By Samar Khouri
• GIVING BACK •
Supporting The People Supporting The Country GIVING BACK
84
The U.A.E. has long relied on a vast and varied blue-collar workforce. Tariq Chauhan, CEO of facilities management company, EFS Facilities Services Group (EFS), is one of many leaders implementing initiatives to empower and reward the workers that make business possible.
Since it was established 50 years ago, the U.A.E. has become a hub for blue-collar workers from around the world. They have helped to build the country from the ground up, and today they continue to provide the labor force, technical skills, and maintenance services that keep the U.A.E. growing and thriving. According to digital learning and smart services platform, Smart Labour, there were 2.2 million blue-collar workers in the U.A.E. in 2018, forming 52% of the workforce. Some organizations are making efforts to recognise the role that this workforce has played in the growth of the nation. On the first day of its October launch, Expo 2020 Dubai unveiled its “Workers’ Monument,” which paid tribute to the more than 200,000 workers responsible for building the six-month world fair, by carving their names on a stone structure colonnade found at Jubilee Park. In September 2021, integrated facilities management company, EFS Facilities Services Group (EFS), was recognized by Expo 2020 Dubai for its corporate policy in driving continual improvement for its workers’ welfare. With a global workforce of 18,000, EFS has been delivering services such as technical operations and maintenance, facilities services, and project management support across F O R B E S M I D D L E E A S T.C O M
the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and Turkey since 2009. Thanks to Expo 2020 Dubai and projects in Abu Dhabi, EFS increased its workforce in Dubai to 6,500, up from 4,000 in 2020. As of November 2021, its client contract backlog was valued at $1.3 billion. According to Tariq Chauhan, CEO of EFS, it was awarded more than $156 million in new contracts in the first nine months of 2021. Since he took helm in 2010, Chauhan has put several initiatives in place to help empower workers. The company claims to spend over $136,000 on prizes, awards, and raffles for its blue-collared staff, who account for two-thirds of the workforce. “In a business like facilities management, where the margins are single digit, to put 2% to 3% of your top line costs into employee benefits and wellbeing is not an easy thing for many companies to follow,” says Chauhan. “I’m a believer that organizational performance is mostly dependent on employee satisfaction levels,” he adds. “Employee satisfaction in the new evolving workplace requires multiple initiatives. Mental health is critical. Health is critical.” But employee satisfaction is not just about financial rewards. With a large number of people in the company coming from different countries and backgrounds with DECEMBER 2021
