HR 101 - A Job is Just A Way to Pay the Bills
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
Would you believe me if I told you that for millions of employees out there, not only in South Africa but also all over the world, they think that ‘a job is just a way to pay the bills’.
How sad is that – and I am saying that from experience! There have been moments in my life when I felt trapped in a job that I did not particularly enjoy but, hell it paid the bills, and I was too scared to walk away from it because to some extent, it was a comfort zone.
What about your staff – are they passionate about what they do or is it for them, ‘just a way to pay the bills’.
Wait a minute, lets look at this from a different perspective – as employers, are you hiring people ‘just to get the work done, or fill a gap’ or are you hiring people who have every intention of becoming skilled in whatever job they are in, in order to make it into a career? Do you encourage your staff to move in the direction of making, whatever it is that they do into a career?
Again, I speak from experience when I tell you, you need to hire someone who wants to make something of their lives, people who are passionate about being the best that they can be in whatever field that they are passionate about – be it as the tea lady or the cleaner or the warehouse worker or the accountant or the salesperson. If you want them to do whatever the job requirements are to the best of their ability, with passion, with thought and with love – then don’t be hiring someone just because they look good or because at a push you can ‘squeeze’ them into whatever you think the job you have on offer is. I promise you all that you will bring upon yourself is irritation, challenges and often loss of sales, stock, clients and even money, never mind respect.
Your employees need to see what the opportunities the job you have on offer are, they need to see that they will grow as individuals and they need to see that you will train them properly (or help them get trained properly) and in return they will, more often than not, serve you well.
Staff who are not passionate about what they do, won’t be passionate about your business, which means they will not perform well, which means that productivity will be shot to hell and the quality of their work will be ‘just enough to get by’ and all of this will impact on your business, your sales figures, your clients.
So think carefully when you hire staff – think about what they can do to your business or for your business. Choose wisely – the success of your business may actually depend on it.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
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Friday, July 20, 2018
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Blogging 101 - The Content - Part 11
Blogging 101 – The Content – Part 11
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
As promised here is the final article on the “Content” of blogging. I will certainly write some more articles on blogging at some stage, but this is it for now.
I think it is really important to understand that as bloggers, we are not just about blogging or about our blogs. We are (usually) business owners who are passionate about our businesses and what it is that we do and the value that our readers gain from reading our blogs comes from our experience – not only the experience gained from our businesses, but the experiences that we have gained from life. It’s about all that knowledge that we share about our lives, where we have been and what it is that we have lived through. It’s about the little things that have touched our lives and grabbed our interest and the big battles that we have fought and won (or lost) and why and how we won (or lost) them and how to do it better/faster/easier next time around.
So does this mean that we have to travel and trawl the four corners of the earth (strange that we say that don’t you think, when the world is actually round ) to find new material and new experiences to share – of course not! Fact is, we mostly have so much information that we already know and that we continue to harvest on a daily basis, that doing this is not necessary.
What we do have to do though is ‘keep it fresh’. If you want to keep your current readers or grow your followers, you have to keep it interesting, you have to introduce new material all the time. You have to engage with people all the time.
In order to do this, for me, I have to read, read and then read some more. Many of my guests laugh at me when they visit me at home – I usually have between 5 and 8 books next to my bed – all being read at the same time and all at different parts of their particular stories. I have magazines and books in both my toilets and also a book in the car (and no I don’t confuse the stories). I love to read and usually live vicariously, through the characters in the books – it makes for an interesting life and I have no doubt that this has stood me in good stead as I continue to write my stories and articles for posting on my blog.
I have discovered that the more I write, the more I want to write and the more topics open up to me, stories and experiences just begging to be written and shared with people who are like minded and who enjoy engaging in the story being told and who learn the lessons (or not) or who just read for the enjoyment of reading.
I have a friend who always says “Everyone has a story to be told” and for me the magic is in the telling of that story, in the learning and in the sharing.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
As promised here is the final article on the “Content” of blogging. I will certainly write some more articles on blogging at some stage, but this is it for now.
I think it is really important to understand that as bloggers, we are not just about blogging or about our blogs. We are (usually) business owners who are passionate about our businesses and what it is that we do and the value that our readers gain from reading our blogs comes from our experience – not only the experience gained from our businesses, but the experiences that we have gained from life. It’s about all that knowledge that we share about our lives, where we have been and what it is that we have lived through. It’s about the little things that have touched our lives and grabbed our interest and the big battles that we have fought and won (or lost) and why and how we won (or lost) them and how to do it better/faster/easier next time around.
So does this mean that we have to travel and trawl the four corners of the earth (strange that we say that don’t you think, when the world is actually round ) to find new material and new experiences to share – of course not! Fact is, we mostly have so much information that we already know and that we continue to harvest on a daily basis, that doing this is not necessary.
What we do have to do though is ‘keep it fresh’. If you want to keep your current readers or grow your followers, you have to keep it interesting, you have to introduce new material all the time. You have to engage with people all the time.
In order to do this, for me, I have to read, read and then read some more. Many of my guests laugh at me when they visit me at home – I usually have between 5 and 8 books next to my bed – all being read at the same time and all at different parts of their particular stories. I have magazines and books in both my toilets and also a book in the car (and no I don’t confuse the stories). I love to read and usually live vicariously, through the characters in the books – it makes for an interesting life and I have no doubt that this has stood me in good stead as I continue to write my stories and articles for posting on my blog.
I have discovered that the more I write, the more I want to write and the more topics open up to me, stories and experiences just begging to be written and shared with people who are like minded and who enjoy engaging in the story being told and who learn the lessons (or not) or who just read for the enjoyment of reading.
I have a friend who always says “Everyone has a story to be told” and for me the magic is in the telling of that story, in the learning and in the sharing.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Networking 101 - Networking & Your Competition
Networking 101 - Networking & Your Competition
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Networking and your competition. Let’s take this discussion a bit further this week.
How do you Network effectively when you are competing with several other companies and businesses that offer the same product or services as you do and who operate out of the same area that you do? Clearly you need to stand out ‘head and shoulders’ above the crowd and you obviously should never, and I mean NEVER – put your competition down or malign them in any way. Concentrate rather on what you do and what you do that makes it different.
Let’s focus on what you do need to do – you need to work very carefully on every aspect of your Business, from your Business Presentation to your Business Card, your promotional and marketing items, such as pens, to the way that you present yourself as an individual, to your elevator speech.
Your Business Presentation needs to be professional, but also memorable. Going on and on about statistics and the like is extremely boring for the person listening. So if you want to use some statistics, choose one – perhaps put some humour into it (to make it stand out and be memorable) and use it at the end of the presentation where it will make and have the most impact!
You need to know what you want to say to people when you introduce yourself. Fumbling and stammering with lots of ‘Um’s and er’s and, and, and, and’s’ is really not going to cut it for you. Let’s face it – if you don’t know who you are and what it is that you do, how can you expect anyone else to? So take the time and prepare what you want to say to people.
I have written so much about Elevator speeches it really feels like a deje vu moment for me, yet it is of critical importance, especially if you are confined to a limited amount of time in which to introduce yourself and make an impression!
Take the time, invest it in yourself and your business. Make sure that what you are saying is clear and also that it makes sense. Make your statement make people want to contact you and engage with you, even if it is only to ask you what you meant!
For example my elevator speech is “My name is Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting. I am an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and I prevent loss!” Many people come up to me afterwards and say ‘What do you mean you prevent loss – how do you prevent loss?’ A huge foot in the door for me wouldn’t you say?
The more you work on your Networking, the more your Networking will work for you!
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Networking and your competition. Let’s take this discussion a bit further this week.
How do you Network effectively when you are competing with several other companies and businesses that offer the same product or services as you do and who operate out of the same area that you do? Clearly you need to stand out ‘head and shoulders’ above the crowd and you obviously should never, and I mean NEVER – put your competition down or malign them in any way. Concentrate rather on what you do and what you do that makes it different.
Let’s focus on what you do need to do – you need to work very carefully on every aspect of your Business, from your Business Presentation to your Business Card, your promotional and marketing items, such as pens, to the way that you present yourself as an individual, to your elevator speech.
Your Business Presentation needs to be professional, but also memorable. Going on and on about statistics and the like is extremely boring for the person listening. So if you want to use some statistics, choose one – perhaps put some humour into it (to make it stand out and be memorable) and use it at the end of the presentation where it will make and have the most impact!
You need to know what you want to say to people when you introduce yourself. Fumbling and stammering with lots of ‘Um’s and er’s and, and, and, and’s’ is really not going to cut it for you. Let’s face it – if you don’t know who you are and what it is that you do, how can you expect anyone else to? So take the time and prepare what you want to say to people.
I have written so much about Elevator speeches it really feels like a deje vu moment for me, yet it is of critical importance, especially if you are confined to a limited amount of time in which to introduce yourself and make an impression!
Take the time, invest it in yourself and your business. Make sure that what you are saying is clear and also that it makes sense. Make your statement make people want to contact you and engage with you, even if it is only to ask you what you meant!
For example my elevator speech is “My name is Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting. I am an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and I prevent loss!” Many people come up to me afterwards and say ‘What do you mean you prevent loss – how do you prevent loss?’ A huge foot in the door for me wouldn’t you say?
The more you work on your Networking, the more your Networking will work for you!
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss - Part 7
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 7
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Being passionate about your business and what it is that you do is a given and it is something that you should not be faulted for. Having a business that you are not passionate about is just plain madness and it will break your heart as well as do damage to your soul. That said however, as business owners we also need to ensure that our passion does not get us carried away.
Let me explain. Sometimes we are so ‘gung ho’ about our product or service that we feel that every single person on the planet should be jumping up and down for whatever it is that we are selling. Don’t be naïve. Don’t be so arrogant! This is what is commonly known as ‘selling to yourself’ and we are all guilty of it at some stage of our business lives.
On a regular basis talk to people, family, friends, acquaintances, potential customers, your networking group, whoever will give you the time of day and give you an unbiased opinion – and ask the question. “Is this what people need/want/desire to have”? It is important to ensure that what you are selling is current. Don’t get bent out of shape if you get an answer that you are not particularly looking for, in fact be thankful that people are honest – it may be your saving grace.
By getting this honest feedback on a regular basis, you may very well be able to make changes in the direction that your business is going, before disaster strikes.
Don’t be scared to engage these incredible people in some more questions – ask them how you could improve your idea, your service and any other ideas that they may have. Get down off you pedestal and don’t be defensive. Listen carefully to what they have to say – write down all the ideas that come out of the brainstorming session.
Once you have calmed down and you are thinking clearly again – take a look at what came out of the session. Keep an open mind and honestly analyse the ideas. Keep the most useful, tweak those that need tweaking and discard the rest.
Get these people together on a regular basis – let them challenge you and your ideas – your business will only prosper because of it.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Being passionate about your business and what it is that you do is a given and it is something that you should not be faulted for. Having a business that you are not passionate about is just plain madness and it will break your heart as well as do damage to your soul. That said however, as business owners we also need to ensure that our passion does not get us carried away.
Let me explain. Sometimes we are so ‘gung ho’ about our product or service that we feel that every single person on the planet should be jumping up and down for whatever it is that we are selling. Don’t be naïve. Don’t be so arrogant! This is what is commonly known as ‘selling to yourself’ and we are all guilty of it at some stage of our business lives.
On a regular basis talk to people, family, friends, acquaintances, potential customers, your networking group, whoever will give you the time of day and give you an unbiased opinion – and ask the question. “Is this what people need/want/desire to have”? It is important to ensure that what you are selling is current. Don’t get bent out of shape if you get an answer that you are not particularly looking for, in fact be thankful that people are honest – it may be your saving grace.
By getting this honest feedback on a regular basis, you may very well be able to make changes in the direction that your business is going, before disaster strikes.
Don’t be scared to engage these incredible people in some more questions – ask them how you could improve your idea, your service and any other ideas that they may have. Get down off you pedestal and don’t be defensive. Listen carefully to what they have to say – write down all the ideas that come out of the brainstorming session.
Once you have calmed down and you are thinking clearly again – take a look at what came out of the session. Keep an open mind and honestly analyse the ideas. Keep the most useful, tweak those that need tweaking and discard the rest.
Get these people together on a regular basis – let them challenge you and your ideas – your business will only prosper because of it.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Monday, July 16, 2018
Motivation - Do You Need Approval?
Motivation – Do You Need Approval?
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Vernon Howard says “A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.”
One of the most liberating moments of my life happened when I was still working in the Corporate world. I took my power back!
I can hear many people saying “You did What?” I’ll say it again – I took my power back!
For years I had been a doormat to bosses and colleagues alike who often took their frustrations out on me. Work was taken away from incompetent employees and dumped on me and I just accepted it. The more pressure that I was put under the more I just accepted it.
I can actually see a whole bunch of you reading this with absolute disbelief – you cannot even begin to imagine me being like that – well that is because I am a different person now – I took my power back.
For months I had been coached and guided by my mentor, for months I had resisted this profound change because I was afraid. How would I do it? What would my friends think? What would my family think? Would I still have a job? Would I be fired or would I be forced to resign?
I was sitting in yet another meeting where it was brought to everyone’s attention that XYZ department was again in a state of chaos. It was a department that was constantly in a state of chaos and the mess had already been handed over to me to sort out – several times.
Each time I had come to work at 4am and only left after 7pm, so that I could manage my already heavy workload and fit in the ‘fix up’ that needed to be done. Each time I had handed everything back to the department in question, in pristine condition, figures balanced, reports completed, filing done.
Each time the incompetents had walked away without any kind of consequence, in fact they had been rewarded in a way, because they didn’t have to work late or come in early to fix up their mess. They took no responsibility and they were not held accountable!
Each time the mess was just dumped on me without any kind of reward or even so much as a thank you. In fact that year my boss had even “forgotten” (his words) to give me an increase! How disgusting was that?
So, there I was sitting at this meeting, listening to the whole decision and the discussion around the “mess” and how it was going to be given back to me to sort out again and something inside of me just broke! As it broke, I realized that if I didn’t make the decision to change the situation, to in effect – take my power back, I would continue in this way for the rest of my life and that thought just made my heart sink right down to the bottom of my toes.
I grabbed my notebook and immediately wrote out my letter of resignation. I signed the letter, tore the sheet out of my notebook, handed the letter to my boss and walked out of the meeting. With each heavy step my terror increased – what had I done? My footsteps faltered and I almost turned back, until I heard my boss say “Don’t worry about her, she’ll be back and she will sort this out!” With those words I realized just what they did think of me and my determination and resolve to do what was best for me cemented itself into hard granite. There was no turning back! I started walking again to my office where I packed up my stuff and walked out the door.
On my way home, with each step that I took, it felt as though I was shedding a load that had pinned me down for as long as I could remember. I also realized just how empowered I had become, when several phone calls later the bosses were begging me to come back and in fact even tried to get my aunt to ‘talk’ to me as I was making a very big mistake. The only mistake I had made of course, was not doing that a lot sooner.
Was I cured overnight – of course not. Like most things in life, it’s a process. You have to do it over and over again until there is an imprint on your brain that tells you that you are worthy and that you do deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and it was only years later that I finally came to the realization that ‘other people’s opinion of me is none of my business”. It was only years later that I came to the realization that the only person’s approval that I need is my own. But on that day, the day that I handed in my resignation and walked out of the door, that was the day that I took my power back and gave myself permission to be the person that I could be, the person that I wanted to be and the person that I am happy to live with today – me.
Is my journey complete? Of course not – we are all ‘a work in progress’, but I am most definitely going in the right direction. The question of course is . . . . are you?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Vernon Howard says “A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.”
One of the most liberating moments of my life happened when I was still working in the Corporate world. I took my power back!
I can hear many people saying “You did What?” I’ll say it again – I took my power back!
For years I had been a doormat to bosses and colleagues alike who often took their frustrations out on me. Work was taken away from incompetent employees and dumped on me and I just accepted it. The more pressure that I was put under the more I just accepted it.
I can actually see a whole bunch of you reading this with absolute disbelief – you cannot even begin to imagine me being like that – well that is because I am a different person now – I took my power back.
For months I had been coached and guided by my mentor, for months I had resisted this profound change because I was afraid. How would I do it? What would my friends think? What would my family think? Would I still have a job? Would I be fired or would I be forced to resign?
I was sitting in yet another meeting where it was brought to everyone’s attention that XYZ department was again in a state of chaos. It was a department that was constantly in a state of chaos and the mess had already been handed over to me to sort out – several times.
Each time I had come to work at 4am and only left after 7pm, so that I could manage my already heavy workload and fit in the ‘fix up’ that needed to be done. Each time I had handed everything back to the department in question, in pristine condition, figures balanced, reports completed, filing done.
Each time the incompetents had walked away without any kind of consequence, in fact they had been rewarded in a way, because they didn’t have to work late or come in early to fix up their mess. They took no responsibility and they were not held accountable!
Each time the mess was just dumped on me without any kind of reward or even so much as a thank you. In fact that year my boss had even “forgotten” (his words) to give me an increase! How disgusting was that?
So, there I was sitting at this meeting, listening to the whole decision and the discussion around the “mess” and how it was going to be given back to me to sort out again and something inside of me just broke! As it broke, I realized that if I didn’t make the decision to change the situation, to in effect – take my power back, I would continue in this way for the rest of my life and that thought just made my heart sink right down to the bottom of my toes.
I grabbed my notebook and immediately wrote out my letter of resignation. I signed the letter, tore the sheet out of my notebook, handed the letter to my boss and walked out of the meeting. With each heavy step my terror increased – what had I done? My footsteps faltered and I almost turned back, until I heard my boss say “Don’t worry about her, she’ll be back and she will sort this out!” With those words I realized just what they did think of me and my determination and resolve to do what was best for me cemented itself into hard granite. There was no turning back! I started walking again to my office where I packed up my stuff and walked out the door.
On my way home, with each step that I took, it felt as though I was shedding a load that had pinned me down for as long as I could remember. I also realized just how empowered I had become, when several phone calls later the bosses were begging me to come back and in fact even tried to get my aunt to ‘talk’ to me as I was making a very big mistake. The only mistake I had made of course, was not doing that a lot sooner.
Was I cured overnight – of course not. Like most things in life, it’s a process. You have to do it over and over again until there is an imprint on your brain that tells you that you are worthy and that you do deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and it was only years later that I finally came to the realization that ‘other people’s opinion of me is none of my business”. It was only years later that I came to the realization that the only person’s approval that I need is my own. But on that day, the day that I handed in my resignation and walked out of the door, that was the day that I took my power back and gave myself permission to be the person that I could be, the person that I wanted to be and the person that I am happy to live with today – me.
Is my journey complete? Of course not – we are all ‘a work in progress’, but I am most definitely going in the right direction. The question of course is . . . . are you?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Friday, July 13, 2018
HR 101 – What to do When . . . You’re Not Sure If A Medical Certificate Is Required.
HR 101 – What to do When . . . You’re Not Sure If A Medical Certificate Is Required.
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
First of all the BCEA (Basic Conditions of Employment Act) says that you are not obliged to pay a staff member if they are absent from work for more that two consecutive days or more than two (single) days during an eight week period, if they do not, will not or cannot produce a medical certificate.
The medical certificated must state that the staff member was not able to work for the dates and the duration that the employee was absent from work because of ‘sickness’ or injury.
Should the employee be off ill for an isolated day, they are not required to produce a medical certificate provided that it is not more than one day in every eight weeks.
It is a good idea to lay down the rules governing sick leave, in your letter or contract of employment. ‘Spell it out’ in easy to understand language. Let them know what the requirements are and what they can do and what they cannot do.
For example, “Medical Certificates are required if an employee is ill and/or injured for two consecutive days and/or on a Friday (or Saturday) and/or on a Monday and/oror on the day before or after a public holiday.”
“Medical Certificates are also required if more than one single day is taken during every 8 (eight) week period.”
“Failure to produce and/or submit a Medical Certificate from a registered medical practioner may result in the employee taking unpaid leave.”
This tells the employee, very clearly what the boundaries are and what the consequences are, should that boundary be crossed. It removes the emotion out of the situation, is clear on its intent and removes all confusion.
Remember to keep it as simple and as clear as possible.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
First of all the BCEA (Basic Conditions of Employment Act) says that you are not obliged to pay a staff member if they are absent from work for more that two consecutive days or more than two (single) days during an eight week period, if they do not, will not or cannot produce a medical certificate.
The medical certificated must state that the staff member was not able to work for the dates and the duration that the employee was absent from work because of ‘sickness’ or injury.
Should the employee be off ill for an isolated day, they are not required to produce a medical certificate provided that it is not more than one day in every eight weeks.
It is a good idea to lay down the rules governing sick leave, in your letter or contract of employment. ‘Spell it out’ in easy to understand language. Let them know what the requirements are and what they can do and what they cannot do.
For example, “Medical Certificates are required if an employee is ill and/or injured for two consecutive days and/or on a Friday (or Saturday) and/or on a Monday and/oror on the day before or after a public holiday.”
“Medical Certificates are also required if more than one single day is taken during every 8 (eight) week period.”
“Failure to produce and/or submit a Medical Certificate from a registered medical practioner may result in the employee taking unpaid leave.”
This tells the employee, very clearly what the boundaries are and what the consequences are, should that boundary be crossed. It removes the emotion out of the situation, is clear on its intent and removes all confusion.
Remember to keep it as simple and as clear as possible.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Networking 101 - The Process and Practice of Networking
Networking 101 - The Process and Practice of Networking
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I left you last time saying that “Networking in its purest form and if done properly is so much more.” Let’s take it from there.
Networking, for me is not only a practice (you know the story about practice makes perfect), it is also about the process. Yes it does take practice and the more you practice the better you will become at it and the reason that you will become better at it is because you will have defined your process and what works best for you.
What will work for everyone however is if you understand that networking is something that must be done all the time – it takes continuous effort and if you don’t regard it as an essential marketing tool you will be selling yourself very short. Networking done in this way means new business at very little or no cost what-so-ever.
We all see thousands upon thousands of adverts every week. Adverts on bill boards, in neon lights, on TV in the magazines and newspapers – hell you can’t even wait for the robot to change these days without someone shoving something in your face! Yet in all honesty, how many of these actually have any influence on our lives – personal or business for that matter? I know that I use the ad breaks on the telly to switch the kettle on or pour myself another drink!
So why on earth would I want to spend my hard earned cash on advertising? Well my answer of course, is I wouldn’t. Actually, I don’t advertise anywhere. I network! All of my business comes out of Networking!
Referrals from my clients and the people who I network with, have far more impact on prospective clients, than any kind of flyer or flashing neon lights or even a page in the newspaper.
What do you think would work best for you? Let’s have a look at networking and your competition next time.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I left you last time saying that “Networking in its purest form and if done properly is so much more.” Let’s take it from there.
Networking, for me is not only a practice (you know the story about practice makes perfect), it is also about the process. Yes it does take practice and the more you practice the better you will become at it and the reason that you will become better at it is because you will have defined your process and what works best for you.
What will work for everyone however is if you understand that networking is something that must be done all the time – it takes continuous effort and if you don’t regard it as an essential marketing tool you will be selling yourself very short. Networking done in this way means new business at very little or no cost what-so-ever.
We all see thousands upon thousands of adverts every week. Adverts on bill boards, in neon lights, on TV in the magazines and newspapers – hell you can’t even wait for the robot to change these days without someone shoving something in your face! Yet in all honesty, how many of these actually have any influence on our lives – personal or business for that matter? I know that I use the ad breaks on the telly to switch the kettle on or pour myself another drink!
So why on earth would I want to spend my hard earned cash on advertising? Well my answer of course, is I wouldn’t. Actually, I don’t advertise anywhere. I network! All of my business comes out of Networking!
Referrals from my clients and the people who I network with, have far more impact on prospective clients, than any kind of flyer or flashing neon lights or even a page in the newspaper.
What do you think would work best for you? Let’s have a look at networking and your competition next time.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss - Part 6
Business Tips – Being Your Own Boss – Part 6
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
So far we have looked at:-
1. The difference between being an employee and an employer;
2. Your Purpose:
3. The People around you and
4. Your Personal Footprint.
5. Knowledge & what you do with it
6. The Generosity of your Spirit
7. The Role of Technology in your Business
8. Self Confidence
9. Creativity and
10. Focus
11. Vision
12. Result
Believe it or not there are a whole lot more – today we will explore a few more.
1. Networking
One of the quickest ways to get to people who have more knowledge and more experience than you do is to network. There are many SMME (small, medium, micro enterprises), entrepreneurial or start up networking groups out there for you to choose from. Some leave you to your own devices, some are semi facilitated and some are fully facilitated – find one that suits your requirements and get networking. Networking is also a great way to build relationships with like-minded people who often become suppliers and even customers and you will find people who will be willing to assist you by sharing their knowledge and experience.
2. Leadership
Every company needs a leader and as a business owner that is who you are – the leader. Quite honestly, your business success (or failure for that matter) is intrinsically linked to and dependent upon your capability as a leader. You will need to inspire your staff, you will need to gain the trust and respect of your staff and you will need to commit to them if you want commitment from them. If you are not a natural leader or are unsure of your role as a leader, I would suggest that you get yourself off to some training as soon as possible as leaders are not necessarily born, they can also be made.
3. Management
Every business needs to be properly managed. Whether you are on your own or you have staff, your business still needs to be managed and this is achieved by having some sort of plan in terms of the operation of the business. What are you going to do with regard to sales, delivery etc. and how are you going to achieve that. You have to know where you are going and how you are going to get there in order for you to succeed.
Next time we will continue to look at some of the other issues that you will need or be aware of to become a successful Entrepreneur.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
So far we have looked at:-
1. The difference between being an employee and an employer;
2. Your Purpose:
3. The People around you and
4. Your Personal Footprint.
5. Knowledge & what you do with it
6. The Generosity of your Spirit
7. The Role of Technology in your Business
8. Self Confidence
9. Creativity and
10. Focus
11. Vision
12. Result
Believe it or not there are a whole lot more – today we will explore a few more.
1. Networking
One of the quickest ways to get to people who have more knowledge and more experience than you do is to network. There are many SMME (small, medium, micro enterprises), entrepreneurial or start up networking groups out there for you to choose from. Some leave you to your own devices, some are semi facilitated and some are fully facilitated – find one that suits your requirements and get networking. Networking is also a great way to build relationships with like-minded people who often become suppliers and even customers and you will find people who will be willing to assist you by sharing their knowledge and experience.
2. Leadership
Every company needs a leader and as a business owner that is who you are – the leader. Quite honestly, your business success (or failure for that matter) is intrinsically linked to and dependent upon your capability as a leader. You will need to inspire your staff, you will need to gain the trust and respect of your staff and you will need to commit to them if you want commitment from them. If you are not a natural leader or are unsure of your role as a leader, I would suggest that you get yourself off to some training as soon as possible as leaders are not necessarily born, they can also be made.
3. Management
Every business needs to be properly managed. Whether you are on your own or you have staff, your business still needs to be managed and this is achieved by having some sort of plan in terms of the operation of the business. What are you going to do with regard to sales, delivery etc. and how are you going to achieve that. You have to know where you are going and how you are going to get there in order for you to succeed.
Next time we will continue to look at some of the other issues that you will need or be aware of to become a successful Entrepreneur.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Monday, July 09, 2018
Motivation - Taking Action
Motivation – Taking Action
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Al Batt says “It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action.”
It’s been a long, hard year. I’ve seen more tears than I have smiles. I’ve see people in pain, emotional pain and even physical pain, as they have watched their lives fall apart, as they have been retrenched or divorced, or watched helplessly as their businesses have fallen down. I have lost some of those people to suicide, to drugs and to absolute despair.
It’s been hard for me to watch as many looked at their shattered lives, in horror and disillusionment, all the while bemoaning their bad luck, the bad economy, bad management by the government, too much power by SARS, perceived power of ex- husbands or ex- wives and their overzealous lawyers.
Some have given up completely and succumbed to whatever fate and consequence that awaits them. Most cling to some or other notion that they will be rescued in the nick of time by some sort of divine intervention. I suspect that they will be very disappointed and some will become even more disillusioned and despondent.
Some have gotten back onto their feet, shaken their fists at the Gods (whomever you perceive them to be) and done something about their plight. Unfortunately many have done the same thing all over again expecting and even believing that they will get a different outcome – I suspect that at some point everything will come crashing down around their ears again and they will wear the same shell shocked, deer in the headlights, look that they have worn many times before – only to repeat the cycle all over again.
Some, a small quantity of folk, have not only taken notice of their predicament, but they have learnt the lesson, taken cognizance of the pertinent aspects of those lessons, discarded what was not needed, gotten up and done things differently. They have found themselves on a completely different path in life, one that is sustainable and profitable and even self-satisfying. These individuals have, by their own actions, created their own ‘divine intervention’, their own luck and have changed their own destiny’s.
These folk have, by their actions, shrugged off the negativity that surrounded them, become deaf to all the whining and moaning, blocked out all the angst of government misadventure, SARS untimely interventions, economic woes and risen above the petty admonishments of the general business populace. They have done what they needed to do, not only to survive, but to live and to make a difference.
So who are you, or where are you in this world of perceived hardship? Are you one who merely takes note of all that is going on around you or are you the one that gets up and does something positive about where you are going and where you want to be?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Al Batt says “It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action.”
It’s been a long, hard year. I’ve seen more tears than I have smiles. I’ve see people in pain, emotional pain and even physical pain, as they have watched their lives fall apart, as they have been retrenched or divorced, or watched helplessly as their businesses have fallen down. I have lost some of those people to suicide, to drugs and to absolute despair.
It’s been hard for me to watch as many looked at their shattered lives, in horror and disillusionment, all the while bemoaning their bad luck, the bad economy, bad management by the government, too much power by SARS, perceived power of ex- husbands or ex- wives and their overzealous lawyers.
Some have given up completely and succumbed to whatever fate and consequence that awaits them. Most cling to some or other notion that they will be rescued in the nick of time by some sort of divine intervention. I suspect that they will be very disappointed and some will become even more disillusioned and despondent.
Some have gotten back onto their feet, shaken their fists at the Gods (whomever you perceive them to be) and done something about their plight. Unfortunately many have done the same thing all over again expecting and even believing that they will get a different outcome – I suspect that at some point everything will come crashing down around their ears again and they will wear the same shell shocked, deer in the headlights, look that they have worn many times before – only to repeat the cycle all over again.
Some, a small quantity of folk, have not only taken notice of their predicament, but they have learnt the lesson, taken cognizance of the pertinent aspects of those lessons, discarded what was not needed, gotten up and done things differently. They have found themselves on a completely different path in life, one that is sustainable and profitable and even self-satisfying. These individuals have, by their own actions, created their own ‘divine intervention’, their own luck and have changed their own destiny’s.
These folk have, by their actions, shrugged off the negativity that surrounded them, become deaf to all the whining and moaning, blocked out all the angst of government misadventure, SARS untimely interventions, economic woes and risen above the petty admonishments of the general business populace. They have done what they needed to do, not only to survive, but to live and to make a difference.
So who are you, or where are you in this world of perceived hardship? Are you one who merely takes note of all that is going on around you or are you the one that gets up and does something positive about where you are going and where you want to be?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Friday, July 06, 2018
HR 101 – What to do When . . . . Your Staff Member is Pregnant
HR 101 – What to do When . . . . Your Staff Member is Pregnant
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this complies with South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
First of all, for the record – you cannot dismiss an employee because they are pregnant. Dismissing an employee on the grounds that she is pregnant is viewed as “automatically unfair” and it comes at a cost.
Second of all, for the record – the full period of maternity leave is 4 months (unless otherwise agreed in writing for a longer period). If you shorten this period, even by mutual written consent, you could find yourself in the deep smelly brown stuff.
Thirdly, the employee’s right to ‘time off’ for the pregnancy does not end there – let me explain. Let’s return to our protagonists. Mike the owner of the retail outlet and Jane the cashier.
Jane is pregnant and she is due to give birth in November and as we all know, December is a really busy time in the retail environment. By mutual agreement (Jane does not want to lose out on her Christmas commissions), they agree that she will only take one month off, as pregnancy leave, instead of the laid down 4 months. Jane signs off on this giving her consent.
In November Jane goes on leave a week before the due date and then Jane gives birth and becomes a proud mother to a healthy set of twin boys. So far, so good. Well the twins start off healthy, but soon they both develop colic and Jane understands that there is no way that she can go back to work as soon as she had planned as she needs to take care of the boys.
Jane contacts Mike, explains the situation to him and requests an additional one month maternity leave. Mike is furious – he has not put any kind of contingency plan into place as Jane assured him that she would be back after a month and it is too late to get someone else in to help as the store is already as busy as can be and he cannot ‘spare’ anyone to train someone new. Mike tries to be reasonable and tells Jane that she can have an additional two weeks leave. Jane refuses to accept this new arrangement and just doesn’t go back after the additional two week period is up. Mike dismisses her in abstentia.
Jane takes Mike to the CCMA for unfair dismissal, stating that she had been dismissed for a reason that was directly related to pregnancy. Mike says that that is nonsense as the wording in the Labour Relations Act (LRA), sections 187(1)(e) “for a reason related to pregnancy” means that if a mother has any sort of complications as a result of the birth and that this does not extend to any illnesses experienced by the baby. Mike also says that Jane was not dismissed because of her pregnancy or because the babies were ill, but because she was absent from work without leave.
Well the CCMA saw things a little differently. Just as the price of democracy is very high, so too is the price of equality. The CCMA’s take on this was “Difficulties experienced by employers in keeping a woman’s job open while she is on maternity leave is the price that must be paid for recognizing the equal status of women in the workplace. The law protects women, not only while pregnant, but also while they are attending to the consequences of pregnancies.”
How’s that for a smack of reality?
Mike then pointed out that Jane had signed an agreement stating that she would only take one month’s maternity leave.
Well that didn’t work very well either – you see the BCEA (Basic Conditions of Employment Act) says that the employees are entitled to 4 months maternity leave. So the agreement that Mike had with Jane for the 1 month maternity leave is in fact unlawful, so it cannot be enforced as it contravened the BCEA.
In this instance, if Jane had been given her full four months maternity leave, this situation would not have arisen. The consequences of Mike’s action was very expensive – he had to pay out 20 months remuneration and also pick up the costs of both his attorney and Jane’s attorney to.
The bottom line is this – the BCEA are not just guidelines, it is the law – so if it stipulates something, that something means that it is the minimum that you can do – in this case the minimum amount of maternity leave that can be given is 4 months. Anything less than that could find you in hot water – anything more than that can be negotiated and agreed to. Remember though, if you give one employee 6 months maternity leave, you have to give all the others the same amount.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this complies with South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
First of all, for the record – you cannot dismiss an employee because they are pregnant. Dismissing an employee on the grounds that she is pregnant is viewed as “automatically unfair” and it comes at a cost.
Second of all, for the record – the full period of maternity leave is 4 months (unless otherwise agreed in writing for a longer period). If you shorten this period, even by mutual written consent, you could find yourself in the deep smelly brown stuff.
Thirdly, the employee’s right to ‘time off’ for the pregnancy does not end there – let me explain. Let’s return to our protagonists. Mike the owner of the retail outlet and Jane the cashier.
Jane is pregnant and she is due to give birth in November and as we all know, December is a really busy time in the retail environment. By mutual agreement (Jane does not want to lose out on her Christmas commissions), they agree that she will only take one month off, as pregnancy leave, instead of the laid down 4 months. Jane signs off on this giving her consent.
In November Jane goes on leave a week before the due date and then Jane gives birth and becomes a proud mother to a healthy set of twin boys. So far, so good. Well the twins start off healthy, but soon they both develop colic and Jane understands that there is no way that she can go back to work as soon as she had planned as she needs to take care of the boys.
Jane contacts Mike, explains the situation to him and requests an additional one month maternity leave. Mike is furious – he has not put any kind of contingency plan into place as Jane assured him that she would be back after a month and it is too late to get someone else in to help as the store is already as busy as can be and he cannot ‘spare’ anyone to train someone new. Mike tries to be reasonable and tells Jane that she can have an additional two weeks leave. Jane refuses to accept this new arrangement and just doesn’t go back after the additional two week period is up. Mike dismisses her in abstentia.
Jane takes Mike to the CCMA for unfair dismissal, stating that she had been dismissed for a reason that was directly related to pregnancy. Mike says that that is nonsense as the wording in the Labour Relations Act (LRA), sections 187(1)(e) “for a reason related to pregnancy” means that if a mother has any sort of complications as a result of the birth and that this does not extend to any illnesses experienced by the baby. Mike also says that Jane was not dismissed because of her pregnancy or because the babies were ill, but because she was absent from work without leave.
Well the CCMA saw things a little differently. Just as the price of democracy is very high, so too is the price of equality. The CCMA’s take on this was “Difficulties experienced by employers in keeping a woman’s job open while she is on maternity leave is the price that must be paid for recognizing the equal status of women in the workplace. The law protects women, not only while pregnant, but also while they are attending to the consequences of pregnancies.”
How’s that for a smack of reality?
Mike then pointed out that Jane had signed an agreement stating that she would only take one month’s maternity leave.
Well that didn’t work very well either – you see the BCEA (Basic Conditions of Employment Act) says that the employees are entitled to 4 months maternity leave. So the agreement that Mike had with Jane for the 1 month maternity leave is in fact unlawful, so it cannot be enforced as it contravened the BCEA.
In this instance, if Jane had been given her full four months maternity leave, this situation would not have arisen. The consequences of Mike’s action was very expensive – he had to pay out 20 months remuneration and also pick up the costs of both his attorney and Jane’s attorney to.
The bottom line is this – the BCEA are not just guidelines, it is the law – so if it stipulates something, that something means that it is the minimum that you can do – in this case the minimum amount of maternity leave that can be given is 4 months. Anything less than that could find you in hot water – anything more than that can be negotiated and agreed to. Remember though, if you give one employee 6 months maternity leave, you have to give all the others the same amount.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Thursday, July 05, 2018
Blogging 101 - The Content - Part 9
Blogging 101 – The Content – Part 9
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd July 2010
My being a specialist in terms of being an Internal Auditor means that I am a ‘generalist’ in most of the other fields that I write about. Does that mean that I don’t have a clue about what I am talking about when it comes to those articles – of course not! What it does mean though is that I will usually have to do some research in order to check my facts.
There are occasions where I may want to (or indeed need to) quote from something that someone else has written or base my writing upon an article that I have read. When I do this, I obviously need to give recognition to the person who either wrote the article or the person who I am quoting. Come on people – it really is the right thing to do. I know just how angry I would be if I found something I had written under someone else’s name – that’s just not right!
If you are going to be writing blogs that are technical in nature, it is very important to list where you did the research as well, particularly if like me, you are a bit of a technophobe. That way, not only will you give yourself that added bit of credibility but you also allow the reader to familiarize themselves with your source – and that is always a value add to both.
If what you are writing is merely an opinion and not necessarily a fact, then that also needs to be documented – clearly. There’s nothing worse than taking what someone has written to be absolutely gospel (and then sprouting off at the mouth about it) only to find out later that it is a load of nonsense and that they were merely voicing their opinion.
Next time we will look at some additional points on the content of your blog.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd July 2010
My being a specialist in terms of being an Internal Auditor means that I am a ‘generalist’ in most of the other fields that I write about. Does that mean that I don’t have a clue about what I am talking about when it comes to those articles – of course not! What it does mean though is that I will usually have to do some research in order to check my facts.
There are occasions where I may want to (or indeed need to) quote from something that someone else has written or base my writing upon an article that I have read. When I do this, I obviously need to give recognition to the person who either wrote the article or the person who I am quoting. Come on people – it really is the right thing to do. I know just how angry I would be if I found something I had written under someone else’s name – that’s just not right!
If you are going to be writing blogs that are technical in nature, it is very important to list where you did the research as well, particularly if like me, you are a bit of a technophobe. That way, not only will you give yourself that added bit of credibility but you also allow the reader to familiarize themselves with your source – and that is always a value add to both.
If what you are writing is merely an opinion and not necessarily a fact, then that also needs to be documented – clearly. There’s nothing worse than taking what someone has written to be absolutely gospel (and then sprouting off at the mouth about it) only to find out later that it is a load of nonsense and that they were merely voicing their opinion.
Next time we will look at some additional points on the content of your blog.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, July 04, 2018
Networking 101 - Building Sustainable Relationships
Networking 101 - Building Sustainable Relationships
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
This is what I left you with at the end of the Networking tip last time and it is something that I want to re-iterate again!
“Networking is about building relationships. Relationships that are mutually beneficial, that are sustainable and worked at. Relationships that will, over time give you returns on your investment (which is the time that you have spent working on those relationships).
Attending a few networking meetings and handing your card out to a few dozen people is not going to do it. You have to meet up with those people, have a discussion, get to know them and what it is that they do – start a business relationship and then work at maintaining that relationship.
Networking for me is a foot in the door – it’s a fast way to meet people, especially like minded people who are as passionate about their business as I am about mine.”
So if attending a few networking meetings and handing your card out to a few dozen people is not going to do it – what will? As a natural networker, for me this is quite simple – I Network where-ever I am.
You see, you are never going to know where your next big deal is going to come from. It might be someone that you have met at a networking meeting, it might be someone that you have met through your social network and more importantly, it might be someone that you have never laid eyes on before, but who has been referred by someone that you have met while watching your son’s soccer match that you very nearly missed because you were ‘too busy’!
Networking is something that must become second nature to you. It must be something that you do without thinking. It must be an automatic response. It must be something that has access to every conceivable part of your life.
Many people who realise the importance of networking, and who actually ‘get it’ come adrift on this point. They see networking as something that only needs to be done at networking meetings, or in a business environment. To them networking is something that they do when they attend a local business event – where they hand out their 30+ business cards and then leave the function thinking that they have done the job well. They could not be more wrong if they tried!
Networking in its purest form and if done properly is so much more – stick around for next weeks tips to find out more.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
This is what I left you with at the end of the Networking tip last time and it is something that I want to re-iterate again!
“Networking is about building relationships. Relationships that are mutually beneficial, that are sustainable and worked at. Relationships that will, over time give you returns on your investment (which is the time that you have spent working on those relationships).
Attending a few networking meetings and handing your card out to a few dozen people is not going to do it. You have to meet up with those people, have a discussion, get to know them and what it is that they do – start a business relationship and then work at maintaining that relationship.
Networking for me is a foot in the door – it’s a fast way to meet people, especially like minded people who are as passionate about their business as I am about mine.”
So if attending a few networking meetings and handing your card out to a few dozen people is not going to do it – what will? As a natural networker, for me this is quite simple – I Network where-ever I am.
You see, you are never going to know where your next big deal is going to come from. It might be someone that you have met at a networking meeting, it might be someone that you have met through your social network and more importantly, it might be someone that you have never laid eyes on before, but who has been referred by someone that you have met while watching your son’s soccer match that you very nearly missed because you were ‘too busy’!
Networking is something that must become second nature to you. It must be something that you do without thinking. It must be an automatic response. It must be something that has access to every conceivable part of your life.
Many people who realise the importance of networking, and who actually ‘get it’ come adrift on this point. They see networking as something that only needs to be done at networking meetings, or in a business environment. To them networking is something that they do when they attend a local business event – where they hand out their 30+ business cards and then leave the function thinking that they have done the job well. They could not be more wrong if they tried!
Networking in its purest form and if done properly is so much more – stick around for next weeks tips to find out more.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
Tuesday, July 03, 2018
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss - Part 5
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 5
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
It is said that “There are none so blind as those who will not see”!
Ain’t that the truth! One of the most frustrating things for me is trying to convince people – especially about the work that I do. Most of the time people are stuck in the whole philosophy of “It won’t happen to me” and then of course it does. It’s Murphy’s law.
I have learnt over the years though, to just let them be and even when the brown smelly stuff hits the fan and splatters all over them, I bite my tongue (when I really want to tell them ‘I told you so’) and instead outline a plan of action to correct the problem and then prevent it from happening again.
Nowadays, I try and inspire them.
Many of the experts say that you should have a one page sales kind of brief. I find though, that people are skeptical of the salesperson who continuously tells everybody how ‘wonderful’ they are and how ‘wonderful’ their product or service is. Now I quote some of the more touching testimonials that my clients and colleagues have sent to me. Believe me, those testimonials have far more impact, in terms of trust, than any kind of sales spiel.
Do you love what you do? Are you passionate about what you do? If you are, chances are that it will change the way that you speak and it will change your body language and it will change the energy that you exude. Your passion, the love of what you do and the belief that you have in your product or service will be clearly evident for all to see. There is nothing more soul satisfying than to watch people becoming infected by and with your passion.
Don’t be shy to tell people who you are and where you come from. Describe your struggles and how you overcame them. People relate to struggles – we all go through them. People applaud success – even the very small ones.
Be sure to always include your contact details, make it as easy as possible for people to find you.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
It is said that “There are none so blind as those who will not see”!
Ain’t that the truth! One of the most frustrating things for me is trying to convince people – especially about the work that I do. Most of the time people are stuck in the whole philosophy of “It won’t happen to me” and then of course it does. It’s Murphy’s law.
I have learnt over the years though, to just let them be and even when the brown smelly stuff hits the fan and splatters all over them, I bite my tongue (when I really want to tell them ‘I told you so’) and instead outline a plan of action to correct the problem and then prevent it from happening again.
Nowadays, I try and inspire them.
Many of the experts say that you should have a one page sales kind of brief. I find though, that people are skeptical of the salesperson who continuously tells everybody how ‘wonderful’ they are and how ‘wonderful’ their product or service is. Now I quote some of the more touching testimonials that my clients and colleagues have sent to me. Believe me, those testimonials have far more impact, in terms of trust, than any kind of sales spiel.
Do you love what you do? Are you passionate about what you do? If you are, chances are that it will change the way that you speak and it will change your body language and it will change the energy that you exude. Your passion, the love of what you do and the belief that you have in your product or service will be clearly evident for all to see. There is nothing more soul satisfying than to watch people becoming infected by and with your passion.
Don’t be shy to tell people who you are and where you come from. Describe your struggles and how you overcame them. People relate to struggles – we all go through them. People applaud success – even the very small ones.
Be sure to always include your contact details, make it as easy as possible for people to find you.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Monday, July 02, 2018
Motivation - What is Your Life Purpose?
MOTIVATION – What is Your Life Purpose?
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Jack Canfield says “when you follow purpose, the people, resources and opportunities you need naturally gravitate toward you.”
This is pretty much along the lines of “when you are ready to learn, the teacher will appear” and greatly in line with my beliefs.
I have often noticed that as I have made a decision about something that the people that I need or the skills that I need in order to make that decision a reality, suddenly arrive on my radar. For example when I had made the decision to update and modernize my logo, I suddenly met or was introduced to a whole bunch of creative people who specialized in that sort of thing.
When I was wanting to find people to write and facilitate some of the workshops that I hold specifically for entrepreneurs, I was suddenly surrounded by teachers and writers and entrepreneurs, who are specialists in their own right.
When I wanted to secure recurring income instead of scrambling for new clients each month, I was approached by several corporates for project work that will secure monthly recurring income. How cool is that?
Here’s the thing though, in order to manifest or attract what you need you first have to believe in what you are wanting to do or achieve (even if it is only on a sub-conscious level), you have to believe in yourself and you have to believe in your dream. You have to be very clear about what it is that you want. Once you believe in your dream you still have to start “living” it and as you do that your energy will attract what you need.
I know what I believe – do you?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Jack Canfield says “when you follow purpose, the people, resources and opportunities you need naturally gravitate toward you.”
This is pretty much along the lines of “when you are ready to learn, the teacher will appear” and greatly in line with my beliefs.
I have often noticed that as I have made a decision about something that the people that I need or the skills that I need in order to make that decision a reality, suddenly arrive on my radar. For example when I had made the decision to update and modernize my logo, I suddenly met or was introduced to a whole bunch of creative people who specialized in that sort of thing.
When I was wanting to find people to write and facilitate some of the workshops that I hold specifically for entrepreneurs, I was suddenly surrounded by teachers and writers and entrepreneurs, who are specialists in their own right.
When I wanted to secure recurring income instead of scrambling for new clients each month, I was approached by several corporates for project work that will secure monthly recurring income. How cool is that?
Here’s the thing though, in order to manifest or attract what you need you first have to believe in what you are wanting to do or achieve (even if it is only on a sub-conscious level), you have to believe in yourself and you have to believe in your dream. You have to be very clear about what it is that you want. Once you believe in your dream you still have to start “living” it and as you do that your energy will attract what you need.
I know what I believe – do you?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Friday, June 29, 2018
HR 101 – What to do When . . . . Managers Abuse Their Staff
HR 101 – What to do When . . . . Managers Abuse Their Staff
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd – April 2009
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
Sexual harassment is not the only ‘harassment’ that occurs in the workplace. There are many bosses out there who are nothing more than bullies or predators and who use the power of their positions to manipulate and intimidate staff, in order to feed their own inadequacies or fantasies.
For those who do that, and you know who you are – be warned, you can and will, more often that not, pay dearly for your transgressions. If and when an employee resigns because of the behaviour of the employer/manager/supervisor, there is a consequence. The term for this type of resignation is called ‘Constructive Dismissal’ and believe me when I tell you that this is viewed in a very serious light by the CCMA.
Constructive dismissal is built around the fact that (as it is phrased in UK laws) “An employer must not, without reasonable or proper cause, conduct himself in a manner calculated or likely to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of trust and confidence between the employer and the employee”.
Managers/supervisors/employer’s who consistently harass staff on a psychological or emotional level may push their staff into resigning and this could result in the CCMA getting involved.
Here are some tips on how to avoid the perception of harassment.
- If the employer has a problem with a staff member’s performance, clearly it is in the best interests of the business for the issue of lack of and poor performance to be resolved. When criticizing a staff member’s performance it is a good idea, not only to tell them what they are doing wrong, but also give them suggestions, and if necessary the tools with which to improve themselves. Ultimately this will benefit the business too.
- Be consistent and make sure that you follow the precedents that have already been set. Be sure to treat all the staff in the same manner. If you discipline one staff member for an infraction, any other staff member that has a similar or the same infraction against them, must face the same disciplinary action and the same result. Run a ‘tight ship’ by all means, but make sure that you are always fair.
- The level of performance that you expect from one employee, must be the same level of performance that you expect from all of your staff.
- Never humiliate staff members, especially in front of other staff members. Treat your staff with dignity and respect. Be sensitive to their culture and religion. You can get your point across without having to resort to disparaging remarks.
- Managers/supervisors/employers need to understand that psychological or emotional harassment of staff is not acceptable and that training managers/supervisors/employers in the correct manner of dealing with staff is an investment in the business.
Handling staff correctly will result in greater productivity, which will result in greater profitability.
A happy workforce with a healthy relationship between management and staff usually results in a successful business.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd – April 2009
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
Sexual harassment is not the only ‘harassment’ that occurs in the workplace. There are many bosses out there who are nothing more than bullies or predators and who use the power of their positions to manipulate and intimidate staff, in order to feed their own inadequacies or fantasies.
For those who do that, and you know who you are – be warned, you can and will, more often that not, pay dearly for your transgressions. If and when an employee resigns because of the behaviour of the employer/manager/supervisor, there is a consequence. The term for this type of resignation is called ‘Constructive Dismissal’ and believe me when I tell you that this is viewed in a very serious light by the CCMA.
Constructive dismissal is built around the fact that (as it is phrased in UK laws) “An employer must not, without reasonable or proper cause, conduct himself in a manner calculated or likely to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of trust and confidence between the employer and the employee”.
Managers/supervisors/employer’s who consistently harass staff on a psychological or emotional level may push their staff into resigning and this could result in the CCMA getting involved.
Here are some tips on how to avoid the perception of harassment.
- If the employer has a problem with a staff member’s performance, clearly it is in the best interests of the business for the issue of lack of and poor performance to be resolved. When criticizing a staff member’s performance it is a good idea, not only to tell them what they are doing wrong, but also give them suggestions, and if necessary the tools with which to improve themselves. Ultimately this will benefit the business too.
- Be consistent and make sure that you follow the precedents that have already been set. Be sure to treat all the staff in the same manner. If you discipline one staff member for an infraction, any other staff member that has a similar or the same infraction against them, must face the same disciplinary action and the same result. Run a ‘tight ship’ by all means, but make sure that you are always fair.
- The level of performance that you expect from one employee, must be the same level of performance that you expect from all of your staff.
- Never humiliate staff members, especially in front of other staff members. Treat your staff with dignity and respect. Be sensitive to their culture and religion. You can get your point across without having to resort to disparaging remarks.
- Managers/supervisors/employers need to understand that psychological or emotional harassment of staff is not acceptable and that training managers/supervisors/employers in the correct manner of dealing with staff is an investment in the business.
Handling staff correctly will result in greater productivity, which will result in greater profitability.
A happy workforce with a healthy relationship between management and staff usually results in a successful business.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Blogging 101 - The Content - Part 8
Blogging 101 – The Content – Part 8
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd - June 2010
I don’t believe that I am any different to anyone else who loves to read and one of my biggest pet hates around reading (apart from the fact that I hate starting a book and I hate finishing a book), is when there is an abrupt interruption of the story. Don’t you hate when that happens, you’re reading away, minding your own business, following the twists and turns of the story, engulfed in the plot, hardly daring to breathe as you turn the page and . . . well nothing! As you begin to read the next page, nothing that you are reading makes any kind of sense and you glance down at the page number and then look at the previous page number and in total disbelief you find that someone has torn out several pages – or even worse – you turn what you think is the last page only to find that someone has stolen the last few pages and after reading a thousand odd pages you have no idea how the story ends! Grrrrrr – that makes me mad as a snake!
Clearly this does not apply only to the books that you read but also articles that you read, whether those articles are in magazines or on a blog, makes no real difference – you want to know the whole story, well at least I know that I do. You want to know how the whole thing started and what happened then and then the result or consequence. Look, let’s be reasonable, we understand that unless your full time job is the writing of blogs, your time and energy is stretched and that that means that you probably won’t be able to research every single article to the ninth degree, but you also need to understand that the readers really do need to have closure. They need to know how it ends. They have to at least understand the basics of what it is that you are trying to say. Think about it for a moment, it’s like people walking around and starting a conversation, uttering half a sentence and then walking away leaving everyone looking at them with very perplexed looks on their faces. Remember the basics that you learnt at school (well I did), that every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end.
If you don’t at least follow the basics and leave your readers feeling confused and frustrated, they won’t be returning any time soon and not only will they not be returning, but they will also not be sending any new readers or referrals your way either.
Next time we will look at a few more points about the content of your blog.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd - June 2010
I don’t believe that I am any different to anyone else who loves to read and one of my biggest pet hates around reading (apart from the fact that I hate starting a book and I hate finishing a book), is when there is an abrupt interruption of the story. Don’t you hate when that happens, you’re reading away, minding your own business, following the twists and turns of the story, engulfed in the plot, hardly daring to breathe as you turn the page and . . . well nothing! As you begin to read the next page, nothing that you are reading makes any kind of sense and you glance down at the page number and then look at the previous page number and in total disbelief you find that someone has torn out several pages – or even worse – you turn what you think is the last page only to find that someone has stolen the last few pages and after reading a thousand odd pages you have no idea how the story ends! Grrrrrr – that makes me mad as a snake!
Clearly this does not apply only to the books that you read but also articles that you read, whether those articles are in magazines or on a blog, makes no real difference – you want to know the whole story, well at least I know that I do. You want to know how the whole thing started and what happened then and then the result or consequence. Look, let’s be reasonable, we understand that unless your full time job is the writing of blogs, your time and energy is stretched and that that means that you probably won’t be able to research every single article to the ninth degree, but you also need to understand that the readers really do need to have closure. They need to know how it ends. They have to at least understand the basics of what it is that you are trying to say. Think about it for a moment, it’s like people walking around and starting a conversation, uttering half a sentence and then walking away leaving everyone looking at them with very perplexed looks on their faces. Remember the basics that you learnt at school (well I did), that every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end.
If you don’t at least follow the basics and leave your readers feeling confused and frustrated, they won’t be returning any time soon and not only will they not be returning, but they will also not be sending any new readers or referrals your way either.
Next time we will look at a few more points about the content of your blog.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Networking 101 – The Basic Rules of Networking
Networking 101 – The Basic Rules of Networking
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Now I am sure that you all know that you need to network. It is vital to ourselves as individuals and it is vital to our businesses to network. So why is it that so few of us network successfully?
One of the biggest challenges in my opinion, is that not everybody understands the most basic but vital rules about networking. Knowing these could help you to unlock a huge amount of opportunities, give you new ideas and help you to nurture new business friendships and relationships.
Many people feel that they invest a great deal of time, effort and even money to network. That said they don’t see any results and are left frustrated and annoyed at what their perception of no “end results”. To them I say, you are not networking correctly! Change your tactics, change your mindset and you will see a huge improvement in your leads and your business will grow.
Networking is not about giving out your business cards to all and sundry. What does that mean? Look at what you do with business cards – chances are that if you have gone to a meeting or even out for an evening with a whole bunch of people and several have just given you their cards (often without you even asking for one), you will turf that card as soon as you get home. Well they are probably doing the same thing!
Networking is about building relationships. Relationships that are mutually beneficial, that are sustained and worked at. Relationships that will, over time will give you returns on your investment (which is the time that you have spent working on those relationships).
Attending a few networking meetings and handing your card out to a few dozen people is not going to do it. You have to meet up with those people, have a discussion, get to know them and what it is that they do – start a business relationship and then work at maintaining that relationship.
Networking for me is a foot in the door – it’s a fast way to meet people, especially like-minded people who are as passionate about their business as I am about mine.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or https://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Now I am sure that you all know that you need to network. It is vital to ourselves as individuals and it is vital to our businesses to network. So why is it that so few of us network successfully?
One of the biggest challenges in my opinion, is that not everybody understands the most basic but vital rules about networking. Knowing these could help you to unlock a huge amount of opportunities, give you new ideas and help you to nurture new business friendships and relationships.
Many people feel that they invest a great deal of time, effort and even money to network. That said they don’t see any results and are left frustrated and annoyed at what their perception of no “end results”. To them I say, you are not networking correctly! Change your tactics, change your mindset and you will see a huge improvement in your leads and your business will grow.
Networking is not about giving out your business cards to all and sundry. What does that mean? Look at what you do with business cards – chances are that if you have gone to a meeting or even out for an evening with a whole bunch of people and several have just given you their cards (often without you even asking for one), you will turf that card as soon as you get home. Well they are probably doing the same thing!
Networking is about building relationships. Relationships that are mutually beneficial, that are sustained and worked at. Relationships that will, over time will give you returns on your investment (which is the time that you have spent working on those relationships).
Attending a few networking meetings and handing your card out to a few dozen people is not going to do it. You have to meet up with those people, have a discussion, get to know them and what it is that they do – start a business relationship and then work at maintaining that relationship.
Networking for me is a foot in the door – it’s a fast way to meet people, especially like-minded people who are as passionate about their business as I am about mine.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or https://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 4
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 4
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
As much as we would like to think that the world is a great place, the reality is that it isn’t. People will steal your ideas and your dreams and pass them off as their own.
You need to protect your ideas and yourself from the charlatans out there.
It is not really necessary to register your business name or get copyright protections for your logo or your ‘by line’ because there are laws in place that protect you. Basically what that means is that whoever used a name or a slogan first is then the owner of that name or slogan. The problem with this though is that if someone else then uses what you consider to be yours, the only way then to stop them using it again is to take legal action and go to court to enforce the law.
One of the ways to ‘prove’ that it was your idea or theme or that it was used by your first is to document everything. Use a daily planner or your diary to make notes and keep track of who you met and what was discussed. This will provide you with a ‘paper trail’ which could be used as evidence should you ever need to go to court.
Although many will tell you to continue your business as a ‘sole proprietor’ for as long as possible before you register as a (Pty) Ltd, be aware of the fact that this has tax implications both to you as an individual and also for your business. Make sure that you understand the why’s and wherefore’s of registering your business before taking the plunge.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
As much as we would like to think that the world is a great place, the reality is that it isn’t. People will steal your ideas and your dreams and pass them off as their own.
You need to protect your ideas and yourself from the charlatans out there.
It is not really necessary to register your business name or get copyright protections for your logo or your ‘by line’ because there are laws in place that protect you. Basically what that means is that whoever used a name or a slogan first is then the owner of that name or slogan. The problem with this though is that if someone else then uses what you consider to be yours, the only way then to stop them using it again is to take legal action and go to court to enforce the law.
One of the ways to ‘prove’ that it was your idea or theme or that it was used by your first is to document everything. Use a daily planner or your diary to make notes and keep track of who you met and what was discussed. This will provide you with a ‘paper trail’ which could be used as evidence should you ever need to go to court.
Although many will tell you to continue your business as a ‘sole proprietor’ for as long as possible before you register as a (Pty) Ltd, be aware of the fact that this has tax implications both to you as an individual and also for your business. Make sure that you understand the why’s and wherefore’s of registering your business before taking the plunge.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Monday, June 25, 2018
Motivation - What Determines Your Destiny
Motivation – What Determines Your Destiny
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
“It’s choice – not chance that determines your destiny” says Jean Nidetch.
It seems that I am on the warpath again! It’s the whole thing about accountability and responsibility for the consequences of our choices and actions or non-actions.
There is this whole drive around education at the moment and like most people that I talk to – I get it! I agree with it and quite frankly, I am on board. Education is important and without it the youngsters of today are really going to battle.
At the moment though, there is this radio ad playing and despite all the good intentions, it gives the perception that the kid wasn’t “given a chance to get an education”.
To be fair, I haven’t heard the whole advert, but the bit that I have heard and that I keep hearing, got my blood boiling.
This kid is talking about how he went to a good school, but cut classes and started gambling and drinking when he should have been at school. He tells how he didn’t listen to the teachers and educators and therefore “didn’t have a chance to complete his education”. And yes, I have quoted it correctly. I have heard that bit of the ad several times over and that is exactly what he said.
What does he mean he “didn’t have a chance to complete his education”? If he went to such a good school, of course he had every “chance” that his affluent parents could give him. It was his “choice” not to complete his education.
He was unable to complete his education because of the bad choices that he made. He chose to go drinking and gambling and he should take responsibility for those choices. He doesn’t though and that’s just not the message that we should be sending out. What’s with that?
Again, I understand that the “intention” is great. It highlights the importance of getting a good education – but for me it falls very short on accepting responsibility and accountability for our actions and that is not a good thing.
It is very important for us to understand that our choices – good or bad – all carry consequences and that those consequences will affect our lives for the rest of our time on this planet, whether we actually accept them and own up to them or not.
This chap who “did not have a chance to finish his education” because of his choice (and clearly according to the ad), does not choose to complete his education now, (well that is now the perception that I have). The message sounds like he will therefore never have an opportunity to fulfill his potential or live his dream and the consequence of that is that we (as taxpayers) will continue to support him in one way or another.
Sadly, that is how this ad has been portrayed – well to me anyway.
More sadly still is that it is not portrayed in any way, that by making another choice now, a more positive choice, like going back to school or taking classes, he can correct his past and look forward to a brighter future.
You see, the fact of the matter is that we are not limited to only one choice and we certainly don’t only have one chance!
We can have as many choices as we have thoughts, but it is up to us to make the right choice and then action it.
Through my choices, I make my own chances!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
“It’s choice – not chance that determines your destiny” says Jean Nidetch.
It seems that I am on the warpath again! It’s the whole thing about accountability and responsibility for the consequences of our choices and actions or non-actions.
There is this whole drive around education at the moment and like most people that I talk to – I get it! I agree with it and quite frankly, I am on board. Education is important and without it the youngsters of today are really going to battle.
At the moment though, there is this radio ad playing and despite all the good intentions, it gives the perception that the kid wasn’t “given a chance to get an education”.
To be fair, I haven’t heard the whole advert, but the bit that I have heard and that I keep hearing, got my blood boiling.
This kid is talking about how he went to a good school, but cut classes and started gambling and drinking when he should have been at school. He tells how he didn’t listen to the teachers and educators and therefore “didn’t have a chance to complete his education”. And yes, I have quoted it correctly. I have heard that bit of the ad several times over and that is exactly what he said.
What does he mean he “didn’t have a chance to complete his education”? If he went to such a good school, of course he had every “chance” that his affluent parents could give him. It was his “choice” not to complete his education.
He was unable to complete his education because of the bad choices that he made. He chose to go drinking and gambling and he should take responsibility for those choices. He doesn’t though and that’s just not the message that we should be sending out. What’s with that?
Again, I understand that the “intention” is great. It highlights the importance of getting a good education – but for me it falls very short on accepting responsibility and accountability for our actions and that is not a good thing.
It is very important for us to understand that our choices – good or bad – all carry consequences and that those consequences will affect our lives for the rest of our time on this planet, whether we actually accept them and own up to them or not.
This chap who “did not have a chance to finish his education” because of his choice (and clearly according to the ad), does not choose to complete his education now, (well that is now the perception that I have). The message sounds like he will therefore never have an opportunity to fulfill his potential or live his dream and the consequence of that is that we (as taxpayers) will continue to support him in one way or another.
Sadly, that is how this ad has been portrayed – well to me anyway.
More sadly still is that it is not portrayed in any way, that by making another choice now, a more positive choice, like going back to school or taking classes, he can correct his past and look forward to a brighter future.
You see, the fact of the matter is that we are not limited to only one choice and we certainly don’t only have one chance!
We can have as many choices as we have thoughts, but it is up to us to make the right choice and then action it.
Through my choices, I make my own chances!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Friday, June 22, 2018
HR 101 - A Job is Just A Way to Pay the Bills
HR 101 - A Job is Just A Way to Pay the Bills
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
Would you believe me if I told you that for millions of employees out there, not only in South Africa but also all over the world, they think that ‘a job is just a way to pay the bills’.
How sad is that – and I am saying that from experience! There have been moments in my life when I felt trapped in a job that I did not particularly enjoy but, hell it paid the bills, and I was too scared to walk away from it because to some extent, it was a comfort zone.
What about your staff – are they passionate about what they do or is it for them, ‘just a way to pay the bills’.
Wait a minute, lets look at this from a different perspective – as employers, are you hiring people ‘just to get the work done, or fill a gap’ or are you hiring people who have every intention of becoming skilled in whatever job they are in, in order to make it into a career? Do you encourage your staff to move in the direction of making, whatever it is that they do into a career?
Again, I speak from experience when I tell you, you need to hire someone who wants to make something of their lives, people who are passionate about being the best that they can be in whatever field that they are passionate about – be it as the tea lady or the cleaner or the warehouse worker or the accountant or the salesperson. If you want them to do whatever the job requirements are to the best of their ability, with passion, with thought and with love – then don’t be hiring someone just because they look good or because at a push you can ‘squeeze’ them into whatever you think the job you have on offer is. I promise you all that you will bring upon yourself is irritation, challenges and often loss of sales, stock, clients and even money, never mind respect.
Your employees need to see what the opportunities the job you have on offer are, they need to see that they will grow as individuals and they need to see that you will train them properly (or help them get trained properly) and in return they will, more often than not, serve you well.
Staff who are not passionate about what they do, won’t be passionate about your business, which means they will not perform well, which means that productivity will be shot to hell and the quality of their work will be ‘just enough to get by’ and all of this will impact on your business, your sales figures, your clients.
So think carefully when you hire staff – think about what they can do to your business or for your business. Choose wisely – the success of your business may actually depend on it.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
Would you believe me if I told you that for millions of employees out there, not only in South Africa but also all over the world, they think that ‘a job is just a way to pay the bills’.
How sad is that – and I am saying that from experience! There have been moments in my life when I felt trapped in a job that I did not particularly enjoy but, hell it paid the bills, and I was too scared to walk away from it because to some extent, it was a comfort zone.
What about your staff – are they passionate about what they do or is it for them, ‘just a way to pay the bills’.
Wait a minute, lets look at this from a different perspective – as employers, are you hiring people ‘just to get the work done, or fill a gap’ or are you hiring people who have every intention of becoming skilled in whatever job they are in, in order to make it into a career? Do you encourage your staff to move in the direction of making, whatever it is that they do into a career?
Again, I speak from experience when I tell you, you need to hire someone who wants to make something of their lives, people who are passionate about being the best that they can be in whatever field that they are passionate about – be it as the tea lady or the cleaner or the warehouse worker or the accountant or the salesperson. If you want them to do whatever the job requirements are to the best of their ability, with passion, with thought and with love – then don’t be hiring someone just because they look good or because at a push you can ‘squeeze’ them into whatever you think the job you have on offer is. I promise you all that you will bring upon yourself is irritation, challenges and often loss of sales, stock, clients and even money, never mind respect.
Your employees need to see what the opportunities the job you have on offer are, they need to see that they will grow as individuals and they need to see that you will train them properly (or help them get trained properly) and in return they will, more often than not, serve you well.
Staff who are not passionate about what they do, won’t be passionate about your business, which means they will not perform well, which means that productivity will be shot to hell and the quality of their work will be ‘just enough to get by’ and all of this will impact on your business, your sales figures, your clients.
So think carefully when you hire staff – think about what they can do to your business or for your business. Choose wisely – the success of your business may actually depend on it.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Blogging 101 - The Content - Part 7
Blogging 101 – The Content – Part 7
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Let’s face it – I write 5 new articles a week for my blog – that does not include what I write for the newspaper or the magazines such as Business Women or Your Business or Women’s Inc and it certainly doesn’t cover all the Policies and Procedures that I write for my clients – that’s purely just the blogs. As you can imagine, my blog becomes, on occasion a voracious beast – seeming to devour everything, including me. That said, it was my decision to write the blogs, it was my decision to share my knowledge and experience and research as I go along. So yes, it’s my decision to post when I do. That said, I know how I feel when I go to my favorite blog and notice that there are no new posts. It feels like I have been abandoned!
For the record I do not post blogs on South African public holidays and I ‘shut down’ the office from the 16th December to around the 2nd working week of the New Year. So there will be no blogs on those days. I know that recently there was a time when I just had to stop – I felt like I was having a meltdown – so much stuff happening, too little sleep and not enough dreamtime or even rest. What I should have done was posted something telling everyone that I was taking a break – people like to have consistency in their lives and reading their favorite blog on a daily/weekly/monthly (whatever time frame) means that you have to be writing their favorite blog on a daily/weekly/monthly (whatever time frame). So again it is one of those “do as I tell you and don’t do as I do things!”
For many people, reading a blog (or any article for that matter) is them investing time in what it is that you have to say. Time, as we know is money, so for them to be investing that time, is a great compliment to you. For many, the justification for them taking time out of their busy schedule is a negotiation (usually an internal one). The negotiation is this - “I am going to take time out of my busy schedule to read something that is interesting.” So here’s the thing – what you write has to be interesting! It doesn’t have to be funny (although that is my natural style of writing – so for me that helps), but it does have to be something that they want to read, something that is perhaps unique or something that is new or even something that is satiric. Even if the topic is one that the whole world is familiar with, make it interesting, look at it from a different perspective or from a different angle. Even if you use ‘your observation’ as the foundation of your blog make sure that it is interesting and full of information,
Next time we will look at a few more points about the content of your blog.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Let’s face it – I write 5 new articles a week for my blog – that does not include what I write for the newspaper or the magazines such as Business Women or Your Business or Women’s Inc and it certainly doesn’t cover all the Policies and Procedures that I write for my clients – that’s purely just the blogs. As you can imagine, my blog becomes, on occasion a voracious beast – seeming to devour everything, including me. That said, it was my decision to write the blogs, it was my decision to share my knowledge and experience and research as I go along. So yes, it’s my decision to post when I do. That said, I know how I feel when I go to my favorite blog and notice that there are no new posts. It feels like I have been abandoned!
For the record I do not post blogs on South African public holidays and I ‘shut down’ the office from the 16th December to around the 2nd working week of the New Year. So there will be no blogs on those days. I know that recently there was a time when I just had to stop – I felt like I was having a meltdown – so much stuff happening, too little sleep and not enough dreamtime or even rest. What I should have done was posted something telling everyone that I was taking a break – people like to have consistency in their lives and reading their favorite blog on a daily/weekly/monthly (whatever time frame) means that you have to be writing their favorite blog on a daily/weekly/monthly (whatever time frame). So again it is one of those “do as I tell you and don’t do as I do things!”
For many people, reading a blog (or any article for that matter) is them investing time in what it is that you have to say. Time, as we know is money, so for them to be investing that time, is a great compliment to you. For many, the justification for them taking time out of their busy schedule is a negotiation (usually an internal one). The negotiation is this - “I am going to take time out of my busy schedule to read something that is interesting.” So here’s the thing – what you write has to be interesting! It doesn’t have to be funny (although that is my natural style of writing – so for me that helps), but it does have to be something that they want to read, something that is perhaps unique or something that is new or even something that is satiric. Even if the topic is one that the whole world is familiar with, make it interesting, look at it from a different perspective or from a different angle. Even if you use ‘your observation’ as the foundation of your blog make sure that it is interesting and full of information,
Next time we will look at a few more points about the content of your blog.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Networking 101 - Working at Networking
Networking 101 - Working at Networking
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I am often asked, why is it that I am such a good networker. What is it that makes me a ‘natural networker’. Well quite honestly, there is only one response to both of those and that is – I work at it every single day of my life.
For me, it is like any other relationship in life – it has to be worked at or it will never be productive and it will never go the distance. That is why the divorce rate is so high – once married, people don’t continue to invest time and effort and respect into it. That is also why partnerships fail and businesses fall over.
We’ve all heard the words “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Hell, if the truth be told we have all uttered them at one point or another. I’d like to take that one step further and say – “It’s not what you know, it’s not even who you know, it’s who you know, who knows who you don’t know!”
For me, it’s getting to know all the ‘who I don’t knows” and that I can only do by getting to know all the “who I knows”, building a relationship with them, interacting with them, sharing all the “who I knows but they don’t knows” with them, so that they will share all the “who they knows, but I don’t knows” with me. Wow, that was a bit of a tongue twister, but I am sure you get my meaning!
For me Networking is one of the most powerful tools at my disposal. It is what I use on a daily basis, both consciously and subconsciously to build my business, to land that special deal, to broaden my ‘virtual’ company, which adds value to me as and individual and to my business, so it is extremely difficult for me to understand why so many people find their attempts at networking so frustrating, futile and unrewarding. They have got to be doing something wrong or they don’t understand the ‘how to’ or they don’t work at it.
Do you understand the Power of Networking? Do you have any idea what doors it can unlock and the number of opportunities that will come falling out of it – like a closet that has been filled to capacity and the door is suddenly opened, spewing its contents all over the floor.
If you don’t and you want to understand more about networking as a tool – stick around and I’ll share some more of the simple secrets about “how to” network next time.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or https://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I am often asked, why is it that I am such a good networker. What is it that makes me a ‘natural networker’. Well quite honestly, there is only one response to both of those and that is – I work at it every single day of my life.
For me, it is like any other relationship in life – it has to be worked at or it will never be productive and it will never go the distance. That is why the divorce rate is so high – once married, people don’t continue to invest time and effort and respect into it. That is also why partnerships fail and businesses fall over.
We’ve all heard the words “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Hell, if the truth be told we have all uttered them at one point or another. I’d like to take that one step further and say – “It’s not what you know, it’s not even who you know, it’s who you know, who knows who you don’t know!”
For me, it’s getting to know all the ‘who I don’t knows” and that I can only do by getting to know all the “who I knows”, building a relationship with them, interacting with them, sharing all the “who I knows but they don’t knows” with them, so that they will share all the “who they knows, but I don’t knows” with me. Wow, that was a bit of a tongue twister, but I am sure you get my meaning!
For me Networking is one of the most powerful tools at my disposal. It is what I use on a daily basis, both consciously and subconsciously to build my business, to land that special deal, to broaden my ‘virtual’ company, which adds value to me as and individual and to my business, so it is extremely difficult for me to understand why so many people find their attempts at networking so frustrating, futile and unrewarding. They have got to be doing something wrong or they don’t understand the ‘how to’ or they don’t work at it.
Do you understand the Power of Networking? Do you have any idea what doors it can unlock and the number of opportunities that will come falling out of it – like a closet that has been filled to capacity and the door is suddenly opened, spewing its contents all over the floor.
If you don’t and you want to understand more about networking as a tool – stick around and I’ll share some more of the simple secrets about “how to” network next time.
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or https://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss - Part 3
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 3
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd – April 2009
Big corporate companies with very deep pockets spend hundreds of thousands of Rands with professional market researchers because they want to find out ‘what people want’!
As small business owners, we certainly do not have deep pockets and quite frankly we don’t need to use professional market researches. We can do it ourselves.
Here are some ideas on how to go about it.
- Take a field trip, ask questions of the people that you meet along the way. Find out from them how your product or service would benefit them. Will it satisfy their needs? Will it make a difference to them?
- Change YOUR mindset. Get out of YOUR comfort zone. THINK out of the box. Speak to people who have succeeded. Find out how they did it, what they did and when they did it. Learn from them. It is not necessary for you to learn only through the mistakes that you make.
- Meet with other business owners, brainstorm with them. Ask them what they have done, what they have learnt. Ask them to tell you how to avoid the mistakes that they have perhaps made.
- Research! And when you think you have finished researching – research some more! Read reports, both old and new that pertain to whatever your industry is. Look at what strategy is best for you. Look at the latest trends and see how you could slot what it is that you do in there.
- Keep a record of your ideas, make notes, open a file and keep everything. I promise you, you will go back to refresh your memory or add to your list on a very frequent basis.
Be prepared to be flexible – learn to adapt and change.
Above all – don’t forget to have fun! Remember why you went into business for yourself in the first place. Never lose sight of your goals! Always, always, always recognize and reward your own achievements, no matter how small.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd – April 2009
Big corporate companies with very deep pockets spend hundreds of thousands of Rands with professional market researchers because they want to find out ‘what people want’!
As small business owners, we certainly do not have deep pockets and quite frankly we don’t need to use professional market researches. We can do it ourselves.
Here are some ideas on how to go about it.
- Take a field trip, ask questions of the people that you meet along the way. Find out from them how your product or service would benefit them. Will it satisfy their needs? Will it make a difference to them?
- Change YOUR mindset. Get out of YOUR comfort zone. THINK out of the box. Speak to people who have succeeded. Find out how they did it, what they did and when they did it. Learn from them. It is not necessary for you to learn only through the mistakes that you make.
- Meet with other business owners, brainstorm with them. Ask them what they have done, what they have learnt. Ask them to tell you how to avoid the mistakes that they have perhaps made.
- Research! And when you think you have finished researching – research some more! Read reports, both old and new that pertain to whatever your industry is. Look at what strategy is best for you. Look at the latest trends and see how you could slot what it is that you do in there.
- Keep a record of your ideas, make notes, open a file and keep everything. I promise you, you will go back to refresh your memory or add to your list on a very frequent basis.
Be prepared to be flexible – learn to adapt and change.
Above all – don’t forget to have fun! Remember why you went into business for yourself in the first place. Never lose sight of your goals! Always, always, always recognize and reward your own achievements, no matter how small.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Monday, June 18, 2018
Motivation - Strong Desire
Motivation – Strong Desire
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Napoleon Hill says “The starting point of achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires produce weak results, just as a small amount of fire produces a small amount of heat.”
I guess this means, more or less, the same as ‘you reap what you sow’ or ‘you get out what you put in’ and it certainly makes logical sense to me, which is probably why I am often really surprised at the number of people who sit back and wait for stuff to happen for them and then when nothing happens they lament – loudly – about how unfair life is and that they didn’t get what they deserved.
My eyes roll upwards and my head shakes from side to side as I try and grasp at their logic. Strangely enough though, on some level, this victim ‘hard done by’ role that they choose to go through life with, does seem to resonate with many and they are commiserated with and empathized with and held up as shining examples of how unequal some are.
Now actually seeing those words in print before my eyes, brought a smile to my face and a giggle to my lips. You see, for me going through life with that kind of attitude would not only be soul destroying it would also be exhausting! I mean can you imagine forcing yourself to feel like that all the time? Now that must be really hard work!
For me the level of motivation is directly attributable to the level of desire – if I really, really and I mean really, want something – I will do everything in my power to get it. The less I desire something, the less motivated I am and therefore the less amount of effort I will put into getting it. Yip, it’s official – I am definitely driven by my desires.
Here’s a thought though – often those desires and the achievements that are realized as a result of those desires, mean nothing to anyone other than yourself and for me, those are the greatest achievements. Let me explain – I write for my own enjoyment. Sure I share the writing with anyone in the world who cares to read the words and yes I do believe that they can change the course of someone’s world but to be quite honest, I don’t really worry about whether anyone is reading my words or what they may or may not think about my words – I write so that I can see the words and often I write about things that I most need to hear or to see or to understand. Every now and then I get a mail from a total stranger, in another country, on the opposite side of the world, who thanks me for the words that I have shared.
My achievement was writing an article, which was based on my desire to write. Once the article is written, I don’t give it much more thought. That said however, the achievement is made all the more sweeter, when I do hear from someone who has been touched by my words. That praise, that acknowledgement, those accolades just make my desire that much stronger and so the circle continues.
My desire is really strong and therefore my goals will be met and my challenges will be overcome and I will succeed. What about you – do you even know what your desires are?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Napoleon Hill says “The starting point of achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires produce weak results, just as a small amount of fire produces a small amount of heat.”
I guess this means, more or less, the same as ‘you reap what you sow’ or ‘you get out what you put in’ and it certainly makes logical sense to me, which is probably why I am often really surprised at the number of people who sit back and wait for stuff to happen for them and then when nothing happens they lament – loudly – about how unfair life is and that they didn’t get what they deserved.
My eyes roll upwards and my head shakes from side to side as I try and grasp at their logic. Strangely enough though, on some level, this victim ‘hard done by’ role that they choose to go through life with, does seem to resonate with many and they are commiserated with and empathized with and held up as shining examples of how unequal some are.
Now actually seeing those words in print before my eyes, brought a smile to my face and a giggle to my lips. You see, for me going through life with that kind of attitude would not only be soul destroying it would also be exhausting! I mean can you imagine forcing yourself to feel like that all the time? Now that must be really hard work!
For me the level of motivation is directly attributable to the level of desire – if I really, really and I mean really, want something – I will do everything in my power to get it. The less I desire something, the less motivated I am and therefore the less amount of effort I will put into getting it. Yip, it’s official – I am definitely driven by my desires.
Here’s a thought though – often those desires and the achievements that are realized as a result of those desires, mean nothing to anyone other than yourself and for me, those are the greatest achievements. Let me explain – I write for my own enjoyment. Sure I share the writing with anyone in the world who cares to read the words and yes I do believe that they can change the course of someone’s world but to be quite honest, I don’t really worry about whether anyone is reading my words or what they may or may not think about my words – I write so that I can see the words and often I write about things that I most need to hear or to see or to understand. Every now and then I get a mail from a total stranger, in another country, on the opposite side of the world, who thanks me for the words that I have shared.
My achievement was writing an article, which was based on my desire to write. Once the article is written, I don’t give it much more thought. That said however, the achievement is made all the more sweeter, when I do hear from someone who has been touched by my words. That praise, that acknowledgement, those accolades just make my desire that much stronger and so the circle continues.
My desire is really strong and therefore my goals will be met and my challenges will be overcome and I will succeed. What about you – do you even know what your desires are?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Friday, June 15, 2018
HR – What to do When . . . . Staff Don’t Bring a Doctor’s Certificate
HR – What to do When . . . . Staff Don’t Bring a Doctor’s Certificate
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
As entrepreneurs and small business owners, I am sure we have all experienced the same problems with our staff, particularly around the issue of doctor’s certificates, when staff are off ill or when staff with babies or small children are off ill.
Much of the aggravation can be avoided by having a proper Letter of Appointment in place. Some of the issues that need to be documented are (but not limited to):
- During the first six months of employment you are entitled to 1 day sick leave for every 26 days worked.
- Thereafter you are entitled to 36 days (if you work a six day week) every 36 months or 30 days (if you work a five day week) every 36 months.
- Sick leave cannot be accumulated
- Sick leave cannot be paid out.
- Sick leave (or indeed any leave) can only be taken in accordance with Company Rules and regulations. (This would include things like (but not be limited to, sick leave forms that would need to be completed and when doctor’s certificates are required etc.)
- If a staff member is off for two consecutive days or on a Friday (or Saturday) or Monday or before or after a public holiday, a certificate must be submitted together with the leave application form, from a registered practitioner.
- A Medical Certificate can also be requested by law and in compliance with the BCEA (Basic Conditions of Employment Act), if your staff member is absent for more that one day every 8 weeks.
- Medical appointments, unless in the case of an emergency, should be made first thing in the morning (and where applicable the staff member should then go to work) or last thing at the end of the day, so as to disrupt the work flow as little as possible.
- Failure to produce or submit a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner, where applicable may result in unpaid leave.
- As an employer you are not required to pay an employee if they don’t submit a doctors certificate where required.
- The certificate must be from a registered medical practitioner. If the doctor/traditional healer/herbalist (insert whatever you like here) is not registered as a medical practitioner you are not obliged to accept the certificate.
- As an employer, you are entitled to verify the authenticity of the certificate by phoning the doctor to verify that the employee is/was in fact under treatment or that they did in fact visit the doctor for treatment.
Remember though – your staff are entitled to confidentiality so you are not entitled to know the details of what is actually wrong with them or the nature of the treatment.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
As entrepreneurs and small business owners, I am sure we have all experienced the same problems with our staff, particularly around the issue of doctor’s certificates, when staff are off ill or when staff with babies or small children are off ill.
Much of the aggravation can be avoided by having a proper Letter of Appointment in place. Some of the issues that need to be documented are (but not limited to):
- During the first six months of employment you are entitled to 1 day sick leave for every 26 days worked.
- Thereafter you are entitled to 36 days (if you work a six day week) every 36 months or 30 days (if you work a five day week) every 36 months.
- Sick leave cannot be accumulated
- Sick leave cannot be paid out.
- Sick leave (or indeed any leave) can only be taken in accordance with Company Rules and regulations. (This would include things like (but not be limited to, sick leave forms that would need to be completed and when doctor’s certificates are required etc.)
- If a staff member is off for two consecutive days or on a Friday (or Saturday) or Monday or before or after a public holiday, a certificate must be submitted together with the leave application form, from a registered practitioner.
- A Medical Certificate can also be requested by law and in compliance with the BCEA (Basic Conditions of Employment Act), if your staff member is absent for more that one day every 8 weeks.
- Medical appointments, unless in the case of an emergency, should be made first thing in the morning (and where applicable the staff member should then go to work) or last thing at the end of the day, so as to disrupt the work flow as little as possible.
- Failure to produce or submit a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner, where applicable may result in unpaid leave.
- As an employer you are not required to pay an employee if they don’t submit a doctors certificate where required.
- The certificate must be from a registered medical practitioner. If the doctor/traditional healer/herbalist (insert whatever you like here) is not registered as a medical practitioner you are not obliged to accept the certificate.
- As an employer, you are entitled to verify the authenticity of the certificate by phoning the doctor to verify that the employee is/was in fact under treatment or that they did in fact visit the doctor for treatment.
Remember though – your staff are entitled to confidentiality so you are not entitled to know the details of what is actually wrong with them or the nature of the treatment.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Blogging 101 – The Content – Part 6
Blogging 101 – The Content – Part 6
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd - June 2010
Many of us read a huge number of blogs everyday. In fact, many of us get all our information in an electronic format. I know I do – it’s easier to get the daily news that way – I get to read it when it’s convenient for me to do so. I get IOL (Information on Line) as well as Mail and Guardian twice a day – that’s reading 4 newspapers a day (and I don’t kill any trees either) as well as several monthly and even weekly newsletters that I subscribe to. That’s a huge amount of reading and a huge amount of information, don’t you think?
When you consider however that according to statistics over 900K posts are uploaded everyday, together, what you and I read is a drop in the ocean actually. That said, I do have a day job and cannot (as much as I would like to) spend the whole day reading – so it is very important for me to choose newsletters or blogs that give me information that is relevant to me.
Catching my eye and getting me to subscribe to your blog is difficult at best but getting me to stick around and religiously read all of your articles or ‘wonder of wonders’ eagerly await the next one, is your greatest challenge.
Herein lies your personal challenge – you have worked hard to cultivate and grow your audience – you have to work even harder to keep them enthralled!
For me, staying true to my topic, is what will ensure that I bring my readers back time and time again. The information that I provide and the fact that I share my knowledge, my experience, my expertise and my research, makes me a very empowered entity.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd - June 2010
Many of us read a huge number of blogs everyday. In fact, many of us get all our information in an electronic format. I know I do – it’s easier to get the daily news that way – I get to read it when it’s convenient for me to do so. I get IOL (Information on Line) as well as Mail and Guardian twice a day – that’s reading 4 newspapers a day (and I don’t kill any trees either) as well as several monthly and even weekly newsletters that I subscribe to. That’s a huge amount of reading and a huge amount of information, don’t you think?
When you consider however that according to statistics over 900K posts are uploaded everyday, together, what you and I read is a drop in the ocean actually. That said, I do have a day job and cannot (as much as I would like to) spend the whole day reading – so it is very important for me to choose newsletters or blogs that give me information that is relevant to me.
Catching my eye and getting me to subscribe to your blog is difficult at best but getting me to stick around and religiously read all of your articles or ‘wonder of wonders’ eagerly await the next one, is your greatest challenge.
Herein lies your personal challenge – you have worked hard to cultivate and grow your audience – you have to work even harder to keep them enthralled!
For me, staying true to my topic, is what will ensure that I bring my readers back time and time again. The information that I provide and the fact that I share my knowledge, my experience, my expertise and my research, makes me a very empowered entity.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Networking 101 - Respect your Competition
Networking 101 - Respect your Competition
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:
“Be respectful of the competition. Give credit, where it is due.”
Apart from anything else, this is just good manners! That said, let’s examine why Renate says this.
So, here I am – an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist, working in the SMME arena. Since I am the only one that I know of in this field, doing this particular work – life is a bowel of cherries – I don’t have any competition, my diary is pretty full and life is great.
Then one day as I am going along on my merry way, I meet Jane Doe, who does (yes you’ve guessed it) Internal Auditing and Business Administration! So now I find myself a little corner that I hurriedly rush into to hide from my mortal enemy, who is going to steal all of my business from right under my nose, or I go out on a hell bent type mission to discredit her, trash her name, doing any and all that may be necessary to get her out of business!
Well I guess that there are some folk out there that would do exactly that, but that just seems like too much hard work to me – besides which, whilst I was busy doing all of that, Jane Doe would be working her butt off and getting business and doing really well – so what would I have achieved at the end of the day?
Knowing me, I would probably give her a call and set up a ‘one on one’ meeting. Find out where her strengths and weaknesses are and set about exchanging ideas, material and even clients.
You see, chances are that my weaknesses are her strengths and visa versa, and she has material (like policies, procedures and templates) that I don’t have and visa versa. I may have clients that want a ‘quick’ turnaround and I am strapped for time which means that instead of working through the night every second night, like I did in December, I can actually share the load. Then of course when I want to go on holiday, instead of everything coming to a grinding halt – she could actually keep everything running and I could do the same when she wanted a break!
For me this is a win, win situation and instead of getting myself into a real tizz about nothing, I could turn the whole thing around and work it to my advantage – a far better outcome don’t you think?
Think about it for a moment, exactly where would I have been if I had been disrespectful or bad mouthed her – pretty much in a really horrible place. Competition doesn’t have to be a nasty experience – it can be a real keeper!
For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or https://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Dr. Renate Volpe, in her nugget cards entitled “Networking Tips” says:
“Be respectful of the competition. Give credit, where it is due.”
Apart from anything else, this is just good manners! That said, let’s examine why Renate says this.
So, here I am – an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist, working in the SMME arena. Since I am the only one that I know of in this field, doing this particular work – life is a bowel of cherries – I don’t have any competition, my diary is pretty full and life is great.
Then one day as I am going along on my merry way, I meet Jane Doe, who does (yes you’ve guessed it) Internal Auditing and Business Administration! So now I find myself a little corner that I hurriedly rush into to hide from my mortal enemy, who is going to steal all of my business from right under my nose, or I go out on a hell bent type mission to discredit her, trash her name, doing any and all that may be necessary to get her out of business!
Well I guess that there are some folk out there that would do exactly that, but that just seems like too much hard work to me – besides which, whilst I was busy doing all of that, Jane Doe would be working her butt off and getting business and doing really well – so what would I have achieved at the end of the day?
Knowing me, I would probably give her a call and set up a ‘one on one’ meeting. Find out where her strengths and weaknesses are and set about exchanging ideas, material and even clients.
You see, chances are that my weaknesses are her strengths and visa versa, and she has material (like policies, procedures and templates) that I don’t have and visa versa. I may have clients that want a ‘quick’ turnaround and I am strapped for time which means that instead of working through the night every second night, like I did in December, I can actually share the load. Then of course when I want to go on holiday, instead of everything coming to a grinding halt – she could actually keep everything running and I could do the same when she wanted a break!
For me this is a win, win situation and instead of getting myself into a real tizz about nothing, I could turn the whole thing around and work it to my advantage – a far better outcome don’t you think?
Think about it for a moment, exactly where would I have been if I had been disrespectful or bad mouthed her – pretty much in a really horrible place. Competition doesn’t have to be a nasty experience – it can be a real keeper!
For more information on Renate, please visit her website at http://www.drrenatevolpe.co.za
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or https://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss - Part 2
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 2
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Getting your message out there will probably be your next huge challenge and in order to resolve that you need to create a message that has a fast, hard hitting, instant impact.
As I write these words I am reminded of the voice mail message of one of my clients – Charrise from “Kinky Knickers”, who supplies an array of lingerie and underwear. She was obviously busy with something and could not take the call and I needed to leave a message. Her recorded intro had the usual “I’m not available . . . please leave a message”, type wording, but she concluded by saying “And remember . . we supply the knickers that someone is always trying to get into.” Needless to say, I was laughing so much, I could not leave a message! How brilliant was that! How totally unexpected and refreshingly different. Believe me, even if she was not my client – I would always remember where to purchase my lingerie and underwear going forward.
The point that I am trying to make here is that her message was powerful and had an instant impact and that message would last for ever. I doubt that I will ever look at lingerie or underwear and not think of that message and have a good giggle. From that message I know exactly what she does and I know the benefit and even though I could probably get what she sells at several different outlets, the ‘way’ she told me ‘what she does’, in her message will ensure that I buy from her.
As I tell the story, (and this article attests to that fact), I am spreading the news of what she does, which means that I am actually marketing her and her products (and she doesn’t even pay me a salary) and you can be sure that everyone else who hears that message will be doing the same. This means that essentially it is easy for people to remember her and what she does and because of that, they will share that information readily about her business. How cool is that? She has a whole team of people marketing for her and they don’t even know it, much less expect a salary!
So how do you create one of those award winning messages? It’s quite simple actually – so don’t panic.
Firstly, write down how your business helps your customers – this works for both products and services.
Secondly, underline or circle any of the descriptive words that ‘stand out’ and make a statement about what you do or that describes your business.
Thirdly, take all of those words and make a single sentence which will make up your final message. For example my message is: “Viljoen Consulting – I prevent loss by assisting and empowering small business owners to start up, grow and maintain sustainable businesses.
Finally, use your message as much as possible and where ever you go – at networking events, at business functions, on your card, your letterheads, as part of your signature on e-mails, on your voicemail messages, your blogs and even when you ‘tweet on twitter’.
The more people who hear your message, the more business you will generate and the more ‘ideas’ will come your way.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Getting your message out there will probably be your next huge challenge and in order to resolve that you need to create a message that has a fast, hard hitting, instant impact.
As I write these words I am reminded of the voice mail message of one of my clients – Charrise from “Kinky Knickers”, who supplies an array of lingerie and underwear. She was obviously busy with something and could not take the call and I needed to leave a message. Her recorded intro had the usual “I’m not available . . . please leave a message”, type wording, but she concluded by saying “And remember . . we supply the knickers that someone is always trying to get into.” Needless to say, I was laughing so much, I could not leave a message! How brilliant was that! How totally unexpected and refreshingly different. Believe me, even if she was not my client – I would always remember where to purchase my lingerie and underwear going forward.
The point that I am trying to make here is that her message was powerful and had an instant impact and that message would last for ever. I doubt that I will ever look at lingerie or underwear and not think of that message and have a good giggle. From that message I know exactly what she does and I know the benefit and even though I could probably get what she sells at several different outlets, the ‘way’ she told me ‘what she does’, in her message will ensure that I buy from her.
As I tell the story, (and this article attests to that fact), I am spreading the news of what she does, which means that I am actually marketing her and her products (and she doesn’t even pay me a salary) and you can be sure that everyone else who hears that message will be doing the same. This means that essentially it is easy for people to remember her and what she does and because of that, they will share that information readily about her business. How cool is that? She has a whole team of people marketing for her and they don’t even know it, much less expect a salary!
So how do you create one of those award winning messages? It’s quite simple actually – so don’t panic.
Firstly, write down how your business helps your customers – this works for both products and services.
Secondly, underline or circle any of the descriptive words that ‘stand out’ and make a statement about what you do or that describes your business.
Thirdly, take all of those words and make a single sentence which will make up your final message. For example my message is: “Viljoen Consulting – I prevent loss by assisting and empowering small business owners to start up, grow and maintain sustainable businesses.
Finally, use your message as much as possible and where ever you go – at networking events, at business functions, on your card, your letterheads, as part of your signature on e-mails, on your voicemail messages, your blogs and even when you ‘tweet on twitter’.
The more people who hear your message, the more business you will generate and the more ‘ideas’ will come your way.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Monday, June 11, 2018
MOTIVATION – Be Willing to Improve Yourself
MOTIVATION – Be Willing to Improve Yourself
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
James Allen says “People are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves. They therefore remain bound.”
This particular human trait was made quite prevalent during my holiday this year. Here’s the story – I met this older man (let’s call him George), who has a real problem with acidity in his system. It’s really bad. Not only does the poor old man suffer with arthritis but his legs are full of open sores that he then scratches badly in an attempt to stop the itching. From what I can gather, he has been to several doctors and none can assist – I now know why.
You see George loves to drink wine – in particular dry white wine, but if there is no white wine open, he will gladly accept a glass (or three) of red wine or anything else alcoholic that is going. George is also partial to tomatoes and granadilla’s and . . . . . . I’m sure you get the picture.
I have suggested that George take some ‘base powder’, which is an alkaline type powder that will assist with neutralizing the acid in his body, but that of course won’t help on a long term basis because George puts more acid into his body than anything can neutralize. The result of course is, that according to George – ‘the doctors don’t know what they are doing and he doesn’t believe a word that they are saying.”
I carefully explained to George that he would need to cut down on his alcohol intake as well as the acidic fruit and vegetables that he favors and that together with the intake of ‘base powder’ would help to reduce the level of acid in his body. George declined to reduce his alcohol intake, but he will “try” the base powder.
The reality of the situation is that George’s body will continue, unsuccessfully, to battle to remove the acid from his system. He will continue to suffer from arthritis and he will of course, continue to experience open sores on his legs. More importantly he will continue to increase his acid intake as he drinks more and more white wine or red wine or anything else alcoholic that he can lay his hands on. Sadly, I will be the villain in the story as I will be the one who told him to take ‘base powder’ of course it doesn’t work.
As you can see from the story, George wants his circumstances to change but he is unwilling to change his own lifestyle in order for that to occur.
Many of us, both in our personal lives and our business lives, lament things that we would like to change. Whether it is to do with our health or our finances or our clients (or lack thereof) or anything for that matter that makes us sad or makes life difficult for us, yet we seem unable or unwilling to change what we are doing.
I think it was Einstein who said something along the lines of “Stupidity is doing something over and over in exactly the same manner and then expecting the outcome to differ!”
When things are not going the way that you want them to in life, something has to change. The quicker we realize that and make the change(s), the quicker (and easier) it will be for us to get on with life. Holding onto something and hoping that it will change, without us making any kind of change within ourselves, is just a waste of time. The problem of course is that not only is it just a waste of time, but it is also a very negative and destructive course to take.
So I’m off to make a list of all the things that are not working for me and part of my goals for this year is to do things differently, make the changes and so ensure that my life going forward is easier, mellower and more rewarding.
What changes are you going to make?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
James Allen says “People are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves. They therefore remain bound.”
This particular human trait was made quite prevalent during my holiday this year. Here’s the story – I met this older man (let’s call him George), who has a real problem with acidity in his system. It’s really bad. Not only does the poor old man suffer with arthritis but his legs are full of open sores that he then scratches badly in an attempt to stop the itching. From what I can gather, he has been to several doctors and none can assist – I now know why.
You see George loves to drink wine – in particular dry white wine, but if there is no white wine open, he will gladly accept a glass (or three) of red wine or anything else alcoholic that is going. George is also partial to tomatoes and granadilla’s and . . . . . . I’m sure you get the picture.
I have suggested that George take some ‘base powder’, which is an alkaline type powder that will assist with neutralizing the acid in his body, but that of course won’t help on a long term basis because George puts more acid into his body than anything can neutralize. The result of course is, that according to George – ‘the doctors don’t know what they are doing and he doesn’t believe a word that they are saying.”
I carefully explained to George that he would need to cut down on his alcohol intake as well as the acidic fruit and vegetables that he favors and that together with the intake of ‘base powder’ would help to reduce the level of acid in his body. George declined to reduce his alcohol intake, but he will “try” the base powder.
The reality of the situation is that George’s body will continue, unsuccessfully, to battle to remove the acid from his system. He will continue to suffer from arthritis and he will of course, continue to experience open sores on his legs. More importantly he will continue to increase his acid intake as he drinks more and more white wine or red wine or anything else alcoholic that he can lay his hands on. Sadly, I will be the villain in the story as I will be the one who told him to take ‘base powder’ of course it doesn’t work.
As you can see from the story, George wants his circumstances to change but he is unwilling to change his own lifestyle in order for that to occur.
Many of us, both in our personal lives and our business lives, lament things that we would like to change. Whether it is to do with our health or our finances or our clients (or lack thereof) or anything for that matter that makes us sad or makes life difficult for us, yet we seem unable or unwilling to change what we are doing.
I think it was Einstein who said something along the lines of “Stupidity is doing something over and over in exactly the same manner and then expecting the outcome to differ!”
When things are not going the way that you want them to in life, something has to change. The quicker we realize that and make the change(s), the quicker (and easier) it will be for us to get on with life. Holding onto something and hoping that it will change, without us making any kind of change within ourselves, is just a waste of time. The problem of course is that not only is it just a waste of time, but it is also a very negative and destructive course to take.
So I’m off to make a list of all the things that are not working for me and part of my goals for this year is to do things differently, make the changes and so ensure that my life going forward is easier, mellower and more rewarding.
What changes are you going to make?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Friday, June 08, 2018
HR 101 – What to do When . . . You Need Your Staff to Work Overtime
HR 101 – What to do When . . . You Need Your Staff to Work Overtime
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice.
We haven’t visited with my favorite protagonists for some time now, so let’s re-introduce them.
We have George who is a Salesman at a retail store and Mike who owns the retail store.
Mike wants to do a year end stock take after hours so as not to interfere with the daily turnover and he therefore asks all the staff to make themselves available to work overtime on the Sunday afternoon, after hours to do the stock take.
George has decided that he will not work overtime. Mike is furious and wants to discipline George.
We’ve all been there I am sure.
Here’s the thing though – you cannot force a staff member to work overtime, unless there is a documented and signed agreement in place and this is accordance with the BCEA (Basic Conditions of Employment Act) Section 10(1)(a).
When reading the BCEA, you will note that they have made provision for a certain number of hours of overtime. The Bargaining Councils have also made this provision but that doesn’t mean that you can force someone to work overtime. You still have to get the consent of the employees.
So how do you get around this problem, I mean realistically speaking, no-one wants to have to rush around to all the staff with Letters of Consent, every time that you want them to work overtime.
It’s actually quite simple – you put a clause in the Letter of Appointment/Contract that stipulates that they agree to work overtime from time to time. If this clause is not in your Letter of Appointment/Contract, as a standard requirement, what you will have in fact is a work force who will have a lot of leverage over you.
Why do I say that – well here is another scenario. Let’s go back to George and Mike. Let’s take the same setting. Now all the staff see that George has refused to work overtime and they now know that they are not obliged to work overtime and they also know that being year end, Mike has no option but to do the stock take, for the year end figures. If Mike does the stock take during working hours it will impact on his turnover as well as his year end figures and if he doesn’t do the stock take by close of business on the last working day of the year, this will also impact on his figures.
What do they do, well George and his fellow workers go into ‘demand’ mode. They demand additional overtime pay, they demand a ‘food’ allowance, they demand an additional ‘travel allowance’ and they also demand ‘time off for time worked’.
Mike is in no position to do anything but agree to their conditions, because the reality of the situation is that it would cost him more in the long run if he didn’t do the stock take on time. There would be costs on time lost as well as the time it took to adjust figures and a whole bunch of other issues to be taken into account.
So putting this clause as a standard into your Letter of Appointment/Contract could save you a huge amount of headache and money in the long run.
Make no mistake, staff can still ‘refuse’ to work the overtime but then it becomes “Breach of Contract” and the matter can then be dealt with as such.
As always, if you are not sure about what to do, contact a reputable Labour Attorney to assist you.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice.
We haven’t visited with my favorite protagonists for some time now, so let’s re-introduce them.
We have George who is a Salesman at a retail store and Mike who owns the retail store.
Mike wants to do a year end stock take after hours so as not to interfere with the daily turnover and he therefore asks all the staff to make themselves available to work overtime on the Sunday afternoon, after hours to do the stock take.
George has decided that he will not work overtime. Mike is furious and wants to discipline George.
We’ve all been there I am sure.
Here’s the thing though – you cannot force a staff member to work overtime, unless there is a documented and signed agreement in place and this is accordance with the BCEA (Basic Conditions of Employment Act) Section 10(1)(a).
When reading the BCEA, you will note that they have made provision for a certain number of hours of overtime. The Bargaining Councils have also made this provision but that doesn’t mean that you can force someone to work overtime. You still have to get the consent of the employees.
So how do you get around this problem, I mean realistically speaking, no-one wants to have to rush around to all the staff with Letters of Consent, every time that you want them to work overtime.
It’s actually quite simple – you put a clause in the Letter of Appointment/Contract that stipulates that they agree to work overtime from time to time. If this clause is not in your Letter of Appointment/Contract, as a standard requirement, what you will have in fact is a work force who will have a lot of leverage over you.
Why do I say that – well here is another scenario. Let’s go back to George and Mike. Let’s take the same setting. Now all the staff see that George has refused to work overtime and they now know that they are not obliged to work overtime and they also know that being year end, Mike has no option but to do the stock take, for the year end figures. If Mike does the stock take during working hours it will impact on his turnover as well as his year end figures and if he doesn’t do the stock take by close of business on the last working day of the year, this will also impact on his figures.
What do they do, well George and his fellow workers go into ‘demand’ mode. They demand additional overtime pay, they demand a ‘food’ allowance, they demand an additional ‘travel allowance’ and they also demand ‘time off for time worked’.
Mike is in no position to do anything but agree to their conditions, because the reality of the situation is that it would cost him more in the long run if he didn’t do the stock take on time. There would be costs on time lost as well as the time it took to adjust figures and a whole bunch of other issues to be taken into account.
So putting this clause as a standard into your Letter of Appointment/Contract could save you a huge amount of headache and money in the long run.
Make no mistake, staff can still ‘refuse’ to work the overtime but then it becomes “Breach of Contract” and the matter can then be dealt with as such.
As always, if you are not sure about what to do, contact a reputable Labour Attorney to assist you.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Thursday, June 07, 2018
Blogging 101 - The Content - Part 5
Blogging 101 – The Content – Part 5
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd May 2010
One of my greatest complaints about blogs and . . . well any kind of written piece actually, is the language or terminology that is used.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am definitely not talking about foul (bad) language or disparaging remarks of any kind, I am talking about the frustratingly difficult terminology that some folk use to try and impress.
Quite frankly, I am the least impressed and all that they really achieve is bamboozle those that they are actually wanting to reach out to and they seriously confuse the rest of us.
What’s the deal anyway? Why is it necessary to use big words that often don’t even mean what you want to convey, instead of just telling it like it is? It becomes a whole ‘bullshit baffles brains’ (and we all know exactly what that means) kind of article.
What does it mean anyway, if I know big words and use them? What have I proved at the end of the day? Pretty much nothing hey!
Most likely, I have chased a whole lot of potential readers away. Most probably, they will never return again and it’s very, very likely that they will go elsewhere to feed their information requirements.
Using big words, when a simple one explains so much more, just shows in my opinion, that you are perhaps just a little frightened of being . . . well you.
Playing ‘devil’s advocate’ however, means that I get to share some of my favorite words that are no longer used much anymore in today’s terms.
Words like “umbrage” and “pontificate” have a sense of the dramatic and they conjure pictures of long lost days and ‘throwing down the gauntlet’ and honor amongst men (and women too) and . . . see there I go again.
Using simple words that everyone can understand on a topic that you are passionate about in a field that you are the expert in (or that you have hopefully done the research on) is all that you really need to get the reader interested and sure to keep coming back.
So keep it simple!
See you next time, when we will look at some more issues around some of the content that should be in your blogs.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd May 2010
One of my greatest complaints about blogs and . . . well any kind of written piece actually, is the language or terminology that is used.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am definitely not talking about foul (bad) language or disparaging remarks of any kind, I am talking about the frustratingly difficult terminology that some folk use to try and impress.
Quite frankly, I am the least impressed and all that they really achieve is bamboozle those that they are actually wanting to reach out to and they seriously confuse the rest of us.
What’s the deal anyway? Why is it necessary to use big words that often don’t even mean what you want to convey, instead of just telling it like it is? It becomes a whole ‘bullshit baffles brains’ (and we all know exactly what that means) kind of article.
What does it mean anyway, if I know big words and use them? What have I proved at the end of the day? Pretty much nothing hey!
Most likely, I have chased a whole lot of potential readers away. Most probably, they will never return again and it’s very, very likely that they will go elsewhere to feed their information requirements.
Using big words, when a simple one explains so much more, just shows in my opinion, that you are perhaps just a little frightened of being . . . well you.
Playing ‘devil’s advocate’ however, means that I get to share some of my favorite words that are no longer used much anymore in today’s terms.
Words like “umbrage” and “pontificate” have a sense of the dramatic and they conjure pictures of long lost days and ‘throwing down the gauntlet’ and honor amongst men (and women too) and . . . see there I go again.
Using simple words that everyone can understand on a topic that you are passionate about in a field that you are the expert in (or that you have hopefully done the research on) is all that you really need to get the reader interested and sure to keep coming back.
So keep it simple!
See you next time, when we will look at some more issues around some of the content that should be in your blogs.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, June 06, 2018
Networking 101 - The Value of Your Network
Networking 101 - The Value of Your Network
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
What about the true value of your network? Do you know how to ascertain if the person you are talking to has such a thing? In fact do you know what the true value of your network is?
For me, the value of my network is evidenced by the number of people who talk about me even when I am not there. The members of my network refer me all the time and tell others of how I have referred them and what that has done for them as individuals and for their businesses.
I was at a networking function a couple of weeks ago and Helen Nicholson, who I consider one of the ‘guru’s’ of networking was the speaker. After her speech I grabbed an opportunity to have a quick chat with her and catch up. Her opening statement to me was “I hear that you are extremely busy!” Thinking that she had been talking to one of my friends I asked her who had told her and she relied saying “Everyone I meet with is talking about you, so you must be very busy!”
Here is the true value of my network at work. People are talking about me, referring me, referring each other. This is networking at its most powerful.
So tell me about your network, better yet – have a good look at your network. What do you do for them and what do they do for you. What is the value of your network?
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or https://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
What about the true value of your network? Do you know how to ascertain if the person you are talking to has such a thing? In fact do you know what the true value of your network is?
For me, the value of my network is evidenced by the number of people who talk about me even when I am not there. The members of my network refer me all the time and tell others of how I have referred them and what that has done for them as individuals and for their businesses.
I was at a networking function a couple of weeks ago and Helen Nicholson, who I consider one of the ‘guru’s’ of networking was the speaker. After her speech I grabbed an opportunity to have a quick chat with her and catch up. Her opening statement to me was “I hear that you are extremely busy!” Thinking that she had been talking to one of my friends I asked her who had told her and she relied saying “Everyone I meet with is talking about you, so you must be very busy!”
Here is the true value of my network at work. People are talking about me, referring me, referring each other. This is networking at its most powerful.
So tell me about your network, better yet – have a good look at your network. What do you do for them and what do they do for you. What is the value of your network?
Nikki Viljoen is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist and she can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or https://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss - Part 1
BUSINESS TIPS - Being Your Own Boss – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd.
I have, over the last couple of months, had to field a number of questions around this topic. Questions such as where do I get money to fund the business, to how do I market it and what do I do and where do I go to get it off the ground and started.
Firstly, you have to find your own focus and decide exactly what it is that you want to achieve. Look at what it is that you are passionate about and then think about what your intention is, what your goals are and then what your purpose is. Write this down and make sure that you see it on a daily basis. Read it, digest it, believe it, live it – it is what and who you are.
Remember that for every “ying” there is a “yang”, so for every internal intention, there is an external one too.
Your ‘Internal’ intention dictates what ‘you’ will get out of the business, so it is about your gratification. What the business means in terms of what you accomplish in your life – this can be financial independence and success, notoriety etc.
Your ‘External’ intention is about what your business does, in terms of benefits, to others. So how does your business make a difference to people? No matter whether your business is about the sale of products or the sale of a service, how does that service or product impact on others? How does it help or assist or be of benefit to people.
Write down your internal intention and then share it with everyone – not just friends and family, but pretty much everyone that you encounter on a daily basis. Watch how people react when they understand your objective and what you want to achieve on a personal level. Your passion and drive will make them want to help you in anyway that they can – they can’t help themselves, its human nature. You, in turn, become animated at their enthusiasm and their desire to assist and this in turn boosts your confidence and gives you validation in terms of understanding that you are going in the right direction. And so the wheel turns . . .
Write down your ‘external’ intentions. Then again tell people how it is that your product or service will benefit them or others. Again, don’t just tell your friends and family, but tell everyone who cares to listen. As people hear how what you sell will ultimately benefit others, they will begin to react. You see people relate in a personal way to benefits and once they relate to what you are doing they will start giving you advice on how to improve your product or service. People who are so fired up about giving you new ideas and being a part of what you started also won’t be inclined to question the validity of your product or service. They just want to see you succeed – especially if you like their ideas enough to use them.
So what happens if there is someone else who has a business that is similar to yours or who wants to start a business that is similar to what you have done? Well nothing actually!
You see, your true intent is like your fingerprint – it is unique to you and besides that, there is an abundance out there – more than enough for everyone in fact. Just continue to focus on your stuff, don’t worry about what everyone else is doing.
Make sure you have your own true focus though and you will inspire those around you before they can be engulfed with their own self doubt.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd.
I have, over the last couple of months, had to field a number of questions around this topic. Questions such as where do I get money to fund the business, to how do I market it and what do I do and where do I go to get it off the ground and started.
Firstly, you have to find your own focus and decide exactly what it is that you want to achieve. Look at what it is that you are passionate about and then think about what your intention is, what your goals are and then what your purpose is. Write this down and make sure that you see it on a daily basis. Read it, digest it, believe it, live it – it is what and who you are.
Remember that for every “ying” there is a “yang”, so for every internal intention, there is an external one too.
Your ‘Internal’ intention dictates what ‘you’ will get out of the business, so it is about your gratification. What the business means in terms of what you accomplish in your life – this can be financial independence and success, notoriety etc.
Your ‘External’ intention is about what your business does, in terms of benefits, to others. So how does your business make a difference to people? No matter whether your business is about the sale of products or the sale of a service, how does that service or product impact on others? How does it help or assist or be of benefit to people.
Write down your internal intention and then share it with everyone – not just friends and family, but pretty much everyone that you encounter on a daily basis. Watch how people react when they understand your objective and what you want to achieve on a personal level. Your passion and drive will make them want to help you in anyway that they can – they can’t help themselves, its human nature. You, in turn, become animated at their enthusiasm and their desire to assist and this in turn boosts your confidence and gives you validation in terms of understanding that you are going in the right direction. And so the wheel turns . . .
Write down your ‘external’ intentions. Then again tell people how it is that your product or service will benefit them or others. Again, don’t just tell your friends and family, but tell everyone who cares to listen. As people hear how what you sell will ultimately benefit others, they will begin to react. You see people relate in a personal way to benefits and once they relate to what you are doing they will start giving you advice on how to improve your product or service. People who are so fired up about giving you new ideas and being a part of what you started also won’t be inclined to question the validity of your product or service. They just want to see you succeed – especially if you like their ideas enough to use them.
So what happens if there is someone else who has a business that is similar to yours or who wants to start a business that is similar to what you have done? Well nothing actually!
You see, your true intent is like your fingerprint – it is unique to you and besides that, there is an abundance out there – more than enough for everyone in fact. Just continue to focus on your stuff, don’t worry about what everyone else is doing.
Make sure you have your own true focus though and you will inspire those around you before they can be engulfed with their own self doubt.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Friday, June 01, 2018
HR 101 - Attendance Registers
HR 101 - Attendance Registers
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
I am often astounded by people’s reactions when I tell them that it is a legal requirement for staff to complete and sign in, in an attendance register or some sort of digital replacement. The usual response is something along the lines of “well George has been with us for a number of years now and he is like part of the family and we don’t want to change that in any way, so we don’t want to implement an attendance register.” Fine – if that’s the way you want it, my job is merely to tell you about it, whether you listen or heed that advice is of course, your prerogative.
So why is it then, that 9 out 10 people who react like this when I tell them to implement an attendance register end up phoning me to assist them with a CCMA case several months or even years down the line? Well that’s really quite simple. You see, George (who was ‘like part of the family’) has decided to leave the company for greener pastures and when he left he wanted and was entitled to have his leave paid out. The problem of course is that there was no record of the amount of leave that he took, so you guessed it and paid it out to him in good faith. He on the other hand, was only part of your family because it suited him at the time and now he wants his pound of flesh, so to speak – and he knows that there is no record of when he was on leave and so he will claim as much as he can, going back for as long as he can and there is pretty much, nothing that you can do about it.
Having an attendance register in place, and insisting that the staff abide by it, means that you have taken the emotion out of the situation. Now no-one can get hot under the collar because they were sure that they were at work on that day and you were sure that they weren’t. The attendance register will prove who was at work and when.
Remember though, the attendance register must be signed EVERY day when the employee comes to work and not months in advance or months in arrears. Even your domestic worker who comes in once a week or your gardener who comes in once a week should be signing the register. In fact my rule is – if the attendance register has not been signed, it means that you were not at work and if you were not at work, then you will not be paid.
It’s quite simple isn’t it?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements.
I am often astounded by people’s reactions when I tell them that it is a legal requirement for staff to complete and sign in, in an attendance register or some sort of digital replacement. The usual response is something along the lines of “well George has been with us for a number of years now and he is like part of the family and we don’t want to change that in any way, so we don’t want to implement an attendance register.” Fine – if that’s the way you want it, my job is merely to tell you about it, whether you listen or heed that advice is of course, your prerogative.
So why is it then, that 9 out 10 people who react like this when I tell them to implement an attendance register end up phoning me to assist them with a CCMA case several months or even years down the line? Well that’s really quite simple. You see, George (who was ‘like part of the family’) has decided to leave the company for greener pastures and when he left he wanted and was entitled to have his leave paid out. The problem of course is that there was no record of the amount of leave that he took, so you guessed it and paid it out to him in good faith. He on the other hand, was only part of your family because it suited him at the time and now he wants his pound of flesh, so to speak – and he knows that there is no record of when he was on leave and so he will claim as much as he can, going back for as long as he can and there is pretty much, nothing that you can do about it.
Having an attendance register in place, and insisting that the staff abide by it, means that you have taken the emotion out of the situation. Now no-one can get hot under the collar because they were sure that they were at work on that day and you were sure that they weren’t. The attendance register will prove who was at work and when.
Remember though, the attendance register must be signed EVERY day when the employee comes to work and not months in advance or months in arrears. Even your domestic worker who comes in once a week or your gardener who comes in once a week should be signing the register. In fact my rule is – if the attendance register has not been signed, it means that you were not at work and if you were not at work, then you will not be paid.
It’s quite simple isn’t it?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
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