Written by: Kelly Barcelos
Edited by: Mona Timor Shehata
Published by: Ahmed Mohamed Hassan
It is an exciting time for businesses in the Middle East. The competition is getting tougher, a new generation of employees is taking the reins and new technologies are being introduced — all these factors are contributing to a significant shift in the business world.
One way the HR departments across businesses are coping with these factors is by using HR assessment tools such as Applicant Tracking Software, conducting workshops on trending topics and offering strategic partnerships. Look out for these 6 trends that will change the way the HR industry will operate in the Middle East.
- Increased Used of Technology and Automation
Human Resources wastes a lot of time on completing administrative work and answering questions about the company benefits. This results in them not being able to do other important HR tasks. By introducing technology tools and automation, you will be able to control your people management skills. Automation tools help in eliminating routine paperwork that deals with salaries, attendance…etc.
- Encouraging Employee Involvement
For a very long time, employees were merely considered as someone working for the company. But there has been a shift in this attitude and the industry is encouraging and promoting employee involvement and experience. Employee involvement is helping organizations create an environment in which people are a critical and effective factor in making important decisions within the organization.
In fact, around 97% of employees and job seekers want to be involved in these decisions and recognized for their contribution to the company. Keeping this in mind while developing a training program will help HR managers analyze employee behavior and understand how to involve them better.
- Using Data Analytics for Training
Analytics is critical for effective talent management. You need to understand employee behavior and measure their performance, which is gained through data. Using employing analytics tools, which are also a part of online recruitment software, to analyze data regarding performance, recruitment, employee responsiveness and many other factors will be on the rise. This derived data is supporting and beneficial to decision-makers. The larger the organization, the more critical it is to derive this data.
- Personalized Learning and Development
No employee is the same, which means their learning and training requirements also will not be the same. It is becoming increasingly critical for the hiring organizations in the Middle East to create flexible benefits programs providing employees with various options for learning and career development. Personalizing the learning opportunities for employees lead to higher performance, which eventually contribute to higher profits. Hiring managers can use recruiting software to develop training programs to fill the gap between the current and expected performance of the employees.
- Placing Importance on Work Culture
Employees these days want more than just a job. They are not willing to put in their time and energy into something that does not promise them a good work experience and engagement. Millennials look for a strong corporate culture and a meaningful work experience. It is not surprising to see most of them prioritizing culture over compensation when they accept a job offer. Since attracting and retaining new talent is a challenging task, HR professionals in the Middle East must focus more on offering an attractive culture considering nearly one in three people are between the ages of 15 and 25 years.
Focus on developing HR programs, which measure and improve employee engagement. At the same time, HR managers must define and improve corporate culture as both these aspects will contribute to driving and improving retention. This is particularly important as 50% of millennials intend to change jobs every two years. If you do not offer an organization with a strong culture, they will just move on to one that will.
- Leadership Training
Leadership training was common at the senior levels but not anymore. Companies in the Middle East are becoming aware of how important it is for employees at all levels to improve their leadership skills. Consider it as a strategic initiative and strive to train the next generation of employees to become effective and inspiring leaders to lead their teams successfully.
These recruiting trends indicate that companies in the Middle East must focus on keeping training methodologies innovative and in-line with the current best practice to train and retain the best staff possible.
Author Bio:
Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager specializing in HR and is responsible for leading Jobsoid’s content and social media team. When Kelly is not building campaigns, she is busy creating content and preparing PR topics. She started with Jobsoid as a social media strategist and eventually took over the entire digital marketing team with her innovative approach and technical expertise.