Dear Reader,

Imagine this scenario for a moment… You form a brand new company and need new staff ASAP. You place a job ad in the local newspaper and on a popular job hunting website. As soon as word hits the street you have thousands of CVs streaming in - not tens of thousands - hundreds of thousands!

No, this was not a bad dream, nor was it one of those weird occurrences that only happens in America. It actually happened - right here in South Africa!

Earlier this week, Western Cape Health officials admitted they received 76 815 job applications for the 324 jobs advertised at the new Khayelitsha District Hospital.  

The reason: The hospital promised it will create hundreds of new jobs for the Khayelitsha community. With that said, 40% of the positions were filled by Khayelitsha residents, but the majority of the successful candidates were from other areas.

Although Western Cape Health MEC, Theuns Botha, said his team worked hard to ensure the community were included in the process, hundreds of angry Khayelitsha residents still protested outside the new hospital, demanding employment yesterday.

The crux of the story: Either Khayelitsha District Hospital had brilliant recruitment ads, or really, really bad ones. I'm leaning towards the latter...

And while you think about your recent job ads and the promises you make to potential employees,  make sure you read these labour stories that also made headlines recently.

CCMA, absconding and strikes…

Thu, 18th January 2012

We’ve published some of your questions and the answers from our experts at Maserumule Consulting. Remember if you’re a paid up subscriber to the Labour Law for Managers Handbook, you too can have your questions answered by our experts.

Be a great leader... Get to know your employees!

Tue, 17th January 2012

To know your employees is probably one of the most important principles of being a leader. You can’t be a leader if you have no one to follow you. Know your staff members, and have a real appreciation for them and their personalities, their wants and needs, and their work styles. This is just as important as getting the job done...

Jump onboard with these on-boarding tips and tricks

Thu, 12th January 2012

Here are 6 induction tips to help keep your employee turnover rates down, and your induction success rate high...

Kick off a fantastic year with these hot HR tips!

Tue, 10th January 2012

As we get settled into this exciting New Year, businesses all over South Africa are reviewing their current business practices and identifying how to best utilise their workers as they move forward...

Have a fantastic weekend!

Until next week...

Marisa Viljoen
Managing Editor, The Practical Guide to Human Resources Management

P.S. * Did you know there are 11 legal requirements for recruitment?
       * Do you know how the Employment Equity Act affects your job advertisement?
       * Do you know what checks you can legally conduct on an applicant?
       * Are you sure your employment contract includes the 16 clauses the law says you must have?

If you don’t have all of these aspects correct, you’ll be on the wrong side of the law when it comes to your recruitment process.

Click here to find out how you can do it right!

P.S.S. One of the first and easiest areas for inspectors to check is whether you are displaying your wall chart notices. You are required by law to display a statement setting out the rights provided to employees by the BCEA. The inspector will also be on the lookout for the Employment Equity summary as well. Make sure your workplace isn’t found wanting. To order, click here