Fifteen per cent of employers in the GCC do not have the talent to achieve their 2017 objectives, according to Hays Recruiting experts recent Salary Survey of 2,800 professionals working in the GCC region.

Lack of suitable candidates, unrealistic salary expectations and competition from other employers were the top three challenges organisations cited when looking to hire resource, provoking them to address what they can do better to attract and retain top talent.

“While it is not easy, particularly during more challenging market conditions, organisations must review their approach to both talent attraction and retention. They need to understand how their offerings compare to others in the market and identify what they can do to stand out from the crowd,” said Chris Greaves, managing director of Hays Gulf Region.

The survey found ‘Career development’, ‘Benefits package’, ‘Organisational Culture’, ‘Work-life balance’ and ‘Job Security’ to be of relatively equal and increasingly significant importance to employees when considering employment with a company.

Furthermore, amongst top trends noted for 2017 in another of Hays recent reports, was the utilisation of active-desking and working from home, a pattern supported by the 70 per cent of survey respondents who consider flexible working an important factor when considering a new role.

“We have seen developments in the region with organisations addressing career development opportunities for current and prospective employees. There has been a visible increase in the number of Learning and Development professionals being recruited by organisations, particularly towards the second half of 2016. These professionals are being recruited to upskill workforces, to develop a sense of loyalty from employees and to increase overall resource capability. A win-win situation for both employer and employee” Greaves added.

With regards to career development, over half (55 per cent) of GCC professionals feeling that there is no scope to progress in their current organisation and the same number anticipate moving employers within 2017.

“Career development is clearly an important factor yet only one consideration for acquiring and enabling top talent,” Greaves said.

“The relatively high mobility of labour in the GCC region, coupled with increased organisational competition from new market entrants requires employers to be innovative with their talent management techniques, identifying realistic yet distinguishing factors that will attract and retain the very best talent in order to meet objectives for 2017 and beyond,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service