SMD

Annual Report 2023/2024

Complaints mechanism Current/actual complaints mechanism Desired complaints mechanism

Actual achievements

100% acknowledgement rate of receipt of queries within two days. 80% Feedback on progress has been made after every three working days. The call centre receives and registers all queries or complaints. Queries and complaints have been dealt with immediately by the call centre or escalated to the relevant business unit. All queries and complaints have been resolved within three days.

100% (all service points) clearly outlined complaints mechanisms in place. Resolution turn-around time met: 80% success rate on complaints management with the following breakdown: 100% acknowledgement rate of receipt within two days. 80% Feedback on progress made after every three working days. The call centre receives and registers all queries or complaints. Queries and complaints are dealt with immediately by the call centre or escalated to the relevant business unit. All queries and complaints are resolved within three days.

The call centre receives and registers all queries or complaints. Queries and complaints are dealt with immediately by the call centre or escalated to the relevant business unit. All queries and complaints are resolved within 72 hours.

2.3 Organisational environment In the second quarter of 2023/24, the Director-General of the DSBD was transferred to The Presidency. In July, an Acting Director General, from outside DSBD, was appointed. In the same quarter, one Deputy Director-General (DDG) was appointed, following by an appointment of a second DDG in the third quarter of the financial year under review. One DDG position remained vacant at the end of the 2023/24 financial year. This meant that two out of four strategic and top management positions were filled. The Department intends to complete the remaining two (DG and DDG) positions, within the 2024/2025 fiscal year. A further eight SMS positions were in support roles such as finance, corporate management, and executive support were also filled. In pursuit of fostering a stable and agile work environment, the Department persistently executed the approved Departmental structure, introducing 88 new positions and addressing existing vacancies. The Department has made significant strides in reducing the vacancy rate from 35.5% to 23.7% since 1 April 2023, marking an 11.8% decrease during the reporting period. Key strategies for attracting and recruiting were undertaken, including the procurement of service providers to assist in response handling and personnel suitability checks, which reduced workload during the recruitment and selection process. These providers aided the Department in finding and sourcing the best applicants for certain posts. In order to achieve a representative and diverse workforce, the Department has maintained the representation of women in senior management positions above 50%, reaching 53.7% representation by the end of the reporting period. In the first year of implementing the recruitment strategy for persons with disabilities, the Department has increased PWDs representation to 3.7%. However, increasing the representation of youth remains a challenge, with youth employment only reaching 22.8%. The Department enhanced internal skills and capabilities through focused training interventions in areas such as business communication, leadership development, knowledge management, policy development, and change management. Additionally, allocated bursaries aligned with relevant fields like public administration, risk management, finance, and development studies, with R2.3 million spent on bursaries and R983 thousand on training initiatives. The Department sustained improved performance management practices during the reporting period with a small number of recorded cases of non-compliance registered in respect of the submission of performance agreements and was once more able to successfully conclude all moderations and processing of outcomes during the financial year under review. The appointment of Lyra Health (Service Provider) as the counselling and organisational enhancement service provider for the Department has seen employees taking up the utilisation of services offered by service provider in improving the employee’s quality

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Department of Small Business Development • PERFORMANCE INFORMATION • Part B