Newsclip's new working structure embraces the company's innovative identity and aligns with the changes seen in more contemporary working environments. According to the company, the world is driven by technology at such a high speed that, in order to keep up, employees are required to constantly be available.
This working structure will enable Newsclip employees to do just that, as it does not require them to be in the office or at their desks when they work. With this in mind, the company's new 'workation' policy aims to position its employees into space where they can work from wherever they want in the world.
"Our brand is built on over 35 years of experience, but we have a young and innovative workforce that continues to see us keeping up with the way that the media industry is going — not only in terms of company image and solutions offered but also how working hours and working standards are set and met," says Madelein Ludeke, human capital manager at Newsclip.
Newsclip has also implemented 'bonus leave' for employees. The main outcome of this initiative is 'you get what you put in'. In the contemporary work environment, employees often put in extra hours, which is either project-based or due to demand. Bonus leave is seen as a reward for the extra hours dedicated to the business.
Bonus leave would then be used when the employee has scheduled appointments or need a day or two on a well-deserved planned trip. The approval process or bonus leave is, according to the company, the opposite of the traditional process.
The first approval is needed from their immediate team members, and only then from the human resources department. The team would have to 'stand-in' for the employee, while they are on bonus leave.
HR then reviews the total employee profile (attendance, performance, disciplinary record) and base their decision on these factors, taking in consideration the motivation of the team. These implementations are aimed at benefiting Newsclip employees, emulating the young culture and helping the company to stay current.
"This will be a positive change for us, and we look forward to how this implementation will provide opportunities and growth that were not possible before — we can now go anywhere in the world and 'be' South Africa there," concludes Hanneke Furstenberg, senior human capital practitioner at Newsclip.
The new leave addition follows other innovative initiatives taken up by Newsclip, such as the implementation of its own in-house team of developers and its own online publishing house.
Innovation is in our blood