I enjoy driving very much. After 5 1/2 years, I’ve criss-crossed the country on the Queen’s Highway countless times. Driving relaxes me and when I’m behind the wheel, I can think clearly and often come up with good ideas. My only real problem is remembering the idea by the time I arrive at my destination. If I start my trip in Nadi with a problem on my mind, I’ll usually have a workable solution by the time I pass Sigatoka. The solution will often be considered useless by the time I hit the Warwick Resort and then revived again by Pac Harbour. Plenty of time to think on that road, after all.
After a recent trip to the Yasawas, I found myself in Nadi after sunset and I needed to be back in Suva that evening. I have never done the night drive on the Queen’s Highway. I’ve heard too many stories of livestock sleeping in the road and massive nighttime-potholes opening up to swallow unsuspecting cars to be comfortable making the trek. On this evening, however, I had little choice so I buckled my kids into the back seat, pulled out onto the rain-slicked road in Nadi and started back to Suva.
The problem I wanted to think about on this drive was the so-called brain-drain and its impact on business or more accurately, MY business. The very words “brain drain” allude to something disappearing and going away forever, never to be heard from again. Oceanic has had three web developers leave our company since we opened, two of them have left the country; one of them has taken a job with a foreign firm and will be migrating at some point. There are others currently working for Oceanic who are planning their own migration abroad in the future. I have seen at least one or two key contacts in pretty much EVERY one of our client’s businesses pick up and leave the country as well. The brain-drain is a real thing and is something which many people believe represents a problem for the country.
I’m not convinced, however, that the “drain” is one of the biggest hindrances to businesses in Fiji. I believe the real problem is the way so many businesses refuse to acknowledge or deal with the actual issue until it’s too late. The most typical behavior for a staff member with plans to migrate is to do it in secrecy. A company might provide training and skills for an employee and then one day, he or she never shows up to work. Alternatively, they go on a trip to New Zealand to visit friends and on the day they’re due back in the office, an email is received which says “I’ve decided to stay.” It’s no wonder businesses get so upset and feel used. When people are forced to deal with a situation that they previously refused to acknowledge, strain will be the result.
On my drive back to Suva that evening, it became more and more obvious to me that my fears of nighttime driving on the Queen’s Highway were unfounded. During the daytime drive, I had become very used to the dangers on the road, most notably police officers with speed guns playing crouching tiger, hidden dragon. Road obstructions could be spotted up ahead, as well. In the evening, those dangers do not exist or at least, I had no hope in seeing them. As such, I had to focus on the challenge in a different way and from a different perspective. In other words, it was the same path I always took but I was viewing it with different eyes. The brain drain started to become less of a problem at that point.
If people are intent on migrating, they are going to migrate. Most people would agree with that statement. If this is the case, then why do businesses try to lock employees in with contracts which make it difficult for them to leave? I certainly don’t want to employ someone who doesn’t want to be there. What kind of value are they going to add to the business, after all? Why not embrace the fact that there are some people who are intent on migrating abroad and instead of forcing them to hide it, encourage them to be open about it and better yet, help them achieve their career goals? I think the result of doing that is having an employee who feels more secure in making decisions about their future as well as one who is very comfortable within their workplace. That’s a recipe for efficient staff.
It became more and more obvious as I drove along that night that as a company, we can do a number of things to help staff in their migration hopes if this is what they really want. We can openly support their desires by writing letters of reference on their PR applications. We can provide training on how to write effective CVs and how to interview. We can bring in immigration experts to talk to staff about issues related to migration and how to avoid problems. In some cases, the company could even pay for trips abroad to meet with prospective companies. Although unconventional, this activity is not wasteful. On the contrary, our return on investment through this kind of programme is quite clear.
For starters, the chances of attracting highly talented and motivated workers to join Oceanic increases when programmes are put into place which encourage career growth and empower staff members. After a year of employment with Oceanic, employees can enter into this migration programme with the open commitment that they stay working with us for two or three additional years. In exchange for their commitment will be all the aforementioned benefits. Staff are pretty much guaranteed the full support of our company rather than face the sometimes questionable position of hoping for the best when applying for their PR. Their skills would be refined and they would never have to worry about hiding a huge life secret to their workplace. That is more damaging to an employee’s performance than anything else.
I suppose some people might try to make the argument that a programme like this is actually encouraging migration and adding to the brain drain. I don’t see this as being the case at all. We are simply taking an existing business challenge and attempting to turn it around in order to benefit from it. Our hope will always be that our employees stay employed with us for as long as possible but if they are truly intent on migrating, there is no reason not to help them and at the same time, attempt to gain from their hard work. For Oceanic, knowing that we have employees for a set amount of time who are motivated to continue to develop themselves is invaluable.
When I arrived back into Suva that evening with this new perspective in my head, I immediately wrote them down. The biggest business challenges can also be the ones which have the most accessible solutions. I only needed to view the road with different eyes. I still got to my destination safe and sound.
From FijiTimes 3 May 2008
Jonathan Segal is the Managing Director and CEO of Oceanic Communications (www.oceanic.com.fj), an advertising, marketing and technology agency in Suva. Feel free to send comments and topic suggestions to talanoa@oceanic.com.fj
