STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM

         When you start from the bottom, you'll eventually reach the top.

ABZ CELEBRATE IN STYLE

With humble beginning , ABZ the company that started with only R 45, has helped  over 8000 students to graduate, by providing to them work integrated learning as well as experiential training.

Established in 2005 as a charity organization dealing with community outreach and community projects...ABZ has underwent tremendous transformation since its establishment (2005 February 25 at 8:45). This charitable organization was established as a result of mugging or what they call street robbery by people who live in the streets/homeless people...this robbery experience inspired the victim (the founder) to do something to give back to the community. That's how ABZ was born...and that's when he gathered the homeless and gave them a project to clean jewelry for rich people.

In 2008 ABZ took a transformation from being a charity organization to a non-profit organization, no longer focusing to homeless people but students with experiential learning and work integrated learning. Throughout the transformation, ABZ did not forget who they are and the reason why they came into existence, that's why even today, they dedicate Fridays to community projects and outreach.

In 2012 the company took yet another transformation from being a non-profit organization to a company that will generate revenue. On the 12th of May 2012, this day remark the new profit making ABZ Holdings. This will be the business pillar for the foundation.

Trot Khoza ABZ Holdings Research and Archive intern

  Team Player

My name is Antony Trot khoza, currently doing my intern at ABZ Holdings. I appreciate the opportunity ABZ holdings gave me to pursue my career with all my heat. My first task at ABZ was to prepare a presentation truly speaking I was nervous, Sabelo Ntombela told me to show enthusiasm to everything I do.  I was then assigned to work in a group titled research and archive. Research and archive means gathering all information about ABZ Holdings activities such as company biography, events, achievements and other publications relating to the to the organization for future references.  Gathering information about company’s activities gave me a platform to understand ABZ Holdings philosophy.

Our group consist of eight PR Interns Msiza Sifunda, Prince Cebekhulu, Thabelo Nemirini, Trot Khoza, Brenda Masuku, Zubenathi Ngqikiza, Mpho Tshishonga, Xolani Sithole.  Zubenathi Ngqikiza was leading the group who was always productive and making sure that we work together as a team. Working in a group allows us to break task, exchange technical instructions and manage to complete a task in time. 

ABZ Holdings consists of four divisions to offer students with work integrated learning such as property development, training and development, supply chain services, property development, innovation and entrepreneurship. I was privilege to get the opportunity to convert the theory that I learned through my first and second year, and likely to thank Mrs Paris who gave us her time to teach us how to archive. 

Mrs Paris UJ DFC Chief librarian brieflying PR Interns about ABZ Holdings Journey 

Farewell party- Mrs Julia Paris.

Farewell to ABZ Holdings mother, Mrs Paris

By Faith Motsoene

A mother to many and a life coach to some. On the 22nd of August 2014 ABZ Holdings interns Faith Motsoene and Simangele Masuku hosted a surprise farewell party for Mrs Paris to biding her farewell and wishing her good luck for her future for her future plans.

Mrs Paris saying her last words at her
farewell celebration.

She is a head librarian by profession but she has done more than what her job description entails. One would never go to her office and not get contacts, referrals, career advice and even beauty tips.

Mrs Paris has a welcoming heart and a heart of giving, her efforts will forever be remembered by the thousands of students she has helped to feed and clothe throughout the years.

The celebration was a surprise, when she got to the venue the guests welcomed her with warm hearts and smiles on their faces. During the event in her speech she mentioned how she and ABZ Holdings CEO Bongani Zwane met and how she encouraged him to carry on with ABZ Holding. “Perseverance is the key to success, no one made it easy and everyone has to start somewhere in order to succeed” said Mrs Paris in her speech.

She mentioned an idea Lucky (former ABZ Holdings member) initiated by turning mud into a melodious bird. That bird was used to teach children from townships how to play music and it made them understand music better. This was another way of keeping the children out of the streets and enhanced their talents in music.

 
Mrs Paris legacy will forever live on. Her efforts will be remembered and she will be highly missed by her colleagues, students that she life coached and the university staff members.

ABZ Holdings wishes her the best for her new journey.    

ABZ Interns on a team building retreat

By: Simangele Masuku

ABZ Holdings Interns playing chess

On the 16 October 2014 ABZ research

and Archive group organized a fun day which was at ABZ holdings offices. 

The aim of the fun day was promote interaction between the interns, get to know each other on a more relaxed and personal level by playing variety of games such as; Fifa 14, Scrambles, 30 seconds and some “kasi “ games such a hop in hop out (umgusha) and a chess game.

Fun Day also known as Team Building are a way that employees get to relax and forget about deadline and get a chance to engage on a more personal level, on these events as employees we to know each other strength and weakness we learn to be comfortable with each other.   

These are importance of Team building in a work place:

•          Activities that create discussion enable open communication among employees
•       Team leadership and team building go hand in hand. The more comfortable your  employees are to express their ideas and opinions, the more confident they will          become.

•    Team building activities that require coworkers to work together to solve problems can improve the ability to think rationally and strategically
• ·   Team building increases the trust factor with your employees. 
•      Often in corporate settings there is a disconnection between the leadership team and employees because the employees sense too large of a gap between the two. 

Organisation should see the value of team building and how it’s going to contribute to the growth of the organisation and to produce more effective employees.

                                                                                                                                                                      

The rose among the thorns

ABZ Holdings is made up three operational groups which is the Customer Care, Strategic Campaign and the Research and Archive. I am part of the Research and Archive, the research group is made out of 8 guys and one women. I call myself the rose in group because I bring the feminine touch into the group.

 Research and archive assistant leader

My name is Granny Simangele Masuku I am a third year Public Relations and Communication student at the University of Johannesburg. I am currently a PR and Communication intern at ABZ Holdings; I am part of the research and archive group.

ABZ Holdings gave me a platform to put theory into practise, I have learned to be initiative, to think outside the box and most of all to be creative and use what is available to make a success of everything that am working on. I have learned a lot about the Public relations and Communication industry; through the process I have developed a love for Events management and the complexity. What I love about events it’s the fact that you do not know what to expect, you always on your toes and you work with different people on each event and you learn a lot from th

e people you work with.

through it all I have learned to show passion, commitment, dedication and love for my work.

STORY OF A LEADER

Research And Archives Leader Zubenathi Ngqikiza

 

Being a leader means that you have to be tolerant, because you meet different personalities from different people. You have to possess leadership skills. Some of those skills involve openness, focus, strategic thinking, high energy level and the Ability to influence and lead others. One of my favourite motivational speakers and behavioural specialists Dr John Demartini told me that a leader does not stray away from challenges but rather look for challenges.

My name is Zubenathi Ngqikiza. I am a Public Relations intern at ABZ Holdings, an organisation whose vision is to innovate business solutions for sustainability. Its mission is to provide professional services that benefit its clients. ABZ Holdings is divided into three departments, Strategic Management, Customer Care and Research And Archives.

I am a leader of the Research And Archives which is the team that plays a crucial role in this organisation. Its main role is to store information of the organisation for future reference, ranging from the background information to all the events that an organisation has held.

This is a very effective team that consists of intelligent individuals that challenge you intellectually. These are the people that require you to think critically before you convey a message. When I came here I didn`t know anything about leading people but as the time went by I became familiar with effective ways of leading people.

When you deal with intelligent people such as the ones that I`m working with, you must be able to manage conflict because they come up with conflicting ideas which some of them are hard to judge. A huge challenge comes when you have to face a destructive conflict as we know that there is constructive and destructive conflict. Destructive conflict arises when your team members make an argument personal, which has nothing to do with the work. That is the most difficult moment for a leader because people show different sides of themselves and you have to deal with it.

It`s hard dealing with people especially adults because they have personal problems which lead to poor work attendance. You usually have no say when your team members tell you that they won`t make it on a particular day and that becomes your problem because in the end it seems as if you do not do your job as a leader.

There is also what I call constructive conflict. This type of conflict is positive because it strives to find a solution on a work related issue. It actually motivates me because it actually shows how eager people are to find a solution. It also shows that people are competitive in their ideas. These are the kinds of challenges that grow me as an individual whether they are positive or negative, in the end they teach you different things about different people and how to deal with them.

 

By: Zubenathi Ngqikiza

 

ABZ PRESENTS: Research and Archiving

This is a blog by the ABZ Holdings’ research and archiving team. Research and archiving refers to gathering and storing of information for future reference. Some of the information will be for internal use, and some of it will be published in order to build the image of the company.

 

 

Introducing The Team

 



The Research & Archiving Team 

Zubenathi Ngqikiza (Team Leader)

Brenda Masuku (Assistant Leader)

Thabelo Nemirini

Msiza Sfundza

Prince Cebekhulu

 

Xolani Sithole

Mpho Molokwane