Returnships are a smart way to hire female tech skills

January 13, 2024 Melanie Hawken

by Phillipa Geard

In the dynamic landscape of today's workforce, career trajectories are no longer linear. Often, women step away from their careers to raise children, and when the children are of school-going age, these women wish to resume their careers without starting at the bottom and working their way back to their mid-to-senior levels. Returnships are short, paid internships for professionals who have been away from work for some time and are now ready to return to mid-to-senior level positions. Women with skills can start over in their careers by choosing a returnship with a company that knows how valuable work experience is, especially in the tech industry. Returnships enable women to swiftly reenter the workforce, brush up on their skills, and get the required mentoring while resuming their management roles. A few businesses that are effectively using returnships to reintroduce tech skills into the workforce are IBM, Deloitte, and Paypal.

Travel as Therapy - Embracing Adaptability and Growth on the Road

December 30, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Anja van Beek, Talent Strategist, Leadership & HR Expert and Executive Coach

Let me just start: I.love.travel. A little-known fact about me is that I travelled abroad for two years after I completed my degree and before starting in my first corporate role. I was in my early 20’s and it was my first time abroad. This is where my love for travelling was ignited as it was amazing to be exposed to new cultures, food, and people, and most of all, to be part of the different communities for more time than usual.

How to manage the silent stress of leadership cognitive load

December 17, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Phillipa Geard

Leaders are burdened with an immense amount of pressure and accountability. While it is the norm for employers to prioritize employee wellness, it is also critical that they recognize the potential hidden costs of stress on their health and productivity.

Nomihlali Ntsunguzi, a South African HR specialist helping businesses develop their human capital

November 26, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Nomihlali Ntsunguzi, founder, Nissi Human Capital (South Africa)

Startup Story

Nissi Business Solutions (PTY) Ltd, trading as Nissi Human Capital and founded by entrepreneur Nomihlali Ntsunguzi in South Africa, is on a mission to provide customer-centric human capital solutions to its clients. The business exists to solutions that unlock the full potential (inborn ability) of people. It is Nomihlali’s belief that an organisational culture that nurtures individual diversity will thrive at each stage of its maturity when underpinned by the simple philosophy, “everybody has a role to play”.

Searching for Help

November 11, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Brigette Mashile

I have mentioned in past blogs that hiring is one of the biggest challenges of running your own business. Well, it does not get better. The obstacles just change in nature. It has been a year and a bit of me being at home and attempting to hire someone to help me. I got shocked every week by the failures of not finding 1 person who can help me. I mean, my brain had said there are many people at home I could possibly hire; a lot of people available to train…my brain was incorrect. Here is what I have discovered as barriers.

6 tips for responding to a heated argument in the workplace

November 11, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Anja van Beek, Talent Strategist, Leadership & HR Expert and Executive Coach

As we navigate year three of the pandemic and confront global difficulties that force us to live in a state of uncertainty, empathy in the workplace is now taking on a new level of significance and necessity. For team members to excel, be challenged, and feel like they have a purpose in their job, leaders must foster an environment and culture that allows them to bring their best self to the table. Leaders must constantly remember that the way you lead, the things you do and say, affect how others feel on the inside.

The AfCFTA and African Women in Business: Strategies for Engagement and Participation

October 27, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Tsitsi Mutendi

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) represents a transformative initiative aimed at creating a single market for goods and services across the African continent. With the potential to significantly boost trade and economic growth, the AfCFTA offers numerous opportunities for businesses, and this includes African women entrepreneurs. In this article, we will explore the implications of the AfCFTA for women in business, how they can engage in this historic trade agreement, and the strategies they can adopt to maximise its benefits.

10 ways leaders can help team members adjust to change

October 27, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Anja van Beek, Talent Strategist, Leadership & HR Expert and Executive Coach

The one constant thing we can be certain of is change. The world we were used to was flipped upside down. Here’s what you need to know about the human side of change to support your team. We all can relate to the term RUPT (rapid, unpredictable, paradoxical, tangled) coined by the Centre for Creative Leadership. Almost everything that has been ‘normal’ for us, changed. The uncertainty has reached new heights – as we are not sure what the future will look like – we only know it will be quite different from what we were used to.

Is Your Employee Screening Policy Up to Date?

October 13, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Sonya Skipp

iFacts, a leading employee screening and vetting organisation, has published its annual employee screening trends report. With these insights, iFacts offers an overview of the current trends in employee screening and vetting.

Linda Young, a South African entrepreneur with a passion for managing people talent

September 24, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Linda Young, co-founder, Pocket People Solutions (South Africa)

Startup Story

Linda Young is the co-founder of Pocket People Solutions, a South African specialist HR business built on a foundation of strong values and a holistic approach to managing people talent for its clients. The business focuses on helping other businesses to build highly skilled and motivated workforces that can fulfill their potential and contribute to overall company success.

What Does Mental Health Cost Your Company?

September 12, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Sonya Skipp

Sapien Labs Mental State of the World report scored South Africa as the lowest in terms of mental well-being in 2022. Unaddressed mental health conditions among the workforce were noted as being the most concerning. Mental health issues in the workplace cost the South African economy more than R160 billion annually.

Do You Find it Challenging to Find Good Talent?

September 5, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Phillipa Geard

If you find it challenging to find good talent, you are not alone. In my dealings with other CEOs and business owners, I often hear this statement: “There is no good talent out there”. Similarly, this Future of Jobs 2023 World Economic Forum report states that, on a scale from 1 to 7, the ease of finding skilled employees in South Africa is only 3.89. Despite the doomsayers there are ways to find and attract good talent.

Lifestyle Audits to Uncover Insider Threats

September 5, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Sonya Skipp

A lifestyle audit is a check that looks at the way that someone lives and compares that to their known revenue stream. These checks look at elements like home ownership, cars and vehicles, visible luxury items owned by the person in question, and more to determine whether that person is living within their means.

Do You Understand the Insider Threat?

September 3, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Sonya Skipp

In today's rapidly evolving landscape, organisations face a multitude of security challenges, one of which is the insider threat. The insider threat refers to the risk posed by individuals within an organisation who have authorised physical or cyber access to an organisation but intentionally or unintentionally misuse or compromise them. No company, regardless of size, is immune to this security concern.

Shádia Gafur Chachine, a Mozambican entrepreneur building a people management consulting business

August 26, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Shádia Gafur Chachine, founder, Mbira Advisory (Mozambique)

Startup Story

Shádia Gafur Chachine is the founder of Mbira Advisory, a consulting company specializing in people management in Mozambique. She has 15 years of professional experience, mostly in NGOs, of which 4 are in project management in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention and 11 years in the area of HR, people management. With this experience Shádia acquired an understanding of international standards, dealt with a diversity of people, cultures and different realities, always in close collaboration with those responsible for the departments/areas in the organization, to ensure that all tasks were carried out in compliance with organizational growth and challenges. It was in this context that during the COVID pandemic, when the effects of the pandemic were already being felt in the work area, she decided to create Mbira, with the aim of contributing to the well-being of people in the work environment.

Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Leadership: A Multifaceted Approach

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho

In May, I had the honour to speak at the 1st Annual Corporate Governance Triangle Annual Colloquium with the theme “Diversity and Inclusion; Adopting A Multi-Stake holder approach in the promotion of good governance”. I spoke on a panel with the focus on Breaking Barriers: Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Leadership Roles, which is a topic that is close to my heart both as a woman and as an advocate for equity and overall good corporate governance.

Building Teams and Networks

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Kathryn Main

A few years back, I remember listening to a female business owner share her success story. She said something that has stuck with me for over 10 years. She said “People do business with people, not businesses. Build and maintain your relationships with your customers, suppliers and teams, these are the people who will help you succeed.” At that moment my sales strategy for my own business changed drastically. I was so over cold calling and decided to build a real network and team for my business. I changed my approach and started going to more networking events. Its pretty daunting walking into a room full of people and you don’t know anyone, but this is a great way to meet people. You are forced to talk to strangers, so you don’t look like the outcast in the corner.

Growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership

July 29, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Margaret Hirsch

When starting a new job or career very few people think of themselves as leaders and I was one of these. For a while I was happy to be a follower, but as I progressed in companies I always took the initiative, went the extra mile, and was very soon frustrated by the red tape and protocol of corporate companies.

Why Are We Seeing So Many Fraudulent Qualifications Among Senior Employees?

July 29, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Sonya Skipp

Fraudulent qualifications are constantly being uncovered and we see the stories every day in the news. It seems no industry is safe from this epidemic. We’ve seen doctors, teachers, government officials, and more with fraudulent qualifications. All this begs the question, why this is happening?

Knowing When To Let Go

June 24, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Margaret Hirsch

You spend your whole life building up your business and getting everything going and then you must quit while you are ahead. This is one of the most difficult tasks you will ever have to do. It’s something that nothing can prepare you for.

Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletters for Africa's women entrepreneurs.