Key HR industry stakeholders cited yesterday at the inaugural “Confluence” forum in Kuwait hosted by the Middle East’s #1 job site Bayt.com that employee retention is the main driver for organizations to maintain competitive advantage in the region. The assembled forum members also agreed that the impetus of a proactive and customized, versus generic, uniform training and development drive, is an essential trigger to nurture and optimize local participation in industry – especially in the private sector.
The issue of localization, a main driver of HR policy and a topic of national importance throughout the Gulf states, was the focus for the first Bayt.com forum, where16 key decision makers in human resource departments and key influencers in the region aired their opinions and shared insights on the economic, social and political drivers that influence human capital and that will redefine HR strategies in regional corporations.
“Despite the Middle East region developing at a phenomenal pace and even outstripping growth in most developed nations, one of the main challenges faced by private enterprises aside from competition the forum agreed, is the problem of maintaining, engaging and developing their most vital asset – their personnel,” explained Amer Zureikat, Bayt.com.
The importance of staff training and development was reflected recently in independent research commissioned by Bayt.com and YouGovSiraj on the region’s Consumer Confidence, which is used to understand and measure the attitudes of Middle Eastern consumers to the economy and their job situation and employment market in general. The February2008 Bayt.com and YouGovSiraj a Consumer Confidence Index report (available on www.bayt.com) clearly shows a lack of satisfaction with career growth opportunity in Kuwait. Forty-six percent of respondents in Kuwait cited that satisfaction with their current job and career prospects was neutral, with33% citing them as low.
Moreover,44% stated that satisfaction with career growth was neutral, with22% citing it as low. Against this backdrop,24% of respondents in Kuwait cited there were very many jobs available locally versus27% indicating there were ‘very few available’ and41% indicating there were ‘not many available’.
Furthermore, findings of Bayt.com’s2008 Loyalty Survey conducted in conjunction with YouGovSiraj and available on https://www.bayt.com reinforce the perception among Kuwait’s workers that career development opportunities are less than optimal with only33% of workers in Kuwait agreeing that their organizations manage to engage employees so that they perform to the best of their ability, and only27% agreeing that the organization manages to keep the best talent.
The forum went on to discuss the implications of customized, performance-based training and development programs on the success of different companies’ localization drives. 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 th ey look for in a job versus31% selecting attractive salary.
“The case for localization is compelling, and while the general consensus agreed that the adoption of the localization mandate is in the interests of everyone doing business in the region, it was generally felt that the best outcome would be for organisations to focus not only on localization but on ‘quality localisation,’ which can be achieved through the implementation of effective, customized, flexible and proactive staff training and development programs that suit the needs of the individual and the organisation.” said Amer Zureikat, Bayt.com.
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 HR industry today.