In the wake of the global economic crisis, the recent negative sentiment about Dubai in the global press has surprised its local and expatriate residents – the observant among us will have undoubtedly noticed a blossoming of spring-like activity on the streets, malls, roads and airports. The cranes around Dubai have slowly but surely started operating again, the appointment announcements in the local press have started to thicken out considerably, and airports around the GCC, including Dubai have witnessed an exponential growth in passenger traffic.

Given these observable changes, organizations around the GCC have started thinking again about how to take full advantage of the positive signs of economic recovery.  Our experience says that the competitive advantage that companies can create now will only be realized through their people.  So, the key question is “How Do Organizations Manage Talent in the Middle East Moving Forward?”

During the last 18 months, many organizations have experienced an immense amount of turmoil and change.  For a lot of organizations, this has meant re-structuring, re-staffing, re-skilling of current employees, or laying-off a redundant workforce.  In other words, difficult decisions have been made in order to survive. 

While businesses have had to make these difficult organizational decisions, surviving employees (those left in the organization after layoffs or restructuring) have witnessed and observed how their employers have handled the situation.  Organizations now have to make fundamental structural and investment decisions about their business model moving forward.  As we exit the downturn, decisions about the value of core businesses must be re-evaluated.  As companies make these decisions and face the challenges associated with them, one way to capitalize upon them is through people, hence HR strategy development and integration, and HR’s role in the organizational strategy is paramount.

Although the emergence of an organization from the economic downturn can present many perceived issues or problems, we would prefer that these are viewed as challenges to be met.  The key to mitigating these challenges is to first understand the underlying organizational values and behaviors.

In order for any organization to “be ahead of the game” it first needs to recognize and appreciate its cultural appetite for risk taking.  If your organization is risk averse, this presents a different opportunity than if it has a high tolerance for risk and entrepreneurial spirit.

Organizations need to realize that an important aspect of capitalizing on their business strategy is through its people. Given that many have let go of staff members, the survivors have had to adapt and overcome the challenges that arise.  This may mean that they have had to acquire new knowledge or skills, learn new methods of working, or simply gone without certain functionality for a while.  Employers need to assess how much of this has occurred and begin to take appropriate measures to mitigate the risk of discontinuity.

Although a tough message for many leaders to digest, we know that the good may go.  As the marketplace picks up, strong talent will have plenty of employment options due to “holes” left after layoffs and re-structures.  Organizations may choose to “staff up” with new talent in order to fill the gaps that are left from the downturn or bring in new skills to help realize the new strategy, as discussed previously. 

Current employees will be watching as their employers bring in new talent.  They will ask themselves questions and talk in the corridors about how the organization is handling the recruitment process, how the new employees are on-boarded, how the interactions between the veterans and the rookies are facilitated.  The survivor population cannot be overlooked.  The survivors must be maintained and retained in order to ensure business continuity.  Organizations also need to assess their total rewards structure and processes to ensure that appropriate behaviors are rewarded and help to drive business strategy. 

For Performance Management, this means that organizations must ensure the alignment of their systems to desired values & behaviors.  Often our clients have realized, after completing an assessment of their current system, that they are providing incentives for the wrong behaviors.  The link between your performance management system, organizational objectives and KPIs is paramount.  In order to properly assess your current system, tough questions must be asked and organizations must turn a critical eye towards general HR practices that are integrated with the same. 

Once the business strategy and structure is defined or re-defined, employers will need to assess the underlying skill sets that must be present to execute that strategy. 

Only after organizations have assessed the necessary workforce requirements, can they begin to look at their Performance Management (PM) System.  The term “Performance Management System” can have several definitions and applications. Once the PM System is in place, it is necessary to continually monitor and observe employee behaviors.  Many organizations have implemented a PM process, managers and employees are filling out the forms, and everything looks good on paper…sound familiar?  HR departments must take the initiative to review the value chain above in order to continue to drive employee behavior. 

The changing economic time has presented a wealth of problems that are disguised as opportunities for many organizations across the globe.  As we have watched the impact on the global economic crisis ripple across the world, it is a key opportunity for HR to have an influence on how the emergence from this crisis will impact the organization.  One way that HR can have an influence on organizational outcomes is through the proper management of individual performance.  In order to accomplish this, HR functions must demonstrate the link between your performance management systems and desired individual behaviors.

HR departments need to tackle this challenge head-on in order to address the challenges that will arise.  Various HR programs can be introduced to address the changing needs of the organization.  As each organization is continuing to ask the question “What’s next?” we would challenge you to not ask the question, but tell the answer.  The more proactive your HR department can be the better results the organization will have. 

About the Authors

Michael Walsh is a Senior Associate in Mercer’s Human Capital Business, specializing in Human Capital Operations and Technology. Based in Dubai, he performs HR strategies design, project management, organization design and implementation, and data analysis activities as a leader and member of client project teams. 

Mr. Walsh’s experience has included HR service delivery model development and implementation, HR Shared Service Center Design and Implementation, HR process and procedure reengineering, HR strategy and leadership development. Mr. Walsh has worked with clients in the transportation, aerospace, service, financial, oil and gas, healthcare, governmental, education and manufacturing industries.

Shaun Tarr is a Senior Associate in Mercer’s Human Capital business, specializing in HR Capital Operations & Technology, and Workforce Strategies.  Based in Dubai, he focuses on providing clients with advisory services and project management support for HR Service Delivery, HR process re-engineering, HR systems selection / implementation, Performance Management, Behavioral and Technical Competency Frameworks, Role Profiling and Learning & Development initiatives.

Since joining Mercer, he has been actively involved in numerous projects in Eastern Europe and Middle East for clients including Financial Services, Communication and Information Technology, Manufacturing and Petro-Chemicals industries.

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it