MEET THE STAFF SERIES

Our Office Optimization Scheme Maximizes Working Effort of Staff and their Collaborative Experience-Aminu A. Yusha'u

CCD- Tell us a bit about yourself?

AA-My name is Aminu Abdullahi Yusha'u. I am from Kano state, born and brought up in Kaduna. I attended my primary and junior secondary school here in Kaduna and concluded my senior secondary school in Katsina. I studied Quantity Survey at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

CCD-When did you join the service of the Company?

AA-I joined Kaduna Electric on September 1st, 2015.

CCD-What are your Primary Responsibilities?

AA-I am currently the facility management and maintenance Officer, in the Admin & Logistics Department and my primary responsibility is to make sure that the Company’s buildings and their services meet the needs of the people that work in them. With that being said, my main job role is to create a conducive and suitable working environment so as to encourage and enable staff to reach their full potential at work. Some of these services include the general day to day maintenance of working equipment, cleaning of environment, office optimization, supervision, management and inspection of works (building, carpentry, plumbing and electricity/illumination) done at facilities, etc.

CCD-What is the difficult part of being an Admin Officer?

AA-Admin and Logistics is a department that constantly demands your dedication and commitment. It is a "service Department", in the sense that it is always in the process of service provision to the organization. To be an admin and logistics staff, you have to be always proactive and show commitment to service delivery. Therefore, one has to exhibit strong personality and courage to be able to meet the demands of the department. You have to be extremely dedicated to tasks and responsibilities as they often come-up at short notices.

CCD-What are the major challenges in Admin and Security department?

AA-One of the major challenges we face in this Unit has to do with the insufficiency of office furniture, and these greatly contribute to the success and efficient execution of day to day activities. Most of the office furniture we have are obsolete and desperately in need of replacement/repairs. Due to the insufficiency, we receive request for it almost on daily basis. The furniture is outdated and too much repair on an already outworn furniture can deemed it unusual. Other challenges arise from the building maintenances and repairs carried out within the buildings, such as:

· Ventilation systems maintenance & repairs also tend to be a major challenge especially during the hot season. Most of the ventilation equipment (Air conditions, fans etc.) are old and worn out and as such, it is always not easy to maintain these ventilation units. Sometimes, spare parts of these old units are hardly obtained in the market and as such further complicates the servicing & maintenance progress.

· Others may include building renovations/roof maintenance & repairs especially during the raining season, elevator servicing and repairs and other facility related maintenances.

CCD-How do you ensure those challenges are being resolved?

AA-We always tend to do our best to enlighten and encourage staff to maintain the equipment that are in their possession. And also to report the slightest fault detected for immediate resolution because if left unattended to, might escalate to a bigger problem which at the end of the day attracts more cost to repair and maintain and this does not  augur well for both us, in the sense that we are always trying to minimize cost and maximize benefits.

CCD-Do you have any strategy in seeing the challenges are being resolved?

AA-Yes, we have what we call the office occupancy/optimization scheme, which is a strategic plan outlined to utilize and optimize the available space, staff and equipment in the building thereby maximizing the working effort of staff and also to provide them with a productive and collaborative experience.

In terms of insufficiency of office furniture and proper ventilation system installments and replacement across all the franchise including our injection sub stations, service centers etc., we are really doing our best to encourage and persuade the management to approve for the procurement of at least two to three new air conditions to be replaced with the old and dilapidated ones every month.

In terms of office furniture, the provision of materials for the production of office furniture should be approved and the goal here is to produce four to five number office furniture which can be distributed to those in need and subsequently replace the old and worn-out office furniture in circulation. These plans and proposals are very much ready and will appreciate its approval from the management because it will enable us to go extra mile in solving the pending challenges, we are facing in terms of office optimization, and will further boost the moral and capability of staff to efficiently execute their assignments.

CCD- Any appeal or suggestion to staff or management?

My only appeal or suggestion to the management is always approve for the needful, anything that will benefit the organization and boost efficiency should always be treated as priority. Needless to also mention that the issue of inconvenience in the working environment should be looked into, as it correlates highly with work productivity. The management should also create more feedback channels and further improve on the efficiency in response to feedbacks, as this will further strengthen and bridge the little communication gap between staff and management staff. As to the staff, they should always be on the disciplined side, always abide by all the rules and regulations of the organization as well as follow all the guidelines and the do's and don'ts. When all these are put into action, we will have nothing short of a harmonious working environment and this will boost the level of trust and bonds, which will surely affect productivity in a positive way.