SITA's skills struggles continue

By Kimberly Guest, ITWeb contributor

Johannesburg, 17 Jul 2007

The State IT Agency (SITA) has filled 28% of its permanent and 3% of its contractor employment vacancies since March.

During the same period, the agency lost 58 people, which is 2.7% of its permanent workforce of 2 149 staffers.

This follows reports in March that there were 301 permanent and 166 contract positions vacant within the organisation.

However, SITA spokesman Elton Fortuin says there is no evidence that management uncertainty is driving these exits.

Management losses

The organisation has lost two key people from its management structure since the beginning of the year.

In May, SITA's longest-serving CEO, Mavuso Msimang, left the organisation to head the Department of Home Affairs as director-general. He advised the board last September that he did not wish to renew his contract.

Following Msimang's departure, SITA appointed non-executive board member Peter Pedlar as acting CEO.

Last month, Fortuin said the agency was closing in on a permanent CEO as it conducted second-round interviews with potential candidates. However, he refused to give a timeline for the process, saying it was "not prudent", given the approval processes required.

Once the SITA board has identified a suitable candidate for the top job, it will put a recommendation through to public service and administration minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi. The minister, in turn, will submit the recommendation to Cabinet for final approval.

June also brought news that SITA's chief of strategic services Jonas Bogoshi would leave the organisation to lead JSE-listed GijimaAst. Bogoshi was widely supported by industry players as the best candidate to take the SITA CEO role.

'Bolstering' efforts

Fortuin says SITA is trying to bolster its recruitment practices to address the large number of vacancies within the organisation.

"In line with its revamped approach, SITA has managed to reduce turnaround times to recruit new personnel to an average of two-and-a-half months. The company has also increased the usage of ICT placement agencies for recruitment, selection and response handling," he says.

This helped the organisation to fill 85 permanent and 33 contract positions during the first quarter of the 2007/08 financial year, which started in April.

As for the loss of 58 staffers from its permanent workforce of 2 149 during the same timeframe, Fortuin says SITA believes it is within industry norms.

"During the quarter, the organisation experienced a turnover rate of 2.73%. SITA's annual turnover rate to the end of June 2006 of 9% is still well below the ICT market average - as assessed by management consultancy PE Corporate Services - of 12% per annum," he explains.

At the time of publication, the company's annual turnover rate for the year ended June 2007 was not available.

He adds the information received during exit interviews indicates the primary reasons for staff resignations are to pursue other career growth and development opportunities and/or higher salary packages.

"There has been no evidence of low staff morale as a result of top management changes in the organisation," he concludes.