Author: Kudzai Derera
How serious are you about good customer service?
Poor customer service in Zimbabwean companies remains a cause for concern. There are some companies that pride themselves on good customer service and really put effort into ensuring that their customers are served well. There are however, other companies which do not seem to make an effort, or to be bothered at all, by customer […]
Why Indigenous Companies Fail
The number of indigenous companies that are folding and have folded has increased significantly. My view is that most of these companies are failing because of weak governance systems, weak human resources systems, lack of capacity, weak financial systems and lack of funding. I will address the human resources issues first. In most indigenous […]
Are you getting paid what you are worth?
Are you getting paid what you are worth? What are your chances of earning more if you changed employers? When an interviewer asks you how much you want as pay if you get the job, do you know how much you should ask for? You probably do not have answers to these questions because payroll […]
Why is Human Resources not achieving the desired impact?
Despite several declarations by senior executives that their human resource is their greatest asset, the situation on the ground in most organisations does not support this claim. With the exception of those organisations where best practice policies have been crafted and are implemented professionally, the majority of organisations have no human resources practices to talk […]
Reducing Workplace Accident using Analytics
In this post, we present the results from a research study on using psychometric tests to predict road traffic accidents (RTA) at a local company in Zimbabwe. The impact of accidents is grave: it impacts the drivers, client property, insurance rates and the vehicles they operate. We tested 54 drivers using different psychometric tests to […]
Improving Organisational Efficiencies using Total Factor Productivity Measurement
The Challenge… In this post, we present the results from a research study on using productivity measurement models to determine the sustainability of profits at a local company in Zimbabwe. Given the tough economic environment that Zimbabwean companies are operating in, this particular company felt that it was crucial for them to know if their […]
Key Drivers of Retail Sales Performance – Helping a Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company get the most from data
The Challenge We approached a major fast moving consumer goods company (FMCG) operating in Zimbabwe with the intention to help them understand why some of their retail outlets performed above expectation while others performed below expectations. The aim was to identify controllable factors and non-controllable factors that influence the performance of each outlet. The identification […]
Business case: How we determined optimal staffing levels for a local company in Zimbabwe
The challenge We were recently contracted by a major player in Zimbabwe. The company wanted to know if it was paying unnecessary labour costs as a result of overstaffing. The exercise required us to go into each department and establish if the department was overstaffed in its individual roles and job families and was an […]
Wages and Competitiveness, 2017 and beyond
The biggest challenge facing Zimbabwean organisations today is to manage wages and salaries against the worsening economic environment. This is the time for the country, industry and individual organisations to rethink their remuneration systems. The major problems which I have alluded to in my previous articles are that wages and salaries are based on grade […]
The Best Way to Recruit Senior Managers
Strong managers build strong companies. Your company’s success depends on having managers who make effective decisions and motivate other employees to perform to the best of their abilities. Without strong management, short and long –term goals of profit, customer satisfaction and employee retention do not stand a chance. How do you know if the candidates […]
