Are Biased Recruitment Trends in Dubai Overlooking Equal Opportunity Employment?

Hi all,

I thought I would touch on this often sidelined/ignored quantity in the Dubai market. In a melting pot like Dubai, we all seem to be so caught up in meeting our targets and goals that some among us have even stopped trying to use those basic tenets of HR, one of which is 'the right talent for the right job' irrespective of sex, religion (exceptions are there to every rule).

I would welcome discussions on the current situation with respect to the above topic and dealing with biased recruitment trends in the Dubai market.

I do agree with Mr. Sundararajan. But we cannot go against the system. I would like to know how we can take initiatives for that. If anyone has any suggestions, please share them with us.

'Right talent for the right job' does not hold good for Dubai in at least two contexts. One, Emirati is preferred as far as organizations headed by locals are concerned. Two, in the same scenario, white skin is also preferred to brown skin. They get carried away by the white skin! If given a choice between a white and a not so polished brown, irrespective of the talent or the caliber of 'brain power', white is preferred.

As far as compensation goes, the above two groups again get a better deal irrespective of talent or not!

At the same time, I would also like to mention that there do exist a number of organizations where Indians are preferred, especially for the finance department.

Geetha

How about a research on finding out if there is any factor apart from merit that influences the selection of the candidate? Is there any factor related to color, sex, and race that influences this decision? It would be good if the research could also delve into the reasons for the employer to think so!

Dear All,

Unlike the US & UK where Equal Opportunity Employment is taken seriously, in Dubai, it does not hold much value because of the following reasons:

1. Dubai is just developing its corporate sector. Even now the country has more construction workers than white-collar employees. Hence, the corporate scenario in Dubai is at a budding stage. It will take them a few more years to understand the importance of Corporate Values like Equal Opportunity Employment, Diversity, Employee Retention Programs, etc. If you look at most of the companies in Dubai, despite having big names and successful businesses, they still do not have concrete HR & Training Departments. Very few companies have the concept of formal Appraisals, KRAs, Job Descriptions, etc.

2. Also, because of religious reasons, some companies involved in work in Dubai and the Middle East cannot offer Equal Opportunity Employment as certain countries do not allow women to work.

3. I also agree with Geetha that the preference for white skin is very prominent in Dubai irrespective of talent. This is because very few companies understand the power of Equal Opportunity Employment.

Regards,
Brandy

hmmm

Hi all, I see that the heat is on!!! Well, thank you for all your thoughts and keep them coming.

Now, on a further note and also to add to Mr. Sundarrajan's post about bias around the world. Well, actually in theory, yes, we as humans are biased. We psychologically relate and tend to lean towards images or perceptions that have been tested based on our experiences.

Now, the question I feel is to firstly ask ourselves this, do our perceptions and experiences hold true in every context? Why I ask this is that since we all could be in different parts of the world, brought up in different environments, our sense of right and wrong and the amount that these boundaries of right and wrong can be flexed also differ. A simple example would be the concept of time in Dubai. If a person is given a time, it is unfortunate that a higher percentage of individuals do not make it on time for the meeting, stating reasons of traffic and so on and so forth. The same also unfortunately applies to people who request the meeting. Time is considered flexible in many cultures and less so in others.

Now, what relation does all this have to Equal Opportunity Employment in Dubai and also the Emiratization?

Well, to begin with, I have myself been involved with Emiratization programs and as a matter of fact, I have created and begun implementation of an Emiratization plan for an organization of more than 10,000 people. What I have realized is the following:

The Emiratization focus today has changed from the initial idea of blind and uncontrolled implementation of a plan, to one aimed at empowering a nation's people (Self-empowerment of an entire generation).

Today, the Emiratization plan has three main areas of focus:

1. Empowering the national workforce to take the future of their nation into their own hands using tools of experience and education.
2. To attract back those Emiratis that have studied and gained experience in Western countries.
3. To create entrepreneurs and business leaders amongst Emiratis.

The main stumbling blocks are two:

A) Lack of skilled professionals with adequate experience to take up positions of responsibility.
B) Perception differences amongst Emiratis.
(To further explain the above point, there are two kinds of Emiratis that are in Dubai: the Emiratis who are ambitious and also at the same time willing to empower themselves by education, training, and work experience; and the Emiratis who feel it is their birthright to be in the highest pay while doing almost nothing).

Many times when I have had to arbitrate among Emiratis due to the above perception, some of the performers have come to me asking why non-performers are getting the same salary and benefits that they do without any performance.

Now, at the onset, I do have to accept something. Equal opportunity is a costly proposition in the short term. Yes, it is. The reason being it is easier to achieve team synergies with people of the same nationality, but then that's what you will get: short-term benefits and growth.

Equal opportunity can be instituted in Dubai, and I would like to put forward a few strategies which I myself have instituted in organizations:

A) Let us accept Emiratization is here to stay just like reservation in India or any number of schemes that governments of different countries take to protect their native workforce. Once in a conversation with the current vice president of a very big bank in Dubai, someone asked him about the high cost of Emiratization to which pat came back the reply, "Well, that is the cost of doing business in Dubai, take it or leave it" (this bank has among the highest rates of Emiratization in the banking sector).

B) Reserve clear percentages for Emiratization in every department and allocate investment budgets.

C) Always start equal employment opportunity implementation on a small scale, preferably in one department, to convince the management of ROI over a period of time. This will be shown through the efficiency of the department.

D) Also, for that particular department, have purely skills-based selection methods with proper documentation of selection processes.

E) Invite, yes invite the Emiratis in the department to be a part of the process. Two-pronged advantage with this. Sometimes it pays to be a kingmaker and not the king, and the other is let the Emiratis also learn the advantages of having skilled and talented people working with them rather than people who can just speak their language.

F) Lastly, always try and employ a grading system that works for the organization. Mundane aping of systems might not work well and might cause more problems than good.

Well, with that, I would like to invite further discussions on this topic and also look forward to your opinions on how we can all help to further the cause of equal employment in Dubai.

By the way, there are companies/departments in companies that do follow equal employment. And they are Dubai-based companies, not foreign companies.

On that note, cheers.

I agree with what Geetha has to say and would also like to shed some light on it.

I have dealt with a lot of Emiratis, most of whom have been pretty lazy. However, there have been some who have really worked hard. They themselves acknowledge that most of them are lazy because of the advantages and benefits their country offers to them. I believe that many companies have now started to recruit talent not based on nationality. Over time, they have realized the pros and cons of having Emiratis.

Whites have begun to understand that they can hire quality people for a lower salary, and that's what they are starting to do now. I have personally come to know this through discussions with a couple of senior HR professionals. However, there are always exceptions to everything, and nothing is perfect.

As long as we are expats, wherever we go or live, there will always be a disparity. However, how we perceive it and work on it depends completely on us.

Hi All,

I agree fully with Geetha that our talent excellence is not being recognized just because of nationality in this country, especially in local companies where Emiratis are preferred for HR positions regardless of their lack of thorough knowledge of HR and its functions.

Kind regards

Bull's eye phrca!!!! Absolutely valid points brought forward... I am just thinking aloud, adding one more perspective... The dynamics of Dubai as a whole are changing. Earlier, it was expats here helping in the building of this nation (still are!) and the benefit for them was the good amount of savings. Now, all of us are aware that this has changed. It is becoming increasingly difficult to attract good talent due to the huge rise in rents, etc. Opening of freehold property brings in another dimension. After all these projects are completed, say, after 2011, the owners of these properties are also in a way citizens of this country. They have liked something about this place and bought property here. So, I think after a few years, the workforce composition will be something like - Emiratis + freehold property owners + expats - with the percentage of expats going down. In this mix, probably 'right talent for the right job' will be worked out.

Geetha :-D (very happy to discuss this issue... thank you, phrca (hope I got it right!) for bringing this issue up for discussion)

Hi All,

Adding some more points to Phrca. I think you should eliminate having different pay scales for nationals where discrimination starts. Try to incorporate them into your salary, grading, and benefit structure and place them in the same job that you are doing, and forget about job security. We always say that they take our jobs, but it never happens. The way every company grows in Dubai, no one will lose a good employee. It's time now; everybody is trying to retain employees irrespective of nationalities.

Cheers

Hi Ashraf,

Absolutely agree with you and am glad to say in companies that are striving towards equal opportunity employment there is grade pay and benefits. The difference comes in the pension payout for the UAE citizens. Here the deal is that the company has to pay a percentage of the salary. But the fun part is that the Emirati is to be employed continuously for 20 years before they can touch the money. Also, if they break employment and transfer to another company, they have to pay around 30,000 AED before it can be transferred to the new company. I have seen a few Emiratis (women) who got married, took a break, and started working again but now have to give 30,000 to get their pension reactivated! And yes, companies are slowly moving toward talent retention because it's costing them money to recruit, so hoping for the best. And many thanks to all for your replies.

Ps: Geetha, your forecast is a pretty good study on the HR and labor trends in Dubai. As a matter of fact, there has been talk of introducing freezone laws for certain industries which are considered important for the development of UAE's economy, i.e., this will also apply to companies outside the free zone. Lastly, there is also talk of removing the system of bans. I am sure it will be done away with in the coming years.

Cheers