29 January2018: Nowadays, what makes a company or an organization an ideal place to work for in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) depends on many different elements that may extend beyond salary and benefits. Bayt.com, the region’s leading job site, explored this topic and just released its latest report entitled “The Ideal Workplace in the Middle East and North Africa” in partnership with global online market research company, YouGov. According to this report,83% of respondents believe that advanced technology in the workplace is of great importance. While only39% of workplaces reportedly use advanced technology, this factor is also of great importance for respondents looking for a potential workplace. In fact,83% of job seekers say their potential company should promote advanced technology. What Matters Most to MENA Professionals In addition to seeking advanced technology, a challenging work environment is highly desired among respondents in the MENA. In fact,79% of employees say it is important that their job challenges them. Furthermore,82% of respondents believe that transparent communication is an important factor in any work environment. The same sentiment is shared among job seekers. That said, only35% of companies reportedly promote transparent communication in the region. Other elements that were considered important in a workplace include work life balance (81% of employees say it is important), fair evaluation (81% of employees say it is important), and innovation and creativity (81% of employees say it is important). Besides attractiveness, retention is an element that many organizations strive to master. When asked about factors that mostly drive loyalty, the top responses were ‘training and development opportunities’ (according to36% of MENA respondents), and ‘opportunity for long term career advancement’ (according to32% of MENA respondents). “It is essential to acknowledge what is most important to those employed in the MENA, as well as what they look for in potential workplaces. By understanding this, organizations can work towards boosting their attractiveness, retention, and even reputation and performance, all while meeting the needs of their employees,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com. Business values and culture In addition to workplace attraction and retention elements, respondents were asked about company culture and its impact when choosing a workplace.48% of MENA respondents said company culture is one of the determining factors when joining a company. When asked about business values that make a company more attractive in MENA,53% cited ‘good ethics and practices’,37% said ‘friendly company culture’,24% said ‘corporate social responsibility’, and12% said ‘green consciousness / efforts’, indicating that the MENA professionals look at a variety of elements relating to companies’ missions and impact on societies. Physical attributes Not only do values and cultural elements matter to the region’s professionals, physical elements have a significant role as well. In the MENA, there seems to be a higher preference for larger companies, as58% of respondents feel that an ideal company size has more than50 employees. In regards to office layout, the opinions vary.27% of MENA professionals prefer ‘closed rooms’,22% prefer ‘open plan’,12% prefer ‘workstations’,12% prefer ‘cubicles, while22% had no preference in this matter. When it came to the interior design of an office,37% of respondents said that the interior design of their offices ‘reflects the company’s brand and value’. This is significantly higher among respondents based in the Gulf (42%) than in the Levant (33%) and North Africa (36%). Finding the perfect workplace In order to pick the ideal workplace, professionals in the region need to access information on all the different attributes they value. When asked how easy it is to access information about company culture and work environment, the responses varied.14% of respondents said it is ‘very easy’ to access information about company culture and environment when applying for a job,26% said it is ‘somewhat easy’,28% said it is ‘neither easy nor difficult’,19% said it is ‘somewhat difficult’, and6% said it is ‘very difficult’. To understand this issue further, respondents were asked about the most useful company information, to which60% of MENA respondents said ‘company benefits and perks’,38% said ‘employee testimonials and reviews’,24% said ‘company events and socials’,22% said ‘awards and milestones’, and7% said ‘photos and videos of the workplace’. Masri adds: “At Bayt.com, we’ve been working with over40,000 employers and over30.5 million job seekers across the MENA region for more than18 years. As part of our endeavor to provide the tools and information to all professionals in the region, we are working on making more company information readily accessible through a new and advanced Bayt.com company profile solution. As the survey indicated, professionals find online ‘company profiles’ to among the most effective sources of information for job seekers and professionals, and we look forward to rolling out this tool very soon to help align expectations and increase hiring activities.” “The ideal workplace survey allows employers to understand what they need to do to meet the needs of their employees and future talent as well as what types of information they need to make available. By doing so, companies and organizations can do a much better job at securing their talent needs and making more career opportunities available region-wide,” Anjali Chhabra, Associate Research Director, YouGov. Data for the2017 Bayt.com “Ideal Workplace in the Middle East and North Africa” poll was collected online from December6 to22,2017. Results are based on a sample of4,418 respondents. Respondents come from many countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, Qatar and KSA.