Employers Vs Employees Relation: Touch a Heart and Ask For a Hand by Austin Okere
I was a guest speaker at a workshop of the Entrepreneurial Development Centre (EDC) at the Lagos Business School a couple of months ago to share insights about my entrepreneurial journey and CWG Plc, the company we founded 25 years ago. The major points of interest were:
1. The company was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (in 2013, as the largest security in the ICT sector).
2. I have since 2015 retired and handed over to a second generation of Executive Management.
How is this possible? They ask. Many Nigerian founders do not think remotely about retiring, and less so of listing their companies and taking them Public. The companies simply folded up after the founder departed the scene. They do not seem to have a succession or sustainability plan in place. This is not entirely fair I quip because some of our banks have successfully gone through succession from founders. They were forced by regulation, was the chorus. Could this be as a result of a lack of trust or foresight?
The case of employers and employees is very typical, akin to that between landlords and tenants; they both need each other to survive, but the relations tend to be testing, needing the best of leadership skills.
Perhaps, because the attendants were mostly entrepreneurs or aspiring to be, the HR issues that dominated the discussion were:
? Staff are not loyal
? Staff are stealing or doing underhand deals
? Staff are resigning without notice and consideration
? Staff are ungrateful and always disgruntled
Why is this so, and could there be a way to strike balance? My take is that many enterprises do not clearly define the essence of their existence; i.e. WHY they exist. A necessary battle cry to rally the troops behind. Something that they can believe in, and join the enterprise to be a part of. Something they are proud to go home and talk about.
In my experience, it is not all about the pay but also about self-worth and pride in the job; the notion of being part of something special. Folklore has it that even the handymen at the site of the Apollo Mission boasted to whoever cared to listen that they were working very hard to put a man on the moon!
To buttress this point; how much did Barack Obama’s campaign pay the thousands of volunteers who worked tirelessly to get him elected? The money was not as important as the mission and conviction. ‘Yes, we can’! We could hear them chanting from the bottom of their hearts all day long on CNN and other news channels. They were working hard to bring about ‘a change we can believe in’ they claimed. The same dynamics held for Nelson Mandela’s struggle against apartheid rule in South Africa. It was more about the conviction in the mission than the financial reward for the effort.
One could argue that these are not exactly typical enterprises, but I would say the same scenario plays out even in business enterprises. Many Management books talk about the pride in working for companies such as Coca Cola, Chrysler and IBM; and more recently, Google, Tesla, and Facebook. I recently read that it will be hard to tempt anybody working for Elon Musk even with a 50% additional salary offer.
Here in Nigeria, GT Bank in my view had what could qualify as corporate apostles. It is exactly this culture that we tried to create at CWG; the culture of touching a heart and asking for a hand. Many employers are so disconnected from their employees that they would easily miss a major tragedy in their personal circumstances, and this is not saying that we should run a nursery. But at the same time, employees are not machines, they are emotional beings. A little empathy can go a long way.
People joined our company because they believed in our WHY – providing technology solutions that enable growth. It greatly helped that we run an open and equitable system. Nothing is hidden; nothing needs to be if we are co-travellers on a common quest. Everybody knows when we are doing well and also when the tide is against us.
At one of our most challenging periods, following the global financial meltdown, we all agreed to a temporary 30% cut in commissions, which will be accumulated and paid when our fortune turned (and Yes; everybody had a fixed and variable salary as part of skin in the game).
People asked jokingly what I had given the staff at CWG that they were still loyal to the company. Perhaps it is this something about CWG that interested both Columbia Business School (CBS) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to write case studies on the company for their MBA curricula. I have spoken about CWG Plc, because this is the company I know.
On this thorny issue of a balance between employer and employees’ interest in the enterprise, I posit that distrust occurs when either the employer has not been able to motivate the employees to believe in the cause, or the employees do not feel that the rewards of the cause are equitably distributed.
What do you think?
Austin Okere is the Founder of CWG Plc & Entrepreneur in Residence at CBS, New York. Austin also serves on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Innovation and Intrapreneurship and on the Advisory Board of the Global Business School Network based in Washington DC.
Conversational Ecommerce and Chat Sales Expert | Sharing My Journey, Wins & Behind-the-Scenes Insights l Follow for business and personal growth tips
1 年Employees are more likely to be engaged and motivated if they feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves, and that their work is contributing to a meaningful goal. When employees feel connected to your company's vision, they're more likely to go the extra mile and help you achieve your goals. This is essential for building a sustainable and successful enterprise. I would also like to add that it's important to create a company culture that supports your vision. Thanks for sharing Austin Okere
I help personal and corporate brands Go Global | Financial Expert | Author | Inspirational Speaker | Business Consultant
1 年One thing came to my mind while reading this piece, 'the acculturation process of your organization must have been fantastic'. I remember when I was in banking school with 70 other colleagues in 2001 after my youth service; we we're properly trained by Hpierson-learning solutions and Larry Osafiana that when the course was over I was ready to hit any market and sell the banks products. Many people at the time and even till now will tell you they don't want marketing roles but we were properly assimilated into the company's vision and values so much that we saw every obstacle as stepping stones. If acculturation is done properly at entry level and on a consistent basis, many companies will not complain about staff's inefficiency and other things.
CEO & President, TreeKle Inc.
3 年Thanks for sharing this again, I was privileged to be part of the session at EDC, I was triggered to be intentional. Thanks for your outstanding leadership in this space Sir Austin Okere
Managing Director/CEO of Africa Prudential Plc
4 年Very inspiring write up and good for all to read. Trust is very key. With trust, an organisation can surmount every challenge.? When trust is broken, the organisation is in for a rough ride. Thanks Austin? you are always on point.
Senior Supply Chain Manager at UK Ministry of Defence
4 年AO, thanks for sharing this. Having left CWG 14years ago my experience at the organisation still forms a solid part of my resume today. I can remember the level of confidence and trust placed in staff to succeed. Opportunity to excel was there for any staff who wishes to take it. Access to the GMD was not by appointment due to open door policy by the Management. I was opportuned to transfer my skills to work in 2 different subsidiaries within the organisation and finally worked in the HQ. I don't think I was extraordinarily talented in any way but was purely the organisation's desire to give her personnel room to succeed. I will ever be grateful for such opportunity.