The first Indian female to be a member of the company’s leadership team, Naidoo-Padayachee notes with great pleasure that South African transport companies are more willing to promote women to leadership positions today –versus 20 years ago. “They’re more accepting, of course. Companies that do not evolve, promote and support diversity are going to have a tough time driving innovation whilst retaining top talent. I do believe though, there is a difference between having a seat at the table and actually using your voice to evoke change,” she notes.
Rapid rise to top
Naidoo-Padayachee is an outstanding example of a woman who is excelling in the transport industry; her rise to the top has been both rapid and deserved. “I started as a Human Resources Development Manager with the purpose of creating a training department that can deliver on internal driver training requirements. Together with my team, we now deliver driver training internally and externally together with multiple areas of the talent lifecycle such as overall skills development, leadership as well as culture.”
If there is one achievement of which she is particularly proud, it is the launch of the UniDrive driver programme. “I think my biggest win will always be UniDrive. The vision of this driver programme was born after seeing my first DriveCam footage where a driver lost his life, coupled with my own loss of my dad in an accident. I knew we had so much to do. The programme addresses the various risks drivers face and uses the best learning methodologies to aid in retention. Most of all, it shifts the drivers’ behaviour because our main goal is to get the drivers home safely to their families,” she reveals.
Accolades galore
UniDrive received an Outstanding Achievement Award at the Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards for education and youth development – and this is not the only accolade Naidoo-Padayachee has earned. “I also lead the design of our Graduate Development Programme that won the BHP Billiton award for best programme in South Africa. This programme gave rise to young talent that is largely still with us, making an impact.”
These two programmes are certainly not the limit of her achievements. “I’ve helped establish paid maternity leave for all our businesses and introduced phenomenal females to our business through our learning programme initiatives. But there is so much more to do!” she says with a wry smile.
Devoted to diversity
Naidoo-Padayachee has earned a reputation for being devoted to helping to shape the company’s culture as well as driving diversity, equity and inclusion. Accordingly, from the moment she joined the company, she hoped to see women assuming senior roles. “I do recall having the hope that I would see women as part of our executive committees; I just did not think it would be me due to my field. I am extremely blessed to have a leadership team that hears my voice and supports my contributions in the development of employees as well as the evolution of our culture to be one of the best employers,” says Naidoo-Padayachee.
Looking to the future, this dynamic woman believes that people are vital to any company’s success. “People drive businesses and, even with more integrated technology, we need to look at the skills conversions needed. Skills development will help us fully realise the current industrial revolution as we pave the way to the next one,” she says.
On a personal and professional level, she hopes to impact as many lives as she can through her leadership and by creating opportunities for growth through learning. “There is something extremely special about watching someone unearth their potential. Apart from that, I just want to do my part like the women before me. I have daughters, nieces and a goddaughter for whom I need to lighten the load.”
Female drivers appealing from a risk perspective
She speaks of lightening the load for members of the fairer sex; does this mean that she thinks we need more women in the commercial vehicle industry? “The risk profile of our female drivers is definitely lower, and this analysis is helping us to change the stigma around female truck drivers. Similar conversations need to be more frequent so that we normalise what were once barriers to entry. We need to make the commercial vehicle industry attractive by looking after our employees and creating programmes that are beneficial to women in particular,” Naidoo-Padayachee stresses.
She believes that leaders have a role to play in this regard. “I believe top leadership is key in creating a conducive work environment that caters for women and is respectful of all employees. There are pressures from a legislative point to diversify the gender representation in business. However, employing women without an inclusive, supportive culture is not sustainable,” she points out.
Finally, any words of advice for young women thinking about a career in the commercial vehicle industry? “To excel in this industry you do need resilience. But a career in the commercial vehicle industry is very rewarding in terms of the purpose of supply chains and how they impact our lives. This is an industry trying to become more representative of females – but change starts with each of us,” she notes. Naidoo-Padayachee is certainly indicative of that change at Unitrans.
