The new Country Director for Great Place To Work Nigeria, an affiliate of Peoples Productivity Solutions (PPS) Africa, the parent company of Great Place to Work UK, Dr. Gonzalo Shoobridge, has pledged the company’s commitment to partnering with Nigerian companies on global best practices.
Great Place to Work is a global research, consulting and training firm, which helps organisations identify, create and sustain great workplaces through the development of high trust workplace cultures.
Shoobridge, who replaced Michael Thomas as Country Director for Great Place To Work Nigeria, said Great Place to Work UK will bring to bear on Nigerian organisations best global practices that conform to the UK and other European companies where the firm has operations.
Speaking at the fifth award ceremony of Great Place to Work Nigeria, recently in Lagos, Shoobridge said: “We are bringing best practices here so we can share them with Nigerian organisations that want to become best work places.”
According to him, the objective was to have best workplaces in Nigeria, “because if we improve the workplace, we are going to improve the society as a whole.”
Shoobridge, who brings over 20 years experience in diverse international business development and human resource consulting roles, however, pointed out that great work places don’t happen by chance. Rather, organisations work hard to become great work places.
“It doesn’t happen in one or two years; it is a continuous improvement process, because the bar is very high. That is why we are going to partner with Nigerian organisations in that journey to becoming best work place,” he said.
Forty five companies across Africa were recognised as great places to work in various categories at this year’s award by Great Place to Work Nigeria. It was the fifth in the series.
The Group Managing Director (GMD), PPS Africa, Kunle Malomo, said the companies were recognised for demonstrating the main attributes of a great workplace.
“These companies have the courage and confidence to build the kind of workplace where you achieve organisational objectives with employees who give their personal best and work together as a team or family-all in an environment of trust,” he said, in his welcome address.