Michael Botu's Blog

2019 THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: If anything, I admire former self styled Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida GCFR, for his understanding of the Nigerian Political arena and his ability to sway Nigerians to his way of thinking. IBB Achilles’ heel was the June 12, 1993 presidential election, if that election had held; it would have taken some kind of force greater than a Military Coup to remove him from power. But the election did hold, the results were annulled, the rest as they say is history. WE ARE A TWO PARTY STATE: IBB gave Nigeria two Political Parties, The National Republican Convention NRC and the Social Democratic Party SDP. Nigeria has always been a de-facto two Party State, the large number of parties registered notwithstanding, it still comes down to two prominent parties and a sprinkle of other parties holding sway in a state or two, having a seat or two in the Upper and Lower chambers etc. predominantly we are a Two Party structured Countr...

Never before in the History of our dear Nation have we so many young people striving to be President, as it is now and the signs are ominous that 2019 may be a defining year for our Nation's Democracy. But are we ready? First we have to root out a sitting President who perhaps is the most unpopular till date. But then again, popularity had never really translated to Electoral Victory. Alhaji Shehu Shagari was not as popular as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, yet he won the 1979 Presidential Elections. After the 2011 General Elections that GMB clearly lost, the man refused to concede, prompting his supporters to take to the streets killing Hundreds including Youth Corpers at their prime. GMB did not only got away with murder and disturbance of public peace, he contested the next election and many of those jostling to be President today campaigned for him aggressively. Are we ready to face the wrath of GMB? Many analyst are of the opinion that former President GEJ concede...

TRAINING AND RETRAINING THE WORKFORCE IS MONEY WELL INVESTED: Statistics show As high as 70% of Customers leave a Company, a Business, a Service Provider, because of "BAD SERVICE" As the saying goes; "You can get away with bad product, but you cannot get away with bad service" How do you maintain an all time optimal service that will keep customers coming back again and again as well as gain new customers as word of mouth remains the most reliable form of advertisement? Train and retrain the workforce as Zig Ziglar puts it "You don't Build a Business, you build people and then People build the business"

Before I embarked on looking at the Expectations of Employees, I had thought that  "JOB SECURITY"  is the number one expectation. Not surprisingly it comes as the fifth on the list. Who will want to stay in an oppressive environment, an environment devoid of camaraderie, trust, communication, etc.  From findings Job Security is of advantage to the organization much more than the employee. Any worker that knows his onions will get hired any day, anytime by another organization. Even in the midst of massive unemployment, employees with the midas touch keep changing jobs.

We have been looking at the expectations of the workforce from their Employers. We began by saying, although the wants of the workforce are practically unlimited, diverse and as different our finger prints, certain needs stand out and are consistent with majority of employees. Today we look at the fourth of the Employee Expectations in the workplace: COMPENSATION/PAY

Saw this on a friends wall and I said to myself, this ought to be the mentality of every human being with breath in their nostrils. A believe that as long as am alive, God is not done with me yet and a determination to go out with a bang. The World is a Cruel, Mean and Nasty place and it will beat you to your kneels if you let it . "Good things don't come to those who wait, Good things come to those who make it happen" 

We often brag that our product or service will exceed Customer's expectations. In making that resolve we forget the people we are going to use to fulfill that pledge to the Customer - Our Workforce. Charity they say begins at home, why not exceed the workers expectation and have them literally work their butts out to ensure customers expectations are met and exceeded? The Third on the list of your workforce expectation is  "BENEFITS"  Henry John Heinz founded the H. J. Heinz Company in 1869 almost 150 years ago. According to Wikipedia  the Company manufactures thousands of food products in plants on Six Continents, and markets the products in more than 200 Countries and territories. Heinz claims to have 150 number-one or number-two brands worldwide. What is the strength of the Heinz Company? Staff Welfare Packages, Benefits outside the paycheck at the end of the Month.  H. J. Heinz was one of the first few American Companies to introduce staff welf...

Many an entrepreneur have the wrong mindset that pitching the Staffs one against the other is the best way to run the Business. This misconception and application is fueled by the believe that pitched one against the other, they will do everything possible to be in the good books of the Boss and act as a watchdog for management. This worked during the Colonial period and Slave trade era. A black man is elevated to the status of a VIP, so he sees himself as one that has escaped the regours of daily hussles with his brethren and is willing to do anything and everything to ensure the subjugation of his own. The British called it divide and rule.

As an Entrepreneur, you  probably  know what you want from your employees, but do you know what your employees want? We understand individual differences comes into play when deciding what employees want from their employers but studies show six things stand out in employee expectations in the work place. Here is the first on the list; 1) RESPECTFUL TREATMENT OF ALL EMPLOYEES AT ALL LEVELS: Top on the list is Respectful Treatment. Every Employee wants to be treated with respect. It will take a lot of tolerance on the part of the employer to respect those who depends on him for their livelihoods. But trust me its well worth the effort. "Tolerance implies a respect for another person, not because he is wrong or even right, but because he is human" ~ John Cogley Looking at our common humanity makes tolerance much easier.  Gary Chapman said "Respect begins with this attitude: I acknowledge that you are a creature of extreme worth." You will be...

Many entrepreneurs have the misconception that they are doing the employee a Favour. They have the Master/Slave ideology about the workforce with a barrack mentality treatment of staff - Soldier go, Soldier come, barrack remains In as much as there is massive unemployment and many are willing to swallow any negative attitude from their employers simply to have food on the table, no entrepreneur should be carried away with the believe that this is the best way to run a business. Besides, you are not getting the best out of your staff. Remember, we have pointed out that your staff are your greatest asset and they are at their optimum level of productivity when they are happy with the job. A symbiotic relationship mentality is the best for any organization.Today, we like to prompt you to have a rethink and probably a change of mind about how you relate/treat your workforce I read about a Frenchman called R.G. Le Tourneau. He was a mechanic who had only primary school educat...

Communication, effective Communication is the life wire of any organization. Executives must do everything possible to keep Communication lines open. Productivity and effectiveness as an establishment depends on effective communication. Morale is high when Communication flows freely Horizontally and Vertically Here are a few tips to help you create effective Communication: OFFICE BONDS ARE PRICELESS: The bond of friendship is a driving factor in employee engagement. Other than money in the bank at the end of the Month, peer relationships is another driving force in employee dedication - many will go the extra mile for a friend Executives must take the lead in forging this all-important bonds by encouraging a culture of respectful Camaraderie born out of effective Communication. When differences occur as it is in most human interactions, let your Conflict resolution team handle it in an attitude of win-win for all parties and further strengthen the bonds of friendshi...

REPORTS: it's vital to establish a clear line of reporting, employees should not be at a loss as to who to talk to for both the day to day official reports and their personal concerns. the organogram or organizational chart should be placed where employees can access easily especially for new recruits. The HR department and those entrusted with the task of listening to staff complains should be good listeners, not individuals who merely wait for their turn to speak. Empathetic listeners come across as caring bosses that help deepen staff trust and earn their loyalty.

Tolu was employed as Cashier Assistant, a position she looked forward to handling with delight and was excited to get to work. However, on her first day in the office, she found out, what she was told about her duties and responsibilities from HR was quite different from the reality on ground. Downcast, disappointed, name it, Tolu couldn't hide her dissatisfaction with the job but because she needs the money, she had to stay. How many Tolu's do we have in your organization? It's crucial that employees are adequately briefed on their responsibilities from the stage of induction. The communication process should also entail clearly explaining the Company's Mission Statement, Vision Statement and Value Statement. A little handbook that will be a constant reminder of what the Organization believes and practice is not out of place. Seeing Employees as Vision helpers is an added need to communicate clearly and in simple language what the Company wants to achieve, whe...

Staggering statistics, I don't know how many employers will do great work of their assignment if they were mostly going through the motion of going to work? What can one actually achieve when we don't put our hearts to what we do? Yet that's what the statistics show, about 70% of those in your employment actually hate their Job. Yes HATE their Job. Getting the right man or woman For the Job takes more than testing their ability to answer a few written & oral questions or an aptitude test. Just as examination is not the true test of Knowledge. Getting the right candidate entails a high degree of Perception and discernment. Outsourcing of the Recruitment process is not a weakness but strength. Would you rather have an unhappy or an excited workforce? The choice is yours. It begins from the entry point and that's what we do best. The Late Martin Luther King Jnr had a dream that his Children will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of...

Statistics shows Five Reasons Customers Leave a Businee or Service 1) 1% pass away - Death (Inevitable) 2) 3% move - Relocation 3) 14% are lured by a competitor 4) 14% are turned away by product or service dissatisfaction 5) 68% leave because of poor attitude or indifference on the part of the service provider