Raymond Mujuni is a 23 year old investigative reporter. He has a number of recognitions, awards and praises to his name. About a week ago, news came through that this young blood was abandoning a NTV to join NBS TV, a rival station and the internet went into a frenzy.
Emotions were divided seeing that some want him to join the pool of talented journalists while others want him to stay and grow with one of the “jajas” of the industry. One major observation has been raised and it’s time someone addressed it, employee poaching! The raging debate that NBS poaches talent has brought up one important point: As if employee poaching is only done by NBS TV, Ahem!
You fish the best when you can sustain them as well as empower them to keep their game on check! We undoubtedly can’t deny the fact that NBS TV is the best in this broadcasting world and everyone wants to join in on the crème de la crème. And let’s look at the bright side of things; poaching can benefit both sides of the equation, the ‘poacher’ and the ‘poached’. It aids the transfer of knowledge, with turnover spreading best practices throughout the industry. (Seriously, think about it!)
But first, since everyone has been talking about grooming and its advantages, let me educate you about poaching and what it does to any industry.
Poaching only occurs in high growth industries with specialized skills and an enormous desire to keep the top game rolling. A clever investor with money and a long time sustainable plan in any industry also efficiently does the poaching. You aggressively recruit talented people to join your pool of talent and tread on your competitors. My observation is such that, over the years, unknown journalists have joined NBS and they are now household names, and I really mean household names, the likes of Samson Kasumba, Sabiti Joseph, Mildred Tuhaise and Solomon Sserwanjja. We’ve seen these guys become key talent in the media in less than a year because while at NBS, they’ve been exposed to best leaders, coverage experiences, trainings and equipment.
Unlike elephants, employees aren’t endangered species who can be unfairly captured. Employees are independent people with autonomy; it makes them free to wander off to whoever they want to work for. By the time an employee is poached, they’ve thought about career growth and all the merits of joining a new place. The threat of losing employees keeps the labor market purring. Have you people seen Canary Mugume, the young thriving boy at NBS? He’s the definition of grooming talent. NBS is investing every penny in this boy and a couple of others, because they value them and want them to grow with the brand, that way they are able to spread his wings and NBS can only look on with pride. Besides, they gets all the wisdom and advice from the veterans of the industry.
Commentary by Pamela Adongo, Chief Marketing Officer, NBS TV.
