Online Reporter
Employee Relations
Dr Request Machimbira
As the nation still writhes in agony over the Warriors’ exit from the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament, it is time for a sober reflection.
Zimbabwean football needs to decipher the lessons from this debacle and reconstruct its narrative.
The pain is palpable, but it is in this crucible of disappointment that we can forge a stronger, more resilient football ecosystem.
Reflective insights: A human resources perspective
I have chosen to be reflective, rather than angry, anchoring my thoughts in the fibre of human resources best practices.
Football is a business and abandoning certain principles comes with consequences.
The human resources function is built on four pillars: Acquisition, Integration and Maintenance, Performance and Development and Exit. Let us mirror these pillars against the Warriors’ recent performance and their administrative support ecosystem.
Talent acquisition
Talent acquisition is about resourcing the organisation with the required skills.
However, the current voting system for board members raises concerns about meritocracy and competency.
It is like deciding who is going to perform a brain surgery through a popular vote; it does not add up.
The task requires a brain surgeon. The national football association must reform and modernise its talent acquisition processes, embracing blended selection methods that preserve the sanctity of expertise and meritocracy.
Voting assures us of popularity over competency. As long as voting remains the only method for boardroom talent acquisition, we are not assured of skills diversity, let alone competency in the boardroom.
The board structure should mirror the talent-centric nature of football, with board subcommittees dedicated to national talent identification and nurturing.
Unfortunately, the focus seems to be on finance, public relations and marketing, rather than the business of the business
Talent
I would have expected to see Board committees like the National Talent Identification Committee, Talent Development Committee’s etc. Organisations must be structured for functionality.
With the tournament’s oldest player being 40 years old, this is not a testament to a player’s mastery, but rather a sign of dysfunctional talent pipelines.
Any footballer at 40 years is over the hill, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi included.
Human resources best practices prioritise organisational renewal, cognisant of the law of diminishing returns.
Maintenance and integration
From a maintenance and integration perspective, it is all about having a system that works, enabling good housekeeping.
Stories of player strikes, etc, are suggestive of dysfunctional employee relations. In the absence of dispute resolution processes such as grievance handling procedures, players resort to social media and other unorthodox means to cry for attention.
If player welfare is important, why isn’t there a board subcommittee dedicated to it? Maintenance is about housekeeping, addressing small issues before they escalate.
No amount of Public Relations stunts can cure internal fissures or a broken team. The focus should be on building a cohesive unit where players feel valued, heard and empowered.
When internal cohesion is prioritised, the team’s performance on the pitch reflects it.
Meritocracy in talent deployment
Meritocracy should always rule the roost. A player who is the joint top goal scorer in the Scottish league cannot be sitting on the bench for whatever reason.
The moment you ignore merit, you breed mediocrity.
Know your team
Team leaders and managers need to know their teams. In the banking industry, they speak of KYC, which means Know Your Customer. Equally, in human resources management, we need to normalise the KYs concept, which means Know Your Staff.
You get the impression that the Warriors’ coach is yet to fully understand his players, which is why the best two attack-minded players had more time on the bench than on the pitch.
The importance of onboarding
Onboarding for a soccer coach means going to Gibbo, Mandava, Barbourfields stadiums, etc, to watch the players in action.
This did not happen.
When you short-circuit onboarding, you short-circuit familiarisation. Naturally, performance suffers. The coach’s lack of familiarity with the players was evident, and it showed on the pitch.
Performance and development: The engine that drives success
Players’ repeated errors during qualifiers and at the grand stage indicate a lack of performance support and rehabilitation.
In the world of learning and development, rehabilitative training is a recognised practice. It’s time our football ecosystem adopted this approach, providing players with the necessary support to excel.
Exit: A strategic transition
Recruiting a new coach two months before a major tournament was a knee-jerk reaction.
Exit management should be diplomatic, considering the organisation’s future needs. It is about timing, job cover planning, and ensuring a smooth transition.
The Warriors’ AFCON debacle is a wake-up call. It is time to rebuild, refocus, and adopt human resources best practices in football leadership.
Dr Request Machimbira is the executive director for Proficiency Consulting Group and International Wellness Institute. He is a leading, multi-award-winning human resources expert, strategy facilitator, board trainer, team building coach, wellness consultant, independent labour arbitrator, board chairperson, and published author. He writes in his personal capacity. For feedback, email [email protected] or phone +263772693404.
Tinaye Agere