People Management Middle East: Issue 1

TH E C I P D M AG A Z I N E FO R TH E M I D D LE E AST

cipd.ae ISSUE ONE

Oil shock Why HR can be the biggest winner in a reset Gulf economy

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Welcome

HR’s time has come

Peter Cheese Chief executive, CIPD

You’re holding in your hands the first issue of People Management Middle East, the official magazine of the CIPD, which we hope will become not only an indispensable tool for HR professionals, but will also pique the interest of anyone who cares about the value of people to business.

The CIPD has been setting the benchmark for excellence in people and organisation development for more than 100 years. Our purpose is to champion better work and working lives – by improving practices in people and organisation development for the benefit of individuals, businesses, economies and societies.

We believe HR can make a huge difference in the Middle East. With economies shifting from an almost total reliance on oil and gas to a sustainable future as knowledge and innovation-led markets, HR can only become more important.

For many years, we have been qualifying and supporting HR professionals in the region and increasingly working with organisations to build the capability of their HR teams. Recent examples include the Saudi British Bank, Tawazun Holding and SENAAT.

If you’re working in the region, you’ll have noticed that we’ve really increased our presence on the ground over the past year.

We’ve hosted several networking events and I’ve had the honour of speaking at events like the Annual HR Summit in Bahrain and the UAE’s Federal Authority for Government HR International Conference. When we open our office in Dubai later this year, we’ll be in a position to offer local members even more networking opportunities, and our growing team there will not only be providing you with more locally relevant content and services, but also building key relationships with government bodies in the region.

I hope you enjoy the magazine and find plenty of talking points. We’re keen to get a debate started about the future of HR, and what that means in the Middle East in particular. So why not drop us a line, or follow us on social media, and let us know what you think?

Visit the website and sign up for the newsletter cipd.ae Tweet us @peoplemgt_me Join our LinkedIn group Search ‘People Management Middle East’

Contents

w TH E C I P D M AG A Z I N E FO R TH E M I D D LE E AST

cipd.ae ISSUE ONE

Oil shock Why HR can be the biggest winner in a reset Gulf economy

Who we are p5 News and analysis p6 Are you ready for the Glassdoor revolution?

Case studies p10 Dubai’s DP World and Al Salam Bank of Bahrain Debate: big data p14 Are analytics over-hyped?

Six workforce challenges to tackle now p16 How HR can prepare for the new economy

Q&A: Dr Abdul Rahman A. AL Awar p22 The FAHR director general on agile government The future is female p26 Women entrepreneurs making strides in the GCC Emotional intelligence p28 Being in touch with your feelings is good for business The Knowledge p30 Key workplace skills, with expert commentary The View From Here: Kevin Davies p34 People Management Middle East

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What do our members value?

The CIPD is the voice of a worldwide community of 140,000 members. Here is what they have to say about CIPD membership.

Most highly valued aspects of CIPD membership

84% of CIPD

Staying up to date with developments in HR and L&D

members would recommend CIPD to a colleague.

Access to member-only resources

Professional status and recognition

Membership satisfaction

34%

INFORMED

74%

EXCLUSIVITY

74%

RECOGNITION

73%

Defining professionalism

Highly satisfied

76%

Satisfied

50%

70%

Not satisfied

52%

84% satisfied of which 34% highly satisfied across all members.

16% Trust

Members think the CIPD is: EXPERT

85%

RELEVANT

82%

50%

RESPECTED

81%

Trusted for professional integrity

Qualification Up-to-date

Keeping up to date with HR and L&D

Membership

Holding a professional qualification in HR and L&D

Membership of an institute like the CIPD

For more information, get in touch at Source: CIPD Member survey, 2015

contactus@cipd.ae or vist cipd.ae

People Management is published on behalf of the CIPD by Haymarket Network and Haymarket Business Media, both divisions of Haymarket Media Group Ltd. Registered office: Teddington Studios, Broom Road, Teddington TW11 9BE, UK

Editor Robert Jeffery Deputy editor Cathryn Newbery Art editor Chris Barker Production editor Joanna Kelly Designer Richard Walker Digital content coordinator Emily Burt Picture editor Dominique Campbell Editiorial email: pmeditorial_me@haymarket.com Commercial director Cathy McDonagh Commercial email: pmsales@haymarket.com Senior production controller Alex Wilton Production manager Trevor Simpson Managing director, Haymarket Network Andrew Taplin Editorial director Simon Kanter Creative director Martin Tullett Account director Issie Peate Senior account manager Julia Saunders CIPD Publishing Margaret Marriott Repro by Haymarket Prepress Printed by Stephens & George Print Group

CONTACT THE CIPD Office 3, Ground Floor, Block 2B, Dubai Knowledge Village PO Box 503231, Dubai cipdme@cipd.ae COPYRIGHT © All rights reserved. This publication (or any part thereof) may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in print or electronic format (including, but not limited, to any online service, any database or any part of the internet), or in any other format in any media whatsoever, without the prior written permission of Haymarket Media Group Ltd, which accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.

Powering HR’s growth HR today is a global discipline.

Whether you work in a purely domestic business or a multinational based in multiple locations, HR leaders and practitioners all face similar challenges and similar opportunities.

With globalisation making the world smaller, increasing global political and economic uncertainty, the speed of advancements in technology and social and demographic change, the challenges and opportunities facing HR are immense. But this also makes it an incredibly exciting time to work in HR. That’s where the CIPD comes in. As the only professional body for HR and L&D in the world that awards Chartered status, the CIPD contributes to the development of HR internationally, sets and maintains HR standards, and works with governments, organisations and partners to help fulfil its broader mission of championing better work and working lives.

The Middle East edition of People Management reflects the CIPD’s expansion across the region, from a central hub office in Dubai. It already counts thousands of local HR professionals as members, and is working with organisations of all sizes and sectors to assess and quantify the many benefits of professional HR practice, and of internationally recognised qualifications.

There are two routes to attaining the prestigious CIPD designations of Associate Member, Chartered Member and Chartered Fellow. The first is by gaining a CIPD qualification and the second is through Experience Assessment – an opportunity for experienced HR leaders and practitioners, who have not attained an HR qualification, to gain the designation.

But there’s more to membership, and the CIPD itself, than the qualification. From networking and sharing best practice to advocacy and advice, visit the website at cipd.ae or get in touch to find out more.

People Management Middle East

5

I hate my job

All our managers are awful

The canteen is too expensive

What are your staff saying about you?

WORDS EMILY BURT

Glassdoor

had read a review of an employer before going to an interview.

Many Middle Eastern companies already feature on the site.

Multinationals such as EY and Deloitte have garnered dozens of local reviews, while the As employees turn to review site Glassdoor to rate their companies, like of Emirates, Jumeirah and Qatar HR professionals are urged to arm themselves with the facts Petroleum have all been reviewed, It would be almost unthinkable, in today’s Glassdoor claims to have 30 million mostly positively, by existing employees. digitally savvy age, to book a holiday without users globally, who have posted more than Umran Mehmood, director of HR finding out what other travellers thought eight million reviews. In the UK and US in Source Consulting in Dubai, says there are on TripAdvisor, or to buy a book without particular, the savage nature of some reviews powerful reasons to take note of what’s said investigating the views of readers on Amazon. has shocked businesses, and the site has about your organisation on Glassdoor: “It And now the idea of crowdsourced reviews is begun producing lists of the best employers gives employers scope and reason to change coming to the GCC workplace, as Glassdoor as rated by its users. It has steadily become a unethical practices, and offers a potential – the ‘employee review’ site that is firmly staple of the recruitment process: in the UK, employee an insight into the company. entrenched in Europe and the US – spreads 68 per cent of candidates say Glassdoor is a Employers could use it to improve their its wings across the Middle East and Asia. believable source of information, making it brand to create competitive advantage.”

On Glassdoor, staff offer their opinions more trusted than companies’ own collateral, Jamie Ong, HR business partner at on the pros and cons of their workplaces, according to a survey from Career Design Fairchild Semiconductor, adds: “Glassdoor and post details including average salaries Coaching. It is common for Glassdoor reviews can help HR professionals and even the type of questions that are comments to be raised during interviews, and understand how employees feel about the asked at interviews. in the US 90 per cent of jobseekers say they organisation. They can also use it to find out

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People Management Middle East

News and analysis News in numbers

9

million

Number of Muslim women who have joined the labour force across Arab countries in the past 10 years

SUPERSTOCK

24% how competitors match up in terms of hiring and salary. It’s an open channel, and any opinion matters.”

On Glassdoor, The question is staff can rate their how to respond businesses – and to reviews, share their salary particularly negative ones. Unilever is among a growing number of companies that opts for total transparency, actively encouraging employees and candidates to rate it – the FMCG giant’s recruitment site even links to its Glassdoor listing.

Others choose to offer responses to critical comments, though this runs the risk of appearing to ‘manage’ the conversation.

In the July issue of People Management, Rob Walker, head of resourcing at disability charity Mencap, suggested occasional employer intervention could help: “Those rare cases where an employee or applicant has outright falsified their version of events can be catastrophic. I believe there is an argument for a short, dispassionate response putting the record straight.”

But no matter how you respond, being aware of the public dialogue about your firm is fast becoming non-negotiable. The online conversation will continue regardless.

Current level of female labour market participation across the Middle East and North Africa

80% Proportion of GCC HR professionals expect their salaries to increase this year

41% Proportion of Middle East millennials who say “challenging work” is their main reason for seeking leadership, ahead of power or earning potential SOURCES: MCKINSEY, HAYS, HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

LEGAL UPDATE

Sarah Lawrence, senior legal consultant at DLA Piper in Dubai, gives an overview of legislation and case law HR professionals should be aware of

New Saudi labour laws It’s only been a decade since the last labour law was enacted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

But a new set of laws, which entered the statute books on 18 October, will affect almost every employer in the country.

Aimed at reducing unemployment among Saudi nationals and bridging the gap between their employment levels in the public and private sectors, the key amendment in the legislation is the requirement for all employers to develop formal “internal regulations” – policies and procedures such as a staff handbook. The details are as yet unclear, but it should be possible to add policies over and above the Ministry of Labour’s model regulations. It isn’t clear whether the ministry will require approval of regulations.

Redundancy is now officially recognised in the Kingdom – provided a business is either closing down entirely, or is terminating a particular activity – but it may still be difficult for employers to justify individual or small-scale redundancies.

Other important considerations concern training of Saudi nationals (who must account for 12 per cent of the workforce), whistleblowing,

extensions of marriage and paternity leave and changes to the Nitaqat system: the percentage of local nationals who must be employed before new visas can be issued for foreigners has been revised, with further amendments expected.

✶ bit.ly/saudilabourlaw

Tackling discrimination in the UAE The recent Federal Law preventing discrimination and hatred in the UAE will have significant ramifications for businesses. While the law is, in essence, an attempt to combat religious contempt and intolerance and clamp down on extremism, it creates a general standalone criminal offence of discrimination covering “any distinction, limitation, exception or preference among individuals or communities on the basis of religion, Islamic Madhhab, belief, sect, creed, race, colour or ethnic origin”.

Managers must be made aware of the law and its implications, not least because “managers, representatives or agents of a company” are jointly liable if employees commit continued overleaf People Management Middle East

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News and analysis

an offence in the name and on behalf of an organisation. This could particularly affect social media, where comments can easily be attributed to a company – HR professionals are advised to ensure policies are up to date. ✶ bit.ly/UAEdiscriminationlaw

Health insurance takes off All UAE businesses with more than 100 employees are now required to provide health insurance, under a widely anticipated law. While most companies, particularly those with white collar workers, already offer insurance, those that fail to comply will now be liable for picking up the tab if their staff require treatment.

Implementation of a similar law in Qatar has been delayed, but is still expected by the end of 2016. ✶ bit.ly/dubaihealthinsurance

Businesses urged to offer work experience Report highlights skills ‘timebomb’ as just 27 per cent of companies engage young people in the workplace Employers in the Middle East are missing out on the chance to tap into a pool of youthful talent by failing to offer work experience, according to a new report that highlights the region’s troubling skills gaps.

In How will the GCC close the skills gap?, management consultancy EY finds that only 27 per cent of private sector companies offer work experience or internship programmes, and only 30 per cent of students say they have been able to take

Limited exposure to business is holding back GCC students

News in brief

New payroll rules in Qatar Qatar has introduced wage protection rules similar to those in use in the UAE, under which employees must be paid in a specific, designated Qatari bank account. There are provisions around prompt payment of wages, with serious sanctions in place for failure to comply.

Employers are advised to audit their payroll arrangements and pay particular attention to any staff members who are paid in part or in full via foreign accounts, to ensure that the arrangements are legally compliant. ✶ bit.ly/qatarwageprotection

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People Management Middle East

UAE staff retain optimism Employees in the UAE remain positive about the employment outlook, according to a new survey. A poll of more than 8,000 people, by Bayt.com and YouGov, found 46 per cent expected job availability in the Emirates to grow within the next six months, with widespread optimism over the number of industries that are hiring.

A little over half of employed respondents said they were satisfied with their career growth opportunities, while 38 per cent were satisfied with their current compensation.

This is despite Dubai climbing 44 places and Abu Dhabi 35 places in Mercer’s 2015 Cost

of Living survey, on the back of reduced oil subsidies.

Oil and gas hiring plummets The number of job opportunities in the oil and gas sector has dropped 21 per cent over the past year, according to the latest Employment Index from Monster Gulf.

Oil and gas has suffered the largest contraction of any sector over the period, ahead of production/manufacturing, automotive and ancillary (17 per cent) and FMCG (11 per cent).

“Oil and gas exhibits the most notable decline in opportunities from a year ago,” says Sanjay Modi, regional managing director of Monster.com. “This slowdown comes as no surprise

given the global ramifications and the hiring freeze the sector is undergoing.”

There was more positive news in banking, financial services and insurance, which saw employment rise 35 per cent, while healthcare was the only sector to see employment grow during August.

Work-life balance ‘must be a priority’ Gulf organisations are increasing employee burnout by failing to take work-life balance seriously, according to one of the region’s most prominent headhunters.

Payal Bhatia (right), Dubaibased business partner for recruitment agency Robbert

ALAMY

LEGAL UPDATE continued

Big thinkers advantage of work experience opportunities.

At the same time, more than half of organisations say graduates’ lack of work experience presented a significant problem, with employers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar particularly affected.

“The exposure of young people to business, and ideas of enterprise and entrepreneurship, is very limited,” says Will Cooper, partner and MENA government social infrastructure leader at EY in Dubai. “In more developed economies such as the UK, young people are getting career guidance at school from as early as 12 or 13 years old.”

A third of private sector employers report that local graduates lack the behavioural attributes – such as communication skills, discipline and commitment to work – that are essential to long-term career success.

“A university student from the GCC is probably about two to three years behind their UK peer in terms of business and employability skills,” says Cooper. “It’s a timebomb.”

Murray & Associates, says staff are leaving good positions because of the detrimental effects of stress on their health: “There is a demand on staff to consistently ‘overperform’ and deliver results. But the short-term gains do not justify the debilitating impact on their long-term emotional wellbeing, social life and health.”

Bhatia urges HR to be “proactive” in bringing the issues to the attention of regional leaders. “By improving work-life balance for staff, they will also see lower expenses, increased productivity and a better bottom line,” she says.

The latest round-up of inspiring ideas for HR professionals Dave Ulrich wants us to rethink what it means to be a good leader – and how we evaluate those in the top jobs. The HR guru’s latest book, The Leadership Capital Index, is an appeal for analysts, investors and other financial stakeholders to recognise exceptional leadership above the ephemeral or charismatic. Challenging numerous conventional beliefs, Ulrich argues that truly exceptional leadership depends on context and cannot be dictated by a rulebook. He does, however, suggest that awareness of wellbeing, a subdued ego, strategic thinking and accountability are all hallmarks of great leadership. Ulrich urges HR professionals to approach leadership as the product of a great collaborative effort, rather than the work of one outstanding individual.

CEOs will happily accept a pay cut to be associated with an excellent brand, Nader Tavassoli, professor of marketing at London Business School, has found.

In a study of more than 2,500 senior US executives, Tavassoli and his team discovered that chief executives are, on average, willing to have their pay reduced by 12 per cent to work for a brand that was 25 per cent stronger than average.

“A well-regarded brand can do more than just help recruit the best leadership talent, it can also benefit the bottom line by lowered payroll,” says Tavassoli. “HR teams should therefore leverage brand equity as much as they would more traditional benefits.”

More and more firms are looking beyond profits and focusing on performing a social good, but, in Getting Beyond Better, strategy guru Roger Martin and Skoll Foundation

president and CEO Sally Osberg explain that it’s not a straightforward task. Through a series of case studies, the pair uncover how social entrepreneurs change unfair systems by getting inside them, understanding the points of view of those involved and taking direct action to create a better system.

A study by Harvard Business School has – perhaps controversially – revealed that women are less attracted to positions of power than men. In a survey of more than 4,000 people, researchers Francesca Gino, Alison Wood Brooks and Caroline Wilmuth discovered that women are warier of the potential pitfalls of accepting a high-powered role and are less likely to pursue professional advancement opportunities. This is despite men and women believing equally in their ability to achieve in the workplace and to climb the corporate ladder.

New hires might think they are starting with a clean slate, but, according to a study from Stanford Graduate School of Business, who you know still matters. By surveying 251 MBA and law students, researcher Adina D Sterling concluded that a newcomer who had an unremarkable academic history but already knew someone at the company would be able to network quicker with coworkers than someone with a better educational record who didn’t know anyone at the business. This benefit disappears, however, if the pre-existing contact has already told others about the new recruit’s poor track record, which would lead them to potentially struggle ys the best Dave Ulrich sa oduct to bond with their pr leadership is a tion ra bo lla co t ea colleagues. of gr

“HR here used to be like the police.

That had to change” DP World, Dubai

DP World’s HR leader on the challenges of making one of the Emirates’ most successful private businesses into a global player

I

WORDS WILL RANKIN PHOTOGRAPHY INEKE ZONDAG

f Robin Windley is overawed by the sense of responsibility that comes with being senior vice president of human capital for a business that generates 20 per cent of the United Arab Emirates’ GDP, his general air of affability hides it well.

From his corner office, the British executive has a spectacular view of Jebel Ali Free Zone, the vast business centre fringed by one of the largest ports in the world, Jebel Ali Port. It is a conurbation, it has been said, that is visible from space. Hyperbole or not, Jebel Ali is one of the 10 busiest container ports in the world, and DP World’s 36,000-strong workforce is responsible for managing it. By 2030, expansion plans should make it the largest port anywhere.

DP World manages even more besides.

The business – part-owned by the Dubai Government (and formerly called Dubai Ports) – is now a major logistics player operating on every continent with an enviable growth record, despite a relatively low corporate profile.

The business, says Windley, is a national asset. But its footprint brings challenges, including the centralisation of HR. “It’s impossible to micro-manage,” he says.

“There’s no single template. We can set the [global] standard, but there have to be local variations, such as adhering to the quirks of employment law. We have a central system but allow regions some freedom as to what’s appropriate for them.”

Having worked in Oman, Singapore and the Netherlands before he came to

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People Management Middle East

Dubai, Windley has seen HR in a variety of different situations. In the Middle East, he feels the function has huge opportunities but is still finding its way.

“Some organisations are very progressive, seeing HR as a partner,” he says. “Others see it as transactional, where it’s more personnel – dealing with annual leave, flights and contractual issues rather than manpower.”

13.64m

$675m

Estimated number of containers handled by Jebel Ali Port in 2013

DP World’s 2014 net profit, up 11.8 per cent

DP World Dubai Persian Gulf

Palm Jebel Ali

Jebel Ali Port

DP World

Windley is very clear which model he prefers, with HR team members empowered to take individual responsibility for specific areas. “There’s a 50-50 split between function and cross-function activity, and I see my role as trying to reinforce what my team is working on,” Windley says. “I can’t close my door… there are a lot of meetings.”

HR, believes Windley, should take the lead in customer-centricity. Just as DP World aims to maintain a culture of service in its ports across the globe, so HR must be responsive to the needs of employees. “We are here to facilitate employees to be able to function properly in their job,” he says.

“We want to make their lives as smooth as possible. But one of our challenges is being seen as a partner, not just a service. It works very well, but at more junior levels we are re-emphasising our role.

“When I joined, my priority was to get the fundamentals right. At that point, HR was more like a policing function than a co-operative one. We had to tighten up and improve on that.”

As an Emirati company operating globally, DP World has an opportunity to export local cultures and working practices across the globe. But not all businesses associated with one location choose to adopt its culture internationally: while McDonald’s could probably call its culture American no matter where it operates, Nestlé, for example, would argue it has a more international culture that facilitates global mobility. Others prefer to treat each local entity as its own micro-culture.

Case studies

Robin Windley wants HR in DP World to be seen as a partner, not just a function

Windley says that in many locations, having the Dubai name is a distinct advantage. “Dubai is a global success story, and an asset. But while having Dubai in the company name is an asset, DP World is an asset to Dubai – we are better known outside Dubai than inside. We are a major employer, partnering with ministries, authorities and governments. In many port towns we are the largest employer, a responsibility we take very seriously – we make sure we engage with society beyond the gate,” he says.

“In business, you don’t just import labour.

You employ and develop the locals.

That’s the value we are bringing to the countries we operate in.

We offer training

“Younger staff are more concerned about ethics than their job security”

across our global network, so someone from Dhaka might receive training and development from working in Singapore.

There are lessons to be learned everywhere.”

Many of DP World’s most prominent locations are particularly youthful, and Windley says engaging younger workers is “always challenging… The drivers for the millennial generation are different. They are more concerned with ethics than job security. We have to make sure we present a proposition that meets their expectations.

Technology levels must appeal. They want information immediately, and they want to know how their career paths look.”

Emiratisation, however, is less of an issue. As a global headquarters, DP World does not have to fulfil a quota of locals.

“As a high performing company and major employer, it’s our responsibility to ensure the right person does the right role,” says Windley, while pointing out the business has a specific training and development

programme for nationals wishing to work at head office.

The Jebel Ali Port operation, with 7,000 employees, has a much greater responsibility to integrate nationals into the business.

Windley oversees a graduate management development programme to ease local employees into management. But it isn’t all about the top jobs: not so long ago, he says, a crane operator had to deal with huge amounts of noise while operating cumbersome equipment. Today, DP World counts young Emirati females among its crane crew. “Cranes are operated remotely from clean, quiet offices,” says Windley.

“Those who grew up on PlayStations and the Xbox have the requisite skills to operate cranes, as they are operated by joystick.”

The ports industry is traditionally skewed towards a male workforce, a situation Windley is acutely aware of. “We are not only addressing the issue, but leading it. We have just started an initiative, supported People Management Middle East

11

by the CEO, to encourage greater gender diversity across the global workforce, as well as encouraging those with disabilities to work with DP World. Cultural diversity is a given for us. In terms of this side of the business, HR itself is more than 50 per cent female, while the communications department only employs two men.”

Convincing a broader cohort to consider a career with what remains a largely blue-collar business is one of Windley’s foremost preoccupations. “To anyone who is aware of DP World, it’s a company they would like to work for,” he says. “But as an industry, we are not ‘sexy’. We are not B2C [business-to-consumer] so we don’t have the same visibility. There’s a need for us to show people the advantages of working for us.

“It’s fine to sell the organisation, but we have to make sure people get the right induction. We have to offer growth opportunities for them to remain part of the family. All our employees are ambassadors.”

At present, he says, attrition rates are “too low”. It’s a fine balance, he concedes, between making people feel wanted and encouraging an adequate turnover of staff: “We certainly won’t push people out of the door… it’s a nice problem to have.”

Windley is also addressing the company’s L&D initiatives, and the challenge of staff finding time to undergo development programmes. “The problem has never been availability and funding,” he says. “Even when the recession hit, we never removed funding.

We have a strong programme to ensure we are developing the right level of performance and consistency. Globally, the DP World Institute [which offers online training] helps guarantee this. We work with London Business School, Cranfield University and Harvard Business School.”

A forthcoming ‘smart’ app will help encourage a culture of continuous improvement, says Windley. Experts from other industries are getting involved in his training efforts, and HR’s own performance levels are being probed to ensure the function exceeds industry standards.

It sounds exhausting. Fittingly, wellness is the final piece of the HR jigsaw. “We want to create a work environment that enhances wellbeing. We have a programme of ergonomic assessment, a subsidised canteen and a gymnasium,” says Windley. A nursery will follow in 2016. And in the meantime, he points to the fitness wearable attached to his wrist. Everyone in the business has been offered one. But you suspect nobody else is putting theirs through its paces to quite the same degree.

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People Management Middle East

Al Salam Bank, Bahrain

“If banks closed their doors, where would graduates go?”

A summer internship that began as a CSR initiative proved to be a worthy investment amid the global shortage of Islamic banking professionals WORDS HEBA HASHEM

I

n an industry as young, fragmented and fast-growing as Islamic banking, competition for skilled individuals will inevitably become intense. And Al Salam Bank Bahrain BSC knows this only too well, operating from a relatively isolated country where only a handful of educational institutes specialise in the discipline.

“In Bahrain, the number of Islamic banking professionals is very limited considering the geographical area. So when you have high-performing individuals, they can be easily taken,” says Muna Al Balooshi, group head of human resources at Al Salam Bank.

The nascence of the sector also means that new recruits are difficult to find. “There is a general lack of local, qualified people in certain areas, such as in Shari’ah, and in Islamic banking you have to be compliant with Shari’ah. We as HR people

seriously have to look around when recruiting Bahrainis.”

According to the Gulf Talent Survey of HR managers, 55 per cent of Bahraini employers reported nationalisation as a key human resource challenge in 2014.

Nevertheless, Al Salam retains a high ratio of nationals; out of 378 personnel, 89 per cent are Bahrainis. This can be largely attributed to the bank’s annual summer internships, that often lead to graduate placements. Although the training programme began as a social responsibility initiative, it rapidly evolved into an integral component of Al Salam’s HR strategy.

Every year, the bank targets fresh graduates across local and international universities, with priority given to the University of Bahrain. “As the only government university in the country, we have to support them,” says Al Balooshi. “We coordinate

“When you have skilled individuals, they can easily be taken away”

Case studies In its nine-year history, the Al Salam bank has trained more than 250 students

14,900

Number of people employed in the Bahraini financial services sector

18%

Estimated contribution of the financial services industry to Bahrain’s overall GDP

Al Salam Bank Karbabad Beach Manama

Al Salam Bank Bahrain Fort and Museum

they can complete the tasks assigned to them.”

Awareness sessions, on the other hand, introduce the interns to Islamic banking functions such as Shari’ah, treasury and capital markets, compliance and anti-money laundering, credit and market risk, internal audit – practices which, according to Al Balooshi, are not Al Salam targets extensively taught in graduates from universities. local and international Most Islamic banks universities today are less than with their student counselling office, which 40 years old. Al Salam only turned nine each semester asks us to allocate a number this year, yet the bank has already raised of seats for its graduates. We then check the largest initial public offering in the with all departments how many trainees country’s history, surpassing $7 billion, and they need, before assigning them to the acquired BMI Bank, the Bahraini affiliate relevant department.” of Oman’s Bank Muscat. Such explosive A crucial goal for Al Salam is that growth led to a demand for more interns. its interns get “real” training, by From just five in 2007, the programme understanding exactly what their hosted 30 trainees in 2015. Altogether, the department is doing. “If we place a trainee bank has trained more than 250 people, in corporate or retail banking, we ensure the majority of them nationals. “Al Salam he or she leaves with a good background has always been a pioneer in developing knowledge of that department’s role within young Bahrainis,” says Al Balooshi. the bank,” says Al Balooshi. “We don’t “If we as bankers were not supportive rotate trainees, because two months is and closed our doors, where will these a short time do that. The department needs graduates go and how will they get their them to be there for the entire period so banking experience?”

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The debate

Are analytics over-hyped?

Big data has been heralded as HR’s magic bullet. But, as these experts argue, the reality is more complicated than it seems INTERVIEWS WILL RANKIN

Debbie Arrowsmith Dubai-based HR consultant

We can all benefit – but data analysis will require a skills reboot in HR In HR, we spend thousands on software, but now we are entering an era where we need to look properly at how to make data work for us. It’s a great opportunity for the industry to develop, to grow and to change – we can all benefit from challenging ourselves.

Samie Al-Achrafi CEO, Marmalade Fish

But we need to think carefully about metrics, measurement and what we are analysing before leaping into predictive modelling. The HR skillset is ‘soft’ and this sort of high-level analysis requires a skills reboot. Big data could divide HR into those with soft skills and those with analytical abilities. We may even see people lose their jobs as ‘soft’ HR roles are replaced with more IT-based positions, though it will change the face of HR in

Until the core stats are reliable, using data for planning and prediction is meaningless When cultures commit to being data-driven, data can dictate what employees should do next. That’s not liberation – it’s servitude. Data can end up removing choice instead of creating it.

The board and executive committee understand the need for big data, but they don’t trust it and are overwhelmed by it. HR systems are notorious for inconsistencies 14

People Management Middle East

and inaccuracies, rendering it difficult to even get the basics right. Until the core statistics are reliable, using the organisation’s data for planning and prediction is meaningless.

Big data will completely change HR, where people are already overstretched. There will be more requirements for reporting, research and number crunching. HR teams should ask themselves: ‘Does this metric really tell us anything?’ For example, good managers develop and promote good people in their department, but this is very hard to measure, as teams are diverse in

terms of gaining greater respect in the boardroom and across other business functions.

We need to decide how to make the best use of big data, learn how to analyse and dissect that data, and ensure data-driven decisions and predictions are having a tangible, positive effect on the company.

The biggest question for the board is, how much will it cost? If we can answer that, it will lead to a greater understanding of HR’s role, as well as closer ties between HR, finance and the IT department.

size and there are several variables to consider. I would suggest don’t measure it.

There is a premise that better data means better business, but it takes people to analyse it, and analyse it in the right way. It doesn’t address the lack of capabilities to even use, let alone drive, the data. To meet this demand, HR must focus on developing and hiring technologysavvy experts who have the skills to understand and use broad-based company and market data. Big data will become more useful and less problematic when we have the analytical tools in place, and the right metrics.

Ali Al-Aradi HR lecturer, VTDI training institute, Bahrain

Big data will allow HR to move beyond traditional management to become more predictive than reactionary I believe big data offers a new opportunity to make data-driven decisions, which will tie HR into business strategy. It will take HR metrics beyond simple headcount and into real-time decision-making.

HR planning and analysis teams are strong allies, in part

because they experience the same demands to combine HR and financial data into actionable analytics that are meaningful to the organisation. In their efforts to provide full visibility of workforce data and trends to the executive leadership team, HR can use predictive modelling in the same way marketing teams use big data to predict customer behaviour and patterns.

Without big data, it is very easy for HR to jump to the wrong conclusions, particularly when it comes to issues of staffing levels

or organisational structure. That’s why companies in countries like Bahrain are making the big data revolution happen, across the private and public sectors.

We need to promote more understanding of the benefits of big data, and its potential to solve real business problems. Alongside this, we must develop employees with the quantitative skills for big data, who can see beyond the traditional statistical methods of the HR function.

Matthew Mee Managing director, CIPD Middle East

We have the opportunity to overtake the rest of the world Organisations hold huge amounts of information on their workforce that is redundant, so in the last two years we have seen the ‘big data’ wave move into the HR space – with several industry leaders, specialist consultancies, software companies, communities and bloggers driving the debate and building a new industry and functional discipline for HR. There are challenges, of course, but there are also huge

opportunities, and the Middle East region genuinely has the opportunity to overtake and lead ‘great practice’ in HR analytics on an international scale.

We are more agile and innovative, but our challenge in the short term will be capability: building a robust and scalable HR analytics strategy is dependent on the vision and experience of the HR leader and the teams delivering the ‘big data’ programme. HR has to adapt quickly and think about how HR insights can add business value or solve business problems.

Linking HR data to revenue, profitability, customer satisfaction and advocacy is a great starting point – and you can begin by looking into the parts of your business that are facing commercial challenges. What is happening with people in a particular part of the business that might be causing a problem or limiting progress?

It’s also about HR making the leap to look at HR data through a multi-dimensional lens – and less in silos. For example, in key parts of the business, is there a link between falling revenues and high-performer attrition levels? And how does this correlate with engagement measures, recruitment trends or compensation benchmarking?

I am convinced new ‘workforce’ insights and decisions will change the way organisations approach HR – and as this new discipline matures with the injection of new skills (like data scientists and statisticians), we will see the organisations that are the fastest and most effective adopters reap the commercial returns.

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The six workforce challenges you must tackle now Cover story

Something is stirring in the GCC. The flatlining oil price and the newfound maturity of many local economies are forcing organisations to think afresh about their business models, and to call time on the era of short-term, expat-reliant workforces in search of something more sustainable. But what does that mean for HR professionals and business leaders planning for the future? People Management speaks to a range of experts to build a comprehensive picture of the challenges organisations face in a reset GCC economy – and the innovative ways they are finding to flourish.

WORDS MARK TOWNSEND

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1 Find and

develop talented nationals

T

he GCC workforce faces profound challenges if it is to match the productivity levels of G20 economies: local businesses must be at the forefront of a drive to work both smarter and harder. But if their endeavours are to result in the widest possible and most sustainable prosperity, they must harness local talent at a time when the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and others are desperately trying to rebalance their economies away from oil and an overreliance on the public sector.

Dr Kai Chan, distinguished fellow at INSEAD’s Innovation and Policy Initiative in Abu Dhabi, says the current experience of the UAE offers a wider set of lessons for the region’s policymakers. “Around 95 per cent of Emiratis in the labour force work for a government entity, whereas less than 1 per cent of private sector employees are locals,” he says. There is an entrenched antipathy by locals towards the private sector, and major hurdles must be overcome if these figures are to change. The background isn’t hard to understand: generally, government jobs pay more, have shorter working hours and the national pension scheme for UAE nationals is non-transferable to the private sector.

Chan says a major challenge is creating skills among Emiratis that are attractive to the private sector. Few currently graduate with degrees in STEM subjects. He suggests governments must align their policies with tactical goals. The UAE’s ‘National Agenda (Vision 2021)’ sets clear aspirations for more sustainable Emiratisation, and there is every indication the government is solidly behind the plan. But Chan highlights the aims to increase the proportion of Emiratis in the private sector to 6 per cent, even though they only account for 11 per cent of

the population and historically have lower labour force participation rates.

The way forward, says Chan, is to continue blending the immediate need to increase participation of nationals in the private sector with the longer-term objective of relying less on expatriate talent. There have been tentative steps among private sector firms to support this objective, such as the recent HSBC Leadership Programme, which identified high-potential Emiratis from organisations including Etisalat, Etihad and the Department of Finance, and offered them a course in leadership skills and innovation.

Indeed, the finance sector – where participation rates stand at more than 30 per cent – is a shining example of how greater nationalisation can work hand in hand with economic prosperity. A slowdown in public sector recruitment, driven by plummeting oil prices, may act as a lubricant for such ideas to become more widespread. But members of the UAE’s Federal National Council have become increasingly vocal in demanding quotas for the integration of Emiratis into the private sector workforce, and Chan sees them as inevitable: “Ideally, the government sets a target for a given industry and firms are either incentivised or obligated to have a certain number of nationals on payroll.”

The UAE’s Federal National Council wants integration of locals to happen faster

REUTERS/CORBIS

95%

force of Emiratis in the labourent ity work for a government private – less than 1 per cent ofnationals sector employees are

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2 Make

must change if there is to be a lasting impression on an organisation. “Too often, organisations evaluate success or failure based on the level of response of the participants,” says Kingl.

“More often, it’s about how much fun the participant has had. But learning can be a wake-up call – it might not Learning takes years to always be fun.” embed, says Adam Kingl Organisations that are still at a relatively nascent stage of L&D development have the opportunity to bypass the attitudes of their peers and leap straight into the fast-evolving field of social learning.

This abandons the didactic model of trainer-led learning and encourages employees to learn from each other. It ulf governments have invested substantially in connects them through enterprise social networks to talk about educating today’s cohort of graduates. But when what they’re learning, and uses videos, ‘lunch and learn’ workplace they reach the workplace, are they getting the talks and internal wikis to capture knowledge, supplemented by learning opportunities they need to flourish? Many access to external experts and industry peers through social media.

L&D experts suggest the quality and frequency of As Kingl puts it: “A single download of content isn’t effective… workplace learning in the Middle East lags behind a learning journey is built across years.” Companies such as Oman Asia or Europe, and economic uncertainty often means Oil and UAE-based Aldar Properties have both used training budgets are among the first to take a battering. learning interventions to encourage cross-functional But Adam Kingl, executive director of learning collaboration, he adds. solutions, executive education at London Business There is also a place for structured internships, an School, says organisations realise things need to change area where GCC organisations have traditionally – if only because the status quo is simply unsustainable. been found lacking. Companies are beginning to see Key tools for capturing “Organisations across the GCC are telling us they need the value in offering young employees a concerted and encouraging social to undergo fundamental changes,” he says. “It might be learning programme which broadens their exposure learning include: due to increased nationalisation and they want a joinedto different areas of the business and ensures they • Blogs up leadership culture, or they might want to create have the support they require to develop. a common vocabulary, toolkits and combined skills.”

“We are seeing a trend, particularly in the • Podcasts Many companies, he adds, are considering new business technology sector, for which internships can create • Videos ventures as they prepare for a downturn precipitated by a strong pipeline of talent,” says Ali Matar, head • Wikis and collaborative the fall in oil prices. of talent solutions at LinkedIn MENA. “Another editing tools Surviving challenging times demands leadership, approach is offering UAE nationals structured and • Collaborative strong strategic objectives and the ability to execute, quality internships to strengthen their competitive working tools Kingl says. These areas can only be addressed by positioning in the job market. Some combine these, • Mind mapping building a culture of continuous learning, which like the SAP Academy in Dubai, which trains both • Social networks, means the perception of learning interventions UAE nationals and other interns on ERP solutions.”

G

What does social learning look like?

including enterprise social networks

SOURCE: CENTRE FOR LEARNING & PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGIES

workplace learning really work

3 Understand

the importance of good HR

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s companies vie for talent, and CEOs become increasingly aware of the value of people to their future prosperity – not to

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mention the detrimental cost of bad hires or rotten cultures – HR is becoming more mature, and more involved in business strategy. Alexandros Kopitsas, HR director

at Johnson & Johnson in Dubai, says this is an inevitable byproduct of a wider business maturity: “Companies are realising the importance of better quality people management, owing to the fact employees have choices and are no longer loyal to one company.” Kopitsas says the main reason for leaving an organisation is usually poor management skills or poor leadership. That Nairouz Bader is keen for HR departments to expand their skills

4 Make

wellbeing a corporate priority

SUPERSTOCK

“O

Cover story and encourages organisational loyalty.

“HR departments in the region are not given much leeway to be as creative and innovative as they would like around wellbeing,” says Bader. “But this is a growing region, and HR practices in this area will grow with it.”

DHL Express is one company taking the lead. Its Dubai office includes a fitness centre, a café offering healthy food, health check-ups and sports activities. Other businesses are beginning to introduce enhanced healthcare benefits. As nationalisation programmes emphasise the importance of long-term planning over opportunism, the era of seeing people as a natural resource rather than an investment looks over. Will employers grasp the wellbeing challenge?

ne of the best Bader puts it: “GCC countries do not offer assets employers citizenship, and resident talent looks at have on working in the region as a temporary their balance stage.” As a consequence, there is sheet is their insufficient emphasis on ensuring employees,” employees are both physically and says Markus Giebel, the CEO of mentally fit for the job, and Eternity Medicine, a corporate that problems – whether healthcare provider in Dubai. underlying illness or stressEstimated return “If you have healthy, productive related conditions – are dollar invested in not properly diagnosed, let and happy employees, you have a per employee wellness healthy balance sheet. The region alone actively incentivising programmes, is suffering critical health issues, according to RAND employees to maintain Corporation and companies need to be the their personal health. main driver promoting health.”

This may change as a For too many organisations, wellbeing move to mandate comprehensive remains a woolly concept. Kopitsas says insurance for all employees gathers ealthy aging h this is partly due to corporate cultures that pace, particularly in the UAE. Encour an bring eating c te returns encourage hard work and a focus on the Active management of personal ia immed job, rather than a work-life balance. As wellbeing decreases insurance costs,

$1.50

has translated into enhanced investment in leadership development through a combination of assessments, training and coaching. In-house coaching has surged as companies try to ensure managers lead and involve their teams more effectively. Better talent management, succession planning and internal communication are next on the agenda, says Kopitsas.

But a drive towards more effective HR must be matched by a similar appetite for professional standards, says Alan Ovens, international director for the CIPD. “There is an increasing demand from HR leaders, HR practitioners and business leaders to become a licensed profession,” he says.

“Recent market research in Asia and the

Middle East showed more than 70 per cent of HR leaders think it’s important for employees in HR and L&D to hold professional membership, and they believe HR should become a licensed profession.

Yet it is estimated that less than 20 per cent of HR practitioners internationally have an HR qualification. Is this OK? If we asked the finance director this question of finance, the answer would be no.”

Professional designation and membership are “incredibly important,” adds Ovens.

“For the individual, it is recognition that they have achieved a level of professional standing. For the organisation, it is a benchmark and reassurance that HR has attained a level of professional recognition.”

HR teams will, over time, need to develop a broader combination of skills to reflect the diversity of the company, says Nairouz Bader, Middle East chair of the Association of Executive Search Consultants, who helps place HR professionals in senior roles across the region. “HR professionals need to seek wider business responsibilities and roles, especially commercial ones that enable them to prepare for more strategic roles [later].”

Standards have risen, but there is some way to go. Bader is hopeful the recent antidiscrimination law passed in the UAE will force companies to drive out poor practices.

But she warns: “Without HR best practice, corporate growth, sustainability and the whole economy will suffer.”

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5 Get to grips

to increase the pace of change even further. The era of $100 per barrel already seems a distant memory and, with several GCC economies facing deficits, the pressure is on. Chan says lower oil prices are already having an economic impact that may ultimately affect competitiveness: “Low oil prices hamper the ability of governments to hire foreign experts. Given a tighter budget, governments are more likely to skimp on hiring foreigners rather than absorb fewer nationals. So the oil shock is a double whammy – it makes it harder to bring in foreign talent and at the same time makes it difficult for governments to employ locals or push them onto the private market.”

To manage in a period of economic uncertainty, Chan says GCC governments must push through further labour market reforms, before it becomes financially unsustainable to subsidise them.

The IMF has already urged governments to roll back subsidies that underpin all Gulf economies. The UAE has taken the lead by recently deregulating fuel prices, but it is not yet clear whether these savings will be used to accelerate labour market reforms. It is almost a cliché to say the GCC is at a crossroads, but reduced hydrocarbon income could offer the impetus it sorely needs.

“With lower oil revenues, governments will skimp on hiring foreign experts”

with a post-oil economy

A

n overarching narrative, particularly from outside the GCC, is that oil remains the engine of the economy, and that fluctuations in price are a death knell for local businesses. But dig deeper into the figures and something more intriguing emerges. The contribution of the non-oil sector to the national economy of the UAE, for example, reached 68 per cent in 2015, and there is every reason to believe a government-mandated target of 80 per cent by 2021 is far from unrealistic. The service industry already accounts for more than 70 per cent of total GDP and is buoyant: the number of hotels in the UAE grew by almost eight per cent in the first quarter of 2015, and retail profitability is reaching record levels.

Such returns cannot be accounted for by the shrinking of national income alone: there is a determined diversification in place across both public and private sectors. There is also a very obvious reason

Non-oil revenues in the GCC How economies are planning for the future

GCC total

Saudi Arabia

UAE

Kuwait Bahrain Oman Qatar

60 50 40 30 20 0

20

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

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SOURCE: IMF

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Cover story

6 Innovate

innovative – go forth and be innovative’ – you have to help people to understand what that means,” Kingl says.

Businesses should consider separating out entrepreneurial units, particularly when trying to introduce a new product, business model or unit within a larger company.

“People then feel they have more freedom to Overcoming such deep-rooted be agile, have their own P&L, their conventions is going to be a challenge, own organisational structure and their according to Kingl: “It is important own management.” within organisations, and especially This is an extension of the among leaders, that it is recognised that ‘Skunkworks’ idea pioneered by aircraft those first 99 attempts were roots to maker Lockheed Martin, in which success, not failure.” small teams are hived off to solve Adversity is a common cultural business challenges under top-secret norm that can hold back conditions. Steve Jobs housed innovation just about anywhere, Apple employees working on Mac but in the GCC it is going to projects in separate buildings and require a change of mindset. Part encouraged them to develop their of the solution, Kingl says, is own culture. Nike develops separating the idea of saving many of its most celebrated Steve Jobs created a ‘Mac face from the inevitable and trainers in a lab so secret no necessary failures that are part culture’ at Apple outsider has ever visited it. of business experimentation But innovation isn’t always and are necessary in order to innovate. about brainstorming great ideas, or even “As an organisation, you cannot just coming up with new ones. Incremental tell people ‘I am incentivising you to be innovation (improving by degrees), reverse innovation (taking products back to basics to introduce them to the mass The UAE Space Agency is market) or even plain replication can, in testament to the fact change their own way, be just as important. and innovation are afoot Fast-growing tech businesses such as Spotify have embedded innovation into their culture, not through huge R&D investment, but by reorganising teams to separate hierarchical line management from technical expertise. Management ideas such as the currently-in-vogue ‘holacracy’ (a system populated by small, nimble teams) offer similar aims. And in a gleaming waterfront property in Abu Dhabi stands a very visible testament to the fact the UAE is determined to make innovation part of its own national culture: the UAE Space Agency stands ready to boldly go, even as NASA has said it will remain earthbound for the foreseeable future.

properly – without trying too hard

T

PRESS ASSOCIATION, GETTY IMAGES

he societal convention of not wanting to be seen to lose face – common across Gulf countries – is viewed by many experts as a euphemism for not wanting to be seen to fail. Yet ‘failure’ in economies such as the US is seen as a positive, and is often cited as an essential route to long-term success. It is this paradox that stifles the ability of organisations across the Gulf to go toe-to-toe with international competitors in terms of innovation.

“Those first 99 attempts were roots to success, not failure”

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Interview

“You have to adapt, or become obsolete�

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I

t is 40 years since the birth of the UAE, and photos taken in the 1970s – which show a sandscape peppered with a few small buildings – are often used to provide a telling contrast with the enviable skylines and world-class infrastructure of the modern day.

But such rapid growth has not been without its challenges, particularly around human capital. The UAE wants to fuel business and economic growth not only by attracting the right sort of talent, but developing a knowledge economy that acknowledges the challenges of a rapidly changing macroeconomic environment.

The Emiratisation programmes – which, broadly, seek to integrate Emiratis more widely into the private sector workforce – are integral. But the government needs to become as innovative and as modern in its people practices as elements of the private sector, and in recent years has been emphasising the importance of HR and seeking to raise the level of HR practice across the board.

The seven-year-old Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR), tasked with enhancing HR practices and government sector innovation for the benefit of 80,000-plus employees, is at the heart of this change. People Management caught up with its director general, His Excellency Dr Abdul Rahman A. AL Awar, to gather his insights on HR change, and the wider workforce issues the entire region is grappling with.

In what areas do you feel the local Emirati workforce has particular strengths to offer the UAE economy – in terms of cultural traits and skillsets – and which are the areas in need of further development?

The UAE has developed its human capital by investing significantly in its education system. We believe that our Emiratis are a very important success factor of the UAE,

Dr Abdul Rahman A. AL Awar on Emiratisation, going mobile and the challenges of change INTERVIEW MARK ATKINSON PHOTOGRAPHY SIDDHARTH SIVA

At a glance Dr Abdulrahman A. AL Awar holds a masters in petroleum geology and a PhD in geology and geological engineering.

His career has included spells as an HR leader in manufacturing and financial services, and five years as executive vice president of strategic projects at aluminium giant DUBAL. He was appointed to his current role in 2009.

and they will continue to be the focus of our development plans and strategies.

The UAE is one of the most open and cosmopolitan countries in the world, with more nationalities and languages spoken then the UN. Emiratis are very welcoming and accustomed to working in this kind of environment, which is one of their strengths.

The skillsets Emiratis have developed are a result of the melting pot of all those cultures, as we’ve been exposed to many skills from across the world. Emiratis have learned and evolved though this merging of cultures, enabling them to compete in many market sectors – and I believe we have presented a successful model to the region in relation to our skills and competitive economy.

There is always room for improvement.

We live in a very dynamic world and need to constantly adapt to change. We always benchmark ourselves globally and set targets to be ranked among the top countries. The UAE government works to identify and bridge any gaps.

There still remains a challenge in integrating more UAE nationals into the private sector. What are the primary reasons for this, and what measures is the government taking to change it?

The UAE has been an incredibly fastgrowing economy – much faster than you’ll see in many other countries – and it has been able to create literally hundreds of thousands of jobs every year. There is always going to be room to enhance the integration of the UAE nationals in the sense that certain sectors are growing very fast and you have to catch up with them, while the education system has to keep up with what’s happening in the economic sectors. Another challenge is the geographical distribution of the workforce, People Management Middle East

23

meaning they might sometimes need to relocate to another Emirate to participate in the economic cycle.

I believe there is now a trend towards more integration into the private sector through entrepreneurship and small-to-medium-sized businesses. A decade or more ago, the government introduced programmes to support this, and it’s a strategy that will continue evolving.

Likewise, there are incentives to help Emiratis integrate into certain economic sectors. Banking is a particular success story.

There’s one more thing. The government doesn’t differentiate in terms of gender.

The UAE is a global leader in this respect.

We have female UAE nationals integrated across all sectors. We have pilots, doctors, bankers – all on the same pay scale as men. In fact, there is a positive bias towards women in areas such as maternity allowances and tertiary education.

“We do not differentiate in terms of gender… in fact, there is a positive bias”

How do you feel the size and nature of the public sector will look in the future, and how will FAHR help it get there?

The UAE started working on its e-government initiatives 15 years ago [online functionalities replacing what were previously manual processes]. More recently, it announced its smart government initiative, which is beyond e-government – a two-year plan to transform all services into smart services 24/7, 365 days a year, like any other service company. Government entities are now ranked against a five-star system, and the targets to improve customer satisfaction rates are directly linked to both employee performance and HR. This had to be accompanied by changing mindsets in the way people work within the government. The mandate is that services be available on mobile, anywhere, anytime, with minimal manual interference – and the skills of the individuals within the government should adapt to this technology.

This has increased the efficiency of operations and definitely increased productivity.

Government employees went through significant changes in the way they react to requests and the services they provide.

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AP/PRESS ASSOCIATION

There were many challenges in revisiting and reengineering many operations. While the vision itself was top-led, every level of government employee was involved in brainstorming cross-functionally. And we measured their success. For example, in HR we can check KPIs across all government departments through a dashboard system.

Government departments across the world have a tendency towards very top-down practices. Do you feel UAE entities have been guilty of this in the past, and how do you encourage a more innovative approach?

The UAE government has had a very smart way of ensuring the success of its various entities. They were asked to present plans and KPIs were set. Beyond that, there were independent means to ensure the quality of their success. The indicators are important because they leave no room for people to be left behind. You have to adapt or become obsolete.

It is very challenging, definitely, because of human nature traits – not in everyone, but in some people. No objective is in motion unless forces are acted on. The force in this case has been to drive the change to transform the government, and everyone had to react to that change. Many people reacted positively, although no doubt there will always be pockets where people react differently. But there is no room for this, because everyone quickly becomes clear on whether they’re lagging behind. The government has developed various quality checks, means and tools to ensure the transformation has happened at the various levels.

In HR, we worked with the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) in developing

The diversity of the Middle East poses challenges for its recruitment market

comprehensive strategic and operational KPIs based on financial and business performance, as well as smart technology transformation, and we have linked these all together. What we do at FAHR is to lead the HR transformation through these KPIs. Innovation is a big government focus. An initiative has been launched for government employees to get a diploma in innovation.

Innovation guidelines and plans have been developed, and training provided to the various entities. In November, there’s an innovation week where entities will contribute on initiatives they have developed.

How do you see the role of HR in the UAE changing, and what part does FAHR play in this?

FAHR plays a role beyond a traditional civil service bureau. We act as a facilitator to the profession. We have kicked off initiatives to bring together local government, federal government and private sector specialists to share best practice. Notably, we have an initiative called the HR Club, which brings together various sectors and professions to network, share success stories, transfer knowledge and create the environment to grow the HR sector in the UAE. We’ve been in touch with many international organisations to bring this kind of knowledge to the UAE. These include the CIPD and other global HR bodies. We transfer this knowledge to regional forums and an annual international conference, where we bring these speakers together. We publish practical HR papers and have been successful in attracting people from across the region to share in these best practices.

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The future is female Diversity and inclusion

Women entrepreneurs are making inroads across the GCC, but organisations struggle to offer them career opportunities WORDS MARK ATKINSON

“W

e hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in,” wrote former Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg in her 2013 book Lean In, a title that struck a chord with women across the world and has led to a fast-growing awareness of the personal and organisational factors that hold women back in business.

It would be easy to assume that the female business revolution is mostly taking hold in California or London.

But Sandberg has plenty of admirers in GCC countries too – and she is no doubt heartened to see the huge strides the region is making in recognising and encouraging talented women.

Part of the rationale for increasing inclusion is, of course, a matter of hardheaded economics. A recent report by UAE asset management firm Al Masah Capital pointed out: “In some GCC countries, females represent a bettereducated talent pool than the overall population at large.” More than two thirds of Kuwaiti graduates are now women, it reported, with Qatar, Oman and the UAE

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not far behind. Women in Saudi Arabia were not allowed to attend school until 1964, but they account for 57 per cent of all graduates today.

Women simply have to rise up the organisational ranks if the Middle East is to innovate and grow sustainably. GCC governments have legislated to improve access to education and employment. But writer and activist Marzena Zukowska says: “From a sheer economic standpoint, closing the gaps in women’s economic participation would offer the GCC an opportunity for increased economic growth, filling the needs of a growing labour force that will rise by 70 per cent over the next few decades.”

A key issue is that employment visa restrictions, particularly the requirement for corporate sponsorship, make life hard for mothers who require some degree of flexibility to find work. Flexible work policies are rare within individual businesses.

Little surprise, then, that talented women are increasingly finding an outlet

“In many countries, women are the most educated talent pool”

Zahra Hamirani The Blossom Nursery

I was a business lawyer in both London and New York, and when I came to Dubai I was set to work in a law firm. But when looking at nurseries for my daughter I was concerned about security awareness, and I also found there was nowhere geared towards working families. I needed the flexibility to collect my daughter later in the afternoon. Within three months, I had set up my own nursery to fill these gaps. I now see more nurseries starting to change the way they operate.

We’re building a group of nursery owners who come together to discuss the various issues – a community within the industry.

Marissa Woods

in entrepreneurialism. Kompass is a Dubai-based consultancy that works extensively with female entrepreneurs.

My background is in marketing and Joanna Dawson, its co-founder and branding, working between London managing partner, says: “If businesses and Dubai. In 2000, I set up my first don’t give women room to grow, company, Image Factor, to improve they’ll find other ways to do so outside the way people perceive businesses traditional corporate structures. and individuals. Later I started Brand “Aspirational women are making & People, which focuses purely on a conscious decision to step out of brand engagement. My advice to their traditional roles, take risks, women entrepreneurs, particularly innovate and make a more extensive those with children, is to be really contribution to their families, organised. Have a plan for everything communities and the workplace.” in your life and make sure everyone She’s thinking of pioneers like understands where they need to be.

Zahra Hamirani (see left), who By constantly updating your skills runs The Blossom Nursery, which and knowledge, you will achieve your in 2013 won first place in the small goals, as long as you keep going – business category of the Arabia even in the face of adversity.

Corporate Social Responsibility Awards. It has also bridged a gap in helping women participate in the workforce on a part-time basis.

“We have a part-time programme called Flexi Time, where we’ll offer you a visa and you can opt for anything from 22 hours per week,” says Hamirani. “Flexi Time staff are clear on our expectations and when they are absolutely required to be on site, but it still allows them the flexibility they need.”

The nursery also offers a ‘basket’ of benefits such as subsidised childcare and training subsidies.

The broader question is why larger organisations aren’t offering women such as Hamirani the opportunity to progress. Dawson says a generation of talented females is discovering the joys of entrepreneurship at the same time that businesses are waking up to the need to tap into a more diverse pool.

“More and more women are looking to develop career paths and build a personalised leadership platform,” says Dawson. “As technology is connecting the world, women are now converting information and learning into possibilities.

“Driven by a strong sense of purpose and core values, women want to play a role in shaping the region’s future.

They want to feel a sense of ownership and the innate satisfaction of giving back something of value.”

Image Factor, Brand & People

Anna Batchelder Bon Education

I worked with a company in New York that developed software to teach children how to read and create learning sequences for classrooms. I moved to Dubai in 2008, and in 2009 set up Bon Education. We develop education and training programmes for government entities, corporates and not-for-profit organisations.

I’ve found working with a personal coach extremely helpful in terms of setting goals, making decisions and defining the culture of your organisation. Take the time to think about how you want to run your company, and how you want your work-life balance to be – and keep revisiting these themes.

People Management Middle East

27

Emotional intelligence

Is emotional intelligence more than just a fad?

Being able to empathise is increasingly seen as a key business trait – but the unique social mix of GCC countries provides a particular challenge

E

veryone who’s worked in a large organisation will have a horror story about a senior individual whose academic prowess is outdone only by their inability to communicate with their peers. We often write off such an employee as simply not being a “people person”. But according to its adherents, what they’re really suffering from is a lack of emotional intelligence (EQ).

Psychologists Howard Gardner, Peter Salovey and John Mayer developed the

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EQ theory in the 1970s and 1980s, but it wasn’t until Daniel Goleman’s 1995 book Emotional Intelligence that the idea entered the public consciousness. Today, EQ is part of the workplace lexicon among many HR directors and entrepreneurs in the US and Europe, but while the need to relate to and communicate more effectively with colleagues and customers is understood everywhere, EQ itself is not scientifically accepted in the same way as IQ, and the term has no single definition.

Broadly speaking, the EQ concept argues that IQ – conventional intelligence – is too narrow and that there are wider areas of intelligence that determine how successful we are. In GCC countries, people tend to be sensitive to the emotions of others and pick up on subtleties of emotional messaging that would be less visible to outsiders. But this sensitivity doesn’t necessarily translate into high EQ, particularly when people from other cultures are involved.

GETTY IMAGES

WORDS KATE WHITEHEAD

“As a collective culture where relationships are a primary focus, people native to the Middle East have a much greater sensitivity to other people’s feelings and emotions and a much greater ability to work with emotions. But if someone from a different culture acts differently or responds strangely, that could cause problems,” says Professor William Scott-Jackson, chairman of Oxford Strategic Consulting.

Scott-Jackson gives the example of a Westerner criticising someone in public. No matter how subtle the criticism, it would be quickly – and wrongly – understood by those from the Middle East as reflecting a serious issue with significant ramifications. And the misunderstandings run both ways. “An Arab saying ‘let’s decide later’ might be interpreted as a possible ‘yes’, whereas it’s actually an emotionally sensitive ‘no’, says Scott-Jackson.

Sharoq Ibrahim Al Malki, chief human capital officer at Commercial Bank in Qatar, recalls a time early on in her career when she mistakenly interpreted a comment from her line manager as a criticism. This upset her and she worked with a life coach to better understand what had happened. Only then did she realise her error, and after talking to her manager resolved the matter. The incident made her a big fan of emotional intelligence.

“I started reading about EQ, and coaching people on it. It’s the one element, besides decision-making, that we lack in the Middle East,” says Al Malki.

Al Malki is a firm believer that people with high EQ make for more successful leaders.

Scott-Jackson agrees.

He and his team have conducted a number of studies on leadership in the Middle East – as well as in the UK and elsewhere – and they show that those with high EQ work well in a team.

“EQ has been shown to bring more effective

“EQ isn’t a fresh idea, but this depth of discussion is new”

Daniel Goleman made the concept of emotional intelligence a talking point in boardrooms

leadership as it reflects the ability to work with other people’s emotions and is crucial for persuasion, buy-in and charisma. It’s more important in teams where effort is discretionary and ambiguous,” he says.

Scott-Jackson and his team have advised both local companies and multinationals including HSBC and Standard Chartered.

Most recently, he has been working with Commercial Bank to prepare a training package for employees. The pilot studies have been completed and the programme will be rolled out in September: Al Malki says that once bank employees have benefited from the training, the plan is to offer the programme externally.

“It’s called ‘Bridging the Cultural Gap Between Qataris and Expats’ and is mainly EQ training. No one inside Qatar is offering something similar. I expect other banks, as well as oil and gas companies, will be most interested, because they face similar challenges,” says Al Malki.

Most of the challenges she describes involve cultural misunderstandings, or a failure to offer a solution that reflects the cultural environment. This is critical in a relatively small community where networking is paramount: of Qatar’s 1.9 million population, only around 300,000 are Qatari nationals and, of those, only 130,000 are in the workforce.

Right across the Gulf, it is not uncommon for a company of 500 employees to include people from 100 nationalities.

Scott-Jackson hopes that, eventually, those working in GCC countries will develop better “cultural intelligence” – a trait linked to EQ but more closely aligned to differences in background. This is especially pertinent given the region’s social mix. “It is the ability to not so much understand specific cultures, but be intelligent about how cultures work in general, and how you spot if someone is feeling uncomfortable,” he says.

The fact that expats and nationals generally don’t socialise together means opportunities to bridge such cultural gaps are often missed. For example, says ScottJackson: “Westerners are often perceived as being a bit cold, a bit impolite. But they can get into the ‘in group’ if they adapt a bit and become a bit more culturally sensitive.”

Understanding the importance of greeting, tone and gesture all help towards building strong relationships between people of different backgrounds. It is a subject ScottJackson says he has been discussing constantly since he first came to the region.

“We started talking about relationships, which has a lot to do with emotional intelligence, before the phrase became popular. The subject of emotional intelligence has been around forever: it’s the discussion of it and the labeling of it that is fairly recent,” he says. While some may be sceptical, it seems being in touch with your feelings (or, more importantly, the feelings of those around you) may soon be vital for business.

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THE KNOWLEDGE

Your quarterly run-through of essential skills, with expert commentary

1

Measure the ROI of L&D

It’s been established beyond doubt that investing in training and development is hugely important to an organisation’s ability to recruit and retain the best staff. But a crucial second part of the L&D conversation often goes unspoken: to get senior buy-in for training initiatives, the ability to demonstrate return on investment (ROI) is the magic ingredient.

Elie Georgiou-Botaris (above), leader of the talent management and organisational alignment practice at Towers Watson Middle East, says: “Measuring L&D is the only way to

The learning challenge

37%

of Middle East organisations plan to increase spending on employee training

WORDS VICKI ARNSTEIN

Source: American Express

20%

of employers currently offer no training to new hires Source: EY

30

24%

of HR and L&D professional surveyed by the CIPD in 2015 say L&D is a top priority Source: CIPD, Voice of the Profession – Middle East, 2015

People Management Middle East

determine how effective and successful these programmes are in meeting their desired objectives.

“When we invest money, time and effort in learning and development, it is critical to measure how effective and impactful this investment is, and if it is paying back the desired dividends.”

What you measure largely depends on the goals you set. This may vary in

Quantifying L&D, step by step Elie Georgiou-Botaris from Towers Watson Middle East offers his tips for achieving ROI.

1 2

Use your business strategy to identify where L&D is needed.

Identify employees who would benefit from learning opportunities or new capabilities, such as top performers, or those on a fast track scheme.

3

Work out the KPIs and metrics that will allow you to measure whether L&D has been effective.

4

What figures and data can you gather?

This can include self-assessment and asking managers for feedback.

5

Analyse the data to decide whether the amount of time, money and resource given to L&D has been beneficial.

6

Ask whether changes to the L&D programme are needed to gain further benefits in the future.

different parts of the organisation. A measurement of whether sales training has delivered results, for example, might be as simple as an increase in sales, whereas understanding whether marketing staff are able to communicate more effectively is a lot more opaque.

Ruth Stuart, research adviser at the CIPD, says: “You could take a snapshot of where an individual is – either through self-assessment or 360-degree assessment – and then do the same a month and then six months later, to see how that learning has transferred into the workplace.”

Stuart says clear alignment is needed between L&D and business strategy.

“That is the only real way to work out what you should be measuring.”

That means quizzing business leaders on what ‘good’ will look like once an initiative is complete, or asking them to help you understand the key challenges the organisation faces over the next few years, and how L&D could help.

Georgiou-Botaris says: “For L&D to be effective and have a sustainable impact on the organisation, a clear L&D strategy that is aligned to the business strategy must be developed and communicated.”

But Georgiou-Botaris says the metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) can be simple and supported by data that is readily available, including L&D spend per employee, L&D administration cost per event and the percentage of managers who have observed improvements in employees’ on-the-job performance.

Done correctly, L&D can have a big impact on an organisation’s culture and reputation. “Recent studies have shown that L&D is one of the top drivers for employee attraction and retention,” Georgiou-Botaris adds.

The Knowledge

The concept of a personal brand may sound frivolous, but it can be a key differentiator – both in your day-to-day working interactions and in the job market. Your brand is the way you hope others will perceive and recommend you.

It encompasses everything from the way you present yourself (how you dress and talk) to the things you are known for – having a particular area of HR expertise, for example.

If you are working as a consultant or an interim, a brand can be a way to grow your client base, but anyone looking to advance themselves can benefit from some brand-building.

While speaking at events and writing reports can be an important part of building your brand, David Suarez, consulting partner, people and change leader in the Middle East at PwC, says this is increasingly supplemented by social media.

The Louis Vuitton brand, based on its founder’s name and reputation, has endured since 1854

“The power of social media is remarkable,” says Suarez, “especially in the Middle East, where the penetration of smartphones is among the highest in the world. LinkedIn and Twitter can be effective platforms to communicate your brand, receive endorsement and reach a large number of potential clients quickly.”

If you do plan to build your brand by attending networking events, Suarez

How to make your mark Stacey Reynolds, managing director for 10Eighty Middle East, on the key areas to address

1

2

Who are you? Build a picture of your values, talents, motivators and personality type. Find out and understand what ‘makes you tick’.

Where do you want to be? What talents do you need to build? Visualise where you see yourself in five or 10 years and write it down.

3

Find mentors and role models to support you and give insight.

4 5

Develop your professional image.

Build credibility, and be consistent and persistent.

PRESS ASSOCIATION

2

Build a personal brand

strongly recommends doing your homework first. “Speaking to past participants will help you filter out the good events that have a solid track record and a growing audience.”

Across the region, there is a big emphasis on personal recommendations, so being widely known may not be as important as being well thought of.

“Being referred by a previous client or employer is still the most effective method of building your brand,” says Suarez. “It builds credibility and a clear track record of delivery that will appeal to people who are interested in using your services.”

Stacey Reynolds, managing director for career consultancy 10Eighty in the Middle East, says: “In Dubai, where I’m based, the market is small and wellnetworked. Most of the work we do comes from personal recommendations – people mentioning me and my brand.”

She says building a personal brand is a fairly straightforward process, but something many individuals fail to address. “Everybody has a personal brand, even if they haven’t scripted it.

It happens in every interaction you have. It is important to ensure your personal brand reflects what you want people to know and say about you.

“Building your brand isn’t about selling yourself – it’s how you help out others and what they say about you that counts,” she adds.

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3

Almost every company dabbles in social media, whether it’s hosting a Facebook page, posting the occasional positive news story on Twitter or showcasing your wares on Instagram. But without a coherent strategy in place, it’s difficult to feel the full benefits of the proliferation of new channels.

Used effectively, social media can aid recruitment, help staff build client networks, improve employee engagement and boost publicity.

“Social media can directly support the attainment of key business objectives,” says Shaibal Roy, social media expert at PA Consulting Group. “You can drive value in so many directions – not just

Know your social media channels

88%

of the Middle East’s online population use social media daily

Estimated users of social media channels in the Middle East:

58m

6.5m

5.8m 36%

of social media users are aged 18-24

32%

of them are aged 25-34

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People Management Middle East

PRESS ASSOCIATION, SUPERSTOCK

Develop the right social media strategy

Weibo’s astonishing growth in China shows social media is about more than Facebook

communicating outwardly with your customer base, but engaging with them.”

A social media strategy should ideally be a written document with buy-in from senior leaders. The strategy should consider who you want to engage with and what social networks they are on.

There is plenty of free data available giving demographics of different social media, as well as information about what times and how often to post.

Next, ensure the company has an up-to-date profile on the social networks identified, and think about ways to engage people. Research has shown that posting pictures, for example, can boost post ‘likes’ and retweets.

Just occasionally and randomly posting information to your company’s social network pages is unlikely to make an impact. “If you think about it generally and hope for the best you are basically looking to find a needle in a haystack,” says Roy. “Start with the outcome you need and work logically back to work out how to use social media.”

To take your strategy to the next level, think about analytics – looking at who is saying what about your company and

analysing what this means by using social media listening tools.

“I would like to encourage business leaders to realise this is not magic,” says Roy. “There are elements of [a social media strategy] that are extremely simple and accessible, and some that are tough and require thought and care. The numbers are extremely easy to access: the question is, what do you do with them?”

Where HR should be particularly involved is in assessing who controls social media channels – there have been numerous instances of Twitter feeds being left in the wrong hands and causing huge reputational damage – and ensuring the voice a business presents to the external world is consistent with all forms of internal communications.

Above all, businesses should not be afraid to harness the power of social media and analytics. “It needs to be demythed and de-hyped. Social media is just a business utility and to not use it is like not using the internet. You wouldn’t imagine a business without a website in 2015, and there will be a time when you would not imagine a business not using social media and analytics,” Roy says.

The Knowledge

4

Support a new starter from overseas

Plugging gaps in organisational knowledge and expertise can mean recruiting from overseas. But the level of support, both financial and knowledge-based, on offer to those entering the GCC region for the first time varies hugely, and can make the difference between a successful hire and a short-lived career.

The shape of the overall package offered to foreigners has changed in recent years. This is partly due to the financial crisis, which made people more willing to move, and partly down to the internet changing the perceived remoteness of overseas postings.

However, Simon Stephens, head of the Middle East at recruitment company Frazer Jones, says as the global financial market starts to recover, organisations are having to “break the mould to get talented individuals over the line”.

“The markets in Europe and the UK have picked up and people have options.

The tax break in the Middle East helps, but sometimes people are using that to pay for the cost of living and education costs,” he adds.

Some companies help with visas and paperwork and pay for flights, while others will put new starters in touch with a relocation agent, give them a few weeks’ accommodation on arrival, help them find somewhere to live and offer financial support for rental agreements.

Philips Electronics Middle East has 515 employees, including 300 in the UAE and 160 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). In 2014 the company recruited 106 employees, with 30 per cent coming to the UAE and 20 per cent to KSA from overseas.

Dominique Mallion, recruitment marketing manager at Philips, says the benefits and support given during the settling in period are important. “The house search takes a few weeks and the rental contract can only be signed after the employee has opened a local bank account and has a cheque book,” she says. Other Philips benefits include a one-time relocation bonus, housing allowance including a six-month

advance, annual air tickets home and education expenses reimbursment.

But cultural support can be particularly invaluable. “You need to be aware what you are letting yourself in for or your could find yourself in jail, never mind not enjoying your posting. A company has as much risk as an individual,” says Carl Redondo, leader of the global benefits practice at Aon Hewitt.

David Suarez, people and change consulting leader in the Middle East at PwC, says the employee value proposition is also typically underestimated. “It’s not just salary and bonus, it’s the entire professional experience,” he says. “Historically, that meant high salaries, but this trend is changing. A greater emphasis is now being placed on career development, experiences and progression, and the opportunities available to them.”

To make investing in an overseas recruit pay, Redondo advises a threeyear plan. “Their goals should be tied to training staff at the next level down, so that when the three years are up you have another CEO or head engineer, for example,” he says. “Best practice needs to be leveraging these employees, not making them irreplaceable.”

Migration in numbers Percentage of expats relative to total population

84% UAE

87% Qatar

68% Kuwait

32% Saudi Arabia

39% Oman

51% Bahrain

Source: Diplomatic Centre

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Comment

THE VIEW FROM HERE

Even conflict zones need good HR – it’s just that the stakes are higher

like sponges. Their interest in every aspect In many ways, mine is a very ordinary of HR is incredible. In my previous role HR role. We deal with recruitment, here, I had 30 Iraqi personnel in my team, performance management or career and they were so keen to be developed. planning and development, just like That’s a motivation in itself. anyone else. We train people and There were two women in we have to pay them on time. But particular who I was able to in other ways, it’s far from normal. develop as HR professionals, I’ve been working in hostile and they’ve since progressed environments for more than to management roles in blue six years. I spent five years chip companies normally in Iraq, and I’m currently filled by expats – quite an working both there and achievement given the culture. in Afghanistan for the At CHELSEA, we take a lot CHELSEA Group, which * Head of HR for CHELSEA Group of pride in the development we includes two renowned risk (formerly Hart offer, and the number of CSR management organisations International) projects we have in place – all operating in hostile locations. * Based in have HR involvement in one The company provides Afghanistan form or another. specialist armed security and Iraq Of course, risk is involved, on land, sea and air, along particularly in the current climate. It’s with specialist training, consultancy a daily occurrence to hear explosions and and business support services. gunfire at our compound in Kabul. We We employ ex-military or ex-police personnel to deliver our services, and my have sadly lost people this year, so the own career began in the British military. risk is real. This is perhaps the only HR I served for six years, gradually taking more of an interest in personnel. Leaving the Forces to enter HR was easier than many would expect: the military is very good at integrating people from different walks of life. It recognises behaviours rather than qualifications, so it gives you a really strong grounding.

While I was head of HR for an aviation company, there was an opportunity to work in Iraq and I took it straight away. role where you are issued with a personal I really enjoy the diverse environment, weapon before a laptop or mobile phone. and the opportunity to develop and You can’t have any kind of support the host nation workforce. Iraq interpersonal conflict here because the has suffered from a lack of structure and repercussions can be serious. We have education – the country has been at war since the seventies – but when you find an to be seen as a good employer – if the Iraqi national who’s keen to learn, they’re local government believes the culture

Kevin Davies

34 People Management Middle East

within the business is not aligned to local expectations, it can withdraw your ability to operate. Not to mention the implications of workplace conflict on such sensitive and dangerous work. We constantly train people on human rights and corruption – we work in some of the most corrupt places in the world, where people often pay to get into jobs. We have to remain vigilant.

Our people come from 25 different nationalities and you have to be strong and able to challenge the mindset of a very diverse group of people. I always express the benefits of inclusion when facing diversity issues. I believe there are far too many well-meaning programmes in workplaces that create exclusion.

The most important character trait for an HR professional here is remaining mentally strong. One minute you can be dealing with something quite trivial and the next a serious incident where someone has been injured, or worse.

HR often doubles up as a trauma risk

There are unique risk factors when working in a city like Kabul

management function, providing advice and support.

I tried going back to the UK and worked for Carillion, but it didn’t work.

The company was great, but I missed this kind of environment. I just can’t see myself in a ‘conventional’ HR role again.

The international

HR

e en t of the year...

Professor Sir Cary Cooper, CBE, Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, President, British Academy of Management, and President, RELATE

Professor Herminia Ibarra, Cora Chaired Professor of Leadership and Learning, Professor of Organizational Behaviour, INSEAD

Sir Clive Woodward, Founding Partner and Chairman, Captured, Team GB Director of Sport, Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012, England Rugby World Cup Winning Coach 2003

CIPD’s flagship event attracts a range of delegates from around the world • Learn from world-class, expert conference speakers.

• Return to work inspired and focused on the future.

• Network with like-minded professionals at the international drinks reception.

Find out more at cipd.co.uk/IME1

4–5 November 2015

Manchester Central, UK

Register for the free exhibition at cipd.co.uk/IA1

This year’s showcases

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Building HR capability and professionalism We’re working with the world’s most progressive organisations to build the capability of their HR and L&D professionals. We can help you: • define the strategic priorities and purpose of your HR function in your organisation’s context • benchmark and assess the capability of your team against CIPD’s rigorous standards of good practice • develop your team’s capability and shape your HR function to meet your business needs.

To find out more about professionalising your HR function, get in touch at contactus@cipd.ae or visit cipd.ae