With South Africa’s unemployment figure standing at 25,6% (based on statistics released in July 2013) and women said to be amongst those most affected. According to StatsSA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey, between the first and second quarters of this year, 118 000 of the 122 000 people unemployed in this period are women. The good news is that there companies doing something about it!

Hands-On Treatment is an established Mobile Massage Company based in Johannesburg.  It provides on-site neck and shoulder chair massage service to the corporate sector, covering specialised labour-intensive areas such as call centres, events and exhibitions, amongst others.

The company has been a Proudly South African member since 2003 and in 2007 received the Proudly South African best SMME Service award. It also has a level BEE 4 status and is in the process of obtaining a level BEE 2 status.

In addition, it has been in the market for over ten years, has medical malpractice insurance and has established credibility via its affiliation to Proudly South Africa and standards monitoring body, BPeSA Gauteng (Call Centre & Business Process Outsourcing).

The core focus of the business is to provide employees and personnel in businesses with professional on-site neck and shoulder chair massages – an offering that is done at the client’s premises, with no impact on operations or requiring any downtime.

However, as CEO Martina Laurie explains, it is the company’s role in helping to train and secure employment for over 500 urban women, under the age of 35, over the past decade that stands out as its greatest achievement.

“In addition to our continued value proposition and distinguished offering to the domestic wellness industry, which is growing exponentially, we are acutely aware of the difference we can- and do make in helping to empower people,” says Laurie.

She refers to the fact that as a growing economy, South Africa has business opportunities, particularly within the call centre environment.

For Hands-On Treatment, this bodes well for the sustainability of the business – there is an ever-increasing demand for service within a growing marketplace.

“As the call centre industry grows, so too does the opportunity to provide our on-site neck and shoulder chair massages,” adds Laurie.

However, there are challenges within the industry, much like any other and Laurie is only too aware of the impact of issues like rising operational costs, the impact of external factors on logistics, amongst others.

Despite these challenges, Hands-On Treatment is confident that its go-to-market strategy (based on keeping people empowered, the skills machine turning and the industry going) is effective and will help to position the company as the premier service provider in this niche segment of the broader wellness market.

“We have an established presence in Gauteng and we have organised a network of satellite offices strategically located close to larger hubs. In this way we ensure that our therapists are near to where there is a high demand for the service. It is more cost-effective and a greater generator of revenue,” Laurie continues.

Going forward, the company will retain its ‘hands-on’ approach to people development, wellbeing and the promotion of effective HR in business.