8 March 2010 - According to the 2010 Grant Thornton International Business Report, lack of availability of a skilled workforce is South African business owners’ largest (34%) constraint to growth, for the fourth year in a row. Yet, employers have been trying to chase down these scarce skills using the same ineffective recruitment tactics for years.

The founders of JobCrystal, the only interactive talent management portal in South Africa, decided that there had to be a better, faster and cheaper way to recruit than the way they had always done it. When they couldn’t find one, they decided to invent it, and the outcome was JobCrystal.

JobCrystal changes the way companies recruit by putting employers directly in touch with a 60,000-strong pool of top tier candidates. It then gives them the in-depth analytical tools to quickly identify the most appropriate candidate for the position and their organisation. A scientific combination of some clever analytics and a sophisticated referral network is used to match candidates and employers. In addition, candidates are matched to the company’s culture as well as on skills and experience, further improving the hiring success rate.

Because companies can talk directly to candidates themselves via JobCrystal, it bypasses the lengthy, costly and inefficient process involving recruitment agencies. Once logged into JobCrystal, it takes as little as five minutes to be put in touch with suitable candidates.

“I am sure many companies would agree that traditional recruitment is seldom more than a crude game of snap, with employers wasting their time and money interviewing inappropriate candidates unsuitable for the organisation and position. What’s more, they probably had to wait a number of weeks to get their hands on the CVs in the first place,” said Kevin Laithwaite, Managing Director of JobCrystal.

“We remove the fuzziness in the recruitment process by making the filtering and matching process scientific. Our aim is to deliver employers 10 exceptionally strong candidates, three of whom they interview, and one of whom they hire, in the shortest possible length of time. We’re so confident the system works, that we offer a six-month money back guarantee!”

JobCrystal focusses on candidates looking to earn R150,000 per year and more. It charges a flat fee per successful placement, with no upfront charges. Companies including Allan Gray, Protea Hotels, Santam and Foschini are using JobCrystal to source candidates.

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About JobCrystal

JobCrystal turns traditional hiring on its head by placing employers directly in touch with a pool of passive jobseekers. The online service is highly automated and cleverly matches candidates with employers, making using the interactive talent management portal faster, cheaper and more effective than any other way of recruiting. Founded by Kevin Laithwaite and Karl Westvig and launched in August 2009, JobCrystal is already being used by companies including Allan Gray, Santam, Foschini and Protea Hotels.

For more information please visit: www.jobcrystal.co.za (for jobseekers) or www.jobcrystal.co.za/talent (for employers)

Released on behalf of JobCrystal by:

Vanessa Clark
Twokats Communications
Ph: +27 82 335 1117
Email: Vanessa.clark@twokats.com
Web: www.twokats.com

The media company has renewed its sponsorship of the Helderberg Cricket Development Centre, which introduces underprivileged children in the Somerset West area to cricket. It has also continued its support for the University of Cape Town’s Media School, a media training and community development programme.

The Helderberg Cricket Development Centre (HCDC)

The HCDC has basically introduced the game of cricket to underprivileged learners in the Helderberg area and in three short years has seen some astonishing results. Founded by Craig Melvill and Matthew Knott, the organisation provides learners with professional cricket lessons after school, including transport to the training area, cricket paraphernalia and refreshments.

Originally working with Umnqophiso Primary School and Somerset West Methodist Primary School, the HCDC has included Kanyolwethu High School in the programme this year to allow learners who have left primary school to continue with the coaching programme. Since inception, the initiative has seen some of its beneficiaries win places in local and regional cricket sides.

TEAMtalk media’s continued sponsorship in 2010 has allowed the HCDC to extend the programme to high school learners.

“Cricket never existed in the Lwandle area, and last year Umnqophiso played their first ever match. A few of the boys have improved to the extent that they play for the local club’s (Somerset West CC) respective A sides,’ said HCDC’s Craig Melvill. “Without TEAMtalk media’s ongoing support, we wouldn’t have achieved these amazing results so quickly.”

The Media School

The Media School, run under the auspices of NPO Ubunye, was started by UCT’s Varsity Newspaper in 2005 and is staffed by volunteer students from the university. The school runs after-school journalism courses in three disadvantaged Philippi schools to give learners the chance to gain skills to enter the job market, as well as support personal development. It also aims to uplift communities through encouraging an awareness of the world around them.

According to the director, Jacqui Watson, the project has developed into more than journalism and media training though. “We began as a project hosting workshops, but now we are a sustained community outreach programme which runs throughout the year,” said Watson.

The Media School runs weekly workshops at the nominated schools and the sponsorship from TEAMtalk media will be used to cover the printing costs for a school newspaper that was launched in August last year. In addition to the workshops, The Media School also arranges internships and excursions to local media companies where learners can gain additional experience and further their interest in the media.

“We are delighted to continue to support both these worthy causes,” said Barrie Jarrett. “Giving back something to two areas that everyone at TEAMtalk media is obviously passionate about - sport and media - means we are all very proud of our involvement with HCDC and The Media School.”

TEAMtalk Media will also continue its support of the Salvation Army and the Emasithandane Children’s Project in 2010.

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ABOUT TEAMtalk media

One of South Africa’s leading digital content producers, TEAMtalk media creates sports content for radio, print, online, TV and mobile - providing quality content for the Sky network of sports sites, which reaches 25 million unique readers, as well as its media syndication partners.

Its network includes: Sky Sports, Sporting Life, Sport365, Football365, Golf365, Cricket365, Extreme 365, Oddschecker, Planet Rugby, Planet F1, and football365.co.za. Additional offerings are: Sky News, Sky News Radio, Sky Text.

f365.co.za, the mobile version of popular local football site football365.co.za was selected as a finalist in the mobile publishing category for the 2009 Bookmark Awards, which rewards online excellence.

The company consists of four main business units: editorial, mobile, an award-winning customer support service, and ad campaign management. TEAMtalk Media’s South African editorial team - which works in tandem with the UK team - is comprised of seasoned sports journalists who are leaders in their respective fields.

The mobile division of TEAMtalk Media generates cutting edge sports graphics, ring tones, animations and a host of additional bespoke mobile entertainment content, for use by the internal network of sites as well as for syndication.

TEAMtalk Media is a proud division of British Sky Broadcasting.

For more information visit: www.teamtalkmedia.co.za

Issued by TWOKATS COMMUNICATIONS on behalf of TEAMtalk media

For more info:

Contact: Vanessa Clark
Tel: 082 335 1117
Email: vanessa.clark@twokats.com

25 February 2010 — Less than a year after a 31.3% price hike, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) yesterday approved an additional 24.8% rise, with further increases in the pipeline: 25.8% in 2011 and 25.9% in 2012. According to Rennie Property, South Africa’s leading specialist commercial property management company, this will have a significant impact on the tenants of commercial property and as a result, the owners as well.

So it is now more important than ever before for owners, property managers and tenants to work together to reduce electrical expenditure. Ironically, with an upswing in the economy, increased activity is helping to drive electrical use this year.

Although Nersa did not simultaneously introduce the controversial energy conservation scheme penalties for large electrical users, it is expected that this may still be launched later this year.

We are still waiting for the details of the price rise, and just how commercial property will be affected. However it seems likely, that similar to last year, commercial property and larger residential users will contribute through higher rates towards subsidies for low-income domestic users.

Unsurprisingly, electricity continues to be the largest operational cost for commercial property, according to the August 2009 South African Property Owner’s Association (SAPOA) report. Expenditure on electricity rose to more than 27% of total opex, from 22.6% in December 2008.

Henry Truter, director at Rennie Property, said: “If the 2009 price hikes were a wake-up call to the property industry, these latest price hikes are a startling reminder that power consumption needs to be high on property owners’, managers’ and tenants’ agendas.

“The expected increases over the next few years means the cost per square meter for electricity in a commercial building can go up to R 30 or more.

“Last year we advised stakeholders on how to set up an energy management plan for their buildings, and this year we will continue to work with owners and tenants to help them reduce power consumption, within the scope of their individual situations.”

South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, requested the price hike in order to fund a R 385 billion capital expansion plan over the next five years.

- ENDS-

Notes to editors:

Some of the advice Rennie Property will be giving stakeholders includes:

· The three pillars on which energy conservation rests are:

1. Human attitude: the highest savings are achieved when everyone works together.

2. Update: retrofit old equipment with new energy efficient products.

3. Technology: use new technology such as building management and other control products to achieve maximum savings.

Rennie Property

Rennie Property, known as South Africa’s top-performing specialist commercial property management company, offers property management, broking and consulting services. It was established in 1997, and for the past 13 years has looked after some of South Africa’s most prestigious buildings including Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, and the ABSA Centre in Cape Town. Its present portfolio of properties under management is valued at over R6 billion.

For more information please visit: www.rennieproperty.co.za

Released on behalf of Rennie Property by:

Vanessa Clark
Twokats Communications
Ph: +27 82 335 1117
Email: vanessa.clark@twokats.com

19 February 2010 – TEAMtalk media, the leading digital sports content producer in South Africa and a BSkyB subsidiary, recently announced the winners of its Football365 African Cup of Nations 2010 Predictor competition, with the PSL and Premier League versions of the competition in full swing.

The Football365 Predictor competition allows football fans to predict the outcome of individual games in various tournaments and score points for each correct forecast. Competitors’ teams are listed on an online leader board, where they fight it out for first place at the end of the tournament. Winners receive a cash prize, and of course bragging rights with other football fans.

Dino F. picked up a cool R2,000 for his football predictions during the recent AFCON tournament, with the runners up winning R1,000 and R500 each. The winners of the Predictor competition guaranteed their places at the top of the leader board with a series of consistently accurate predictions throughout the tournament.

Johannesburg-based Dino’s advice for future contestants is: “Follow your instincts. You’ll get a lot of advice from your friends, but the best thing to do is go with the results you think are right.” Dino is a lifelong Fiorentina supporter, and is backing Bafana and Greece in the upcoming World Cup.

“This is a great way for our readers to test their skills and knowledge of the game against friends and other football fans,” said Richard Ferraris, editor of Football365.co.za. “And we trust that the in-depth news and analysis that our team provides gives our readers the information they need to make the best predictions.”

There is no entry fee to play one of TEAMtalk media’s Predictor games, and the competitions can be accessed via the web or mobile phones. Two points are awarded for a correct win, and three for the accurate prediction of a draw. Bonus points are given for getting the outcome of the entire week’s games correct.

Predictor competitions currently on the go include the South African PSL and English Premier League, with a FIFA 2010 World Cup competition set to kick off later this year.

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ABOUT TEAMtalk media

One of South Africa’s leading digital content producers, TEAMtalk media creates sports content for radio, print, online, TV and mobile – providing quality content for the Sky network of sports sites, which reaches 25 million unique readers, as well as its media syndication partners.

Its network includes: Sky Sports, Sporting Life, Sport365, Football365, Golf365, Cricket365, Extreme 365, Oddschecker, Planet Rugby, Planet F1, and football365.co.za. Additional offerings are: Sky News, Sky News Radio, Sky Text.

f365.co.za, the mobile version of popular local football site football365.co.za was selected as a finalist in the mobile publishing category for the 2009 Bookmark Awards, which rewards online excellence.

The company consists of four main business units: editorial, mobile, an award-winning customer support service, and ad campaign management. TEAMtalk Media’s South African editorial team - which works in tandem with the UK team - is comprised of seasoned sports journalists who are leaders in their respective fields.

The mobile division of TEAMtalk Media generates cutting edge sports graphics, ring tones, animations and a host of additional bespoke mobile entertainment content, for use by the internal network of sites as well as for syndication.

TEAMtalk Media is a proud division of British Sky Broadcasting.

For more information visit: www.teamtalkmedia.co.za

Issued by TWOKATS COMMUNICATIONS on behalf of TEAMtalk media

For more info:

Contact: Vanessa Clark
Tel: 082 335 1117
Email: vanessa.clark@twokats.com

Firstly I am going back to my tech B2B roots with Jon Maliepaard and the team at eNetworks. This is a 10-year-old ISP and Internet services company that has been building enormous enterprise-grade networks for some of South Africa’s biggest companies. They are obsessed with customer service, and one of their clients calls them “networking angels”. They also kick ass with WiFi. eNetworks has been flying under the radar up until now - so watch this space to find out more about them.

This week I also signed up JobCrystal, the only online passive recruitment service. Karl Westvig and Kevin Laithwaite have been plotting how to improve how people get hired and how companies hire staff for some time, and JobCrystal is the result. I’ll be working hard over the next few months to raise brand awareness and let recruiters and candidates know there is a better way to go about things. (Oh, and there is a sweet referral programme too, refer a friend and earn a commission when they get placed).

I am delighted to included these guys in my current list of Twokats Communications clients.