Expected to contribute an additional 22% to ICAS' annual turnover in 2015, Helix comprises a holistic solution set including occupational injury and physical impairment solutions; coaching; learning and development; organisational development; human capital risk profiling; pre-employment candidate screening and profiling; restructuring; retrenchment and support services; (dis)ability management; absenteeism and incapacity solutions; exit and stay interviews; safety risk assessments and relocation assistance.
Employee absenteeism is estimated to cost South Africa a staggering R12 billion a year. The World Health Organisation estimates that depression will be the second-largest burden to the health system by 2020, while 69% of the cost to businesses and other organisations are indirect, and difficult to measure. These are hard costs that several companies can simply not afford to lose and the amount increases drastically if the employee's behaviour results in a loss of customers or contracts. By managing operational risk, businesses can increase profits by up to 65%, and tap into a 40% productivity loss through results fuelled leadership.
"ICAS has established itself as the country's foremost specialist in the provision of behavioural risk management and employee wellbeing programmes to a range of blue-chip clients. The addition of Helix to our service offering really sets us apart from other players in the market and enables ICAS to operate in the same space as other large consulting and Human Capital Management firms in South Africa, as well as enhance the current offerings our existing clients already have in place," continued Davies.
Attending the launch from Schaffer Consulting in the United States, Ron Ashkenas, a senior partner and internationally recognised consultant and speaker on organisational transformation added: "South Africa has significantly evolved on a socio-economic level over the past 20 years and business' expectations of employees has followed suit. Driving secure productivity and profitability in a business is not as cut and dried as it used to be."
The Helix product set and solution has been designed to be adaptable to each client and industry that they operate within. Part of the reason the Helix offering is so successful is that it is not a 'one size fits all' model, but a fully customised solution that can be adapted to the needs and budgets of any organisation, and tailored to any industry, from mining to retail.
