Globalisation has brought a wide range of opportunities to workplaces across Africa. While local businesses can access new markets and better technology, their HR leaders face increased competition from foreign employers and a depleted local talent pool.
Ashiokai Akrong, Human Resources Director with Vodafone, is an experienced HR leader with an international background spanning over 20 years, working for consultancies and globally matrixed organisations in Europe, North America and Africa.
As a part of a global market leader, Ashiokai and her team in Ghana have access to a vast talent pool and almost unlimited resources for training and coaching. But on the flip side, the increased globalisation also presents challenges regarding affordability. Competing on wages and benefits is difficult, and local talent is often poached by international competitors offering fully remote roles and foreign currency salaries.
In this conversation with Managing Director Abby Walters, Ashiokai shares her approach to preparing the young workforce for the future by working with local and regional universities to ensure their curriculum aligns with industry demands in the coming years. She also emphasises the importance of equipping first-time leaders and managers with the skills to mentor and coach and shows how critical data analytics is for HR and how it influences decision-making in the Vodafone boardroom.
