ACCA Africa Members Convention6 - 8th December 2017

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conference Centre Addis Ababa.

Managing and Navigating the New Economy:

‘Perspectives on SME Capacity & Talent Development’.

Gina Oleghe B.Sc. MBA FCCA, Lead Consultant HR Warehouse Ltd

Outline§ The New Economy

§ New Economy Innovations

§ Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)

§ Top Skills Valued by Employers & HR Professionals in SMEs

§ Suggested Measures to Curb Challenges Faced by SMEs

The New Economy§The New Economy is commonlybelieved to have started in the late1990s, commonly referred to as the“Dotcom” era.

§Transition from the Manufacturing-based economy to the Service-basedeconomy, where extremely powerfulcomputers, began penetrating theconsumer and business marketplace.

The New Economy brought about new innovations such as:

§Social media

§Online retail businesses

§Online dating

§Online ‘taxi’ companies e.g. Uber.

New innovations contd.:§ Outsourcing

§ Online newspapers

§ Digital photography

§ Online advertising

§Size of capital is usually not fixed and is determined byinflationary trends.

§Work-force Size: 20-50 workers for small enterprises, and formedium scale usually 50-100 workers.

§SMEs sometimes characterized by high labour intensive andsimple operating structures.

§Financial and management controls often resides with theowners.

§Low capital, low operating funds leading to a vicious circle oflow manpower quality, low productivity, and high operating costsand therefore low profitability.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)§Are the building blocks of most national economies, andserve as a foundation for developing management capacity foremployment generation for future growth and expansion

§Should cultivate the courage to take long-term view of thegrowth of their business.

§Should institute standard operating systems and controls toenable initiatives from staff.

Capacity & Talent Development in SMEs

§For SMEs to grow, there is a need for sustained technicalskills, technological innovations and staff training.

§Soft skill competencies such as communication, leadership,and interpersonal skills for the purpose of team work are nowjust as important as technical skills.

§The recent launch by the ACCA of Ethics and ProfessionalSkills module shows that as a leading professional body, it isdoing well in preparing well-rounded members for the future.

By the development of undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications tailored towards entrepreneurial skills such as:

§ Business Plan - creation and implementation

§ Time Management Skills§ Problem Solving Skills§ Performance Management Skills§ Leadership Skills

How to Develop Talent & Capacity for SMEs

§ Time Management skills - time islimited, a good manager of time isan asset to the firm

§ High quality work- in terms ofservice or product where there areno errors, but high standard eachtime and usually exceedsexpectations

Top Skills HR Professionals look for in hiring for SMEs- Eva Christodoulou of Leaderonomics

§ Self motivated and highlyengaged - this worker stayscommitted and is able to go theextra mile

§ Ability to manage difficult clients-being able to remain professionaland understanding in dealing withproblems situations

Top Skills HR Professionals Look for in Hiring for SMEs

Suggested measures to curbchallenges of SMEs - John Konrad of LeedsMetropolitan University

§ Develop competence of professionals by effective training and development both in the short and long term.

Suggested measures to curb challenges of SMEs

§Use Business Incubators - they help startup companies wholack resources, experience and networks, to provide serviceswhich helps them get through initial hurdles in starting up abusiness. These hurdles may include office space, funding,legal, accounting, and computer services.

§ Invest in Research & Development -involves innovative activities undertaken byfirms in developing new services orproducts, or improving existing services orproducts.

Suggested Measures to Curb Challenges Faced by SMEs

§Engage in Apprenticeship Programs - asystem of training a new generation ofpractitioners of a trade or profession withon-the-job training and often someaccompanying study in a formal classroom

Suggested Measures to Curb Challenges Faced by SMEs contd.

Thank You