About Us / Annual Review 2018



Annual Review 2018
As the HR Think Tank continues to strive to improve South Africa’s talent competitiveness through targeted research and interventions in key areas we would like to highlight the progress we have made in 2018.
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We have worked towards our goal of improving South Africa’s ranking on the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) by focusing on these five key areas: Business/Government/ Labour Relationships, Education & Development, Gender Equality, Labour Productivity and Vocational/Technical Skills.
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In 2019 we will continue to fulfil our commitment to help shape and influence policy and the broader challenges facing HR and labour. We will carry on, with the support of our members, to pursue the conditions for people to reach their potential in the world of work and ultimately shift our country’s trajectory.
Download a copy of our Annual Review here
HIGHLIGHTS
December 2018
HR: The New Agenda
We are proud to announce a new HR Think Tank publication due to be released in 2019 around the theme of HR: The New Agenda. We are excited to share that the two Editors will be: Mechell Chetty, HR Vice President, Africa at Unilever and Paul Norman, Chief HR & Corporate Affairs Officer at MTN Group. Our Advisory Board provided input on what should be included in the content and members were also invited to be contributors.
November 2018
White paper on Jobs Summit
We released a White Paper on the Jobs Summit Framework Agreement. We analysed the agreement and summarised the key messages. We also provided critique and recommendations. To view the white paper click here.
November 2018
Improving Labour Productivity in SA
We hosted a Labour Productivity Seminar to explore the reality of South Africa’s labour productivity. Productivity SA and PwC shared case studies of how companies addressed low productivity and co-determination as a possible solution to hostile labour relations and low labour productivity was discussed.
October 2018
HR Think Tank in the News!
We received important media coverage on prominent platforms: eNCA, 702 Talk Radio, SAFM, Moneyweb, Classic FM.
October 2018
A First in SA: HR Metrics Survey
A new HR Think Tank Initiative was launched: the first comprehensive HR Metrics Survey in South Africa. This survey aims to collect a large range of detailed HR metrics from companies across sectors and will gather HR metrics for employees at different occupational levels within firms. The survey will provide much needed information to benchmark companies’ HR Metrics against South African industry counterparts. Currently, no South African data of this nature has been collated.
September 2018
Results from Business-Government Relationship Survey
We released the results from the Business-Government Relationship Survey. We collected information on the experiences of HR Think Tank members and other HR executives in their dealings with government (be it at a local, provincial or national level, relating to any legislation, regulation or policy that affects their business). The aim was to get a better understanding of which areas of the relationship and interactions are the most positive and negative, and the nature of any engagement respondents may have had with anyone in an official government role. We’ve interpreted the findings and incorporated it into a Spotlight paper on the current state of, and way forward for, the relationship between government and business in South Africa. To view the paper click here.
August 2018
Gender Pay Gap in SA
We took a closer look at the gender pay gap in South Africa. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report has suggested that rather than shrinking, the global economic gap between men and women has been growing, and that it may now not be closed for 217 years. Improving gender equality is one of our focus areas we therefore hosted a seminar addressing various topics on gender inequality in the workplace, and published a Spotlight paper aiming to address the gender pay gap issue in South Africa further.
July 2018
Futures Thinking
We hosted the Futures Thinking for HR Executives workshop in collaboration with the IFR. Assisting members to: understand principles futures thinking; identify trends and drivers of change; analyse trends and drivers of change; evaluate a system; understand the cognitive strategies and tenets of systems thinking and consider future system evolution and possible future states of a system.
June 2018
Reflections on Learning & Development in SA
We hosted a round table in Johannesburg and in Cape Town to unpack ways to improve learning and development in South African organisations. An integrated summary of the two discussion sessions along with some key learnings and recommendations was circulated to all members.
March 2018
Proposal to President Cyril Ramaphosa
We submitted a proposal to President Cyril Ramaphosa, addressing the issues and challenges in South Africa's TVET system. A copy of the proposal was also submitted to Minister of Higher Education, Naledi Pandor. This was the product of several workshops with more than 50 executives and stakeholders in Johannesburg and Cape Town over the last year. Professor Paul Evans, Academic Director, Global Talent Competitiveness Index, INSEAD and Morne Mostert, Director of the Institute for Futures Research, Stellenbosch University were instrumental in this proposal and provided great insight into the topic of improving our country’s talent competitiveness. To download a copy of this letter click here
February 2018
Reinventing TVET in SA
A series of workshops were hosted in Johannesburg and Cape Town to come up with a strategy to revive expertise-based education and training in South Africa. Professor Paul Evans, Academic Director, Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI), INSEAD Business School facilitated the workshop that were attended by HR Think Tank members and various other stakeholders.
PUBLISHED PAPERS
SPOTLIGHT 4: Results from the GTCI 2018
SPOTLIGHT 5: Good jobs to overcome poverty and inequality
SPOTLIGHT 6: Women are still paid less than men: how do we change this?
SPOTLIGHT 7: Results of the HR Think Tank Business-Government Relationship Survey 2018
SPOTLIGHT 8: South African industrial relations: cooperation in place of conflict
SPOTLIGHT 9: Investing in Human Capital is critical
WHITE PAPER: The Jobs Summit: An analysis and critique with counter proposals

MEMBERS
Aba Gold Development Trust
4 Seeds Consulting
AIIM
Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI)
Anglo American
Auditor General SA
Be Agile
BigenAfrica
British American Tobacco South Africa
Cargo Carriers
De Beers
Deliberate Futures (Pty) Ltd
Exxaro
GEPF
Glacier by Sanlam
HCB Solutions
Hyundai Automotive South Africa
IFR
INSEAD
Imperial Holdings
IPM
Ithemba Labs
JvR
Liberty
Medshield Medical Scheme
MTN Group
Old Mutual Insure
Pearson
Pepsico
Pick n Pay
One Small Nudge
Rand Water
RCL Foods
SAHRA
Sanlam
Sasol
SAGEA
SGS
South African Medical Research Council
Spur Corporation
St Peter's Schools
St Stithians College
Sun International
Sutherland Engineers
Swaziland Building Society
Tiger Brands
The Aurum Institute
The Banking Association South Africa
Trans Forum Business
Tshikululu Social Investments
University of Johannesburg
University of Stellenbosch
Unitrans
WESSA
Woolworths Financial Services
Worldsview
Vaal University of Technology
In 2018 our membership has grown to over 80 members from more than 50 different organisations including corporates, SMMEs, NPOs and academic institutions.