PMR.africa honours excellence in Limpopo with awards

On Monday morning the who’s who of Limpopo’s business community, joined by civil servants from all walks of life, gathered at Bolivia Lodge for the annual PMR.africa Awards.
Johan Hattingh, CEO of PMR.africa, welcomed guests to the event and gave a short overview of the awards process. He said it was the culmination of a research process whereby companies and institutions are rated based on respondents’ perceptions, with a strong focus on evaluating and measuring customer service and customer satisfaction.
“The awards are indicators of a company, department or institution’s competencies. PMR.africa wants the companies to utilise the award, not as a marketing tool only, but also to thank the personnel and staff for creating the perception and reality out there that this company, department or institution is an undisputed leader in the industry,” he said.
To win a Diamond Arrow, a company or institution must rank best overall and score at least 4,10 out of a possible 5 points. Winners of the Golden Arrow must score at least 3,75 and to win a Silver Arrow winners must score at least 3,4.
Hattingh introduced Fulufhelo Netswera, a professor and director at the Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership, as the keynote speaker.
Netswera touched on the idea that institutions of higher learning are not accessible to the general public in South Africa as opposed to universities in Europe that open their campuses and libraries for common use.
He said the culture of anti-institutionalism is so deeply imbedded in people’s psyches that universities and other tertiary institutions needed to tackle this problem head-on. “We need to produce graduates that are truly equipped to make a difference. Only then will people’s attitudes towards higher learning change for the better,” he explained.
Netswera also spoke about the responsibility of business and said, “Today more than ever the business community needs to be actively involved in nation building.”
Polokwane Observer is proud to have been awarded our seventh Diamond Arrow for being the best community newspaper in Limpopo.

MARKI FRANKEN
>>marki.observer@gmail.com