Up to 100 HR professionals will network, share knowledge and explore solutions to the latest challenges they are facing in their roles in an upcoming human resources summit in Dubai.

Organised by French business facilitation group naseba, the ninth annual Human Assets Expansion Summit Mena 2014 will take place on May 14 and 15 the Grosvenor House. Dr Omar Al Nuaimi, Assistant Undersecretary of Policies and Strategy at the UAE Ministry of Labour, will inaugurate the event.

The summit also features the sixth annual Mena HR Excellence Awards, which will see the region's leading HR professionals and organisations gain recognition for their achievements over the last 12 months.

With over 600,000 jobs to be created in the GCC by 2018, 'human assets expansion' refers to the current rise in the number of people moving to the region for employment, and also an additionally anticipated 275,000 jobs as a result of Expo 2020. LinkedIn research suggests that 49,000 people moved to the UAE last year alone.

With such a large influx of new talent, and a workforce coming from all over the world, the region's HR professionals, decision makers and influencers now have the crucial task of establishing best practice in company employment policy to meet the changes and challenges ahead. The Human Assets Expansion Summit MENA is the recognised platform for this dialogue to take place, said Edward Matti, managing partner at CCM Consultancy, platinum sponsor of the summit.

"This is the fourth time we're attending the summit, which provides a great opportunity for us to remain connected to key decision-makers, learn more about their challenges and adapt our services accordingly. Hearing industry experts speak about their experiences and share best practices is of paramount importance if we intend to grow as a region,” Matti said.

With the region attracting a global workforce, and increased competitiveness amongst organisations to secure the best talent, HR professionals now need to consider the expectations and working culture of those relocating here for work.

Ronald Thomas, chief human resources officer, RGTS Group and senior faculty member at the Human Capital Institute, said: "The standards that were set years ago have eroded over time, so I would caution that HR departments must have a world view on compensation structure. To have and use only your country data and practices is not acceptable, since the sourcing of talent is worldwide today. HR is rapidly evolving into a strategic department within an organisation."

Recent research by Robert Walkers shows that 96 per cent of the employees in the Middle East consider benefits a critical factor when accepting an offer, and according to Bayt, 46.6 per cent would be enticed to stay with a company if 'reasonable job securities' were in place.
In light of this, the summit will provide a crucial platform for the exchange of expert strategy and opinion, not only on the kinds of benefits companies should be offering to keep their talent, but also whether a strategy should even be put in place to actively encourage staff turnover.

"I believe the whole notion of retention nowadays has shifted from focusing on just retaining employees, to determining whether an organisation may benefit from a strategy to increase turnover. A higher turnover rate can encourage existing employees to perform at their best, enable management to replace under-performers, and also improve talent as the pace of technology brings new opportunities, challenges and demands upon a workforce,” Thomas said.

"These types of conference bring forth a stable of forward-thinking HR executives exchanging ideas and approaches. This knowledge transfer allows participants to get an inside view of accomplished techniques, successful models of succession planning, engagement and leadership development,” he added.

Sophie Le Ray, CEO of naseba, the summit organiser, said: "To differentiate themselves from competitors, employers need to make sure they take into account the changing expectations of new job seekers, offer competitive benefits, and streamline their HR process in sync with current industry standards." – TradeArabia News Service