Decent work isn’t just a concept but a strategy for more productive enterprises

Fifteen years ago, Neo Khubela founded DSM Construction and Supplies with a vision to offer reliable, high-quality services in general building, plumbing, facility management, and waterproofing. Today, DSM is a certified National Home Builders Registration Council contractor with level 4 and 5 Construction Industry Development Board accreditations and a workforce of 40 skilled and dedicated employees. But it is her recent focus on the promoting decent work that has led to significant results in her business.

In 2023, Neo enrolled with Property Point, a business development service provider, to get guidance on how to grow her business and respond more confidently to the fast-moving and often unpredictable construction environment. 2023 was a deeply personal and difficult year, as she had just lost her husband.

Sometimes I would break down,” she shares, but the Property Point team never judged me. They believed in me when I was rebuilding not just the business, but myself.

The training marked a complete shift, from sitting in boardrooms discussing ideas to walking construction sites, facing challenges directly, and solving them together. “That’s where the real issues and opportunities are,” she explains. “They took my hand and walked with me.” This hands-on approach helped her tackle real-time challenges and adjust workplace practices where they mattered most. Through the Property Point support, Neo was introduced to the Decent Work Agenda, an approach that promotes a productive and safe working environments and places workers at the heart of business performance.

One of the first areas where this shift made a difference was in workplace cooperation and teamwork. Through her leadership, Neo has created opportunities for all workers to contribute through meetings. These efforts led to more confident, communicative teams and improved worker morale. “We’ve seen workers speak up more and support each other better,” Neo says.

As teamwork improved, Neo also began weaving decent work principles into daily operations and policies. She strengthened her workers’ access to social protection by enrolling them in group medical aid and workers’ compensation schemes. She improved job security by introducing results-based contracts with clear performance indicators. She also developed clear workplace policies covering leave, flexible work, conflict resolution.

None of these changes would have been possible if Neo had not changed her leadership style to a more people-centred approach. This approach pushed her to reflect on her own mindset, something that not only shaped the changes above but also strengthened her confidence. As part of the people-centred leadership approach, she began training her supervisors in workplace rights, effective communication, and health and safety. This investment in people has created a stronger, more resilient company culture.

The payoff? Her reputation is growing, “about 80% of my old clients are back,” she says proudly. And in a recent tender process, she not only pitched for the job, but she also presented DSM’s full Decent Work strategy for 2025. The panel was impressed and according to Neo, the understanding of workplaces cooperation has gone up among workers, “Not just in safety, but in how we speak and work together,” she says.