Just five years ago, big banks used to announce with glee mass retrenchment.
They would carry out appraisal exercises in November and announce the result a day to either Christmas or the last day of the year
The sadistic intent in that used to amaze me. Why sack someone during the festivities or at the beginning of a new year.
You will see very stupid HR people running around during the appraisal period like tin gods asking for one information or the other.
When I was still working, they will call me and say,, Edgar send names and I will say I have no names and they will say don’t worry we will help you.
Today the scenario has changed. Employers are the ones shaking and afraid.
Employees are now the ones giving them retrenchment with the HR ‘experts’ seemingly helpless in doing anything about it.
Now it’s the employees curating the list and sending to HR who in dismay are wringing hands and running to management to deliver the latest figures.
The ‘japa’ revolution is in full swing. Big firms especially in Finance, technology, manufacturing and services are being hit.
Media and Entertainment although severlly hit is doing well cos of the high level of reflating of human resources.
As they are leaving, they are being replaced simply cos they don’t have to go thru the structural red tape that HR places on organisation’s to ensure uniform inflow of Human Resources.
The young ones in that space are driven by passion and talent so they sit in their homes and work in the US or any of those platforms in the other world earning major forex.
So for the hapless HR, he stares at his failure. A profession that only prided itself with recruitment, outsourcing, sacking, medical and helping with various employee loans
They conveniently forgot the most important part of their profession- scenario planning and penetrative strategy.
What this means is an attempt to project into the future and see how the landscape will be and bring about policies that will either take advantage or mute any debilitating effect
In the 80’s we had brain drain where professionals left in their droves especially in the medical field.
These were older people and limited in its effect. What we are facing now is much more expansive. It involves younger people from as diverse backgrounds as possible.
Daily, whole families up and leave. The UK has announced that Nigerians make up over 40% of inward professional immigration into their country.
This is all the more sad esp if you take into consideration that despite these gaps, we still have a 20% unemployment rate across all sectors.
So why are we in a panic despite a huge pool of employable people. Why is the HR person and companies reeling from the effects of this Japa
I think if we are serious, we will take a serious beating for say another 2 years, a space of time that is needed for a credible bridging structure to kick in.
I think the HR industry shd immediately start working with Government and Tetiary instituons and other such strategic professional bodies to announce a state of emergency in the system
In so doing, they would push for necessary legislation that would reform the NYSC, and other such bodies turning them into a ‘Job Farm’ where businesses can go and harvest talent.
A mandatory two year freeze period be set up. Where graduates are not allowed to ‘japa’ .
This will slow the process and enable a catch up before they are allowed to leave.
Same for those already in employment. A freeze period of at least five years be placed in every job contract.
Then synergistic relations be built between HR consuming firms here and those abroad to ensure a mutually beneficial two way farming of talent.
These are just me thinking from.the top of my head. The point is that the HR system cannot continue wringing their hands in the air helplessly when we have a huge opportunity in our hands to deepen our HR pool, ensure technical exchange and reduce unemployment in the land.
Are we a serious people?
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Thanks
Duke of Shomolu
