07 September 2015
· Saves AED 12m on hiring costs in two-year period

· More than half of hires influenced by LinkedIn Talent Solutions

Dubai - UAE - Al-Futtaim, the leading UAE business conglomerate, and LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD), the world's largest professional network on the Internet, have announced the increased investment in the Group's use of LinkedIn's Talent Solutions offering as part of its ongoing recruitment strategy. 

Since 2013, Al-Futtaim is estimated to have saved AED 12 million by using LinkedIn's Talent Solutions products to identify and recruit the best talent. In the same period, 53 per cent of all hires at Al-Futtaim have been impacted by LinkedIn at some stage in the recruitment process, and the group's follower-base on LinkedIn has grown nine times to over 140,000 followers.

John Harker, Chief Human Resources Officer, Al-Futtaim, said: "With nearly 200 companies in the group, it can be a very demanding task to ensure that the best talent is matched with the right opportunity. Our partnership with LinkedIn ensures that our talent needs are met while it helps position our brand as a preferred employer in a dynamic and demanding job market."

Ali Matar, head of LinkedIn Talent Solutions, MENA, said: "One of the strongest testaments to LinkedIn's impact in talent acquisition is that organisations such as Al-Futtaim are clearly seeing value. Ultimately this means more relevant jobs for our members, including the 16 million in the MENA region. We're happy to play a role in connecting more talent with opportunity for more and more candidates and employers, ultimately generating increased economic opportunity for the workforce."

Since using LinkedIn to recruit, Al-Futtaim has made more than 275 hires through LinkedIn's Talent Solutions. While the majority of these roles have been in the UAE, more than 25 per cent have been in other GCC markets. Senior roles such as Directors and Managers comprise nearly 35 per cent of these hires.

Strengthening talent brand

The group's popularity beyond the UAE's borders is proven by the fact that more than 76 per cent of followers on LinkedIn come from outside the UAE, including the GCC, the Levant, UK, USA, India and more.

The industries represented by Al-Futtaim's followers on LinkedIn align closely with the key business areas within Al-Futtaim, including:

●             Automotive

●             Retail

●             Real Estate

●             Architecture and engineering

●             Professional services

●             Finance and insurance

●             Technology (software and hardware)

-Ends-

Notes to editors:
●        Further information on LinkedIn's Talent Brand methodology and information on how to use LinkedIn's Talent Brand Index for your organization or brand can be found here.

●        LinkedIn announced the Arabic version of the site in February 2015, giving the world's 300 million Arabic speakers easier access to the world's largest professional network. 

About LinkedIn
LinkedIn connects the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful and transforms the ways companies hire, market and sell. Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world's first Economic Graph. LinkedIn has more than 380 million members and has offices around the world.

For further information, please contact:
Anit Kurian / Khalid Yahya
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller
Dubai - UAE
+971 4 450 7600
anit.kurian@bm.com / khalid.yahya@bm.com
Georgios
Kotsolios
Head of PR - Al-Futtaim
Dubai - UAE
Tel: +971 4 208 5750
georgios.kotsolios@alfuttaim.ae

© Press Release 2015