John Botha, a joint CEO of Global Business Solutions (GBS) and one of three finalists in the Border Kei Chamber of Business Gold Awards category, said the company was established 31 years ago by Johnny and Linda Goldberg.
Under their personal care, the business blossomed into a dynamic leader in the field of labour law, serving organisations across all sectors, including major multinational corporations.
“It was a time of transformation, with an interim constitution signalling the imminent birth of a new democratic SA and a changed legislative landscape.
“Johnny identified a need for a specialist in the field of employment relations who could guide employers towards compliance.”
Botha said one of his aims was to provide superior customer service with quick turnaround times and a customised, attention-to-detail approach that resulted in lifelong relationships with clients, with many becoming personal friends.
GBS’s agility helped it to successfully lead itself and others through the tumultuous Covid-19 period.
Botha said: “We prefer to work smarter, not harder, and embraced the world of AI by developing tools, bots and systems to perform routine and mundane tasks while the team maintains the human connection.”
If GBS’s success had to be attributed to one person, said Botha, it would definitely be Johnny, who led by example with tremendous drive, self-discipline and work ethic.
He was always available, responsive and open to new ideas.
“As joint CEOs, Thembi [Thembakazi Chagonda] and I cannot help but follow in these giant footsteps and inspire and lead the rest of the team to do the same.”
Botha recalls the best business advice he ever received was “follow the smart trust model for personal development, character and competence”.
Advice that he passes on to people looking to enter his field is to treat everyone with respect, never stop learning, and become a sought-after specialist in your chosen field.
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance could be a challenge but he said GBS was so invested in this goal that “we recently acquired a small boutique business focused on exactly this”.
“Circle & Square is aimed at humanising organisations and we’re developing a mental wellness bot.
“We also encourage team members to schedule family time and to disconnect from technology.”
Botha said GBS’s teams had achieved many milestones over the years, but Johnny, being part of the national labour force task team that worked together to resolve UIF issues and which resulted in about R66bn being paid to 16-million employees, was undoubtedly a highlight.
“For GBS another would be the ‘Ask Johnny’ WhatsApp group that enabled us to connect directly with business leaders and to successfully lead them through the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We work hard at having a human-centric and innovative approach to providing smart solutions to workplace problems, incorporating the trilogy of law, EQ and AI.”
Asked what their five-year goal was, Botha said: “It’s a big group so there are many. But personally I want GBS to be an internationally recognised leader which organisations are proud to partner with.”
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