By Peju Kukoyi
Nigerians are leaving the country in droves in search of economic opportunities or better ones wherever that could be found. The local term for the mass emigration of young Nigerians is japa.
Unemployment or underemployment, insecurity, collapsing infrastructure, corruption, a lack of opportunities, disdain for merit, cronyism, lack of economic and social safety nets, and bad governance are some of the reasons driving this latest passion to leave the country. People are so desperate to leave that anywhere will do: Europe, the Americas, Australia, Asia, even Africa.
According to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), circa 3.6 million Nigerians left the country between 2021 and 2023. In 2021, a study by Africa Polling Institute showed that 70% of Nigerians would take the opportunity to leave the country if given, that is 7 in 10 Nigerians. NOIPolls’, Nigeria’s leading public opinion polling and research organisation, research showed that 63% of Nigerians want to leave the country.
A breakdown of the demography of people who have left the country showed that professionals like medical personnel, engineers, IT specialists, lawyers, journalists and non-professionals, artisans like barbers, shoemakers, wielders, and plumbers are all leaving. The United Kingdom immigration revealed that it granted 13,000 healthcare workers visas between 2021 and 2022.
The situation, expectedly, has led to manpower shortage across industries in the country, felt by both small and large companies, as businesses continue to lose their best hands and are forced to keep spending regularly on recruitments. It is affecting their competitiveness and growth projections.
The situation is not likely to get better soon as the economic condition of the average Nigerian is increasingly getting worse. Even multinationals are leaving the economy, inflation is biting harder, and insecurity maintains an upward trend. What this means is that businesses must find a way to retain their best hands. Heres how some businesses are navigating the japa challenge to ensure they keep their best talents.
Review of renumerations and compensation packages
This is even a good time to review upward employee emoluments and compensations. As the economy bites harder, family income and purchasing power are on the decline. Last year, Interswitch announced some ‘unusual’ compensation and allowance packages for its employees. Among the many perks, the IT company announced it would pay spouses of its staff quarterly allowances, pay child education support, maternity support, and many more. I called it unusual because the spouses allowance is something unheard of in the country; it is a first.
Flexible work model
Many businesses have tweaked their work model to give flexibility to their employees, allowing them to choose between remote and onsite work. This has helped to reduce the financial, physical, the psychological burden of commuting to work every day enabling them to be more productive.
Institution of standard operating procedures (SOPs)
These are manuals that give a complete guide on how to perform a task. Smart businesses are creating standard operating procedures for all the functions in the business to ensure that any knowledgeable or smart person can pick the manual up follow the step-by-step guide and complete a task efficiently and on schedule. For instance, if an accountant were to japa and left the business, the newly recruited replacement can quickly be onboarded by studying the manual.
Institution of robust teamwork
In many organisations, employees work in silos, even those in the same department. SMEs must discourage that practice by putting in place a central server where all company projects, ongoing and completed, are stored and access given to all employees. Sensitive projects or documents may not be accessible to all employees, but at least three or four executives with top-level clearance can be given access. This way, when employees leave, at least two or three employees are fully aware of the project the leaving employees were working on, the stage of execution, and the next steps. This, coupled with the SOP, would help somebody else take up the project seamlessly.
Investment in technology
Businesses can invest in technology. There are software that can be deployed to handle routine everyday tasks. There are also collaborative software like Asana, Google Workspace, Slack, etc that would help a business work efficiently as a team. Your software or other technology tools will not japa thus your business benefits from seamless operations and remain competitive.
Outsourcing
A business can also outsource some of its functions to individuals or organisations. By outsourcing the business is shielded from the impact of japa. Technology has made outsourcing a very efficient business model. For instance, a companys customer care service, logistics, writing needs, or office maintenance can be outsourced. This enables the company to focus on its core business without worrying about japa.
Adopting some or all of these measures is not a guarantee that a business will escape the negative impact of japa. The measures would at least give the business some comfort that it is not totally exposed and would also ensure flexibility and easy adaptation when employees japa
