Hi-tech recruitment group Paracon has emerged as SA's most empowered listed information & communications technology (ICT) company in the 2008 Top Empowerment Companies (TEC) survey.
The group, led by Mark Jurgens, beat out heavyweights like GijimaAST, Dimension Data (Didata), MTN and Telkom to lead the sector-focused TEC list.
Paracon's rise to the top has been a steady one. It was third on the ICT list and came in 17th overall last year. This year it went to 12th on the overall list and increased its total BEE score from 66,90 to 69,11.
The delisting of last year's winner, Bytes Technology, helped Paracon's rise to the top of the sector rankings.
Despite the departure of Bytes, the competition was tight. There was less than two points separating the top three companies on the list. GijimaAST came in second with a total BEE score of 68,84 and was followed closely by Didata with 67,21.
Dealing with empowerment issues has become intrinsic to how Paracon does business. "We have monthly meetings on transformation," says group financial director Mireille Levenstein. She says the group frequently checks whether it is keeping to its empowerment procurement targets and where it can still improve its commitment to transformation.
This kind of attention to detail has seen it align its empowerment goals with its business goals. An example of this is its graduate training programme. The group trains and places fresh university graduates with its clients. These trainees stand a good chance of being employed after the training.
Levenstein says over the past few years the group has trained and placed about 200 graduates.
But Paracon's commitment to skills development does not stop there. It has gone into partnership with the Jonda Learnership Academy at Park Station in Johannesburg. The academy specialises in training school-leavers in IT skills.
As a recruiting company, training people for the job market may play to its strength but there are other empowerment issues that it also deals with quite well.
The group also does well in affirmative procurement. On the ICT list it had the second-highest ranking behind Telkom.
Paracon says the goal of its procurement policy is not just about buying from black suppliers but also about supporting them. "Our policy is to enter long-term agreements with these suppliers in order to assist in the sustainability of the business," it says.
To assist in the development of small black-owned businesses, Paracon also invests in such enterprises when it finds an opportunity to do so.
In 2002 it took a 49% holding in Zenzele, a small IT group owned by black women that provides affirmative action candidates for both the public and private sector. Paracon supports Zenzele by providing finance, advice and infrastructure.
Women's group WDB Investments has a 26,5% holding in Paracon. WDB is owned by the WDB Trust, which has loaned more than R20m, and trained more than 15 000 women.
Despite its success, Paracon still has to deal with some big challenges. "We can still improve when it comes to recruiting black management," says Levenstein.
As a recruiting company, Paracon knows only too well the problems of retaining and attracting skilled black staff. One of its senior managers, Shafiq Daniels, the MD of its Cape Town office, left the group last year to dabble in property development.
Levenstein says given the opportunities available to top black managers, it is not surprising that there is so much movement between jobs.
