For many countries hiring internationally, there’s the need to look to more developed countries for top talent. Developing countries have limited resources within their own country, and the best and brightest are often lost to brain drain. They go abroad for higher salaries and better standards of living. They prefer economic and political stability, which is often associated with the Western world, and so it’s hard for their own country to keep them. There are also other reasons that countries, particularly developing ones, can find it hard to keep their talent, especially in healthcare. These are good cases for companies to consider, even though there isn’t a direct comparison of conditions.
A Case in Point
According to Dodani and LaPorte, “Besides the pull–push factors described earlier, some researchers from developing countries cite other reasons for not returning after training which include: lack of research funding; poor facilities; limited career structures; poor intellectual stimulation; threats of violence; and lack of good education for children in their home country. “They go on to explain that developing countries can try different incentives to prevent brain drain, but these just don’t compete with those opportunities evident abroad. “Many of these countries have made significant investments in infrastructure and education but have not achieved the scientific development, technological and innovative capability either to retain or to recover the human capital that they have generated.” Is there a solution to this problem? We tackle this below.
Is Your Company Investing Enough?
There’s the immediate solution that a country should invest more so that it can prevent its talent from migrating to the developed world. For a moment, think of your company like a developing country. Let’s stop the brain drain. While you might not have the resources of a country (but, in some cases, your company might have more), study whether you should invest more in your human assets. Focus on providing employees with more advancement opportunities so they will stay. You can’t afford to keep losing talent to other companies, whether they are domestic or foreign in nature.
What to Do: Learn Why Employees Stay
Andrew Chamberlain’s March 2017 article in the Harvard Business Review found that there are major reasons why employees stay.First, employees need clear paths to advancement. But “employees won’t stay for new job titles alone. As they assume new responsibilities on their upward paths, compensation should rise along with career arc. If managers do not offer meaningful promotions, in both responsibilities and pay, our data suggests employees are more likely to look elsewhere for their next role.” While employees want to be paid in increasing amounts commensurate with their position on a professional career ladder, they also crave a positive workplace culture. They want to be happy, which we know is highly correlated with a positive employer brand.
We’re all about helping businesses succeed in recruiting and keeping the best talent. Every company must look hard at its current culture and discover why employees leave. This could be the perfect time to conduct another employee survey. Consider what your departing employees say, but remember they are already disgruntled or in search of better opportunities when they are asked the questions. Investigate what employees want so they don’t become examples of brain drain. Don’t let them work to the point of what Chamberlain calls “stagnation,” or when they’re no longer challenged. Tackle problems with employee culture so the people who stay with the company will suggest their employer as a good one to potential employees. Your company needs all the referrals it can get to compete in the global talent market. Brain drain only translates to higher recruitment costs and investments in new employee training and development. They might also leave before they give your company an adequate ROI.
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