This newsletter marks the close of a momentous year for Syntell in 2004. We started off with a management buy-out and grew from strength to strength as the year went on. So many of the things that we had been working on for years started to bear fruit, and it is very encouraging that the current prospects for further growth are stronger than they have ever been.

A big thank you to all of our Customers and Suppliers who made 2004 what it was. We look forward to building even stronger relationships with every one of you this year and in the years to come. We hope you enjoyed the festive period and the time with friends and family, and specifically we hope you had the chance to put your feet up and contemplate the year ahead.

Do the words 'municipality' or 'government department' make you think first of a collection of beige-walled offices with sturdy furniture in a face-brick building? Or do you rather think of the people that work in that building?

We, at Syntell, think of the people because these people are our customers. We would like to introduce some of them to you, so that we can all get to know one another better. The first person in our 'spotlight on' series is ...

Heathcliff Thomas is the Traffic Manager: City of Cape Town, Tygerberg Administration, a position he has held since he was promoted from Traffic Manager: Tygerberg in 2002.

Thomas' 21-year career in traffic management has taken some interesting turns. Between 1995 and 1997 he boarded a helicopter every morning, to broadcast traffic reports for Cape Town on Good Hope FM, while flying over the city.

The journey to his present position as Traffic Manager started with training at the Traffic College, followed by every possible course in Traffic Services. In addition, Thomas completed his Masters in Public Administration and Development at Stellenbosch University in 1997. This enabled him to lecture part-time at Peninsula Technikon in Public Management and Law, between 2000 and 2002.

He also chairs the quarterly meeting of the Traffic Chiefs' Forum in the Western Cape, whose membership includes a full complement of traffic chiefs from all municipalities in the province.

The Traffic division of the City of Cape Town, Tygerberg Administration, and its citizens, are fortunate to have a visionary at their head. 'We are going to employ more advanced technology in traffic management, and also approach the private sector in 2005 to assist us with new driver education programmes that will particularly target schools', said Thomas.

Thomas looks forward to the day when driver attitudes will change to such an extent that drivers comply voluntarily with traffic regulations. He even hopes for a substantial period of time where traffic officers are not able to write out any fines because no traffic violations have occurred.

'Twice this year the call centre has surpassed the sales target set by our client Old Mutual,' says Rayyan Bardien, Contracts Manager at Syntell Business Solutions call centre. 'I would like to thank our agents for all their efforts in achieving this,' he added.

This high level of performance by the agents will go a long way to fulfilling the call centre's aim of becoming the preferred outsourcing call centre in Africa. They have also set their sights on being part of an industry boom in outsourcing in the United Kingdom, which is expected to take place in 2005.

As part of their drive to provide improved customer service, Syntell Business Solutions moved to larger premises in October 2004. They installed a new telephony system, which improves efficiency because it allows team leaders to individually manage the performance of call centre agents. In addition, they customised their database to better suit clients' profiles.

To keep pace with international trends, by early 2005 Syntell Business Solutions will begin using Internet Voice, also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). This technology will allow them to make telephone calls using a broadband Internet which will result in lower costs for international clients.

Part two of our series on the mail sorting world of Syntell Advanced Services introduces the team of Witspos in Gauteng. In part one (May 2004 issue of SYNTELLegram) we introduced Portmail in Port Elizabeth.

Witspos is one of the largest mail sorting sites in the country. It is staffed by six people and acts as a training centre for staff at other mail sites, particularly those who need to gain knowledge of the CFC mailing machine.

Witspos is run by the expert team of Marius Barnard and second-in-command Jonathan Rogers.

Marius Barnard and Jonathan Rogers

Marius was promoted to Supervisor in 2001, having started as a technician in 1998. At one stage he ran both the Witspos and Tshwane sites. Marius' colleagues in Syntell North say he is an excellent team player. 'He is always willing to help everywhere and is a great pleasure to work with,' they say.

Jonathan started his career as a technician in 1984 at Servitek Services (Pty) Ltd, Jeppe Street Post Office in Johannesburg, and joined Plessey in 1987. He remained with the company through its various name changes until today, when it operates as Syntell Advanced Services' Witspos site. Colleagues Marius Barnard and Ronald Wright say that he weathered the company changes well, and call him the 'professor' of Syntell, due to his irreplaceable knowledge.

He is known to be generous with this knowledge when training learner technicians. 'If technicians start their careers with Jonathan, he shares what he knows, and is helpful and inspirational,' says Ronald Wright. He has a good sense of humour too and is well-known for comically portraying situations through drawings.

Job seekers with no experience read advertisements like the one above with a sinking heart.

To address the gap between theoretical training and needs in the labour market, the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) learnerships programme was established as part of the Skills Development Act of 1998. Learners who participate in the programme benefit by receiving theory integrated with practical training in the workplace, and companies also benefit because they receive a grant for training the learner.

Syntell Business Solutions has been participating in the learnerships programme since October 2003. Relationship Manager Cheryl-Anne Kannemeyer explains that 7 learners of the initial 20 completed the
12-month training in only 6 months.

Melanie Bailes of Quality Solutions provided the training. Nazlie Masoet of Services SETA assessed the learners in August 2004 and deemed all of them competent at contact centre NQF 2 level.

Congratulations to the following learners who will receive certificates in early 2005: Nomonde Yenzekile, Ruth Ntola, Natasha Bedien, Charlene Lombard, Noncedo Mkhanzana, Randal Bossr and Haydn Moses.

The City of Cape Town working group consists of members from Syntell and the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. They meet at Syntell's offices once every two to three months to maintain good communication and discuss service level, as well as product improvements.

Standing: Ametje Rist, Saadiq Mathews, Waheed Mia, Charles Schroeder and Waseem Gamieldien of Syntell; Wim Fereira and Brian Krumm of Cape Town; Brian Adams, Syntell; Paul Bowins, Cape Town; and Andrew Houliston, Syntell. Seated: Ayanda Ronga, Pieter Brink, Leonie Perold, and Philette de Jager, all of Cape Town.

'Masiphumelele' means 'we shall succeed' in Xhosa. One of its residents, Mr Gumede, has done just that.

Mr Gumede owns a piece of land in Masiphumelele, on Cape Town's peninsula, where he has been living in an informal home. By October last year, he had fulfilled Habitat for Humanity's requirements for enlisting volunteers to build him a new brick home. These are: ownership of land, a collective household salary within a specific range (to accommodate bond repayments), and work done on other Habitat building projects.

Sayd Mohamed of Syntell discusses future prospects with Mr Gumede

On 12 October last year, Syntell took part in its third build with Habitat for Humanity, by responding to CapeTalk radio and GrandWest Corporate Social Investment's appeal to build 10 houses in 5 days in Masiphumelele.

Sayd Mohamed, Lance Bailey and Sue Ansell of Syntell learn new building skills

Syntell's volunteers were enriched by the atmosphere of hope they found in Masiphumelele, particularly evident in Mr Gumede. The residents of this vibrant area of the Cape peninsula are all at work, cleaning roads, upholstering furniture on the sidewalk, selling essentials in spaza shops and heading for success.

'When are we going building again?' said Sayd just last week.