Julia Modise, BMW Group's HR Director. | Supplied
Johannesburg - Oprah Winfrey once said that the world’s most prominent women leaders show the importance of honesty, courage, impact, and decisive action in leadership.
One such woman is Julia Modise, who has more than 23 years of experience in the field of Human Resources (HR) and over 13 years in HR leadership.
Her current role as the BMW Group South Africa’s Group Human Resources Director has allowed her to implement many initiatives that have enabled her to attract and maintain top-performing talent, win employer choice awards and enforce operational excellence.
The heart of any business is its people
If enough people are not motivated and inspired to do their jobs and do it well, it puts the business at large at risk.
Modise’s love for people is exactly what drew her to the profession.
“I always knew I wanted to be in a role where I could make a difference. I had three study options to pursue – Psychology, Social Work or Human Resources. I chose Human Resources because it would allow me to make a positive impact in the growth and development of people. While the other options are also great, I was more inclined to Human Resources,” she said, adding that her strong work ethic comes from her background.
Raised by her entrepreneur father and grandmother, Modise learnt early in life what it meant to work hard and be responsible.
“My father started his own business when he was 21 years old. My grandmother was strong-willed, strict, and fierce. She taught me how to be responsible and my father reiterated hard work and achievement. Because of that, I take pride in what I do and it’s important that whatever I produce is of good quality.”
Modise is most inspired by people who have overcome adversity and grown from it, like Amanda Dambuza. People who have improved themselves and their lives despite misfortunes.
“In my book club, we discussed her book Baked in Pain. When I read that book – and I look at where Amanda is today, what she has achieved, and her positivity – it carried so much weight. And it made me realise once again that perhaps the difficulties we experience are meant to shape us into better people and help us achieve what we think is impossible.”
Modise appreciates that her profession allows her the ability to influence the growth and development of people and to change people’s lives using their own potential and performance.
“I love that about my job. There are more things I can mention, like leadership programmes, seeing young graduates begin their career journeys and progress. I also run a mentorship programme for the students at Lethabong Secondary School in Soshanguve, Pretoria.”
As an HR professional, Modise believes change starts with leadership in companies.
HR’s role, she says, is to enable the change.
“We embrace the change, manage the change, and enable people to change. However, I don’t think that change necessarily starts with HR. Instead, it starts with leadership. If the CEO implements and demonstrates change, the adoption thereof is easier throughout the organisation. HR still plays a critical role in driving change and enabling the business to manage it effectively.”
Modise considers her greatest professional strength to be her ability to build and maintain relationships with different people.
“I am also incredibly customer-centric. I demonstrate deep empathy, easily putting myself in someone else’s shoes. I’m quite agile, having worked in retail, manufacturing, property, entertainment, and consulting.”
Her colleagues value her fairness.
“When I commit to something, I do it. And if I can’t, I communicate that. I’m fair and stand my ground. I may do that calmly, but I remain as assertive as possible. I value results, delivery, and achievement. I have a great sense of humour, by the way.”
Modise wants HR professionals to learn that the profession supports people and the business equally.
“There is a tendency for us to lean to one side. We also need to be comfortable with new technology and digital disruption. We’re disrupted almost daily and need to continue operating in an ever-changing environment and amid polarities. We must be comfortable with uncertainty.
“We need to unlearn the preoccupation with daily operational HR topics and start thinking about strategic, geopolitical, and economic issues – issues that consider the future and scenario planning. We must lift ourselves out of the business – not working in it but on it. This role is about being a champion of the people, while driving culture and transformation.”
Driving transformation, equality and diversity is key in her role.
“It’s important to have the right people. We hire the best talent and create the right environment for them to grow and contribute. When people are not in a good place, they will contribute the least possible effort. But, in the right challenging work environment, people will do their best. And when people do their best, company performance improves. Implementing tools that enable conversations about employee careers helps team members gain more information, which adds to the business.”
Being a lifelong learner in this field is important for the business and employee experience, says Modise, reflecting on how HR today is completely different to when she began her career – it’s continuously evolving.
On the importance of diversity, Modise says it is key in driving innovation.
“It helps us solve complicated business problems and challenges, and it ensures we have voices in the room that represent the demographics of the market we serve. Without diversity, we all think the same and reach the same conclusions. We miss out on the customer voice.
“In 2023, diversity isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a business imperative. Because I see the benefit of a diverse team, I see the benefit of diversity of thought, backgrounds, and people who have lived and worked in different markets in different countries. I see the value of having male and female voices and those from different generations. As an organisation, we must be diverse to remain competitive and meet the ever-changing needs of our customers.”
When it comes to trends in the HR space, Modise says it has become increasingly important to factor in technological advances.
“The topic of the metaverse, and the overall implications are becoming increasingly popular in HR.
“Complete employee wellbeing isn’t going anywhere. Having a portfolio of careers is an interesting topic that we need to consider more – the ideas of permanent contracts, employer relationships, and the world becoming much smaller and more intertwined.
“For example, a US-based company can recruit locally and have the employee work from the country. The competition is no longer between companies in specific geographic areas but on a global scale. This is happening quicker than we realise. Another critical trend is the topic of immigration and loss of skills for different reasons. Notably, Africa houses young talent because of its young population, and many global companies will look for talent on the continent. We need to consider how to make our companies attractive.”
Her advice for young professionals who want to raise their profile in HR is to take a keen interest in the business.
“You can’t effectively partner with a business you don’t understand, so commercial and business acumen is critical. You need to be agile and comfortable with discomfort. Even though you will be making difficult decisions from time to time, above all, you genuinely need to care for people.”
The Star
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