THE GCC TALENT PANDEMIC

With the global recovery in full swing, vaccines being rolled out and businesses starting to gain confidence, things are certainly starting to look brighter.

Since December 2020 hiring and the number of jobs advertised have gone up exponentially and the US alone added 916,000 jobs in March 2021.*

Post Covid, as Recruiters we are seeing a growing talent shortage in the GCC and perhaps the start of a 'Talent Pandemic'. The best and brightest talent in what is an already tight market has an ever changing and somewhat convoluted understanding of their job and their company. The smarter companies are quick to recognise this and put things in place to retain their top talent.

Let's look over some of the recent trends within the GCC Talent market.

Exhaustion

2020 saw industry wide redundancies and cutbacks. Due to heavily declining revenue, here at eMagine we were hearing talk of up to 90% with some companies. They had no choice but to have large scale terminations, almost everyone knows one if not more professionals who were directly impacted by Covid. The old adage of two people doing the job of three post Covid is common and is making many employees look for the exit. This 'burnout' is making them easy pickings for competitor companies.

No Reserves and Hiring Freezes

Due to declining revenues natural succession planning (such as retirement, maternity, repatriation) has been neglected by companies. This lack of reserves or talent on the bench has meant that companies are now in a talent shortfall. Additionally as senior team members have not moved on, this has created unrest amongst lower grades who now are looking outside of the company for their progression. Further contributing to the talent depletion.

Travel Bans & Expats

With the fluid and ever changing flight status, be it the UK traffic light system or Saudi Arabia banning travel to even some of it's closest neighbours, it has made the predominantly expat workforce (90%+ within the UAE private sector) feel unsettled. As their home country recovers and jobs become available, with those countries also experiencing a talent shortage, it has made the GCC an ideal hunting ground for skilled workers. The mindset is shifting towards returning home for long term career and personal prospects.

So, how can you best prepare your organization to protect itself from a 'Talent Pandemic'?

Reward top performers – Money isn't everything but demonstrating commitment and customizing incentives for your top talent is key to keeping them. What motivates your top people? Do you have bespoke and unique incentive programs that can be used to keep your best people engaged and motivated?

There are good people still out there – A lot of quality talent was side-lined/furloughed during Covid. These people did not become bad overnight, they are hungry and motivated. Is your company able to upskill and train these people, if so you could find your future leaders within this 'pool'.

X-train high performers – One of the top family conglomerates here in the UAE during Covid decided to cross train rather than mass terminate their employees and I applaud this practice. The questions you should ask yourself are, are there areas of the company where your company is currently a bit heavy with people, and can you move talent to fill gaps? For example perhaps moving a financial reporting executive into a Data Analyst role? These people already know your business, your customers and your DNA. They would hit the ground running.

Hopefully these ideas can keep your business IMMUNE from the Talent Pandemic and if you are looking to vaccinate your business eMagine Solutions are always available for a full and private consultation.

* Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/02/us-jobs-report-march-2021.html