Figures reflect
substantial turnaround
THERE'S BEEN a quiet revolution at Renfreight which, year on year, has seen a substantial turnaround in profits.
It's all part of a company-wide improvement process which was launched three years ago, according to Braamfontein-based seafreight regional general manager, Marietjie Ostacchini.
We had a series of workshops with our staff which identified key performance areas.
At the same time we embarked on a customer satisfaction survey which identified customer priorities.
Both are repeated twice a year, and management is currently following up on last November's survey. With the input from this survey we are able to concentrate on the most important factors and set ourselves continuous improvement targets, says Ostacchini.
The system has clearly worked for the company which has seen substantial increases in profits over the previous year, says Ostacchini, who is modest about her role in the turnaround. It's obviously a team effort, but getting involved in the financial side of the business has been valuable.
Equally valuable, she believes, is the female touch. You can appeal to the staff's emotional side to get them on board.
Ostacchini joined the company 27 years ago in Durban, and has since been involved in practically every side of the business other than framing a bill of entry.
She took over as regional g.m. in September 1996.
