Business Insight January 2015

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CHASING THE DIRHAM What All Companies Should Know When Dealing With the Public

www.businessinsight.ae | January 2015

Changing Perceptions of Your Brand

The Secret to Achieving a High Ranking on Search Engines

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Editor’s Foreword

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Publisher & CEO Liam Williams liam@flipflopmedia.ae

appy New Year!

Are you happy to be back and looking forward to what 2015 will bring?

Every business leader that I have spoken to in the past month has advised that their main area of focus this year is driving the business forward, increasing revenue and profitability. There have been a number of leaders though who have said that they are stuck in a rut when it comes to increasing their profitability. External events like the drop in oil prices and the effect that this has had on currencies like the Russian ruble, or the slow down in China, are taking their toll. What can they do? In our article on page 20, ’Chasing the Dirham,’ we look at other very simple ways that may help you increase your bottom line.

With all that is happening globally, last year may not have been the success that you had planned. You may want to branch into new markets this year to compensate, or on closer expectation, you may have found that you have service issues, which you are now addressing. Now is the time to look at what the effect these would have had on your reputation and see how you can, ‘Change the Perceptions of your Brand’ which we address in our article on page 50.

If you are going to update your brand, one thing you shouldn’t forget to alter is your website. You may want to make it more effective, so it can be the marketing tool that it is meant to be. If so, turn to page 62 to find out the ‘Secret to Achieving a High Ranking on Seach Engines.’

Regardless of what you want from your business magazine, we have it all and more!

Editorial Editor Tanya Selley tanya@flipflopmedia.ae +971 4 369 9063 Staff Writer Rachel Stracey info@flipflopmedia.ae Marketing Head of Marketing Harry Norman harry@flipflopmedia.ae +971 4 369 9062 Design design@flipflopmedia.ae +971 4 369 9063 circulation & Production Circulation and Distribution Manager Antonio de Marco circulationdm@flipflopmedia.ae +971 4 369 9063 Database and Circulation Manager Aaliya Khan databaseandcm@flipflopmedia.ae +971 4 369 9063 Production Manager Juan Vasquez productionmanager@flipflopmedia.ae +971 4 369 9063

Enjoy!

Digital webmaster@flipflopmedia.ae Published by

Tanya Talk to me at tanya@flipflopmedia.ae and let me know what information you need to take your business forward — and I will try to help you in the next issue.

Registered at Fujairah Free Zone PO Box 27634 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 369 9063 Fax: +971 4 369 8989 www.flipflopmedia.ae printed by CMS Printing Press LLC © Copyright 2014 FlipFlop Media All rights reserved While the publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

January 2015 Cover CHASING THE DIRHAM What All Companies Should Know When Dealing With the Public Changing Perceptions of Your Brand The Secret to Achieving a High Ranking on Search Engines

www.businessinsight.ae

January 2015 | 3

74 16 January 2015

22

Contents Foresight Page 16 – Sustainability in Business Page 18 – Why do SMEs Fail?

Page 22 – Chasing the Dirham

Success Series

26

Page 26 – Interview: James Fleming and Paul Millar, Arbuthnot Latham Page 28 – Interview: Fats Lazarides and Grace Harding, Ocean Basket

Money Page 32 – An Alternative Route Page 34 – Takaful: Is the Unknown Worth the Risk

People

40 56

Page 38 – Counselling for Professionals Page 40 – How to Prepare and Interview a Potential Employee

Legal Page 44 – Communication Law and the Guidelines for Business Page 46 – What All Companies Should Know for Dealing with the Public

Marketing & Advertising Page 50 – Changing Perceptions Page 52 – Make an Ad go Viral

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DMCC Section Page 56 – DMCC Enables a Bright Future for Dubai Based SMEs Page 58 – DMCC Actively Encourages Corporate Governance

Technology Page 62 – The Secret to High Rankings on Search Engines

Property Page 64 – Fitting Out an Office Page 67 – Two Awards for Business Excellence Page 68 – AED 1 Billion Luxurious Al Dana Island Project

Insurance Page 69 – Employee Assistance Programs

Travel & Hospital Page 71 – The Diamond by the Sea

Business Incubator Page 74 – Entrepreneurs V Intrapreneurs Page 76 – The Art of Networking Page 78 – Top Tips from Business Leaders Page 80 – Al Futtaim Logistics

Regulars Page 14 – Expert Panel Page 78 - Competition

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EXPERT PANEL John Brash Founder & Chief Executive Brash Brands

Ludmila Yamalova Managing Partner HPL Yamalova & Plewka JLT

Jonathan Hall Founder and Managing Director Mulverhill Associates

Caroline Jones Director Infopod

Yogesh Mehta Managing Director Petrochem

Ravi Bhusari Managing Director & Co-Founder DUPLAYS

Jeffrey Rhodes CEO BTC (part of New Egypt Gold) & Founder & Managing Consultant Rhodes Precious Metals Consultancy DMCC

Zaid Maleh CEO DACH Advisory

Louis Lebbos/ Muhammed Mekki Founding Partner Astro Labs

Ramsey B. Jurdi President American Business Council of Dubai & the Northern / International Partner Chadbourne & Parke LLC

Dr. Tommy Weir Founder Emerging Markets Leadership Center

Nita Maru Managing Partner TWS Legal Consultants

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foresight

Sustainability In Business

ctually, this is not as tough as you may think.

Many companies already actively employ sustainability principles in their businesses and most admit that they do not do this just because of reputation management (which appears to be the reason why most companies originally started looking into this area), but because employing these principles means that there are financial savings to be had. This aspect, made all the more clearer during the financial crisis, meant people would switch to energy saving light bulbs and turn off all electrical items when leaving the building.

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Sustainability is a buzzword at the moment. We hear it mentioned regularly by governments globally when they describe how they want us to live in the future. The UAE has built a whole city based on sustainable principles, so that got us at Business Insight thinking‌ How can a business become sustainable?

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Reputation Management Now that the bottom of the crisis appears to have past, the reputation management aspect of it is something that companies

are again looking towards on their drive to increase their marketing exposure (and consequently their ‘green value’), companies are happy to say if their office/shop saves money, they develop/sell/use green products.

Done in the right way, you can see how good this can make a company look.

It is not just about the company prospective with the community though. Human Resources Departments in companies, also like to pass this on as many peoples attitudes are changing and staff now appreciate the green value. HR in countries like America and the UK have found that by actively enabling their staff to think green and deploy green strategies in their company, the retention and motivation of those employees is increased which ultimately leads to an increase in the bottom line; and you are seen as a company of choice meaning you have the pick of employees.

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McKinsey & Company produced a global survey on this principle and found that executives say sustainability programs “make a positive contribution to their companies’ short- and long-term value.” It found that there is now a, “more well-rounded understanding of sustainability and its expected benefits than in prior surveys. As in the past, they see the potential for supporting corporate reputation.

But they also expect operational and growthoriented benefits in the areas of cutting costs and pursuing opportunities in new markets and products.

Furthermore, respondents in certain industries, (energy, the extractive industries, and transportation) report that their companies are taking a more active approach than those in other sectors.”

They found that 33% of companies say their top reasons for addressing sustainability include improving operational efficiency and lowering costs, whereas reputation accounted for 32% of companies who deployed a sustainability programme in their business.

Business goals, mission values alignment came in third with 31%, with the remainder going to new growth opportunities.

Of the study, fewer respondents felt that growth was hard to come by so they are, “leveraging the sustainability of existing products to find new growth or committing R&D resources to bring sustainable products to market. Yet both of these are important ways sustainability can drive growth; organisations that act in these areas are the likeliest to say they’re more effective than their competitors at managing any other sustainability initiatives.

These results suggest that companies may be better able to find a competitive advantage when pursuing growth activities than operational activities.”

If you want to increase sustainability into your business, as with all things, the drive for this has to start at the top and filter down, repeatedly mentioned so that the company culture is changed and everyone works as a team towards the goal suggestions, which opens the door to an array of business opportunities.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development believes that the “current focus on environment, education, enjoyment and ethics is not likely a passing fad. People are finally waking up to the need for organisations that protect the environment and our social well-being.”

How Do They Do It? In light of the above companies report that they are acting on things like reducing waste in their operations, whilst integrating sustainability into their processes and strategic planning, with the most integrated areas being; ll Mission and values ll External communications ll Corporate culture ll Internal communications ll Operations ll Strategic planning ll Marketing ll Employee engagement ll Supply chain management ll Budgeting

Consistency If you want to increase sustainability in your business, as with all things, the drive for this has to start at the top and filter down, repeatedly mentioned so that the company culture is changed and everyone works as a team towards this one goal; 1. Mission statement: This is simply a declaration of the goals, principles and operating procedures, forming the identity of your company. It should be issued by the company Owner/CEO and regularly referred to. These goals should be incorporated into the staff appraisals because if they know they will be measured against these goals too, they will take action.

Measure and report company performance by developing benchmarks to measure progress.

Report successes and failures, and tell employees/stakeholders where they need to focus attention on.

This broader vision of success requires new business tools, practices and relationships, whilst being receptive to new ideas and

In-House Waste Reduction If your company is big enough, you may want to consider a team

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approach, by joining people from different departments, strategies can affectively be devised. They must have top-level agreement as well as the budget for implementation.

Have the teams set achievable goals first and increase these with experience. For example, get rid of the coffee machine with disposable mugs. Ask employees to bring in their own mugs and purchase a water heater unit. This not only stops the kettle from being repeatedly boiled and therefore reduces costs, but it will also stop those congregations of staff around the kettle and in the kitchen meaning more time at their desks working. Also, by putting the office manager in charge of ensuring all the lights and electronic equipment are switched off at the end of the day, your carbon footprint will be reduced along with your bills.

Another idea is the requirement that everyone is shown how to print double sided. You will effectively be using only half of the paper and therefore costs will dramatically reduce.

Recycling Programs Setting up paper and packaging recycling programs is another easy win. There are many companies in the UAE; for example, Union Paper Mills, that will collect your waster paper and recycle it for use throughout the region.Building on from here, you could ask suppliers if they have any ‘green’ alternatives to their products, review what your cleaners use in the office so you use ‘greener’ products and ask your office manager to look at their ethical sourcing of products; for instance, ‘green’ toilet paper. Also, look at installing energy-efficient light bulbs where possible.

Timed thermostats, water-efficient toilets and plumbing fixtures can be installed, as can ‘intelligent’ lighting systems (the ones which have a sensor and turn on when you enter the room).

Ultimately, companies are now recognising that their choice today is not if, but how, they should manage their sustainability activities. Companies may see this as a waste of time that is being pushed by government when they want to get on with business, or they can think of it as a novel way to open up new business opportunities while creating value for society. What will you choose? n

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Why Do SMEs Fail?

If your business is to succeed, you need be alert to the factors that can have a material impact on its viability

hile most of the challenges that your business will face are foreseeable, some will be utterly unpredictable. The causes of business failure are many and varied and in most cases it is a complex combination of causes that contribute to the failure of an SME. Familiarise yourself with the following insights to help mitigate these threats to your business.

We have summarised the most common threats to businesses; being forewarned is forearmed!

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Problem: Poor Management This is the most commonly occurring ‘internal’ factor in business failure among SMEs. Even other internal causes of business failure are often linked to poor management.

One/more entrepreneurs with a vision set up most small businesses. Sadly though, this does not mean that they have the necessary skills or experience in business areas to succeed. Commonly, lack of knowledge can centre on lack of business planning, financial reporting, marketing, customer relations and financial management.

Solution: Seek External Advice A professionally qualified accountant/ lawyer is an excellent source of advice and assistance, from the start and at every phase moving forward. The principals that they use enable sound business practice, which in turn provides high quality financial information. This sets the ground for the efficient and effective growth. It will highlight which areas of your business aren’t working as they should, whilst their experience can be used to guide you as to what you need to be doing to change things for the better; all of which ensures the survival of your business. Ask family and friends for help and support, if your best friend is a Marketing Manager, surely they will give you free advice?

You also need to be aware of the benefits of acquiring basic financial management skills, to take advantage of any opportunities of growth and to anticipate any threats to the survival of the business, reacting to them promptly.

If you haven’t already done so, you should look to take courses that further/broaden your management education even before starting out in business.

Impending bad debt is one of the possible causes of business failure that can be predicted in advance

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Problem: Poor Accounting Business decisions need to be supported by good quality information. You need to know what the area is that you need to change; why, what the options are for change, how much it will cost for each option and what the financial implications are for the status-quo.

Poor accounting and reporting, and decisions based upon inaccurate or incorrect financial information can cause problems that may threaten the solvency of your business.

By not having sufficient accounting processes in place, you run the risk of identifying problems too late. Elements such as excessive fixed and variable costs and decrease in sales etc., if not properly recognised can damage the solvency of your business.

Poor accounting practices can also hugely affect your operations and cash flow; the most obvious problem being that you cannot cover your payment obligations. The ultimate result of poor cash flow management is the lack of working capital to run your dayto-day business.

Solution: Plan, Budget and Forecast As you have probably noticed, in every edition of Business Insight we tell you that

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foresight

so that they are able to step in quickly if a problem transpires. When signing contracts with key suppliers ask for specific penalties for non-delivery and use this in your negotiation with them moving forward.

Never put all your eggs in one basket with a client. Plan for several so that if you were to lose one, your business would survive.

planning, budgeting and forecasting are vital tools for SMEs. Every business should have the monthly planning and financial controls to monitor the business plans and objectives, giving you pointers on the steps that you should take to correct the situation. For example, monitor your forecasted sales compared to your actual sales. This enables you to address any shortfalls directly with the staff accountable on a weekly basis, and catch problems early.

Problem: Over-dependency on customers/suppliers How many suppliers do you have? What if they couldn’t deliver? Do you have other options? Many companies don’t and relying excessively on either just one main, or only a few customers or suppliers is a huge risk. What if the decision maker at your client changes and brings in their supplier? Or if your contractor suddenly increases their prices, how can you survive this at short notice?

Solution: Business Development Planning Keep a database of suppliers, in particular the company name, contact name, telephone number, quoted prices and credit terms.

Strive to form a relationship with them

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Problem: Bad Debt Impending bad debt is one of the possible causes of business failure that can be predicted in advance. Bad debts can increase if your customers’ business becomes untenable. The main problem for SMEs though, may be in actually identifying the potential bad debts and being able to reduce them. For many SMEs, there is no in-house department that is able to focus on regular credit control and follow up on accounts that should be of concern. For this reason, bad debts may have a more dramatic impact on SMEs than on larger businesses.

Solution: Take Pre-Emptive Action Delegate partial responsibility to the salespeople to keep an eye on the payment aspect of their accounts. By fostering good relationships with clients via the sales team, just a simple matter of checking with the client that payment will be made on time is sufficient and useful in alerting you to any possible problems.

Alternatively, allocate a designated diary day to make your customer care calls and ensure that clients are happy with your services. In doing this you give yourself a good context in which to check that payments will be made when they fall due and also keep also abreast of any client problems that may affect prompt payment.

Problem: Overtrading Do you have the manpower to run the additional accounts you have brought onboard? What about payment; are you keeping up with the invoicing and ensuring all the money is coming in? Ultimately, can you cope with supply and demand?

Solution: Business Plans Preparing a business plan is an important step in developing a long-term view of where your business is going and how you plan to get there. We cover this a lot in Business Insight, as it is so important. The key issues to be addressed in a strategic business plan include: Key marketing issues: ll The products or services currently offered and the potential developments to the range of products ll The customer base and how to increase it ll The distribution channels and alternative strategies for the future

Key financial issues: ll The current level of funding and future funding ll The anticipated profitability and cash flow of the business ll The current and future return to investors Remember, business plans are fluid and should be referred to and possibly even change regularly.

Problem: Poor Marketing And Research Have you adequately identified your customers?

Do you truly understand your market size and potential?

Are you over/under pricing your services/products?

What is the actual demand for your product or service?

You may well be surprised; what you thought you knew could be in fact way off the ball park if you do some market research. You may find other customers that you hadn’t previously considered, alternative marketing avenues and information on competitors that you weren’t previously aware of.

For example, in a new business this information is vital to enable you to calculate whether you will make sufficient gross margins to cover your overheads and make an adequate profit.

If your business is more established, you will already have addressed some of these issues.

However, you need to be constantly aware of how your marketplace is changing, what your competitors are doing, who the potential new entrants to the marketplace are and, how they will affect your business.

Solution: Remain Market-Aware If marketing is not a your strong point, invest in outsourced expertise. A good marketing agency need not be expensive and can help to establish cost-effective social media channels to conduct on-going market research and attain feedback from your customer base.

If you are at start-up stage, do your own online research into competitors and sign up for their online newsletters, Facebook pages etc. to keep in touch with their latest offerings. Market research is your responsibility, so approach it proactively.

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External Causes of Business Failure Events over which you have no influence can easily cause your business to fail over the long run. The most common unpredictable external factors are: 1. The Economy A recession in the economy is an ‘External Factor’. A sudden decline in your specific field of business activity can also cause failure of your business.

Other possible issues, which relate to market economy and might threaten business failure, are: ll Change of customer buying patterns ll Decreasing purchasing power of consumers ll Shortage of raw materials: often linked to a significant increase of costs and missed deadlines ll Low price competitors who convert market segments by ‘dumping prices’ ll Substitution products which can lead to changes in the market 2. Catastrophic/Unpredictable Events Natural disasters cannot normally be foreseen in advance. The only course of action is to ensure you are adequately insured against them.

Problem: Fraud/Collusion Asset misappropriation, corruption and fraudulent statements are 3 ways in which fraud can happen in the workplace; for example, falsifying expenses reports or stealing small unit-value items, such as stationery or cleaning products. These may seem insignificant, but can soon add up.

Collusion with stakeholders of the business can also have serious consequences and discredit the company. These backhand payments often come out in public.

Solution: Visible Fraud Deterrent and Prevention Policies Implement a clear policy on punishment, criminal prosecution and dismissal for any acts of fraud or collusion, via their employment contract, at the commencement of their work contract.

By implementing internal controls such as internal audits and micro management you can both prevent and detect fraud.

Your internal control system should have 4 objectives: ll Safeguard your assets ll Ensure the accuracy and reliability of your accounting records and information ll Promote your own company’s efficiency ll Measure compliance with your company’s policies and procedures Prevention of fraud starts with identifying your weaknesses and exposures, thereby allowing you to make the necessary improvements.

These measures warn the potential fraudsters that you are actively monitoring the business, which itself acts as a deterrent. n

A professionally qualified accountant/ lawyer is an excellent source of advice and assistance, from the start and at every phase moving forward

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3. Governmental/International Developments You can’t always predict these kinds of developments, so it’s a good idea for you to always keep up to date with geopolitical, economic and current affairs. Track the media, both print and online news resources such as Zawya, Reuters and Al Jazeera.

4. Bankruptcy If customers or suppliers have financial problems, the knock on effect is huge and will probably affect you. For instance, if your main customer is no longer able to pay their bills on time, you will be short of cash and will start having problems in paying your own suppliers.

In mitigation, offer the credit terms that best meet your needs, which can include a 50% payment upon order and the balance due upon delivery of the service. You can also offer a prepayment discount to incentivise early payment.

In the case of manufacturing companies, where the sole supplier goes bankrupt, no more goods will be received, causing a halt in the production process. The same will apply with services or retail companies, which will no longer be able to meet their sales and delivery commitments whenever the sole supplier is failing. The bankruptcy of a sole supplier will obviously threaten the on-going relationships of your business with its customers.

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Chasing the dirham

IF YOUR SME BUSINESS IS OPERATIONAL AND ESTABLISHED, THEN IT IS A NATURAL NEXT STEP TO SEEK TO PROGRESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF GROWTH Focus On Your Core Business Using the example of McDonalds as a quick case study, when they started to become successful, they did not diversify into frying chicken or pizzas, instead they focused on improving their main product offering, innovating their menu, sharpening their marketing approach and applying 5 primary principles that overwhelmingly contributed to their tremendous success. All 5 principles can also be implemented in your business to facilitate its growth.

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1.

2.

Consistently deliver: In the case of SMEs, this means that you should strive to deliver an unfalteringly high quality service to customers, and educate them to believe that you’re always reliable and respecting of their best interests.

Focus on being operationally efficient: For your business, this means having the right procedures in place for everything from sales order processing, to dealing with customer complaints, answering outside

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3.

4.

5.

calls and payment collection. Part of operational efficiency is outsourcing your non-core work, to allow you to freely focus all of your energies on running the business.

Utilise the right equipment: Are your salespeople equipped with the means to take and process orders while on the road? Do you have the appropriate internal phone systems to transfer client calls between departments? Do your staff have the IT systems in place to easily access the data generated between departments; for example, between the sales and accounts departments?

These are examples of having the appropriate equipment in place to do business successfully.

Constantly and continuously train: Regardless of the staff function within the company, there is always scope to develop their knowledge and efficiency through continuous training. An example of this is to look at the quality of emails that every staff member sends out to check that there is a consistency of company image and professionalism. Another area to develop is standards of customer care.

Be true to yourself: Just as McDonalds know they don’t sell the best tasting hamburgers in the world, they do know where their strengths lie and they embrace and nurture them.

You should focus your business on its core offering and then strive to achieve the highest standard in your field, in order to provide the platform for growth.

Increase Sales Many salespeople come to work and quietly proceed with their plans for the day. However, a little proactivity goes a long way in sales – e.g. making regular requests for client referrals/testimonials to attract other clients. Additional methods of enhancing sales revenues can include: 1. Sales training: When strategising on how to improve your company’s financial performance, a dedicated sales development programme will give you a raw advantage over competitors who do not engage outside sales trainers and keep up to date with latest techniques or reinforcement of good practices.

2. Sales transparency: This will result in better quality client relationships and subsequently more sales.

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3.

4.

5.

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Sales brochures: Improve your corporate sales performance with some high quality brochures.

Motivation for sales staff: A motivating meeting/message in the morning is a good way to improve sales!

Company mission statement: Powerful mission statements can motivate staff and improve performance.

Continual prospecting: Sales staff must prospect all the time, scheduling weekly prospecting time in their agenda.

Practice upselling: Current clients already know and trust your company and are more likely to increase their business than ‘cold’ clients.

Maximise Social Media Opportunities Social media gives you direct access to existing and potential clients for free, and in some respects replacing the traditional role of advertising. By using this platform creatively, you are able to save significant marketing budgets and still position your company as an expert in your industry sector, by marketing directly to your customer base to attract new business and promote your offering cost-efficiently to a mass audience; all while increasing your company profile exponentially. At the very least, your business should have a presence on: ll Facebook: This offers direct interaction with your customers and allows them to feedback directly to you, which replaces the traditional role, and costs, of a market research agency ll LinkedIn: With the facility to choose targeted groups of likely customers, you are provided with an invaluable

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platform to position your company as an authoritative, helpful or trusted expert in your field Twitter: Asking questions to your followers will help you gain insight on what is important to your customers and what is influencing their buying decisions

Reduce Office Overheads It can easily become more habit than strategy to spend regularly on the smaller value office items, such as stationery, but be reminded that the costs can mount to surprisingly high levels. Be aware of the small details, such as the following: 1. Buy recycled printer cartridges: It is worth up to 80% in cost saving to check the Internet for a local recycled printer cartridge supplier.

2. Download free forms and templates: Instead of spending time creating office forms and templates in-house, you can find thousands of free forms online that you can download, customise and print. Naturally, this saves both time and money.

3. Use free software: Visit www. openoffice.org to download a suite of the most common office software. You can also try hundreds of software products for free through trial downloads, freeware and limited versions of the full product. This enables you to again, reduce outgoings and ensure that you choose the most suitable products for your needs.

4. Buy used equipment: Save up to 60% and more by buying used computer equipment, copiers and office furniture from online resources such as www.dubizzle.com.

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Control Costs In order to save, and therefore generate more cash for your business, keep a close eye on all expenses - stationery, office kitchen supplies, lunches, phone bills and electricity etc. These can all add up to a significant drain on your resources.

1. Monitor and take action against time-wasting habits: Take a mental inventory how much office time is lost through employees gossiping, newspapers being read, staff playing on the Internet or taking care of personal business etc. It is not necessary to take draconian measures, but time wasting does need to be addressed if it is ensconced in your company culture, as this directly affects productivity.

2. Shop around for the best deals: When dealing with new suppliers, it is a prudent measure to request quotes from 3 suppliers and ask your preferred choice to match the best rate. A classic example of ‘shopping around’ is your Employers’ Liability, Public Liability and Medical Insurance services, which can vary wildly in price. Check with your trade association whether you can qualify for a special trade rate and make a habit of comparing prices each year when the insurance renewals fall due.

3. Reclaim Tax: Not an obvious point to include here, as companies do not pay tax in the UAE. However, according to tax experts, U Turn Tax Refund based in DIFC, the Value Added Tax (VAT) paid on a wide variety of foreign business expenses is reclaimable from all of the European Union countries and Switzerland, Norway, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Australia. This means that your company may be entitled to reclaim this VAT. For example, if an employee takes a business trip to the UK, 20% VAT is charged on hotel, food, local transport, and additional spending.

Therefore if a sum of £5,000 is spent on one business trip a potential maximum £1,000 can be reclaimed, a fifth of the outlay 4. Use energy, utilities and technologies efficiently: Although especially effective for small business, these money saving pointers can be applied to any size of business and will help encourage a mindset of financial prudence.

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Switch to laptop computers: Laptops can generally be used instead of standard desktop computers and consume approximately 90% less energy.

Review your phone usage: Whether you reduce the number of phone lines, change your monthly plan or replace your current service with an internet based service such as VoIP, there are a variety of ways to lower your phone bill without it affecting your client base.

Investigate online payment methods: Save the monthly fees that your bank’s online merchant account charges by switching to an online service such as PayPal. These online plans do have specific ‘per transaction’ fees, so analyse your account activity before making any changes.

Only light, heat and cool what you need: By turning out the lights, the AC and heating in unused areas of the office, or installing motion sensor lights, you will see marked decreases in your utility bills.

Use the Internet whenever possible: From sales calls to business conferences, there are a variety of internet-based technologies, such as Microsoft Office Live Meeting, that can provide you with low cost ways to communicate with clients.

There are a myriad of ways in which your business can make more money, the cumulative effective of which will make a positive impact to your finances. n

TOP TIPS TO MAKE MORE MONEY

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Be a creative problem solver: Think outside the box to establish what your business needs to grow Persevere: Don’t let the roadblocks keep you from success Find mentors: Seek out mentors who have been successful and model their methodologies Stay lean with your budget: Be careful with how you spend, be aware of every aspect of cash flow, and continually find ways to decrease spending Believe in yourself: If it is in your heart to succeed, you will always find the motivation to continue to grow your business prosperously

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success

Interview:

James Fleming, Chief Executive and Paul Millar Managing Director & Senior Executive Officer, Arbuthnot Latham & Co., Limited Walking into the offices of Arbuthnot Latham based in the DIFC, you can smell success. They have been advising people since 1833 in the UK, and they established themselves in Dubai last year to illustrate that their focus is firmly on the customer, “If our market is here, then we need to be here,” explains James Fleming, Chief Executive and previously Head of International Private Banking at Coutts & Co. He is accompanied by his colleague Paul Millar, Managing Director and Senior Executive Officer of Arbuthnot Latham, who has been advising entrepreneurs in the region for 11 years, and is sat to his right. Naturally, we start discussing what they know best… Banks Banks appear not to be lending to SMEs. What do you see for this in the future?

Fleming: There has been some decline in lending to small businesses across the market, however, banks such as Arbuthnot Latham will look at good quality lending opportunities on a case-by-case basis. When you lend to a start up business, they may have an idea of what they require and what they want to do with it. We see our role as advising and providing the expertise and knowledge that we have built up over many years.

Some SMEs are able to access markets with greater ease than others as they may, for example, have good management teams.

We will work closely with clients to ensure that their propositions James Fleming are both viable and sustainable.

There is some level of security there.

The start up market does need some level of attention, but I am not sure it should come entirely from the banks. There are Venture Capitalists, Angels and Peer-to-peer lending groups.

Millar: We are seeing a degree of contraction in the SME market place and certain banks have withdrawn

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from this space and we expect this trend to continue over the next few years. Due to this we have seen more and more of people using their own personal wealth to fund their business.

In the press you have been quoted as saying you want to integrate people into your business. Why do you feel integration is important as opposed to buying up businesses?

Fleming: This is based on my experience, although, if an opportunity came along, I wouldn’t say a hard and fast ‘no’.

I always look at anything and everything and make a judgement based on the facts of that case.

We have hired a string of good quality staff globally. Integrating people into a business is a lot easier than swallowing a whole company. But in my experience, hiring individuals has been far more successful than buying a business, where you not only get the people, but you also get the integration risk and cultural risk as well.

The culture of a business is important. You can spend a lot of time and energy sorting out a number of

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success

peripheral issues, when in reality, all you want is to get the business moving forward.

Do you have the same culture in your Dubai Office as you do globally?

Fleming: Very much so. The culture we have by definition is that we put the client at the heart of everything we do. Companies need to carefully consider their culture. In our industry, we have seen so many businesses that have moved so far away from putting the client at the heart of the conversation, that it is almost like they are putting barriers to doing business with their clients further. We are here primarily as a service business. If you start thinking about what you will do and won’t do and don’t have flexibility around that, then who are you trying to serve? Yourself... or the client? So that culture of the client being at the heart of every conversation is very evident both here and in the UK. It is also important to me to have a culture for the people that work for us; and that is to train and continuously develop them so they can realise their potential and their ambition. Our main asset is our people; the more we invest in their personal development, the better they will serve clients and our business.

So in terms of the training, what do you do?

Fleming: We don’t allow an advisor to give advice unless they have relevant professional qualifications. We aim to get all of our advisors to Level 6. All of our wealth planners are chartered wealth planners in the UK. I find it incredible that some organisations can have people who are so called financial advisors who may have been in the job for less than six months.

Why should entrepreneurs take financial advice?

Fleming: They need to understand their risk exposure and we assist with this. For example, we will work with them to understand

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Paul Millar

their total asset base, and time horizons; what shortterm requirements might be, lifestyle, kids at school etc.?

Integrated financial planning is about understanding the full picture, the time horizon and also the risk appetite, which we can help develop with the client.

Many of our clients are entrepreneurs and are building their own business and have a lot of risk exposure already. They possibly should consider a lower level of risk appetite for their investments to accommodate the risk in their business and we will be able to advise them accordingly.

Have a proper business plan with the right advice. Entrepreneurs are vulnerable and need to plan for the dark times.

If it doesn’t work, do they have a plan B?” Paul millar Managing Director and Senior Executive Officer of Arbuthnot Latham

Millar: Part of the process of managing our clients’ wealth means we inevitably get involved in the business side. We can add value by providing support for their business plans and introduce them to appropriate specialists and business professionals. As part of this process it’s crucial that clients are open and transparent with us to enable us to provide the best advice.

What is the one thing that you have learnt that you wish that businesses today would sit up and listen to?

Millar: Have a proper business plan with the right advice. Entrepreneurs are vulnerable and need to plan for the dark times. If it doesn’t work, do they have a plan B? Fleming: The value of taking good advice is one thing that entrepreneurs take at some point. I have always been hugely impressed with their passion in what they do. This is what separates successful entrepreneurs from the others - the ability to understand risks.

The graveyard is full of many who have known the risks, but have not known how to deal with them when they face challenging times.

My overriding advice would be stay focused on the principal objective and don’t be distracted! n

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Interview:

Fats Lazarides and Grace Harding from Ocean Basket Being an absolute foodie, I jumped at the chance to interview Ocean Basket’s Fats Lazarides (the Founder) and Grace Harding. Together they have turned their single, simple fish restaurant, which opened in Pretoria in South Africa in 1995, into a worldwide brand with over 160 stores globally. We speak to them on why simple is the name of the game, throughout their business model

ou would be forgiven for not necessarily knowing who Ocean Basket is in the UAE. With restaurants in both the Terminal Three in Dubai International Airport, and another in Mirdiff City Centre, they are focusing on other locations where they can bring their concept of reasonably price, delicious, simply cooked fish to our tables. However, their meteoric rise to the worlds 6th largest seafood casual dining restaurant chain with 160 restaurants, illustrates that simple really is best.

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Your start up is well documented, but can you please explain to our readers a bit about Ocean Basket?

Fats Lazarides Lazarides: There was a stigma until 1995 that only a certain bracket would eat seafood in South Africa. Meat was in abundance but seafood was sold in only a few restaurants and also at a ridiculous price. So we came along and asked, “Why must it be served a ridiculous price? Lets take all the frills away and lets go directly to the what the consumer wants.” We know he wants good quality fish and chips, fish and rice, complete without the frills. In 1995, fish and chips were sold for the equivalent of $1 today. At the moment, it is sitting at $4. Initially we started in Pretoria and moved quickly to Johannesburg and infiltrated there. We had 15 stores in Pretoria when we went to Capetown – the other side of SA. This was a steady slow growth. But it was Durban that proved the most difficult.

How did you deal with this?

Lazarides: Firstly, we aren’t ‘durbanites’. Durban is on the coast and we came from inland to teach them

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how to eat fish… They loved the concept, the idea, but took their time to warm to us. They loved, the simplicity of affordable seafood. We just stuck to what we knew would work. It did.

So what made you enter Dubai?

Lazarides: The strategy that Al Tayer offered was a phenomenal strategy. Our first store brought international exposure when it went into the airport. For the second store, they chose Mirdiff City Centre.

It’s a family mall. You see expats and locals here. All the tourists will go to the Mall of Dubai or the Mall of the Emirates. They won’t come here. Who comes here are the people that live here meaning that Al Tayers strategy works in parallel with our own. Now we are ready to go to store number three and store number four.

Yesterday we were chatting about the energy you can feel in Dubai. I truly believe that Dubai is the new New York of the world. This is the new world and everybody passes here. We believe that the right thing to do for us is to create a Middle East Head Office. Currently, we service the Middle East from South Africa and Cyprus, but that can’t last. Why? Egypt is on-board with Ocean Basket as is Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon is knocking on our door.

Dubai is literally in the centre of all of these.

What has been your most successful restaurant?

What was your strategy with this?

Lazarides: When we went into Cyprus, we went in the back door. We went in via Pathos. We didn’t do the strip/ beach front exposure, as you would expect. We went in through a hotel. The hotel had brilliant occupancy; over

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Grace Harding

90%, and we knew it serviced the expat community – the British and German community, who through social media, took that one store to number 1.

Surely this had an effect on the competition then?

Lazarides: Absolutely. Despite coming in discretely, within a year there were four copycat restaurants.

And you know what? All we did, was continue what we were doing; Good food, good service and just stuck to our game. Today all the others have been eliminated. It is all because we thought about our strategy, wrote it down and stuck to it. Yes, we reviewed it, but we decided not to change. We looked at what we were here to do. We were here to satisfy the consumer. The only way we could satisfy them was through our food.

We don’t have anything else. OK, so we will offer our smile, but at the end of the day, you come for our food. That is what we do. Through that single store, we have managed to open 8 stores! And through that store we now have exposure into Greece, which has just opened.

is a deliberately, revolutionary strategy.

You know there are two things that we are obsessed with. One is simplicity and the other is focus. Nothing can deviate us from this. Sometimes, when there are opportunities that present themselves, if they don’t meet these criteria, then we back off them. It is the absolute, absolute simplicity that made the brand so successful. Even if you look at the menu, it looks like a lot of choice, but actually, it is the same ingredients that are configured differently. So, it is a different strategy.

If you look at the big global companies, they have to meet shareholder criteria. Now, because we are still owned by the original shareholders, we can design our own criteria.

Within a year, there were 4 copycat restaurants. And you know what? All we did, we just stayed doing what we were doing; Good, service and just stuck to our game.

Today all the others have been eliminated” Fats Lazarides This is an important message for entrepreneurs. You must decide what road you have to take. Our criteria is about being relevant and building relationships within that community, building a brand and

I read that you are opening one restaurant every six weeks…

Harding: If you work it out, yes, we are opening one every six weeks. The big international brands are opening stores every five minutes almost though.

Lazarides: They open three stores every two days.

Harding: But they have a different strategy to us. Ocean Basket’s strategy

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success

If we have served 1 million customers and only ONE complained, I would have rather we had served 500,000 with no complaints. You can’t service more customers and have no complaints” Fats Lazarides creating customer relations… now that all supersedes numbers.

We don’t ever sit in the boardroom and say, how many, how much… never, never, never!

We will ask things like, how many people came to eat? What did they eat? Is there an opportunity to give them something else to eat?

For us it is not growth at any cost.

What is very interesting is about two years ago; we did sit in a room and start talking about numbers. The minute you start to deviate from your course, you fall into problems and we started to trip. So we decided to rewind and we don’t talk like this any more.

So you have managed to retain your SME structure?

Harding: We are obsessed with it. We don’t have hierarchy. We don’t have titles. We don’t have divisions, upon divisions. Here, everyone is on one line.

Lazarides: We run a lateral structure.

There is no one above, or below.

Harding: Fats and I, and our colleagues, have the one line but with different roles.

Lazarides: The two important things that we wake up in the morning with is, what are you driving, or were you delivering?

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I drive certain projects and deliver certain results. You can say the same to your next colleague. Our flat line structure allows anybody in the Ocean Basket management team, access to everybody at anytime. Cell phones are not allowed to be off. We do have respect; we won’t phone you on a Sunday at lunch time at 12pm and bug you. But I can whatsapp you if I need something. That is the respect that we have for one another. Grace always says that in this company, you never stop working. It is mental work. We are always looking and reviewing.

Harding: We are truly customer focused. it truly is. The strategy evolves.

Lazarides: If I wake up in the morning and hear there was a bad complaint, that is like killing me. If we have served 1million customers and only one complained, I would have rather we had served 500,000 with no complaints.

You can’t service more customers and have no complaints. I know that, but this is how focused we are with the consumer.

We always say amongst ourselves, when does the consumer decide that they will

eat at Ocean Basket? When did she decide, “tonight we will eat out and eat at Ocean Basket?” She decided the last time she walked out of one. If she left and she was satisfied, she has accepted us as meal solution. It doesn’t matter when she will return, it may be two days from now, two weeks or even two months, but the fact is that she will be back.

If she walked out unhappy, she may forgive you once, even twice, but it is unlikely that you will be forgiven for this again. Once you lose it, it is very difficult to get a consumer back. We have to protect our consumer and our operational standards. We are obsessed with this.

Harding: The culture is driven from the shareholders sitting in a room. They are all heads of department. The are sitting there as head of department, not as shareholders, but as actively working for the company.

What is your one standout piece of advice?

Lazarides: It is a standard answer.

Fight, fight, fight and never give up. n

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MONEY

An Alternative Route

At some stage in your business life, there will be a choice that you have to make; Stay as you are, or take your business to the next level? Often, the only thing holding entrepreneurs back is the lack of funding…

ith banks continuing to hold back on lending to SMEs, business leaders have to look elsewhere in order to gain financing. Initially, what may appear to be a bleak outlook, when you consider the options of Venture Capitalists, Peer-topeer (P2P) lending groups and Angels, you will realise that there are many alternative routes to obtaining the funding you require.

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Conventional Lending The problem with SME funding through the conventional routes is clear says David Dimmell, Managing Director of GENYX, a Dubai based change management consulting company advising leaders and their top teams on how to achieve strategic alignment said, “Many banks are not focused on SMEs; those that are have bureaucratic processes or often seemingly unhelpful managers who don’t clearly see SME requirements.” SMEs need money quickly and often for short periods of time. Traditional routes tend to be costly and more time consuming to obtain the desired effect. In this article we look at P2P lending and how this can assist SMEs today.

Case Study Robert Jones, Managing Director of Coffee Planet, has an award winning SME 100 business that was established in 2005.

He recently applied for money on the P2P lending site Beehive. Coffee Planet, which provides coffee on the go in 9 countries throughout the GCC and Asia, knew exactly what they wanted the money for, “We are rolling out a new Enterprise Resource Product throughout the company (from manufacturing through to distribution) and this is a significant project, which will create huge efficiencies in our business and drive our costs down. It will also increase our service levels to our customers.”

Find the Right Platform With various different platforms that could be considered, Jones found Beehive,

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the P2P lender following a conversation with his friend about the banking sector and the need that SMEs have for continual access to working capital, “I saw this as an innovative financial product that differs from the traditional equity based crowd funding models and so became intrigued to learn more. I found out that I could have secured up to AED500,000 through them at a rate that was approximately half of the bank rate”.

Despite having previously been successful in gaining access to money through the more traditional routes of banks, Jones decided to try P2P lending.

Not only did he find that, due to the nature of Beehive’s unsecured lending, the process was much quicker as paperwork is substantially reduced, but also, where Jones was working on new projects, which can often carry unforeseen circumstances, he found he needed cash quickly, “We saw Beehive as a quick and efficient way to fill that shortfall.”

“The project was split into two phases due to our cash constraints but the money raised has allowed us to fast track this project and bring phase two online at the same time as phase one which is very pleasing,” He explains happily.

Vishaal Shah, CEO of Panache International, an integrated manufacturer of disposable plastic and packaging products established in 2005, also commented on the ease of obtaining funding through Beehive, “The process was very transparent with completely clear guidelines, making it much more robust, quicker and cheaper than local conventional banks. We were able to make projections due to a clear timeline which would have been more difficult had we used more traditional methods of financing.”

One thing is clear, for any SME that has 2 years or more operational experience, banks are not the only option for getting the money that you require to take your business to the next level. What will it take for you to consider the unconventional routes to financing? n

Top Tips for Obtaining the Loan via P2P Lending Sites Write a compelling business profile: Requesting finance on a peer-to-peer lending site will require you to write a short summary about your business and why you need a loan. This is a key opportunity to advertise your business and ‘sell’ its benefits to potential investors. As your business will be listed on an online marketplace competing against other businesses also looking for investment, it is important that your business profile stands out from the competition. Ensure the profile is succinct (about 70 words) and engaging. Highlight your business purpose, the business success that your company has had to date and the short to medium term growth it anticipates. Detail any unique points, for example, you may operate in an innovative high growth market, have a well regarded client list or have highly experienced management team. Be sure to focus on the positives that will entice investors.

Be clear about your loan requirements: It is important to fully consider how much money you need to borrow and for how long. It is key to take a loan term that will enable you to make repayments comfortably, rather than overstretch your business trying to repay a loan in the shortest possible time. Be clear about the reason for taking a loan, for example do you need investment for growth and expansion or perhaps for working capital?

Providing clarity about the loan purpose will help potential investors understand how their money will be used and can drive investor engagement.

Drive awareness of your investment campaign: If you are seeking investment on a peer-to-peer site, be sure to let people know. The beauty of peer to peer lending is that investors can invest small amounts, so it is an investment opportunity that can appeal to all kinds of investors from high net worth individuals to your next-door neighbour.

Spreading the word among your friends and family, business colleagues or even your employees can expedite the fulfillment of your loan request.

Securing their financial support via a peer-to-peer lending site means they could also benefit by getting healthy returns on their investment.

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MONEY

The process was very transparent with completely clear guidelines, making it much more robust, quicker and cheaper than local conventional banks� Vishal Shah, CEO of Panache International

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MONEY

TAKAFUL: Worth the Risk?

Regular readers of our magazine are no doubt becoming more au fait with the concept and principle of Islamic finance, but do you understand about Takaful?

Takaful, the Islamic alternative to conventional insurance, is small but steadily growing. However, how does this compare to conventional insurance? Would you risk taking out a Takaful contract, or would you steer clear of these, as you do not understand them? Ultimately, is the unknown worth the risk ased on the concept of social solidarity, cooperation and mutual indemnification, Takaful is a pact amongst a group that agrees to donate contributions to a fund, which is then used to jointly indemnify covered losses incurred by the members. The transactional aspects of the system are subjected to Islamic contractual laws; like the principles of Mudarabah, limited partnerships meaning profit and loss sharing.

A Takaful contract operates on the basis of mutual or of cooperative principles. This means that any surplus or deficit of the Takaful operation has to be shared amongst the participants, or the members only. However, when a Takaful scheme is being operated on commercial basis, the surplus/deficit is to be shared between the operator and the participants in accordance with the principles of Mudarabah in a pre-agreed ratio amongst the contracting parties.

In a life contract, moral obligations are injected into the contract. Participants agree to relinquish a certain amount of contributions to fulfil their obligation of mutual help (and joint guarantee), for fellow participants under the scheme to receive reimbursement from the specified terms and conditions.

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Growth of Takaful According to Abdullah Showaiter, Deputy CEO, Wholesale Banking, Emirates Islamic Bank, during financial crisis (when Islamic finance became more popular due to its inherent strength), “In any financial industry, growth of Islamic insurance (i.e. Takaful) goes hand in hand with growth of other financial services offered by Islamic banks. Due to a variety of services and entry of new players, Takaful has attracted a larger number of customers who wanted Shari’a compliant solutions as well as excellence in service. And with recent initiative announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President & Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai as an Islamic finance hub, I believe that the Takaful sector has huge opportunities not just for individuals but for large corporates.”

Ashar Nazim, Partner, Ernst and Young said, “Takaful has been and remains, one of the fastest growing segments in the global insurance industry. We forecast that the industry

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will continue growing as more government initiatives are implemented, and as the demand for Sharia-compliant financial products and services increases.”

Challenges of Takaful Despite strong growth to date due to the of number of challenges faced by this young industry the size of the sector is still small when compared to the traditional insurance market. The key challenges for the industry is to improve efficiency and reach critical mass. Over and above it has limitations related to specialist human resources, regulatory issues, awareness amongst people about products, lack of sophisticated product offering etc.

"As the industry becomes ever more competitive, together with ongoing weaknesses in the global economic environment, more and more operators are concerned about how they can overcome the challenge of maintaining the exciting growth rate of the past few years, whilst also becoming increasingly focused on the imperative of boosting profitability from their core business," said McLean. Parvaiz Siddiq, CEO of NoorTakaful further highlighted the challenges and opportunities facing Takaful operators noting that, “across the board, leading players in the Takaful and re-Takaful industry are seeking innovative solutions to overcome the current challenges facing the global Takaful industry. Many industry leaders are re-visiting strategies on all fronts, from product innovation to operational efficiency to new market opportunities.

There are various challenges that the industry must face head on if it is to make significant head way into global insurance market. These include: ll Regulation: Despite new regulatory changes being rolled out, regulations vary significantly across jurisdictions. This can make it difficult for operators to function across regions, which has also led to confusion for customers and multinational insurers ll Human resources risks: Takaful continues to suffer from a shortage of experienced personnel in specialist fields like life insurance, risk management and Sharia compliance which is true for both GCC and South East Asia

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MONEY

Takaful has been and remains, one of the fastest growing segments in the global insurance industry. We forecast that the industry will continue growing as more government initiatives are implemented, and as the demand for Shariacompliant financial products and services increases� Ashar Nazim, Partner, Ernst and Young

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The GCC Takaful market predominantly comprises of general Takaful business with family Takaful accounting for as little as 5% in certain markets, leaving ample opportunity for growth

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Lack of awareness: There is a lack of awareness of the industry, its offerings and advantages. There is a requirement for greater education and marketing by the scholars, experts and operators Product development: It is important for the industry to constantly innovate new products and upgrade existing ones to suit the evolving nature of the financial market and the customer

The other notable challenges like lack of corporate governance, shortage of sharia compliant assets, inadequate distribution channel, standardisation issues, solvency and capital requirement etc. are needed to overcome to ensure the fast growth of this sector.

Another area which needs considerable attention is Re-Takaful which is still rather in its infancy, says experts. Reinsurance of Takaful business through Retakaful companies has been somewhat controversial within the Islamic insurance marketplace, as the growth of direct Takaful writers has far outpaced the available capacity of Retakaful. In addition, from a financial strength perspective, there have been ongoing concerns over the placement of reinsurance with lower or nonrated Retakaful companies, as opposed to

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higher rated conventional reinsurers. As a result Takaful insurers in effect face issues with both Retakaful capacity and financial security.

Despite limitations in segments and business lines, there is immense untapped potential of this sector, according to Ernst and Young: ll Potential market space in Takaful hub: Share of Takaful market in GCC and Malaysia is 15% and 10% respectively with 10% of the known Sharia inclined market that is to be yet tapped ll Untapped customer segment: Takaful is predominantly retail driven in most markets and the corporate customer segment has significant room for growth.

Focus on underwriting capabilities, service standards and product offering would be beneficial ll GCC’s untapped business lines: The GCC Takaful market predominantly comprises of general Takaful business with family Takaful accounting for as little as 5% in certain markets, leaving ample opportunity for growth ll Global market potential: With limited penetration of the conventional insurance to Islamic community due

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to various reasons, the untapped needs of this segment provide huge potential for Takaful. Large Islamic markets such as Libya, Egypt, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Tunisia and Brunei are potential target area for growth Micro Takaful: Micro Takaful products can play a major role in fostering growth in the low and lower middle-income, value driven populations in Islamic countries Distribution and reach: Takaful operators try to establish efficiencies, service quality, product variety, and distribution strength to reach population with limited awareness

Ultimately, Takaful is in it’s infancy and whilst making headway, there is still a way to go, although the financial sector is now taking this more seriously. The growth of Takaful globally will depend on marketing, distribution, adoption of improved I.T, and the supply of Takaful within Islamic countries will depend on the support, and promotion of the policy makers and regulators. Once all of these are in place, consumers will gain an understanding, and Takaful will rival conventional insurance. n

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people

Counselling For Professionals

By Ceri McVittie, MCIPD

Stress and anxiety seem to be part of our everyday lives nowadays. In fact if we aren’t under some stress and pressure in our everyday working lives we probably feel that we are under achieving. A recent survey conducted by job site Bayt.com and research organisation YouGov quizzed 10,000 people in 13 countries across the Middle East region. The results showed that 49 per cent of people in the UAE reported being stressed/severely stressed, on an average working day. This leads to poor productivity, which has a negative effect on your bottom line

o with stress being reportedly on the increase in the UAE, and people stating that the work environment is playing a major contributing factor in stress levels, what can we do about it?

Part of the issue in the Middle East is the long work hours culture; with many executives expected to work any hours it takes in order for them to get the job done and meet deadlines. However, with no overtime, no additional

S

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compensation or no time off in lieu as pay off, there is no motivation to the staff that feel as though their loyalty to the company flows one way, which not only increases stress levels, but also is also utterly demoralising.

For the employee concerned, stress in the workplace can lead to burnout, fatigue and longer-term health issues. While for employers the effects of stress in the workforce contribute to high levels of absence, low morale and reduction in

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people

productivity. This costs the company money and can also impact on your reputation; who wants to work for a company who exceeds in burning out their employees?

Another consideration for organisations is that stress has been called “the silent killer” and can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, chest pain, and an irregular heartbeat. This means that organisations should be asking themselves what would happen if a senior employee or team member were to fall ill with one of these conditions? If you haven’t taken adequate steps to resolve these, you could be in line to be taken to the Ministry of Labor Court under Article 144, if you are asking them return to work too soon. A succession plan would mitigate the risk to the company, but it will not eradicate this completely. Would it not just be easier to be seen as a caring employer from the start and ensure that your staff are not over stressed?

Many companies nowadays are recognising the need to manage and reduce stress in the workplace not only as part of their health and safety responsibilities but as an integral part of building their brand as an employer of choice.

Stress Management Part of managing stress is about building resilience to both internal work pressures and to the external factors that add pressure to our daily lives. There are a number of interventions that companies can implement to help build resilience within the workforce: ll Stress management policy ll Resilience training ll Coaching scheme ll Mentoring scheme ll Employee Wellbeing Program ll Counselling Many companies are already implementing the first 4 areas as part of targeted support for professionals to deal with internal work pressures. However, recent studies show a trend of employers recognising the need to support their employees with the external factors in their daily lives that contribute to increased stress levels.

Employee Wellbeing Programmes A recent development in the corporate world in the UAE is the introduction of Employee Wellbeing Programs.

These programs are generally implemented to improve employees’ health habits in total by educating employees to engage in increased levels of physical activity and performance, providing information on nutrition, as well as raising the overall awareness on health related issues, such as stress. By giving the individual

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the tools and resources to monitor and manage their own wellbeing, you are enabling them to automatically think in a healthier way as it draws to their attention what they should be doing. Whilst the company normally provides these, Employee Wellbeing Programs are voluntary, as it is down to the employee to actively engage in them.

Paul Firth, Head of Wellbeing Services at AXA Insurance (Gulf) which is one of the regions providers of Employee Wellbeing Programmes explains, “The concept of wellbeing is relatively new in the region, however there is growing awareness from both the government and private sector that managing wellbeing in an important part of employee engagement.”

Firth added, “Of the 30,000 employees that we now offer our services to, 18% of cases relate to stress or depression. If this trend increases and is not managed we could have a major issue with problems related to stress within the region.”

“Of the 30,000 employees that we now offer our services to, 18% of cases relate to stress or depression” Paul Firth, Head of Wellbeing Services at AXA Insurance (Gulf)

“We are overflowing with people coming to us for counselling support on issues relating to stress” Helen Williams, Managing Director and Owner of LifeWorks Part of the AXA Employee Wellbeing service offering is 24 hour access to counsellors; either over the telephone, online or face to face who can provide support and information on how to manage life’s everyday challenges.

With research showing that counselling has beneficial effects for people suffering from stress, it is no wonder the UAE is seeing a trend in professionals turning to counselling for support to cope and deal with stress related problems.

Helen Williams, Managing Director and Owner of LifeWorks Counselling and Development centre said, “I have worked in the region for many years and we are overflowing with people coming to us for counselling support on issues relating to stress. I have certainly seen an increase in couple counselling because of relationship issues due to career/ working pressures.”

Although some of the referrals for counselling come from Employee Wellbeing referrals, most executives who utilise the counselling services at LifeWorks are selfdirected referrals… and a growing number are men. Men (who may have traditionally had issues turning to counselling) are now realising the benefits of addressing their anxieties and dealing with stress related problems. Williams added, “More men are coming to use our services, men make up half our mindfulness and mediation classes.”

So while we may accept a certain amount of stress in our daily lives, it is important that both the companies we work for, and the employees, know how to deal with it and manage the daily pressures of our lives so that stress does not become a serious health issue. n

8 Top Tips to Reduce Stress 1. Identify the source(s): Try to solve the problem that is causing you stress, or learn to cope with it positively. Ensure you tackle the problem head-on.

2. Talk: Talk to someone you trust, a friend, spouse, or counselor.

Social support will reduce stress and improve mental and physical well-being.

3. Use relaxation techniques: Any relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, and yoga reduce stress and improve health.

4. Exercise: It reduces stress and makes you look and feel better.

Do something that you enjoy doing (like walking, jogging, swimming etc..).

5. Sleep: Sleep is a natural healer.

Less sleep increases stress.

6. Balance your time: Find balance and control your life with time management skills.

Procrastination increases stress.

7. Avoid alcohol: It temporarily numbs you to stress, but it undermines health and well being without fixing the problem.

8. Avoid caffeine and energy drinks: They heighten the feelings of anxiety and stress.

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people

How to Prepare and Interview a Potential Employee Last month Nuria Gonzales-Martin, Head of HR at Food Fund International, the company that brings us The Meat Co., Eat Greek and many more, gave us a detailed insight as to how she would assess potential candidates from the CV. This month, she tells us how she would then take the candidates to the next level; the interview

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How do you prepare for interviews?

It is important to remember to treat each individual as a separate task. Yes some of the questions will be the same, but remember to link questions specifically to the candidate and their CV. That way the answers will be more detailed, and provide greater insight into the candidates experience, and personality.

Review the CV again and this time highlight experiences, tasks and duties that specifically relate to the role, and the key responsibilities identified. This will prompt you to ask questions for verification, or look at these statements when asking the questions above. In addition write down on the CV or in separate interview notes, important information you wish to expand upon, and discuss further.

How would you formulate the questions to interviewee?

Job descriptions can be quite cumbersome for interviews so I recommend before the interview process commences identify and then state in writing the key responsibilities of the role, and then draw up a list of questions that relate to those responsibilities.

What is it you want to find out?

When asking questions it is important to ask behavioural questions that provide reference to not only the tasks undertaken, but how these tasks were undertaken. Typical behavioural questions include, “so tell me how you did this?� directly linking this style of question with a statement

January 2015

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people

from the CV, or can you explain to me a time in the past when you did….”

Relate this type if questions to the key responsibilities. “For this type of duty how do you like to work?” With this question you can relate to both the CV and key responsibilities. Don’t be afraid to ask more questions to gain a better picture of performance and actions, or to follow a different angle or area of interest. Sticking rigidly to a set of predetermined questions does not allow for qualitative feedback, or an attractive experience, or desire to work for the Company. A more fluid conversation is better way to build rapport and provide a more relaxed environment, which in turn opens greater discussion points, and the opportunity for more open and frank questions and responses.

This approach provides a better foundation for both parties to make decisions on the role, and greater insight into personality, and cultural fit. Previous successes are a good indicator of future performance.

What are the important areas to cover in an interview?

The most important area to be covered is the matching of the candidate’s skills and knowledge to the job requirements. However, there are other skills that tend to be sought by employers: ll Analytical skills. An employees ability to assess a situation, seek multiple perspectives, gather more information if necessary, identify key issues that need to be addressed, and then a solution and methodology to actually undertake the task at hand is essential. Staff who simply undertake their basic duties and can’t think outside the box, or take (reasonable) initiative, do not add value. ll Communications skills.

By far, the one skill mentioned most often by employers is the ability to listen, write, and speak effectively.

Successful communication is critical. If you can’t communicate with others how do you know what is expected from you, what needs to be done or has been achieved? ll Computer knowledge. In today’s age almost all jobs now require some basic understanding of computer hardware and

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ll

ll ll

ll

software, especially word processing, spreadsheets, and email. Do they have this?

Planning and ability to manage multiple priorities. Most jobs involve multiple tasks, projects etc. So you need to identify whether candidates can plan, organise and manage multiple assignments and tasks, set priorities, and adapt to changing conditions, and work assignments.

Teambuilding and interpersonal skills.

Leadership/management skills. For senior positions it is imperative that this skill is proven in the interview as leading and managing others is an integral part to the role.

Multicultural sensitivity/awareness. This is never more true than in Dubai, with our multinational workforce. Prospective candidates must demonstrate a sensitivity and awareness to other people and cultures.

In addition to these skills I also look for the following personal values: ll Someone who is honest, and loyal ll Someone who is dedicated and has a hard work ethic ll Someone who is dependable and takes responsibility ll Someone enthusiastic, positive, has a passion, energy and drive ll Someone who values professionalism, and consistency ll Someone who is confident, and as such can take charge as needed to ensure success/delivery ll Someone who is self motivated, who does not need constant supervision, and can get on with their work ll Someone who is willing to learn and adapt to the changing nature of business

How would you go about this?

At the start of the meeting outline the interview structure for the candidate, introduce yourself, your role in the interview process, what type of interview will be taking place etc.

Ask the candidate whether they know anything about the Company, and then after their response take time to confirm any statements made about the Company, and provide a more thorough introduction to the Company, the history, major achievements, staff, culture etc. At the end of this introduction provide the candidate with the opportunity to ask any questions they may have on the company or interview process. This sets up the parameters of the interview, keeps you both focused, and gives the candidate an idea of what to expect.

It is important to remember to keep the conversation polite and professional, with the majority of the questions directly relating to the role. If the conversation becomes too friendly you run a risk of hiring the prospective employee because you liked them, and not necessarily because they were the better candidate.

What else should companies think of when interviewing?

The actual location of the interview is also important, remember that part of the interview process is sales. Bringing the candidate to a dark, cold and gloomy room is hardly an incentive to join. And vice versa interviewing a potential new employee in an office showroom, which is totally removed from the physical environment of the job can lead to issues in the future, especially if other expectations are not met. Extend professional courtesies to the candidate, for example water, tea or coffee,

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people

In Dubai our multiple nationalities means that English levels differ, not only in understanding but also in the actual words used. So keep the English simple, avoiding long, old fashioned, hard to pronounce words whether they found the office okay etc. This will hopefully help the candidate to relax.

What are the physical things that you look out for?

As important it is for the interviewee to be on time, so is it for the interviewer. This is just plain manners, if nothing else, and shows that the Company has good organisational and planning skills. It is also important to note that some candidates only have a small window of time for the interview to take place, and may need to return to the office or undertake personal duties. If appropriate at the end of the interview consider providing a tour of the office to the interviewee. Give them an

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opportunity to speak with other team members or prospective coworkers, if appropriate. This will allow them to identify more closely with the role, and what it would be like to work for the company.

During the interview process it is also important to look out for non-verbal signals, and watch your own non-verbal signals! Both parties should be making eye contact with each other and voice tones should be appropriate.

In Dubai our multiple nationalities means that English levels differ, not only in understanding but also in the actual words used. So keep the English simple, avoiding long, old fashioned, hard to pronounce words. If the candidate has not answered the question how you wanted, do not negatively ask the question again, pose the question differently. Do not make it obvious that the candidate has answered the question incorrectly. The candidate may have either heard or interpreted the question differently, and this does not necessarily mean that they do not have the experience or skills in this area.

Keep your body language open, this will help the interviewee to relax, and vice versa look for this too in the candidate.

What is your ultimate goal for the interview process?

As an interviewer in order to make the right recruitment and selection decision we need to gather as much information as possible on the candidate, their knowledge, skills and experiences. So don’t talk too much in the interview process. If we are doing all the talking, how can we assess the prospective

candidate? John Dooney, manager of strategic resource for the Society for Human Resources Management, a nonprofit association for human resources professionals, recommends that interviewers shouldn’t speak for more than 30% of the time. I don’t believe that benchmarks can be adhered to all the time, especially where I am looking for staff who want to work for the Company, and have a passion for both the role, and Company, but I definitely don’t believe that interviewers should speak for more than 45-50% of the time.

Should you provide feedback to the interviewee?

It is important to remember to provide feedback to the prospective candidate. Apart from this being professional courtesy, there are multiple advantages for both the Company and candidate. For example just because the candidate may not be right for the job now, they may be right for another role in the future.

As obvious as this seems it is important to remember that many likeminded professionals, who work in the same industry, speak to each other. As a representative of the Company if we do not show professional courtesy and undertake the recruitment and selection process professionally, you can guarantee that this will damage your brand. n

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LEGAL

The Cyber Law also prescribes punishments for anyone who creates or runs an electronic site to raise donations, without authorisation from the competent authorities

Communication Law and the Guidelines for Business

By Ludmila Yamalova Managing Partner, HPL Yamalova & Plewka

All businesses and individuals conducting business in the UAE must understand the legal framework of the UAE media and communication laws

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he country’s laws and practices are based heavily on its historical, religious, political and cultural background. As a Muslim and a historically conservative country, the UAE’s legal system zealously guards and protects principles of honor, privacy, morals, religion and reputation. Any communications that may be perceived to be offensive or false can be considered defamatory and are therefore illegal. And truth is not a defense. Similarly, any statements against the state or its leaders, or information that can be perceived to jeopardise the country’s security or stability, is generally forbidden and vigilantly monitored.

Repercussions for violating any of these laws and principles can be severe. Companies accused of such violations face financial

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sanctions, suspension and in the worst of cases, cancellation of trade licenses. Individuals accused of such crimes face, in addition to financial fines, imprisonment and ultimately deportation for life.

Generally, these principles apply not only to private businesses and citizens, but also to media and communication companies based in the UAE or doing business in the UAE. The applicable laws that govern communication and media aspects of the UAE community are multi-faceted and continuously evolving. They include, among other things, the most recent UAE Law No. 5 of 2012 (Cyber Law), as well UAE Law No. 64 of 2006 (Consumer Protection Law), UAE Law No. 15 of 1980 (Media Law), UAE Law No. 18 of 1993 (Consumer Transaction Law), UAE Law No. 37 of 1992 (Trademark Protection Law) and Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 (Penal Code).

Under these laws, some of the general guidelines as to what constitutes illegal communications are as follows. Defamatory or slanderous communications or statements are considered illegal and criminal in nature, carrying severe penalties.

Commercial statements that are false and/or misleading in nature, in the form of false advertising, are also illegal and can carry civil and criminal liabilities.

If the abusive statements are published in any newspaper or printed media, the offense is considered to be an aggravated case, subject to even more severe penalties.

Defamatory or Slanderous Communications First of all, one must not communicate any information that may violate UAE’s standards of morality and proper conduct. It is illegal to disseminate anything that threatens the UAE’s public morals, principles of Islam or the state.

It is equally illegal to disseminate pictures that contain irreverence to Islam or other religions.

All public communications, including social media, must show respect to the UAE’s leaders, its government and its institutions.

All communications that may belittle or criticise the UAE’s cultural and social customs

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LEGAL

are also forbidden. It is also illegal to communicate any threats of violence or engage in hate speech, including content containing graphic or gratuitous violence.

In general, there should be no posting of potentially inflammatory content.

Similarly, unauthorised communication of people’s private information, such as addresses, telephone numbers, or national identity numbers, images or videos that are considered private under the UAE law could be held illegal. It is also illegal to impersonate users in a manner that is misleading or is intended to be misleading.

The UAE Penal Code generally governs these violations, which has been in existence since 1987. As such, the UAE court precedents adjudicating such cases are numerous and supportive of the principles outline above.

False Advertising Companies must also be aware that false advertising is illegal under the UAE law, although it is not yet as strictly enforced. This applies in particular to traders and service providers. The relevant laws that apply to false advertising are the UAE Commercial Transaction Law, Consumer Protection law and Trademark Law. Thus, the Commercial Transaction Law prohibits traders from disclosing matters inconsistent with reality. Traders therefore may not make false statements when engaging in commercial activities such as advertising for profit, broadcasting television or recordings, or advertising activities when practiced as a profession. Injured parties are entitled to damages in default for fraud or misrepresentation when marketing, spreading, or publishing false information.

They may also seek additional damages or remedies provided by other laws. Victims could also seek to recover damages from any person engaged in the business of supplying information to commercial houses, who knowingly or through gross negligence supplies untrue statements.

Similarly, the UAE Consumer Protection Law regulates price manipulation and promotes free market economics/pricing. The law enables each Emirate to monitor price increases, protect against monopolies, and stop the display or promotion of counterfeited commodities that would inflict damage or loss on consumers. A supplier may not disclose matters inconsistent with the reality regarding the origin, description, or other matters pertaining to a good or service’s nature or importance.

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Additionally, a Supplier may not resort to any misleading means with the intent thereby to deceive customers.

The Trademark Protection Law covers traditional (ex. registered company logos) and non-traditional trademarks (ex. trade dress, sound marks, etc.) and addresses trademark registration, transfers, and penalties for infringement. Violation of the Trademark Protection Law carries monetary fines and imprisonment.

Additionally, the Trademark Protection Law provides injured parties the ability to seek preliminary injunction, destruction of goods, or damages from those who violate the law. These fines and prison sentences increase for repeat offenders.

Cyber Law The most recent UAE Cyber Law, published in 2012, has further solidified the country’s position on offensive communication especially in light of the digital age. In general, the law outlines more specifically communications that are considered illegal and imposes significant financial penalties for their violations.

Thus, the law imposes punishment for anyone for using any information technology means for violating privacy of others by eavesdropping, intercepting, recording or disclosing conversations, communications, audio and video material. Similarly, it makes it illegal to take photographs of others, create electronic photos of others, disclose, copy or save them or publish news, electronic photographs or photographs or scenes, comments, data and information, even if they are authentic.

The Cyber Law also prescribes punishments for anyone who creates or runs an electronic site to raise donations, without authorisation from the competent

Companies must also be aware that false advertising is illegal under the UAE law. This applies in particular to traders and service providers authorities. The new law also imposes penalties of imprisonment and/or fines on any owner or administrator of an electronic website or any information technology means or devices for storing or intentionally providing illegal content, despite knowledge of the illegal nature of the content. Similarly, failure to remove or prevent access to this illegal content can result in equal liability.

Under the Cyber Law, authorities are allowed to seize devices, software, programmes and any other means used in committing any of these crimes, as well as the permanent or temporary closure of the involved property or site. The law also provides for the deportation of any foreigner convicted of any of these crimes upon the completion of the carrying out of any punishment.

Conclusion Companies must be careful and vigilant in how they communicate with the public.

This includes information on their website, marketing materials, social media or any other publicly available information. The same principles apply to both general communications about the company and those about the company’s products and services.

Importantly, actions and communications of the company’s employees can also be imputed to the company. Furthermore, forwarding and sharing communications of others that contain any such messages are equally illegal. n

January 2015 | 45

LEGAL

By Ludmila Yamalova Managing Partner, HPL Yamalova & Plewka

What all Companies Should Know When Dealing with the Public

Initially, all foreign businesses or individuals wanting to conduct business in the UAE must be licensed in the UAE

Companies registered and doing business in the UAE must understand and appreciate the legal context in which they operate he UAE corporate legal framework is based, on its own historical, cultural, religious and political factors. As such, many of the country’s laws, policies and practices are unique to the UAE and, perhaps, not obvious or even understandable to foreign businesses first. This is especially so because the UAE is generally perceived as a business friendly and welcoming place to live and work, with the standard of living and diversity of the population matching some of the world’s most developed and progressive countries. Many businesses do not appreciate the country’s differences or understand its particularities until they start facing problems, claims or fines.

The list of most important factors and therefore, the most common mistakes that businesses in the UAE face, are numerous and multi-faceted. They start from the regulations that allow foreign businesses to set up in the UAE And range from, immigration to employment, communication, financial, intellectual property, and media laws and practices.

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Requirement of Proper Trade License Initially, all foreign businesses or individuals wanting to conduct business in the UAE must be licensed in the UAE This means that they have to be properly registered with the relevant economic authority, be it under the Department of Economic Development (DED) of a particular emirate or any of the country’s

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many free zones. This is governed by the UAE Federal Law, in particular, Law No. 8 of 1984 (as amended) and which is otherwise known as Companies Law. This applies to anyone who wishes to do any type of commercial or business activity.

In theory, even activities such as selling baked goods, tutoring, babysitting and web design – those that are often associated with free lancers, students, stay-at-home mothers, or part timers – require a trade license. Furthermore, it is essential that the licensed activity reflect the actual activity or activities of the business.

It should be noted that certain licensing activities are restricted and either reserved solely for UAE nationals, government or semigovernment companies or require secondary approvals. For example, there are restrictions for companies operating in the fields of oil exploration, exploitation, marketing and transportation; companies operating in the fields of electric power generation, gas production, water desalination and all associated activities such as transportation, distribution and so on. Other industries may also be limited to foreign ownership by virtue of a specific decree issued by a relevant government authority. Some such examples include real estate brokerage companies, recruiting agencies and travel agencies; all such companies must be fully owned by a UAE national.

Also, there are certain industries that require special professional certifications,

such as health, academic, financial, legal, food and beverages, sports, etc., and require secondary approvals from relevant government authorities that regulate those industries. As such, only those businesses that can establish their requisite credentials and meet other requirements would qualify. As the threshold is often high, there are many businesses that conduct activities without having a proper trade license.

All those who engage in business activities either without a trade license

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LEGAL

or without an appropriate license face severe penalties. Penalties can range from financial, to criminal and deportation.

Furthermore, under various legal theories, companies who deal with either businesses or individuals who are not properly licensed are also often held liable and penalised.

Importance of Abiding by Immigration Policies The other important aspect of doing business in the UAE is to understand and strictly follow the country’s immigration policies. Immigration law is mandated at the federal level, and is therefore uniform across the country.

The law requires that all foreigners working in the UAE have an employment visa and proper sponsorship. This means

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that all companies must ensure that all of their employees are properly sponsored under their visas. Companies are also obligated to ensure that, when they engage services of third party providers or contractors, that those individuals are also properly sponsored. In other words, companies will be held liable for inducing others to break the law by working illegally.

Violation of immigration policies leads to very strict penalties. Companies are fined in the amount of AED 50,000 for each illegally employed individual

and for each occurrence. Furthermore, repeated violations can result in the suspension and then ultimate cancelation of a company’s trade license.

Sensitivity of Communication and Media Laws A company must be careful and vigilant in how it communicates with the public. This includes information on its website, marketing materials, social media or any other publicly available information. The same principles apply to both general communications

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LEGAL

about the company and those about the company’s products and services.

Importantly, actions and communications of the company’s employees can also be imputed to the company. Furthermore, forwarding and sharing communications of others that contain any such messages are equally illegal.

A company or any of its employees who disseminate information that is either false or inaccurate or can be considered defamatory or offensive can be held liable under various UAE legal theories.

Communications with the public are governed by a multitude of laws, including, among other things, UAE Law No. 5 of 2012 (Cyber Law), UAE Law No. 15 of 1980 (Media Law), UAE Law No. 18 of 1993 (Consumer Transaction Law), Law No. 64 of 2006 (Consumer Protection Law), UAE Law No. 37 of 1992 (Trademark Protection Law) and Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 (Penal Code).

Companies and individuals violating any of these communication laws could be held either criminally or civilly liable or both.

Some of the general guidelines as to what constitutes illegal communications are as follows. Firstly, one must not communicate any information that may violate UAE’s standards of morality and proper conduct. It is illegal to disseminate anything that threatens the UAE’s public morals, principles of Islam or the state. It is equally illegal to disseminate pictures that contain irreverence to Islam or other religions. All public communications, including social media, must show respect to the UAE’s leaders, its government and its institutions. All communications that may belittle or criticise the UAE’s cultural and social customs are also forbidden. It is also illegal to communicate any threats of violence or engage in hate speech, including content containing graphic or gratuitous violence.

In general, there should be no posting of potentially inflammatory content.

Similarly, unauthorised communication of people’s private information, such as addresses, telephone numbers, or national identity numbers or images or videos that are considered private under the UAE law could be held illegal. It is also illegal to impersonate users in a manner that is misleading or is intended to be misleading.

The UAE legal system zealously guards and protects principles of honor, privacy, morals, religion, reputation and the like. Any communications that may be perceived to be offensive or inaccurate can be considered defamation. In the UAE,

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defamation, in turn is a criminal offense under the Penal Code.

Violations of any of these laws or principles usually result in swift and grave consequences. For companies, the penalties are usually significant monetary fines and suspension or cancellation of a trade license. For individuals, the penalties include monetary sanctions, imprisonment and ultimately deportation.

False Advertising Companies must also be aware that false advertising is illegal under the UAE law, although it is not yet as strictly enforced. This applies in particular to traders and service providers. The relevant laws that apply to false advertising are the UAE Commercial Transaction Law, Consumer Protection law and Trademark Law. Thus, the Commercial Transaction Law prohibits traders from disclosing matters inconsistent with reality. Traders therefore may not make false statements when engaging in commercial activities such as advertising for profit, broadcasting television or recordings, or advertising activities when practiced as a profession.

Injured parties are entitled to damages in default for fraud or misrepresentation when marketing, spreading, or publishing false information. They may also seek additional damages or remedies provided by other laws. Victims could also seek to recover damages from any person engaged in the business of supplying information to commercial houses, who knowingly or through gross negligence supplies untrue statements.

Immigration law is mandated at the federal level, and is therefore uniform across the country

Similarly, the UAE Consumer Protection Law regulates price manipulation and promotes free market economics/pricing. The law enables each Emirate to monitor price increases, protect against monopolies, and stop the display or promotion of counterfeited commodities that would inflict damage or loss on consumers. A supplier may not disclose matters inconsistent with the reality regarding the origin, description, or other matters pertaining to a good or service’s nature or importance. Additionally, a Supplier may not resort to any misleading means with the intent thereby to deceive customers.

The Trademark Protection Law covers traditional (ex. registered company logos) and non-traditional trademarks (ex. trade dress, sound marks, etc.) and addresses trademark registration, transfers, and penalties for infringement. Violation of the Trademark Protection Law carries monetary fines and imprisonment. Additionally, the Trademark Protection Law provides injured parties the ability to seek preliminary injunction, destruction of goods, or damages from those who violate the law. These fines and prison sentences increase for repeat offenders. n

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marketing & Advertising

Changing Perceptions

How many times have you been to a restaurant and vowed never to return because of bad food or service? Or taken to social media to tell all your 400 friends on Facebook, and your 2000 followers on Twitter about it all?

lternatively, you may be hemorrhaging clients, and when you look into this, you may find that you have a reputation for bad service, or that your products are outof-date. This happens regularly and often can lead big brands into problems, so you can imagine what it could do to yours? The question remains though; what can you do to change your image?

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The Source Firefighting, i.e. tackling each of the complaints one-by-one without tackling the route cause, is only a temporary solution. In fact, without tackling the route cause, you could do more damage to your brand, as a

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customer could have the same experience twice; despite being assured that this wouldn’t happen again. “Warren Buffet once said that it can take 20 years to build a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it, and it’s certainly true to say that a brand typically takes a long time to build, and can be undone with a single careless act or even through simple misfortune,” explains John Brash of Brash Brands, “Some events are unavoidably disastrous and take years to recover, if brand recovery is even possible. For example, a major scandal or bankruptcy can strike a fatal blow to corporate brand reputation.

In other cases however, the negative perception might develop over time, through a thousand small experiences that don’t quite deliver the brand

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marketing & Advertising

promise. Sustained or even regular occasional failure to deliver what the brand promises it will deliver can have a corrosive effect upon perceptions.”

How to Promote Change “The best thing a brand can do is to only promise what it can deliver and to deliver on its promises. When something goes wrong, admit it, explain it and say how you will put it right,” says Brash. Marketing is key here. If people have been vocal on Twitter or Facebook, respond to them in an open forum apologising and explaining that you have taken actions to rectify the situation.

From a personal experience this strategy works. I was recently in a restaurant in the UK that was short staffed for lunch and couldn’t accommodate us. They apologised and offered us a free drink for the next time we returned (as we had been made to wait 10 minutes at the desk). We will definitely give them another chance when we return in the summer.

Brash agrees that being proactive is the way forward, “The best thing to do is not to allow the negative

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perception to build in the first place.

Proactive brand management means aligning promise with delivery, and being transparent when things go wrong; as almost inevitably they occasionally will.”

However, it must be acknowledged that this can be difficult to achieve though, as it is not always within the control of those who own and manage a brand, i.e. the business owners and/or the PR/Marketing teams.

Events outside of anyone’s control can overtake the best brand management so Brash suggests that in this case, “There’s the need for a plan to limit and seek to reverse the damage. This usually involves dialogue and the ’s’ word. Saying sorry is a simple but important starting point.

It’s insufficient, however. A brand needs to demonstrate that it really is sorry, by proving that it is doing things differently. Exactly what action is required in order to address the negative perception depends on how the negativity has developed.”

He continues, “It could be that, rather than specifically doing something wrong, the brand has fallen out of favour by losing its relevance. So, more what it hasn’t done than has done? In this case, changing perceptions needs to start with a reconnection with a brand’s stakeholders and customers, and a

reminder, rediscovery or renovation of what makes that brand special and different.”

Harley Davidson (HD) is one brand that summarises this point. Whilst they have not done anything wrong so to speak, they were viewed as old. In 2006 they sold 349,196 bikes but this declined by over 30% in the six years that followed. Yes, the financial crisis would have played its part in that, however, if you think of the standard HD rider, you would think of a man in his 50’s. So they took the marketing strategy to reposition themselves.

Spending just 15% of their marketing budget on the standard media route, they have aggressively attacked the social media network and have successfully rebranded themselves as ‘a club’ that you can join as opposed to motorbike manufacturer. This in turn has led to them securing their target customer markets that are women, young adults between 18-34, African Americans and Hispanics. The strategy has clearly worked; their outreach sales grew twice as fast as overall sales in America as well as achieving the number 1 market share for 601+cc class in Brazil in 2013.

If a global brand can have such a change of public perception in such a short time frame, then can you imagine what you could achieve? n

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marketing & Advertising

Make An Ad Go Viral

Everyone wants to have a viral ad. It seems like such a great way to get your brand out there, and become a household name. What do you do though, if you want to have a viral ad, but you aren’t a cat or a South Korean pop artist with a horse dance? In this article, I’ll be going over all of the secrets to help your ad will go viral By: Ahmad Abugosh, Astrolabs

have to set expectations though as the fact of the matter is that no one can guarantee your ad will go viral. Anyone who claims they can guarantee your ad will go viral is lying. It is not possible. In fact, Upworthy (the clickbait site that grew more than 6 times faster than Buzzfeed) clearly stated on several occasions, “Almost nothing will (go viral). Even if it’s great.” So it’s hopeless right? No one can predict when something will blow up on the internet, so we may as well go back to posting, “Good Morning #MyDubai!” with a picture of a sunrise right? Well actually no.

A lot can still be done to make your ad get more hits, and possible go viral if you’re lucky and the stars align.

I

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Is It Worth It? The first thing you should ask yourself when wanting your ad to go viral is: Is this worth sharing? If you came across this yourself, would you want to share this? Would your customers voluntarily want to share this? Be honest here, and answer the question truthfully. Because, if you want something to go viral, not only does it have to get clicks, but also shares. In fact, if something is truly to become viral, it must have high “Shares per view” and high “Clicks per share”, and to do that it must be something worth sharing. Only then will it truly explode online.

People won’t just share anything. They want to keep their online personas, and most people don’t want to be associated with

something that doesn’t add any value in their lives (even if that value is just humor).

When asking yourself what people will share, keep in mind that most people share things that are entertaining and either 1) Makes them Happy or 2) Makes them Angry. Since generally, if you’re a brand you don’t want people to be angry when sharing something, and you usually don’t want to build up bad feelings about your competitors (even if they sometimes deserve it). That’s just bad business. So it’s best to make something happy, entertaining and funny if possible (like this article). Also, keep in mind that you should avoid being offensive or political. If you’re a brand you don’t want to be alienate any of your fans (they are people after all).

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marketing & Advertising

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marketing & Advertising

Choosing Channels Once you have something that you believe completely is worth sharing, and that truly will get a positive reaction out of people, the next step is to choose the right online marketing channels to post it on. If you’re looking for the viral effect, you have to do it through channels that people share a lot on. That’s mostly Facebook (and Twitter to a lesser extent). If you have a video you want to promote, you can also use Youtube’s Preroll ads (those ads that play before the beginning of a video, just be sure to make sure your branding is in the first 5 seconds of the video, since most people skip those ads). Tumblr and Instagram can also work, but since they don’t currently have any way to post ads there, you have to have your ad spread organically, and that requires being hip with the young crowd to make it work on those sites (and let’s be honest if you’re reading this you probably aren’t).

The Curiosity Gap The next thing you have to do is post the content... that really is all, at the moment. But wait! You can’t just post any old title and expect people to click on it. Think of how many links people are exposed to on a daily basis nowadays. People are so overwhelmed with information online, you have to make sure that the title of your ad makes people want to click on it. How can you do that? By utilising something called the “Curiosity Gap”. What the “Curiosity Gap” means, is that you have

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to leave a little mystery in your title.

You have to make the title of your ad A) Not too generic, that it’s not interesting to click on, or B) Not too specific that they know what they will get when they click. For example, if you want someone to watch your viral video ad of your company employees doing the ice bucket challenge, then maybe having your title be “Company X does the ice bucket challenge” is too specific. Then again, you don’t want to be too generic either like “Dubai Company Fun”. A good compromise would be something that gives you just enough information to make you want to click, but not too much information to stop you from clicking. One title that might work is “Company X just took it up a notch,” that might be a good title, but I have no idea if it will work…

Test It There is no crystal ball that will tell you if your title will work. The way to tell if your title will work is by testing it. One famous technique (ascribed to Upworthy) that was found to work well is to write down 25 different titles.

This allows your creative juices to start flowing and you’ll start thinking outside of the box. Don’t settle for only 10 ideas, it is imperative that you write down 25 different titles. That will really stretch your creativity. Once you have 25 different title ideas written down, choose the 2 that you think would work the best (keeping in mind that it shouldn’t be too generic or specific), and do an A/B test on them.

An A/B test simply means that you test two different variations of the same ad with everything staying the same, expect you change one detail (in this case the title), and see which one performs better. It doesn’t have to be only 2 different variations, it could be as many as you want, but for simplicity let’s say you take 2 different title variations. If you’re posting the ad on Facebook, you’ll be able to see which one has a higher CTR (click through rate: meaning the percentage of the users that click after being served the ad). The one with the higher CTR wins. Rinse and repeat by continuously optimising by A/B testing. The title is not the only thing you can A/B test. You can also experiment with the image being displayed, or the image description. Whatever you test, the methodology is the same. Let peoples’ user behavior dictate what ad you serve more of, and with a higher budget, since in the end you don’t know what will work best. You can guess, and you can hypothesize, but you can never know for certain, until you test it.

You may think that you don’t have time to do a fancy A/B test, since you don’t have that expensive software. The thing is, you don’t need anything for this. It can be done for free using your Social Media accounts. If for example, you want to share a link to your video ad on Facebook, you can try different Headline text, Excerpt text, and Share Images for free (and target them to different segments of your audience). You have to make use with the resources you have, and with A/B testing a lot can be done with minimal effort on your part.

Make It Easy One more important thing to keep in mind if you want your ad to go viral is, make it easy for people to share it if you’re hosting it on your own site! This might seem like a no-brainer, but a simple social share bar can go a long way.

It is a much bigger hassle for someone to copy/ paste a url into Facebook, than for them to just click a Share to Facebook button. The easier you facilitate (and tell them to share if they like it), the higher the chance they’ll share it.

Let’s say you follow all of the steps I mentioned, but still nothing happened. Only two people shared your ice bucket challenge video, and one of them was you. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Having something go viral is very rare and unpredictable. We can try to make a science out of it, and improve our chances of it happening, but in the end it’s still a matter of luck.

A more practical strategy would be to focus on optimising your ads to the best of your abilities (through A/B testing), and putting out content that people naturally want to share that creates value in their lives. Even if that value is having someone smile at your cat video. n

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DMCC enables a bright future for Dubai-based SMEs 56 |

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mall and medium enterprises (SMEs) are viewed as the ‘engine’ for economic growth and a vital contributor to the economy’s GDP. They are a primary source of entrepreneurship, innovation and employment creation. According to the Department of Economic Development, SMEs account for 95% of the total enterprise population in Dubai and employ approximately 42% of Dubai’s workforce.

The atmosphere in Dubai is that of growth and opportunity, it is a city built by an entrepreneur for entrepreneurs. Business enablers like the DMCC Free Zone and its vibrant trading ecosystem can support SMEs by providing solutions to suit their evolving business needs.

Over the past 18 months Dubai has seen a surge in activity, led principally by the real estate, tourism and trade sectors. The trend is continuing and it is expected that the economy will continue on its current growth trajectory as the city moves ahead with its infrastructure and construction plans for Dubai Expo 2020.

DMCC is now the world’s most successful and highly sought after destination for SME’s, providing a beneficial tax environment, worldclass infrastructure and transport links. Free zones provide space for foreign companies and home-grown SME’s to flourish and the DMCC Free Zone, the largest and fastest growing in the UAE, was recently named the ‘Global Free Zone of the Year for SMEs’ by London’s Financial Times fDi Magazine.

This was a welcome recognition of DMCC’s continuous commitment to ensuring member companies have access to everything they need to succeed through a variety of products, services and initiatives that have been tailor made for them. As DMCC continues to play an important role in the overall growth, enabling Dubai to position itself as the global gateway for commodities trade and a thriving business destination, the organisation will look to create

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opportunities and provide access to networking platforms and events that potentially offers relevant and cohesive financing options through investment, collaboration and partnerships for SMEs. An example of where DMCC has already done so is the recent launch of AstroLabs Dubai, a collaboration between three partners, DMCC Free Zone member company, AstroLabs, Google for Entrepreneurs and DMCC. AstroLabs Dubai welcomes tech entrepreneurs from across the globe seeking to access high-growth emerging markets and will be based in Dubai’s DMCC Free Zone, an ideal location for startups to scale their ventures in new markets, with one-third of the world’s population accessible in a four hour flight. The Free Zone also affords startups the advantages of zero taxation and 100 per cent ownership of their businesses and will also benefit from fast-track company licensing through a single point of contact at DMCC. Another example of this sees one of DMCC’s core business units, DMCC Tradeflow, a dedicated online platform for registering possession and ownership of commodities stored in UAE-based storage facilities, collaborate with Noor Bank. This association aims to ensure successful Shariah compliant financing transactions can take place for Noor Bank’s corporate and SME client base. Although DMCC Tradeflow’s core focus is to stimulate liquidity and provide the Islamic finance industry with the required legal and trade infrastructure, commodity supply and transparency; this collaboration demonstrates how DMCC is working towards being an inclusive, one-stop-shop for member companies to help them on their journey to success.

At DMCC we recognise how important SMEs are to the economy and will continue to work towards creating an optimal business environment and offer support as they aspire to grow and access new markets in the near and distant future. n

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DMCC actively encourages corporate governance 58 |

January 2015

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tarting a business, making it operational and profitable is a common goal for every organization, regardless of industry, size or the products and/or services on offer. As companies look to acquire all the elements needed, not only during the startup phase but also as the business grows, corporate governance is mostly overlooked. This should not be the case, as sound corporate governance practices can greatly bolster a company’s credibility and facilitate investment in the long run.

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What is corporate governance?

Corporate governance is based on principles and processes by which a company conducts its business with integrity and fairness; is transparent with regard to all transactions; makes all the necessary disclosures and decisions; complies with legal and regulatory requirements; and has accountability and responsibility towards its stakeholders.

Stakeholders include everyone ranging from the board of directors, management, shareholders to customers, employees and society at large. The management of the company hence assumes the role of a trustee for all the others.

DMCC recognises this important framework and has, together with Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance, developed the DMCC Corporate Governance – Practical Guidance manual to enable its members to be better governed and more successful.

The Guidance covers five key areas and includes a range of tools and templates that can be used in its current form or adapted to suit business needs. Those are: ll Commitment to corporate governance ll Structure and functioning of the board / governing body ll Control environment ll Transparency and disclosure ll Stakeholders and stakeholder rights There is a level of confidence that is associated with a company that is known to have good corporate governance. The presence of an active group of independent directors on the board contributes to an internal and external perception of the company’s integrity,

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and lends validity when it comes to attracting client and sourcing capital. Studies have shown that good corporate governance is considered to be one of the criteria that foreign institutional investors are increasingly depending on when deciding on which companies to invest in.

Krysta Fox, Director of Free Zone, DMCC is an active supporter of the DMCC Corporate Governance – Practical Guidance and encourages all member companies to operate according to these best practices. “Corporate governance is more than just mitigation. If done properly, it allows the corporation to work smoothly due to the existence of a clear level of accountability and communication internally, as well as people having a solid understanding of what their roles and responsibilities are.

Additionally, corporate governance places a strong emphasis on the behaviour of the corporation and how much the corporation discloses to the public.”

Fox concludes “Member companies who integrate corporate governance into their business model can better plan their next level of growth and achieve a more professionallymanaged organisation in the long term. This will in turn, help them attract good talent, clients and investors.”

As a facilitator and regulator, DMCC plays an increasingly important role in encouraging good corporate governance and transparency by requiring companies listed on its exchanges to fulfil certain standards. DMCC has a dedicated Compliance Department that offers workshops that highlight the practicality and necessity of corporate governance; works on a consultative basis to demonstrate the company’s financial reporting system’s integrity; and promotes the accurate and regular disclosure of relevant financial and business records.

“As the Dubai Government Authority committed to developing ideal conditions for successful markets that enable producers, traders and consumers, initiatives like corporate governance further demonstrates DMCC’s commitment to providing a sustainable and thriving ecosystem. This approach provides reassurance and promotes a relationship of trust between regulator, financial institutions and the members; and helps and strengthens credibility,” concluded Hassan Nasser, Director of Compliance DMCC. n

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technology

The Secret to High Rankings on Search Engines By: Grant King, Digital Marketing Director, IHC

There is no one single way to achieve a high, unpaid ranking on search engines.

Success is normally achieved through a multi-faceted, strategic approach to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) that can be supplemented by a number of additional paid options f course, the objective for many businesses is for their website to achieve a high ranking on the natural, unpaid (organic) Search Engine Result Pages (Serp) of leading search engines such as Google. Achieving the top position on Google is prime real estate, similar to having a prime shop front location on a busy high street, maximum visibility and online “foot fall”.

For companies new to online or digital marketing, achieving a high search ranking can result in a dramatic increase in website visitors, enquiries and “conversions” that can drive a business forward.

‘Conversions’ is the term used to describe the point at which visitors commit to your product or service,

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usually meaning sales.

Increasingly, established companies with top performing websites are claiming these as intangible assets with significant brand value or “goodwill” being placed on them.

The importance of SEO optimisation is clear and a highly powerful method to reach your target market.

Free Organic Results v. Sponsored Ad Results It is important to understand that the search engine results page on popular search engines such as Google are split into two sections; with pay-per-click (PPC) or sponsored ads normally appearing in the top three positions and continuing onto the right hand column, followed by the natural, unpaid (organic) results listed

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below and on subsequent pages.

When SEO optimisation is discussed, it is referring to the unpaid, organic section. It is widely believed that a higher ranking achieves better visibility and results, and it is imperative for a listing to appear on the first page of “Serp” search results in order to be remotely effective.

Which Search Engines Are Important?

Google leads the search market in the UAE with a reported 89.9% share, followed by Bing and Yahoo with 3.2% and 3% respectively. Ask and Conduit makes up the balance with 1.3% and 0.9% respectively. This being the case, it comes as no surprise that most discussions about SEO or pay-per-click strategies currently focus on Google with the lion’s share.

Choosing the Correct Search Keywords…

The make or break of any SEO optimisation strategy or Pay-PerClick campaign is the use of correct search key words; in essence, the popular search phrases commonly used by your potential clients. It is surprising how many small to medium firm websites contain the wrong search key words or ineffective formatting, reducing their SEO ranking. These business proprietors often do not realise that they can take proactive SEO optimisation steps themselves, or by using a local digital marketing expert, to help improve their ranking.

To nail the correct key word phrase for your business, it is important to use the free keyword finder on the main search engines such as Google Adwords, as this will tell you the number of searches per month, the average cost per click (CPC), and also alternative keyword phrases to use. Only once you have established your targeted keyword phrases can you then enact an effective SEO optimisation strategy or Pay-Per-Click campaign, so this should be the first course of action.

(organic) search results. The leading search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing use crawlers to search for web pages according to a range of algorithmic factors. Largely, these SEO algorithms are designed to promote an accurate match to the search keywords or criteria of the user, but are increasingly used by search engines to check the “bona fides” or credibility of your website, penalising or down grading the ranking of websites that employ deceptive techniques to gain a higher ranking (such as hidden keyword stuffing).

Such deceptive techniques are known as “Black Hat SEO” and it is important to resist the temptation to use any such techniques or your website may end up on page 40 of the search results.

It is also recommended to avoid using remote webmasters or SEO Optimisation Providers in cheaper developing countries where you have little control or understanding over what is happening. Given the importance, we recommend that this matter be handled inhouse or by a trusted, local expert.

SEO Optimisation Explained So to summarise, SEO is the process of affecting the visibility or ranking of your website on a search engine’s natural, or unpaid

SEO Good Housekeeping Below is a quick snap shot of SEO good housekeeping tips and perhaps questions you should be asking your webmaster or digital marketing expert:

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To nail the correct key word phrase for your business, it is important to use the free keyword finder on the main search engines such as Google Adwords, as this will tell you the number of searches per month

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Content: Content is king and one of the most important elements for SEO Optimisation. Ensure that your content is accurate, current and concise, and try to mention the targeted keyword phrase in the text three times, but not more as you may be penalised for keyword stuffing.

Title tags and H1/H2 tags: A title tag is the main text that describes a web page; it is recommended that these be no more than approximately 60 characters long with the keyword phrase near the beginning.

Making your keyword phrase the primary (H1) or secondary heading (H2) can also improve your SEO optimisation.

URL – website address: Using the key word phrases in your landing page URL can also be effective. For instance, a digital marketing agency could use the following URL for a page relating to its digital marketing services www.abcmarketing. com/digital-marketing.htm.

Blogs, social media links: Blogs and social media links on your website can demonstrate that your website is current and active, and can improve your SEO optimisation but it is important to add the key word phrase in the ALT attributes of these links.

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Link building: Off-page SEO or linking is one of most time consuming aspects of SEO optimisation, but in the past has proven to be rewarding. This involves building links on other quality websites pointing to your website, adding credibility to your website. Normally this is achieved by writing to the Webmaster of target, well-established websites with a reciprocal link request. In terms of On-page SEO, it is important not to “stuff ” your own website with a lot of irrelevant links as you may be penalised for “link stuffing”.

Recent industry feedback suggests that link building is not as effective for SEO Optimisation as it once was, but nevertheless it is still recommended to have a significant number of off-page links.

SEO = taking a long term view…

Essentially, SEO Optimisation is all about taking a long-term view and balanced approach, as results are often not immediate or accurately measureable.

Search engine algorithms are designed to check and rate the credibility of your website and SEO optimisation approach, so always adopt a multi-faceted strategy which is regularly updated, act with integrity and never take short-cuts.

For Immediate Results With Sponsored Ads appearing at the very top of the search results page, you are paying for prime real estate to appear here, with bidding on a competitive, auctiontype system often against many of your competitors. But for many companies, it is worth the cost to ensure immediate and guaranteed exposure.

Google Adwords is the main Pay-PerClick (PPC) option for most businesses and an overall daily budget can be set, with the cost-per-click (CPC) for each campaign thus ensuring that costs remain within your budget.

A common problem with PPC campaigns is that the key words used are often too broad or not accurate enough, resulting in an over spend on “miss-clicks” or the attraction of visitors who are unlikely to purchase your product or service. With the Cost-Per-Click (CPC) often in the range of AED6 to AED16 per click, it is important to narrow the search key words, and also to engage negative key word functionality to “block out” unwanted visitors (for instance adding the negative key word “jobs” to filter out jobseekers). PPC campaign success is all about quality and not quantity, ensuring that you attract only the right visitors. n

Top Tips ll Check your websites SEO Optimisation credentials by using free online tools such as www.seositecheckup.com - it will immediately assess and rate your website with a score out of 100, and will highlight areas for improvement. Follow-up by making the recommended changes. ll Conduct regular keyword audits Use the keyword finder on search engines such as Google Adwords to check the popularity of your current keyword phrases, and also to highlight other alternatives that may be more effective. Sometimes using less popular, “secondary” key words can be more effective overall, and more cost-effective on PPC campaigns. ll Set up a number of PPC campaigns using different keyword phrases and titles. Link to Google Analytics, which is a free way to measure the results and conversions. ll Regularly update content on all web pages to ensure that it satisfies current and new SEO optimisation criteria, as the algorithm criteria is constantly evolving.

Recent Developments - Register Your Business! ll If you are a shop-front type business, sign up for “Google My Business” www.google.com/ business, which is a free way of registering your business details and address location with Google.

After registering online, you will be sent a verification postcard that must be correctly completed and returned. This verification can provide an enlarged business listing and map location on Google maps, and means your business is more likely to appear in the relevant search results for your local area at no cost. ll Depending on the nature of your business, register for Google+ or Google Plus, which enables users to “like” your business, with the total number of “likes” appearing on the search results page. This free service is a good way to demonstrate the popularity of your business while increasing your exposure.

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property

Fitting Out An Office

So you have your business license and you have been increasing your clients steadily over recent months. You feel that now is the right time to get your own office space. You want to make the right impact so that all your clients (potential or otherwise) will be impressed. But now what? Finding the right office, let alone the actual fit out of the office once you find it, can be a very daunting process. We speak with Jerry Gallagher, General Manager of Joint Creative Technical Services, whom with over 21 years experience in the industry, is well placed to give you top tips and considerations ME’s owners in the region often don’t appreciate the legal process, technicalities and the requirements that are needed once they find their office. Often they think of what is happening here and now, not thinking of what could be two years down the line. Finding and correctly fitting out an office is in fact, one of the most important decisions any business owner can make. If all the correct points are carefully considered, an office will grow with the business; meaning no costly contract buy out (and therefore no need for another re-fit), when you find you have to move to another office to accommodate the growing number of staff.

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A Well Planned Office There are numerous reasons as to why you should want a well-planned office. By increasing the incidence of people

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speaking to each other, you will also increase those ‘eureka moments’ when someone has a brilliant thought. Michelle Joseph of Astrolabs sums this up in an interview Business Insight conducted in October, “Major moments of discovery are often triggered by chance encounters and spontaneous exchanges. It’s rooted in the belief that real ‘A-ha! Moment’s’ are often triggered by chance encounters and spontaneous exchanges. As a result, we’re seeing some of the world’s most innovative companies incorporate these elements into the architecture of the workplace,” She continues, “Steve Jobs famously planned the Pixar headquarters around the central atrium, which had just one set up campus restrooms so members of different departments would literally bump into each other. Tony Hsieh, CEO of online retailer Zappos, says he designed their new headquarters in downtown Las Vegas to maximise ‘Return on Collision,’ even at the expense

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of convenience. For example, he decided to close off the sky-bridge connecting the parking garage to the office building so that employees have to walk a longer route and interact with pedestrians along the way. And Google, which says Gmail and Street View were the result of casual employee conversations, is aiming to maximise creative collisions in the layout of its new headquarters. Allegedly, every worker in the new 1.1 million-squarefoot office will be within a 2.5 minute walk from each other.”

Ultimately though, it is the staff themselves who want a well planned office. Who wants to sit in the box room with no natural light, not talking to people all day? Is that even healthy for the members of staff? Health and Safety now is something that should be considered and the incorrect lighting has been proven to give people headaches. A recent study undertaken by the Royal Institute of Technology, Orebro University of 469 employees, found that the best health and therefore increased outputfrom staff, was found in among employees in cell offices/ shared room and flexi offices than those in combi offices and medium sized open planned offices.

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Their Technical Survey will summarise what changes need to be made to the design if any and will define the project scope and requirements from the beginning

The Contractor Finding the right contractor is paramount as Gallagher explains, “They need to understand your business to ascertain exactly what your requirements are? Do you need all those filing cabinets or are do you operate through cloud technology and therefore a paperless office?

What is your growth plan? Do you conduct confidential meetings that you wouldn’t want your staff to be aware of? All of these questions and more need to be answered to ensure that your contractor understands exactly what is required from them.”

To ensure that you have the right contractor, Gallagher suggest the following steps: 1. Check references and ask previous clients how their fit outs went. Were they on time? In budget? This could save time and money in the long term.

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Make a list of each of the services that the contractor has promised in their proposal. This will enable you to check and see which is value for money when you review the market.

Double check the license. Do they have the correct insurances? You want to ascertain that they will be able to cover any incidents that they are liable for, that could otherwise be costly to you.

Taking the First Step The very first thing you should do is consider the office design. Consult your contractor to come up with a design that works for both yourself on a personal level and also your business, as Gallagher explains, “This will ensure that you are looking at the right offices from the very beginning. Your contractor should come on site with you to see

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BY HAVING CLEAR OPEN COMMUNICATION LINES AT ALL TIMES, YOU CAN ENSURE YOU HAVE A SMOOTH PROCESS

Jerry Gallagher’s Top Tips

those shortlisted to determine if there are likely to be any problems to get the office that you want. Their Technical Survey will summarise what changes need to be made to the design if any and will define the project scope and requirements from the beginning. The design plan can then be agreed and this will confirm the preliminary project budget and a project schedule can be prepared on the back of this.”

The Red Tape Once your office has been chosen, you will find that you have some paperwork to work through. This may change slightly depending on the building that you are planning your office in, but generally speaking you need: ll Fit out contractor appointment letter from you the as the tenant/owner ll No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the owner of the office space and yourself/tenant, explaining there are no objections to you fitting out the office space. ll Owner/tenancy contract ll Owner’s Sales Purchase Agreement ll Valid Trade license ll Owner’s Title Deed ll Trade License (tenant & contractor) ll Passport and Visa copy (Owner & tenant)

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No Objection Certificate (NOC) & approved drawings from the Tower Engineering Consultant (the consultant appointed by the developer) Owners Affection Plan

“The best way to ensure that you have a smooth fit out process,” says Gallagher, “is to ensure that communication is clear and concise. If you have any concerns or queries along the way, your contractor should be able to deal with these for you.”

Submission As you would expect, all relevant designs including the planned architectural, mechanical, electrical works, together with a full specification of the final finishing touches has to be submitted for the appropriate approvals. It is then that this final estimate is issued.

Remember, both yourself and your contractor should work together to monitor costs and ensure that the work is correct and in budget. Payments will have to be made to relevant authorities, DEWA applied for and certification obtained to prove that the works are final and complete, but by having clear open communication lines at all times, you can ensure you have a smooth hasslefree process. n

You don’t want to be in your office and find that you don’t have a power socket near your desk, or the newly installed air-condition unit won’t cool the meeting room with sweeping views over the Burj because the vent was not put in correctly. Whilst these are extreme, to help you, we have thought of some things that you should consider at all times. ll Do you have the correct electrical load to run your office? ll Is there the floor space to enable your IT infrastructure? ll Are you future proofing your office – taking into account growing staff numbers, filing cabinets etc? ll What is the future cost of not buying the best materials possible? ll What would happen in event of a fire? Can your staff easily navigate the office and escape? ll Do you want staff to be able to talk bounce ideas off of each other? ll Do you have a comprehensive bill of quantities and specifications? ll Is there a contract to ensure you know exactly what you should expect? ll Have you agreed timescales? ll Can you communicate with your contractor to the level required to talk details? ll Does your contractors have the correct trade license activities

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property

two Awards for Business Excellence The Abu Dhabi based shopping centre is the proud winner of the Golden Europe Award and the Business Excellence Award

ne of the most sought after shopping malls in Abu Dhabi, Dalma Mall has received recently two prestigious awards, “The Golden Europe Award” and the “Business excellence Award” to recognise its contributions in the world of Business. Dalma Mall is not just a landmark for the consumer, but also stands tall for its phenomenal work in the field of business and quality.

Dalma Mall has had the honour of being the award recipient of The Golden Europe Award for Quality and Commercial Prestige and was granted a Certificate of Accreditation to receive the Total Quality Management (TQM) Aptitude Seal for High Quality Performance and Best Customer Satisfaction.

The Gala Dinner and Prize Giving Ceremony were held at the InterContinental Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland.

Receiving the award for Dalma Mall were Mr. Mohammed Al Shaiba Al Mazrouei, Executive Director of Dalma Mall, and Mr. Hussein Ali Ahmad, Marketing Manager at Dalma Mall. The award was given by the Association Otherways Management and Consulting of Paris-France. A prestigious International Award created in Europe, it rewards firms from all over the world, which have distinguished themselves in the field of Quality and Excellence. The selection criteria for the award include information, polls and voting.

The Business Excellence Award, which Dalma Mall won at the recently concluded, “The Bizz 2014 Awards”, held at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The award was received

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by Mr. Bhupinder Singh, the General Manager and Chief Financial Officer at Dalma Mall, and Mr. Mazen Chedid – Senior Marketing Executive at Dalma Mall.

Presented by WORLCOB, the award serves to promote business development worldwide, recognising and encouraging the growth of businesses and business leaders in each country through important tools and services they provide their members. WORLCOB has over 3,000 company members representing over 100 companies, and have held over 100 award ceremonies across the globe.

Commenting about the two great achievements Mr. Mohammed Al Shaiba Al Mazrouei, Executive Director of Dalma Mall said, “We are extremely proud and happy to be the recipients of these global awards. It is a grand milestone for us, as a reward in recognition of our Quality and Excellence in the consumer market. This is a prestigious hallmark in our business endeavour. It recognises our commitment to creativity and innovation, social responsibility and resultsoriented perseverance in business. To have been recognised and encouraged for the growth of business and the creation of business leaders in our domain is a matter of great pride for our establishment!”

As a recipient of both prestigious awards, Dalma Mall stands tall as not only a much sought after hub for all shopping, tourist and culinary needs, but is also a hallmark of stellar corporate conduct and quality. n

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AED 1 Billion luxurious Al Dana Island project This 1.7 million sq.ft project will be one of the largest man-made islands in the UAE

reen Valley Real Estate, one of the leading real estate companies in the region, is delighted to announce the launch of its 1.7 million square feet newest landmark project Al Dana Island.

The project, which will be located in Dibba Fujairah beside Al Aqqa, Oman will be one of the largest man-made islands in the UAE and will feature a range of luxury villas set in a landscaped environment, to compliment the internationalstandard yacht club and 5-star hotel also planned.

A total of 376 luxury 3- and 4-bedroom villas, each with a floor area of approximately 1 million square feet are planned within the secure confines of this luxury development – all have the benefit of a view of the crystal clear Arabian Sea as well as the stunning mountains of Oman. The highest standards of contemporary fixtures and fittings ensure that no detail is overlooked. Each villa will have a spacious garden, which will extend to the sea, affording residents their own area of private shoreline. Additional features, which owners may opt for, include a private pool and a berth in the marina.

The villas will be set in landscaped gardens featuring public parks with seating areas, play areas for children, a range of restaurants and cafes offering the finest dining and refreshments as well as jogging tracks and other sporting facilities.

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Mr Wiaam Mahmoud Rabah, Chairman of Green Valley International Real Estate, said, “Al Dana Island will be a completely unique development, benefiting from the beauty of the natural environment of the region – it’s the first of its kind to combine a view of both the mountains and the sea at the same time and, as such, will offer residents something which cannot be found anywhere else.

“We have conceived the project to be a safe, idyllic retreat for both Emirati residents and expatriates who wish to escape from the rigours of modern life and relax in secure, surroundings without compromising on the luxury to which they are accustomed,” he added.

3-bedroom luxury villas start at only AED 1,990,000, which offers exceptional value for money for accommodation of this standard. Down payments, which are now being invited, start at 20% of the cost price. The remaining 80% will be paid in 48 monthly installments, commencing after the first payment.

Al Dana Island is fully-insured – cover includes all the villas and public facilities against natural disasters such as fire and flood, and extends to individual cover for incidents such as drowning, suffocation, car accidents etc.

The villas at Al Dana Island are expected to sell quickly, given Green Valley Real Estate’s reputation for quality and professionalism, so early expressions of interest in the project are encouraged. n

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insurance

Employee Assistance Programs If you are from the UK, you may understand what an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is even if you haven’t used it. It is an ‘insurance-type’ product that provides a tool in which staff have access to services that will assist them with obtaining the ‘work/life’ balance, but are they worth the cost?

n Europe and the UK, having such schemes is seen as so beneficial to companies, that it is one of the factors that courts take into account when determining if employees are being unfairly mistreated. EAPs are designed to strengthen the health and productivity of an employee; one of the ways is in providing the work/life balance. They are viewed by Human Resources departments throughout Europe as being an illustration of how much staff are valued, and are a low cost and effective way, if used correctly, to ensure that the staff have the backing

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they require and return to work quickly.

Colin Ward, Corporate Sales Director for Pacific Prime Middle East, an employee benefits intermediary says, “We would recommend an EAP to an employee centric client which is looking to help its employees and their families to manage non work related problems, which may adversely affect their performance in the work place. Successful implementation of a high quality EAP program can help to lower medical costs, reduce staff turnover, reduce absenteeism, and promote better employee productivity.”

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What is an EAP? As advised above, an EAPs ultimate goal is to get the employee back to productivity as soon as possible, giving the member of staff access to services that they otherwise may not have in areas of psychology, social work and organisational development.

This resource is aimed at staff, but in light of the reasonable costs a lot of employers allow spousal access as well to illustrate exactly how caring they are.

It is a service, supported either by telephone or with face-to-face consultations, which will enable the individual to seek practical solutions to the problems that they face. It doesn’t just help the employee though. For large companies and corporates, it provides employers with reports that summarise information on their staff and operations.

For example, a large UK based corporate found that they had a manager who was a bully in their Manchester office.

Had they not have known this, and this had continued, they could have found

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Successful implementation of a high quality EAP program can help to lower medical costs, reduce staff turnover, reduce absenteeism, and promote better employee productivity” Colin Ward, Corporate Sales Director, Pacific Prime

themselves in court for allowing this behaviour to happen. With this, changes were able to made to the management team in that area, and productivity has increased three fold.

There is a further benefit to a company that implements an EAP. “An EAP works in tandem with a medical insurance scheme in that it can help manage claims cost. For example, a person may find the counseling service useful in times of stress thus avoiding a potential high cost claim on the medical insurance plan.

The EAP can contribute to a cost containment strategy for the healthcare plan, which in the UAE is exceptionally important given how rapidly the cost of medical treatment is rising,” explains Ward. n

Services of an EAP An EAP program can change dependent on the size of the policy and whom the policy is underwritten by, however, as a general rule of thumb, you can expect confidential, voluntary counselling with trained professionals over the phone with three (or more if you chose), face to face counselling sessions. These sessions cover: ll Relationship problems ll Physical and metal abuse counselling ll Substance abuse counselling ll Grief/loss counselling ll Work/family balance ll Legal counselling ll Financial counselling

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Travel and hospitality

the diamond by the sea

‘Almaz by Momo’, is the stylish and contemporary North African restaurant which is set to open it’s third location in the UAE in mid January on the beachfront adjacent to JBR ith successful and internationally renowned restaurants already established in major European cities such as London and Paris, Almaz by Momo was first welcomed by Mourad ‘Momo’ Mazouz in the Middle East in 2006. His restaurant concepts ‘Momo’ and ”Sketch” took London by storm more than a decade ago and continue to lead the industry, counting many major celebrities amongst their patrons. In much the same fashion, since it’s opening, Almaz has become an institution in the Dubai and Abu Dhabi restaurant scene, having been the winner of numerous culinary awards.

Meaning ‘diamond’ in Arabic, Almaz now features, as its centre piece, a menu that reflects influences from the North African and Levant regions, as well as an additional mix of Mediterranean dishes. They boast a talented culinary team which includes Executive Chef Mohamed Ourad, whose culinary skills and expertise have been honed over a long career working alongside Mourad Mazouz during his Executive Chef roles at Momo London, Sketch London and Momo Beirut.

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There are many items that you can choose from on their menu including Almaz’s signature Pigeon Pastilla, Tagines and CousCous alongside new and tantalising additions such as Prawns Khetaiff, Quinoa Salad, Carpaccio of Hammour and Seared Tuna. The restaurant also offers a delectable breakfast menu and business lunch option to suit neighbouring businesses who may like to conduct their business outside of the office.

A further change that the new JBR location also includes is a patisserie and ice cream section. Head Pastry Chef Faycal Hedroug, who was tutored by Pierre Gagnaire at Sketch London, has created numerous beautiful and innovative delicacies that are perfect for finishing off the meal. The patisserie will offer dine in and take away options, including homemade ice cream flavours and a wonderful array of over twelve different desserts to take away, plus ten a la Carte dine in options.

“I think of Almaz as a Daisy, at the centre we have the food, and each petal represents a value – music, service, art, ambience, - love grows from it like a leaf,” says Mourad Mazouz. n

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Entrepreneur’s v’s Intrapreneurs Everyone knows what an Entrepreneur is, they are the successful people who start up a business on their own and have been known to be described as the new rock stars of the business culture. The sad truth however remains, that for every successful entrepreneur, there are thousands who struggle daily, often never realising their dream of success ntrepreneurialism is not for everyone. Not everyone wants to go and start off on his or her own. There are many people who do not want to ‘go-it-alone’ and have to spend sleepless nights worrying that this was not the right decision for them. Realistically, this is a good thing, as otherwise we would not have people working for us. People are the backbone of business and it is people which every company needs. Sadly though, everyone tends to be put into one of two categories, the big shiny entrepreneur, or just another employee. This however is not the case. Think to your own company or companies you worked in previously. There are always people who work and think like an entrepreneur, but never make that move.

We call them intrapreneurs.

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What is an Intrapreneur?

In the most basic of terms, an intrepreneur is an employee with the highest form of employee engagement. They are someone that will run with his or her own ideas and turn it into something profitable in one form or another. They have the entrepreneurial streak, but are comfortable finding their own way within a company either by internal promotion, or climbing the career ladder. Marissa Mayer, President and CEO of Yahoo is a prime example of this. She had previously fought her way up as a Business Executive with Google, before going on to take Yahoo by storm. Marissa has key entrepreneurial talent, but choses to remain safe within company as opposed to starting out on her own.

Nuria Gonzales-Martin, Head of HR at Food Fund International says, “Intrapreneurs have the advantage of keeping up with fresh ideas and allowing the business to adapt and survive; essential

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Encouraging intrapreneurs within a business means a constant streak of creative ideas developed by employees into a profitable venture” Nuria Gonzales-Martin, Head of HR at Food Fund International

in this current market. It retains talent. On the downside it can mean that individuals are taken away from their core work to pursue something doesn’t result in increased revenue.

This will be felt more in a smaller business where there aren’t the additional employees and financial resources and they may decide to leave and set up independently after they have determined the financial viability of their idea.

Although intrapreneurs can be a risk, there is no gain without risk!”

Intrapreneurs are vital to today’s business.

They can work independently and like to

invent, innovate and want to be on the front lines of change. More importantly, they can work seamlessly as part of an integrated team structure, to effectively embrace and embody the culture of the intrapreneur’s company. Intrapreneurs are most successful when management/leadership empowers and supports them. As they are supported, they support back, representing the best interests of the organisations while earning the respect of corporate peers.

Bayt.com, the employment website, sent a questionnaire out across the region to ascertain

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An intrepreneur is an employee with the highest form of employee engagement

how intrapreneurial the region was when it comes to promoting creativity and innovation. Receiving 6,268 answers from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, their poll on ‘Innovation in the MENA’ found that; ll 83% of respondents claim their organisations have long term innovation strategies ll 44% felt rewarded by their companies for their innovation and creativity ll 69.4% felt that they have sufficient training to be able to adopt best practice l l 61.8% believe that they have improved their financial performance by thinking creatively ll 78.3% feel supported by management who experiment with their ideas

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It went on to state that 79% of companies involve their customers in innovation by asking for feedback and 77% will improve their products to keep them.

All of which illustrates how the region is harnessing their intrapreneurs.

Autonomy Often, Intrapreneurs believe that they have the autonomy of entrepreneurs because they have such a free reign to a certain extent. Sadly though, when they are told that they can’t do something, disillusionment (and therefore morale) hits, and cynicism follows. The only way of combatting this is to continue to give them as much space as possible for control, decision-making authority and budgets. Note that your realistic expectations of them may seem like unrealistic expectations to the intrapreneur.

Don’t be afraid to allow them to fail, this will

be a big learning curve that will benefit you both in the future.

How to Keep Them Intrapreneurs have made the choice to avoid risk, receive a pay cheque from you and therefore have no expectation of huge financial gains. That said, they are aware of their worth, so formal recognition by way of bonuses, promotions and pay rises should be provided in a structured format. By taking these measures, you will not be the one out of pocket as Martin explains, “Encouraging intrapreneurs within a business means a constant streak of creative ideas developed by employees into a profitable venture. The organisation gains new avenues with minimal risk, and the business gains, because the employee feels valued. Everyone wins!”

So here’s to intrapreneurs everywhere; the business world needs us now more than ever! n

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The Art of Networking

Have you ever noticed how the words ‘networking event’ can sometimes make your eyes roll involuntarily? It shouldn’t be a logical reaction, as this is how we make new business contacts, introduce our products and services, generate sales and even make friends. But sometimes, people can easily blow the opportunity to make friends and influence people Business Cards Your business card should be viewed as the single most powerful business tool you can invest in. It is compact, energy-efficient, and low cost and keeps on working for you hours, weeks and even years after it is given to potential new clients. Your business card… ll Tells people your name and the name of your business ll Provides potential clients with the means to contact you ll Gives them a taste of your work, style and personality ll Can be so unusual or charming that it stays in the memory like a television ad ll Can be reused, giving a consistent message from person to person viewing it

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Great business cards start with great design and influential copy. After that, the success of your business card as a marketing tool depends on distribution when you network.

Networking is not just handing out a business card. It will enable you to have a group of people that you are able to turn to should the need arise, and enabling others to feel the same way about you.

How to Network The art of effectively networking is very powerful. By having a collection of people that you trust, you could get free business/marketing/legal advice, or land your dream job. But what does the strategy of networking come down to? In essence it is down to you to build and maintain real relationships with people. Most importantly, it is a two-way street; you need to give as much as you take.

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Why Build a Network?

As the old adage goes, it’s not what you know; it’s whom you know! From a business prospective, initially you probably want to increase your business.

Meeting the right people, in the right areas of business will help you with that.

They will have insider information, which as the trust builds they will tell you. Or, as is often the case in the UAE, they will vouch for you, and you could be awarded a contract on the basis of your connections, as much as your ability to do the job.

Networking will not help you if you don’t know the contacts very well. You need to take the time and patience to increase the depth and width of the network. A good network is based on trust, so invest the time in properly getting to know people and making friends with those you genuinely like. The art of networking is not just about meeting people at a networking event, it is about building your base and only starts when you make the initial conversation. To build a truly successful network, you will have to ensure you retain a dialog with them, meeting with them as often as possible and talking to them just to say “Hi”. n Top Tips For Networking ll Start networking with your existing connections: Friends, distant relative and old school friends are a great way to get you to practice small talk with people you don’t know very well, but with whom you don’t feel the ordinary embarrassment of speaking with. Work on building that relationship so that you end up meeting with them face-to-face as your relationship solidifies. ll Be confident: by walking up to people and introducing yourself, you will find that they will be open to speaking to you as it probably saves them the hassle of having to take that approach themselves.

Your confidence will inspire confidence in them to reciprocate as they begin to open up about themselves. ll Smile: Smiling will always make people look friendlier and more approachable. ll Know your USPs: By having your own pitch on how good you are, your professional experience, and any other information that you wish to share with them, you will know the information that you want to share quickly.

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ll

ll

ll

Have questions prepared: Obviously, if you are meeting anyone for the first time, you want their name, business and what their business does. If you are at a specific industry event, it is best to know about the industry generally speaking. In the UAE, asking people about where they are from helps relationships.

Master small talk: find something that you have in common, such as coming from the same country, working in the same fields and/or knowing the same people.

Encourage the other person to keep sharing: get them to open up as much as possible. Ask questions, intermittently talking briefly about you. People like to talk about themselves so give them as much leeway for them to talk about as possible. Look for a passion or a problem, which enables you to empathise with them. You never know, you may both have the same passion or problem that you can meet up on and discuss in greater detail.

ll ll

ll

ll

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Listen to them: Pay attention to what it is that they are saying so you can thoughtfully respond.

What can you offer them? This is always a good one and one that I operate successfully as a writer, because everyone wants to get the free advertising! Eventually the relationship will develop so it will be mutually beneficial.

Ask whom they know: A personal introduction is the best way to meet people so never be afraid of asking! Whilst it isn’t work related, I recently needed a birthday cake to be made last minute. I recalled that my neighbor had the same problem. She called her friend, who arranged the cake at a much better cost than any of the others bakeries had been quoting.

Ask for their business card if you don’t have this already: Send them an email after asking to catch up.

Never ever ask for something from someone you don’t really know: This is direct sales and not networking.

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Top Tips from Business Leaders How to re-energise your staff after the holiday season

The little things go a long way when it comes to rewarding staff and making them feel appreciated.

We have a fun atmosphere in the office with table tennis, Xbox and other games. We have regular team breakfasts or lunches and do our best to have as much social time with the team as possible. Probably best loved would be letting people finish early. Nothing will make your team smile more than telling them they can go a couple of hours early.

Jon Richards, CEO, Compare It For Me

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Encourage them to continue with their usual fitness regime and eat healthy. Remind staff or provide clear targets and set out the rewards. A healthy workforce is a productive one!

Liam Mooney, Managing Director, Fit For Business

Organisations often spend a great deal of time and energy making their workplace attractive to candidates. “Selling” your company should never truly end if you want to keep great employees. You always need an attractive message and an enticing work environment and total rewards package.

Employees regularly need to be reminded of why it’s better to work at your company than somewhere else, so be sure to communicate the many reasons your organisation is a great place to work.

Similarly, keep abreast of what other employers are offering and continually enhance your total rewards package, culture, and work environment.

Recognise that every workplace has its weaknesses when it comes to retention.

Maybe you can’t provide many advancement opportunities or pay topdollar salaries, but you can offer intangibles like appreciation, a great company culture, and the ability to make an impact. Use your strengths as ways to re-recruit.

Chances are, these things are what attracted your employee to begin with.

James Bernard, Director of Business Development, DMCC

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business incubator

Engage the team by demanding them to share stories/experiences of their festive period starting with your own. While it takes a bit of time, it always proves valuable as it engages staff members and supports the spirit again. After couple of laughs, it is much easier to talk business again!

Zaid Maleh, CEO DACH ADVISORY I am lucky to have a small but experienced team of sales people and have a strong incentivisation policy in place. They are self-motivated and of course eager to maximise sales; and thereby maximise their remuneration!

I don’t really have to ‘get them going’ after a fun, festive period.

Caroline Jones, Director, InfoPod

Team morale is extremely important at all times. Holding regular relaxed team meetings and social gatherings outside the office always has the effect of recalibrating everyone’s temperatures. Seeking the team’s contribution and insight and making them actively involved on helping the firm grow and improve is essential. People like to be included and their voice considered.

Equally important are individual meetings to ensure management is in tune with each employee and allow each employee to air out their concerns.

More importantly, employees should be solicited to provide their own insight on how to fix and improve things in the company.

This way, everyone has an incentive to work together, as they care and aspire to the same cause.

Ludmila Yamalova, Managing Partner, HPL Yamalova & Plewka DMCC

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The future stars in our business understand we cannot take a breath, as we are growing faster than our competitors in an industry which has never faced as many challenges. I believe challenges give the best opportunities for our business and our staff, and therefore we do not entertain the human behaviour of relaxing.

There is no celebration, there is no victory lap, only more success. liam williams, ceo & publisher

Optimising energy for productivity is the fundamental principle of what we teach our corporate clients; this means using nutrition, fitness and a sound awareness of sleep and stress management, to be on your A game 365 days of the year!

Roohi Hamlani, Director, Fitness and Food

Ramadan is a big occasion for us. As per the law, we follow the working timings especially to those who are fasting. However, once it is over, we normally treat them for lunch or dinner. And for our site team, we start work earlier and finish earlier.

Jerry Gallagher, General Manager, Joint Creative Technical Services LLC

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Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim

providers and customer companies appears to have stablised over the last few years. Experts claim that 53% of companies in the Middle East indicate that they are satisfied with their provider’s capabilities.

al futtaim logistics For exporters and importers, standard challenges such as facilitating the receiving, storage, staging and loading functions in port structure as well as customs clearance are as ever paramount but have been joined by new concerns

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How has logistics changed in the Middle East?

How do you see it changing in the near future?

The business of logistics in the Middle East now depends on an easy flow of information.

Smooth movement through the supply chain results from the ability to communicate which prompted most logistics providers in the region to improve the way they enable, secure and manage information flows. Today, most companies are utilising cloud technology and smartphones as primary information tools due to the need for realtime visibility of supply chain information.

One key changing trend in logistics also lies in the closer relationship between third-party providers and their customers which is resulting in an increased efficiency. Closer integration is resulting in improved supply chain management and the IT gap between third party logistics

What are the key focuses for businesses looking to export/import nowadays?

For exporters and importers, standard challenges such as facilitating the receiving, storage, staging and loading functions in port structure as well as customs clearance are as ever paramount but have been joined by new concerns. Greater focus on supply chain risk and mitigation is now required and communications integration through every stage of the logistics management process is going to become the norm for every importer and exporter.

Technological development such as the implementation cloud technology will also help companies greatly in improving their supply chain management. By 2016, it is expected that 40% of new logistics application purchases globally will be delivered through the cloud and companies that choose to go this route will find themselves with reduced upfront costs.

Why should businesses review their logistics policies?

With companies demanding just-in-time and just-in-sync manufacturing strategies, as well as lean business processes that meet consumer expectations for instant gratification, and zero tolerance for stock-outs, companies and third party logisticians need to enable, secure and manage their information flows to ensure extremely efficient and effective supply chain management. Companies should implement real time visibility of their supply chain to overcome challenges that are

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Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics m Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtaim Logistics Al Futtai

mainly related to stock management.

Overstocking can bear a substantial cost on the bottom line of companies and this can only be avoided by implementing the latest technologies that are consistent with best practices in global logistics.

What do you believe is the future of logistics globally?

An extensive amount of opportunities is expected to come to the Middle East and to the global industry in general.

The prospective growth that is forecasted mainly in emerging consumer markets across the globe by industry experts is due to the expected rise in lateral trade over the next two decades as well as the implementation of new technologies that herald changes to supply chain execution which could make the coming years the most dynamic we have seen in the global logistics industry.

Companies should streamline and create new efficiencies through the implementation of the latest advanced and integrated technologies to ensure consistency with international best practices which will help overcome the hurdles that may arise.

Is insurance important in this? What would you advise when it comes to sourcing the right insurance policies?

Damage or complete destruction of imported/exported goods during

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transportation is a very real risk that importers/exporters face. As an example, a truck may overturn, goods may be damaged during loading or unloading, or packages may fall overboard. Accordingly, choosing an insurance provider with a solid international network is extremely important to minimize the financial burden that may be incurred.

Companies should opt for comprehensive coverage of the goods which they are exporting to minimise the risk of paying clients for any shortfalls that may occur in the shipping process.

to cater to any emergency situation.

We also provide logistics services to firms dealing with high value goods such as classic cars, and cater to institutions that are vested in temperature sensitive products in the retail, food and pharmaceuticals sector for which we are investing in new facilities, fleet and other elements to meet our demand potential.

We are also gearing up towards strengthening our involvement in the food logistics and records management segment and already secured a number of lucrative contracts which are encouraging us to focus on this sector.

How can you help unique shipping requests, such as fashion or highly sensitive deliveries?

We introduced a Garment on Hangers (GOH) solution for our customers in the fashion industry so they can efficiently cater to their customers in their showrooms.

Al-Futtaim Logistics also provides aid and relief organisations with value added and 4PL solutions, such as modifications of vehicles, retrograde movements, as well as warehouse and freight management, including multimodel solutions. The company operates charter movements to conflict zones and has 24/7 emergency operations to mobilise within 6 hours of notification

You have some really interesting shopping policies (classic cars for example). Please tell us more about these.

We provide logistics services that cater to classic and high value cars for corporates and individuals. Al-Futtaim Logistics specialises in fragile shipments and offers clients end to end solutions that make their process seamless and hassle free.

Is insurance important in this? What would you advise when it comes to sourcing the right insurance policies?

Insurance is one of the primary factors in any shipment and Al-Futtaim Logistics advises clients based on the specifications and backgrounds. n

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IBC The opportunity for the GCC is now — understand the challenges and drivers that impact you.

Nationalization, diversification, global positioning and stability are key areas for governments and businesses in the region to consider for the future of GCC growth.

The EY growth drivers report highlights how government and business can work together to address challenges and embrace opportunities in the region.

For more information visit ey.com/growthdrivers

The views set out in this publication are not necessarily the views of the Ernst & Young global organization or its member firms.

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