Talent is like a tree, a nursery where you find somebody. You mould them and get there up to where you want, says chief executive officer of Fijian Holdings Limited Nouzab Fareed.

Speaking at the Fiji Human Resources Institute’s conventionat the Westin Resort, Denarau, Mr Fareed gave institute’s members an insight on how FHL finds and keeps the best people for the job.

Mr Fareed said while FHL has been largely successful in managing talent, they have not had much success with finding the right people for Fiji Television Limited.

“We are suffering a little with television because of lack of talent in that industry. In certain industries we have not been able to do talent management. Business acumen is present but right skill set is not there.

“It is important to strategically manage your talent. Identifying the right talent also involves a lot of skills. It’s a tough game. FHL has a plan for future but we need to link talent strategy in line with that.”

Mr Fareed said it was also important to be able to see employees out of the work environment. He said that he often took employees out to bars for drinks. The way employees conduct themselves in such settings under the influence of liquor is also an important gauge of their behaviour.

He also spoke in length about encouraging creativity amongst employees, especially the Generation Y.

“FHL may be the only company which has no restrictions on internet use. Facebook is open throughout the day. I had blocked it once last year,  but came to realise that it was a mistake.”

He said it was important for senior managers to have an open door policy, adding that traditional approach to work has failed with Generation Y.

Mr Fareed said every employee of FHL had been given a smartphone and now his staff do not call him, but Viber him when they need to communicate.

He said social networking sites such as Facebook were also a good tool to keep up with the lives of his staff that they have outside of office.

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