Havila Group rewards 2 staff with houses at 30th anniversary

By Sunday Ani

An information and record management company, Havila Group, has rewarded two of its staff with a three-bedroom bungalow each for their dedication and diligence to duties over the years.

The keys to the two apartments were handed over to the staff on Friday as part of the activities to mark the company’s 30 years of transforming customer efficiency in Nigeria.

Speaking during the event, the Group Managing Director of the company, Akogun Lanre Adesuyi, said the company felt it was only human and proper to encourage the two staff, Samson Olanrewaju, Head of Finance, and John Oludamola Popoola, Head of Corporate Services and Project Department, for their dedication and diligence to duties for 20 and 17 years, respectively.

He extolled Olanrewaju’s moral virtue, saying that despite the volume of cash that passes through his desk for 20 years, he has never mismanaged a dime belonging to the company. “With the present-day kind of human beings that we have, Mr Olarenwaju is morally upright and very diligent. He has served for 20 years working in the company’s accounts department, and not a day was he found mismanaging the company’s funds. It is something special, knowing that the figures he sees and processes everyday could be tempting but we have never found him wanting.  For him to dedicate his life to his job with all the temptation all over the whole place, he deserves recognition and appreciation and that is what we have done,” he stated.

He also extolled Popoola’s diligence and hard work for 17 years, saying he is an honest, loyal staff, who is ready to respond to a call for duty at any time of the day, including on Sundays.

“Mr Popoola is 17 years in service to this organisation.  He works tirelessly. He is also honest, loyal and anytime you call on him, he would respond.  He would come to work on Saturdays and Sundays, depending on the activities he has to do within the period,” he said.

He said the company decided to appreciate them because work goes beyond just money.

“In fairness, we should appreciate them because work is not about money alone. It is about your feelings towards others.  These are two people, who are still living in rented apartments till today. We have the opportunity, why not appreciate them. Who would do that if we don’t?” he queried.

He urged other employers of labour to borrow a leaf from Havilah Group and treat their staff like human beings. He said: “I want to talk to fellow employers who own businesses.  You work with human beings like you. You must be concerned about their feelings. Their pain should be your pain. Their joy should be your joy.  The moment you know all this, you will find loyal, dedicated and hardworking staff. I keep

telling them that I am the one working for them. They are working for themselves. That’s my approach to work in the organisation I worked before I retired or resigned.

“Today, I can walk back to that organisation and they will welcome me with a red carpet. It is the way you treat staff that you will get in return.

If you treat them like beggars, you will get the result of beggars. If you treat them like illiterates, you will get the result of illiterates. But, if you look after them, train them and make them part of your business, you will get a better result.”

In his response, Mr Olanrewaju thanked the organisation for the gift and honour, describing them as unprecedented.

He said his joy stemmed from the fact that he never expected the gift of a house from the company. “I am so happy not just for recognising me, but for giving me something that is beyond my expectation. Some employers will say after all, we pay your salaries and all that but for the management to think of something like this, is unprecedented.

May God bless the management for this great honour,” he stated. Also, expressing gratitude to the company, Mr Poopola said he was shocked as he never expected such a gift. He said the gesture shook him and he was still trembling.

He said: “Words cannot describe my feelings. I am still shaking internally. I feel elated. I feel happy and fulfilled. I thank God and the management, especially the managing director and chief executive of the company. It’s not what I expected. I had no idea that something of this nature was going to happen.”