Over a short period of time, the business sector in the UAE will become recognized as an emerging market, thus attracting talent from other parts of the globe. In a recent statement, His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, discussed this talent attraction back to the region referring to it as “brain regain.” His Highness stated in the article:
“The basic ingredient is opportunity. Talent flows naturally to countries that create an environment for economic growth; that make life easy for enterprise; that attract and welcome investment; and that nurture a culture of achievement. Skills are attracted to challenge and possibility.”
Investment in talent and managing development opportunities are proven methodologies for business success. Organizations in the UAE and throughout the Middle East will need to recognize that human resource capital assets are as vital to company resource capabilities as its technology. The attraction and retention of talent is more effective when the integration of existing company cultures and the diversity of its workforce are prioritized. This will result in assimilation of a global mindset with localized culture, or ‘glocalization’.
Strategic talent management modeling requires competency based programs that will support organizational needs. This begins with the recruitment and retention of qualified candidates and evolves into a holistic approach to employee development, performance management, total rewards and succession planning initiatives. Furthermore, local companies will need to create effective training and development programs that will vastly improve current skills and knowledge of today’s workers, as well as develop the necessary skills and knowledge for tomorrow’s job requirements. These factors become even more critical when considering the importance of Emiratization and the need to integrate vast numbers of local nationals into the growing demand for knowledge workers. Formal training programs, on-the-job training, job rotation, mentoring and job shadowing methodologies will become increasingly important in meeting local demands for both staffing and talent development.
Organizations operating within the UAE will need to start creating strategic talent management plans now that will meet current and future business requirements up to and past Expo 2020.
