Corporate Affairs team at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), which is under the leadership of Senior Director, Mr Alan Khan, attended an ENVISION2030 workshop that was facilitated by Mr Zwakele Ngubane, Director: Advancement and Alumni Relations. The workshop, which included all Corporate Affairs staff and interns, was held in Ballito last Friday, 24 March 2023.

The purpose of the workshop was to ensure that Corporate Affairs at DUT has a clear understanding of the objectives of the ENVISION2030 strategy. The session also explained how staff can align their individual performance management plans with the university’s Extended Annual Performance Plan (EAPP) and ENVISION2030. The team appreciated the opportunity to engage on the ENVISION2030 strategy in a more relaxed environment, as opposed to their busy schedule in the office.

Mr Khan welcomed the attendees and expressed his appreciation to Mr Ngubane for availing himself to host and facilitate the ENVISION2030 workshop. He revealed that Ngubane was also part of a team of Implementation Support Practitioners (ISP’s), who are responsible for providing support in ensuring the successful implementation of ENVISION2030. Mr Ngubane is the ISP responsible for Marketing ENVISION2030 and works closely with the Corporate Affairs team.

He also welcomed Ms Lara Boucher, Director: Talent Acquisition and Operations and Ms Bronwen Naidoo, Performance Management Specialist from DUT Human Capital Services (HCS). They both spoke at the workshop and shared a presentation on the Performance Management System, providing guidance on how staff should complete the performance review template, which was recently updated.

Boucher described Performance Management as a tool that allows DUT to deliver on what it promised in relation to ENVISION2030. She further expressed the importance that each member aligns his/her goals to the Extended Annual Performance Plan of the university when completing the performance contract. Naidoo advised staff to only include important tasks that they need to be rated on in the Performance Management template and to ensure that colleagues use the SMART principle when populating their performance agreements. SMART means specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.

Taking Corporate Affairs through ENVISION2030, Ngubane expressed that it was important for all staff members to have a good understanding of what the strategy is about. According to Ngubane, the strategy, crafted on one page, which looks simple can be quiet complex, as there are various ideas and concepts that needed to be unpacked.

“If you don’t understand ENVISION2030, you are going to be frustrated when it comes to doing your Performance Management, which is now compulsory for all levels of staff within DUT. Understanding ENVISION2030 will help you to engage more meaningfully with Performance Management so that you are able to do what you need to do as a member of the DUT community,” said Ngubane.

“What is important about the strategy is that you need to understand the values and principles, which, along with the DNA strands in the Stewardship perspective, are the foundation of ENVISION2030. Through our DNA strands, the red representing being people centered and engaged and the blue strand representing being innovative and entrepreneurial. We need to be solution orientated. We need to be entrepreneurial in terms of our mindset. If we are to achieve anything we need to make sure that at a very fundamental level, we are guided by our values and principles and the DUT DNA. They need to guide us in whatever we do, when we are engaging with students, other staff members and external stakeholders,” explained Ngubane.

In explaining the actual strategy, Ngubane began by unpacking the statement of intent, which outlines what DUT is committing itself to achieve by the year 2030. He then explained that when reading the strategy map, you start at the bottom with the Stewardship perspective. He highlighted the four perspectives of ENVISION2030 strategy, Stewardship, Systems and Processes, Sustainability and Society. These perspectives each have three objectives, which he explained in detail and emphasized that it was important for staff to reflect on how they can contribute to the achievement of these objectives. He also took the team through parts of the university’s Extended Annual Performance Plan, providing insight into how colleagues can align their performance to the university’s plan. Attendees also had an opportunity to engage with Ngubane directly, after determining how they can each align their performance to the EAPP.

In closing, Khan thanked Ngubane for his time and energy that he invested in facilitating the ENVISION2030 workshop for the Corporate Affairs team. He also thanked Boucher and Naidoo from HCS, for making the time to connect with the team and for providing expert guidance on performance management. Khan concluded by acknowledging and thanking the Corporate Affairs team for living the values and principles of ENVISION2030.

Pictured: Corporate Affairs team at the ENVISION2030 Workshop.
Photographer

Simangele Zuma