Author: Editor

Since 2020 South Africa’s construction industry has had to contend with enforced pandemic-induced shutdowns, civil unrest, natural disasters and more recently, the ongoing war in Ukraine, all of which have wreaked havoc on supply chains and severely hampered the sector’s recovery. Where previously it used to take weeks to procure building materials and equipment, contractors are now having to wait months for their orders to arrive, says Databuild CEO Morag Evans. “Not only are procurement and delivery costs higher as a result, but projects are being delayed and in some instances, even cancelled, placing even more financial pressure on stakeholders…

Giving employees the ultimatum of ‘come back to the office or lose your job’ is very likely going to continue backfiring on the business Over the past year, many companies have put their proverbial feet down – come back to the office, or else. They’ve demanded that their employees walk away from a significantly better quality of life and back into traffic jams, road rage, early mornings and, perhaps most uncomfortably, wearing masks for up to 12 hours a day. This hasn’t delivered the reaction that these companies were expecting. Most have simply resigned. The Great Resignation, first noticed in…

AS SEEN ON AUSTRALIAN MASTERCHEF! While dry-aged fish is popular worldwide, the process has only recently reached our shores. South Africans, raised on dried meat like biltong and droewors would be excused for assuming that dry-aged fish might resemble bokkoms (the dried fish delicacy from the West Coast). “This couldn’t be further from the truth,” says Kurt Hill of Cape Fish, the first company to offer the product in South Africa. “Dry-aging does remove moisture from the fish but it still remains incredibly juicy and tender, with a mouth-watering flavour. You can’t compare it to fresh fish, and certainly not…

Poké is all the flavours we love in sushi, rediscovered in a unique, spontaneous, and convenient way. And now health-conscious lovers of fresh, uncomplicated, honest food in Stellenbosch can enjoy this fast, casual-dining experience. In May, the Poké Co’s fifth store opened at 27 Plein Street. Besides the core offering of poké bowls, the menu also includes smoothie bowls, healthy-breakfasts, poké burritos (burritos, but think sushi), homemade cold-pressed juices, hot beverages, and premium coffee, all complemented by a design-driven space and curated music that allows the customer to escape their busy day, even for a brief moment. Co-founder Andrew Flanagan…

By Karien Spencer, Talent Acquisition Lead at Decision Inc. Globally, employers are arming themselves for war. But this war is not taking place on a battlefield or in the trenches – it’s taking place in the boardroom. The critical scarcity of skills, in the era of ‘the great resignation’, has resulted in a battle for talent that has never been seen before. As Talent Acquisition Lead at Decision Inc., a global consulting organisation focused on cutting-edge and innovative technologies, I can attest to the harsh realities of this fight. Working in a highly competitive industry, suitable resources are not only…

By Howard Feldman We have good days, and we have dark days. This week was a dark day. With Eskom threatening to move the country to Stage 6 loadshedding at the time of writing, it is little wonder that the mood is low and that there is a negativity in the air. Perhaps more so because, according to the Business Insider, for each stage of loadshedding a million kettles are turned off. In essence, Stage 6 means that 6 million kettles will stand idle. The impact is significant as it is hard to imagine anyone being happy without tea or…

Nicol Myburgh, Head: CRS Technologies HCM Business Unit unpacks the importance of knowing the difference between a contractor and an employee in the mining sector The picture of employment within the mining sector has changed. Since 2015, Statistics South Africa has painted direct employment figures with a very different brush – the number of workers directly hired by mines has decreased significantly. While actual hiring numbers have increased, the figures represent an increase in contract, gig and temporary employee workers for the sector. It’s easy to understand why – mining can be varied in its requirements and peak demand periods,…

By Howard Feldman, Head of Marketing & People at Synthesis The conversation would follow the same pattern. “Howard,” my wife would say, “I heard about an amazing marriage-enrichment programme. Can I register for us?” What she really was asking, is if I would be prepared to commit 3 hours for the next 12 Wednesday evenings to the hell of listening to couples complain about each other. “What if we enrich our marriage by going out to dinner instead?” I would invariably ask. Which is what we would do, and what I suspect was her plan in the first place. Sometimes…

The proposed amendments to the Cannabis for Private Purposes bill that seeks to further decriminalise cannabis usage and legalise South Africa’s commercial cannabis industry could have serious ramifications for the construction industry if employers do not put appropriate measures in place to ensure that all on-site workers are working safely and following the correct safety procedures. “Besides the fact that construction sites are riddled with job hazards, the work itself is physically demanding, so it’s not unheard of for workers to use cannabis as a means of dealing with the physical pain and mental stress that comes with working on…

As companies embrace digital, more of their services require connectivity to keep the business running. Effectively managing the increasing complexity of this environment becomes a critical enabler for success. When an organisation does not have a proper connectivity strategy in place, challenges like SIMs installed in incorrect devices may become critical. In turn, this will have a compound impact on other areas of the business. “SIMs are much more than a piece of plastic in a technology-driven world: they provide businesses with ‘always-on’ access to their operations and often have a causal relationship with ROI. As soon as organisations start…