Hi-Q Cape Town, situated in the heart of the bustling ‘Mother City’ centre, has become the first in the network to achieve an impressive Level One Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) rating.
Owner Peter Alterskye – a no-nonsense entrepreneur with a passion for the automotive fitment industry – said the secret to a BEE rating was to “just do it!”.
“One of the biggest challenges was a mindset of ‘so much paperwork’... the piles of paper and detail-digging required. Time spent writing is taken from time that should be spent managing the business. All credit to the patient staff, especially Dijon de Jager and Shamima Omar, at MpowerRatings, who conducted our full BEE audit.”
Alterskye’s Cape Town dealership, co-owned with Ursula Fredericks and Elaine Solomon, who is also the Assistant Manager at the store, was amongst the first in the Hi-Q franchise to open in 2001. His practical advice for entrepreneurs in similar businesses is simple: “Have a transparent document folder – labelled DO IT! – on your desk, in the way, all the time. Maintain your focus on the requirements of the rating criteria and gather all BEE-related documents in there until you have achieved your certificate.
“Our industry needs to stand up for itself. We need to establish an identity greater than the sum of our product range. The first so-called ‘fitment centres’ opened 30 years ago; now there are hundreds of modern, well positioned, specialist shops offering while-you-wait service with no direct labour costs charged. Crazy, but true! It’s high time we shouted from the rooftops about this on-going fantastic offer to the public and fleet operators,” he said.
“The BEE project could be the catalyst that takes our industry to a new level. Our brand is more than a logo. It’s the projection of our personality; an expression of our value system. Hi-Q’s position is entrenched as being always reliable: The one you can trust.
“As a Qualifying Small Enterprise, Hi-Q Cape Town is measured on four of the seven elements of the generic BEE scorecard. In our case, these were Ownership, Management Control, Employment Equity and Socio-Economic Development. At our shop, in the main, this is who we are. We didn’t change our business to become a BEE business. We increased our focus on those areas not well defined and made some improvements along the way.”
Alterskye said the Level One rating was important not only for Hi-Q Cape Town’s credibility with its fleet customers but also for “our personal belief in the concept”.
“Our staff are proud to be part of a successful business – Level One or not. We don’t have an ownership plan for technical staff. Their focus is on security of employment, above-average rate of pay, fair working conditions and compassionate management. It’s a firm but fair approach that places food on the table and ensures each member of the team pulls their weight.
“There are no restrictions to positive attitude. We all have access to it. If one removes the ‘Government’ label and applies one’s mind to the need to spread wealth and increase interaction amongst people of all race groups in South Africa, I believe the BEE programme could gain better public support. At present, it focuses on people of colour. The time has come to elevate the programme to a people-based plan to grow the private sector. Economies grow best when people are inspired, not sidelined. The revolution is over. It’s time to focus on the business of growth.”
