I awoke not knowing where I was at first; having just landed after traveling fifteen hours, checked into the hotel, and catnapped all within the last five hours. Looking at my phone, the weather screen read Dust and I knew I was someplace different; I was in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.).
The next two days were spent on a personal and professional journey with several other human resource and compensation professionals from the GCC region and beyond. The GCC or Gulf Cooperation Council region includes countries such as Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E. To me, this has always been a fascinating region on so many levels and so I wanted to explore the challenges and opportunities facing fellow HR colleagues in this part of the world. That old saying that the more things change, the more they stay the same rang true, and not surprisingly, the issues facing HR professionals here are not unlike any other part of the world.
The war for talent is a major issue and was at the core for many of the discussions that took place over the course of the two days. The historical reliance of expats combined with non-national laborers has provided unique challenges to the region. With the boom in building in cities such as Dubai, the influx of migrant workers and the historical pulling of passports by their employers have raised ethical concerns for migrant treatment, rights, and labor violations. In December 2015, Human Rights Watch issued a document outlining standards for constructions companies operating in the GCC region [1].
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar have been a haven for expats who have flocked to the area due to the better opportunities than in their home country, attractive incomes (which in many cases is tax free), and the high living standards [2]. However, many of the GCC countries are adapting a mid to long-term strategy of nationalization; developing and employing local citizens. This is a challenge especially when there is an imbalance in the amount of nationals versus non-nationals in high-growth countries. According to the Gulf Reaserch Center’s 2015 statistics, nationals in the United Arab Emirates represented 11.5% of the population while non-nationals 88.5%. Qatar is similar with nationals representing 14.3% of the population while 85.7% are non-nationals [3]. To reach this goal, many companies have started to differentiate their compensation package for nationals.
Another topic of discussion was the concept of segmentation of benefits and pay. With the multitude of nationalities in the workplace, there is not a one size does not fit all approach. One company represented had over sixty-eight different nationalities in their workforce. These organizations are looking to keep their core remuneration packages providing employees with the flexibility of how they use their allowance packages. Yet others, especially in the pharmaceutical or technical arenas are looking at segmentation of merit and rewards based on critical skills with the ultimate goal of retention. Sound familiar?
The key to success, in whatever compensation decision is decided upon, is communication. The desire to provide employees with a meaningful work experience and engagement was paramount to many of the delegates present.
What was perhaps most encouraging take away from the summit was that many of the family-owned companies who were well represented by their respective HR leaders, embraced best-practices, bench marking, and the idea of total remuneration.
While I may have had the perception that the Middle East is a chaotic and volatile region, these two days dispelled that for me as it relates to compensation practices. It is a region that is growing exponentially, and brimming with talented human resources and compensation professionals who are bringing stability and continuity for their businesses and the very diverse talent populations they serve.