HR CHALLENGES OF JORDANIAN START-UPS
November 2019
PARTICIPANTS PROFILE
87 Responses
Industry of Business Education
9%
Fintech
8%
SaaS
10%
Retail
5%
Manufacturing
13%
HealthCare
8%
F&B
6%
Other
Number of Employees 54%
23%
41%
Is this your first venture? 9%
6%
Growth Projections for 2020
8% 51.7% Yes 36%
18.4%
No 64%
1 to 10
11 to 30
31 to 50
51 to 100
More than 100
0 -10%
13.8%
11 - 30%
31 - 50%
16%
>100%
HR CHALLENGES
1
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT MAIN DRIVERS OF GROWTH FOR COMPANIES:
According to the majority of entrepreneurs, PRODUCT is the main key driver for the company’s growth, followed by the TEAM.
Product
70%
Team
66%
Co-founder
60%
Access to markets
50%
Access to finance
50%
HR CHALLENGES
2
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT
Around 85% of interviewed start-ups are planning to hire talent in the near future.
Yes
85%
No
5%
Maybe
11%
HR CHALLENGES
3
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT ENTREPRENEURS AGREE THAT EMPLOYEE REFERRALS ARE THE BEST SOURCE OF HIRE, FOLLOWED BY SOCIAL MEDIA.
Referrals
79%
Social media
63%
Online recruitment
38%
Links to universities
28%
Support organizations
21%
Job fairs
18%
Agencies
17%
HR CHALLENGES
4
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT MORE THAN 80% OF THE INTERVIEWED COMPANIES CONDUCT REFERENCE CHECKS WHEN RECRUITING NEW STAFF MEMBERS.
Reference checks allow a recruiter to get independent insight about a candidate’s previous on-the-job performance. It verifies the information provided by the candidate on their resume and during the interview.
Yes
82%
No
18%
HR CHALLENGES
5
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT
The most common tests used by Jordanian entrepreneurs are the job skills test & personality tests.
PRE-EMPLOYMENT ASSESSMENTS ARE BEING USED IN ALL ASPECTS OF THE BUSINESS WORLD TODAY. MANY COMPANIES UTILIZE TESTS IN THE HIRING PROCESS TO AID IN THE SELECTION PROCESS, LONG-TERM RETENTION, AND BETTER JOB FIT.
Job skills test
70%
Personality test
51%
None of the above
18%
Other
17%
Basic literacy & math skills
14%
HR CHALLENGES
6
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT MORE THAN 90% OF THE COMPANIES FIND IT CHALLENGING TO HIRE QUALIFIED STAFF
Yes
93%
No
7%
HR CHALLENGES
7
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT MOST CHALLENGING SENIOR & JUNIOR POSITIONS TO RECRUIT FOR ARE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & SALES RESPECTIVELY.
Senior positions
Junior positions
47%
55%
65%
73%
HR
Finance
IT
Marketing
75%
Business Development
29%
39%
63%
Finance
HR
Marketing
67%
Operations
75%
Sales
HR CHALLENGES
8
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT
Entrepreneurs believe that lack of motivation and attitude, and lack of soft skills are the main challenges in finding qualified staff.
Motivation & attitude
64%
Lack of soft skills
48%
High salary expectations
44%
Level of work ethic
41%
Demand for talent > supply
34%
Lack of culture fit
34%
Do not want a job at a start-up
25%
High competition
16%
Restrictive labor laws
10%
Lack of advertising channels
3%
Willingness to travel
1%
HR CHALLENGES
9
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT
Entrepreneurs find it extremely hard to retain talent due to high salary expectations & lack of clear career development plans.
Salary & benefits
64%
Career development
38%
Opportunities outside of Jordan
35%
Work-life balance
30%
Relationship with supervisor
21%
Work environment
18%
Working schedules
16%
Started own business
14%
Boredom of millenials
13%
Persuit of education
13%
Conflict with colleagues
8%
Family responsibility
8%
Other
6%
HR CHALLENGES
10
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT
If entrepreneurs got the chance to recruit talent from any county in the world, the majority would hire from Jordan, followed by Egypt, India, & USA.
Jordan
18%
Egypt
9%
India
9%
USA
9%
UK
6%
Others
49%
HR CHALLENGES
11
HR SYSTEMS
Less than one-third of the interviewed entrepreneurs believe that their HR function is “very effective�.
Entrepreneurs believe that the absence of HR department within their company is not affecting the performance of their business
60% of the companies do not have an HR department
Yes
41%
Yes
30%
No
60%
No
70%
HR CHALLENGES
12
HR SYSTEMS
Most start-ups have job descriptions in place. Salary scales & appraisals are less commonly found.
Job descriptions
72%
Salary scale
48%
Employee appraisal
42%
Employee handbook
40%
Travel policy
37%
ESOP
33%
HR information system
31%
Incentive system
31%
Satisfaction surveys
25%
Gender diversity
24%
Competency framework
13%
Incentive for working moms
12%
None of the above
8%
HR CHALLENGES
13
HR SYSTEMS
Around 60% of start-ups believe that they have clear career paths for their employees.
Yes
60%
No
40%
HR CHALLENGES
14
HR SYSTEMS
The majority of entrepreneurs believe that people join start-ups for both the founder and the business itself.
The company
28%
The founder
7%
Both
65%
HR CHALLENGES
15
CULTURE
Two of the biggest challenges pertaining to HR issues are hiring qualified staff and maintaining the culture of the company.
Hiring qualified staff
76%
Maintaining culture
51%
Retaining staff
43%
Performance evaluation
37%
Compensation & benefits
34%
Labor laws & regulations
30%
HR CHALLENGES
16
CULTURE
Salary & benefits, work environment & career development are the 3 key drivers for retaining talent.
Salary & benefits
81%
Work environment
64%
Career development
55%
Leadership development plans
31%
Relationship with colleagues
30%
Working hours
21%
Location
12%
Performance management systems
9%
Gender diversity
5%
On-boarding program
2%
HR CHALLENGES
17
CULTURE
More than 50% of interviewed entrepreneurs believe that the CEO sets the office culture.
CEO
60%
Team
24%
HR Manager
9%
Other
8%
HR CHALLENGES
18
CULTURE
The majority of start-ups support their employees' professional development & career growth through local training programs, coaching & mentoring and on-the-job learning.
Local training programs
72%
Coaching & mentoring
72%
On-the-job learning
72%
Promotions
51%
Leadership programs
39%
Global training programs
37%
Executive Education programs
10%
Other
2%
HR CHALLENGES
19
CULTURE
The majority of start-ups encourage risk taking.
Yes No
If employees fail to meet their targets, CEOs predominantly reflect with them about their mistakes.
82%
Reflect with them about their mistakes
85%
Warn them
13%
18% Fire them
2%
HR CHALLENGES
20
CULTURE
Companies celebrate success predominantly through recognitions and bonuses.
Recognition
81%
Bonuses
67%
Retreats
30%
Gifts
30%
Days off
27%
HR CHALLENGES
21
LABOR REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT IN JORDAN
Social Security payments are the most challenging aspects regarding labor regulatory environment.
MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THE LABOR REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT THAT IMPACTS THE ABILITY OF COMPANIES TO OPERATE AND SCALE:
Hiring foreign talent
67%
Social security
61%
Flexible & part-time work
31%
Firing
22%
Minimum wage
21%
Compensation
15%
Maternity leave
15%
Childcare regulations
8%
HR CHALLENGES
22
CONTACTS Endeavor Jordan 7 Kamal Junblat St. ,5th Circle, Amman Tel: +962 6 5939 160 endeavorjoinfo@endeavor.org Connect with Endeavor
ZenHR Zahran St, Amman Tel: +962 6 577 7500 sales@zenhr.com Connect with ZenHR