Heléne du Toit joined us in September 2009 and has thoroughly been enjoying her work for CONTRACT South Africa. And we have been enjoying having such a vibrant, enthusiastic and capable new colleague. Find more about her here…

Heléne du Toit – that sounds like a French name?

Yes it does – but I am from Pretoria and am Afrikaans speaking! But both my maiden name, Theron, and my new surname du Toit are linked and go back to the French Huguenots.

Tell us some more about yourself, what is your personal background?

My home town Pretoria is a big Afrikaans city and English is hardly spoken there – I only really started speaking English 7 years ago when I moved to Cape Town. I come from quite a big family – we are four children and have an extraordinarily close bond. My dad is a Minister as well as a Professor in theology; my mum also has a background in theology. We are a very lively and loud family and joke around a lot. My husband Chris is an actuary and works for an Asset Management Company. The support I got from him to move to CONTRACT SA has been incredible.

My hobbies – hiking, surfing, rock climbing and bouldering – are a non-negotiable for me. I also love dancing, going on wine tours and enjoying beautiful scenery, good wine, good food and good friends.

What is your professional background? And what did you do before joining CONTRACT?

I completed a Bachelor of Commerce in Tourism Management and a Bachelor of Commerce in Industrial Psychology. I then completed my Honours in Industrial Psychology. I cum lauded all my degrees and proud of that. I also completed an Advanced Life Coaching course, and have been trained in Facilitation and Transactional Analysis.

Before joining CONTRACT, I managed all the HR functions at a tourism company, where I also got experience in managing and training HR trainees. When I did HR, I was quite shocked about employees being at the short end of the stick, and organisational processes that were hindering the thriving of the organisation. The more I read up on employee wellness, training and organisational development, the more I realised it was something I wanted to be doing. I then decided to resign and start my own coaching practice, which has been running successfully for 2 years. The best move ever!

So now you’ve joined us, a company based in Germany. What is ‘typically German‘ for you?

Beer, beer and more beer – PROST! On a more serious note: typically German for me is really the idea of straightforwardness, absolutely no beating about the bush.

And why join CONTRACT – what is interesting about us for you?

First of all, I love the fact that I am now part of a bigger company, a team and family. Hearing about the content and method of CONTRACT’s work, as well as the company culture, made me want to join CONTRACT from the moment I heard about it. The way CONTRACT approaches Organisational Development is different from what I’ve experienced here – more sensitive to an organisation’s real needs and culture, and more flexible in its approach. Facilitating workshops and developing people as well as organisations is something that I so long ached to do but knew I had to learn more about it first and gain experience.

We don’t understand ourselves as a typical German company. We have an intercultural team, but of course CONTRACT does come out of a German culture and was shaped by it. What are your thoughts: where does our philosophy fit into South Africa, and where do we (or a German company in general) have to learn some more, especially in a South African context?

I think the CONTRACT philosophy is something that South Africa still has to get used to. It is a new, more open way of consulting and facilitating and it will be a learning experience for our clients. I can just imagine how the CONTRACT approach, creating solutions together with the client, can have a major impact on the conflict/misunderstandings between cultures.

German companies can learn from South Africa that people in an emerging dynamic country sometimes have different needs. One needs to take into account the different levels of education amongst peers in our country, and also language barriers within in a company, as we have 11 official languages in SA. This means that processes sometimes happen on a less conscious and language-based level, but a more experiential and sub-conscious level.

What would you say is the biggest faux-pas/ mistake that a consultant and facilitator can make in South Africa?

Not believing in your audience, and anticipating that the audience will not understand due to their educational background. And also not to do homework on the cultural background of your client, finding out what they are about and what is important to them.

What human and professional quality should CONTRACT acknowledge the most in South African people?

We have a tendency to be extremely friendly, very welcoming and will go out of our way to help people. We are incredibly passionate about what we do and about our country – sometimes we can even be blinded by it.

So do you think you will also be working in Europe/ Germany at some point?

Yes that would be great! I’ve already got books to learn German at home!

If you had a motto / slogan, what would it be?

Live life to the fullest – its fun!

That fits nicely with CONTRACT’s philosophy that work can actually be fun!

Yes, I absolutely love what I do, and I love the fact that what I do sometimes contributes to others loving what they do, too!