An HR Update

Finding and retaining talented people is one of the most critical challenges of running a successful business in Liberia. 

There are some noteworthy HR news at our company. 

1. NATC has hired a hardware expert from Pakistan. He arrives this weekend and, will begin work on Monday, 1 April. No joking around that day! More on his duties and responsibilities to come. 
2. Corinna Bordewieck's time at NATC has concluded. We thank her for managing our office while the owners/managers were in the US for maternity/paternity. We will miss her enthusiasm and meticulous attention to detail. We wish her the best in her future endeavours. This means, NATC is looking for a new Marketing Consultant. 
3. Our local printer expert committed gross misconduct by trying to privately apply for the same hardware maintenance contract that NATC had applied for. We caught him filling up the bid document in our office along with the IT officer of one of our clients! Imagine the cheek. We confronted him and, he admitted that he was trying to chase that business. Since then, he has not shown up for work and apparently, has telephoned the Janitor to ask him whether he can pick up his salary. 
4. Episodes like these are extremely disappointing since we support and nurture our staff. Experiences like these also make one realise that character is as important as competence and attitude. 
5. It looks like we have hired a trainee from next door Sierra Leone through a bluff. I received a job application in my Inbox and acknowledged it with a standard courteous reply: "Thank you for your interest in NATC and we'll get back to you." That one generic reply prompted countless telephone calls until I finally suggested to him that if he came to Monrovia by road for an interview, I'd pay for half of his transportation costs. And guess, what? The fellow gives me a call a couple of evenings later and tells me he's in town! I was pleasantly gobsmacked and, excited to see such determination. In fact, he was so excited that he forgot to tell his wife he'd safely arrived since she called me up to ask whether her husband had made it. he was so organised that he left my number with her. he showed up the next morning bright eyed and bushy tailed and, even looked a bit like a nerd. I had the interview, asked him to do a written test, discussed his availability and, was pleased to offer him a trainee job which he gratefully accepted. his enthusiasm really won me over and, I hope he will flourish under the right supervision and, prove to be a worthy member of our team. 
6. And, finally, our job listing at Escape the City has not yielded a single application. So, we are still looking for an overall IT Manager with a range of skills and expertise. I guess we have to keep looking. I might give it another shot at this website by upgrading my listing and, get our job post featured on their newsletter.