The Eswatini Water Services Corporation (EWSC), in partnership with organizational development firm The K3Y, hosted the Unlock Culture: Insights into a Culture Journey leadership event on Friday at Happy Valley Hotel, bringing together corporate leaders, HR professionals, and industry stakeholders for a half-day experience focused on culture transformation in the workplace.
The gathering was part of EWSC’s ongoing internal culture transformation journey, which has been underway for the past six years. By sharing its story publicly, EWSC aimed to create a platform for peer learning across sectors and inspire other organizations to approach culture with clarity, accountability, and consistency.
Delivering the keynote address under the theme “Better Workplaces Because Work Shouldn’t Be a Drag,” renowned South African organizational behaviour specialist and leadership expert Siphiwe Moyo emphasized the importance of aligning people, systems, and strategy in building thriving organizations. He urged leaders to elevate culture beyond HR functions, positioning it as a central driver of performance.
Bringing energy, humor, and research-backed insights to the discussion, his central message was: people already want to perform — it is leaders and systems that often stand in the way.
“I think people actually want to go the extra mile,” Moyo argued. “But what we think drives behaviour is often not what does. Science and practice show that meaning, autonomy, and relationships are far more powerful motivators than punishment or financial incentives.”
EWSC Managing Director Jabulile Mashwama also shared her perspective on the corporation’s transformation, reinforcing the view that culture, when intentionally embedded, is a performance catalyst. She explained how EWSC embarked on a participatory process with staff across regions, redefining its cultural blueprint and aligning it with daily behaviours. The focus shifted to empowering employees to link their belief systems with actions, ensuring customer satisfaction begins internally.
Supporting her presentation, EWSC’s Director of Business Enablement and Corporate Affairs, Nomahlubi Matiwane, highlighted the role of communication, leadership development, and continuous assessment in sustaining cultural change.
Matiwane said the strong turnout underscored the growing recognition of culture as a key pillar of organizational success. “Studies report that around 70% of executives believe that culture is more important than strategy. Looking at this full room today, I think it is a testament that entities believe it is important for us to get our culture correct,” she noted.
The event featured a panel discussion moderated by The K3Y CEO Sian Louw, with Standard Bank Eswatini’s Head of HR, Bongiwe Hlophe, and Industrial Relations consultant Futhi Sibiya as panellists. The session explored practical approaches to embedding culture, from leadership conversations to safe spaces for honest dialogue.
For The K3Y’s Louw, the significance of the event went beyond EWSC’s story. “Culture is an asset. It is a driver. It is something that eventually sits on your balance sheet,” she explained, adding that culture must be understood as an invisible but powerful force shaping organizational outcomes.
By convening leaders across industries, EWSC and The K3Y aimed to spark a national conversation on culture as a lever for sustainable growth. As Mashwama highlighted, the Corporation’s journey demonstrates that investing in culture is not a “quick fix” but a long-term commitment to creating people-centred, performance-driven organizations.