Canada-based tech start-up, CostCertified, has announced the opening of their new headquarters in Cape Town’s city centre. Providing a first-of-its-kind cost estimating software for the residential construction industry, CostCertified joins over 550 firms in Africa’s Silicon Valley. The company aims to provide at least 300 jobs for locals over the next two years.
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 2021, is now in full flow as people leave their existing employment in search of companies that pay attention to what they want.
South Africa’s Government has ended the COVID-19 State of Disaster, but now that employees have experienced remote working, many don’t want to return to the office, leading companies to opt for hybrid work. As a result of the pandemic, employees are more willing to leave a job should they be unhappy, prompting employers to ensure they cultivate an optimal working environment to retain top talent in 2022 and beyond.
In a consulting environment, engagement translates to the willingness of an employee to represent the organisational brand and give it their best when it comes to dealing with clients. This engagement is a direct reflection of their passion and satisfaction in being part of the business.
Many Managers will tell you that one of their greatest challenges is to get and retain top talent. No business wants to have a high staff turnover. It’s not only costly, time consuming, hampers productivity and decreases staff morale, but also shows that your company is not a good place to work at.
New graduates find themselves in the unique position of having entered higher education with certain expectations for their student years and career path, but then having to suddenly adapt to a whole new paradigm of online learning and facing a very different jobs marketplace from the one they originally envisioned when they graduated at the end of last year.
Though the terms are close cousins, there are significant differences between upskilling and reskilling in the corporate world, and it’s crucial to set them apart when developing your online training and e-learning programmes as they have unique objectives. While upskilling means learning new skills and competencies, reskilling involves a shift in career trajectory. For example, an employee may need to reskill if they switch departments or take on new responsibilities.
With hybrid work, the workplace is no longer inside the four walls of the corporate office—it’s an ecosystem of employees working from home, in co-working spaces, and the office.
“It offers employees the autonomy to choose to work wherever and however they are most productive,” said Linda Trim, Director at Giant Leap, one of South Africa’s largest workplace design consultancies.
