Bob Collymore Talks of The Ideal Employee & What It Takes To Work For Safaricom

Bob Collymore Talks of The Ideal Employee & What It Takes To Work For Safaricom

While a lot of CEO’s end up losing sleep over different things that may or may not affect the company Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore says, “It’s important that you conduct your business and life in a manner that does not see you lose sleep.” He tells The Edition, there is nothing that literally keep him awake at night.

Safaricom being one of the largest employer in the country with over 3,000 employees, Bob Collymore says that he spends quite a large amount of time thinking about the employees. “I certainly feel a sense of responsibility for their well being,” adding that, “Thus as a CEO, it’s important to understand that if our employees are happy employees are happy, then are productive.”

When it comes to recruiting new people into the company, Bob Collymore tells the publication that every CEO spends a substantial amount of time thinking about recruiting, and nurturing talent.

He says, “As we nurture in house talent by providing them with the latest technology, we also challenge them to conceptualize and recommend new products.”

He adds that the company also sources for external talent in areas that are not in their niche and are always on the lookout for good talent. “Once we spot good talent, we seize the opportunity.”

But even as big as the company is, Bob Collymore admits that they have challenges especially in the technology sphere. “We routinely send our staff members for training overseas because getting such training in Kenya is a challenge.”

A strong believer in talent, Bobby Collymore shares that, “When I joined Safaricom, someone said something that has stuck with me ever since, at Safaricom average doesn’t cut it.”

He adds that, “No other company in East Africa and perhaps beyond has a better team than ours and it shows in the results.”

And just like any other organization, Safaricom has its own share of the performers and the non performers.

And how does he know of these to performers? He shares that, “It’s critical that I know our top performers,” this he says is done through calibration exercises and scientific assessments.

He says that identifying the high performers is a part of his job that he takes seriously. “I routinely get to spend a day with them and allow them to shadow me in what I do. They accompany me to every meeting and business- related engagement, whether internal or external.” This he says helps them get the opportunity to see how decisions are made and also give him advice. “I am a proponent of opinions and advice because I love insights from other people.”

So, what is his description of the ideal Safaricom employee? He reveals that, “An ideal employee is driven by results. This tempered by a big heart through playing their role in the community that we serve.”

Does the company prefer building internal talent or buying (poaching)? he openly says that, “The preference is to build, but the reality is that it’s a mixture of both,” adding that, “ We build more in the technology department, but we buy more in the finance services department.”

As his parting shot he says that he advocates for an opportunity where employees can associate freely. “I also believe that we have a more attractive workforce for women now. You do not have to have an MBA to figure out that if have proper gender diversity in the decision making level of the company, you will make better decisions,” he says.

Courtesy: The Edition

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