Kate Dikgale-Freeman, co-owner of Design Network Associates (DNA) says, “Grab as much education as you can, because the more we keep our standard of education low in this country the worse off we’ll be as a nation”.
She went on to urge young women to practice humility and to position themselves as role models for those following on.
“Don’t be selfish or proud but share your experiences, both successes and failures, in your work place, with your community, your church or your stokveld. True success comes when you are able to practice ubuntu and give back some of your knowledge and time to those who are starting out in life,” Kate continued.
Kate has taken her own advice through life, starting from when she graduated as a teacher from the Transvaal Teachers Training College in Pretoria. She later started an adult literacy centre for domestic workers and gardeners in Centurion.
“The opportunity to buy into DNA was just what I needed,” enthused Kate. “It’s given me the chance to work with people from different backgrounds and to unlock the potential in all aspects of their lives.”
Satisfaction for Kate is about developing as a person, sharing her knowledge and enabling that person to do his or her job to the best of their abilities.
Kate has tapped into her HR experience and added HR services, coaching and mentoring to her list of offerings. She is uncompromising on ethics and believes in the importance of doing things the right way. To this end, DNA offers an accredited business ethics training course for companies that support ethical behaviour for their staff, clients and stakeholders.
In her new position on the board of SABPP, Kate has plenty of plans for the association. She will be part of the drive to promote the profession of Human Resources and People Practices by raising the standard of HR training and education.
The SABPP is developing a set of 13 national HR standards for South Africa, which will be launched in August this year. This is one of the most exciting projects in the history of HR in South Africa and one which Kate is proud to be a part of.
Her business partner at DNA, Pauls Gibbons, is the chairperson for the SABPP ethics committee and together they will help to develop a strong ethical ethos within HR departments. Their belief is that HR practitioners are in a position of authority and therefore duty and morally bound to speak out against corruption and fraud wherever it occurs within an organisation. They are also custodians of a fair and transparent selection process when employing staff.
Kate would like to contribute to the growth of this organisation and for SABPP to become globally recognised. She would also like to see every HR practitioner in South Africa become a member of the SABPP.
