Article: Nonhlanhla Khumalo from True Love
Image: True Love

Having started out as a casual worker at a retail store, this Durban-born mom of a five-year-old is now living her dream, after many years of perseverance and the constant need to stay on top of her game.

Khaya Ngubane has been in the human resources field for more than a decade, working with corporate giants. Now as a divisional human resource business partner, she looks after the employees and managers of 62 Woolworths stores.

What does your job entail?
As a divisional human resource business partner, some of my responsibilities include providing input into strategies, facilitating change and transformation initiatives, and managing diversity and employment equity.

How many people are in your company's employ?
The current complement is more than 17 000 employees nationally.

Are there any challenges to dealing with the HR practices of a company with so many employees?
I believe that any modern organisation with a goal to strike a balance between delivering to their clients and their employees with the same level of zest and proficiency, will always have challenges.

No two days are the same in retail–which makes it so much more fascinating. We have to constantly work towards giving our employees "world-class" support, because these are the people that interface with our customers.

Tell us more about your company's HR practices, and how it encourages and supports women in business just like yourself?
One of the things that make me look forward to going to the office every day is that we are not a company that works in isolation from the bigger picture. There is a constant drive to align ourselves to the national agenda. We are very conscious and mindful of the level of skill and value that women add in an organisation such as ours. So, as we work with our strategies, a good part of it is about how we advance women into the different decision-making levels of the organisation.

The good thing about this is we also have timelines to achieve this and have started putting processes in place to ensure that we attain those goals.

Where do you see yourself in five years' time?
I often find this question quite tricky for me, because the way I have approached my career thus far has been such that if my heart says it is a good place to be at that time, then I go for it.

I have been blessed in that the standards, values and strategies that drive organisations I have worked for before have resonated with me. I strongly believe in doing something that sees me adding value, otherwise I get despondent too quickly. I want to work in this field, continually adding value and making a difference in people's lives.

To be honest with you, I perhaps will never be able to tell you what my next move will be – because I believe there's a divine source that plans my moves – but whatever it is, I can assure you it will be where I still manage to smile and say, "This is where I want to be."

Do you have any advice for women?
Have a clear picture of what you want – do not compromise on your goals. Be authentic – most women tend to want to behave and sound like men when they are in managerial positions forgetting that the feminine touch is a God-given skill that no one can ever take away from you. Be your own brand.