Broad based philosophy empowers staff

Skills development plays key role JOY ORLEK LONG-TERM strategic planning is paying dividends for Cargocare Freight Services which, after ten years in business, has achieved the Black Economic Empowerment objectives which were part of its early planning. “From the outset we were determined to start employing previously disadvantaged people and training them into the industry,” CEO Roland Raath told FTW. “We realised that it would be a requirement to do business in the future, and having put that into practice we’re now in the fortunate position of having skilled people in the right positions that are critical to the success of our company.” Central to the process is operations manager Sue Wood, says Raath, who has played a key role in the company’s skills development programme. “We chose not to go the route of finding a marriage partner who would be an unknown quantity, and for us it’s been the right option.” Another strategic direction was the company’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment philosophy. “Rather than selling the shares to a single person, we chose to empower all our black staff through the establishment of the ‘The Cargocare Employees’ Share Trust’. This gives all the black staff, as defined by the Black Economic Employment Act – from the tea person to top management – a 25.1% share of the business. “As beneficiaries of the trust, all our black employees have a stake in the business and share in the economic benefits. They are not only motivated in terms of service levels but also in terms of cost-savings.” With this foundation in place, Cargocare has already signed up a number of significant new accounts, which goes back to Raath’s original contention that Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment is not only a moral imperative, but an essential requirement to do business in the new South Africa.