Fifty-five minutes spent with him in the comfort of the Nigerian Breweries Academy Boardroom was worthwhile. He was fun to be with, especially with the broad smile on his face while chatting with CHIJIOKE IREMEKA. He is Mr. Victor Famuyibo, Chairman and President of Council, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management and Human Resources Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc
Most employers see Nigerian graduates as half-baked. What challenges does this pose to your operations in Nigerian Breweries?
In Nigerian Breweries, we have every reason to trust the ability and intellectual content of the average Nigerian graduate. We do not see them as half-baked. Rather, we recognise the challenges in our educational system.
Nonetheless, we realise that we have precious ‘rough-cut diamonds’ among our graduates. The challenge is how to identify these ‘diamonds’ so we can prepare them for our ‘world of work.’ I believe the reason many employers complain about quality is because they are too much in a hurry to deploy new employees; they are reluctant to invest in the capacity development of their workforce.
In other words, many employers in Nigeria behave like ‘mercenaries’, not ‘missionaries.’
In Nigerian Breweries, we take the ‘missiona r y ’ approach in the way we recruit and develop talents. Our approach is ‘missionary,’ in the sense that we don’t go looking for readymade; rather, we look for those with the raw talent, who have the potential – those who are trainable and we invest substantially in their development. Ours is a more sustainable approach because we end up with employees with skills tailor-made to suit our operations, with long lasting commitment to the ideals, the values of our organisation.
Many employers go out to recruit and after a week of on-boarding, already expect optimum performance. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way in a challenging environment like ours. Close to 80-85 per cent of our management workforce join Nigerian Breweries via our Graduate Management Development Scheme. We give them structured, modular training program of 12-month duration.
The programme is fully residential. It is a complete experience involving c l a s s room and practical training-attachments. They also receive full salary and benefits for the duration of the training. The modular training is carefully arranged l i k e building blocks to give a well-rounded skills upgrade, preparatory to entry into the real world of work.
At the end of the 12-month training, these young managers would have been refined and re-tooled and are ready to face the challenges of the first and subsequent career experiences. Thus, upon being deployed as Shift Managers in Production, as Junior Brand Managers in Marketing or Business Analysts/Controllers in Finance, they perform excellently well and we continue to reap the fruits of our investment over the longer term. If only many of the employers who complain of skills shortage will adopt this approach, their story will be different and the country will be better for it.
Paucity of funds seems the problem and risk of losing them after investing….
The risk of losing your employees will always be there. You can minimise that risk if you pay attention to all aspects of their motivation e.g. reward, career enhancement, health and safety, work-life balance etc. In other words, creating an interesting employee proposition from cradle to grave and ensuring that your employees see the organisation as ‘a great place to work.’
Much of the time when you buy ‘readymade’ employees off the shelves, you also run the risk that you buy over their baggage, their bad practices and entrenched values that may not necessarily be in tune with your corporate values. Ideally, organisations should seek to invest a substantial part of their personnel costs in the training of their people, especially the new joiners.
The small or medium-sized businesses do not have to copy the big corporate multinationals but each employer must devote a part of the personnel expenses to training and development. Yes, there is the risk of losing some of your well-trained employees. That is normal. We also experience some turnover though relatively low. Nevertheless, it is not a good reason to not invest in people.
Getting to where you are now didn’t come cheap. How did you start your career journey?
I started my career with the Niger State Water Board. This was during my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Niger State was then only a few years old. The experience was very interesting, not only at work but having the opportunity to visit and live in the Northern part of the country for the first time. Together with fellow corps members, I had great fun and still cherish the opportunity.
The country was very peaceful. You could travel anywhere at any time of the day or night. There was no fear of robbery, kidnapping etc. Nigeria was a great place to live or work. Nobody cared where you came from or whether you were Christian or Muslim. Everyone was everyone’s brother or sister. On completion of national service, I worked briefly in the Lagos State Governor’s Office as Administration Officer attached to the Economic Department of Governor Lateef Jakande’s cabinet office. It was a brief but thrilling experience.
At close quarters, I sat in to take the minutes of high-level cabinet meetings. I was directly involved in much of the low income housing schemes known today as the Jakande Estates. My passion, however, was for an enduring career in the private sector. So, in less than one year, I resigned my appointment to join the Oceanic Group. This was a local company with foreign equity participation. We worked mainly with the Armed Forces and the Police. I was Head of Personnel and Administration. I worked with the group for more than five years. For a young man, the job was challenging and fulfilling.
Nonetheless, I felt it was necessary to continue my Human Resources career in a multinational work environment. When the opportunity came from Nigerian Breweries, I moved on. That was 29 years ago! I joined the company as Personnel Manager. Following a complete on-boarding programme, functional skills training and relief assignments, I was posted to Kaduna to head the human resource function of our brewery in the North.
I later returned to Lagos Headquarters to head various key specialist disciplines in HR, including Job Evaluation, Remuneration, Industrial Relations, Manpower Development and Training. In 2002, I was selected for a cross-posting to our parent company, Heineken International, The Netherlands. I lived and worked in The Netherlands with my family for seven years. I had various interesting assignments at Senior Management/ Director level during my stay in Heineken. My last assignment in Amsterdam was as Regional Human Resource Director for Africa/Middle East. I returned to Nigeria six years ago to assume the current position of Human Resources Director, Nigerian Breweries.
Your upbringing must have played a major role in shaping your life and character today.
True, Mum and Dad had a big influence in shaping my values and perspectives. Both parents (now late) hailed from Ekiti. Dad from Ado and Mum from Ode-Ekiti. They were early migrants to Lagos. So, I was born, bread and buttered in Lagos. My father, Festus Famuyibo, was a federal civil servant. Mum, Mary Famuyibo, was a dress maker/fashion designer of repute in the Surulere area.
We are six children in the family – three males, three females. I am fourth in line. The children live partly in Nigeria and the United States. Dad was a very strict disciplinarian. He lived by example and was very prudent in the way he managed scarce resources while ensuring that his children had the right level of education without lacking in the essentials of life.
He was focused and did not allow any distraction to his family goals. He maintained high standards and was a stickler to rules in the upbringing of his children. Dad and Mum trained us to be good at whatever calling we chose. He was very demanding. When we were young, with hindsight, we thought dad was too strict. We felt he gave us no room to maneuver like our playmates. We probably felt we were over-managed and perhaps did not like it that much. Today, however, we appreciate the style of upbringing we got from our parents and thank them immensely for it. It has indeed helped us to be independent and focused in life.
Could you share your educational experiences with us?
The quality of schooling in our days was exceptionally good unlike what we have now. Schools had good infrastructure. Teachers were committed and the curriculum was appropriate. Primary school education for me was at Government Demonstration School in Surulere, Lagos. Learning there was great as it gave us a solid foundation for what to expect later in life. My secondary school education was, first, in Abeokuta and later in Lagos for the Higher School Certificate (HSC). Then, I gained admission to the University of Ibadan for my Bachelor’s degree in Sociology.
A few years later, I did a post-graduate degree (Master of Public Admin) at the University of Lagos. Further down, I went back to UNILAG for a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and later proceeded to the Law School. I was called to Bar in 1996. Outside of these qualifications, human resources practice being my chosen profession, I followed the professional Certification of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria. I am currently a Fellow of the Institute. By God’s Grace, I am also the current President and Chairman of Council of this great Institute.
It’s rare to see a Nigerian of your status using one mobile phone. Is it a style or corporate decision?
I think one is good enough. There is no transaction that one wants to conduct on mobile telephony that one phone will not accomplish. Due to the busy nature of work for me, I focus mainly on voice, e-mails and SMS facilities in the mobile phone.
Only the ‘must have,’ not the ‘nice to have.’ Keeping my resources in one system works best for me. For service delivery, I do not see much difference between one provider and the other. I have lived and worked in Europe. It is not fashionable that people carry more than one mobile phone with them. I do not judge those who choose to do so; perhaps it is by choice but I prefer to keep it simple.
…and why a regular BlackBerry phone?
Hahaha…well for two reasons. First, it is our official work tool. BB is therefore company policy. All our managers and executives are hooked to the BlackBerry. If and when there will be a policy change, we will all migrate at the same time. For now, our voice, e-mail, calendar etc. run via the BlackBerry. However, nothing prevents an employee from having a personal mobile phone(s) next to the official BB.
At what point did you consider it necessary to settle down?
Hmmmmm! Well, in those days and hopefully now, much depended on your circle of friends. You simply moved at the same pace, with your friends and contemporaries, otherwise you were left behind. We gained admission to the university and cherished the freedom that came with leaving home. We enjoyed it responsibly. Then we went on to do the national service. Again, it was a kind of freedom.
The parental and university rules were not there anymore. We continued to mature in our ways. Suddenly, it was time to be more responsible and one after the other, we all got married. We all did the right things at the right time. But I think it is different from what obtains today. In our time, jobs were available in abundance.
Even before you left school or NYSC, you got a job. The salary was good, not fantastic. From your first year of work, you bought a car, brand new. You rented an apartment; your salary was enough for you to do all of these without hassle! Life was easy, fun! You could plan that six years after your NYSC, you would get married, or travel abroad to do post-graduate and save towards it. All of these have disappeared.
They seem like it never happened before in this country. It will be hard, if not impossible, for young men of today to plan without depending heavily on parental/ family support. At age 28, it was time and it was possible and feasible to migrate from bachelorhood to a new life in marriage. God bless Nigeria!
Where and how did you meet your wife? Was she among your corps member friends?
No. We met in the postgraduate class. We became friends. We studied and did group assignments together. We remained good friends. After our graduation, we found out that we had common friends. Her brother was in my network of friends. We lived in the same neighbourhood. We hooked up again. Today, the rest is history!
Hmmm…what was her reaction when you eventually proposed?
Well, not like now. We went to parties together. My friends got to know her. We exchanged visits, etc. Then she gradually became the ‘woman’ even when I had not formally proposed to her.
So, there was nothing like proposing with a ring?
No. Not in our days. I think the first exchange of rings was during the engagement. Engagement in those days was not like what we have today. It was traditional rites that happened at the bride’s family home. It was a home-based, close family traditional event.
The marriage is blessed with how many children?
Four children – two males, two females.
Was it in the course of this job that you started drinking beer?
No, I’d been drinking beer ever before joining NB. I am a very social being. My favourites have always been Star and Heineken. May be I grew up to know Star. It was my father’s favourite. As a kid, we were not allowed to drink.
We ran errands to buy Star for dad and his friends. For us, Star was beer and beer was Star. My father only needed to say, ‘Go get me a bottle of beer.’ We went away and came back with a bottle of Star. Star would always be available. I am also happy to do my Heineken or any other NB brand wherever I find myself.
Do your children drink beer?
A little bit. They are all adults, so they are entitled to drink in moderation.
Do you regulate their consumption rate?
No, I don’t. However, given their upbringing, they know they have to drink alcohol responsibly.
What are your hobbies?
Cycling. Also, travelling. I love people and places. I am a city man. I don’t go on exotic holidays in resorts or do cruises. I like to see big cities, to know new places. Fortunately, my job provides me with that opportunity. I like eating out in nice restaurants, fine cuisine – as long as I will have a bottle of chilled Heineken or Star.
Your favourite meals…
That’s a bit difficult. Ordinarily, it will be beans and fried plantain. However, when dining out, my preference is steak and French fries served with a cold bottle of Star or Heineken. Then, my day is made!
How would you describe your fashion sense?
I don’t like being too contemporary. I believe fashion goes out too fast. I like something in-between, not too traditional or old school but something more stable, somewhere inbetween. But from Monday through Friday, I dress up for work and you would find me in suit appropriate for formal meetings. For formal outings, my choice of colour is white and a blue shirt on a dark suit – but I always like to have a nice tie that is striking. I don’t like dark coloured ties. They don’t fit. I like to brighten the room, not to make it gloomy.
Where do you shop for clothes?
In Nigeria, I find it a bit difficult shopping for clothes, maybe because my job affords me the opportunity to travel abroad. I do a bit of shopping when I travel outside the country. And I know a few shops on the high streets where I find what I want.
But I don’t do the top end. I like to stay regular and perhaps also because I cannot afford those premium prices. For me, it makes sense to be well dressed and properly groomed. I don’t like it when people look scruffy. People should turn out appropriately for the occasion without being extravagant.
What types of jewellery do you go for?
Only my wedding ring! No more. No jewellery and no chain on my neck. I don’t believe it’s a man’s thing. I just do the wedding ring, which is very symbolic and shows you off as a responsible man. Even my wristwatch, I don’t do chains. I do brown leather that fits my complexion. I like keeping a nice but low profile.
What designer’s perfumes do you wear?
I like mature fragrance with woody, long lasting scent and must have a masculine touch. I want you to search for it with your nose. I don’t want to come by and you will know that I’m wearing a fragrance or perfume. I want to keep it private and be good to myself before someone else.
What would you consider as your high point in life?
My high point is becoming the Chairman and President of Council, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management. It is very fulfilling. It is the peak of recognition as a thoroughbred HR professional and practitioner.
It is a nice cap to my career of about 40 years! In other words, I was delighted to become the HR director of a major multinational organisation. However, the high point for me is becoming the reference point in the HR profession nationally… very pleased that my professional colleagues found me worthy to become the president of our institute. It is fulfilling. I thank them and I thank God Almighty.
What are your sporting activities?
Cycling to keep fit. I take a walk with my wife regularly and we jog too. We do quite a bit as much as time permits. But my favourite sport is table tennis. I have the facility at home. I play regularly with my wife and children. My wife was a table tennis star and champion in her school days.