ED CORPORATE SERVICES: MR. S.W.

KUBHEKA
PRESENTATION NATIONAL HRM CONFERENCE:
GALLAGHER CONVENTION CENTRE 05-06/03/2013

CONTENT
1. KwaDukuza at a glance
2. Problem statement
3. Baseline report
4. Employee satisfaction survey and findings
5. Recommendations
6. Rationale for developing and implementing the
following HR policies:
Employee Retention Strategy
Succession Planning Policy
Career Management Programme
7. Activities involved and progress
8. Outputs and outcomes

KwaDukuza is a city in the making, a municipality with one of the
fastest growing economies in South Africa.
Situated along eThekwini-iLembe-uMhlathuze Corridor and less than
50km away from the King Shaka International Airport.
Rich cultural heritage
The name KwaDukuza epitomizes the historical background of the
area being the original site of King Shakas royal isigodlo and
gravesite.
The municipality is also the home of iNkosi Albert Luthuli, the 8
th

President of the ANC and became Africas first Nobel Prize Laureate.
Highly diverse multi-racial population dynamics with a distinct
eastern flavour linked to the earlier settlement of Indian families who
worked on the sugar cane farms of the big sugar barons such as Sir
Liege Hullet.
Strategically located between two big ports of Durban and Richards
Bay, and off late the Dube Trade Port, with added advantage of
investment opportunities
The North Coast (Dolphin Coast) is the upmarket tourism playground
for the wealthy domestic and international tourists.
Pristine beaches and a relatively unspoilt natural environment which
include Ballito, Zimbali, Salt Rock, Shakas Rock and Princes Grant.
The Ballito area, with its extensive housing and industrial
development is currently one of the fastest growing real estate
regions along the South African coast.
The growth has placed the municipality on the right developmental
path
However, it has become increasingly difficult for it to provide
funding and other resources to develop the required infrastructure to
adequately exploit the opportunities and match the rapid growth.
Also experiences limited bulk electricity supply that negatively
affects industrial development but plans are underway to build power
stations and strengthen networks.

Buoyed by exponential growth, the municipality adopted the following
vision:

By 2030, KwaDukuza shall be a vibrant city competing in
the global village economically, socially, politically and
in a sustainable manner.

The IDP translates the vision into three phased periods, whereby
during the period between 2011 and 2019, the municipality will attain
the city status
During the last two periods the focus will be on consolidating and
entrenching the city.
Identified pillars of municipal growth are infrastructure and
economic development

This type of vision can be translated into reality by an ambitious
leadership and committed human resources which will go beyond
the normal developmental mandate, but aim for a high
performance world class city.

But the HR department was identified as not operating at the
required strategic level to be able to cultivate requisite human
capital which could deliver the vision

In the late 2010, the municipality identified the following shortcomings
within HR:
Management capacity within the HR department identified by the municipality
as a weakness towards attainment of the municipal vision
Increasing levels of attrition among employees, and in the main losing people
with critical and scarce skills which are not easy to replace
HR department not providing reasons behind high levels of employee
turnover as employee satisfaction survey has never been conducted
Relationship between the unions and the HR department at an all time low
leading to delays in approving HR policies
Disputes on labour issues not being resolved speedily leading to frustrated
employees
HR department only concerned with transactional matters at the expense of
strategic HR issues
No sense of direction.

The municipality partnered with GIZ in developing a turnaround
plan.

The first assignment was to conduct a mini-employee satisfaction
survey and a baseline study to obtain different views on HR
functioning in the municipality

This resulted in a baseline report with recommendations as phase
1 of the support to KwaDukuza


The municipality partnered with GIZ in developing a turnaround
plan.

The first assignment was to conduct a mini-employee satisfaction
survey and a baseline study to obtain different views on HR
functioning in the municipality

This resulted in a baseline report with recommendations as phase
1 of the support to KwaDukuza

The survey results were captured in a baseline report
and hereinafter are some of the critical findings:
No HR Strategy to back the realisation of the
envisioned future city
The HR department does not a play strategic role
and has no partnership with other departments
The environment under which HR employees works
and positioning of the HR office displays a lack of
realisation of the strategic importance of the HR
department
HR policies outdated & not reflecting the ideals of a
transforming institution.
No strategies aimed at employee advancement such
as the career management strategy, employee
retention strategy, succession plan.
No proper performance management system
Employee well being not prioritised such that no EAP
The relationship between the HR department and the Unions is very
confrontational.
Lack of concern on how existing and prospective employees
perceive the municipality, thus employee satisfaction surveys not
conducted and employee turnover not managed.
No employment equity plan against which applicants at different
occupational levels were appointed.
Absence of a collective management leadership style
Training is not co-ordinated and has no strategic link to the broader
vision of the municipality.
Lack of capacity and essential resources within the HR department.

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The KDM to develop an HR strategy.
2. Review organisational structure to accommodate a new HR structure
3. Transform HR department to prepare it to serve internal customers strategically
and effectively.
4. Employ competent HR practitioners, starting with the appointment of a Deputy
Director: HR who will serve strategic HR purpose
5. Capacity building of senior managers and supervisors to understand their roles
and responsibilities in managing employees reporting to them. This to alleviate
burden on HR employees so that they can focus on strategic issues
6. Embark on processes of evolving into a city status and learn from other
municipalities.
8. Capacity building of HR staff a priority
9. Review existing HR policies and adopt new policies and strategies
which seek to attract competent staff, retain and develop their careers
and cultivate their talent
10. Conduct annual employee satisfaction surveys to constantly check on
the levels of employees satisfaction & commitment
11. Review the municipalitys internal business processes and introduce
uniform standard operating procedures (SOPs) for operational
efficiency
12. Engage in a benchmarking exercise in another municipality which has
gone through the same
KDM GENERIC TURNAROUND STRATEGIC PLAN (CS)
In October 2011, KDM through Corporate Services directorate developed and adopted a
TEN YEAR PLAN which consists of SIX strategic thrusts namely:
1. Formulation and implementation of the HR development strategy framework
2. Develop and implement priority skills strategy
3. Develop and roll out integrated ICT governance framework
4. Reinforce stakeholder communication and participation fora.
5. Streamline administration as well as legal services
6. Enhance institutional productivity through developing a renewed cadre of local public
service
Flowing from this generic CS/HR plan the KDM, through partnership with GIZ then
zoomed into three critical HRD policy tools, namely: Employee retention strategy,
succession planning and career management.

4. RATIONALE & OBJECTIVES FOR
DEVELOPING & IMPLEMENTING THE
FOLLOWING HR POLICIES:



a) Employee Retention Strategy
b) Succession Planning Policy
c) Career Management Programme

INTERVENTIONS



Through the support provided by GIZ, the municipality was
able to develop and adopt the following 3 HR policies as a
direct intervention to address challenges identified in the
baseline report:

Employee Retention Strategy
Succession Planning Policy
Career Management Programme
EMPLOYEE RETENTION STRATEGY
The Strategy proposes ten interventions to address employee attrition and achieve above
objectives, as well as evolving into a world class organisation and subsequently attaining a
vibrant city status
The ten retention enabling interventions are:
Employer branding and making KwaDukuza municipality an employer of choice
Changing the organisational culture
Creating a conducive work environment for employees to flourish and be committed to the
municipality
Provide a sense of direction and clear purpose for employees
Communication
Structured employee training and development linked to career management
Prioritise succession planning, especially for critical positions
Performance management and employee recognition
Promotion and transfer opportunities
Clarity of roles and responsibilities and delegation of authority
SUCCESSION PLANNING POLICY
The rationale and objectives of the succession planning policy is to: -
Ensure business continuity and preservation of institutional memory in the event of unplanned
departure of key employees occupying critical positions;
Ensure that employees are prepared and trained for the roles and responsibilities of the future
by developing talent;
Provide career growth opportunities that help to motivate and retain current employees;
Enable staff to become suitable candidates for future roles as the organization evolves;
Enable staff to develop so that they can be the best possible candidate that they can be when
an opportunity arises for recruitment
Create an ongoing supply of well trained, broadly experienced, and well motivated employees
who are ready to step into key positions as and when required;
Define employee career paths, which will help the municipality to develop and retain a pool of
suitably qualified employees;
Make the best use of internal staffing resources and talent by growing our own

CAREER MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME
The primary aim of adopting and implementing the career
management programme is to meet the objectives of the
municipalitys Employee Retention Strategy and the Succession
Planning Policy, which are to ensure that there is a talent flow to
create and maintain the required talent pool.
The objectives of the career management programme are:
To provide guidance and a structured support framework to plan employee careers and
fulfill their potential;
To assist employees to achieve successful careers with the municipality in tune with
their talents and ambitions; and
To provide those with potential with a promise of sequence of experience and learning
activities that will equip them for whatever level of responsibility they have the ability
to reach.
Phase 2 of the KwaDukuza project involved piloting the implementation of the
succession planning policy and the career management programme using a sample
of employees. These are the activities of the pilot:
A 6-month pilot implementation plan was adopted by GIZ and the MANCO whereby the
Deputy Director: HR was appointed the champion to drive the project
Duration of the plan is 6 months, resumed in June and ends in December 2012 whereby it
is envisaged that the Deputy Director: HR would have acquired the necessary skills to
continue with the implementation of the strategic HR policies
First activity involved conducting workshops over 5-days to refresh employees on the
new HR policies on employee retention, succession planning and career management
The workshops were also aimed and informing employees and unions that the HR
policies will be piloted using sample employees.
2012 ACTIVITIES ON PILOT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SUCCESSION
PLANNING POLICY
Initiation of the succession planning pilot resumed in July 2012.
The activities carried out during the initiation stages include:
Assisting MANCO to identify key and critical positions in each department and 33
positions were identified
Placing them into 3 categories, namely:
Position A: positions that have a critical and strategic influence on the execution
of the municipalitys strategy (IDP)
Position B: positions that are significant for the achievement of strategy
execution but are not strategic in nature. Rather they are supportive roles
Position C: positions that are at lower levels but are specialist in nature
Supporting the Deputy Director: HR and immediate supervisors in conducting
competence self-assessments of current skills, competencies and qualifications of
people occupying these positions and these were verified by immediate supervisors
Employees were requested to complete competence forms, verify info
supervisor, return completed form and a signed career plan to the
Director
Of the 33 critical positions identified for the succession planning pilot
25 employees attended the competence assessment sessions, 15
completed assessment forms and only 6 returned signed career plans
Career plans had to be signed alongside the employees personal
plans
The rest of the employees either could not complete their own career
needed assistance in completing their career plans but failed to
requests for assistance to the Deputy Director.
All Career Plans & PDPs are in the custody of the municipalitys Skills
Development Officer

2012 ACTIVITIES ON PILOT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CAREER
MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME
Initiation of the career management pilot resumed in August 2012.
The activities carried out during the initiation stages include:
Inviting senior managers to select 2 candidates in each department to
partake in the career management programme
The invitation attracted responses from the Finance Department whose
two candidates are currently the only participants in the career
management pilot project
The two candidates engaged in the self-assessment of their competence
by completing the competence forms and reflecting on the contents with
their supervisors
Both candidates completed and signed career plans accompanied by
personal development plans
PROGRESS
The participants are currently engaged in on-the-job training activities
and are being monitored by their immediate supervisors
The Skills Development Officer will assist those participants who
have indicated a desire to enrol for tertiary studies during the year
2013 in placing their applications for study bursaries from the
municipality
On going monitoring of the implementation of the individual career
plans
Some managers have attended the Leadership Enhancement
Programme offered by GIZ which will enhance their overall
management capabilities, including managing staff
OUTPUTS
The following outputs have been achieved so far:
KwaDukuza municipality has adopted a retention strategy and has
begun to implement some of the strategic interventions aimed at
attracting and retaining employees
The municipality has also heeded the call by employees to support
employee career development and advancement by adopting a career
management programme and a bursary policy
68 employees were capacitated on the three HR policies and are now
well aware of the strategic direction which the HR department is
taking and now have a choice to advance their careers
A database of critical and scarce positions has been created.
OUTPUTS (CONT.)
The following outputs have been achieved so far:
Thirty three employees have been placed in the talent pool of critical positions
and will have their skills honed to prepare them, not only for succession
purposes, but also to be at the forefront of championing the Vision 2030 of
attaining city status
Clear career and personal development plans, performance plans and regular
assessment will inform the growth path of the employees in the talent pool
Six other employees now have structured career plans and personal
development plans
Strategic investment in skills development focussed on professionalising
careers in municipalities.
The municipality has adopted a bursary policy to support the implementation of
the Succession Planning Policy and the Career Management Programme
Some employees drawn from the pilot project have registered for the
qualifications in their career plans this year and have been awarded the
municipal bursaries
ENVISAGED OUTCOMES
It is envisaged that by the end of the pilot project, the following outcomes will be
achieved in the medium to long term periods:
The Management Committee will have gained knowledge and understanding of how to
carry out the critical steps in the succession planning and the career management
processes.
By December 2012, the HR Deputy Director will have acquired knowledge and skills on
how to identify critical skills, assess competence and establish a talent pool. He will
have knowledge to manage the talent pool by ensuring that it is regularly updated.
The HR Deputy Director will have acquired adequate knowledge and skills to carry out
HR strategic functions in support of succession planning and employee career
development. This will assist him to advise and write reports for the ED: Corporate
Services which will be of a strategic nature, rather than of a transactional nature only,
and manage the training budget
Six employees have acquired skills to develop their own career plans and personal
development plans. These employees will also have knowledge to monitor and assess
their career progression, thus enabling them to build their growth paths and opening a
window of opportunity for progression towards other levels within or outside their
departments or municipality.
ENVISAGED OUTCOMES (CONT.)
It is envisaged that by the end of the pilot project and over a medium to long term
period, the following outcomes will be achieved:
The Skills Development Facilitator will gain an understanding and ability to attach
tangible results and impact the municipalitys Workplace Skills Development Plan
(WSDP) is making in the overall organisational development programme.
The municipalitys training budget will be channelled and invested in structured
training which will yield tangible results and benefits for the employer
Overall HR Department standing within the organisation will begin to acquire a
strategic character.
MANCO will gain appreciation of the relevance and strategic positioning of the
HR department as the custodian of the most important asset of the municipality,
i.e. the employees of the municipality.
MANCO will have a tool to evaluate the value add of investing in human resource
development.
Overall impact will be a reduction of the employee turnover, rise in employee
satisfaction levels and commitment to the organisation, as well as increased
productivity levels among employees who have participated in the pilot
CONCLUSION
The success of any HR Turnaround Plan in any municipal
organization requires the following processes,
mechanisms and systems to be in place:
1. Regularly conduct the employee satisfaction survey and
factor in funding into annual budgetary programmes.
2. Develop and review clear HRD strategy in line with the
NDP and PGDS.
3. Develop and review medium to long term strategic plan
for CS/HR through which the generic staff related
strategic issues/challenges are reflected and executed
over a given time.

CONCLUSION (Cont..)
4. Reconfigure and capacitate the HR unit as per the critical policy thrusts
viz: succession planning, career management and employee retention.
5. Rebrand the municipality as the employer of unlimited
capabilities/choice
6. Develop the standard operating procedure (SOP) on the collective
managerial leadership, staff communication and management/staff
participation for a.
7. Introduce the democratic employee recognition system with emphasis on
the teams/units/sections than individuals.
8. Reinforce and capacitate the HRD subcommittees to drive critical staff
empowerment programmes
9. Develop and implement the HR benchmarking process plan.
WORKING TOGETHER BUILDING A RENEWED LOCAL
PUBLIC SERVICE CADRE/SERVANT TO DELIVER ON SOCIO-
ECONOMIC AGENDA