MNCs should use local talent

Twenty years ago, multinational companies had a shortage of qualified local managers at foreign units. So they emplo-yed expatriates in large numbers. Now the situation is different. More qualified local graduates are available. MNCs now cannot say that there is shortage of local staff.

For MNCs, this is the right time to make plans for recruiting qualified nationals. Hiring nationals for management jobs can go a long way towards meeting society's demand.

One pro-active executive of an international courier company said, "We employ as many nationals as possible to head off trouble in advance." He is practical.

There should be a positive feedback on emiratisation drive. Both sides, the employer and the employee, should view that the creation of jobs is for betterment as well as performance. Nationals should not feel that getting a job is a legitimate right. Rather, they must try to compete with expatriates, especially to work in multinationals.

Apart from a social point of view, employers should understand that nationals could often deal much more effectively with governments. Moreover, a qualified national has a better understanding of the host country, people and culture.

The ability of a national to effectively communicate with fellow people, who can be customers, officials or suppliers, will be better than that of an an expatriate. So why can't they be encouraged to work in sales and customer services, jobs that are available in the market.

It is a mindset of many Gulf executives that nationals are not compatible with expatriates. This perception of national talent poses a challenge to human resources managers to resource the right staff.

Also the notion of classifying jobs for nationals and expatriates must change immediately. There should be a job where qualified person can play effective role irrespective of his or her nationality.

It is the right time for an effective HR manager to persuade the management and get recognition on identifying and developing local talent across the board.

To cite an odd situation faced by HR recently, a top finance director of a multinational company refused to accept a talented national business graduate to work as a payable accountant. It was obvious, the candidate did not have a CPA or CA certificate.

Later it was known that the job requirement was wrongly devised or a complicated job specification was created, either to inflate the role or to protect certain talents. But no one was sure about the design of such 'sophisticated' job description.

According to some managers, a CPA or CA certificate is not needed to appoint a payable accountant, who is expected to do routine jobs like book keeping, cashiering and checking bills.

So, it is a question of designing jobs and then deciding candidates. Why can't a business graduate work as an accountant? What was the big deal? Why is a CPA needed to work as a clerk? May be the intention to accept national talent was missing in that organisation.

For the most part, senior roles where job demands expertise or know-how, which is not yet sufficiently locally available, then MNCs cannot recruit local managers. But they can be developed. Most of this development is through on the job training at overseas units.

Expatriate managers can play a dominant role in training, supplemented by the supervision of corporate managers. Top level nationals could be deputed to overseas headquarters for a period long enough to give them an understanding of corporate policies and to have a sense of belonging as a whole.

Pon Mohaideen Pitchai is a Dubai-based HRD consultant.