Mhlo says his first job prepared him for being an HR business partner
Mhlo Ntshangase, Human Resources Director at Saint-Gobain Construction Products, was unclear about which profession he wanted at an early age but found psychology to be interesting. However, while studying that, the thought of sitting with patients wasn’t something that appealed to him. Rather, he was strongly drawn towards the world of business and industrial psychology was how he bridged into it.
Mhlo who, on Monday, met with CHRO executive manager Didi Sehume, said his first job at LabourNet was in a great, yet fast paced and challenging environment because it was very numbers-driven and consultants, among other things, needed to be able to grow their client base and that was where he first learnt about entrepreneurship and business. He was eventually promoted to become a branch manager in charge of the southern Johannesburg part of the LabourNet business.
“It was a fast paced environment where I grew and matured very quickly and it is an experience I would not trade for anything as it prepared me for later opportunities,” said Mhlo. “I was responsible for the profits and losses of the business. And it was there that I first learnt about the importance of vision, culture and accountability. That role prepared me for every other opportunity I would have in my career.”
Mhlo believes that, in order for the HR profession to move forward, practitioners have to have as good a grasp on the quantitative aspects of their roles as they do of the qualitative measures. Because the HR role will be much more elevated if professionals are able to demonstrate how their input affects a company’s bottom line.
