WORKING IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Life in the Middle East The CMAE and its Management Development Programme is globally renowned. The resulting qualifications are now used as part of the recruiting process when clubs around the world are seeking out the best of the best. In this White Paper, Michael Braidwood CCM and Rhys Beecher CCM explain the joys of working in the Middle east, as well as examining the world of repatriation back to the UK.
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orking in the Middle East is extremely desirable for club industry professionals from the UK and Europe. The opportunity to work at 5 star developed clubs, be part of large teams and to take on additional responsibility sits high on the agenda of most people’s personal development plans. Not to mention the 360 days a year of sunshine and nice tax-free packages! With an attractive professional opportunity and lifestyle within vision, many an industry professional will jump at the chance to work in such an environment, but what about repatriation when that time comes? It’s often been said that working in the Middle East is a single person’s prerogative? We wouldn’t necessarily agree with this with, as many having been successful here with families; but as the cost of education rises faster than the rates of pay it makes it more and more difficult a lifestyle to sustain. This in addition to long hours, demanding jobs and owners makes family life challenging. Typically, it is family that makes you want to make the move back. Depending on the point in time within your career, but certainly, children getting to secondary school age, grandparents missing them, establishing roots within the UK, Europe all sit high in the consideration listing. However, moving back to a job in the UK or Europe can be as difficult as landing a job in the Middle East in the first place. There is typically locally available talent, that can be recruited quicker and more well known to the hiring club, so the questions become…. What can candidates with Middle East experience offer and why should they be shortlisted? If you are shortlisted, what skills can you bring to the table that provide a USP over the local candidate? The recruitment process is either covered by a reputable recruitment company, who work in conjunction with the club or is carried out directly by the club. In both cases there is limited knowledge of how the clubs are run in the Middle East, the level of expertise in the region and the day to day challenges the club operators overcome. This leaves the candidate asking, how can I show my value? To the club industry professionals’ advantage many of the recruiters have visited the Middle East and have experienced some of the clubs firsthand, so that is very helpful. But whilst convincing the recruiters of your value may be one challenge, the mountain to climb is the clubs interview panel!
20 CLUBHOUSE EUROPE
Michael Braidwood CCM
Rhys Beecher CCM
For this article we approach three leading golf recruitment companies and asked them to give us some of their and their clients opinions on candidates from the Middle East. On the other side, we approached four other club industry professionals who have made the transition and repatriated having first established themselves within the Middle East market. The purpose of the article is to give guidance to club industry professionals on what to focus on when seeking a move back and where they need to strengthen their knowledge. First, let’s start with the recruiters:
If the candidate wants ‘home’ where exactly is ‘home’ or is the club recruiting just a steppingstone to getting back to the real roots? Finally, candidates are often viewed as ‘not being like us’ which can make it a hard sell, some clubs just cannot see how someone operating a 5* commercial club in the Middle East can transfer their skill set to a ‘smaller’ UK operation.
1. What do you think when you receive an application from someone working in the Middle East? The positive answers included that the candidate will be well trained and understands 5-star service and that they are well versed on policies and procedures. On the negative side the logistics of interviews are challenging and zoom just does not cut it, others are concerned about the slow pace of UK clubs, the politics or is the candidate using it as a steppingstone to something bigger?
2. What are the usual rejections to someone working in the Middle East? The main ones boil down to money… how can the candidate operate with such small budgets or can the club meet the candidate’s salary expectations? The next common concern is dealing with club committees, typically made up of volunteers. Very few clubs understand the governance structures of the clubs in the Middle East. Some recruiters just feel Middle East candidates are not savvy enough to deal with private member club committees. 3. What strengths / USPs do Middle East candidates offer? There is an overarching view that Middle East candidates understand service better and have stronger
