The current talent exodus from Nigeria, commonly called ‘japa’ (a Yoruba word for “run quickly”), disrupted office processes in the banking, telecoms and other sectors, forcing employers to rethink work conditions and recruitment processes.
It led to a shortage of skilled labour in many workplaces and made it difficult for companies to find the talent they need. Companies were forced to review employment standards to ensure the growth, stability and sustainability of their businesses.
“When companies’ best talents are leaving, they have to relax their recruitment processes and also the way they treat and handle their employees, especially in the digital and medical field,” Ogugua Belonwu, founder and chief executive officer at MyJobMag, said.
He said the talent exodus has humbled many employers to some extent.
Olamide Adeyeye, a Lagos-based human development researcher, said the ‘japa’ wave has put some power in the hands of employees.
Worsening economic conditions, marked by high inflation, unemployment, and insecurity, are fuelling the migration of highly skilled Nigerians to other countries like Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States for work or study.
According to the British government data, the number of student visas issued to Nigerians rose by 38.5 percent to 50,960 in 2022 over the previous year, the highest in four years.
The number of Nigerians issued skilled work visas grew by 15 percent to 8,646 in September 2022. Canada’s study permits for Nigerians increased by 30.3 percent to 13,745 in 2021 from 10,550 in 2020.
Here are six ways the ‘japa’ wave affected companies this year.
More adoption of non-standard work arrangements
A recent research paper authored by Dotun Ayeni, a doctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh Business School, said the ‘japa’ wave is forcing employers to embrace what it called ‘i-deals’, a non-standard work model, to combat the difficulties of attracting and retaining talent.
The paper, co-authored by Sara Chaudhry and Maryam Aldossari of Birkbeck University of London and Aston Business School, also revealed that from an interview with 62 employees from three industries (capital market, medical and advertising industry) employing over 375 people, more than 97 percent indicated awareness of an increase in employees negotiating idiosyncratic deals, a concept hitherto rare.
“Our multicase research shows that i-deals offer employers a platform to design more innovative policies to enhance their value proposition,” Ayeni said.
However, she said only employers who give a chance to i-deals will reap the benefits.
Other attraction and retention strategies adopted by employers are job shadowing (on-the-job training from a more experienced colleague), reward systems and second work arrangements (employees work for half salary when a replacement is found).
Jennifer Oyelade, director at Transquisite Consulting, said job shadowing gives interns a shot at their careers. “It is also helping the economy to reduce the level of unemployment.”
Adjustments in employment criteria
Some companies, particularly in the banking industry, reduced the educational requirement for their graduate trainee programmes to second-class lower grade (2.2), from second-upper class (2.1).
This is because many of those with first-class and upper-class grades who have higher chances of getting scholarships abroad are the ones leaving the country.
“Companies have discovered that people with lower grades can adapt to work and are more versatile since some of them may have been involved in school activities that may have affected their chances of getting better grades,” said Oludayo Sokunbi, chief executive officer at Japaconsults.
Career growth opportunities
The majority of those who have left the country are those in mid-level jobs roles that involve strong technical or digital skills.
According to experts, this presented many people in the country or the ‘remainders’ the opportunity to upskill, reskill and reposition themselves in order to get a quicker career transition.
“People can view the migration as an indication that doomsday is looming and freak out or can see it as a rare opportunity to skill up, position themselves and step into the exciting career roles that are being left behind,” Taiwo Oyedele, West Africa tax leader at PwC Nigeria, said.
Tunde Olagunju, HR manager at Greensprings School, said there is a war of talents because of the brain drain.
“For people who have never had a chance before because of their second lower grades, this is an opportunity for them,” he said. “People who are employable need to start positioning themselves in a way that as the opportunities present themselves, they are in a better position to grab them,” he said.
Read also: Between ‘japa’ and self-assessment
More demand for technical and digital skills
Apart from the COVID-19 pandemic, the ‘japa’ wave has accelerated the demand for technical and digital skills such as software development and engineering, machine learning, data analysis, digital marketing, and financial analysis.
There are a lot of opportunities in the digital space now, especially in software development, said Olushola Oshogwemoh, HR head at Connected Analytics. “So, I would advise that people should invest in their learning and think outside the box.”
More attention to employees’ mental health
According to Kemi Ogunkoya, a leadership development strategist, companies are looking beyond the financial needs of their employees and paying more attention to their mental health.
“In terms of looking at the needs of employees within the organisations, a lot of companies have got to that point where they want to pay more attention to their (employees’) mental health,” she said.
Ogunkoya said they are now being humbled by the talent exodus and now focus on things that would make their employees more comfortable in the company and stay longer.
Upskilling and reskilling local talent
The ‘japa’ wave has forced many companies to invest more in their employees in terms of upskilling and reskilling.
“When people with skills and experience leave and you cannot go out of the country to source for talents, the only option is to look inwards and see how to develop what is available,” said Belonwu.
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