Kike Fajemirokun is the General Manager, Human Resources of Lekoil Nigeria with company-wide responsibility for all HR activities and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. She is an experienced Human Resources professional with an oil and gas industry career that began in the United Kingdom with Afren Plc and then with First Hydrocarbon Nigeria (FHN) where she played a key role in team development.Kike holds an MBA from Lancaster University Management School (Lancaster, UK) and a Professional Certificate in Human Resource Management from Cornell University, Ithaca. In this interview with OPEYEMI BABALOLA, she shares her story, highlighting how women’s voices could be included in decision making, among other issues.
What would you say prepared you most for your present role as General Manager, Human Resources & Administration?
I have been with Lekoil for over 10 years and grown with the company. I have trained myself while the company has also trained me and I have had mentors and people to guide me along the way. Also, there is no teacher as good as on-the-job skills and training; so, growing with the company and learning along the way prepared me.
Is the intentional promotion of inclusion, particularly in terms of the representation of women in various roles, including management and on the board, a deliberate focus for your company?
We have had to be deliberate because this is an industry that has more men than women and so, for us to attract women, we need to create an environment that women would want to come into. At Lekoil, we have built a culture that allows both men and women feel comfortable, through things like flexible working hours and maternity policies for those that want to start a family. We have policies in place that give all employees the freedom to take time off without being afraid of losing their jobs. We have a six-month maternity leave, whether you adopt or had the child yourself; likewise we have paternity leave for fathers. We try to be balanced but obviously, there is a bit more focus on creating an environment that allows women grow and be comfortable while creating a work culture that understands work-life balance.
Work-life balance is critical for all employees especially in our society, which is patriarchal in nature. Most of the household and family work is on women and if you don’t help them find that balance, you can’t attract women who plan to start families or those who have little kids. Even though women may not have been as exposed as men to some of the engineering areas and roles, they have the ability to learn, develop and thrive, so why not hire them? Women should not be excluded or at a disadvantage just because they may not have had the opportunity to go into certain engineering areas or may not have had access to certain technically-based scholarships or trainings. For us at Lekoil, we try to look beyond the fog and assess to see if the candidate is capable and a good fit, then offer opportunities based on those.
You have had an illustrious career. What key lessons would you say you have learnt over the years?
Networking and relationship-building are essential and I will say this to anyone who intends to start their career in oil and gas or any other industry. I’m not great at networking, but we should all learn and hone our skills in that area. I can’t walk into a room and speak with everyone there to network, but if I speak with two people in a room of a 100 people, I am fine with that. Knowing what your strengths are and working on them along with your weaknesses is important. Build your relationships and your circle, and nurture your support systems.
My support system stems from my family. I want my kids, spouse and circle to be proud of the work I do and I work hard towards this for them and myself.
Other key lessons include working on your self-confidence and believing in yourself; understand that imposter syndrome is real. In an industry like ours, if you don’t believe in yourself, you might get over-shadowed very quickly. You must be confident enough to always speak up for yourself but ensure that you have the ability to back that up as well. I have never left it to Lekoil alone to train me; when I see training opportunities for myself, I take them because I see it as a way of investing in yourself. You must take your own destiny in your hands and not rely on others to do so for you.
Another key lesson is work-life balance. Focusing on one over the other will cause you to burnout eventually and this goes back to the company culture I spoke about earlier. Companies need to create an environment where people can have that balance and thrive in both their personal and work lives and I am proud to say that I have helped create a company culture at Lekoil to ensure that this balance is in place for everyone. The corporate world is naturally skewed towards men’s needs, so we have to be deliberate about ensuring that there are policies that benefit women such as trainings, crèches at workplaces, flexible working hours and so on.
Tell us in detail some of the policies you have put in place to help professional women?
There have been several including maternity and paternity leave, flexible work hours and remote work. Also, at Lekoil, training and development programmes have been introduced across the board. In addition to this, our CEO is very mindful that extra efforts have to be put in when it comes to attracting and retaining women.
Lekoil is run by a female-dominated board, and all our non-executive directors are women, with our chairperson being one of them. We have women in managerial positions- I am a General Manager; our General Counsel who is also a General Manager, is a woman. We have senior people in the technical team who are women and we hope that these steps attract more women into the company. If when I was about to join Lekoil there were only male employees, I might have been reluctant, but looking at our board as an example, it is easier for other women to desire to come in and contribute to Lekoil’s growth and success.
A lot of women look up to you and want to follow your path; what would you say to guide them?
Again, be intentional about relationship-building and your network, as you never know who can help with what; work on your core circle as your support; train, educate and better yourself, not just in your core skills but in other areas you think may be beneficial to you in the future so that you are ahead of the curve. Get mentors in various areas who can guide you and more importantly, find a way to support and uplift women no matter the position you hold. There is enough room for everyone to succeed and we need to pull each other up. There is a need to grow the number of women in this industry, especially on the technical side.
What is one thing you would change for Nigerian women if you could?
I would say for women all over the world, not just in Nigeria – it is for women to have the same opportunities as men. So far, women have had to fight to show that they deserve these top roles, and some people claim women are too emotional for the said roles. However, I ask, what is wrong with showing emotion? The workplace needs more leadership that has and shows empathy. Our work culture and environment in Nigeria also need to change, as well as our mentality. We need to acknowledge the fact that women are present and are leaders that would sometimes need time off, either for maternity, family or personal emergencies and so on; we are human. Accommodating this and having a corporate culture of inclusion would be a game changer. We know this won’t happen overnight, as each company is at a different stage of inclusion, but yes, giving equal opportunities to women is what I would change.
When you say inclusion for women, what do you really mean and how can this be done?
When there is transparency, there tends to be inclusion. Women and men ought to be included in the decision-making process that affects everyone in the company. We must include women’s voices in the decision-making process, as one demography cannot see things from every angle, so we need to have someone representing every side. Inclusion is not about gender alone; there should be inclusion from different generations, different backgrounds and skillsets, and even different levels of experience. There are so many ways to get people’s views and voices, like town halls, staff meetings, links for anonymous contributions and so on. If there is no transparency, it is easy to exclude people when they don’t even know what is going on to start with.
What does a typical day in your life look life?
As a natural early riser, I’m up at 4.00am. I start my day with some quiet and reflective time, followed by school prep for the kids, exercise, which is necessary for my mental health is followed by school drop-offs and then I face work. Work can be so many things, especially from my administrative tasks and my team’s needs. Sometimes, travel is required for my job, both local and international.
On some days, there are family demands that need me to take some time off work, and other times, work demands that require more of me. But I try to keep my evenings free for the family and myself.
If you were not doing what you do now, what is an area you think you would excel at?
Something impactful; I am biased towards women and children so it would probably be something that would allow me to work with them. There was a time in my life when I felt that I should run a school and I think it is something I would still do in the future. For now, Lekoil as a company participates in the Enactus competitions, and I volunteer as a judge.
In addition to this, I have always had a thing for nature. In Nigeria, we are blessed nature-wise and I love the medicinal benefits of our plants. I feel if they are packaged well for export, it can be a massive source of income for Nigeria. In the long run, I see myself working to preserve our environment and supporting sustainable climate change.
Impact is a big thing for me and in whatever I do, I need to know that I am making a positive impact on someone’s life, even if it is just one person. I feel I already do this with my present role but there is always room to do more in this regard. Impactful work is where I thrive, and I always want to know that people are benefiting from the work I am doing.
The post Why women’s voices must be included in decision making appeared first on Guardian Nigeria News.
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