Post-Covid recovery will see ‘war on talent’, says expert

According to the 24th CEO survey from consultancy giants PwC, re-hiring and upskilling will be key for businesses in the recovery process from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Results from respondents revealed that 47 percent of Middle East CEOs reduced their organisation’s headcount over the past 12 months by between three percent and 10 percent or more – a significantly higher number than the global average.

Stephen Anderson, Middle East Strategy and Markets Leader, for PwC Middle East, told Arabian Business: “We seem to have gone through the right-sizing and we’re now into, actually, did we go too far in some places? That might be due to the mix, so in some parts of the region where it’s hospitality and other areas where you probably did see that drop off.”

Indeed, the results borne out by the survey reveal that, by the start of 2021, some Middle East CEOs had shrunk their payrolls “too far” in the first wave of the crisis and over 50 percent – more than any other region – plan to increase headcount by between three and 10 percent or more.

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2010, only 11 percent of Middle East business leaders planned to increase their digital investments substantially, according to the PwC CEO survey from that year. This compared to 59 percent in the latest survey who aim to increase digital investments by 10 percent of more in the next three years as a result of Covid-19.

Stephen Anderson, Middle East Strategy and Markets Leader for PwC Middle East

“The key role digitisation will play in the region’s recovery and future growth has been underscored by the mass shift to remote working across all sectors,” said Hani Ashkar, Middle East senior partner, PwC Middle East. “Middle East governments are supporting this transition as they pursue strategies to build knowledge economies that leverage digital technologies.”

However, the report points out: “Technology that delivers growth also requires digitally skilled workers, creating a virtuous circle.”

In the current survey, 70 percent of Middle East CEOs, more than any other region, believe a skilled, educated and adaptable workforce is a top business priority; while 46 percent, compared to just six percent in 2016, are prioritising automation and new technology to increase productivity and competitiveness – the steepest rise of any region globally during the same five-year period.

According to Anderson, this will add further stress to the talent acquisition process. And he described the region-wide shortage of suitably digitally-trained staff as “a massive issue”.

In the current survey, 70 percent of Middle East CEOs, more than any other region, believe a skilled, educated and adaptable workforce is a top business priority

He said: “It’s often said, but I genuinely think there’s going to be a war for talent and particularly in the areas around customer, digital, anything in the emerging tech area, etc.

“I think what’s happening increasingly in the region is that it’s very expensive to find that talent and in some areas you’re not going to find that talent, therefore you’re going to have to develop it yourself to a degree.

“Having an upskilling capability, where you can train and upskill people, will be key and talent will go, not just where they see the job today, but where they see the job in four or five years. Unless you’ve got a job which has got a development angle to it, that’s got training and that’s got the ability for that person to learn and develop it’s going to be even harder to attract talent.”

The PwC survey involved over 5,000 CEOs in 100 countries and territories and was conducted in January and February this year.