Black Economic Empowerment within Outdoor Operations
One of Primedia Outdoor's chief black economic empowerment initiatives has been to empower all operations staff to become small businesses, which work independently for Outdoor by entering into a service agreement within their own scope of work. To ensure continuous service delivery and also to manage the change, this black economic empowerment project was managed in two phases.
Black Economic Empowerment Initiative - Phase One
All crews / employees working in the servicing and repairs sections of the operations division were approached with the opportunity to become a small business and enter into a service agreement with Outdoor.
This black economic empowerment initiative was explained as follows:
it was expected of the employees to resign. Outdoor would then enter into a service agreement with them to handle specific work for which they were qualified and payments would be made for work done as per an agreed rate card.
After a period of approximately two months, the majority of the staff agreed to the idea, while a small group of individuals who declined participation was retrenched.
Primedia Outdoor assisted all the new businesses in the black economic empowerment initiative with start-up subsidies and loans, and in addition, guided, advised and trained the teams/crews to start and run their own small companies.
The productivity levels improved considerably and the new companies benefited greatly through higher income and becoming a part of a Free Enterprise. During quiet business times, Outdoor encouraged the small businesses to take on work from other companies in order to boost their income.
Black Economic Empowerment Initiative - Phase Two
During the late 1990s POD had branch personnel who managed the servicing teams on a daily basis, according to their servicing agreements. As the second phase of the black economic empowerment initiative, the branch staff was also offered the opportunity to become independent contractors.
In 2003, the contracts were finalised with the same regulations as phase one. The few members not interested in becoming contractors were retrenched.
Primedia Outdoor followed the same procedures with these employees as with the crews. All entities had a minimum of 25% share holding of members of the previously disadvantaged group.
Progress to Date
Both groups in the black economic empowerment initiative have seen changes and challenges. However the majority of those involved in the empowerment project with Primedia Outdoor are still under contract with us and doing well.
Primedia Outdoor is the leader in this area of change - all the other media owners followed our lead and currently have specific arrangements with the servicing crews.
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Primedia Outdoor Structures
Construction of all outdoor advertising structures and components is outsourced to black empowered service providers, employing approximately 350 people.
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