The SA business environment is speeding towards an operating environment that promises to embrace elements of workforce flexibility, whether management likes it or not.

The ICT sector has been predicting the rise of the virtual workforce in the South African business environment for well over a decade now, only to encounter vast stretches of bemused disinterest, scattered with the occasional vehement repudiation from an ardent follower of the traditional within-my-sight management style. 

Change, however, is inevitable, and no amount of management refusal to consider alternative working styles is going to prevent the workplace from undergoing radical transformation this time, at least not in the Johannesburg and Pretoria economic centres.

Considering the largely unwilling response from business leadership to these changes, the assumption would usually be that the trade union movement or government is providing the force for the movement. The latter, in fact, is accurate; government is the driving force for the revolution on the horizon. However it is not the Department of Labour but the Department of Transport which is at the head of the movement.

Bye-bye highway

Although the project had been on the cards for some time, the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup kicked the Gauteng parts of the national freeway improvement scheme under the auspices of the South African National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL) into high gear. The last parts of phase one of this portion, the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), is nearing completion. Once completed, the first phase will have upgraded 185km of the province’s most congested freeways, at a cost of R17.5 billion.

This capital investment was not put forward by National Treasury, however. Instead, the agency raised the funds on capital markets having decided to pursue the user-pay principle or tolling to “re-pay the loans, as well as for future operation and maintenance of these roads”.

And it is this decision to toll the major highways surrounding Johannesburg and Pretoria that is poised to devastate the organisations in the surrounding areas.

Under pressure

In early February this year, SANRAL released the tariff and discount structure for the e-tolling system expecting it to go live in June (last month). The prices which were published in the Government Gazette would see light motor vehicles charged 66c/km and motorcycles 40c/km.

A public outcry ensued over the high tariffs and the department halted the implementation of the tolls to allow a hastily formed steering committee to hold consultations with the public and other stakeholders.

At the end of June the steering committee announced its recommendations which it was handing over to transport minister Sibusiso Ndebele for his consideration. The suggestions would also be examined by finance minister Pravin Gordhan" rel=tag>Pravin Gordhan and the Gauteng Premier. “The process will then be steered by transport minister Sibusiso Ndebele through national cabinet, with the same process followed in the Gauteng cabinet. The outcome of the decision will be announced by the minister Ndebele in due course,” said SANRAL.

The new figures see light motor vehicles dropping from 66c/km to 58c/km. For a person living 50km away from their place of work, the cost of commuting will go up by over R12 00 per month.

Again public outrage has ensued and calls have been made to transfer the cost of the highway debt to a petrol levy in place of a toll. However this has been dismissed by the Transport Department as it would not be fair to those who paid towards the levy but do not use the highway, said deputy transport minister Jeremy Cronin.

Trade Union federation COSATU is also not happy and has said it will join the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (SATAWU) in protesting the tolls with marches, demonstrations, pickets and stayaways.

The net effect

Barbara Parry, a specialist consultant in the HR field and owner of Barbara Parry Expatriate Consulting, says the impact of the tolls on lower and middle-income employees could be disastrous.

“The belt tightening over the last few years has squeezed every last cent out of most people’s budget. Adding such a considerable amount overnight could mean that companies find that some of their employees simply cannot afford to get to work. Or if they decide to travel on normal roads, but have children to drop off first, are unable to meet the start time of the business. What will happen to these employees?” she points out.

There has been some discussion among HR professionals around whether or not business would contribute towards these additional costs, adds Parry, but few have been able to secure commitment one way or the other from the financial department, which would need to find that money to add to the salary bill.

“Even if you get the go-ahead, this is not a simple endeavour. The company would not be able to settle on a fixed amount to give to all staff as then some would lose out and others gain which could land the company in front of the CCMA. The HR department would then need to calculate the cost of tolls for every individual in the business based on their area of residence. You also can’t pick and choose who you’d like to give the aid to as the person who did not receive the financial help would be able to claim discrimination,” she explains.

“But if you don’t contribute towards this financial burden you will have to deal with the cost of employee churn as a portion of your workers simply will no longer be able to afford to work for you.”

Join the world

The extra cost of getting to work through Johannesburg’s new tollgate system will place significant pressure on management teams to come to the party with flexible working arrangements, says Joanne Bushell, Regus vice president for Africa and Middle East. The company recently released the results of its latest bi-annual business survey. The figures reveal that found that four-fifths of firms in South Africa already offer staff flexible working options. In Johannesburg, 43% of companies have businesses that allow employees flexibility over location and working hours when they reached a certain level of seniority.

Says Bushell: “We expect cost-conscious firms will continue this trend and make the most use of business lounges, meeting rooms and satellite office space to allow employees to work closer to home.”
This will not only have a financial impact on employees but a considerable influence on the time wasted in traffic. The survey shows that the average one-way commute in SA is 29 minutes, while a quarter of workers commute for over 45 minutes each way.

Ready to go, go, go

Dimension Data’s general manager of Microsoft solutions, Bradley Bunch, points out that not only is the technology available to support remote work, but tech-savvy employees are probably already using many of the tools the business would need in any case.

“The old divide remains, unfortunately. IT thinks business is too stupid to use the technology and business thinks IT is too stupid to understand what they want and implement it in a way that would empower them best. Look around at the smart phones in office environments, I think the IT department would be quite surprised to see what is being used by the workforce while they’re not paying attention. Employees are getting far more demanding, though, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find the workforce becoming a greater player in the technology decisions going forward,” he comments.

A question of trust

Despite a considerable push to a more flexible workplace, there is still likely to be some resistance from managers who have yet to make it over the trust hurdle.

Says Bushell: “It’s still a problem, 44% of Johannesburg businesses only offer this privilege to senior staff. By basing the right to flexibility on seniority, some firms are missing huge opportunities and may even alienate talent. At a time when South African companies are concerned about the costs of employment, it is disappointing to still see some companies letting trust issues hold them back from flexi-working for all employees - even when so many of them recognise that flexible working can cut costs.”

And while they’re building up the courage to take that leap of faith, the company better be spending time on training as a virtual workforce requires entirely different skill sets, says Parry. 

“The wait-and-see approach being adopted is a serious concern. Far too many businesses are going to realise at the last moment that they haven’t decided what their strategy is going to be. The technology is really easy – your service provider can do wonders in terms of enabling what you need within a short space of time. People don’t come with a switch though, they will need training, discussion needs to be taking place about what the company is going to do about the tolls so that their workforce can make plans too.”

Long-time HR personality and a director on many of South Africa’s boards Dudu Nyamane says we could also do ourselves a great service and change the way we look at the event.

“Change is change, no one likes it. But you can choose to see the wider lanes, nicer roads and cleaner air and focus on those aspects. You will be far happier for it.”