Winning the war for talent in the GCC
Employers need to protect and attract talent if they are to thrive in the GCC.
By Dr. Ehssan Abdallah
The war for talent in the GCC is heating up to unprecedented levels. The pandemic severely disrupted the regional labour market with employees considering more than just salaries when selecting an employer. As a result, the need for organisations to ‘protect and attract’ talent has become the primary focus of leaders. Globally, a 2022 Deloitte study found CEO’s rank labour and skills shortages the top external threat likely to disrupt their business strategies.
Compounding this regionally, the Together 2021 UAE Culture Survey found 88 percent of the UAE workforce would consider leaving their jobs due to a poor organisational culture. This puts tremendous strain on organisations to create a compelling value proposition for prospective employees. It goes beyond a competitive salary but also crafting an engaging organisational culture, upskilling, and career growth opportunities.
Adding additional pressure are the accelerated nationalisation targets and intense demand for digital-savvy operators across all functions of an organisation. These realities are further compounded by the aggressive competition for high-quality talent across geographies (i.e. nomads) and sectors (i.e. fintech).
Whilst this resurgence presents unparalleled opportunities for the competent and ambitious, these trends undermine many organisations, especially those who fail to build adequate talent engines. Such organisations waste precious resources by deploying unsustainable salaries with no meaningful development pathways for high-performing staff.
Implementing a successful growth culture to win the battle for talent requires a commitment from all levels of the organisation but must be driven by executives. Here are some of the most tangible steps implemented by winning organisations:
Evolving an organisation’s employee value proposition
An effective Employee Value Proposition must be authentic, centred around the organisation’s values and perceived appeal within the labour market. Underpinned by its relevance and goodwill towards employees, this requires a meaningful translation into capabilities, growth-oriented development, outcomes, and rewards. Beyond marketing slogans, such attributes must be articulated and lived by leaders unconditionally.
A famous GCC retail group developed its hiring and onboarding process to closely align with its family-driven values and trading heritage. Expatriates and nationals alike are offered exciting prospects of development across all business units throughout an employee’s lifecycle. This created a heightened allure within the labour market resulting in decreased employee turnover and reduced hiring costs.
Moving from development to mutual growth
A commitment to growth must be purposeful and tied to intentional capability building enabling staff to deliver results within the organisation. Of late, GCC organisations required a major step up in their technology and data capabilities. Short-term, yet expensive fixes include hiring senior-level executives or external consultancies which proved unsustainable.
Upskilling employees based on merit and mutual value-generation provide a win-win solution for all parties involved.
For one regional automotive conglomerate, developing its cadres’ technology skills based on market demand resulted in delivering unprecedented growth in its sales and aftersales divisions. This helped strengthen employee commitment, ensuring the successful implementation of its digital transformation at a time of intense labour market competition.
Long-term incentive programmes as a North Star
Driven by the region’s drive for economic diversification, traditional players are finding it impossible to compete with ever increasing salaries. To get ahead of the curve, one progressive energy group deployed an incentive programme rewarding staff for the long-haul if shared organisational objectives are met.
The tight alignment of strategy and incentive benefited both executives and employees. The executive team was able to create greater clarity on expectations, objectives, and responsibilities while employees increased their awareness of the desired organisational culture and behaviours required.
Most importantly, this lever motivated all staff members, regardless of their background or department, creating a sense of ownership and advocacy. As a result, the organisation witnessed an increase in profitability and productivity within the first six months. Its Lost Time Incident rates and average sick days also saw a major decrease.
The stakes are high with severe consequences for organisations who do not nurture employees in this war for talent. Employees will only engage your customer base if they themselves are part of an engaging environment themselves. Whilst implementing this long-term play, organisations should be careful not to be allured by quick wins alone. Rather, balancing immediate successes with long-term and durable organisational outcomes.