The theme of the 2006 conference was Attaining Professionalism, Success & Opportunity and I’m sure that all those who attended will agree that APSO provided a conference that was professional, successful and encouraged delegates to seize all opportunities to increase their involvement with APSO to ensure that our industry continues to be a viable business venture for us all.

The 2006 conference will also be remembered for its many “firsts” including:

The first time we’ve hosted a conference over three days including two full days of local &
International Speakers.

The first time we’ve had more than 200 delegates attending a national conference.

The first time we’ve included industrial theatre as part of our programme line up.

The first time we’ve had two published authors presenting as speakers.

The first time we’ve successfully hosted a panel discussion between APSO (the industry),Department of Labour and Unions.

The first time more than 50% of our delegates came from PDI groups and the first time that more than 20% of the delegates were men! This is fantastic evidence that our industry and our organization are becoming more representative.

Kick Off

Conference kicked off on Thursday evening with a bang with the Welcome Boma Braai proudly sponsored by Kroll. Unfortunately the freezing cold & howling gale didn’t allow for us to utilize the Boma but a great party was held nevertheless.

Delegates were treated to an array of traditional South African delicacies and the Kroll team invited delegates to “bug” them with some interesting shooters. The Kroll team’s ability to conduct background checks on the delegates was evident after the DJ (Top Jocks’ David Yapp) managed to get everyone dancing with a broad range of music, starting with Mandoza and closing the dance floor with Ou My Ryperd.

Conference got off to an excellent start with two International speakers, Antonia Macrides and Tony Frost. Antonia opened with an interesting insight into the world of e-recruitment and Tony brought home some frightening truths about the state of our planet and the necessity for us all to become leaders to ensure the continued safety and livelihood of the only world we have.

Sean Fjellvik continued our theme of attaining professionalism by showing delegates how important it is to provide our clients & candidates with Service from the InSideOut. Stuart Mennigke provided food for thought with his take on developing leaders for successful succession planning and closed off the formal part of Friday’s proceedings.

Birds of a Feather

Delegates were then treated to a hilarious industrial play entitled “Squawk!” by South African duo Ellis & Bheki. Amongst all the humour, song & dance, delegates were given a clear message that, in order for APSO to succeed in its endeavour to achieve self-regulation and professionalisation of our industry, we all need to stand together.

The positive attitude carried forward into the National AGM held immediately after. During the AGM the new constitution was adopted and two more people were nominated to join the National Executive. APSO is dedicated to making the National Executive more representative and encourages all APSO members who are interested in becoming more actively involved,either at regional or national level, to make themselves known to their respective regionalChairpersons.

Friday Night is for Fiesta!

PNet provided an outstanding Tex-Mex fiesta and the bright red ponchos they provided everyone certainly helped to create the mood. The delegates rose to the occasion in dressing the part and the “Latino” music had everyone shaking their hips until the wee hours.

Saturday morning started with a bang – literally for some delegates who’d accepted one too many types of tequila from PNet the night before! John Both gave delegates an update on the status of CAPES and the new APSO CPD & Professionalisation Programme was officially introduced by Bev Jack and Michelle Billington. The information was well received and APSO can be proud to have such dedicated people working hard to ensure the upliftment of our
industry.

Gustaf Pretorius shared his knowledge on the pitfalls of using Online Testing in a diverse country like South Africa and then Buhle Dlamini blew us all away with his exceptionally entertaining & enlightening presentation “Mind the Gap”. The Generation Gap theory continued to buzz throughout the conference with Baby Boomers and Xers comparing notes
with one another. Brenda Eckstein provided some useful tips on how to network effectively and many of the delegates put these into use to meet new people and form new networks for business success.

Breaking Away

For the first time at an APSO national conference we introduced Consultant and Management Breakaway Sessions. Whilst there was initially some confusion on the set up of the room these breakaway sessions proved to be successful because it allowed delegates the opportunity to focus on topics most relevant to them.

In the Consultants session Meroonisa Vania kicked off with understanding the client and, as a former HR recruiter, she was able to share some of the insider secrets that will hopefully allow delegates to develop more meaningful relationships with their clients.

Brian Findlay provided very practical information on developing your personal sales brand and ensuring success in the “cut throat” world of sales. His relaxed, down-to-earth style meant that the delegates were able to easily relate to his case studies and personal experiences.

Chantaul Jordan showed delegates how to handle the recruitment roller coaster and to deal with the stress we’re all under. Roma Howard followed and she educated delegates on Assertiveness and how to manage difficult & demanding clients whilst still retaining one’s sanity. Both topics struck chords with the audience and the advice will, I’m sure are put into
practice shortly.

The Managers moved next door and were provided with Simple Solutions for Strategic Success by author of the C@ps process, Clive Howe. Clive provided an excellent understanding of his simple one-page strategic planning system that fits in well with the hectic schedule of recruitment owners and managers.

Mark Van Wyk helped managers to understand the BBBEE scorecard and how they can move their business towards compliance. Colin Heads conducted an interactive session on Restraint of Trade Agreements and provided managers with advice on how to handle the process smoothly.

Round Table Discussions

For the first time APSO is proud to have facilitated, at conference, a panel discussion that included all the major stakeholders in the labour market namely, the recruitment industry (APSO & CAPES), the Department of Labour and the Unions. The discussion was open, positive and resulted in all parties agreeing on certain issues and agreeing to disagree, for the moment, on others. Managers who attended the discussion session were all in agreement that APSO has come a long way to providing the platform upon which our industry can be recognized as a partner and not an enemy to those looking to protect the rights of workers in our country.

The Glitz and Glamour of the Gala Dinner

As always the APSO conference closed with the glitzy gala dinner proudly sponsored by The Star Workplace. The venue was spectacularly decorated and the well-adorned delegates certainly added to the glamour of the event.

Roly Boardman was a gracious Master of Ceremonies and made several delegates very happy when their business cards had been chosen as winners for the lucky draws. APSO is grateful to the generous sponsors who provided the lucky draw prizes that included a weekend break at Alpine Heath (courtesy of Three Cities Group), a weekend break at Tony Frost’s Stellenbosch wine estate (courtesy of Tony Frost) and a year’s subscription to HR Pro and R2000 towards APSO membership (courtesy of PeySoft). Ryan’s Personnel won the Alpine Heath weekend whilst Affirmative Portfolios walked away with both the other lucky draws, which just goes to show that it pays to bring your whole team along!

Natalie Fraser thanked the sponsors for their generosity, without which, the 2006 Conference would not have been such a success. Simon Ridge provided thanks to the Conference committee who all worked hard to ensure that the conference ran smoothly and that delegates received an outstanding conference at an exceptionally reasonable price.

The Founders Cup, award for service to the industry, was this year awarded to Natalie Fraser (KZN and National PR & Marketing Chairperson), for her contribution towards the success of conference, APSO public relations and general assistance in the drive towards professionalism.

The delegates were treated to a feast of delicious food and the sounds of the live band Gettysburg who impressed the “more mature” delegates with music from yesteryear. DJ and MC David Yapp, in continued good form, kept the party rocking with his excellent choice of music.

In summary – 2006 conference was a success!

APSO, as always aims to provide our members with what they want and judging from the feedback we received from the delegates who attended, the 2006 conference was a big success! Of particular interest was the industrial theatre production, Squawk! that received a 95% approval rating, the enthusiastic Mind the Gap! presentation by Buhle Dlamini that received almost 100% approval and the panel discussion that was rated highly by managers at 91%.

We are already working towards ensuring that next year’s conference is an even bigger success and we look forward to having a larger delegation, more excellent speakers and providing the industry with a conference of world class