28 Dec 2012

Any company that recognises and rewards its human resource reaps benefits because everyone does their job without being pushed, says Mr Kenneth Karanja, director of Career Dreams.

Mr Karanja echoed these sentiments during a combined graduation from in-house training and Christmas party at Xakanaxa camp recently. He said if employees’ welfare is well taken care of, they will get motivated to perform to the best of their knowledge and abilities believing that they do it not only for the company but also for themselves.

Mr Karanja said most companies have the opportunity to show appreciation for their employees' contribution but choose to look the other way.

Hence he commended Xakanaxa camp, a getaway resort that straddles the Okavango Delta, for investing on staff development despite the recent economic recession. “Going around, I think you saw everyone doing their job without being followed, which is a sign of staff motivation,” he said.

He said the graduation came after his institution conducted in-house training early this year for 26 employees in areas like food and beverages, housekeeping, grounds and maintenance, professional guides course, management and first aid, to mention but a few, in order to sharpen their skills.

Mr Karanja challenged the staff to selfishly safeguard the country’s wildlife for generations to come. The event also saw seven loyal company employees receive certificates and bonuses for having been there through trying times.

The camp general manager, Ms Val Brown said one of the employees, Mr Walter Setlabosha, a tour guide, had even put his life on the line to save tourists from an angry elephant that almost killed him in 2003 and he was hospitalised for two months.

“This is an annual event where we come together and have dinner to show our appreciation for them. It’s very important for us as a company to recognise our staff because they are the life blood of the company,” she said.

She said her company took a deliberate decision to top up the training levy so they could accommodate as many employees for the training as possible. Ms Brown said they had well-travelled international clients who always gave them accolades for their service, thanks to the staff.

“This tells a beautiful story about the warmth, politeness and kindness of the people of Botswana,” she said. Mr Setlabosha also confirmed the incident in an interview, saying he was on a game drive with tourists. “I had just stopped the vehicle for us to observe the elephant that was on the right side of the road and another one came charging from the left hand side, hit the car and threw me out.

” Then it pushed the vehicle backwards but then I got up and ran away to distract its attention from the guests; the elephant immediately left the vehicle and chased me for about 100m then caught me on the thigh with a tusk and left me for dead sprawled on the ground,” he narrated.

Mr Setlabosha said as a tour guide he would rather lose his own life than that of a guest on a tour, adding that he was thankful that the company appreciated his act of valour. ”I appreciate that Ms Brown has consistently narrated this story in almost every important company meeting and that makes me feel good about myself and the sacrifice I made,” he said.