Clicks Group CEO Bertina Engelbrecht kicked off the 2025 HR Indaba with a captivating keynote address, sharing critical insights on the role of HR in supporting business in an unpredictable world.
The Sandton Convention Centre was alive with activity as thousands of HR professionals gathered for the 2025 HR Indaba, Africa’s largest human resources conference and expo. With themes focused on data-driven decision making, navigating AI culture shock and preparing for the workforce of the future, attendees spent the day engaging in knowledge sharing, networking and exploring practical solutions to their most pressing challenges.
Opening the event with a keynote address, Clicks Group CEO Bertina Engelbrecht shared critical insights on the role of HR in supporting business in an unpredictable world. She emphasised that a leader’s role is to drive collaboration and be a visionary who communicates effectively with all stakeholders.
As an HR specialist at heart, Bertina reaffirmed her belief in the power of relationships when leading organisations through change. “I was inspired by the concept of Vuca (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity), which challenged us as an HR community to respond to times that are uncertain and complex, where the answer is not clear. We found lessons in how ants apply swarming intelligence, operate within decentralised management frameworks and adapt to task allocation. These insights shaped much of what we infused into our HR agenda in the early 2000s,” she explained.
Bertina noted that change today is no longer linear or predictable. Climate change continues to disrupt industries and communities, while the Covid-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains. According to her, this environment requires HR leaders to become comfortable with constant change.
“Visionary companies like Netflix embrace emergent change. They regenerate and emerge stronger by preserving their core and adapting their form. They institutionalise experimentation and learning to thrive in an ever-changing world,” she added.
Learning from nature
Drawing inspiration from nature, Bertina urged HR leaders to rethink traditional leadership models. “HR can adapt to change by letting go of the belief that the leader always knows best. Birds fly in harmony and thrive without a command structure. Ants solve challenges through complex strategies and interdependence. This shows that leadership is about building relationships and fostering collaboration. As HR leaders, we can learn a great deal from nature,” she added.
Bertina, the first female CEO of the Clicks Group, began her journey at the company as group HR director before rising through the ranks to the CEO role.
Reflecting on her experience during the Covid-19 pandemic, she shared, “At Clicks Group, we committed to administering 73 percent of all vaccines in South Africa but we had the challenge of defining how we were going to pay for all of this as government had not yet set up the payment channels required. One of our IT professionals developed a bot that performed the work of 20 people in 26 seconds. Disruptive forces such as AI and machine learning will continue to accelerate change, so I encourage you to keep creating value in your workplaces and to invest in continuous learning.”
She concluded by reminding HR leaders that the impact of change can often feel incomprehensible and businesses will need leaders who are inspirational, visionary and effective communicators. “It all comes down to having the right people in the right roles,” she said.
