Human resources experts on Tuesday said the stay-at-home period could be an opportunity for leaders of organisations in Nigeria to provide emotional and psychological support for their employees.
This is especially important because the level of care displayed by employers to their staff during the lockdown would go a long way to determine how they show up at work when the crisis is over and the lockdown is lifted, they said.
The experts spoke during a webinar organised by BusinessDay, Nigeria’s premier source of financial and business intelligence, in conjunction with telecommunication giant MTN Nigeria.
Tagged MTN-BusinessDay Digital Dialogue, the webinar, which is the first of a series, examined the theme ‘Lay-offs, Pay cuts, Redundancy: Businesses, what are your options?’. It was moderated by Nneka Eze, partner, Dalberg Advisors.
“This is a very special time for everyone; it is new to every organisation,” Adaora Ikwuemesi, director, Kendor Consulting, said while speaking on ‘Lay-offs, Pay cuts, Redundancy: Businesses, what are your options?’
Because no organisation had foreseen the depth of impact the coronavirus pandemic would have on not just organisations’ revenue but on the global economy, addressing issues around lay-offs have to be done differently, Ikwuemesi said.
In that regard, organisations should be transparent with their employees, she said. For instance, if members of staff are made to realise the state of the company’s income, it would aid their understanding when they are asked to take a pay cut.
Ikwuemesi also said it would help if the discussions started before the lockdown order was given.
Nigeria declared a lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun State beginning on Monday, March 30, after confirmed cases rose sharply. Prior to the federal declaration, states like Kaduna and Kwara had already imposed curfews.
“We began discussions about lay-offs and pay cuts two weeks to the lockdown,” Ikwuemesi said.
Although the digital dialogue programme was the maiden edition, participants were from the manufacturing, agriculture, education, retail, consulting and other sub-sectors.
According to the attendance analysis carried out by BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU), 54 percent of the professionals that participated in the programme are from the consulting sub-sector; 8 percent from the manufacturing; 3 percent from retail business (restaurant); 2 percent from the agriculture and agro-allied subsector, while 32 percent indicated their sectors as “others”.
In terms of businesses ownership, 35 percent of the participants indicated they are businesses owners while 65 percent are senior executives in companies across the country.
Folabi Kuti, partner at Perchstone & Graeys, said leaders in organisations have to lead from the front and make the same sacrifice they are demanding of their workers.
The issue of lay-off, pay cuts and managing remote workforce to achieve efficiency are now at the front burner following the restrictions of movements as a result of the ravaging coronavirus.
All over the world, executives who profited from booming markets, thanks to their stock-heavy pay packages, are now faced with plunging share prices and the prospect of a painful recession that will shine a harsher spotlight on the highly paid.
In Europe, a number of leading football clubs such as Barcelona, Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur have implemented pay cuts as much as 70 percent on their players and other employees.
In the UK, more than three dozen companies have cut their top executives’ wages so far, according to research by the Financial Times and Minerva, the investment adviser.
In the US, the salary-sacrificing announcements began with executives from the likes of Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, whose companies were among the first and hardest hit.
Kuti pointed out that British Airways needed to have a discussion with its over 30,000 employees before arriving at an acceptable percent pay cut for everyone. As a result of the agreement, British Airways top executives, such as IAG chairman Willie Walsh, will take a pay cut of just 20 percent for three months starting from March.
In Nigeria, MTN said all levels of leadership have been mandated to provide emotional support to all levels of staff in the company.
“At the regional level, the regional heads are staying in touch with employees and asking about their welfare,” said Ezekiel Bamigboye, senior manager, Lagos & Southwest Enterprise Business, MTN Nigeria.
“This is the time we have to leave our comfort zone as leaders and reach out to the staff,” Bamigboye said, speaking on ‘Managing a remote workforce and achieving efficiency through technology’.
Beyond emotional support, Kuti said the use of technology in mainstream operations has come to stay even in post-COVID-19 era.
To appreciate their kind gestures, participants were given free subscription to BusinessDay digital services while MTN Nigeria in association with Microsoft team offered participants six months’ complimentary offer from Microsoft.
TELIAT SULE & FRANK ELEANYA
