Results from the interview portion of the data gathering indicated that company leaders were particularly interested in skills development as an area vital to their success. Technical and engineering skills were important to support expansion and the creation of new power plants. General business skills would be even more in demand as Eskom moved from a monopolistic environment to a competitive marketplace. Project management skills and leadership capabilities were also important, especially the ability to lead transformational change.
Company leadership was looking to HR for the change management skills that would enable the company to undergo the cultural transformation necessary to succeed in a more competitive environment. HR also needed improved ability to plan for and fill resource and skill needs aligned with Eskom's strategy. In general, although HR was viewed as effective, executives were looking for even more mature processes and capabilities to respond to change issues, as well as resource and skills needs. Financially, the company was in a strong position and was maximizing its current assets and people almost to their full capacity. However, capacity issues—both physical assets and human capital—could hinder the desired growth without the right investments.
Results from the other data gathering based on the Accenture framework indicated that basic human capital infrastructures were strong. However, to achieve high performance, more attention must now be paid to human capital strategy. Here again, HR is being asked to be more proactive and strategic around workforce planning, leadership development and workforce adaptability. As Eskom expands and experiences competition, HR will need to be more strategic about resource planning and will need to find creative ways to fulfill resource demands.
Human capital efficiency metrics coming out of the Accenture analysis also seemed to indicate that HR had a large number of employees that are generally focused on basic administrative tasks. Eskom is currently increasing its use of technology to reduce some administrative tasks, allowing HR professionals to focus on more strategic issues.
HR executives at the utility believe that the partnership with Accenture and SAP to analyze their human capital capabilities has proven to be vital—not just to the development of HR, but to the success of the company as a whole. The Accenture Human Capital Development Framework has highlighted the need for Eskom to focus on more strategic issues, such as workforce planning, leadership development and preparing the workforce for market competition. If Eskom is to achieve high performance, HR must focus less energy on mere tactical capabilities and become more of a strategic partner to the business. Eskom now has the data needed to engage executives and people at every level of the organization in order to energize the company as they move forward into a new, exciting era.