Capacity Building and Workplace Ethics

1. Capacity Building and Workplace Ethics By Oludayo O.M. Babawale

2. Introduction: The greatest asset of any society, organization or establishment is the human asset. Research has shown that of all three(3) major assets (i.e. human, financials and land) that an Organization needs for continuous existence, human asset is the most important. The strength of any organization or society can be determined by the strength of the human assets. There are three (3) notable P’s in the study of Human Resource Management; • People(Human Capital) • Process or Policies • Performance One of the major indices of a performing organization is the performance of her people, as well as a non performing organization. Therefore, the importance of human capacity development in any given society or organization cannot be overemphasized.

3. Definitions: Capacity building(or capacity development) is the process by which individuals and organizations obtain, improve, and retain the skills, knowledge, tools, equipment and other resources needed to do their jobs competently or to a greater capacity. Is a planned development of (or increase in) knowledge, output rate, management, skills, and other capabilities of an organization through acquisition, incentives/motivations, technology, and/or training.

4. Capacity Building Activities/Steps : • The very first activity or step in Capacity building is “Self/Career Identification”. Beloved, the truth of the matter is that majority of the people in workplace are in a profession they are not cut- out forand it will be quite impossible to build the right capacity in a wrong profession. Many are players in the field that they lack required set skillsand competencies. • “Self identification” helps to determine your strengths as well as your weaknesses. Therefore, you focus on your strengths while you address on your weaknesses • There are so much confusion in workspace today because we have people who really do not have in-depth knowledge about the job they are applying for, some happen to be head of teams, while some sit on the board of Management of Organizations. • Playing in a career you are not cut-out for is bad, spending the rest of your life in such a career is worse. • It has been well said that “your location determines your allocation”. Please do everything you can to find your right location and “hang in”

5. Capacity Building Activities/Steps: (Cont.) • Continuous Submission to Learning and Development – i.e. There must be a personal developmental plan using the rule 70, 20, 10. • Enroll in Mentorship Program – Mentors are experienced and trusted advisers. A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself. (Share personal experience) • Get Updated (i.e. Knowledge) – From time to time,there are introductions of newly discovered facts in every field/career, acquaint yourself with that of your field/career (E.g. HR – work-life balance, Forensic HR, Talent Management/Profiling etc.) • Do not operation in isolation: Keep company of professionals using the social media platforms. (e.g. Whatsapp, Facebook, LinkedIn etc) • Be a Member of the Professional Body(s) in your field and play an active role. • Take upon yourself responsibilities. • Welcome challenges: Most times, challenges are opportunities to learn new things • Develop yourself by enrolling in leadership courses.

6. Workplace Ethics (Introduction and Definitions The word “WORKPLACE” is a combination of two(2) words; i.e. Work and Place. It is therefore a place where work is done or a place where people work. However, workplace is a subset of the larger society and it shares lots of similarities with the larger societies. Such as: • It fosters social interaction • Its members are govern under the same leadership system • Co-operation and Conflict • Culture is another important characteristic of society. Each and every society has it’s own culture which distinguishes it from others. • Differences are another important characteristic of society e.g. Culture, languages, believe system etc. • It has its own set of rules, these set of rules are what are referred as “Workplace Ethics”

7. What are Workplace Ethics? • Workplace Ethics: are the moral guidelines that an organization as a whole, and the individuals who comprise it, follow to comply with state and federal laws. • Workplace Ethics: are the moral principles that guide people's actions in the workplace • Workplace Ethics: are nothing but the rules and procedures that should be carried out in an office by the employer and the employees to maintain a professional company culture and to build a better relationship with their customers by providing better services. • Workplace Ethics: are the guiding principles that determine how people conduct themselves in workplace. While ethics and workplace behavior have always been important, there’s been a shift over the past few years in how the public and employees view major issues such as sexual harassment. As a result, there is increasing pressure on business leaders and human resource departments to ensure that ethics and behavior at the workplace are treated seriously.

8. Types of Workplace Ethics • Good Attendance and Punctuality • Cooperation and Teamwork • Dedication to the Job • Reliability and Dependability • Mutual Respect • Organizational Skill • Appearance • Effective Communication • Disciplinary Action • Consistently Meets Deadlines • Productivity • Understanding organizational history and cultural values • Courteous and Friendliness – Customer Service • Building of good relationships especially with your Boss

9. The Ancient School in Workplace Ethics • In an attempt to be successful in career, every career person must enroll in a school called “Boss Management”. This school teaches on how to manage the bad, the good and the ugly bosses, failure to enroll in this school may slow down the journey of one’s career. • Good bosses lead, bad/ugly bosses boss around. It has been well said that “a good boss is better than a bad company” but in a case where you are unfortunately to have a bad boss, then managing him/her is the only option. • One of the cogent reasons you must manage your boss is that he/she speaks where your voice cannot get to. However, Management tends to believe what bosses say than that of the subordinates. Bad/ugly bosses are major player in office politics. Below are the courses to take in this school: • Show a high level of loyalty • Do not discuss any departmental issue outside the department • Help him/her to rub his/her ego(s). • Do not interject when he/she is talking. • Address him or her using Sir/Madam(Ma) • Watch his/her mood before discussing matters of importance. • Be neutral, if you have to join the office politics (which I do not advise); , join the party your boss belongs. • Be firm, be bold. Lend your voice, and avoid open confrontations with him/her. • Last, prayerfully bulldoze your way through.

10. CV/Resume Writing: Your CV is your very first marketing tool, and if it does not convey the right message (i.e. your key competencies as well as your experience etc.), it may be difficult to acquire a career. Your CV/Resume has the capacity to make ways for you before the interviewers. • CV/Resume gives the following feedback about a candidate: Creativity, achievements, skills, learning and development, personality, cultural values, etc. Allthese are vital information employers lookout for. • Do not insert irrelevant information on your CV/Resume, especially information you can not defend and check the relevance of your CV/Resume to the work industry of today. • Use Career Summary instead of objective statement, Objective statements are considered outdated • Include achievements on your CV/Resume with numbers where possible e.g. Reduced staff turnover in 5months by 60% through staff engagement programme. • Regularly review your CV/Resume. You can put a touch of self-creativity on your CV/Resume but with moderacy. • Avoid repetition of words in your job description section such as “Responsible”. • Let someone proofread your CV/Resume to avoid typographic and grammatical errors. • You can patronize sites that assist in reviewing CVs/resumes. E.g. TopResume Your CV/Resume is your proposal, it has a voice and it speaks. What is your current CV/Resume saying?

11. Interview Tips: • Interview can be defined as the platform given to a prospective hire to convince (not to confuse) a prospective employer. The underlisted are common interview tips: • Prayerfully prepare for the interview, God is still in the business of favoring His children and am a good example of this. • Do a research on the prospective employer. If possible, research on each member of Management team of P. employer • Do not get too early to interview venue, 10-15mins to the scheduled time is fine. And if you have to come in late, communicate. • Let your conduct align with the cultural values of your P. employer • Try not to sleep or doze off while in the waiting room, ask for coffee if possible. • Do not touch any electrical gadgets in the waiting room except with permission, remember you are not a staff. • Dress well, remember you would be seen first before you are heard. • Ensure your introductory session is top-notch, sometimes it is a major decider. • Be bold, be comported and do not fidget. The panelists are humans like you, the worse that will happen is that you may not be given the job. • Some questions are better thrown back to the panelists, do not answer base on your knowledge. • Avoid to frequently use “I” while communicating your past achievements, acknowledge the team that worked with you. • In response to the questions, use relevant past experiences to back it up (if any). • From today, please watch your engagement on Social media platforms because some smart employers could check your comments, contributions, posts etc • Please do not ask irrelevant questions, kindly walk away at the close of interview.

12. Conclusion • In conclusion, I hope I have been able to communicate something that worth awhile?

13. Thank you