IF YOUR HR OR MANAGER IS A PUPPET, YOU MAY HAVE ISSUES.

I used to work in a company where the people heading HR were the MD’s toys (or tools). It was frustrating. You could resume the morning after and be told that a policy has changed because the MD felt this or that. Or that someone acted in a particular way and a policy paragraph was changed impromptu. A business that was over 100 staff but still operated like a one-man hustle.

I have consulted for some firms where the staff are grossly disrespected, oppressed and disregarded. And the Managers overseeing them are stooges of the Founder/CEO. I do not know if I can ever work under such conditions ever again. It is choking.

Many Nigerian business owners are unable to:

a.) get someone resist them or oppose their ideas. Now, I’m not talking of a constant rabble rouser. But honestly, if you run a business and all you want is ‘Yes Sir; Yes Ma.’, your business will fail.

b.) grow secure. Let us be honest; many of us who run business are insecure. We are afraid of investing in our staff. We are afraid of building them. We are afraid of making them become independent because we want to ‘tie them to us’. This is the biggest fallacy of life. Investing and growing staff is such a beauty. I mean, why would a staff work with you for so many years and cannot claim to be able to leave your business with a better credential or skill apart from your ‘mundane, non-transferable’ experience. Isn’t that evil? There are still business owners who use DELAYED SALARIES AS PUNISHMENT FOR WORK GAPS. Some don’t even pay salaries for months and they sleep well. Omo!!!

Business Owners must recognize that:

1.) Staff are assets. Not products or robots to be activated and deactivated.

2.) Staff have voices. They have needs, wants, dreams, aspirations and challenges. The sum total of these should be managed. The more we embrace this set of variables, the more loyal they can become. Don’t be a Buhari Government in an #EndSARS business.

3.) Staff will leave you, whether you treat them well or not but when they leave, the legacies that can grow your brand resides inside those who experienced safety, respect, tolerance, accommodation, kindness, growth and good, while with you.

If you are a Manager or HR Officer, please resist the urge to be a stooge because of your stomach. Life is bigger than being a blind loyalist to a Boss. Be professional. Apply balance. Show grace. Show foresight. Act in the interest of the overall. Be a professional. I respect Managers who OUTGROW an organization. It is such an enviable place to be. Become so professional that you are invited across platforms and locations to contribute to subject matter issues. Don’t be a local champion, licking the buttocks of your principal. Think global. Stop being a piece of poo.

Make I stop here…, for now. I’ll be back.

m a k t u b!!!

The Octopus.