12 December 2016

UAE 15% of employers in the GCC do not have the talent to achieve their 2017 objectives, according to Hays Recruiting experts recent Salary Survey of 2,800 professionals working in the GCC region.

Lack of suitable candidates, unrealistic salary expectations and competition from other employers were the top three challenges organisations cited when looking to hire resource, provoking them to address what they can do better to attract and retain top talent.

“While it is not easy, particularly during more challenging market conditions, organisations must review their approach to both talent attraction and retention. They need to understand how their offerings compare to others in the market and identify what they can do to stand out from the crowd” says Chris Greaves, Managing Director of Hays Gulf Region.

The survey, which was conducted in Q4 of 2016 found ‘Career development’, ‘Benefits package’, ‘Organisational Culture’, ‘Work-life balance’ and ‘Job Security’ to be of relatively equal and increasingly significant importance to employees when considering employment with a company. Furthermore, amongst top trends noted for 2017 in another of Hays recent reports, was the utilisation of active-desking and working from home, a pattern supported by the 70% of survey respondents who consider flexible working an important factor when considering a new role.

“We have seen developments in the region with organisations addressing career development opportunities for current and prospective employees. There has been a visible increase in the number of Learning and Development professionals being recruited by organisations, particularly towards the second half of 2016. These professionals are being recruited to upskill workforces, to develop a sense of loyalty from employees and to increase overall resource capability. A win-win situation for both employer and employee” adds Chris.

With regards to career development, over half (55%) of GCC professionals feeling that there is no scope to progress in their current organisation and the same number anticipate moving employers within 2017.

“Career development is clearly an important factor yet only one consideration for acquiring and enabling top talent.”

“The relatively high mobility of labour in the GCC region, coupled with increased organisational competition from new market entrants requires employers to be innovative with their talent management techniques, identifying realistic yet distinguishing factors that will attract and retain the very best talent in order to meet objectives for 2017 and beyond” says Chris.  

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Full findings from the Salary Survey will be published in Hays 2017 GCC Salary & Employment Report, to be released in mid-January 2017. The report provides a unique look at salary and hiring trends in 2016, as well as employee and employer expectations for 2017. To register for a copy to be emailed to you directly, please get in touch via the details listed below.

For further information please contact Victoria Alderson, Marketing Manager, on +971 (0) 4 559 5898 or victoria.alderson@hays.com

About Hays

Hays is the leading global specialist recruiting group. We are the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in Asia Pacific and the UK and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. We operate across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments.

As at 30 June 2016 the Group employed 9,214 staff operating from 252 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2016 Hays reported net fees of £810.3 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £181 million. Hays placed around 67,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 220,000 people into temporary assignments. 22% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific.

For the 2015-16 financial year Hays in Australia & New Zealand placed 12,200 people into permanent jobs, or 47 per day. We also filled nearly 62,000 temporary jobs, or 240 per day.

Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA. 

© Press Release 2016