02 Jul Innovation City Member Q&A with Benjamin Buckingham, Managing Director of Lumenii
We are thrilled to feature Benjamin Buckingham in this Innovation City member Q&A. Benjamin is a visionary entrepreneur with extensive experience in the online technology and talent management industries. He founded Lumenii in 2015 and has been pivotal in driving the company’s success.
Q: Who are Lumenii and why are you essential?
A: Lumenii uses science-backed technology to help companies hire better people faster. Hiring the wrong person is a very expensive mistake. In fact, it costs about two years’ worth of salary; so hiring the wrong person for R50k per month costs around R1.2 million! Research shows that it’s much easier to hire someone who is good at interviews than it is to hire someone with real talent. Our solutions enable companies to use objective data in decisions, enhancing performance, engagement, and retention in a globally competitive market.
Q: Can you give us a practical example of how Lumenii works?
A: Certainly. Hiring the right candidate attorneys is critical to the success of ENS, the largest law firm in Africa. Attorneys need to not only fit the role well but also excel in ENS’s unique environment. Lumenii helps by measuring competencies and agility before candidates are hired, ensuring that ENS brings the right talent into the business, even before the attorneys have any work experience to rely on in interviews. ENS Africa uses Lumenii’s tools to objectively assess candidates when creating shortlists and uses assessment data to conduct effective interviews.
Another example is PEP, which needs to promote the right people to senior leaders to maintain its R60 billion market cap. Before bringing leaders into senior leadership development programs, PEP first assesses candidates to ensure they have the right qualities to excel as future leaders. They previously did this manually, but now use Lumenii’s online platform to gain better insights into leadership potential at a fraction of the previous cost.
Q: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a company based in SA?
A: South Africa’s highly regulated assessment market – regulated by the HPSCA – has bred a group of well-established old-school companies that have a particular way of doing things. Lumenii has always strived to not fit in and is quite willing to challenge the status quo. The challenge here is convincing people that a new way of doing things can be better than old methods that people are comfortable with.
Q: What’s on your business growth wish list?
A: Lumenii is pushing for growth in the SME segment in South Africa, as well as for growth in the rest of Africa.
Q: Do you have any latest and exciting company news to share?
A: Yes, we are thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of our new succession planning software tool. This innovative tool will help organisations like the South African National Blood Service ensure business continuity by identifying and developing future leaders through a structured and data-driven approach.
Want to meet Benjamin Buckingham and the Lumenii team?
Join us for a Masterclass on The Talent Code: Unlocking High Performance, happening on Thursday, 15th August 2024, from 1pm to 2:30pm at Innovation City Cape Town, where attendees, HR leaders, executives, business owners and department heads, will gain valuable insights into building people-centric organisations and receive a complimentary Psychometric Test to understand workforce dynamics better! Click here to save a seat.