You Can’t Measure What You Can’t Define – Or Can You? (part 3 Of 5)

Rethinking Performance – Part Three

In Part 3 of Rethinking Performance, written by Camille Rabier, Consultant at 21st Century, the series shifts from diagnosing the gaps in performance systems to exploring how they can be redesigned. The article examines how behavioural expectations can be translated into structured, usable criteria that make performance evaluation more consistent,…

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Opinion Piece: Why The Best Leaders Start With Themselves.

Why Great Leaders Learn to Lead Themselves First — and Then Everyone Else

Leadership is often spoken about as if it is a set of techniques – how to motivate, how to delegate, how to manage change, and how to hold people accountable. According to Nokwanda Boarato, Head: People & Talent at 21st Century, these skills matter, but people do not experience a leader as a toolkit. They experience a…

Opinion Piece: Series: Rethinking Performance Part 1

Series: Rethinking Performance - Part 1

The first article in the Rethinking Performance series, written by Camille Rabier from 21st Century, argues that most performance systems remain incomplete because they assess what is delivered more readily than how it is achieved. It sets up the central challenge for the series: how behaviour can be translated into something usable within performance…

Building Ethical AI Governance in HR: From Policy to Practice

South Africa’s Draft National AI Policy (Notice 3880 of 2026) has arrived at a moment when AI tools are already embedded in HR workflows screening CVs, predicting turnover, and informing pay decisions. The question is no longer whether to use them, but whether organisations are ready to govern them. Without deliberate governance,…

Redefining Performance: What Are We Really Measuring?

What exactly is performance?

This second article in the two-part series by Camille Rabier from 21st Century, Rethinking Fairness and Performance, builds on Part 1 by asking the prior question: what, exactly, should count as performance? It argues that sustainable performance cannot be reduced to outputs alone but must include the behaviours and conditions that make results repeatable,…

Opinion Piece: Rethinking Fairness And Performance - Part 1

The Misconception of Fairness

This first article in the two-part series, written by Camille Rabier from 21st Century, Rethinking Fairness and Performance, examines why equality and equity, while important, do not by themselves produce fairness in reward decisions. It argues that fairness depends on an organisation’s ability to clearly, consistently, and credibly differentiate contribution,…

Why Hr Dashboards Are Now A Compliance Imperative — Not A “nice To Have”

From Metrics to Meaning: Designing HR Dashboards for Proactive Compliance

in South Africa

South Africa’s reward governance landscape is entering one of its most significant periods of change in over a decade. With the Companies Amendment Act of 2024 nearing promulgation, the proposed Fair Pay Wage Bill gaining traction, and the introduction of King V, expectations of HR and Reward teams…

Coaching: The Hidden Engine Of Engagement

Personal Growth drives Engagement: Why Coaching is no longer a

luxury but a business imperative

Disengagement is a business risk, not a mood

Competitors cannot replicate an engaged, supported and psychologically safe workforce. In an environment where others can replicate products, technology and even strategy, business seeks the competitive edge. How to do this remains a deliberate…

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