How Organisations Consider Staff For Promotion, By ICSAN

HAVE you ever wondered why some members of staff are not promoted in their workplace, despite their stellar performance?

The Lagos State Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) has said performance is often least rated by organisations when considering members of staff for promotion.

Making the assertion in Lagos recently while speaking as a guest speaker at ICSAN Business Meeting organised by the chapter, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of International Packaging Industry and former Treasurer of the institute, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Essien-Akpan, said organisations rate performance at paltry 10 per cent, when considering members of staff for higher positions.

Essien-Akpan, who had worked as a Senior Manager at the Zenith Bank Plc for 10 years, explained that exposure of workers often account for 60 per cent why some workers may be promoted, adding that the image of members of staff accounts for the remaining 40 per cent.

Essien-Akpan, a lawyer and chartered accountant, said there are three kinds of individuals in every organisations: entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and grunts.

“While entrepreneur is one who organises, manages and assumes the risks of a business, intrapreneur is one who behaves like an entrepreneur, while working within a large organization,” she explained.

She said that grunts are people who excessively complain of the adverse work conditions in their workplace so much that they do not see the opportunities that exist in such organisation.

“Organisations value people who act as entrepreneurs, while working in large corporations,” Essien-Akpan said.

“Grunts are mostly found in thin-tasks because professionals do not believe enough in them to promote them to higher responsibilities. They may be enthusiastic, but untested for that reason. Therefore, they become bored and frustrated. They are at the bottom of the pyramid.”

The alumnus of the Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership added: “The truth is that back office people never get elevated as sales people and those who are visible. When we talk about visibility, it is not just about seeking opportunities to make presentations and whoa your managers. Even outside your organisation, how many articles have you written for your professional journals? Where are you serving your profession in your professional associations? These are the things that increase your values in your organisation.

“When we talk about exposure, we talk about the perception that your organisation and your community have for you. Those are the areas, if you improve on, you will increase your intrinsic worth to your organisation.

“Each of us is a brand. Social media has made it so easy now that I can tell you whether your brand is a stinking brand or whether your brand is a valuable one. I can google to see your profile and tell whether you are a brand I want to be in my organisation or a brand that I should let go,” she noted.

Lagos ICSAN Chairman, Mr. Francis Meshionye, explained the need to build network and be persistent in following up on those on one’s network.