Absa Business Leadership Award winner Alan Fainman has been with Bidvest for 28 years and is now divisional chief executive of Bidvest Services International, the largest profit contributor out of six divisions in the group. His division manages all the company’s hygiene and facilities management services, and employs 74 000 of 130 000 people in the group. Fainman, a 61-year-old King David Linksfield and University of the Witwatersrand alumnus, says Bidvest Services International supports companies through innovative outsourced services such as integrated facilities management, technical maintenance, hygiene services, and cleaning. His division operates in South Africa, Namibia, Mauritius, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Spain, Australia, Singapore, and Eswatini. He describes it as unique “simply because of our people”. “We’re as good as our people because we’re in the world of service. As a decentralised group, our management teams are fully empowered to run their businesses. We have no handbooks of ‘do’s and don’ts’, and all resources are in the businesses. We have no centralised or standardised human resources systems or the like. This is the unique aspect of how we operate. We guide, mentor, support, and grow our businesses while empowering entrepreneurs.” Fainman believes his humility makes him unique. “I also don’t hold grudges and don’t believe in ‘faribels’,” he says. “From a corporate perspective, I’m totally apolitical. I’ve learnt a lot from a number of people who are at every level in our businesses. I have a strong work ethic and always work six days a week. I also do a lot of self-reflection, especially when things have gone wrong or there are disagreements within a business. I also don’t take myself too seriously.” Fainman says his greatest business achievement includes starting the Bidvest Laundry Group, which ran at a loss when he joined the group and is now making a great profit. “We grew the staff complement from 900 to more than 3 000,” he says. He also grew Bidvest Steiner substantially between 2009 and 2015, created thousands of jobs, and gave numerous young people their first start. Two events rank as the most challenging moments of his career. The first was “a devastating fire in 2001 that destroyed our largest laundry where I was based”, and the second was the COVID-19 pandemic. “At that stage, I had 100 000 people in my division. I learnt the lesson of dealing with COVID-19 from the fire. First, protect your people, which we did in both events. We paid everyone. I developed a policy to deal with the death of more than 120 people. We also worked out how to retain thousands of clients without going bankrupt. “My approach to external storms has always been to find a solution. The changing face of South Africa since democracy has had its challenges. We have black economic empowerment scorecards and key performance indicators for all types of things, but transformation must come from your head and heart. You must want to do it for the right reasons, not just because it has an impact on your remuneration. “I have had challenges in numerous businesses but the most significant was a large business with a shocking culture and an undertone of racism and misogyny. After attempting numerous cultural interventions including sessions for senior management at Liliesleaf, many successes were achieved but the undertone remained. I eventually used an Israeli artificial intelligence tool that checked people’s social media for certain words which resulted in a number of major dismissals. This created a better culture, and it ultimately became our most transformed business, with more than 80% black top and senior management. The key is to bring in talented people regardless of colour and have gender equality at all levels, and the business will flourish.” His division spends whatever it needs to on skills development. “We’ve moved away from training employees only in bursary courses from adult-based education to management skills and everything in between. One success is the journey a cleaner undertook to get a human resources degree and today, that employee is our divisional transformation manager.” Fainman, the recipient of awards such as the 2022 Primestars Trailblazer Award, started his own business, First Shoe Repairs, in 1982. He went on to be an executive director of First Garment before joining BidServ Laundry Group in 1996 and working his way up from there. Being meticulous, punctual, driven, passionate, and having an eye for detail are the character traits that make Fainman the best business person he can be. “I read everything, and always prepare,” he says. He believes in leading from the front. “To work with a team in good times is easy. The tough times I always feel have brought out the best in me. I’m supportive but firm when a decision needs to be made. There’s a time when one cannot debate any longer, and firm guidance is needed. I try to make sure people are treated equally and fairly, and I don’t work with prima donnas. They aren’t good for teams. I try my best to recognise people individually.” In the past year, Fainman and his senior team renegotiated one of their largest South African contracts that had been through tough times. He worked with the team every step of the way, he says, and has secured the future of that contract and business. “Most negotiations were on weekends and at night. We made tough calls together, which I took responsibility for as no-one could quantify the impact of the changes to any great degree of accuracy.” Despite all his business achievements, Fainman says he’s most proud of “playing an active role in raising my children to be mensches, and being a proud South African even during the 1980s”. He says he leans on Pam, his wife of 34 years, as well as Bidvest’s former and current chief executives, and his children. He played first-team soccer at school, and represented Maccabi Southern Transvaal in the sport. Tough but fair, Fainman empowers teams Alan Fainman Do your best and leave the rest to G-d. 20 Absa Business Leadership Award winner “
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