It is a widely accepted principle in business that in this era of increasingly intense competition for talented people finding and selecting the right people for the right job is critically important for today’s successful Company. The search for talented people will often necessitate the need for the Company to select an Employment Agency as an HR Partner in order to maximize the benefits of the recruitment process.

Having previously worked as a Human Resources Director for local and international Companies and now working as a Managing Director of an Employment Agency, I have come to the conclusion that for a Company deciding which Recruitment Agency to work with is often a difficult and always a significant business decision. A good Employment Agency can add tremendous value to your organization whilst a poor choice of the Agency can damage the brand and do irreversible damage to the business. Here are some guidelines on how the Company should choose an Employment Agency.

1. Registration

It is common knowledge that there are too many bogus and unregistered players in the market. Why should you as an organization outsource a vital service like staff recruitment to an unregistered entity. It has also been observed that many of the unregistered Agencies are of no fixed aboard and often operate from a briefcase. As a minimum requirement it is recommended that before you hire the services of a Recruitment Agency you must insist on valid proof of legal registration in accordance with the Regulatory requirements.

2. Relevant Industry Experience

The selection criteria should include the experience profile of the Agency in the particular industry. References from other Companies can be crucial. The references can confirm facts and doubts about the Agency. You need some relevant feedback from other Companies in the industry about their experience with the Agency.

3. Recruitment Consultants Profiles

The Recruitment Agency should present the dedicated Recruitment Consultants and their profiles. The Recruitment Consultants should in turn present their strategies used for the search of job candidates and should outline their strategy for building the business relationship right from the introduction to the organization.

4. Determine your Recruitment Needs

The Organizations may need temporary, permanent or contract staff. Alternatively, you may require a certain expertise at say Middle Management or Executive level. It is best to choose an Agency with the unique expertise to meet your needs. So it is vital for the organization to determine what kind of staffing needs their organization has and then choose the best Agency to execute the recruitment assignment.

5. Size of Database

The Agency should satisfy you about the size of its recruitment database so that you are assured that they can produce the desired job candidates quickly and effortlessly. The recruitment database should provide the automatic support for the Consultant and the Hiring organization. Thus the size of the database should be part of the Recruitment Agency Selection criteria.

6. Limited Number of Agencies

I have heard some HR Managers boasting that “We deal with all the Employment Agencies in order to ensure that we get the best candidates” Thus, half a dozen or so Employment Agencies are requested to send “ 4 of your best candidates for such and such a position.” My experience is that such an approach encourages a mass approach to recruitment where Agencies are competing to be the first to send CVs. Quality checking is often neglected in the process and this is ultimately detrimental to the interests of the organization. Best practice requires that an organization should deal with one or two Agencies who can then take the time to understand your organisational dynamics, culture, change orientation and other peculiarities. This increases the chance of an organisational fit with shortlisted candidates.

7.         Recruitment Fees and Payment Conditions

Obviously the issue of costs is an important consideration in the recruitment process. Most reputable Employment Agencies are agreeable to negotiate recruitment fees and payment terms with clients. The Company is, however, ideally placed to negotiate win-win recruitment fees with the Agency if they have some form of exclusivity agreement or understanding of preferred supplier of the recruitment services. A word of caution, however, an Employment Agent which claims to have the “lowest fees” might not always be the perfect choice. The ability to attract the desired caliber of candidates may also be impaired.

In conclusion, the decision to outsource the recruitment process to an Employment Agency is of key strategic importance because of the necessity to engage the right types of people with the right types of skills. Such people guarantee the attainment of the goals and objectives of an organization. The choice of a suitable Employment Agency to partner a Company in the search for talented people becomes a critical consideration.

Emmanuel Jinda is the Managing Consultant of PROSERVE Consulting Group, a leading supplier of Professional Human Resources and Management services locally, regionally and internationally. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.tel: 263 773004143 or 263 4 772778

An engaged employee is the most productive member of the team!

The concept of Employee Engagement has been topical in many organizations, both locally and internationally. A great deal of the discussions are around that many Managers in organizations believe that they offer their employees the “best deal” in terms of employment conditions (mainly salary and benefits) – however more often than not they end up frustrated as this does not seem to translate into improved employee productivity. This has brought greater prominence to the question: what really is Employee Engagement and how can organizations create the optimum engagement levels and enjoy its benefits?

Employee engagement refers to the level of enthusiasm, passion and commitment that an employee has towards their job and their organization. It is an outcome of a wide range of employment conditions, interactions and interventions that result in employees truly caring about their work and the performance of their organizations. It’s important to note that Employee Engagement is more than just remuneration – no amount of money can buy employee passion, enthusiasm and commitment. According to the McLeod Report (Engaging for Success: Enhancing Performance through Employee Engagement, 2009), with the optimum engagement levels, employees offer more of their capabilities and potential thereby driving productivity and business performance. Research shows that there is a positive correlation between an improvement in employee engagement and business performance. According to Doug Conant, “to win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.” Organizations need to win the hearts and minds of employees before they try to sell their belief (products and services) to the customer. Once you win the hearts and minds of employees you create passion, ownership and accountability.

It is important to note that there are two levels of engagement, the primary level (the organization) and the secondary level (the job). In the first instance the employee needs to believe, commit and be passionate about the purpose and values of the organization. The organizational purpose has to be vividly articulated to the employee. The leadership of the organization should be able and willing to transfer the organizational beliefs and aspirations to the employee. It’s only when the employee is aligned to the organizational purpose that he/she meaningfully invests maximum effort and passion in his/her job. At the secondary level, the employee needs to have “meaningful work”, a job that is correctly configured and aligned to the organizational purpose – it must be a job that requires that guarantees full employment. At the secondary level, the employee needs to have a clear line of sight between their role in the department and the organizational mission as well as the relationship with other jobs within the organization. Successful engagement at the primary level influences engagement at the secondary level. Optimum engagement is realized when an employee is fully engaged at both the primary and secondary levels.

Some of the observed benefits of an engaged workforce are:

1. Productivity

According to a study by the Hay Group, engaged employees are as much as 43% more productive than disengaged. This productivity stems from the passion and enthusiasm that engaged employees have as they fully understand the big picture and how their contribution fits into it. Engaged employees go the extra mile, take less off days and are more focused on achieving the desired results. Engaged employees are also more profitable and research has shown that engaged employees produce 26% higher revenue per employee. The more engaged the employees are, the more efficient and productive they become.

2. Skills Retention

Because of their passionate and commitment to the organization engaged employees are loyal to the organization, meaning that skills and energy remain within the organization. Skills retention aspect also saves on employment costs as studies have shown that it costs up to 40% of an employee’s annual salary to replace him/her. Retaining engaged employees therefore saves employment costs from talent acquisition and talent development perspectives. Engaged employees are also a repository of institutional memory and culture thereby providing organizational continuity.

3. Innovation

Engaged employees are passionate about their jobs and this leads them to continually seeking better and more efficient ways of achieving their objectives. Engaged employees have a sense of ownership of the vision of the organization thus they tend to constantly seek innovative ways of improving their work and that of their teams in order to realize the vision.

4. Customer Service

To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace. In the modern business world, success is largely down to differentiation. Customer experience is a major part of this differentiation. Engaged employees are happier and passionate about their jobs and their organizations thus they tend to provide superior customer service. They are more positive and proactive thus achieve positive impact to customer experience.

5. Brand Ambassadors

Engaged employees have been known to be effective brand ambassadors for their companies. These employees have a strong sense of belonging and heightened emotional connection with their companies. They are proud to be associated with their brands (company and its products and services) so much that they propagate positive messages wherever they go.

How then do managers and business leaders go about achieving this employee engagement that’s seems so important for superior organizational performance and sustainability? How does one get to engage employees at the purpose level, at the strategy level, at process level and at the service level?

Part 2 of this article will address in practical terms the initiatives that management can take in order to build the optimum levels of employee engagement.

Emmanuel Jinda is the Managing Consultant of PROSERVE Consulting Group, a leading supplier of Professional Human Resources and Management services locally, regionally and internationally. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.tel: 263 773004143 or 263 4 772778

An engaged employee is the most productive member of the team!

It is important to note that employee engagement is an outcome of conditions, interactions and interventions within an organization. Engagement begins from the talent acquisition process – are you getting the right employees? Do they believe in the organization & its mission? Is there alignment between individual goals, values, character and the organization’s aspirations in terms of its purpose and its values?

How does one get to engage employees at the purpose level, at the strategy level, at process level and at the service level?

Some of the key strategies to improve employee engagement in the organization are as follows:

1. Selling the Vision and Strategy

Business leaders invest time and effort in crafting the vision and strategy of the organization. However experience shows that not enough is done in selling this vision and strategy to the employees – the people who are supposed to execute it. Employees are more engaged when they understand the big picture and how their individual and collective efforts contribute to it. It is therefore mandatory that the leadership invests more effort in selling the vision and strategy using multiple communication channels. This should be reinforced by line managers all the time so that employees don’t lose sight of the big picture.

2. Proper On-Boarding

Research has shown that at the point of entry into the organization, proper on boarding is critical. On boarding is a structured way of integrating new employees into the organization. Research shows that employees who go through a structured on boarding process are 58% more likely to be with the organization after three years. The challenge with most of our organizations is a lack of formal on boarding processes.

3. Involve and Empower Employees

Leaders should also seek to increase employee participation in the processes of managing the organization. Employees should not necessarily be taken as subjects, but as active stakeholders in the organization. Research has shown that employee participation in decisions that directly affect them in the workplace increases ownership and accountability. Leaders should consult more with their employees in those decisions that affect them. They should engage employees at the purpose level, strategy level, process level and service level. This involvement should also be coupled with empowerment where employees are given autonomy and responsibility for decision making with respect to specific organizational tasks and results. However, with empowerment the leadership has to set clear performance expectations and levels of decision-making.

4. Communication

Engagement is about communication, communication and more communication! To engage employees you can never communicate enough! Employees are the “foot soldiers” in the organization and there should always be clear and ongoing communication between the leadership and the “foot soldiers” for the mission to be accomplished. Multiple communication channels should be used, and messages reinforced. Feedback should be given, feedback should be solicited in real time all the time.

5. Manage Performance Effectively and Transparently

Research has shown that when employee performance is managed effectively and transparently it goes a long way in aiding engagement. One of the critical benefits of performance management is employee development thus if it’s done properly and transparently, employees develop a keen interest in achieving results for the organization. Employee performance has to be managed on a real-time basis, rather than waiting for appraisal time at the end of the performance period.

6. Learning Leadership

Organizations should invest in ensuring that the leadership is always acquiring new knowledge and skills. Leaders are responsible for people and they should thus know how to lead, how to manage people. These “soft skills” are critical for employee engagement as they impact on such dynamics like communication, teamwork.

7. Organizational Culture

Employee engagement happens within a particular context and that context has a defining impact on the level of engagement. It is therefore important that Managers foster a culture that enables employee engagement to occur.

8. Dealing with Disengaged Employees

Specific interventions have to be employed targeting disengaged employees. This requires managers to go back to the basics including hiring the right people into the right jobs, configuring meaningful jobs, setting clear performance expectations and providing them with the required performance resources. Disengaged employees should be dealt with on a one-on-one basis in order to achieve higher levels of engagement.

9. Recognition

The need to be appreciated is a basic human need. It is therefore important that organizations build cultures of praise and recognition both at individual employee level as well as at collective team level.

When employees feel valued, recognized and appreciated for their effort they want to continue doing the good things that got them the recognition. There are monetary and several non-monetary ways of recognizing employees

10. Personal Growth Opportunities

Employees need room for them to grow personally and professionally within the organization. Organizations that offer their employees opportunities for growth have experienced higher engagement levels than those without. When an organization invests time and money in the personal growth of its employees, it shows the employees that they are valuable long-term members of the team.

Optimum employee engagement levels are not achieved overnight or by a single intervention. Organizations should have a clear employee engagement strategy that creates the conditions necessary for engagement to be achieved. The engagement strategy should also utilize multiple channels for engagement. In as much as external Consultants can provide their expertise in setting up the necessary infrastructure for engagement, real engagement is an outcome of what then happens in the organizations on a day-to-day basis – the sum of employment conditions, and interactions within the organization.

Emmanuel Jinda is the Managing Consultant of PROSERVE Consulting Group, a leading supplier of Professional Human Resources and Management services locally, regionally and internationally. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.tel: 263 773004143 or 263 4 772778

How does one approach the subject of Succession Planning in order to derive maximum benefits for the organization and the individual employees? We recommend the following steps:

1. Create a common context and understanding of the Process and Risks

   The first stage is for the organization to create a common context and understanding of what the process is and what it is intended to achieve. The following definition may suffice to bring about the desired level of appreciation:“Succession Planning is a proactive, deliberate and systematic process to:

• Identify leadership and mission critical position requirements

• Identify a pool of talented high potential candidates

• Develop leadership and core competencies through targeted learning experiences”

  As part of the definition it should be emphasized that the ultimate goal of succession planning is to enhance the capacity of the organization to grow and supply high performing individuals required for current and future organisational success.

  It should also be understood that an effective succession planning system helps the organization to manage the following risks:

• Vacancy Risk – the risk of a critical role becoming and remaining vacant

• Readiness Risk – the risk of appointing successors who are not ready: thus without the requisite skills and competencies to perform

• Transition Risk – the risk of a new job holder failing to make a successful transition from old role to new role

• Portfolio – Risk of deploying successors to roles for which they do not have the background and experience

  2.         Review the Strategic Plan

  It is vitally important that succession planning is viewed as part of the overall strategic plan of the organization. At this stage it is important to highlight the key business strategies and objectives for the organization during the plan period. You should be clear about where the organization is going and how it will get there.

  In particular, you should highlight those business objectives which depend for their achievements on organisational leadership and skills capability. For example, entry into a new market or territory or significant growth or downsizing which impact skills, resourcing or training needs.

  3.         Organisational Structure Review

  Here you should review the capability of the current organization structure to deliver the business strategy. What are the current strengths and weaknesses of the structure and what actions do you propose to address the latter? Describe any proposals to change the structure in terms of the business rationale for the proposed change and the impact that the structural change will have on the organisational skills required.

  4.         Determine the type of Succession Plan.

  In order to ensure that the Succession Plan addresses the organization’s needs in a comprehensive manner it is essential to be clear about the type of plan to be implemented. Ask the following questions:

• Does your organization require new kinds of competencies as evidenced by the fact that you might be failing to meet certain objectives due to reasons like slow adjustments to the changing world?

• Does the plan cater for leadership and skills development?

• Where there are known vacancies coming up due to retirements, illness,  relocation etc. Does the plan cover these adequately?

• Is the organization planning for radical changes?

  5.         Establish a Succession Planning Panel

  Succession Planning should not be a one person band: We recommend that you should constitute a Succession Planning Panel with the right balance of people. Select people who are process oriented, knowledgeable about job competencies and development. The Panel must have both specialists and line people.

  6.         Identification of Potential Successors

  At this stage you should critically review all the positions on the organization structure and the current job holders. Record their qualifications, experience, competencies, age profiles, length of service etc. For each position identify potential successors and spell out the required competencies, talents, skills and knowledge. It should be noted that while obvious successors may be the second in command, you should not disregard other promising employees regardless of current role or title.

  Also, identify source of potential successors: Is it internal or external?

  For all the relevant positions you should complete an Individual Development Plan which highlights the skills gaps and relevant gap closing interventions over a certain period of time.

  7.         Strategic Resource Issues

  Here you should cover any key resourcing issues that have or will have a significant impact on your business. For example, any shortfalls or surpluses of key skill groups or key management. You should also review individuals or groups which have skills which are particularly critical to the business or which may be unique or in very short supply. You should consider how you are managing the risk of losing or not fully exploiting these key skills.

  8.         Implementation and Monitoring

• The plan now needs to be translated into action plans with measurable goals, specified time lines and accountabilities for the desired action. In order to be successful the implementation of the plan needs to be continuously monitored by the Succession Planning team, evaluated on an ongoing basis and adjusted where necessary. We recommend that the plan should be reviewed formally at least ones a year.

  In conclusion, most business leaders know that a business plan is not complete without considering how the plan will be delivered in people and  organisational terms. Succession Planning is the means by which the leadership of an organization discusses the current availability of the people with the relevant knowledge and skills to meet the current and future needs of an organization. The process sets an agenda for action on people management and development. Succession Planning is therefore as a central to running an organization as the annual budget or the market plan.

  Emmanuel Jinda is the Managing Consultant of PROSERVE Consulting Group, a leading supplier of Professional Human Resources and Management services locally, regionally and internationally. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. tel: 263 773004143 or 263 4 772778