I used to admonish would-be entrepreneurs to have some working experience before starting a business. I was too quick to judge people who declared that they could never work under anyone.
This mindset may be faulty, but from another perspective, they have genuine reasons for saying this.
He who finds a good employer or works in a good company may not know what the Lord has done for him until he listens to the agony of other employees in different workplaces.
I have had over a decade of experience working with various employers across various organizations. I started working the same month I left secondary school in 2011.
Wetin my Musa never see for gate. I have had some employers who I wish to work with again, and I have had some employers who I don’t pray to meet with, even in hell.
There were some workplaces where I resigned officially by giving the usual one-month prior notice. There were other workplaces where I endured till the last day of the month so as to receive my last salary before zooming off.
There were some employers I left as an omolúàbi, and there were some employers I left slamming the doors on their faces. Haven’t you heard of employees who gang up to beat their boss?
There were some workplaces where I could convince my employer to change some management policies that were affecting the growth of the business negatively. There were other places where I was seen as a rebel for trying to champion or clamour for a change in policy.
Many companies have ‘audio’ values that attract great talents to them, only for these talents to realize that the employers do not act by these values.
Working with some employers is synonymous with choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea. Na wetin man go chop dey make most employees endure the physical and mental torture of most employers.
There were times when I put my head on the office desk and cried my eyes out.
I remembered one of the schools I taught where it was taboo for you to take a nap, even during break time. In fact, teachers were compelled to be at work during public holidays just to sit down and do nothing.
I know an employer who had over 15 employees. She never picked up her phone one day to call any of her employees all through the COVID-19 lockdown period.
Dear employer, some of your employees have not walked out of your door yet, but they have mentally checked out. Some of your employees are already passively looking for another job.
I wrote my resignation letter three months before finally leaving a job. I kept it in my room in a place where I could see it every day.
I once worked in a company in Ibadan. Before the company was celebrating its first-year anniversary, ten full-time employees had resigned. I resumed in March as an intern. By September of the same year, I was the oldest staff.
Before I eventually resigned in December, two other persons who were hired after me had already left too. Coincidentally, the three of us submitted our resignation letters almost the same day.
I know of one lady who was immediately replaced without notice during her maternity leave. She came back to resume work after her one-month leave, only to discover that she had been replaced.
This made everyone scared of taking a leave. Even the HR Manager who was planning his wedding could not request a leave.
How you treat your employees will determine how they will treat every customer that walks into your shop. How you treat you treat your houseboy is how he will treat your children and visitors, especially in your absence.
If you treat your employees poorly, they will treat your customers poorly and vice versa. No matter the frequency of morning devotions you do in your workplace, if you do not take care of your employees, your business will suffer.
Can you boast of at least two-thirds of your employees that have worked with you in the last year? Employee retention rate is the percentage of employees that stay with your organization during a given time frame.
Hiring the best talents to drive your business growth and achieve your business goals is as important as retaining them. Successful organizations and great businesses are built on talented and committed employees.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant