The Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) held its Annual Secretaries Convention at which stakeholders examined how administrative professionals could make a difference in their respective organisations by implementing business strategies that promote business growth. The convention, held at the Phakalane Golf Estate, was an opportunity to give motivational messages to members of the profession and tips on how to handle their day to day duties and sharpen their skills in order to become more efficient and re-sourceful.
“As administrative professionals you are in charge of making things work in your organisations. You are the people transforming organisations; you are the face of your organisations and the gatekeepers. “Building the Business Essentials” is another initiative by BOCCIM to compliment efforts by employers to develop human resource and support the National Human Resource Development Strategy, which aims at ensuring that by 2022 it will be universally accepted that the quality, productivity and motivation of its people will be Botswana’s single greatest and valuable resource,” said the Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of South African Diamond Corpora- tion (SAFDICO) Botswana and Diamonds Technology Park, Rutang Moses who was the keynote speaker at the event.
Organisations are providing goods and services that are failing to maximize profits in competitive world markets. Even though brilliant marketing strategies have been put in place to boost sales, the missing link is human resource development. Highly skilled and trained employees are important stakeholders who need empowerment to contribute effectively to the growth of their organisations and Botswana’s economy. BOCCIM’s Chief Executive Officer, Maria Machailo-Ellis said advocating for business growth was key so investors can find it easier and cheaper to operate businesses in Botswana that make profits. She also highlighted that once a service is given to a client it cannot be taken back so it is important to get it right the first time in order for the business sector to be advanced and play a major role in the many national economic issues. Miracle Letshwene, a speech and language therapist highlighted the importance of embracing new strategies and change by employees to move in a positive direction. “Being interpersonally intelligent, being good at a wide range of interpersonal abilities, positive thinking, working as a team, explaining yourself clearly, influencing others positively and being flexible enough to work with different personalities are the key attributes that employees should possess to help businesses achieve their ultimate goals,” she added.