of living difference, hardship difference, and exchange rate, Xpatulator (www.xpatulator.com) calculates that if you earn R500 000 Rand in South Africa, you would need to earn £54 182 in London in order to have a similar standard of living, much more than the £33 333 the (£1=R15) exchange rate indicates. The good news is that if you move the other way (i.e. from London to Johannesburg) and you earn £60 000 currently, you would not have to find a job paying R900 000 the (£1=R15) that exchange rate indicates. Taking into account the vastly lower cost of living in Johannesburg, you would in fact only require a salary of R552 302 to have the same buying power as £60 000 in London.

In conclusion, yes 2008 will mostly be a tough year, given the short term difficulties, but the power problems and current high inflation are short term issues which will eventually be in the past.
The main reason so many people are negative is because bad news sells newspapers and attracts more listeners and viewers. Good news does not often make the front page!!

Thanks

Steven McManus
Website: http://www.xpatulator.com
E-Mail: Steven@Xpatulator.com
Blog: http://xpatulator.blogspot.com/



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

WHAT TO DO WHEN. . . . You Want to Dismiss Staff - Part 5

ARTICLE 10

WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . You Want To Dismiss Staff?

Part 5


By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting CC.

So what exactly would be considered as “fair practice”?

Let’s examine this a bit more.

Firstly the employer must ensure that a proper investigation takes place in order to ensure that there are grounds for dismissal. Whether or not this is a formal enquiry at this point does not make any kind of difference as this is just the preliminary investigation.

Once it is ascertained that there are sufficient grounds, the employee must be notified in writing, that there are allegations and what these allegations are. Remember to use language that the employee will understand – so in essence – keep it as simple as possible.

The employee should then be allowed to respond and state their case or give circumstances etc around why they did whatever. They have to be given the opportunity to answer to the charges and/or allegations made and give an explanation. This is usually when the disciplinary hearing would take place.

The employee also needs to be given a reasonable amount of time in which to formulate a response to the allegation(s) and/or charge that has been levied against them.

The employee is also entitled to request and receive and assistance that they may require from a trade union representative and/or fellow employee and may even ask for assistance from the HR department if they are not sure of the process and/or how to proceed.

After the enquiry has been held, the employer must advise the employee of whatever the decision has been made. This advice and/or notification must be made in writing and a copy retained in the employees records.

Any disciplinary that is taken against trade union representatives or any employee that holds any kind of office bearing position or any official of a trade union, should not be taken without first notifying the trade union. The trade union should then be consulted before any action is taken against that particular staff member.

If the decision is taken to dismiss an employee, the employee has to be notified in writing that they are being dismissed and of course the reason for the dismissal. At this point the employee has to be reminded of their rights in terms of the appeal hearings and/or their right to refer the matter to a council with jurisdiction or even to the CCMA for mediation and/or to any other dispute resolution, in terms of the employers laid down and/or previously negotiated and accepted policies and procedures, or any other policies and procedures that have been established and agreed to by means of a collective agreement.

There are obviously exceptional circumstances where the employer cannot reasonably be expected to follow these guidelines and in these instances the employer would then document the reason why these guidelines could not be followed and copies of this documentation must then be retained and filed in the employee’s personnel file for future reference.

It is a legal requirement for employers to keep and maintain records for each employee. All transgressions, whether they resulted in a disciplinary hearing or not, should be recorded in the file, together with any hearings. Actions taken against the employee by the employer must also be recorded and maintained as well as the reason that these actions were taken.

Next week we will look at Dismissals and Industrial Action.

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

THE POWER OF NETWORKING - PART 75

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

PART 75

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

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

“Write notes and reminders on the business cards, which will over time jog your memory.”

Well I don’t know about you, but I am really bad with names and faces. I have been like that all of my life – ironically though I can remember what the US$ rate was in 1977 (it was 1.12 with the Rand being the stronger), but when it comes to names and faces – well they just escape me. I no longer apologise, it is not meant disrespectfully – some times things just are what they are.

So as you can imagine, I really have to work hard at trying to remember who is who, when I meet a whole bunch of people at a networking event! As soon as is practical, I make notes on the actual card as to what they do and what I want to talk to them about when I meet them, I also make a note of which event I met them at so that when I phone and remind them who I am I can use the name of the event as clarification. Often I can hear on the phone, that they can not quite place me and then when I mention the name of the event, they suddenly remember – it works all the time.

When I load the contacts onto my database, I make notes again of where I met the individual and what it is that they do (often the card does not give any kind of indication of what it is that the person does, especially if they are consultants), so that when I meet with them I have a broad kind of understand about what it is that they do.

Keep your notes up to date and keep your data base up to date too, for the best results and to reap the highest value from it.

For more information on Renate, please visit her website at www.hirs.co.za

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

MOTIVATION - THE PEOPLE YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW

MOTIVATION – THE PEOPLE YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

It is said that “your life can be changed in a matter of seconds by people you don’t even know”

For me, I don’t think it even matters as to whether or not you are actually even open to the possibility of that moment or even open to the change that that moment might bring.

These are the moments, or what, Oprah Winfrey calls “Ah Ha!” moments, that usually come completely out of the blue or when you least expect them and yet quite possibly they are the moments that can and probably will change the direction of your life or be the defining moment when you change intrinsically as a person.

That’s not to say that you will only experience one of these moments in the course of your life time. I certainly haven’t! But then of course why would you limit yourself to only of these deliciously appetizing, soul defining moments? You don’t have to you know.

That said, like your first kiss or your first love – your first ‘Ah-Ha’ moment is one that you are unlikely to ever forget. I certainly couldn’t.

My defining moment came in November 1999, when I sat in front of a complete stranger by the name of Vanessa Paige and she was reading my Tarot cards.

Now I can see all of you smiling and nodding your head in unison – a Tarot card reading!

Well let me tell you, this was not a Tarot card reading that you have done by the Gypsies who live in caravans or the fortune tellers that you engage with at the fun fair. This was a reading like I have never encountered in my life! And this was the reading that changed the course of my life and who I am as a person.

You see Vanessa told me that I was a worthwhile person. That I had the right to make my own decisions and my own choices. That it was my life and that I had the right and the power to live it. She told me that I had “given away my power” to bosses that used and abused it, to friends who did not appreciate me and to family, who took as much as they could and then discarded me.

Vanessa made me understand that I could take my power back, I could be somebody, a worthwhile somebody, who could make a valuable contribution to this world. All I had to do was to believe in myself and start to love – me.

And you know what else? Vanessa told me that she believed in me!

This was the first time that anyone had ever said anything like this to me and the effect was quite profound.

It has been a slow and sometimes painful journey, but it has also brought me much happiness and fulfillment.

I now own my own business. I make a difference in the lives of others. I write for magazines and newspapers. I have been interviewed and appeared on TV. I have been the guest speaker at huge functions – but most of all, most powerful of all – I am the master of my own destiny.

And all it took was one brief moment in time, with someone I did not know!

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

WHAT TO DO WHEN. . . . You Want to Dismiss Staff - Part 4

ARTICLE 10

WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . You Want To Dismiss Staff?

Part 4


By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting CC.

So here we have George, who has now attended his disciplinary hearing for a) stealing stock and b) hitting Simon. Now what?

Well, generally speaking it would not be the right thing to do, to dismiss an employee for a first offence. Obviously there are always exceptions, depending on the severity of the offence!

Some of the examples of serious misconduct are, but not limited to, and it should be noted that each case has to be judged on it’s merits;
· gross dishonesty
· willful damage to the property of the employer
· willful endangering of the safety of others
· physical assault on the employer
· physical assault on a fellow employee
· physical assault on a client and/or customer
· gross insubordination.

If the case does not meet the requirements of section 188, which states

(1) A dismissal that is not automatically unfair, is unfair if the
employer fails to prove-
(a) that the reason for dismissal is a fair reason-
(i) related to the employee's conduct or capacity; or
(ii) based on the employer's operational requirements; and
(b) that the dismissal was effected in accordance with a fair
procedure.
(2) Any person considering whether or not the reason for dismissal is a
fair reason or whether or not the dismissal was effected in accordance
with a fair procedure must take into account any relevant code of good
practice issued in terms of this Act.51
then the dismissal will not be fair.

When the chairperson was deliberating on whether or not to impose the penalty of dismissal on George, not only should he take into consideration the gravity of the misconduct but he also has to take into account other factors such as, but not limited to:
· length of service
· previous disciplinary record
· personal circumstances
· the nature of the job
· the circumstances of the infringement itself.

The chairperson also has to take into account what the penalty was for any previous case, in which the circumstances were the same. You see all employees have to be treated in the same manner – so if there was a previous case such as this, the penalty has to be the same as this.

Next week we will have a look at what a “Fair Procedure” would be.

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

WHAT TO DO WHEN. . . . You Want to Dismiss Staff - Part 4

ARTICLE 10

WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . You Want To Dismiss Staff?

Part 4


By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting CC.

So here we have George, who has now attended his disciplinary hearing for a) stealing stock and b) hitting Simon. Now what?

Well, generally speaking it would not be the right thing to do, to dismiss an employee for a first offence. Obviously there are always exceptions, depending on the severity of the offence!

Some of the examples of serious misconduct are, but not limited to, and it should be noted that each case has to be judged on it’s merits;
· gross dishonesty
· willful damage to the property of the employer
· willful endangering of the safety of others
· physical assault on the employer
· physical assault on a fellow employee
· physical assault on a client and/or customer
· gross insubordination.

If the case does not meet the requirements of section 188, which states

(1) A dismissal that is not automatically unfair, is unfair if the
employer fails to prove-
(a) that the reason for dismissal is a fair reason-
(i) related to the employee's conduct or capacity; or
(ii) based on the employer's operational requirements; and
(b) that the dismissal was effected in accordance with a fair
procedure.
(2) Any person considering whether or not the reason for dismissal is a
fair reason or whether or not the dismissal was effected in accordance
with a fair procedure must take into account any relevant code of good
practice issued in terms of this Act.51
then the dismissal will not be fair.

When the chairperson was deliberating on whether or not to impose the penalty of dismissal on George, not only should he take into consideration the gravity of the misconduct but he also has to take into account other factors such as, but not limited to:
· length of service
· previous disciplinary record
· personal circumstances
· the nature of the job
· the circumstances of the infringement itself.

The chairperson also has to take into account what the penalty was for any previous case, in which the circumstances were the same. You see all employees have to be treated in the same manner – so if there was a previous case such as this, the penalty has to be the same as this.

Next week we will have a look at what a “Fair Procedure” would be.

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

THE POWER OF NETWORKING - PART 74

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

PART 74

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

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 and/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 to. 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 that it 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 and/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 50’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 www.hirs.co.za

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

MORE ON PHISHING

Good morning bloggers

A while ago I did an article on Phishing and the consequences thereof, both in the business sense and also in the personal sense!

Most of the banks have a whole spiel on the dangers of phishing, on their front page, as you go into the internet banking section, yet we are still unendated with messages from banks telling us to update our data online! Whatever you do -DON'T!

As a direct result of that post, I received a mail from Tonya Shtarkman, who is a student, but who also works for an American Company who is offering us all, free of charge, a solution to this problem (and ultimately a consequence for the people who send this rubbish out). I chatted to her boss Dave, via SKYPE (don't you just love technology) and here is an article, penned by Tonya, on exacty what to do when you get these messages.

I'm off to trawl my deleted box to find all the ones I have stored there so that I can put them on the site.

Have a great day.

Have you ever received a suspicious e-mail from a bank demanding that you confirm your personal information or risk having your account suspended? You were seconds from clicking on the provided link and then you realize: “Wait, I don’t bank with Wells Fargo Bank”. At that point, you detect that this is not a legitimate e-mail, throw it into your trash folder, and forget the whole thing happened. But what if you did bank with Wells Fargo? Would you hand over the goods?

These types of e-mails are not only fishy; they are actually called “phishes” and can seriously hurt you and your business if you fall victim to one. Bad guys create these phishing scams to gain access to your account, take your personal information, and even steal your funds.

So what happens when you simply throw that e-mail away? Your coworker, friend and neighbor all fall for the very same scam. This is why OpenDNS created PhishTank.com, a site that gives you the opportunity to submit phishes and block them for others.

PhishTank.com is a community-operated Web site powered by OpenDNS, the award-winning DNS service that makes the Internet safer, faster, smarter and more reliable. PhishTank gives Internet users like you the power to submit suspected phishes, which are then inspected and voted on by other Internet users. Unlike other services that have only a handful of people reviewing suspected phishing sites, OpenDNS’s PhishTank has tens of thousands of Internet users voting on them 24/7. This way, phishes are submitted, verified, and blocked within less than a day of their creation!

PhishTank also has by far the most accurate phishing data on the Internet. This is because of its sophisticated voting system: the more a user votes and the more accurate their votes are, the more weight their votes carry. This process also helps phishes get identified and blocked faster.

PhishTank’s continually-growing list of phishes is used by OpenDNS to protect its users from harmful phishing scams. OpenDNS also offers other useful tools such as Web-content filtering, shortcuts, typo correction, and network statistics. The service even makes you Internet faster and more reliable, operating at 100 percent up-time. Oh, and did I mention that it’s free?

Setting up OpenDNS is one of the best things you can do to keep your business running smoothly. So, why aren’t you using it yet? Visit OpenDNS.com and set it up today.

Tonya Shtarkman
PR Intern
OpenDNS.com

MOTIVATION - UNLEASHED IMAGINATION

MOTIVATION – UNLEASHED IMAGINATION


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHAT TO DO WHEN. . . . You Want to Dismiss Staff - Part 3

ARTICLE 10

WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . You Want To Dismiss Staff?

Part 3


By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting CC.

As usual, our protagonists are standing by to make this journey just that little bit more understandable. We have Mike the Business Owner and George the worker.

Let’s give ourselves a little bit of a story, so that we can understand the finer details.

This particular incident is going to be one of Misconduct.

Mike owns a string of retail stores, with most of them being in the bigger malls. George is one of the workers in the warehouse. George has been with the company for 5 years. Mike has a warehouse in Johannesburg and the stock that is required by the stores is disbursed from the main warehouse in Johannesburg.

Mike has a reward program in place, whereby staff do not get bonuses as a 13th cheque, but rather a profit share as a percentage, based, not on turnover, but on net profit. In this way the expenses and shrinkage are kept to a bare minimum, by the staff themselves, as they obviously want to share in the highest obtainable profits.

George was caught stealing by another warehouse worker, let’s call him Simon. Simon, justifiably angry (remember George’s stealing has a direct negative effect on Simon’s bonus), states that he is going to report the incident to the Warehouse Manager, let’s call him Andrew. George also gets angry and punches Simon in the face, breaking his nose and his jaw.

Mike has a proper set of procedures in place including a ‘Code of Conduct’ and since he has been in business many precedents have been set. The Procedure Manual is readily and easily available to all staff members and in fact as and when procedures are updated and/or new ones introduced – the procedures are circulated to all the staff members who sign, evidencing that they have not only read but also understand the procedures.

Most of the staff, certainly those that have been employed over a long period of time know and understand that that ‘theft’ is a dismissible offence as is ‘striking’ another employee. The staff understands the limits and those same limits are documented in the ‘Code of Conduct’.

George is advised, in writing, that he is to make himself available for a disciplinary hearing and that the charges are ‘Gross Misconduct, in that he removed Company Property from the premises with out the required approvals and/or documentation and that he struck a fellow worker, breaking both his nose and his jawbone.”

This is not the first time that George has been in trouble at work and Andrew has had to both counsel and discipline George for several smaller infractions. A full documented record is available in George’s Personnel File and it is clear that Andrew has tried, on countless occasions to get George to change both his attitude and his self destructive behavior.

You see George has a really aggressive nature and a terrible temper and there have been occasions where George has sworn as fellow workers and other incidents where George has either pushed or shoved other workers.

George has quite a history!

In view of the fact that most of the other incidents were of a minor nature, George was counseled regarding his behaviour and he has fully understood that his attitude needed to change in order for his behaviour to change, but George has not heeded any of the advice and despite being on a Final Written Warning, he has now committed a really serious offence that carries a ‘dismissal’ action.

George still has to be taken through the whole disciplinary procedure though, he cannot just be dismissed out of hand. The disciplinary procedure itself must still be ‘fair’ and should be chaired by an ‘impartial’ person and evidence needs to be presented and the testimony of witnesses from both sides still needs to be heard, collaborated upon and carefully weighed before any kind of judgment is made. In this case however, in all probability George may also face criminal charges of ‘aggravated assault”, as well.
George’s situation, at best is precarious.

Next week we will look at the Disciplinary Procedures relating to dismissal for misconduct.

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

THE POWER OF NETWORKING - PART 73

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

PART 73

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

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 must 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 www.hirs.co.za

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

MOTIVATION - RESPONSIBLE FOR WHO WE BECOME

MOTIVATION – RESPONSIBLE FOR WHO WE BECOME


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

It has been said that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but that we are responsible for who we become.

All around me I hear excuses from people. Excuses about why they cannot do something, or why the have failed at something. Hell I even had a chap, who for the purposes of this missive shall remain nameless, who said that I “have to” mentor him because he was previously disadvantaged! What absolute crap is that?

Many years ago, my father said to me “You have no control over the name that you bring into this world because it is the name that I have given you, but the name that you take out of this world is the name that you have made for yourself.”

It is something that I have taken very seriously all my life. I am careful about the promises that I make because I have to keep them. I am careful about the commitments that I make because they have to be honoured. It is my name that is at stake and quite honestly it is the only possession that I have that I will take to the grave with me.

The result of this for me, is that I have never blamed my background or my circumstances for anything – there’s no real point is there? I am the only one who can make the changes and I am the only one that can make things happen (or not happen) in my life.

So why is it, that where ever I go, I hear tales of woe and stories about how the government is to blame, or apartheid, or the interest rates, or global warming or the tax man or anything else that they can think of and blame. Why is it that we as individuals cannot take responsibility for what we’ve done and learn from our mistakes, dust ourselves off and stand up and start again. There’s no shame in that at all.

For me the shame comes in the fact that we don’t take responsibility and own our own mistakes, but that we find it easier to just blame all those around us!

So which one are you? Do you stand tall and proud? Do you take responsibility for what you do or do you find it easier to blame everyone and everything else?

What kind of name will you take out of this world? What legacy will you leave your children? What name have you given them?

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

WHAT TO DO WHEN. . . . You Want to Dismiss Staff - Part 2

ARTICLE 10

WHAT TO DO WHEN . . . . You Want To Dismiss Staff?

Part 2


By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting CC.

So here we are again – let’s look at what is considered an ‘unfair’ dismissal.

· any dismissal that is not done for a fair reason (like you just don’t like the person) is considered ‘unfair’.
· any dismissal that takes place without the proper and fair procedure, irrespective of whether it is in accordance with any notice period in a contract of employment or in legislation governing employment. So this means that you cannot just come to work one day and decide that George has to go, because he is irritating the hell out of you, so you give him a month’s notice as per his Letter of Appointment and in compliance with legislation – I mean you did give him a month’s notice so what is the problem? Right? Wrong!

Each time you dismiss someone, please understand in order for you to ascertain whether it is fair or not is always determined by the facts of the case and whether dismissal is appropriate or not as a penalty.

I would also like to add in here that it is also determined by precedents that have been set in previous cases. Let me explain. If two years ago one of your employees (let’s call him Philip) was caught stealing say R100.00 out of the till and Philip managed to convince everyone at his disciplinary, that he had ‘borrowed’ the money for taxi fare and that he intended to pay it back the following day and you gave him a ‘Final Written Warning’ in consequence of his actions and now George is caught stealing say R100.00 out of the till and George now also says that he ‘borrowed’ the money for taxi fare and that he intended to pay the money back the next day, but you are fed up with George because his attitude is bad, so you dismiss him – this would be construed as ‘unfair’ dismissal because you did not dismiss Philip for the same offense, two years ago. So be careful when dishing out punishments for first time offences – they may just come back and bite you on the rear end in the future!

You still have to follow the correct procedure and whether the procedure is fair or not is determined by, but not limited to, the following guidelines.

There are three grounds, by which ‘dismissal’ is considered fair and legitimate, by the Act.

These are:
· the conduct of the employee (which is why it is of critical importance to have a documented ‘Code of Conduct’ for your Company)
· the capacity of the employee and
· the operational requirements of the employer’s business.

The Act says that a dismissal is automatically unfair if the reason for the dismissal is:
· anything that is an infringement of the basic rights of employees and/or trade unions or
· if the reason is one of those that is listed in section 187.

These reasons include, but are not limited to:
· if the employee participates in a lawful strike
· if the employee intends to become or is pregnant
· any acts of discrimination against the employee.

Where the dismissal is not automatically unfair, the employer has to show that the reason for the dismissal is because the employee’s conduct was in question or that the employee’s capacity was in question or it is based on the employee’s failure to meet the operational requirements of the employer’s business.

If you, as the employer cannot show this or if you cannot prove that the dismissal was performed within the parameters of fair procedure, then the dismissal will be deemed as unfair.

In essence you have to make very sure that you have all your ducks in a row and that you can substantiate and prove anything that needs to be proved in this respect.

Next week we will look at the Disciplinary Procedures prior to dismissal.

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