"Total engagement of employees is key to moving forward," says Khaya.
Khaya Ngcwembe, the Executive Vice President of Human Resources at platinum mining company Lonmin believes HR is an interesting field of work because people are the most important and complex asset in any organisation that can make a difference.
"You can have the best technology and equipment or resources but other businesses can also access the same. One of the key factors in companies that are operating in the same space is the quality of the people in those organisations. They are the ones who need to apply that technology and resources in a manner that differentiates them from their competitors to derive a competitive advantage" said Khaya, who recently met with CHRO executive manager Didi Sehume.
He says the most important part of his job is to keep people engaged because employees who are engaged will be willing to go the extra mile for the organisation. The challenge, however, comes in being able to do that consistently over an extended period of time, and make that part of the way of doing things in an organisation. For him, it's a matter of listening to and understanding the people around him, especially those that disagree with him.
Says Khaya: "You learn more from people who disagree with you as those that agree with you merely confirm what you already know. It's a much better quality to be open-minded and to listen to those different perspectives in order to get to the truth about whatever challenges the company has to deal with, both internally and externally.
"A one-sided view of any given reality can never be a complete truth. It is only when we are able to engage and understand deeply where others are coming from, their context and what drives their views and behaviours that we can move forward collectively and find sustainable solutions as an organisation."
