Onboarding is the act of integrating a new employee into an organization or familiarizing a new customer or client with one’s products or services.
Wikipedia defines onboarding as the mechanism through which new employees acquire necessary knowledge, skills and behaviours to become effective organizational members and insiders.
Since the inception of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration, Edo State has embraced the onboarding strategy to ensure that new hires into the Civil/Public Services are able to acquaint themselves with the rules and regulations that govern the Service.
This onboarding is equally done for both absorbed officers and political appointees to also acquaint them on how government is run and their respective roles in the business of governance.
With over 5,000 persons recruited into the Civil and Public Service (either through the Civil Service Commission or employed to various boards, agencies and departments via the Office of the Head of Service), the state government has adopted the onboarding strategy to ensure they commit themselves to work while contributing their quota to ensure smooth implementation of government policies and programmes.
The most recent of these was the onboarding of the 15 newly appointed Commissioners in the state on Monday, 19th June, 2023. The other was the onboarding of over 240 health workers into the State Primary Health Care Agency which spanned 10 days.
Speaking during the onboarding of the newly appointed Commissioners tagged “Finishing Strong”, the State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, charged them to commit themselves to work, and ensure they do everything within their powers to contribute their quotas in ensuring the success of the ongoing reforms and programmes to improve the livelihood of Edo citizens and place the state on the path of economic growth and development.
Obaseki admonished the Commissioners to key into the six thematic pillars of the present administration which include Institutional Reforms, Economic Revolution, Infrastructural Development, Environmental Sustainability, Social Welfare Development, and Culture and Tourism.
Speaking on the nitty-gritty of the onboarding exercise, the Edo State Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa Esq., told participants to work towards sustaining the state government’s reforms in the Civil and Public Service.
The essence of the onboarding was to professionalize the Service in line with global best practices, adhering to the core values of the Service which include integrity, accountability, quality service delivery, collaboration, respect for the people and observance of the rule of law.
Various resource persons took turns to deliver lectures and to educate the newly inducted Commissioners. These lectures include Communication and Flow of Information in the Public Service by Prof Tonnie Iredia; Code of Conduct and Ethics by Mrs. Theresa Nwafor from the Edo State Code of Conduct Bureau; Edo State Public Procurement Process and Financial Regulation by the Managing Director, Edo State Public Procurement Agency, Mr. Henry Idogun; Application of the Civil and Public Service Rules by Permanent Secretary, Office of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Igbinobaro; Edo Government Project and Public Service Utilization by the Managing Director, ICTA, Mr. Goodluck Inegbedion, among others.
