Get to know your people

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Barloworld's Ramasela Ganda says people tend to work harder when they know you care about them

When people feel like their company cares about them and that their leaders see them as people with families, and not just a number, they tend to put more effort into their work. This is according to Ramasela Ganda, CFO of Barloworld's Rental and Used Sales Division and Corporate Services, who was the first-ever municipal CFO to win at the CFO Awards for her work as CFO of the Ekurhuleni Municipality. 

Speaking at a recent CFO SA master class, she said it was important for leaders to know that their subordinates are not robots. She said she had spent a lot of time driving around Ekurhuleni visiting various projects with the finance team and that they used that time as catch-up time to bond with one another.

"It was also a social time where, in addition to talking about technical and operational aspects of our work, we spoke about family issues. That time was invaluable because when you understand someone's family they closer to you and you to them. Employees then, for example, are not afraid to ask to be late to work and or miss a day when there is a family emergency because they will have spoken to you about their family life and that you understand them beyond the office environment," said Ramasela, adding that employees have problem working long hours when they know that you care about them. If someone can feel comfortable in knowing their boss will understand if they have a family emergency - because they would have spoken about it before - work relationships can become stronger. 

"That is why it is important for me to get to know my people and for them to know me as well. It's not all about them.  I  also tell them about myself so that the conversation feels like we are a real family. You remember children's birthdays and you know of their anniversaries and things like that, and that goes a long way," said Ramasela.

 

 

 

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