Human resource experts and business leaders have urged Nigerian organisations to prioritise employee wellbeing, foster learning-driven work cultures, and invest in technologies that enhance performance and staff engagement.
The call was made at the 2025 HR Conference and Excellence Awards organised by HRTalenthub.ng in Lagos.
The convener, Dr. Omotola Dayo-Adedapo, said Nigeria’s economic and workplace conditions had intensified concerns over toxic leadership, burnout, and declining mental wellbeing. She said organisations must rethink the employee experience by building healthier cultures, recognising contributions, and helping workers feel connected to their organisations’ purpose.
“HR has a responsibility to help organisations improve culture, enhance leadership, support mental wellbeing, and ensure employees feel recognised, appreciated, and connected to the value they bring,” she said.
Dr. Dayo-Adedapo added that knowledge-exchange forums such as the conference enable HR professionals to learn global best practices, strengthen leadership capacity, and promote excellence. She urged companies to invest continuously in talent development and engagement, noting that empowered employees are central to sustainable business success.
“The government must ensure policies remain favourable to both employers and employees. When businesses are able to thrive under supportive regulations, they can invest more in their people,” she added.
The Vice-Chancellor of Miva Open University, Prof. Tayo Arulogun, described Nigeria’s current labour challenge as a “talent paradox” — one in which the country produces more than 500,000 graduates annually, yet companies struggle to find employable professionals.
“You cannot recruit your way to excellence; you must cultivate it,” Prof. Arulogun said. “The half-life of skills is now less than five years. Learning, adaptation, and growth must become an everyday rhythm, not an annual event.”
He identified four pillars for future-ready workplaces: hiring based on values and mindset; embedding learning into daily work; leaders serving as culture architects; and measuring progress through innovation-linked indicators.
Prof. Arulogun stressed that long-term competitiveness “will not come from natural resources but from the people we intentionally develop”.
Also speaking, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Tranter IT Infrastructure Services Limited, Dr. Lare Ayoola, said technology investments must be guided by clear purpose and linked to staff wellbeing and customer satisfaction.
He cautioned that employees perform below capacity when they do not feel genuinely cared for by leadership.
Dr. Ayoola further noted that rapid advances in artificial intelligence require urgent attention from HR leaders, warning that organisations without a proficient AI workforce may fall behind their competitors.
