By Nnamdi Ojiego
MTN Nigeria, has  restated commitment to sustainable development in Nigeria, even as the company unveiled a staff_focused initiative tagged Employee Value Proposition (EVP).

The Chief Executive Officer, CEO of the company, Mr. Ahmad Farroukh, said at the official unveiling of the EVP to a gathering of MTN staff and guests drawn from all sectors of the economy in Lagos recently that the formal articulation of an EVP for the first time in Nigeria underscores the company’s unwavering commitment to sustainable development in Nigeria.

This, according to him has demonstrated that MTN is a company that cares about all its stakeholders and the community in which it operate. Mr Faroukh who was represented by the company’s Human Resources Executive, Mrs Amina Oyagbola explained that the EVP was a collective promise made to all MTN employees of what they can expect when joining MTN’s special community.

“The EVP states what an organisation stands for, what it offers to staff who meet its expectations, and what it in turn expects of its employees. Getting the EVP right means creating an organisation that attracts and retains the best talent and that engages the full commitment of all its employees to deliver excellent services and value to our customers, our investors and our stakeholders.

It’s all about delivering excellent service and value to each and every one of you We understand the importance of developing the EVP, developing a leadership brand and focusing on standard management and that is why in the corporate Nigeria, in the Nigeria market place, we have taken our time out to develop and articulate their employment value.

We should lead the way since we are the leader to serve as a catalyst for change. That is why we decided to invite key stakeholders to come and share what we have done and to see if there is value in it for them and their organisations as well.”, he stated.

Delivering the keynote address of the event entitled “Building a Leadership Brand”, the Managing Partner OGMA Global Consulting West Africa, Mr Olufemi Adesanya, who partnered with MTN in the articulation of the EVP project disclosed that long term success of every organisation depends on making a critical distinction between a focus on leaders which emphasises the personal qualities of the individual and leadership which emphasises the methods that secure the ongoing breakthrough performance and success of the company.

He said good leadership is based on Generic attributes such as vision, mobilizing commitment and  self drive, among others. According to him, building a leadership brand is all about knowing different approaches of building leadership capacities, which requires the ability of individual leader.

“For a leadership to be a brand, leaders must depict more generic attributes. Leaders with generic attribute are likely to deliver both leadership and results. Therefore, leadership needs to be redefined by building a human resource that will make things happen.

These are prerequisite in building a leadership brand ”, Adesanya explained adding that MTN Nigeria has developed leadership capability in all its management levels.

He however, lauded the effort of MTN for taking the pain to formally articulate an Employee Value Proposition for its workforce, stressing that this was in line with the culture of excellence that the company had enthroned in Nigeria’s corporate environment.

Participating in a panel discussion at the ceremony, the Group Chief Executive Officer of FinBank, Suzanne Iroche lauded MTN for the unique initiative, stressing that it is an example worthy of emulation by other players in Nigeria’s corporate world.

Another discussant and  MTN Corporate Services Executive, Wale Goodluck described the EVP as a fundamental plank for anyone wishing to build a leadership brand, adding “MTN puts a premium on its human capital and is determined to continuously invest in them with a view to enhancing their capacity for the overall good of the workers themselves, the company and the entire economy”.