At the recently concluded “Bayt.com Bahrainization Forum”, industry leaders called for a collective move towards increasing local participation in industry by a structured approach that includes customized training and development for employees. Diversification from ‘safe’ jobs in the public sector and from traditional sectors like oil and gas should be encouraged, the assembled participants found, while reducing employee attrition through assertive retention policies would be a key to maintaining competitive advantage in Bahrain’s increasingly dynamic economy.
Bayt.com’s Bahrainization Forum provided a conduit for the assembled participants to air their opinions and share insights on the economic, social and political drivers that influence human capital and define HR strategies in regional corporations.
The forum found there are a variety of challenges facing the move to localization in the country. Very high staff turnover is affecting all organisations, alongside very low levels of employee loyalty. The high attrition rates within companies are compounded by the general lack of well-educated and well-trained Bahraini nationals; with colleges and universities it was felt, not doing enough to provide the potential workforce with career-oriented education.
“One of the main challenges faced by private enterprises in Bahrain’s labour market is the problem of maintaining, engaging and developing their most vital asset – their personnel,” explained Dan Stuart, Bayt.com. “This is particularly true of Bahrain, with training and mentoring for careers largely insufficient, and not meeting the needs of the local Bahrain job market’s demands. This must be addressed to drive greater numbers of Bahraini nationals into the workforce,” he added.
The importance of staff training and development was reflected recently in independent research commissioned by Bayt.com and YouGovSiraj. The Consumer Confidence Index report (CCI) May2008 clearly shows a strong lack of satisfaction with career opportunities in Bahrain. Just21% of respondents said that satisfaction with their current job and career prospects was high, with25% citing them as low, and neutral39%.
Set against this backdrop, Bahrain’s respondents were largely optimistic for their future career situation, with46% citing there will be more jobs available next year, compared to the20% who believe there will be fewer jobs available.
Repeated Bayt.com online polls have shown that opportunities for career growth and development are even more important for professionals considering a career move than immediate short-term remuneration considerations. In a May2008 Bayt.com online poll, over36% of all respondents indicated that opportunities for growth and advancement were the most important aspect they look for in a job versus31% selecting an attractive salary.
“Promoting loyalty and setting a strategic cohesive training and development agenda are the main keys to empowering Bahraini locals to enter and succeed in the local Bahrain job market, and while the adoption of the localization mandate is in the interests of everyone doing business in Bahrain, the best outcome would be for organizations to focus on ‘quality localization, with well trained local professionals,” Dan Stuart said.
The participants emphasized that this could be achieved by following an incentivized approach towards employee retention; through attractive long service awards, and creating enthusiasm and ownership amongst staff for their work to decrease the high attrition rates; including training fresh graduates with five year - or long term - definitive career programs. It was noted that utilizing the Internet for recruitment and future training would help in these types of initiatives.
Bayt.com is committed to bringing about a paradigm shift in the HR and recruitment industry through researched, audited and empowered HR perspectives. The forum provided the ideal environment for these key industry players to share in some of the valuable data that Bayt.com researches, and to use it as a catalyst for seeking answers to some of the most pressing issues in the industry today.