WisHList Newsletter August 2008

Content list

When humans and technology meet

“People are our greatest asset” are words that regularly roll from the tongues of company executives.  Unfortunately, this much touted sentiment is not often evident in organisations’ people management practices. But, say Wishlist’s Avril Howes and Neville Levinthal, the tide seems to be turning slowly but surely. Over the past few months, Wishlist has secured four new contracts to develop and implement HR-related systems for clients. These range from employee master file information and employee request handling systems, to sophisticated models that assist with talent management, competency profiling and succession planning.

“Our clients, both new and existing, have realised the benefits to be derived from main line-of-business applications and are now looking to enhance their ancillary services in the same way”, explains Neville. The HR field, however, is a different kettle of fish to core production processes. Avril attributes this to HR professionals’ focus on people: “Because of their people-orientation, HR practitioners tend to be late adopters of technology and we find that they have a relatively limited understanding of IT and a low technical aptitude when, for instance, compared to engineers and accountants.”

Fortunately, this does not mean that software systems can’t play a role in making HR professionals more effective. According to Sanette Harley, HR strategy consultant, the main value of systems is in their ability to take care of repetitive, time-consuming tasks, giving the HR practitioner more time to collect qualitative information and interact with his or her line management. “Systems improve data integrity while getting rid of a lot of painful paperwork.”

Although HR systems are nothing new, the Wishlist offering include two distinct advantages: cost effectiveness and flexibility. “We develop what our clients need and can therefore customise off-the-shelf products to meet their specific needs”, says Neville. “Guided by a client’s requirements, we translate HR theory and best practice into quantifiable, tangible facts and figures.”

To learn more about how Wishlist can enhance your HR management, contact Neville:

Tel: +27 11 806-3219
Cell: +27 82 377 9342
Email: neville@wishlistcorporation.co.za

PM power tips: How to prioritise projects

Not all projects are created equal and the art of project management includes the ability to prioritise. It is simply not possible to deliver multiple projects at the same time (unless, of course, you have unlimited resources). You therefore have to prioritise to ensure that your most important projects don't run out of time, people or money when you need them most.

Here are three steps to help you prioritise projects quickly and easily:

Step 1: Define your criteria
What makes one project more important than another? The answer is your criteria for ranking projects. The best criteria for determining project priority are the fit between your project and the overall business strategy. A project that supports a critical part of the business strategy will rank higher than one with no strategic relevance at all.

Other criteria could include:

  • project risk;
  • the amount of resources consumed;
  • the extent to which other projects depend on this one; and
  • the likelihood of success.

Step 2: Match your projects
The next step is to match your projects against your criteria and identify any gaps. This is an objective way to determine project importance, and the results could be surprising. Projects that you thought would be a perfect fit against your criteria may not end up being so, while those that you thought were less important may in fact top the priority chart.

Remember not to allow your personal preferences to influence the exercise. It's easy to let the "fun" projects receive all the attention when it is actually the more mundane ones that are critical to strategic success.

Step 3: Define the priorities
Finally, make your priorities practical. Group your projects into A, B and C (with A being "high priority", B "moderate priority" and C "low priority"). Then define how you are going to manage each priority grouping differently. You may decide, for instance, to spend more time on your Group A projects than on groups B and C. You might drive them harder than the rest, report on them at a more detailed level and always allocate spare resource to them.

Welcome aboard: 5 questions for Maryke Badenhorst

  • When did you join Wishlist?
    26 March 2008
  • Please provide a brief overview of your career up to now. 
    I started working for Sandvik in 2004 as an expediting clerk. A year later I joined Maxiprest as an administration clerk for a year and a half. After that I studied the Word of God for 18 months before joining Wishlist.
  • What is your job title and responsibilities at Wishlist?
    I am a Business and IT Consultant and offer support on PSNext.
  • Which client accounts do you work on? 
    Currently I fulfil a support role for TMP on PSNext.
  • Any hobbies and interests?
    I love art and enjoy painting.

Wishing Well

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
- Charles Darwin -

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