Dear Member
The recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused significant disruption and will have an impact on both individuals and business in South Africa. At a NEDLAC meeting on Monday, the social partners acknowledged that this situation is ‘unprecedented and requires an unprecedented response’ and it was agreed to establish a Response Team to work together for ‘co-operation, collaboration and common action’. Initiatives are currently being discussed to assist and support businesses during this time.
It is accepted that it is not ‘working as usual’ and Workplaces will need to adapt in different ways to respond to the challenges. It was acknowledged by business that remote work and the virtual office environment will be essential for business continuity.
In the last few days, members have indicated that the financial impact on businesses is being felt with postponement/cancellation of interviews, freezing of recruitment and general indecisiveness from clients. In dealing with this it is important that we retain a human-centered approach and remain cognisant of the candidate who is central to the process.
Many businesses in our industry have already embraced technology and are using this as an opportunity to add value to clients by advising them on the use of technology and platforms for interviewing and to enhance and streamline the recruitment process.
APSO Operations:
- APSO has for some time offered training interventions in an on-line format. We will continue to scale our capacity in this regard to reduce face-to-face training as we respond to the call for social distancing.
- In addition, the use of digital platforms to host all interactions with our members, stakeholders and service providers have been implemented.
- Urgent communications will be circulated as Industry Alerts via email and on APSO social media platforms when necessary.
- In light of the restrictions on gatherings of 100 or more people, APSO has taken the decision to postpone our June Conference. Further communications will follow as the situation is re-assessed.
Understanding and responding to COVID-19 is ever-changing but we will continue to share information on interventions offered by our Business Partners that could assist and support members during this time. Further communication and advice will follow shortly for those members in the TES space.
It is crucial during these uncertain times that accurate information is accessible. We recommend the Department of Health’s official COVID-19 Support Service Whatsapp platform that can be accessed as follows:
Whatsapp “Hi” to +27600123456 for this service to be activated on your cellular device. You will receive a response with a list of related topics which you can access.
We encourage members to be vigilant and support the guidelines and protocols issued by the Department of Health to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
We wish all members good health and strength during this challenging time.
Kind regards
Jacqui Ford
APSO: CEO