Dubai: Things are looking up for businesses in the UAE when it comes to performance and hiring, a new survey showed. However, recruitment woes have hit firms who have amped up their hiring for the upcoming year owing to the lack of candidates with core digital and sales skills.
The report by WTW, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, revealed that companies in the UAE are not planning a reduction in workforce over the next year. The survey was conducted in September.
Respondents in the WTW survey said that they are having to explore a wide range of pay and reward strategies to attract and retain key staff.
Better pastures
60 per cent of respondents said they had problems attracting or retaining staff with digital skills, while 42 per cent said the same for sales roles. Better growth opportunities and higher pay are the two key reasons that employees leave.
Roman Weidlich, Senior Director with WTW in the UAE, said: “Many UAE businesses have seen a strong 2022 and are optimistic about next year. They’re ambitious about hiring but that is putting extra pressure on attracting and retaining the right talent, and at the right cost.
“And increasing basic pay alone often isn’t enough. Greater workplace flexibility, more investment in training opportunities, and tailored bonuses and incentive plans are all finding their way into the overall package that employers are offering.”
Perks over and beyond salary
Given the tight labour market, the survey results revealed that employers are motivated to offer non-salary benefits in addition to pay to retain and hire the right talent.
- Half (47 per cent) said they are placing or plan to place greater emphasis on non-financial compensation.
- 72 per cent are offering greater workplace flexibility
- 65 per cent are making pay offers at the very top end of the relevant salary range
- 64 per cent are increasing the range of training opportunities
- 57 per cent offer one-off rewards and,
- 52 per cent offer retention bonuses for key staff.
Hiring to continue
Nearly half (47 per cent) of companies surveyed said they increased recruitment since the start of 2022, and 57 per cent added that company performance by the end of the year is expected to be better than last year.
Over the coming 12 months, over a third of the survey respondents planned to grow their workforce, while 65 per cent expected to maintain their headcount. None surveyed said they would reduce their staff numbers.
