100 Best Places to Work in Nigeria 2015

Jobberman in collaboration with Ventures Africa, Africa’s foremost online platform for news, analysis and discussion about African business, policy, innovation, and lifestyle, has just released the List of the Top 100 Companies for Millennials to Work in Nigeria, based on employee satisfaction.

Every generation creates a new flock of young adults that brings nuanced energy, expertise and awareness to the workplace. Born between 1982 and 2003, millennials account for about 60 percent of Nigeria’s population and a substantial segment of the workforce. Tech savvy and innovative, this new class of employee thrives on peer motivation and challenge.

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Accounting for 80 percent of new intake in companies like Nigerian Breweries, millennials possess consumer-oriented perspectives that causes them to evaluate companies based on alignment to their own personal values and ambition. According to our survey of millennials in the workforce, company prestige ranked as the most significant factor in job consideration. This was followed by passion, with financial remuneration ranked third. Although the survey revealed that millennials are attracted to high financial remuneration, they are less likely to stay for long periods at a job if they do not achieve work-life balance or feel fulfilled.

Amid global trends of millennial influence in changing corporate culture, young Nigerians demonstrate that they, too, are looking for jobs that are purposeful, exciting and inspiring, as well as the companies that can provide them.

Methodology

In collaboration with Jobberman, Nigeria’s largest jobs search engine, we conducted a two-stage survey to find the best places to work for Nigeria’s millenials. The first stage comprised 335 companies with over 6,000 respondents from entry level to executive level between the ages of 20 to 35, 65 percent of whom were gainfully employed at the time of the survey in 2014.

The index was calculated by the weighted average of each respondent’s top five companies. This was selected using parameters such as company culture, dream company, staff welfare, gender equality, government institution, company’s prestige, salary, and non-salary benefits.

The second stage of the survey accounted for the level of satisfaction and happiness of employees. This index was cal-
culated by the weighted average of each response, which was selected using parameters such as level of satisfaction, salary consideration, level of contentment, career growth, concerns outside work, and work-life balance.

For the first stage of the survey, the oil and gas companies were once again highly ranked in a majority of the categories. Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) was first in allbut one category – “Government Institution to Work For” – where the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) came out on top. However, telecommunications and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies also fared well. MTN and Nigerian Breweries emerged at the forefront among organisations in these categories. The list which follows reflects the public’s perception of firms from different sectors. It also illuminates the perception of millennials who work in these organisations and partook in the survey. This year, FMCG dominated, while firms from banking, telecommunication, oil and gas, and technology were represented significantly. Konga Online Shopping Ltd was voted the number one company to work for in Nigeria, based on employee response.

1. Konga Online Shopping

Konga is Nigeria’s leading online retailer and marketplace. Founded in 2012 as an e-commerce start-up, it has grown into a $100 million company with almost 1,000 employees. Konga maintains an open-door policy that allows the staff to feel comfortable giving opinions and sharing ideas. Chief Executive Sim Shagaya also revealed that employees own 10 percent of the company’s equity. Nneka Obiano, a marketing associate notes, “I feel very happy working here and would advise jobseekers to apply when there are openings. Konga does not only bring out the creative part in you but ensures that you enjoy work-life balance.”

2. Drugfield Pharmaceuticals Ltd

Drugfield Pharmaceuticals Ltd is a wholly owned Nigerian pharmaceutical company. It started by producing dosage forms of dermatological antibiotic and antifungal preparations in 1993, but now sells a wide range of products. Drugfield is the first Nigerian and African company to manufacture newborn cord-care antiseptic gel, Chlorhexidine Digluconate 7.1, which prevents umbilical cord infections in newborn babies.

3. Insight Communications Ltd

Insight Communications Ltd is one of Nigeria and West Africa’s largest advertising agencies, and the most lauded advertising agency in Nigeria. Their services include advertising, public relations advisory, media planning and buying sales promotion, direct marketing and brand development. The company, with a staff strength of 106, currently services some of Nigeria’s most esteemed brands such as Nigerian Breweries Plc. and Jumia.

4. NEMA: The National Emergency Management Agency

(NEMA) is responsible for managing disasters in Nigeria. With offices in each of Nigeria’s 36 states, the agency is the government’s principal instrument, in all situations relating to the environment and disaster relief. Our survey revealed that in addition to handling some of Nigeria’s more complex emergency situations, NEMA also provides a favourable working environment for its younger staff.

5. Authentic Value Nigeria Ltd

Established in 2010, Authentic Value Nigeria Ltd is an Information and Communication Technology company engaged in the distribution, implementation and deployment of hardware, software and enterprise solutions. The company, with staff strength of over 55, has worked with esteemed brands such as MTN, Airtel, Glo and Etisalat. It trains its staff to provide technical support which is usually conducted in collaboration with manufactures such as Hewlett Packard, IBM, Dell, Veritas and Microsoft, APC, Tally, and Epson. Dorcas Oyedeji, human resource person, notes, “Aside from remuneration, we are also rewarded for our performance and also paid when we have to work overtime.”

6. Channels

Channels Television is the leading independent TV station in Nigeria. Boasting an audience of over 20 million viewers and some 340 employees, Channels TV has bagged the “Best Television station of the Year” award in Nigeria for the last nine years consecutively. Though licensed in 1993, Channels TV made its first transmission on July 1st 1995. Despite a temporary shut down by the Nigerian government in 2008, the station has been growing in strength ever since.

7. Nigerian Breweries Plc

Nigerian Breweries Plc. is the first and largest brewing company in Nigeria. With over 3,000 employees, the company has a reputation for paying its staff very well. It also provides spousal and children’s benefits such as free healthcare, as well as scholarships for university. Its employees are encouraged to have life outside of the office.

8. Google Nigeria

Google has come a long way from its dorm room start in 1998 to its present day fancy headquarters in Mountain View, California – better known as the Googleplex. Today, Google has more than 70 offices in over 40 countries around the globe, including Nigeria. Google Nigeria is a multinational corporation specialising in internet related services and products. Google Nigeria carries the global brand’s way of doing work. Google’s website says: “Our offices and cafes are designed to encourage interactions between Googlers within and across teams and to spark conversation about work as well as play.”

9. Sahara Group

Sahara Group is a leading, privately owned energy and infrastructure multinational with operations in the upstream, midstream and downstream infrastructure and power sectors. It has offices in Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, UAE, Switzerland, Singapore, and United Kingdom, and boasts over 600 employees. As of 2012, the company’s annual turnover stood at $11.4 million. Sahara ‘s senior management notes: “At Sahara, we operate in an environment where individuals are not only encouraged to strive for excellence in their work, but to also enjoy the experience.”

10. The Nation Newspaper

One of Nigeria’s national newspapers, The Nation covers politics and business while also delving into lifestyle, arts, and sports. The company has about 200 staff and prints its newspapers simultaneously in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt. The company claims its 2014 turnover was $15 million (3 billion Naira). Almost all the top executives working with the Nation newspaper have, at one point, worked with other media companies. For instance, the current managing director of the company was also the managing director of Thisday newspaper. “I have attended training sponsored by The Nation; I am not just a reporter but also a multimedia person. At the Nation, you are not being restricted to doing what you can do. We are allowed to push our ideas,” said David Lawal, a staff member and online reporter for The Nation.

11. Pwc

12. Fidelity Bank Plc

13. Chicken republic

14. Standard chartered bank

15. Deloitte

16. Honeywell Flourmills Plc

17. Mantrac

18. Nigerian bottling company Ltd

19. General electric (GE)

20. Mainstreet bank limited

21. Sabmiller Nig Plc

22. Guinness Nigeria Plc