Company

Propelling people and organizations forward

Focused on employment strategy, policy and practice.

Winston Bakari & Associates is a human resource consultancy that is focused on employment strategy, policy and practice. We aim to assure employment practice at all decision points in the employment relationship. Research has shown that employers who are aligned with best practice are consistently the best performing in terms of talent retention as well as employee engagement and productivity.

After 20 years in the game, we keep coming back to the same 2 priorities for human resource management practitioners. Compliance and competitiveness. Having sold the HR agenda in boardrooms and negotiated terms on shop-floors, we have seen this employment picture from all angles and believe that delivering on your mandate while assuring compliant and competitive employment practices really is a never-ending juggling act. So, whether you want to talk strategy or application, we’re here for you.

Yes, we are licensed psychometricians with post graduate level training in industrial psychology and human resource management. We also have training in governance and risk management, as well strategy development methodologies. But our longevity in the field is not just based on our qualifications and continuous professional development. It’s not just about our accredited membership of global HR communities. It’s mostly about our ability to translate our experience to credible solutions that are relevant to you. 

Our Approach

Apart from our use of applicable ISO business auditing and quality standards, we apply cutting edge HR technologies which are validated and recognized globally for their efficacy and reliability (including Paterson, DiSC, VRIO and the Balanced Scorecard). We find that the best way to support the client is by talking with the client, so we cultivate and promote consultation throughout the assignment. Finally, we are instructed by prevailing employment legislation and influenced by industry best practice.

Our Values

  • Reliability
  • Objectivity
  • Accessibility
  • Relevance

Our Mission

To provide expert guidance in the identification and implementation of H.R practices that assure compliance to applicable standards, minimize trade disputes and enable high performance cultures

Our Core Services

Driven by passion, instructed by compliance.

Our History

We are a trusted advisor in HR strategy, policy and practices. Because of the symbiotic relationship between the human resources and corporate strategy, our services encompass organizational development and strategy formulation, cascading corporate strategy to HR, and ensuring that HR policies and practices are aligned to assure delivery on the corporate mandate.

2000
Olive Tree is formed

We were newly registered as a business and focused on building market awareness. Most of the work assigned to us was employee training on industrial relations and customer service. This period of business activity refined our skills in course development and delivery.

2005
Olive Tree gets recognition

Recognition grew and clients increasingly assigned work in critical areas such as development of corporate values, mission statements and employment policies. This period of business activity refined our skills in the design and application of workplace surveys, including the structuring and facilitation of focus group discussions to yield relevant solutions.

2010
Our brand expansion

Brand awareness was evidenced by our receiving more complex assignments in organizational development from state owned entities. We also started to enjoy meaningful collaboration with market leaders.

2015
Improved professional development

We continued to experience professional development and receive accreditation from relevant industry regulators, which enabled our entry into policy-level decision making committees. We also received board memberships during this period. Our service menu expanded to include psychometric assessments.

2020
Rebranding to Winston Bakari & Associates

Olive Tree rebrands to Winston Bakari & Associates mark its migration online as it expands into Africa.

Meet our Founder & Managing Partner

A team of passionate Leaders and Professionals driven by developing better leaders and humans for a better world.

Shameela Winston

Managing Partner

Shameela Winston

Managing Director

Shameela Winston holds an Honours Degree in Industrial Psychology from Rhodes University and is currently pursuing an M.B.A (HRM) along with a PGD in Labour Law. She is a certified user of the Paterson Job Grading methodology, as well as the DiSC and Evalex psychometric assessments. Ms. Winston has been trained on Corporate Governance (King IV) and Strategy Management (Balanced Scorecard). As a Certified Executive Coach, she is a member of COMENSA (Coaches and Mentors of South Africa) and an ICF accredited Life Coach.

Appointments to serve on various high profile committees in both the private and public sectors culminated with Board memberships between 2015 and 2024, as Ms. Winston was appointed to serve on the Botswana Medicines Authority Board where she chaired the HRRC Committee, and subsequently to the Botswana Meat Commission Board where she also chaired the HRRC Committee as well as serving on the Table Bay Cold Storage Board, a BMC subsidiary in Cape Town, as well as the Projects and Investments Committee.

Ms. Winston authored and managed an H.R. column in the print media for over 20 years, also appearing on radio discussing performance management over the same period. As an HR Consultant with over 24 years in the field, Shameela Winston is as comfortable crafting strategy in the boardroom as she is diffusing disputes on the shop floor. Ms. Winston assures compliant and competitive employment practices that enable performance and deliver on the business mandate. To date, none of the disciplinary matters Ms. Winston presided over have ever been overturned by an arbitrator. 

Away from the work space, Shameela is a devoted mom, a student of Pilates, an active cattle farmer and aspiring novelist. She enjoys tinkering in her garden as much as decorating her yummy fresh bakes over the weekend.