Faces of Field Nation: Nahian Akib

For Nahian Akib, variety is more than the spice of life. It’s a crucial element of honing his skills and learning new things as an HR professional.

“I enjoy working with people from different backgrounds,” He says of his preferred work environment. “Hearing their perspectives helps me adopt modern practices and keep my knowledge of the HR space up-to-date.”

This approach is well-suited to Field Nation’s global team.

Nahian joined Field Nation in 2018 as a Talent Acquisition Specialist, overseeing recruitment in both Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka (where he lives) and in Minneapolis, where Field Nation is headquartered. In time, he was promoted to the role of HR generalist, where he applies his formidable skillset to a wider range of people-related business operations.

“Working in HR, you never know exactly what your day has in store or what will come up. Every day brings something new,” he says. “That excites me about my job.”

As for Field Nation, Nahian is quick to point out that the company’s values are key in making that excitement possible. The first word he uses to describe Field Nation’s culture is “inclusive.”

“Everyone feels involved in pretty much every initiative Field Nation takes on.”

“Field Nation walks the walk when it comes to having an employee-centric culture,” he continues. “It’s not just something they say: the company really values people. Actually, people are at the core of its values, and that’s very impressive.”

The second word he uses to describe Field Nation’s culture? “Transparent.”

“Field Nation never keeps its employees in the dark when it comes to sharing important business updates, and that goes a long way in making employees feel valued. That transparency is vital.”

Recently, Nahian had the opportunity to contribute to that transparency. As one of the first big projects in his new role, he helped gather company-wide employee engagement data that he then analyzed and presented to key leaders. This crucial work is integral to constantly strengthening Field Nation’s employee-centric culture.

In his free time, Nahian enjoys getting adventurous with food. He and his friends in Dhaka have formed a group (comprised partially of other Field Nation team members) committed to creating and trying new dishes whenever possible. He shares these recipes and experiences with Field Nation’s Minneapolis office via Slack message––that way, both offices can keep a dialogue going and stay clued into one another’s culinary exploits.

This global relationship between Dhaka and Minneapolis is essential to the Field Nation experience, and it is not confined to digital correspondence. In early 2020, before the pandemic, CTO Travis Emslander and CEO Mynul Khan traveled to Bangladesh to meet with Nahian and his broader, Dhaka-based team. This year, team members from Bangladesh have plans to visit their colleagues in Minneapolis.

It’s a trend that Nahian would like to see continue: “This is how we build collaboration.”