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MTN Nigeria gets investors in People Gold Accreditation

Leading ICT company in Nigeria, MTN has been awarded the prestigious Investors in People (IIP) Gold certification by the governing board of the UK-based organisation. The Investors in People Standard is a UK quality standard introduced in 1991. The Gold certification followed an earlier accreditation of MTN Nigeria as an Investor in People organization in 2013 – the first company in all of West Africa to receive such recognition.
The assessment of MTN Nigeria was carried out by a team of IIP assessors from the United Kingdom; their findings culminated in the award of the Investors In People Gold Level accreditation.
Organisations accredited by the IIP go through a series of precise assessments with particular reference to the company’s people management practices in line with the IIP Framework. The rigorous process involves the administration of structured questionnaires among all categories of employees and contract staff to establish the correlation between the company’s people management practices and business performance.

Recent studies into the impact of the IIP standards on performance in companies accredited by the body revealed that abiding by the IIP standards improved organisational performance regardless of organisational size, emphasising improvements in customer service, productivity and employees turnover. It further suggested that IIP enhances employee’s understanding of the businesses.
“For us, achieving the IIP Gold Standard is a validation of the strength of our Employee Value Proposition also known as the MTN Deal. Indeed, the accolades speak to the depth and impact of our people management practices. MTN Nigeria strongly believes that our people are our most critical competitive asset and a key differentiator in the marketplace.
The IIP Gold Accreditation is an independent and objective confirmation that we care about our people and deploy global best practice people solutions and policies that make MTN Nigeria a great place to work,” said Amina Oyagbola, Human Resources Executive, MTN Nigeria.
MTN’s Talent development strategy amongst other people investment interventions which have been carefully implemented over the years has facilitated rapid career development and up-skilling of the Nigerian work-force across all divisions of the company.
Oyagbola informed that 99% of MTN Nigeria’s workforce is Nigerian, and that 98% of senior management is also Nigerian, in line with MTN’s robust local content policy.
Beyond this, according to Oyagbola, the Gold certification will have a ripple effect on human capital development in Nigeria through MTN’s footprint everywhere you go. “We plan to share the benefits of the IIP standards through the MTN value chain. By this, I mean we will enable the development of best in class people management standards in our ecosystem – suppliers, contractors, trade partners and others in line with the IIP standards to improve their performance.
Speaking further, she explained that there will be periodic reassessments and interviews with MTN staff and contractors to ensure the IIP Gold standard is sustained to improve engagement, organizational profitability, performance and return on investments.
Speaking on the accreditation as a motivation for corporate governance that is value based, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck, Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria said the company is consistent in its determination to motivate members of staff and other stakeholders.
“We are delighted to receive this global recognition; it is the highest accolade in people management practices from an independent and internationally recognised body. It has given us additional impetus and determination to continue to deploy global best practice and people solutions to contribute to the development of the nation.” Goodluck informed.
MTN Nigeria’s talent development creed has been demonstrated over the years through the rapid skills transfer to a predominantly Nigerian staff compliment since its inception and the export of Nigerian talent to various MTN Operating Units outside Nigeria.

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