Temitope Akinsanya, human resources director, British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) in this interview with a select Journalist including Modestus Anaesoronye, speaks about the massive economic benefits in the nation’s rich human resources, the company’s adherence to corporate best practices and its contribution to economic development in the country. Excerpts:
What motivated BATN to partake in this year’s celebration of the International Women’s Day?
Internally, we drive a diversity agenda which has various facets. One of these is gender diversity, which is aimed at ensuring that the organisation is consciously promoting gender parity and providing the enabling environment for females to thrive and achieve their full potentials within British American Tobacco. This year, BAT Nigeria took part in the International Women’s Day campaign, #PressforProgress, with activities rolled out across West Africa. By participating in the campaign, we raised awareness on gender diversity among our employees across West Africa. In addition, we collaborated with the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation on their campaign with the theme “Press for Progress, Leave No Woman Behind.” BATN will be supporting some less privileged females in Lagos as an outcome of that campaign.
British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) has recently been decorated with both local and international awards, including the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria’s (MAN) ‘Best Kept Industrial Premises’ award and the ‘Top Employer’ award in South Africa. What is the secret of these achievements?
The ‘Top Employer’ certification in South Africa given to BATN in 2017, as well as the recognition by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) as one of the best three organisations upholding best practice in human resources in Nigeria, is a demonstration of our leadership status in the HR environment and the optimum standards our company/organisation operates. We are particularly delighted with the ‘Top Employer’ certification considering that it is the most prestigious HR award event on the African continent, and is a testament to our world class employee value proposition. At BATN, we consistently endeavour to nurture and develop talent throughout all levels of the organisation and always strive to optimise our employment practices. This success is driven by our people who bring their difference every day.
What would you consider the most critical development channel for staff of the company?
Managing the great talent we have within the business is a key priority for BATN; hence, our focus on driving high performance culture and developing the next generation of leaders. We demonstrate our commitment to promoting and developing the very best people, without investment in training and development and international career opportunities. Our global talent strategy aims to create a legacy of leaders. We focus on driving high performance and the development of leadership capabilities to help our people realise their full potential. We do this by providing the right job experiences, opportunities to learn from others and through our global learning and development portfolio. We also place a lot of emphasis on creating a coaching culture, as we believe that training and development should be in sync with the work experience. We believe that coaching is the right approach to develop leaders at all levels, to share knowledge and to build better business solutions.
Recognition and reward of diligence is a huge morale booster among staff. How does BATN handle this?
It is a high performance-driven organisation and we reward our employees for the great work they put in all year round. We operate a ‘Total Rewards’ approach where every component space i.e. quantitative and qualitative are treated extremely importantly. We believe in our employee value proposition and we ensure that every component within our ‘Total Rewards’ space is very competitive when compared with the industry in which we operate. The components include our financial rewards and other non-financial rewards. It is good to highlight our strong recognition scheme which embodies the culture of appreciating and saying thank you to employees who have gone beyond and above their normal duty and have showcased our core values in delivering those responsibilities. Our recognition culture is strong across the organisation and it encourages employees to do more, be more diligent and deliver beyond their previous achievements.
How committed is BATN to staff welfare as well as promotion of workplace safety and best practices?
We create a conducive environment for our employees to excel and attain their full potential and constantly provide all the necessary tools for our people to develop and succeed. We take workplace safety very seriously as our vision is to close the gap to ‘Zero Accident’ in all our operations. Aspiring to achieve this vision means changing the mindset of our key stakeholders to ensure employees and contractors, no matter their level or areas of work, believe all accidents can be prevented while offering a basis for learning from accidents and improving processes. For us, ‘Zero Accident’ involves carrying out our operations in a safe, responsible manner that respects the health and safety of all our employees, trade partners and the communities in which we operate. We believe in promoting a workplace where the safety of our people and the environment is business as usual.
How is the company taking advantage of the highly digitized workplace to enhance productivity and redefine its brand?
The future of the workplace lies in digital transformation, therefore for any company to stay competitive and relevant it needs to implement and use digital platforms. It must make technology part of its corporate culture. This is due to the realisation that the most efficient and effective tools to increase workplace productivity are digital in nature. We are not left out.
We believe that a digital workplace can empower employees and enhance bottom line performance. Thankfully, there are advanced applications and social media work tools that make life easier and even fun. These tools, which are accessible at home and in the office, are efficient, effective and increase workplace productivity. It also makes us attractive to the next generation of leaders.
In terms of human capital development and skills transfer, how has BATN’s investments impacted the country since its return in 2001?
One of the benefits of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is technology and skills transfer. FDI inflows help to bridge the idea gaps between rich and developing nations. It also contributes to the transfer of technologies and development of human skills in the manufacturing sector as well as other sectors of the economies of most African states. Through these investments we have created jobs directly and indirectly for thousands of Nigerians.
Our tobacco leaf operations have provided a model for backward integration which has been adopted by both local and international organisation to ensure local content and sustainability. Our operations have also generated a viable source of income for rural farmers.
In 2001, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Government of Nigeria for an investment of $150 million to build a state-of-the-art-factory in Ibadan, Oyo State shortly after becoming incorporated in 2000.We have since made several other investments in the country including the building of our ultra-modern Head Office which was commissioned, in Lagos, two years ago.
Investors often say Nigeria’s huge population is an advantage? Do you agree with this?
Yes, of course, Nigeria’s huge population is an immense advantage for the nation’s economy. The benefit of the nation’s population is not only in numbers but in the rich human resources it is abundantly endowed with.
Nigeria has a wealth of talent who are often untapped. At BATN, we have a culture of harnessing raw talents, training, developing them and providing opportunities for exposure into more developed markets, to empower our people to reach their full potential in an enabling environment. Our Global Graduate program is one of our strong and successful platforms for driving talent development within the country. We embrace diversity, encourage open-mindedness and give our people the freedom to be responsible while acting as owners.
Nigeria is blessed with rich natural resources and huge human resources, which unfortunately have been largely untapped. Hence, there are abundant opportunities for growth and development within the economy.
Recently, there have been recurrent agitations by aggrieved former staff of BATN against the company over alleged wrongful termination of appointment, among other issues. How is the company addressing these issues?
We always strive to adhere to HR best practices acceptable under Nigerian Laws. We are also aware of some ex-employee agitations and are working towards ensuring an amicable resolution.
