Pienaardam Leisure Resort's Decision to Outsource Reaps Benefits
The decision to outsource its staffing requirements has enabled a popular Mpumalanga-based leisure resort to focus all its efforts on extending its footprint in the region and growing its market share.
Image Courtesy Innovative Staffing Solutions
Pienaardam Leisure Resort has described its outsourcing to Innovative Staffing Solutions, a subsidiary of Innovative Solutions Group TM, as one of the best decisions yet.
The self-catering resort, which is located just off the N4 highway next to the Pienaardam and just 11km from Middelburg, employs 150 full time staff members and is a significant revenue generator for the area.
Financial Manager, Gemay Hattingh, says the decision to outsource its staffing needs was not taken lightly.
“Being a hands-on person, who prefers to deal with challenges internally, it was not easy for us to hand over control to Innovative Staffing Solutions.
“Yet, ongoing labour issues meant we were spending more time on putting out fires than focusing on the strategic growth of the resort. We felt we needed a group of professional people to guide us and deal with matters head on. This is where Innovative Staffing Solutions came to the rescue.”
Innovative Staffing Solutions MD, Arnoux Maré, says outsourcing staff is a relatively unexplored concept for many South African businesses in South Africa.
“Staff outsourcing is often mistaken for labour brokering. The key difference between the two is the type of employment generated. Labour broking is more inclined towards temporary or casual employment, while outsourcing creates fixed-term or permanent employment where employees are entitled to various benefits and full protection under the Labour Relations Act.
"An experienced outsourcing company has a deep understanding of the human resources process and related legal requirements. It allows its clients to focus on growing their core businesses while it takes care of the people element. At Innovative Staffing Solutions, we believe in providing a skilled work force, which is why we absorb all costs related to staff training, skills development and competency requirements.”
Initially the employees at Pienaardam Leisure Resort were sceptical about the new changes, which included becoming full-time employees of Innovative Staffing Solutions. They soon realised that they were now being managed by a company specialising in all aspects of workforce management.
“It was easier for us to outsource the staffing function than to deal with it ourselves. With the resort management no longer involved in cumbersome employee matters, things quickly settled down. Employees soon realised that the changes were not as dramatic as they first thought,” says Hattingh.
Fewer labour-related problems meant more time to focus on growing the business and increasing revenue streams. The management team can now go ahead with plans to branch out to a new venue, Elandsrivier Lodge.
“By placing staffing in the hands of the experts, we are no longer personally involved, which is an enormous relief. I am happy to recommend this process to other companies. Why waste time and energy when you can leave staffing matters to the experts and focus on what you do best as a business?” adds Hattingh.
Maré says more companies in a host of industries are starting to outsource their staffing requirements.
“We expect this trend to grow as more businesses become aware of the advantages of outsourcing non-core functions such as hospitality staff, cleaners, farm workers and truck drivers, amongst others,” he concludes.
