Inaugural Spotlight on Talent

Talent: it’s one of those topics that is absolutely critical for every GSF member to better understand and manage, regardless of their specific context. For that reason, Talent was the focus of GSF’s inaugural Spotlight held in February 2020 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Twenty individuals representing thirteen GSF member organisations from eight countries were in attendance, and spent their time focused on three distinct sub-themes:

1) Hiring Right as a Retention Device

2) Motivating, Celebrating (and Retaining!) Your Staff

3) Building Career Ladders.

Representatives from member organisations The Citizens Foundation, Dignitas, SHOFCO, and SPARK Schools presented on innovative ways to recruit, retain, and motivate staff. In addition, attendees from member organizations Peepul, Scholé, and Enko Education brought talent-related challenges to their colleagues and walked away with practical ideas provided by the cohort, through rigorous brainstorming efforts.

Johannesburg-based organisations, Streetlight and SPARK, welcomed the participants for schools visits and African Leadership Academy provided us with a fantastic venue: a testament to the culture of support and collaboration in the GSF community. Participants were able to network with peers from other organisation; the depth of the conversations, questions, and solutions were truly inspirational. GSF also launched its online platform SocialLink that will house resources and members will be able to use it to engage with different organisations.

As the next piece of the Talent offer, GSF is putting together an array of practical resources and hosting expert-led webinars, podcasts, and events (like a virtual challenge carousel). Please keep an eye out for these on our calendar and in our upcoming Snapshots.