THE HR PROBLEM WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT
Every day, thousands of young Nepalis leave the country in search of jobs, better income and a more predictable future. The common explanation is that young people want to go abroad.
That is only half the story. The bigger question is: Why are we unable to make staying in Nepal attractive enough?
Political instability, weak infrastructure, limited industrial development and the absence of meaningful incentives for investors certainly make job creation difficult. Nepal has not yet created an environment where Nepali entrepreneurs, NRNs or foreign investors feel sufficiently confident to invest and create employment at scale.
But there is another factor that
receives far less attention: Human Resource Management.
Nepal’s organisations are losing young talent not only because there are fewer jobs, but also because many of the jobs that exist are not designed to retain ambitious young people.
Compensation is still treated as a cost, not an investment
A talented young professional compares opportunities globally. He or she does not ask only, “What does a Nepali company pay?” The question is increasingly:
“What is my earning potential if I work in India, the Gulf, Australia, Japan, Europe or elsewhere in Asia?”
Unfortunately, many Nepali organisations continue to benchmark salaries against the local
market rather than against the talent market.
If an organisation wants international-quality talent, it cannot expect to retain that talent with significantly below-market compensation.
Salary is not everything. But when the gap becomes too large, passion, loyalty and patriotism cannot compensate indefinitely.
Career growth is often unclear
Young professionals want to know where they can be five years from now.
Many organisations still recruit people for a position rather than building a career pathway. A young employee may join as an executive, officer or management trainee, but have little clarity about:
• What skills must I develop? • When can I become a manager?
• What performance will determine my promotion?
• What leadership opportunities are available?
• Will the company invest in my development?
When the answer is unclear, the employee starts looking elsewhere.
Training is often considered an expense
The best young employees want to learn.
They want exposure to technology, management, international practices, leadership and new business models.
Unfortunately, training budgets are often among the first things to be reduced when companies face financial pressure.
This creates a vicious cycle. The company does not invest in people because it fears losing them. People leave because the company does not invest in them.
Good organisations understand that employee development is part of retention.
Management culture matters enormously
Young talent is not necessarily looking for an easy workplace. They are looking for a fair workplace.
They can accept demanding targets. They can accept accountability. They can work long hours when there is a meaningful purpose.
What they find difficult to accept is:
• favouritism • political interference • unclear authority • micromanagement • promotions based on relationships
• lack of recognition • unequal treatment • managers who take credit for
their team’s work
CLIMATE RISKS DO NOT STOP AT NATIONAL BORDERS, MAKING REGIONAL COOPERATION ESSENTIAL FOR RESILIENCE, EARLY WARNING AND DISASTER RESPONSE.
A young professional may tolerate a lower salary for some time.
It is much harder to tolerate a workplace where merit does not determine opportunity.
Nepal needs to move from employment to employability
The responsibility of HR should not end after recruitment. HR should ask:
How do we make our people more capable every year?
Companies should create structured development plans covering technical skills, communication, digital capability, leadership, commercial understanding and international exposure.
A good employee should become significantly more valuable after three years in an organisation than when he or she joined.
That is a sign of good HR.
We need an Asian talent benchmark
Nepali companies cannot remain inward-looking.
The competition for talent is no longer only between two companies in Kathmandu. It is between Nepal and the rest of Asia.
India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Gulf and other markets are competing for the same ambitious young workforce.
Nepali organisations need to benchmark:
Salary + benefits + career growth + learning + work culture + recognition + leadership exposure against relevant Asian markets.
Not every Nepali company can match Singapore or Dubai salaries. But every company can become more competitive in the total employee value proposition.
The government also has a role
HR cannot solve a problem that begins with the economy.
The government must create the conditions for companies to grow.
That means better infrastructure, policy stability, easier business processes, investment incentives, industrial support, access to finance and predictable taxation.
No economy can retain its young people if it cannot create enough productive opportunities for them.
But government action alone will not solve the problem. Nepali businesses also need to look inward.
The real HR question Perhaps we should stop asking: “Why are Nepali youth leaving?” And start asking: “What are we doing that gives them a reason to stay?”
Young Nepalis are ambitious. They want to earn. They want to learn. They want recognition. They want a career they can be proud of.
Patriotism can encourage someone to stay.
But opportunity gives them a reason to stay.
Nepal’s talent crisis therefore cannot be solved merely by asking young people to return or by celebrating those who choose to remain.
We need to build organisations where talented young people can say:
“I can build my career here.” That is ultimately an HR responsibility, a business responsibility and, at a much larger level, a national responsibility.
If we continue to export our best young talent and import little investment, technology and opportunity, Nepal will not just lose people. It will lose the human capital required to build the country.
Rauniyar is Director of Pharma Marketing Solutions (PMS). He can be reached at Umeshrauniyar41@ gmail.com.
