Human resources experts have identified key issues faced by corporate organisations with regard to the current work-from-office versus remote/hybrid mode of operation.
The experts made the submission at Nexford’s recent HR Roundtable event themed ‘New Trends in HR: Industry Insights and Organisational Impact’ with over 20 HR leaders from different industries in attendance.
Nexford University is charting the course for companies to successfully attract, develop and retain talents for organisational effectiveness, as businesses adapt to the new reality of work.
Useful insights on trends, challenges and solutions of key HR issues were shared at a peer-to-peer knowledge session, as HR experts looked at creative ideas and solutions that could be introduced in organisations to ensure that skilled talents are hired, engaged and retained.
Deliberations at the roundtable was centred on the challenges, solutions and practical tips for key trends in HR, with a focus on employability and skills, talent attraction and retention, engaging a remote/hybrid workforce as well as learning and development.
The Country Director for Nexford University, Olamidun Majekodunmi, said 90 per cent of Nigerian employers believe that fresh graduates are not prepared for the workplace.
“The key differentiator for us at Nexford is that we maintain a close relationship with our industry partners to stay on top of human capital needs, and we embed the learning into our curriculum, resulting in high quality, job-ready graduates.
“Our HR Roundtable with top Nigerian employers allows us to gather these insights first-hand and keep our curricula updated,” Majekodunmi said.
On her part, Nexford’s Director of Career Innovation, Jennifer Bangoura, noted that consistent themes emerged from the Roundtable.
“First, companies are eager to find ways to upskill and reskill their existing workforce to ensure business continuity and growth. Second, identifying qualified talent with the technical skills and emotional intelligence to thrive in the workplace poses a challenge from startups to well-established Fortune 500 companies. We’re excited to have hosted such a rich discussion among Nigeria’s leading HR experts and look forward to ongoing conversations.”
According to the HR experts, career pathway programmes and upskilling have become extremely important in today’s world of work.
They highlighted some of the obvious concerns in today’s workplace such as lack of effective communication skills as workforce collaborates remotely, brain drain and leadership distrust in adopting remote mode of work.
Chief Talent Officer at YF Talent Partners, Yemi Faseun, summed up the general feedback, thus, “We are all struggling with it, but dealing with it in different ways, depending on the maturity of the organisation and leadership.”
Emphasising leadership skills as critical in adopting remote or hybrid mode of work, the experts said how leaders value the preposition outside of that work situation determines the mode of adoption implemented by an organisation.
The attendees unanimously agreed that for any organisation to fully adapt to remote work, the trust index must be remarkably high, as orientation and discipline on the part of leaders and workforce are equally key to its sustainability.
“As we are using technology to develop and drive the business and the workforce, we must also not forget that tech is available for us in terms of leadership as well as culture development,” Faseun, who moderated the event, added.
Senior Business Leader and HR Executive, Busola Alofe, said the Roundtable was focused on people management in today’s world of work.
“We looked at leadership, the importance of learning and development, the different approaches to that and the talent pipeline for getting entries hired into the organisation, developing them with the critical skills that are required in a digitally-driven workplace, which is the world of work today,” she explained.
For her, organisations must adapt to what works best for them. “Digital solutions have changed the world and are going to keep transforming faster. So, it is important for people and organisations to be on a continuous learning track. The kind of solutions that Nexford University has for learning and development are the kind of agile learning method and approach that will really work well in today’s world of work,” she added.
Brands represented at the event include 9Mobile, Sahara Group, Guaranty Trust Holding Co, Ernst & Young, Schneider Electric, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Primera Africa Group, Friesland Campina, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance, Letshego MFB, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, Aelex, IOV Labs, Bboxx, Rellies Works, Mono Technologies, HyNex, Transport Services Group, and Eden Life.
