‘Right skilling’ gives firms a chance

A survey released last week by global management consultancy the Hay Group warns that 62 percent of business leaders in the region are creating a demotivating climatefor their employees, largely as a result of an overreliance on a command and control leadership style - that is, by dismissing input from subordinates as unnecessary.

The survey, of more than 500 leaders and 2,000 of their direct reports across the Middle East, suggests that in good times, financial results and reward can be motivation enough. It is in the bad times, however, that employees need a working environment that inspires their individual effort and team commitment.

"Middle East firms are sitting on enormous reserves of efficiency and productivity that they have yet to set free from their employees," says Mark Williams, director of Leadership and Talent at Hay Group Middle East.

"Leaders are responsible for creating a motivating environment within the organisation, and in the current economic climate they will need to adapt if they are to survive."

Amid the gloom of the downturn and the relentless downsizing of firms across the Gulf, then, it's refreshing to see one of the region's larger companies adopt a novel approach to its restructuring efforts - and one that could reap considerable benefits in terms of team commitment.

Sorouh Real Estate, Abu Dhabi's second-largest property developer, has been hit hard by the real estate crash and the resultant slump in demand for new units. Rather than slash jobs, however, the firm last week revealed that it plans to retrain its engineers to work in customer service roles, in a bid to prevent redundancies.

The initiative, termed "right skilling" by Sorouh, will no doubt be viewed with suspicion by engineers more at ease on the building site than in the showhome.

However, with the region's property sector listing badly and engineering positions scarce in other markets too, the majority will soon embrace the opportunity to further develop - and diversify - their skillset. In these tight times, you can never have too many strings to your bow.

Provided Sorouh can keep its engineers awake as they are retrained in the dark arts of mortgage application assistance and call centre etiquette, then the firm will rightly be hailed as an excellent example to others. Rather than slashing training to cut costs, they are developing the skills of their workforce and should emerge fitter for it.

Those employees that accept retraining will appreciate that Sorouh chose not to swing the axe, while all around them others were losing their heads. That knowledge should be enough to instill an enhanced loyalty to their employer, and to generate an extra 10 percent from each staff member during a period when a strong sense of collective responsibility could make a difference to the futures of many Gulf firms.

Let us be under no illusions: Sorouh is operating in one of the hardest-hit sectors in the region. ‘Right skilling' is not a catch-all solution and will not boost the developer's bottom line. However, with the right moves at the right time, and a leadership prepared to educate employees rather than just boot them off the payroll, it might just come out stronger on the other side.

Andrew White is the editor of Arabian Business English.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Talent is king
Posted by geriant, Dubai, UAE on Tuesday 10 March 2009 at 05:17 UAE time


Lufthansa has a novel approach to its people, assigning trained pilots to desk jobs around the company while they wait their turn to fly. This means LH doesn't lose the fortune it costs to train a pilot, and the pilot learns new skills. At this time in the Gulf, keeping the best talent makes sense ... but it is also a heaven-sent opportunity to kick out the dross.

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