How Human Resource Development turn human capital outflow to retention - “Brain-Drain” to “Brain-Retain”

 

                       Figure 1

Introduction

Human Resource plays a vital role in running the affairs of organizational and governmental activities. The efficiency of work force in respect of performance depends on the ways the human resource is managed to be responsive in performing the respective jobs. The flight of human capital has an impact not only on the country's human resource development, but also on the country's overall development. The brain drain is one of the critical issues faced by the organizations in current Sri Lanka. This study has tried to explore the causes of the brain drain situation and it has recommended HRD strategies to overcome the brain drain situation in Sri Lanka.

 

Brain drain in Current Sri Lanka

Although the "brain drain" is not a new issue, it has intensified in recent years as a result of the global financial crisis. For many years, and for a number of reasons, many countries have been affected by "brain mobility," in which their highly skilled individuals mostly represent "work immigrants" looking for work abroad (Smith, 2015). With the current financial crisis as well as political instability of Sri Lanka, most of the people with good educational and professional background tend to migrate to another country for a better life.

 

Causes of Brain Drain

Push factors such as adverse/unfavorable economic conditions, a lack of employment opportunities or generally low wage levels, abusive marriages, domestic violence, a lack of social freedom, and insecure political governance, as well as pull factors such as the host country's favorable salaries, better quality of life, freedom/or independence, and the destination country's growing need for workers, cause migration (Kularathna & Samarathunga, 2021).

                                      Figure 2

   

Shortage of Skilled professionals

Many fields, including health, fashion, manufacturing, information technology, business process outsourcing, tourism, and jewelry, are experiencing a scarcity of trained individuals in Sri Lanka. 

According to the World Bank, only 1.004 doctors and 2.18 nurses and midwives were available per 1000 patients in Sri Lanka in 2018. Every year, over 60 doctors depart for one-year compulsory training in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and other rich countries, but only half of them return, worsening a growing healthcare crisis. 

Many university professors leave the country to pursue further education elsewhere and never return. In a study titled "Impact of Migration of Sri Lankan Professionals to Qatar," Ekanayake, Anoji, and Amirthalingam (2018) discovered that 70% of Sri Lankan professionals preferred to stay in Qatar significantly longer than they anticipated. In the foreseeable future, they are also less likely to return to Sri Lanka for work. Around 39% said they didn't want to return to Sri Lanka. After their current contracts expire, over 30% of these professionals want to find new positions in Qatar or other Gulf countries, while nearly 21% want to migrate to countries like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand without returning to Sri Lanka. Without returning to Sri Lanka, he visited Canada, New Zealand, and other countries (Kularathna & Samarathunga, 2021).

 

HRD strategies to overcome the brain drain situation in Sri Lanka

Both the corporate world and the general public place a high value on education, training, and development, but the right conditions have yet to be created to keep those highly trained and educated persons in the country. 

As a result, the brightest people fled the country, with governments and organizations doing nothing to reverse the "brain drain." Employer-provided career progression and development opportunities may provide a cause for employees to consider returning home, so helping to reduce brain emigration. As a result, the government and all organizations should rethink their HRD policies and practices to appeal to expats. The costs of this "brain-outflow" are well understood (Mitsakis, 2017).

 

Conclusion

Brain Drain directly impacts to the HRM as well as any organization. “Brain-retain” should be evidenced instead through greater HRD initiatives.

 

References

Kularathna, R. & Samarathunga, M., 2021. The brain drain disaster: Where are we heading?. Sunday Island, 24 November.

Mitsakis, F., 2017. From “Brain-Drain” to “Brain-Retain”: Can Human Resource Development (HRD) turn human capital outflow to retention?. s.l., s.n.

Smith, H., 2015. Young, gifted and Greek: Generation G – the world’s biggest brain drain. The Gurdian , 19 January.