An employee deserves to earn his pay after performing the task expected of him at the end of an agreed period. Salary can be a satisfier or a dis-satisfier at the same time. It is a satisfier when it is paid promptly and a dis-satisfier if it is not paid as at when due. Employees always talk about salary. Media managers cannot coerce them not to discuss this because they have the right to do so. Nothing impacts employee morale as much as individuals who especially, feel they are underpaid in comparison with others based on their contribution and that of other similar jobs.
A salary is a monetary compensation or remuneration, or personnel expenses paid by an employer to an employee in exchange for work done. Payment may be calculated as a fixed amount for each task completed or based on an easily measured quantity of work done. It means salaries are part of the expenses that are involved in running a business.
It is however, difficult to situate how media managers arrived at the salaries being paid their workers. Most of the media workers have never enjoyed living wages because it has been series of lamentations since the time immemorial.
Sequel to the above, media houses must therefore carefully define the work culture that they want to create and aim their best salary increases at those contributing to the success of that culture. Salary strategy must align with the company’s human resources goals and strategies. If the human resources function is charged with developing a highly skilled, outstanding workforce, company must pay above industry to attract the quality employees being sought.
However, if a media firm overpays or underpays an employee, it will eventually come back to haunt it. Overpay and the media firm risks salary that is economically unsustainable and unfair to longer-term employees. If a media firm underpays, (even if an employee accepts a job), such an employee may never feel valued by the organization if the pay is out-of-line with the experience and contribution. This type of employee may never really stop job search, using the present media firm as a resting place until the right offer arrives.
Although, government is expected to create an appreciable conducive environment for any business venture to thrive but it has failed woefully in this regards, especially in the provision of uninterrupted power supply. Regrettably, most of the production materials are being imported amidst fluctuations in foreign exchange. And the media houses are not mounting enough pressure on the government in terms of an agenda setting.
In Nigeria, arguably, in terms of payment of good salary, only one newspaper is seen to be living up to expectation. It pays 13th month salary and increases its work force salary by certain percentage across the board on a yearly basis until recently when it stopped (temporarily?) due to some self inflicted policies. It must be noted that no salary can be adequate but whatever is agreed upon should be paid as at when due.
As at today, Nigerian media workers are being owed salaries, ranging from seven months to thirteen months. This however varies from company to company. Those who resigned their appointments are not being paid their outstanding salaries talk less their entitlements. All the deductions, especially, pay as you earn (PAYE) made by the companies on behalf of the staff are not being remitted appropriately.
Failure of the concerned companies to pay salaries promptly has made staff members to be living destitute lifestyles thereby jeopardizing their health status. This has made many of them to contract terminal diseases that could have been easily managed if there is money to access good health care. Many have lost their lives in this regard. Once news filters in that a staff that is being owed salaries passes on, the management will quickly activate the process of paying part of the debts so that the deceased can be given a befitting burial!
Following incessant deaths in one of the media houses that is notorious for owing salaries, its management carried out a compulsory medical tests on all its employees in the company’s approved hospital and all those discovered to have one terminal sickness or the other were excused from their jobs. Although, parts of their benefits (unpaid salaries and entitlements) were paid at the exit point with a promise to pay them the remaining sum over a period of time; this is yet to be honoured, after almost three years.
Media managers do not need to be told that their organizations are losing enormous amount of money due to failure to pay salaries promptly. Virtually all the employees, the core ones (journalists) and supportive ones (marketing, production, procurement, administration, accounting, etc) are finding ways to stay afloat by making money fraudulently from the system. In fact, most of them just need a platform to operate. In this type of situation, the entire system have been compromised to the detriment of the company. How can it be justified for an employee to remain on the job having not been paid for more than a year? I have a grouse with staff keeping quiet while in the system only for them to start lamentations once they resigned or are sacked.
There is no need for a populist approach or contest when engaging personnel for jobs in the media house. Number of employees needed for a particular job and payable salaries need to be predetermined. Each of the employees must be able to add to the company’s bottom line by way of their value added contributions.
Majority of media managers have succeeded in violating all known principles and rules guiding payment of salary and their approaches have caused disequilibrium in the system thereby creating disgruntled, grumbling and unhappy employees.
In conclusion, those at the helm of affairs should identify tired legs; pay them off and excuse them from job instead of carrying avoidable wage bill on a monthly basis.
Abiola Ayankunbi is MD/CEO at AbingMO3 Marketing Management Consultancy
abiolaayankunbi@yahoo.com
08023051315
