Please share a small profile on your field of business and how you came into your current role.
We at Lime source Consultancy are a Global Award-Winning HR organisation that specialises in Talent search i.e sourcing work forces from 4 continents across the globe for over 700 top corporates across the GCC. We are backed by full-fledged operations across 15 countries, with our HQ based out of Dubai since 1993.
I started my career with less than $100 over three decades ago, landing in the UAE on December 11, 1993. I would proudly call the UAE the land of opportunities, with our organization being awarded the Best Global Talent Search Consultancy and the HR CEO of Year Award in 2018 from the UK. We feel glad to mention that the UAE government honoured me as the first expat recipient of the coveted long- term Golden Visa under Specialised Talent category, in 2021.
There was a time when I used to head organisations and travel across the globe to search for talent in new markets, which is when I realised that there was a massive gap in what corporate employers wanted from the work force. There was a very little effort invested by HR firms to represent employers as brand ambassadors and negligible effort made to educate workers.
I have always been deeply passionate about empowering people and serving society, I guess this was my calling to connect talent and employers on a global scale. On behalf of the entire Lime Source Family, I can say that it gives me immense happiness when we see the team blessed to transform not only a potential employee’s career but enable prosperity across the family. This leads to better education standards, affordable medical care and food on the plate, better accommodation standards, reduced crime worldwide and ultimately creating a happy society around.
As a next-generation CEO or team lead, what are the lessons that you wish to carry forward from your mentors?
My book, 50 Secrets of Success was published worldwide in 2020, and appeared in the Best Seller category on Amazon and BecomeShakespeare publishing platforms. The few lessons I point out in the book are:
A) Dream big
B) Follow your passion - offer a product or service that adds immense value to society at large
C) Never be afraid of failure, we never fail we just learn. Learning is a treasure that empowers experience, leading to success
D) Focus on building long-term relations, not project-based ones
E) Focus on building a legacy, not livelihood
What are the challenges you perceive in your field of business and how are you planning to meet them?
In today’s world, amid rising operational costs of running business, finance departments at corporates at times make the mistake of slicing budgets on employee welfare activities. Due to this clients fail to retain their work force for longer periods than in the past.
Besides, facilities once offered when withdrawn not only leads to instability, but insecurity as well, leading to higher attrition rates than in previous years.
At Lime Source, we ensure that corporates are counselled on becoming more innovative in retaining staff. After all it’s not salary alone that glues workers to any organisation, it’s also that sense of belonging, bond of trust and sense of community. It’s genuine employee welfare, where staff members truly feel that the company cares appreciate that which matters most. We impart the creative ideas to make this happen.
Our Director, Neetu Gupta deeply feels that gender balance is another area that needs immediate attention. If we wish to see balanced society growth, we need to create a platform for balanced gender growth. Women need to be offered more opportunities in the corporate world, which will surely infuse lots of positive energy while leading to new talent being attracted to join the workplace.
State three things that you could offer to help incentivise your team in their quest for excellence.
A) Developing a sense of ownership
B) Creating a platform whereby the team is constantly motivated and trained to take up leadership roles at the next level of growth
C) Creating stakeholders who grow hand-in-hand with the organisation
In your view as a new-age CEO, how primed is the UAE as a hub for business and entrepreneurship?
The UAE has emerged as a melting pot of over 250 nationalities, constantly growing and living in harmony under the dynamic and visionary leadership of the UAE Rulers.
The Nation offers world-class infrastructure; its convenient geographical presence and cordial business growth environment undoubtedly makes Dubai a top and preferred destination for global business leaders. We have so many success stories around the UAE to inspire each other in all manners.
How do you see your organisation/business contributing towards the growth of the UAE under your leadership?
We strongly believe it to be an open sky, full of opportunities and with lots to be done in line with the UAE 2030 and 2050 growth plans. We will witness an influx of global talent, with extensive efforts already in place in the UAE to make the country the most preferred destination for business as well as for families in the long-term.
We foresee a large inflow of investors to the UAE as a constant process, leading to substantial growth requiring large numbers of work force and talent from across the world, serving businesses and communities. This is evident from the fact that Dubai International Airport remains the busiest International airport in March 2024.
Lime Source Consultancy aims to emerge stronger as a one-point solution to source talent from across the globe, with world-class training facilities to be established overseas, enhancing the quality of workers before landing in the UAE, leading to happy corporates and confident future employees.
What is the growth trajectory you have charted for your organisation over the next five years?
Our future growth chart would involve staying proactive in pre-empting Industry demands as per global standards, setting up world-class training facilities across MENA, expansion of our business operations in KSA and Canada to explore the full potential of both East and West.
We also aim to set up a microfinance company in Africa that shall extend funding support to young professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs to implement their business ideas, whereby we invest in their ventures to make it happen.
We are confident our three decades worth of experience and their brilliant ideas shall be a blessing to cherish, as we work towards building a prestigious Lime Source Family legacy for future generations to follow.
