Chioma Nnani: Nigeria needs an Undercover Boss

In a previous post, I talked about staffing issues faced by Nigerian business-owners. To be fair, I appreciate that staffing issues are a bit of a general problem, regardless of the country in which you are. However, the Nigerian flavour is a bit different, because of its own complexities.

There's this television series I used to watch called “Undercover Boss”; if memory serves me well, it has UK and Australian franchises. The premise of the show was that the CEO of a (usually) well-known business would get a make-under, so that they could go into their business from the bottom level, to learn the pulse of their staff and unearth issues within the business. So the make-under would be to ensure that their staff didn't recognise them. Near the end of each episode, the staff that the CEO interacted with would be invited to Head Office, where they would get the shock of their lives when they realised that the person they'd ordered around for the previous two weeks was responsible for their salary. The entire organisation would then be invited to a meeting, where videos of 'the boss in undercover mode' would be played. The episodes usually ended on an emotional note, because the CEO would specially reward some of the staff, over and beyond their salary, for “taking care of my business”. There were staff members who had been hit by bereavement, cancer, financial devastation – yet were still turning up to work. There were some who aspired to be better at their job, but couldn't because there was no career development plan within the company. So for a lot of the CEOs, being undercover caused them to review some of their organisational policies. The experiences also made the staff see their CEO as human. In a few cases where the CEO was too recognisable to be made under – such as with Jacqueline Gold, boss of Knickerbox – they had another member of the board of directors go undercover. This is something that a lot of Nigerian business-owners should learn from.

A lot of Nigerian business-owners wonder why they don't get loyalty from their staff; there is a fair bit of eye-service going on, and staff will jump ship at the earliest opportunity.

I have had cause to observe two Nigerian business-owners very closely. Both (whom I will refer to as X and Y) are in very competitive industries. X's business has been in existence for seven years longer than Y's. But X isn't making half the waves that Y is. X treats their staff like crap; Y doesn't. X sees only the business and makes assumptions on staff time and preferences – like they don't have personal lives of their own.  Y is firm, but understands that people's lives do not need to revolve around the business. Y's staff is terrifyingly loyal. X's keep leaving without even saying “See ya later!” It's a pattern that works like clockwork, even down to the way that staff leaves. X doesn't understand why this keeps happening, so is convinced that 'the devil' is behind the steady stream of bad luck.

One of the problems I have with organised religion is that it removes a participant's brain. Refusal to take personal responsibility is the key to being very religious. How on earth can you be blaming an invisible devil for your business and other woes, when you act crazy at work?

Fact is – the way you treat people around you is the way you will treat your staff. Staff are people. Anyone who doesn't understand that your staff are among the most valuable resource in your business, should not be in business AT ALL. 

I should totally add 'advising on HR issues' to my consultancy services …

Chioma Nnani is an award-winning author, who also contributes to business, lifestyle and literary publications. One of Africa's most fearless storytellers, she is a UK BEFFTA (Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts) Award nominee, who lives in Lagos, can be reached at @ChiomaNnani and blogs at www.fearlessstoryteller.com