At the CIDC’s recent Staff appreciation breakfast function at the Southern Sun Hotel on Friday 2 December, CIDC Executive Manager, Abdul Kerbelker, shared the theme of their recent staff teambuilding event (held from 22/11/22 – 24/11/22) around the idea of a “Mature Organisation.”
This year, as of the 01 December 2022, marks 22 years of the existence of the CIDC.
“As a mature organisation, we have moved beyond our 21-year celebration and received a 21st key of service delivery within the Claremont space,” said Kerbelker.
The teambuilding raised three issues relating to what it means to be a mature organisation, “which every one of the CIDC staff members displays on a daily basis doing their work in Claremont.”
The first lesson is a clear understanding of individual roles and knowledge of the organisation. Kerbelker highlighted his 22 years within an Improvement District environment, the 16 years’ experience of CIDC Operations Manager, Karen Bailey, and the 15 years each of Security Manager, Brian Koopman, Cleansing Manager, Eric Mtyali and Social Fieldworker, Theo Ahrends.
“This,” said Kerbelker, “is a collective experience of over 80 years, which as a mature organisation every one of the CIDC’s staff can draw on to assist in delivering service to the Claremont community.”
“It is clear from our goals, what our roles are in terms of delivering services into the Claremont public space,” said Kerbelker, sharing the goals with everyone present at the gathering.
The CIDC’s aim as a collective is to ensure that the Claremont area is:
- Safe and clean
- Exciting and entertaining
- Easily accessible
- User-friendly to all
- Attractive to public and private investment sources
- A better place for all
A second feature of a mature organisation is that the knowledge of the business is imbedded within every single member of the organisation. “This is why our Public Safety Officers and Cleaners are seen as trusted partners, not only to Claremont SAPS, but also to Law Enforcement and the City of Cape Town’s line departments.”
“Our Officers and Cleaners are able to enter any establishment within the Claremont CBD and deliver services which are trusted to ensure that the organisation’s goals are met,“ added Kerbelker.
“This knowledge, based on over 80 years ‘cumulative experience, is available to all our staff, even those who have just recently joined the organisation. It is further supplemented by a number of in-house and external training courses that all staff, cleaners and security, have undergone in terms of Improvement District orientation, fire-fighting and social crime awareness, amongst others.“
The last lesson from the teambuilding sessions that Kerbelker shared, which flow from the knowledge and trust that have been built up within the Claremont community over the years, is the strength of partnerships with every single person entering the public space of Claremont.
Kerbelker paid tribute to all the Cleaners and Security officers who create this ‘clean and safe space,’ enabling everyone to access their places of work, residential spaces and shopping experiences, through this service delivery partnership, and “making Claremont a better place for all.”