The Human Resource office is one of the most feared offices in any organization. As a matter of fact, it is the only office you rarely want to pass by and find out how the occupant is doing, lest something you are hiding crop up.

As a new member of staff, even the best orientation program does not prepare you for the kind of reception the staff will give you. As a matter of fact, when you join the company, everyone sticks their neck out, they want to know how they new ‘lady’ is doing. There are whispers during lunch sessions and everyone is just not sure anymore.

Then you begin to see people come to say hello.Others will try to speak in vernacular, just to find out if you speak the same mother tongue. If you fall for that trick, you automatically become ‘their person’ and now they can ask for favors. Others will approach you to gossip about one of their colleagues, just to hear what you will say. Others will hand you goodies, just so you are in good books with them.

Then there are those veteran employees….those who think they have earned the right to be where they are and by extension, the right to do whatever they want. In their own words, ‘we have been here since the inception of this company,what call she tell us’. These ones will test your patience. Their attitude is foul and in their own mind, they believe you are only there temporarily. ‘She will leave too, just like the other one left’, they say.

This is a very trying moment for every HRM and it is important that you remain your own person. All of the above people are meant to help you adjust to the new working environment. The earlier you are able to establish who each employee is, the better for you. Do not be fooled by niceness, most of the times, it doesn’t last.

Any HRM who joins an organization thinking that at one point, they will be the most popular staff or that the staff will like him/her is greatly mistaken. Human Resource Management is like a double edged sword, you are on my side today and tomorrow, you shift sides. At the end of the day, what matters is justice and fairness.

NB: Human Resource Practice is not a popularity contest…..believe that

One of my University Professors defined ‘Integrity’ simply as ‘doing the right thing when no one is watching’.

It is important that whether you are at work or anywhere else, you avoid doing the right thing only when under supervision. As a Manager or Employer, you may decide to be late to work or even accept a bribe because you are convinced that no one is watching. The thing is that such habits come back to bite you when you least expect.

Being a person of integrity is however not easy. You must be strong willed and know exactly what you stand for. People will test you without even realizing that you are being tested. Some of these tests will show up wrapped as presents or even money. But unless you have made a decision not to compromise your integrity, you will easily fall into this trap.

Do not hand your power over to an employee simply because you could not control your urge to collect a bribe because the moment one pays you to receive a favor or job, they are in a position to blackmail you at will.

When you have nothing to hide, no matter how much people try to create stories about you, they will never be able to prove it……… and there is pride in that, take it from me!

Whenever we hear about ‘Motivation’ at our places of work, the first thing that crosses our minds is what the employer is going to do to make us feel better at work, or other, love our work.

We start to think about increased salaries, more allowance etc. The truth of the matter is, we are all motivated by different things. Abraham Maslow clearly explains this in his theory of Hierarchy of Needs.

The choice of whether to feel or not to feel motivated at work is always a personal one. Any additional things done by your employer to improve this are just touch ups.

The biggest motivator your employer can ever give you in the opportunity to work. Working for someone is not a favor you are doing for them as people tend to imagine. There is someone who is able to do the job you do, even better than you. The only difference between you and them is the opportunity you have. The opportunity to be alive alone is enough motivation for each person to keep fighting and moving forward.

So every morning when you sit on your desk and start wondering what your employer is going to do to motivate you, you need to remember that your motivation comes from within you first. You must desire to sit on that desk and do everything that pertains to sitting on that desk. You must prove to yourself that you have earned the right to do what you do because you are competent enough. Otherwise, if the inner motivation is lacking, your employer does not have a magic stick that when it is swung over your head, it will move you from ‘unmotivated’ to ‘motivated’.