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BUSINESS
‘Committed workforce makes successful company and vice versa’
THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 17, 2012
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IGERIA may not have what it takes to be among the Fortune 500 Companies, such companies known to have achieved tremendous growth in all fundamentals, socio-economic indices, among other considerations but there are a number of corporate bodies out there that have done well for themselves. If the outcome of a recent survey is anything to go by, it may be correct to say that there a few companies out there that have since attained the lofty heights of being best workplaces in the country. In the survey carried out by an independent body, among the roll-call of companies which made the list include: Guinness, First Bank and Guaranty Trust Assurance, which emerged as the top three companies in Nigeria in the great places to work in Nigeria rankings. In the survey of 250 companies, 20 companies emerged as the great places to work in Nigeria and will be entered into an international database that list the companies where employees are the most satisfied. Other firms that made it to the list are Accenture, Fidelity Bank Plc, Lagos Business School, Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), Total Nigeria Plc, Access Bank Plc and Glaxosmith Beecham Plc. Ten companies were voted best for creating conducive environments that stimulate workers’ efficiency. These include: Accion Microfinance Bank Limited, Adic Insurance, Red Star Express, Oando Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Microsoft and Skye Bank Plc. While shedding light on the outcome of the survey, the Managing Director of Great Place To Work in Nigeria, Kunle Malomo said the methodology used to determine the rankings among others include Trust Index and Culture Audit were the two parameters used in selecting the best twenty companies. He said, “We have learned that trust is the key differentiator. Trust defined as a combination of Credibility, Fairness and Respect. This applies to all organisations regardless of regional culture, industry, size or age. By raising the level of trust in the workplace, companies everywhere can improve their business results since cooperation and innovation depend on trust.” Great Place To Work in Nigeria is an affiliate of Great Place to Work, San Francisco, in the US, specializes in analysing, understanding, selecting and publishing Best Workplace lists in the country. Speaking with The Nation recently, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, one-time president of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) said a number of companies today have come to appreciate the fact that it pays to adopt global best practices because of the good corporate im-
Top companies to work for in Nigeria
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Briefs
Customs, firm at loggerheads over Like other advanced economies where a number of companies missing containers
have come to be classified among the Fortune 500 Companies by virtue of their fantastic turnover and superstructure, some companies in Nigeria, are gradually playing in the big league what with their rising profile out there according to a survey by an independent body, report Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf and Gbenga Oyebanji
•Some of the most sought-after companies in Nigeria
age such culture engenders. According to him: “Many companies out there understand the fact that the only way to play in the big league is to be seeing to be among the few that places high premium on quality, core social values like respect for employees, adopting the right work ethics, corporate governance procedures, among other global best practices.” Citing the case of Neimeth Pharmaceutical Company, where he was the Managing Director/Chief Executive until recently, Ohuabunwa said the company in keeping with the Global Compact of the United Nations, which places emphasis on human capital as a priceless asset in every organisation, has also come to adopt the same standard and best practice.
Echoing similar sentiment, Sir Steve Omojafor, Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, while speaking at a public forum in Lagos, last Thursday, said major brands that have endured over the years are known to have been committed to the ideals of honesty, transparency, fairness and justice as well as employee motivation. In the view of an economist, Mr. Samson Akinlotan, who attempted a review of a World Bank report on Doing Business in Economies for 2012, he said a lot of factors contribute to the poor performance of most companies in this part of the world. According to him, “The 21 century economy is driven by policy consistency and a secure environment that values life and property.” Raising a poser, he said:
“What makes an economy distress for business? Perennial neglect of government expenditure on capital project or insufficient attention to human development is a causative factor.” Citing the World Bank , he said, “Out of 183 economies, Nigeria was ranked 133 in the overall metrics aggregated,10 metrics were used, such as, starting a business 116,dealing with construction permits 84,getting electricity 176,registering property 180,getting credit 78,protecting investors 65,paying taxes 138,trading across borders 149,enforcing contracts 97,resolving insolvency 99,each out of 183 per metric.” “With all these statistics, any serious thinking government should know a conducive environment is a destination for FDI (foreign direct investment).The foundations of business growth is a fine tune fiscal policy, a discretionary monetary policy and dynamic public institution.” Infrastructural development, Akinlotan emphasised, “is the engine of a robust economy, the deficit we suffer in this aspect had really hindered business growth, also strong human capital lubricates the frictions in any economy, our public institutions are marred with database deficit, which had really dragged on business growth. “The private sector can never actualize its true potentials without a dynamic public sector. The government needs to get its act right through policy activism; we cannot afford to play to the gallery. The neglect of the past is what we are reaping today. Let’s run into the future with genuine policies that allows business to grow. Collectively we can achieve this challenging task. The job of government is to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurs to innovate and create jobs; a hostile environment locks their potentials. The 21st century global economy is about business warfare, all nations interest is driven towards this goal, we should not be an exception.”
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HE Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and a firm, Sanshek Nigeria limited are at loggerheads over the whereabouts of two 40 feet containers. Already the lawyers to Sanshek Mike Igbokwe (SAN) has petitioned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) over what it called the “wrongful interception and detention of two 40 feet containers” at Tin Can Island port Lagos. The petition to the SGF by the law firm of Mike Igbokwe (SAN) was circulated to journalists in Abuja. Dated 24th April, 2012, the petition appealed to the SGF to take necessary action in the “case of wrongful interception and detention of two 40 feet containers with numbers CMAU 521O405 and TRLU 543140 of 714 cartons (19992) of motorcycle helmets owned and imported by SanShak which were wrongly sized by the Nigerian customs Service and the Standards Organization of Nigeria since 2009.” The petition stated that all necessary port duties and charges had been paid before the containers were sized by both government agencies. The SGF was petitioned because it had become necessary since both the Nigerian Customs service and the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) have remained silent over the whereabouts of the containers thus prompting the fear by the firm that the containers may have been auctioned. It was also revealed that on the 3rd of June, 2010, SanShak wrote to the Comptroller General of Customs intimating him of a plot by the Customs to “examine and mark the containers for auction.” In the letter to the Comptroller General of Customs in 2010, the firm appealed to the Customs boss to use his “good office to stop the sale of the consignments and release same to us since it has been cleared by the customs and the necessary payments made.” However, officials of the company told journalists that since the June 2010 letter to the Comptroller General of Customs, no reply has been sent to the company over the matter. Speaking on the issue, the chairman of SanShek Senator, Collins Ndu has threatened to take both the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) to court if he does not get a response from them concerning the fate of his two containers. He disclosed that SON denied his agents exit from the port with the containers of motorcycle helmets in 2009 because the helmets were not branded, he however insisted that the helmets were the JX model with sun visors and were duly and boldly branded. When contacted, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Wale Adeniyi told The Nation that he was not aware of the petition to the SGF and as a result could make any categorical statement on the fate of the containers. Wale Adeniyi, however, maintained that the NCS would not seize any container arbitrarily without recourse to the laws but he promised to look into the matter as soon he sees the petition.