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Following the uncertainty in the business environment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies locally and internationally are struggling to cope with the new nature of work.
With many countries facing a third wave of the COVID pandemic, some have instituted lockdown measures and travel restrictions. This has forced many companies to push back their plan for physical opening. This brings up a number of issues for businesses.
How flexible is flexible working? How can we make the most of this situation? How can we use the challenge to our advantage? How do we drive business outcomes and performances under a remote and flexible work environment?
These issues were discussed at PenOp’s knowledge sharing session held recently.
PenOp’s knowledge sharing session is a curated monthly session for C-level executives, Human Resources and other personnel in the pension industry where various subject matter experts are invited to dig deeper into topical issues that add value to the audience and the industry in general.
In this session the speaker was Omagbitse Barrow, the Chief Executive Officer of Learning Impact Nigeria. He spoke about the benefits and disadvantages of remote and hybrid working; stating that while this was not an entirely new phenomenon it has certainly gained traction in the last 18 months.
He advised organisations to leverage communication systems, institute virtual hangout sessions for staff and clients and use technology for workflow checks and most importantly prioritize wellness and mental health Check-ins.
In addition, he stressed the fact that everything rises and falls on leadership. In an ever changing work environment, leadership development has to be prioritized for satisfactory business outcomes. Barrow concluded that organizations need to build resilience to cope in the new volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.
In closing, Oguche Agudah, Chief Executive Officer of PenOp reiterated the fact that mental health check-ins are very important in this new phase of work. He also added that, these monthly knowledge sharing sessions are an opportunity for the pension industry to discuss salient issues and interact with a view to improving understanding of various topical issues.
About PenOp
Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) is an independent, non-governmental, non-political and non-profit making body.
PenOp was established to promote the operations of the pension industry, provide for self-regulation and ensure that international best practices relating to the industry are observed by the operators registered in Nigeria. It is the umbrella association for all the Licensed Pension Fund Custodians, Pension Fund Administrators and Closed Pension Fund Administrators (PFCs, PFAs and CPFAs) operating in Nigeria.
Its positioning is to be the influencer externally and the ‘mother to all’ internally.
Its role internally, is to add value to its members across all levels; information, education, visibility, networking, strategy, product development, etc. Externally its role is to increase the awareness and visibility of the pension industry and enable external stakeholders understand and participate in the development of this financial sub-sector wherever and whenever possible.
