Author: Editor
In the last century, change has been the only constant. How does an institution survive this? “Embrace change and strive for independent thinking,” explains Brenda Howden, Headmistress of Park Preparatory School. This October,Auckland Park Preparatory School (APP), a private girls’ school in Johannesburg, will do what most institutions, schools and businesses strive for but rarely achieve – reach a century of success. Why has the school not only survived a century but thrived? The answer may be in Howden’s perspective. On reaching a milestone, she does not rest on it as a guarantee for future success but looks to developing…
With only around 29 per cent of South Africans vaccinated against Covid-19 (at time of writing) and the threat of a fourth wave of infections looming, the debate around mandatory vaccination in the workplace is hotting up. Databuild CEO Morag Evans believes there is a case to be made for compulsory vaccinations in the construction industry. “The Occupational Health and Safety Act stipulates that employers must provide and maintain a safe and healthy working environment, free from risk to employees,” she says. “This includes putting measures in place to protect employees from infectious disease such as Covid-19. “Owing to the…
Bad, disruptive or illicit behaviour can result in instant dismissal from your job, and impact your reputation The past year has been tough. People are struggling. Organisations are battling. And tensions are high. In July 2021 this boiling pot of frustration, stress and anxiety exploded, and South Africa faced extensive damage as looters swept across the country. For many, it was a time of immense sadness as they watched the economy burn, but for those who took part in the looting there were serious repercussions to their careers and futures because, according to Nicol Myburgh, Head: HCM Business Unit at…
By Lizelle Fourie, Applications Consultant at DAC Systems In my experience, the corporate environment today is a much more enabling one for women than in the past. Even though the gender breakdown still favours men, the general attitude towards women has certainly changed for the better. Of course, there are still some men who find it difficult to take orders from women, but I do not think that is ever going to completely go away. However, what is still a significant challenge is the expectation that women and men work the same number of hours. Unfortunately, this does not account…
By Ralph Berndt, sales and marketing director of Syrex Even though workforce mobility has always been important, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has made this even more critical. The hard lockdown experienced in South Africa and other parts of the world made adapting to a distributed work environment a business priority. In fact, when combined with work from home policies, workforce mobility will become part of the standard operating procedure of organisations well into the future. Of course, the extent at which this is done will largely be guided by company requirements and the industry it operates in. Where…
Remote working has triggered a fundamental change in digital working and nomads now rule the workplace The world has changed. It has changed as fundamentally as it did when the wheel entered the transportation equation and electricity lit up the office. The world of work will never return to the humdrum run of traffic, office and watercooler gossip, not unless these are qualities that skilled employees are looking for in a business. Because this world of work is not one controlled by the organisation, it is one that has its terms and conditions dictated by the employee. For companies seeking…
The arrival of AWS in South Africa and the continuing evolution of the cloud have resulted in an enabling environment where businesses can embrace large-scale Internet of Things (IoT) projects. These can rapidly scale to meet any customer demand. This was one of the central themes discussed at the recent Trinity IoT Webinar held early in September. Panellists discussed the opportunities of IoT in a cloud-driven world. Ross Hickey, Founder and CEO of Trinity IoT, started proceedings by examining some of the changes in the local IoT landscape and how these have positively disrupted businesses. “We’ve walked a long journey…
By Muggie van Staden, MD and CEO of Obsidian Systems. Cloud-native technologies have become fundamental in helping enterprises drive innovation faster than before. The likes of Kubernetes, Docker, and serverless functions are the central building blocks when it comes to how applications are created and deployed, regardless of whether it is for a public, private, or hybrid cloud environment. As you know, containers package applications with the configuration and deployment files on which they depend. From a business perspective, this speeds up the time between development and deployment while empowering technology teams to accelerate delivery cycles. It is almost as…
What do a rock legend, the “First Lady of West End musicals” and a surgeon with a love of music have in common? A combined determination to keep the hearts of children in Africa beating. In a new initiative termed Young Hearts Africa, Cape Town cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Wilhelm Lichtenberg has joined forces with Queen guitar legend Brian May, West End and Broadway superstar Kerry Ellis and the Soweto Gospel choir, a two-time Grammy winner. Queen’s mega-hit song Who Wants To Live Forever was written by May for the motion picture Highlander in 1986. It has become one of the…
By Charlie Schoeman, Team Leader: Client Account Management at Remote Metering Solutions I have been working for more than 30 years. It is only in the last decade that workplace conditions for women have significantly improved. After finishing school, I wanted to join the SAPS dog unit but was refused a position because I was a woman and might become pregnant. It has been a constant battle to get to where I am today. However, I consider myself one of the lucky few who was given the opportunity to work at a company like RMS, where employees are judged on…