Building on over14 years of HR experience in the UAE, Bayt.com, the Middle East’s number one jobsite, held an exclusive HR event under its Thought Leadership series. The event, which took place at Dubai World Trade Centre within Careers UAE, was attended by a large number of professionals who work in the HR field in leading UAE based companies across the industry spectrum. Speakers from top global companies including Oracle, Kempinski Hotels, and GE shared their knowledge, insights and experiences in attracting and recruiting top talent in the UAE.
The recruitment market in the UAE is already very robust, and is in fact expected to see a chapter of super-growth in light of EXPO2020. According to the recent Bayt.com MENA Job Index Survey (February2014),77% of UAE companies are probably or definitely going to be hiring in the next three months. The Bayt.com event focused on how different companies and industries will attract and retain top global talent in these very exciting times. A panel of experts presented practical advice, solutions, and information to address the key challenges, and further insights were shared by guest speakers on the practices and measures they have taken to be well prepared for the next5 years in terms of talent management, recruitment and retention.
Suhail Masri, VP Sales, Bayt.com said, "Since our inception in Dubai in the year2000, Bayt.com has been helping UAE employers across sectors and industries in recruiting top talent. We regularly host forums and open-discussion events with our leading employers to share insights, discuss market trends and reveal the latest Bayt.com HR research. Technologies are changing so fast, and big data analytics have been changing the way that recruitment is happening today. We’re so excited about the disruptive, technology-powered talent acquisition tools we have built and are delighted to be with such esteemed industry practitioners today discussing pertinent current topics related to the UAE recruitment arena. It is essential for companies in the UAE to arm themselves with current information on how to best attract and retain world class talent in the near term and the insights and best practices we share today should serve as a great supplement to every UAE HR practitioner’s recruitment toolkit.
The event featured several discussions, including ‘How We Successfully Globalise our Culture’, presented by Ernest W Marshall Jr, Vice President, HR, GE Aviation, and ‘How Can Companies in the UAE Attract Top Executive Talent to the UAE?’, presented by Toby Simpson, Managing Director of Gulf Recruitment Group.
Additionally, the event’s panelists were: Suhail Masri, VP Sales, Bayt.com; Suha Mardelli, Regional Sales and HR, Bayt.com; Wassim Haroun, Area Manager, CONSER Consulting Engineers; Delia Marinesc, Recruitment Director, Oracle; Louay Sarrage, Regional Manager, Strategic Planning IMEA, Kempinski Hotels; Syed Ashfaque, HR Business Partner, Galadari Brothers Group; and Ayman Badawi, Chief Human Resources Officer, Aramex.
“The impact of the announcement of Dubai’s victory for Expo2020 seemed to lead to an immediate energizing of the Dubai economy, but was this based on the economic fundamentals that such an epic trade fair offers or simply the last bit of confidence needed to open the taps of private capital investment? We looked forward to an open discussion with human capital professionals to see if we can learn more, as well as impart what opinion we can, on the impact of Dubai Expo2020 and the economy on the Emirates’ human capital market,” said Toby Simpson, Managing Director, Gulf Training Group.
“The hospitality sector in Dubai will continue to grow in order to accommodate the expected demand for hotel rooms leading up to Expo2020. Such growth will naturally spur demand for hospitality talent, and in effect, those hotel companies with the most effective and innovative talent acquisition and development strategies will be able to gain a competitive advantage in the market. I looked forward to attend this event to understand how other companies in the various sectors foresee the opportunities and challenges ahead,” said Louay Sarrage, Regional Manager, Strategic Planning IMEA at Kempinski Hotels.
“The Bayt.com Thought Leadership HR event was a good opportunity to share innovative recruitment solutions and share best practices, assisting HR leadership in adapting to the continuous talent challenge,” said Delia Marinescu, Recruitment Director, Oracle.
"At Aramex, we place great value in employing sophisticated recruitment and retention strategies that maximize the satisfaction and engagement of our greatest asset, our people. This has been possible to maintain successfully and consistently across geographies by teaming up with leading recruitment partners such as Bayt.com; and key industry forums such as the Bayt.com Thought Leadership Series enable us to share best practices and key learnings and optimize our recruitment drive for the near and intermediate terms," said Ayman Badawi, Chief Human Resources Officer, Aramex.
“A confluence of right minds with right strategies to manage a sustainable and a best ever EXPO2020,” said Syed Ashfaque, HR Business Partner, Galadari Brothers Group.
Topics covered during the event included:
• What skills, credentials and experience are highly in demand in the current recruitment arena?
• How has technology changed the way we source, attract and screen talent in the UAE?
• What career levels and job roles will be most in demand?
• What are the latest strategies to attract and retain top talent in the UAE?
• What is the hiring expectancy in the UAE in the short and intermediate term?