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GCC businesses face recruitment crisis
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Wednesday, 2 January 2008
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Results 1 to 12 of 12
Posted on Saturday, 12 April 2008
The GCC Market observing positive correction to attract and retain talent
Posted by Naseem H AlSaeed at 22:04 UAE time
Well both businesses and employees in the GCC are struggling with cost increasing, which outpace their earnings. This phenomenon leads the GCC market to observe positive correction to attract and retain talent. Unlike previous decade where Western being paid higher then most other nationalities, today this trend is changing and employers are deciding pay based on competencies disregard nationality. Employees are now are more free to move, which encourage employers to look at HRM as a strategic function.
Although the response of the Governments and Employers in the GCC are slow, it is in the right direction and promising.
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Posted on Saturday, 5 January 2008
Recruitment crisis
Posted by Shrikant Kelkar at 13:38 UAE time
The commentary and analysis from Mr Rajendra Aneja provides an insight into WHY this situation is faced by the Gulf business. I would like to compliment him on his straight forward views.
Attracting and retaining talent are long term strategic goals that need to be embedded in the Business Strategy of the company. Employees are key human resources and valuing them correctly is an art in itself.
Business who have taken short term view in the past and have benefited by short sighted remuneration policies will be the first to get hit with this. Their business models will not be able to sustain the market salaries or attract talent from traditional sources of supply without an erosion in their previously high profit margins.
A strong HR function with business linkage is the need of the hour. It might be interesting to see how the same 90 % businesses fared on the HR front and whether they had established proper remuneration and employee development policies.
The need of the hour is to wake up to the advent of globalisation and gear up local businesses to become competitive in the international job market. This can only be done by giving due importance to both the company employees who work in the company and the HR function who should have ability and experience in managing talent - making the company brand work to attract and retain talent.
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Posted on Thursday, 3 January 2008
Recruitment crisis: What about local talent?
Posted by Hussian Motabagani at 15:08 UAE time
I don't understand why Gulf countries are struggling to attract more foreign labour when they have an abundance of local talent lying around in the same company doing absolutely nothing.
There are a number of young graduates who need training and experience, so why not introduce a fair starting package with gradual rises? This way you will have the staff you're looking for. It's sad when your younger university colleagues, who have graduated with a bachelors in building engineering, are offered only 4000 Riyals plus another 1500 Riyals in benefits "in one of the biggest construction firms in the world.
And that's what most Saudi engineering graduates are earning nowadays until they shift to Aramco or Sabic. I should know I've been there myself.
If that's how much a local national engineer is getting paid then don't expect to find any foreign experts flocking to your offices.
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TALENT SHORTAGE, WHOSE FAULT?
Posted by RAJENDRA ANEJA at 14:27 UAE time
This refers to the survey, indicating that 90 per cent of the businesses in the Gulf region are unable to attract candidates from the international market. These businesses are finding it “a struggle” or “entirely impossible”, to source candidates from the international market.
If businesses in the Middle East are unable to attract good talent, it is a misfortune, of their own creation. The way many Gulf businesses are managed, they do not deserve, good quality professional staff. A study of the Gulf market shows:
a) Many companies do not value the people who work for them. People are just a raw material for these companies, irrespective of their professional qualifications and backgrounds.
b) Quite a few companies do not pay adequate attention to the welfare of their employees. There is negligible to nil time spent, on employees who work for them, (mostly expatriate workers).
c) Despite the rampant inflation in the Gulf Region, many businesses have not empathized with the hardships of the employees. A few companies have updated the compensation packages, but the general reaction has been silence, non-action, or behaving like the traditional ostrich and just pretending that there is problem.
d) The quality of management in some businesses in the Gulf, is best termed as “primitive”. Many business organizations in the Gulf are run on principles and practices, which were followed in developing countries like India and China, about 30 years ago.
e) Most of the Gulf companies are habituated to managing businesses in a protective, monopolistic economy. So, when free market, demand-supply equations commence in the talent market, they are floored.
Finally, most business organizations in the Gulf, employ expatriate workers from different countries and as in the past, it is assumed that the latter will remain silent and motionless. With economic conditions having improved in many supplier-countries, it will be very difficult to source talent in the future.
The writing on the wall is clear. The operating, remuneration systems in the Gulf business will have to be upgraded. Otherwise, the Gulf may become principally dependant on oil refining. The Gulf will have to kiss good-bye to the manufacturing, financial, marketing, research, etc., sectors, quite simply, because nobody will find it financially fulfilling or fun, to work in the Gulf.
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Recruitment
Posted by Rodger at 09:02 UAE time
I am puzzled by the feedback that companies are "paying more than they can afford". If there really is a shortage of talent, and this is causing wage inflation in a particular industry, all companies in the sector should be similarly affected and you should be able to pass it on to your customers by way of price increases.
There will be some unfortunate businesses who have got themselves into long-term, fixed price contracts with their customers, but otherwise if a particular organisation finds themselves unable to raise their prices in the face of rising input costs, then they must wonder whether their product is really required in modern Dubai and perhaps they should try some other, more valuable line of business.
I suspect that, in many cases, businesses will have made huge profits during the last few years' "boom", and management have not yet come to terms with the fact that these margins are unsustainable in the longer term; input cost inflation will almost certainly catch up with them eventually.
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Posted on Wednesday, 2 January 2008
FIRST Air Transport Conference Highlight - Kuwait Recruitment Crises
Posted by Prof Philbert at 20:17 UAE time
Several issues will affect the outcome of the conference scheduled on Janaury 17 2008 with the recruitment crises dominating the specialized aviation industry . The conference will highlight the acute need for Career Alignment, Personal Assessment, Performance Appraisal, Talent Management, High Velocity Education and University Grading. Do join the event hosted by Directorate of Civil Aviation in Kuwait and supported by Gulf University (GUST www.gust.edu.kw/glf) Logistics Forum and other institutions in the region. You can also visit the website at www.kuwaitsirtransport.com
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Recruitment crisis: agencies need to be educated
Posted by M K at 18:18 UAE time
I believe whoever is suffering from HR problems must reconsider his or her philosophy in sourcing the right candidates.
Minimum requirements must be set out clearly for acceptable living standards, particularly during times of high inflation in real estate.
Professional head hunting is required. I noticed some wages are sky high for people who do not deserve to occupy such positions, while other hard workers that have a strong technical background and unique experience cannot get a fair chance due to the weakness of recruiters and interviewers who differentiate between who is a hardworker and those who hardly work.
There should be reasonable relativity between wages paid to the top bosses, seniors and less senior people.
In some cases the job searcher believes he can share the owner's profits. In other cases the top management (1-2% of the firm total employees) will eat 90% of steak leaving the
rest with 10%.
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Recruitment crisis not always employer's fault!
Posted by Sam Helmy at 17:03 UAE time
Over the past five years we all have witnessed inflation and especially rent hikes, but no increase in business potential except in construction and whatever is connected. The employer is dealing with reduced revenues because other businesses don't want to spend as much, increased supplier prices, increased rent on office, and increased fees by all consultants whether recruitment or otherwise. On top of all of this are increased employee salaries. We can barely now function.
New employees however seem to be looking for outrageous compensation schemes simply because they heard others are paid that much. This the problem in my opinion. I have been interviewing many many individuals for a couple of positions, and stupid demands from a 3 bedroom marina apartment, private schooling for all children, and Euro 100,000 per year are presented by many as the starting point! Such packages used to be reserved for 40 year old directors in oil companies, now I am being asked for that by marketing executives with 5 year experience or sales managers with 7!! People have become greedy towards a super-Dubai lifestyle and think that they should get that by simple demand, that BMW's and mercs are the entry-point. The most important thing is, such individuals have demonstrated that they are not focused on their objectives or whether or not they can make that kind of money for the company! 93% (counted and statistically analyzed and you can check, yes 93%) of the marketing executives interviewed and were found skilled enough, turned down the job offer when they WERE offered their high compensation package, but 70% of which was tied to their performance. Hint, anyone?!
And pleeeeaaaze, recruitment consultants?! They charged us Dhs. 70,000 for two positions, one of them left halfway and we spent 4 months without a replacement from the consultants (they were paid already) and the other turned out was a scammer and had no experience. The consultants never bothered to check the references even though they charged for it, and those were the better harder-working recruiters. Seven others were hired and they referred no-one or the ones they did were clearly without the relevant experience...
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Reason for recuritment crises
Posted by Johnson J.K at 16:11 UAE time
Companies in UAE should implement productivity and profit linked bounses in addition to salary which should be keeping in mind the inflation and cost of living. This policy has been succesfully implemented by Indian software companies where there was similar crises in retaining right talents in their companies.
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Recruitment Consultants that add value to employers
Posted by Wassim Karkabi at 15:16 UAE time
I can imagine that the 12% who indicated that attracting workers was very easy, have learned the global recruitment game, and have recruitment consultants working with them who bring value to the relationship, sourcing for them the required talent from Global Markets. Additionally, these 12% are probably the ones with the right HR Strategists in place internally and have a strong employer brand put out in the market, with a solid talent acquisition, management and retention strategy in place to support their growth efforts.
It is time the remaining 88% learned the game.
Needless to say, that I do agree in there being a shortage in talent, not just in the GCC countries but even on a global level. The face of talent today has changed and continues to do so as we speak. What qualified as talent 5 years ago is not longer the case today, and what will qualify as talent 2 years from now will no longer resemble today's requirements. The speed at which the definition of talent is changing and which is implied in this previous sentence is also a key factor for companies wanting to grow in the final two years of this decade.
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The solution is easy
Posted by abu hamza at 14:42 UAE time
When the GCC targets the 30 million European who are looking to live in a more Islamic country the problem will be solved. European Muslims have all the skills necessary and are more likely to stay in Gulf countries such as Abu Dhabi , Bahrain etc.
The only problem is that most are Asian, and Gulf states associate the race with cheap labour. That mindset needs to change.
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Reason for recruitment crises
Posted by Bhavna at 14:06 UAE time
The main reason for recruitment crises is not non-availablity of skilled people but the non-readiness of employers to pay fair salaries. with all costs going up it is but obvious that employees need higher salaries to sustain themselves and their families.
I wish all employers reading this will be fair to their staff in terms of compensation & working conditions.
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