14 July 2008
The media industry is facing difficulties to find and retain talent to fuel its rapid growth, industry experts say.
"The emergence of new opportunities, especially in Abu Dhabi, which had been dormant for the past few years, has marked a significant growth in the market and has made it more difficult to find and retain talented employees," said Joseph Ghoussoub, CEO of The Holding Group (THG), parent company of Team/Young and Rubicam, Intermarkets Advertising, Asdaa public relations, mediaedge:cia and Wunderman.
The average 43 per cent spend by media and advertising agencies in the first quarter of 2008 alone marks a significant indicator of the growth. Experts say although the industry is worth Dh1.2 billion, the number of people working in the sector is less than 25,000.
Elie Haber, Managing Director of Mindshare, discussing the rapid growth of the Dubai market, said: "Agencies are constantly under a lot of pressure to deliver service. They recruit talented employees but are often unable to spare sufficient time to train them.
"Consequently, employees find that their aspiration of growth and development are not met. They go on the look out for other opportunities."
Agencies witness an average of 10 per cent to 15 per cent attrition each year, Ghoussoub said.
He says: "We do have talent but the problem is that the younger generation often regards this industry as an opportunity to make money, as they plan to return to their home countries.
"Although a career move is sometimes beneficial to the individual, but almost a third of employee turnover is for the sake of higher salaries and better offers," he adds.
Hareb said: "I do not regard people who are constantly on the move for the sake of higher salaries as talented, but no one can deny that money is an important factor. Dubai has become expensive and frankly speaking is not attractive anymore for the newcomers."
Salaries in the media industry have increased roughly by 30 per cent to 50 per cent in the past couple of years. "In the past, a fresh graduate was offered between Dh6,000 to Dh8,000 per month. Currently, it has risen to Dh10,000 and Dh11,000. But since more than half of that salary goes to pay rent, fewer people are interested in what we have to offer."
Currently, average annual salary for a fresh graduate copywriter ranges from Dh145,000 to Dh420,000.
Sami Raffoul, CEO of Pan Arab Research Centre (Parc), said: "Having 181 nationalities in a workplace is quite challenging. Employees tend to leave companies for a lot of reasons. However, this phenomena is not confined to the media industry alone. Reasons for such rapid swapping of jobs in this market could be inherent to the individual's prospects and ambitions, but it can also be related to the work environment. Non-creativity, single minded management and lack of training or simply the dullness of the job can also be good reasons."
Ghoussoub said Dubai is different from other markets.
"People do not come here to stay they want to go back to their countries and therefore are only here to fulfil their contract period. This is a fact we have to live with."
Raffoul stressed his belief that any solution to this challenge lies in the hands of the Ministry of Labour, which should introduce criteria that clearly tells people they cannot move within a certain period of time. He said other GCC countries have taken steps, including raising the residency fees each time an employee moves to a different employer, to control the job market. He added: "There are merits in maintaining a system that does not give the impression that it is as easy to shift jobs as changing a shirt. Today, anyone can quit if he has a job offer and a 50 per cent raise in the salary even if he does not deserve it This is not only having a negative impact on the advertising profession. It affects all businesses."
Ghoussoub, however, disagrees. "I blame the recruitment agencies who bring new employees knowing that in a year's time they will be offering them a new job somewhere else. This is totally unprofessional."
Building agency loyalty among employees is also another challenge.
Hareb said: "We tend to create loyalty programmes for our employees. We have encouraged our staff to invest in a special fund and make profit. This way they feel they are part of the company and are more motivated to stay and contribute to development in the long run.
"They deserve to be rewarded, to live and work happy. By making them feel appreciated, agencies can bring out the best in their employees and guarantee retention for a longer time."
Raffoul said what could also help to retain staff is interviewing them at the time of their resignation.
"Handled properly, an exit interview can help to change the minds. Employers also need to take a look at the work environment and carry out the changes."
Shortage of Arabic copywriters
In a country where majority of residents are non Arab, finding good Arabic copywriters is becoming difficult.
The problem is intertwined with the challenge to retain media professionals in their agencies.
UAE hosts more than a 180 nationalities, said Sami Raffoul, CEO of Parc. "To communicate, Arabic was used along with English, considered a common vehicle to interact with the non-Arab expatriates."
However, the usage of Arabic has been reduced into mere translation. A media professional says it is more time consuming and consequently more expensive to start with an Arabic line and translate to English.
Instead, creative ad-lines and copies are being initiated in English.
"It is frustrating to see that the Arabic script is less attractive compared to the English. It sometimes loses its meaning because clients require a perfect word for word translation. Talents are becoming more rare and do not feel sufficiently appreciated," said Ghada Khoury, Senior Copywriter at BPG Group. "Good quality writers are therefore becoming more expensive to recruit," she added.
The media industry is facing difficulties to find and retain talent to fuel its rapid growth, industry experts say.
"The emergence of new opportunities, especially in Abu Dhabi, which had been dormant for the past few years, has marked a significant growth in the market and has made it more difficult to find and retain talented employees," said Joseph Ghoussoub, CEO of The Holding Group (THG), parent company of Team/Young and Rubicam, Intermarkets Advertising, Asdaa public relations, mediaedge:cia and Wunderman.
The average 43 per cent spend by media and advertising agencies in the first quarter of 2008 alone marks a significant indicator of the growth. Experts say although the industry is worth Dh1.2 billion, the number of people working in the sector is less than 25,000.
Elie Haber, Managing Director of Mindshare, discussing the rapid growth of the Dubai market, said: "Agencies are constantly under a lot of pressure to deliver service. They recruit talented employees but are often unable to spare sufficient time to train them.
"Consequently, employees find that their aspiration of growth and development are not met. They go on the look out for other opportunities."
Agencies witness an average of 10 per cent to 15 per cent attrition each year, Ghoussoub said.
He says: "We do have talent but the problem is that the younger generation often regards this industry as an opportunity to make money, as they plan to return to their home countries.
"Although a career move is sometimes beneficial to the individual, but almost a third of employee turnover is for the sake of higher salaries and better offers," he adds.
Hareb said: "I do not regard people who are constantly on the move for the sake of higher salaries as talented, but no one can deny that money is an important factor. Dubai has become expensive and frankly speaking is not attractive anymore for the newcomers."
Salaries in the media industry have increased roughly by 30 per cent to 50 per cent in the past couple of years. "In the past, a fresh graduate was offered between Dh6,000 to Dh8,000 per month. Currently, it has risen to Dh10,000 and Dh11,000. But since more than half of that salary goes to pay rent, fewer people are interested in what we have to offer."
Currently, average annual salary for a fresh graduate copywriter ranges from Dh145,000 to Dh420,000.
Sami Raffoul, CEO of Pan Arab Research Centre (Parc), said: "Having 181 nationalities in a workplace is quite challenging. Employees tend to leave companies for a lot of reasons. However, this phenomena is not confined to the media industry alone. Reasons for such rapid swapping of jobs in this market could be inherent to the individual's prospects and ambitions, but it can also be related to the work environment. Non-creativity, single minded management and lack of training or simply the dullness of the job can also be good reasons."
Ghoussoub said Dubai is different from other markets.
"People do not come here to stay they want to go back to their countries and therefore are only here to fulfil their contract period. This is a fact we have to live with."
Raffoul stressed his belief that any solution to this challenge lies in the hands of the Ministry of Labour, which should introduce criteria that clearly tells people they cannot move within a certain period of time. He said other GCC countries have taken steps, including raising the residency fees each time an employee moves to a different employer, to control the job market. He added: "There are merits in maintaining a system that does not give the impression that it is as easy to shift jobs as changing a shirt. Today, anyone can quit if he has a job offer and a 50 per cent raise in the salary even if he does not deserve it This is not only having a negative impact on the advertising profession. It affects all businesses."
Ghoussoub, however, disagrees. "I blame the recruitment agencies who bring new employees knowing that in a year's time they will be offering them a new job somewhere else. This is totally unprofessional."
Building agency loyalty among employees is also another challenge.
Hareb said: "We tend to create loyalty programmes for our employees. We have encouraged our staff to invest in a special fund and make profit. This way they feel they are part of the company and are more motivated to stay and contribute to development in the long run.
"They deserve to be rewarded, to live and work happy. By making them feel appreciated, agencies can bring out the best in their employees and guarantee retention for a longer time."
Raffoul said what could also help to retain staff is interviewing them at the time of their resignation.
"Handled properly, an exit interview can help to change the minds. Employers also need to take a look at the work environment and carry out the changes."
Shortage of Arabic copywriters
In a country where majority of residents are non Arab, finding good Arabic copywriters is becoming difficult.
The problem is intertwined with the challenge to retain media professionals in their agencies.
UAE hosts more than a 180 nationalities, said Sami Raffoul, CEO of Parc. "To communicate, Arabic was used along with English, considered a common vehicle to interact with the non-Arab expatriates."
However, the usage of Arabic has been reduced into mere translation. A media professional says it is more time consuming and consequently more expensive to start with an Arabic line and translate to English.
Instead, creative ad-lines and copies are being initiated in English.
"It is frustrating to see that the Arabic script is less attractive compared to the English. It sometimes loses its meaning because clients require a perfect word for word translation. Talents are becoming more rare and do not feel sufficiently appreciated," said Ghada Khoury, Senior Copywriter at BPG Group. "Good quality writers are therefore becoming more expensive to recruit," she added.
By Dima Hamadeh
© Emirates Business 24/7 2008
