OIM CONSULTING – To Win in the Marketplace, You Must First Win in the Workplace

Perhaps one of the most challenging and difficult business tasks in existence, wholesale organisational culture shift is not to be taken lightly. Today, a positive and considered approach to company culture is widely accepted to have major benefits on operational performance.

According to behavioural scientist and author Dr Pragya Agarwal: “A positive workplace culture improves teamwork, raises the morale, increases productivity and efficiency, and enhances retention of the workforce. Job satisfaction, collaboration, and work performance are all enhanced. And, most importantly, a positive workplace environment reduces stress in employees,” she writes for Forbes.

Poor culture quickly leads to disengagement in staff. “Disengaged workers had 37% higher absenteeism, 49% more accidents, and 60% more errors and defects. In organisations with low employee engagement scores, they experienced 18% lower productivity, 16% lower profitability, 37% lower job growth, and 65% lower share price over time,” says research from Harvard Business Review.

This is not just a challenge for SMEs. Even the biggest have to constantly monitor and adapt their culture strategy in order to maintain a high-performing and results-driven team. Google, one of the world’s most famous companies, is renowned for its sparkling culture, where employees are heavily invested in with outcomes coming as a result. On the other hand, there are major companies like Uber – a world leader in its industry but with a reputation for bad culture, where results are invested in with employees coming second – literally used as a vehicle for achievement of success, whatever the cost.

So how can you go about shifting culture? What is the key to corporate culture success? Of course (unfortunately), there is not one single answer. According to leadership consultant and author, Steve Denning: “Changing an organisation’s culture is one of the most difficult leadership challenges. That’s because an organisation’s culture comprises an interlocking set of goals, roles, processes, values, communications practices, attitudes and assumptions.”

However, he hints at the right place to start – within the leadership team.

LEADERS MAKE CHANGES

By clearly defining the goals, aspirations, values and ethos within a company, people can begin to relate to it – what it does, why it does it, who it is doing it for, and how it works. Corporate culture defines a business, and this is vital in the eyes of customers. It all starts at the top, filters down to every employee and influences every activity.

In South Africa, this was recognised early on by famed management consultant, Robert Tusenius. The Dutch-born culture change expert was a pioneer in building South African company philosophy by overcoming racial, religious, cultural and geographical boundaries. In 1985, he founded OIM Consulting. Operational Improvement Management (OIM) is today one of the foremost groups of thought leaders when it comes to development of managers in business.

Headed by Managing Director Arjen de Bruin, OIM is rooted in social development and cross-cultural bridge-building. Helping to develop people and culture by enhancing core competencies, the company will equip your business with the tools to effectively execute responsibilities.

Currently focused on South Africa’s mining industry, OIM is helping to create long-term improvements by developing those at supervisory or frontline level. The company has a tried and tested method for achieving results, based on academic principles of Lean Six Sigma and INVOCOM. “Analyse.  Improve.  Sustain.” is the mantra to which the company subscribes.

“We are implementation consultants,” says de Bruin. “We don’t write reports. We implement what we find. We put feet on the ground and we walk with you for between six months and a year depending on the size of the project. We don’t fly in, do analysis, write a report, and then leave. We take the reputation that whatever we say is implementable and you will see the benefits.”

For companies that have developed a clear vision, turning that into a universal culture is the next important hurdle. OIM encourages the use of INVOCOM methodology – Involvement through Communication. INVOCOM is used to engage everyone in the organisation, mobilise them around goals and build a climate conducive to strategy execution.

“Until 2010, was what OIM was really known for – the implementation of a cultural framework through INVOCOM,” states de Bruin.

When culture change is underway and new values are beginning to bed down, next is process improvement. For OIM, this is managed through the Lean Six Sigma methodology – a modern adaptation of Frederick Winslow Taylor’s and Walter Shewhart’s principles of scientific management, and process control and continuous improvement. The idea involves use of several integrated tools to ensure universal uptake of improvements throughout a business.

By using different tools for different applications, the company can build culture, improve process, gain efficiency, impact talent, and drive profitability.

“The methodology that we have built and used can be applied in any industry. We’ve been able to apply it in fashion retail, manufacturing, food, mining, and public sector. The methodologies are well-thought out and well-structured,” says de Bruin.

Typically, OIM prefers to roll out an entire suite of services, developing big results at the end of the process. But, if needs are different, the company can provide just one of four main product groups.

“In 2010, when I joined the business” explains de Bruin, “OIM’s clients realised they had a great cultural framework but they had efficiency problems and leadership development needs too. OIM then added efficiency arm – OIM Operation Solutions, before adding OIM Leadership Talent.

“Then, we started providing projects which linked culture to efficiency, and that is our real differentiator. Our whole mantra is efficiency interventions without a cultural change and the relevant leadership development is unsustainable.

“From 2010 until now, we have enhanced the leadership and talent arm and we had a major focus on frontline leader and supervisory development where we show that if you build them competently, performance coach them, you can lift efficiency by 20-30%.”

The improvement process is not a one size fits all approach and while the OIM methodology can be applied across different scenarios, customisation is important, and all elements of the Lean Six Sigma have to applied to solve problems. Part of the approach is the DMAIC phased system – Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control.

“You can’t go to a Lean Six Sigma methodology and decide you’re going to take out the D (define) – then you’re not following the principle anymore. You have to adjust and customise, but you can’t take out the heart of the implementation. If you take performance coaching out of a supervisory offering, you’re not doing it right as that is fundamental.

“We can apply the cultural framework separate from the rest. We can apply the efficiency framework with the principles from Lean Six Sigma and MOS (Managing Operating Systems) separately, we can offer the talent and supervisory offerings as stand alone. The methodologies have been created in such a way that if the clients want individual services, we can do it. We do have clients that need everything and so we have to integrate the whole package,” says de Bruin.

PROVEN UNDERGROUND

Among OIM’s key clients are some of South Africa’s big mining companies. Perhaps it comes as no surprise that the industry is calling out for help after years of financial trouble, reduced efficiency and culture deterioration. This is the kind of environment in which OIM thrives. Operational hurdles, people issues, and profit challenges – its perfect for a competent consultancy to step in.

At the end of 2018, OIM was summoned by one of the top 10 global gold mining companies, listed on the JSE and NYSE, to help one of its mines in South Africa.

“The mine, 2.9 km down, was sitting on one of the largest ore bodies in the world and losing a lot of money every month when we arrived,” remembers de Bruin. “It was immensely unprofitable. They had so many initiatives that had failed. We were called in in late 2018 and they asked us to put together a programme to turn the company around. It was one of those projects that we found both challenging and exciting as we were told this was the graveyard for consultants.”

Step one – identify problems. Quickly, OIM confirmed its suspicions. Those employed at supervisor or frontline level needed to become more competent in executing their daily tasks and the company’s culture was disjointed.

“We put together a programme that included all of our four pillars. We wanted to shape the culture in the mine, we wanted to increase productivity by focusing on improving supervisors (middle and frontline team), and we would do it by analysing competencies, giving relevant training, and performance coaching for 16 weeks. That would ensure improved execution every day. We also looked at management and processes and implemented the management operating report which basically sets new standards on how you should work. We coached line managers to become coaches and equipped people to carry on our work to ensure sustainability,” explains de Bruin.

After a comprehensive programme was undertaken between January and December 2019, results were seen very quickly. By focussing on building the culture and giving leadership the ability to advance change, the fortunes of the mine started to turn.

“I recently bumped into the CEO of the company at the airport, the day after they released their year-end results and he mentioned to me that he was sceptical when he first met us. But he said the massive difference we made helped turn the company around,” de Bruin recalls.

“We are proud of playing a part in turning the company around to profit making. Some people thought it was to do with gold price but that was not the case. The productivity of staff went up from around 21,000 tons per person to 32,000 per person. The amount of gold that they recovered in that time period was increased by 41%. It went from a negative profit to a positive profit and there was a 102% increase in net profit over the time. I’m not saying that we can claim all of it but the client said the ROI of the project that we did was around 25/1.”

Clearly, there is something to be said for culture shift and performance coaching. With the onset of coronavirus and the challenging conditions that the wider local and global economies now face, efficiency improvements are more important than ever been before. Soon, it will become simply unfeasible for a mine to operate if it cannot do so in a productive manner.

“We capacitated leadership, we developed a whole new culture, and the mine that was well known for underperforming suddenly turned a profit. It has helped us as a consultancy to raise our profile,” admits de Bruin.

MINING FOR FUTURE WORK

This new status as a star player in the local market makes for an interesting pipeline at OIM. After also demonstrating its ability with Africa’s largest iron mine, two top 10 global diversified mining companies have lined up future projects.

“We have just been given the go ahead to start with a minerals sands project in Richards Bay, South Africa. We have also been given the go ahead with the largest global platinum producer on a three-year programme. If we can show success, they want to take us to other sites globally. Those are the two projects that we are very excited about right now,” enthuses de Bruin.

“Both projects are focussed on supervisor development, with some culture engagement.”

Internationally, OIM is eyeing expansion as it sees many opportunities beyond South Africa’s fertile land.

Whether it’s global mining houses with activities around the world or different industry sectors in Africa, by applying modern thought leadership tactics, OIM can help to achieve prosperity.

For de Bruin, a particularly exciting project is underway right now in Rwanda – one of the up and coming economies of the sub-Saharan region.

“One of the other exciting projects we are involved with is working on the CIMERWA cement plant in Rwanda. We have done the efficiency side and the supervisor side, and we have now been asked to look at the culture side. With Rwanda’s previous history, that will be exciting for our guys to get stuck into and help to create a fresh company culture.

“The Rwandan people have a thirst for knowledge which is phenomenal. We found that when we started doing training there, we were offering training workshops for 20 people, but double would turn up – they just want to learn. They want to do things better; it’s incredible. There is an active drive for improving themselves and bettering their position by becoming the best they can be to grow the economy. There is such a mindset difference and we really enjoy working in that beautiful country,” he says.

In the longer-term, OIM’s aspirations are certainly international and the opening of a new office in London is helping the company to test the waters with potential clients listed on the London Stock Exchange.

“We’ve opened up with a business development arm and the reason is that many of the mining companies we work with are on the LSE. We have found that when you sit in South Africa, you can talk to international mining companies but there are many that you cannot get to because they are not located here.

“The business development arm is first and then, after speaking with the Department of UK Trade and Industry who will help us with regulatory compliance, we aim to have a company registered and established before the end of the year. We want to take our methodologies to a global audience, specifically though companies that are listed in London,” details de Bruin.

Listed on the LSE are major mining houses including Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Glencore, BHP Billiton, Vedanta, and more.

“We understand the African market very well but there are also Australian and Canadian companies on the London exchange who have assets in Africa so we will target them. We want to talk to the execs in London about how we can help them with their assets in Africa. It will likely lead to hybrid consultancy teams where we bring resources from SA, the UK, and Europe so we can implement our methodologies in North America as well as Africa,” predicts de Bruin.

WORKING HARD FOR ROI

After years of consistent delivery of ROI for its clients, OIM is continuing to invest in itself to ensure sustainability and growth. Currently home to around 35 of the best consultants available, OIM hopes to grow to 50+ by the end of the year. This will help to deliver the overarching target of doubling the business by the start of 2021.

“We are looking at doubling the business this year,” smiles de Bruin. “A few years ago, we were speaking to more local mines but over the last two to four years, we have started working with tier one mining companies. Through that, we have been able to expand and our whole strategy is now about working with the international mining companies so that we can gain credibility with other big global names. Depending on the impact of Coronavirus, we are looking at doubling this year, and then doubling in the following two years again.” 

As well as industry-leading knowledge and thinking, OIM will soon be in a position to offer tailored software to clients, developed inhouse with specific outcomes in mind. This development tool is aimed at the advancement of frontline leaders and supervisors, and is unique in its contribution. “We believe that through selling the system to clients and offering the services around it, we should be able to add 10-15% income,” says de Bruin.

This, alongside international expansion and publicity with new global mining brands, should help to propel the OIM name into the top echelons of the sector. While the company remains well-known locally, its international counterparts still claim significant brand recognition, and OIM wants a piece of the market. “We are trying to overcome that by investing in marketing,” admits de Bruin.

Combine marketing efforts with extremely strong relationships with educational establishments (some of the world’s best in the mining sphere) and you have a clear strategy for increasing engagement.

“We have one very dedicated aim and that is to become the thought leaders in the frontline or supervisory space. We work with the University of Witwatersrand Mining Institute to keep ourselves apace of the trends and to see what competencies are needed by individuals. We want to be the go-to people when it comes to development of frontline leaders or supervisors. That is our stated goal and that is what we want to be known for,” confirms de Bruin.

Over the years, the company has built up a significant data portfolio and can clearly offer a differentiator from others – first-hand, up to date, relevant statistics.

“If anyone wants to know what the average competency of a supervisor is in South Africa, we can tell them it’s currently running at 12% – just 12% of your supervisors are competent, the others are not. We have been building data as we do projects so that we can tell clients and the market that right now, the challenge with digitisation is giving big data to people who don’t know how to handle it and the result is that you lose on your investment into systems and digitisation,” offers de Bruin.

SINCE 1985

How has OIM managed to grow into a position of influence over the past 35 years? By sticking to its focus area of culture and leadership development. Certainly, the business has evolved, but the work is still based on the ideas set out by Professor Robert Tusenius in the 80s.

“At that stage, he was the head of the University of Stellenbosch Business School,” recalls de Bruin. “Professor Tusenius was a Dutch national and he was active in the Second World War. During his involvement in the war, he started asking questions about culture. Why does one culture seem to be better than another when both have similar problems and opportunities, even though there might only be a river dividing the two? How can you improve culture on both sides?

He came to South Africa within the apartheid era and he started to reach out politically to the diverse racial groups in the country, starting conversations between the different races.

“A famous story tells that he looked at one of Cape Town’s prestigious buildings called the Golden Acre and he said to an audience, how do you perceive this building? The white people said: ‘It’s prestigious and beautiful and it makes a statement’. He replied: ‘how would black people view the building?’ They viewed it as hard work, a building that is not for their use, and something that was painful to create as they could not enjoy the fruits of their labour. Those were the discussions he started having, stating that how people see things actually does matter. He realised the divide needed to be crossed and people needed to come together.”

After gaining a following for his academic work at the University, Tusenius was approached by companies who saw him as the answer to their culture issues while they employed people from so many different backgrounds, with different religions, languages and ways of life. This is when OIM really came into being for the first time.

“He said ‘let’s take all of the backgrounds in SA – not just racial, but tribal and religious – and find out how to make a company thrive with such a mix of cultures’. He helped to build the framework around how you can improve the company’s culture and make it an excellent company to work for with the right leadership style, right focus, and create a structure with an engaged forum where people are willing to work for the company,” explains de Bruin.

But even with a rich history, a strong pipeline, and a brilliant offering for clients, is the business ready to navigate the web of issues that will result from the coronavirus outbreak, global economic slowdown, and drop in oil pricing? De Bruin remains confident.

“Just looking at the SA market, the Rand is weak. We can provide South African skilled resources to overseas markets so our resource model for clients is pretty good because we are not charging Dollars. Right now, we are in a good space because the SA economy, even though it’s weak, the majority of our work is in mining which talks to a global audience and less to a local economy,” he says, insisting that the only threats to the business would come from things beyond its control.

“We try and always provide value for money consulting – that doesn’t mean we’re cheap but it means we will always provide good value,” he adds.

HUMANS RELEVANT?

The other potential risk facing OIM in the future comes in the form of automation, technology, robotics and AI. What use is culture and leadership development if a team consists only of machines? For de Bruin, this future remains some way off right now, but it is inevitably coming. OIM will always be available to its clients and ready to assist, even in a situation where retraining and reskilling is required.

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a must and has to happen but rolling it out cannot ignore the current situation of where companies are and what their culture is,” he says. “Technology will always outstrip the mindset of the people in the company so how do you ensure that people have the right future work skills? Everyone says they like to retrain people, but the truth of the matter is that you can’t retrain every single person. We try to challenge our clients and tell them they must automate but it won’t happen over night because you decide to put a new system in. You have to tackle culture and you have to discover what new skills are needed. As we are the thought leaders in that space, we can help you. It’s a very exciting space to be in; we are very positive about digitisation and where people fit into it.”

For the mining industry specifically, many companies are already turning to automation for cost and safety reasons. PwC said in its 2019 mining report that South Africa’s mining industry ‘requires a revitalisation to regain its lustre’. Gold in particular faces challenges as overall output continues to decline when compared to historical figures. ‘In the absence of new technology, halting this decline seems unlikely’, said PwC. Quickly replacing entire teams of people with machines, while sounding like a fix, is not the solution for de Bruin. OIM sees a much more phased approach.

“When mining companies say they will be people free, we don’t see it. Most of the mines in the African environment will be a hybrid of automation, semi-automation and conventional mining. It will be very difficult to move away from that,” he says. “The chances of going fully automated are there, but we are looking at a long way from now. It will be at least five years before there are good stories to tell. Shallow and open cast are easier versus underground mining. But even without people in the mines, you still need engineers to look after the equipment.

“We find that there are the same problems with maintenance people on the competency side that are faced by normal miners. You will always need people to look at data and make decisions. Will it be at current supervisory level? Because that means we have a problem. Currently, the worst competency of supervisors is planning and organising. Third worst competency of a supervisor is analysis and problem solving. By giving a supervisor data about automation, you could get nothing. You need to look at the whole value chain and decide where decisions will be made. Yes, we will have fully automated mines, but it will not be as easy as people think. There are so many issues to take into consideration before we get close to fully automated operations.”

Arjen de Bruin worked in financial services as the industry embraced a move towards complete digitisation. In the 90s, new systems and technologies were implemented to help reduce human error and streamline for efficiency. But people did not change the way they worked. “Management had failed to shift the mindset and they didn’t know how to use the technology correctly,” he says. This is why effective culture shift strategies are essential, even in a digital environment.

To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace is the famous quote from entrepreneur Doug Conant. For OIM this is true. It is winning in its own workplace and beginning to display ascendancy in its marketplace. Now, if it can help its clients to do the same, perhaps negative organisational culture in South Africa’s mining industry can be banished to the past?

“You have to package your methodology according to the circumstances, but we don’t change the methodologies. We find that is always very successful,” says de Bruin.

Giving OIM Consulting your assignment is a venture into creation of long-term value and investment opportunity, becoming an employer of choice, and a sustainable business partner.