Broadcasting
5 Tried and Tested Ways to Keep Employees Engaged
By Andrew Bourne, Regional Manager – Africa, Zoho Corp.
Employee engagement, when done right, nurtures long-term relationships and contributes to an organisation’s sustainability. Engaged employees commit themselves to their employer’s goals, find satisfaction and meaning in the work they do, and have the potential to enhance business profitability. Here are five simple yet effective ways to keep your workforce engaged:
Andrew Bourne, Regional Manager – Africa, Zoho Corp
Uphold two-way communication
Two-way communication keeps employees informed about work-related developments and gives them a platform to offer their suggestions and feedback. A lack of communication can lead to information silos and in some cases, may also lead to employees perceiving it as mushroom management. To break silos and establish two-way communication, a flat organisational structure is a good place to start. Next, consider using different communication channels that allow free flow of information for all parties at various levels, i.e., between peers, managers, and the organisation. Apart from face-to-face and emails, introduce internal chat mediums, social intranet, and frequent business outlook updates. For instance, organizations can make use of virtual town hall meetings to enable their employees to communicate with their top leaders.
Facilitate employee development
For employees to work dedicatedly towards company goals, the first show of commitment has to always be the employer’s. An employer has to be ready to make long-term investments in human capital development and provide opportunities for employees to expand their skill sets or be redeployed to new roles that fit their interests. Moreover, for individuals to learn and perfect their work, it takes time. So there needs to be a culture of acceptance that encourages employees to learn from their mistakes without fear of being criticised. Similarly, experienced employees can be brought on board to mentor new employees. They can help interns understand what it takes to excel in their new roles and overcome work challenges.
Empower employees with trust
A culture built on trust empowers workers to become the best version of their work selves. Trust provides the mental space that every employee needs to hone their capabilities and deliver to their full potential. On the other hand, micromanagement introduces work fatigue and even the most spirited employees can lose interest when constantly monitored and badgered for updates. Today, we continue to hear about how more and more companies are deploying digital surveillance and key logging software to make sure that their remote workers put in the necessary hours while working from home. These are just different forms of micromanagement and practices like these will not be sustainable in the long run. They can affect workplace dynamics and destroy trust relationships, the effects of which will reflect eventually in the attrition rate.
Put the human back into human resources
Trying times like the present call for employee engagement approaches that prioritise individual well-being above all else. During such unprecedented circumstances, it’s critical to allow employees the space to adapt to the new normal and regain balance between their professional and personal lives. Flexible work arrangements that allow employees to develop their own work schedules will come in useful. Also, acknowledge and act on concerns that hold back employees from doing their work. For instance, poor ergonomics while working from home can increase stress and affect productivity. A one-time allowance towards enabling employees to set-up a dedicated home office can help solve this.
To better help employees who are battling anxiety and mental health issues, consider bringing a psychologist on-board to enable them to navigate their overwhelming emotions under guidance. Wellness webinars can be organized to help employees maintain a healthier lifestyle amidst the lockdown and stay-at-home orders.
Align organisational values with workplace practices
Employees respect and gradually become loyal to an employer who stands for what they believe in and integrates the same within workplace practices. An organisation’s key decisions must always be guided by its core values. At Zoho, we believe the cloud will power entire businesses and true to that vision, all our business operations including employee collaboration run only on Zoho applications to date. Another value close to our heart is the philosophy of transnational localism and as part of it, we have established more than 30 satellite offices in rural locations across various nations to help our employees stay close to their roots.
Strong employee engagement programs are core to sustainable human capital management. They determine an organisation’s capability to attract the right talent, build loyalty, and promote development. Moreover, amid testing times like the ongoing pandemic, continued employee engagement practices become all the more important for an organisation to assure employees of its investment towards the well-being of its workforce.
Netflix has expanded its language options for television viewers, allowing users to select from the full list of available subtitles and dubbing languages for any title.
This update aims to make Netflix’s global catalogue more accessible, especially as nearly a third of its viewership comes from non-English language shows.
Previously, TV users could only choose from a limited selection of languages based on their location and settings.
Now, they can access the complete range of available languages for any title, similar to the flexibility already offered on mobile devices and web browsers.
For instance, a user can watch an English title like “Bridgerton” with Spanish dubbing and Korean subtitles, or opt for Japanese dubbing with Portuguese subtitles.
Netflix offers subtitles in 33 languages and audio dubbing in 36 languages across its catalogue, though the exact number of available languages may vary by title. This change responds to numerous user requests for more language options on TV platforms.
This move reflects Netflix’s commitment to enhancing accessibility and catering to its diverse global audience by providing more inclusive viewing experiences.
Broadcasting
AMCON Gets Boost as Arik Air Records 2.2M Passengers, 10,699 Flights in 2024 – NCAA Report
Arik Air in 2024, airlifted 2,239,176 passengers between January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, a report sourced from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has confirmed.
The airline, which has been under the receivership of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) since 2017, despite its challenges, also operated 10,699 flights within the year under review, making it the second most active airline in terms of passenger traffic and flight operations in Nigeria, after Air Peace.
According to the report, the total number of air travellers in the domestic scene in 2024 was 11, 549,443 with inbound at 5,727,700 and outbound passengers at 5,821,743. This figure shows that Arik Air captured 19.3 per cent of the total passenger traffic for 2024, while it had 15.1 per cent of the total 70,543 flights operated by the 15 domestic airlines in the year under review.
The Executive Summary on International and Domestic Flight Operations 2024, as captured by the NCAA, indicated that Arik Air had 1,112,358 and 1,126,818 as inbound and outbound passengers for 2024, respectively, making it a total of 2,239,176 passengers ferried in 2024.
Monthly breakdown of the passenger traffic indicated that Arik Air had 37,772 inbound passengers and another 38,987 as outbound passengers in January 2024, totalling 76,759 passengers. For February the airline recorded 38,217 as inbound and 39,209 as outbound, totalling 77,426; March, 37,183 as inbound and 37,642 as outbound, making it a total of 74,825; April, 31,326 as inbound and 31,971 as outbound, making 63,297.
The airline in May 2024, also recorded 39,006 as inbound and 39,765 as outbound passengers, totalling 78,771 for the month, while the month of June had 37,710 as inbound and 38,617 as outbound, totalling 76,327; July, 156,146 as inbound and 159,044 as outbound, totalling 315,190; August, the airline recorded 153,080 as inbound and 144,259 as outbound, making it a total figure of 297,339 within the period.
For the month of September, Arik Air recorded 143,396 as inbound and 145,096 as outbound, making it a total figure of 288,492; October 129,506 as inbound and 133,330 as outbound, totalling 262,836; November, 252,448 as inbound and 255,578 as outbound, making it a total of 508,026, while December had 56,568 as inbound and 63,322 as outbound, making it a total of 119,890 passengers ferried within the period.
Also, a month-by-month breakdown of flights operated by Arik Air in 2024 showed that the airline had a total number of 380 flights in January, 2024; 419 flights in February and 468 flights in March 2024.
Further breakdown showed that for the month of April, the airline operated a total number of 340 flights; May, 374; June, 350, while it peaked in July, going as high as 1,403 flights in just one month.
Besides, in August, the airline operated 1,320 flights; in September, 1,352; in October, 1,266; in November, 2,442, while it operated a total of 585 flights in December 2024. The airline within the period also had a total number of complaints among the air travellers, with just 190, with the majority being resolved by the airline.
The further breakdown of complaints indicated that for the month of January, there were no single complaints from any of its air passengers ferried within the period, had just two complaints in February, while March recorded only one complaint.
April had four complaints; May, two; June, one; July, three; August received seven complaints; September, 28; October, 50; November, 67, while December 2024 recorded only 25 complaints from the flying public. Besides, Arik Air did not record a single baggage miss in 2024, with all 84 delayed baggage items, as indicated by the NCAA statistics, were handed over to their owners.
Furthermore, unlike other domestic airline operators, Arik Air had only one overbooking/denied flight in its entire 10,699 flights in 2024. This was in October 2024.
Olumide Ohunayo, General Secretary Aviation Safety Round Table Initiativs said: “Arik Air’s performance in 2024 stands out as exceptional, despite the airline being under AMCON receivership. The data released by the regulatory authority ranked Arik as second in domestic passenger traffic, moving 2,239,176 passengers—a testament to its resilience and strategic management under challenging conditions.
“With a 13.4% market share out of the 11.5 million total domestic passengers, Arik Air’s sustained dominance highlights its strong operational efficiency. This result demonstrates Arik’s operational stability under Receivership despite financial constraints, distractive litigations, fleet limitations, and regulatory challenges, the airline continued to deliver reliable air travel services, showing effective route management and passenger demand optimization.
“It should be noted that Arik Air suffered severe disruptions due to a high court order grounding some of its aircraft last year when mediation was a better option to the instantaneous grounding by the executive.”
In his comment Roland Iyayi MD of Top Brass Aviation Limited said: “Arik Air transporting 2.2 million passengers and securing the second position in Nigeria’s domestic market, ahead of competitors like Ibom Air (1.3 million), Max Air (915,918), and Aero Contractors (964,900) is a huge and massive achievement, considering the disruptions the airline had suffered under receivership.
“Arik Air’s performance is remarkable given its limited access to fresh capital, aging fleet, and regulatory hurdles tied to its receivership status.
“The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) strategic support deserves recognition for its crucial role in stabilizing Arik Air, ensuring its continued operations, and maintaining confidence among passengers. Without AMCON’s intervention, the airline would not have remained a key player in Nigeria’s aviation industry. Arik Air’s ability to thrive under receivership reaffirms AMCON’s commitment to preserving jobs, sustaining economic contributions, and ensuring safe, reliable airline services for Nigerian travelers.”
National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced a milestone achievement, with over 117 million Nigerians now enrolled for the National Identity Number (NIN) as of February 28, 2025.
Lagos State emerged as the top contributor to this figure, boasting over 12.6 million registrations, followed by Kano State with 10.2 million.
According to NIMC’s latest data, male registrants outnumber female registrants, making up 56.5% of the total enrollment at 66,281,803, while female registrants account for 43.5% at 51,079,521.
The report highlighted regional enrollment trends, showing an almost equal distribution across Nigeria’s northern and southern regions.
However, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, and Ekiti States recorded the lowest enrollment figures, with Bayelsa reporting a mere 758,111 registrations.
Lagos State dominated the charts with 6,870,915 males and 5,741,419 females registered, while Kano trailed closely, boasting 5,924,126 males and 4,321,929 females in its 10.2 million total registrations.
Other notable states in the top 10 include Kaduna, Ogun, Oyo, Katsina, and Rivers. NIMC expressed optimism about further improving enrollment figures in underrepresented regions in the coming months.
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