Delivering business intelligence to UAE and the Middle East recruitment professionals Issue 2

The Middle East Recruiter Magazine

ASSOCIATED PARTNER

The Professional Body of Recruiters & HR

UAE 2017
To become a sponsor of this UAE
first, contact RecruiterME TODAY

HOPSCOTCH
We take a look into UAEs No.1
agency which gets mums
back into the workplace

RECRUITER POLL
RecruiterME polled 100
recruiters in the UAE
See inside for the results

INSTITUTE OF RECRUITERS
The exciting and much needed launch of IOR
(institute of recruiters) in the Middle East
Together we are raising the recruitment standard

THE RISE OF THE INTERNAL RECRUITER

The rise of internal recruitment has seen huge growth
in the UAE, we take a look into the internal and
inhouse recruitment sector
 Craig OConnor
CO
MD & Founder

RecruiterME
UAE Recruiter Magazine

RecruitME
UAE Recruitment to Recruitment

F NTEN
irstly I would like to take this time to thank everyone
for their features, articles and adverts in the first issue
of RecruiterME. You all contributed making issue 1 a
huge success.

This brings us to issue 2. It has been very exciting putting

TS
this together and with the increased content I hope
you all agree this edition is a very interesting read
and develops on from issue 1 with real content and
honest views on how the UAEs Recruitment market is.
And wow! What an up and down 2016 it has been!
We have really seen the heaviest driven sales and new
business development year that I have experienced in
my 5 years here. This largely is due the downturn, the next
year is expected to be more of the same.

Where do we see the growth in the next 18 months?

I think it is obvious that the huge development within the
digital arenas will still play an exciting role together with
the continued rise within the IT/SAP marketplace here
in the region. With the emergence and growth of niche
leaders such as MCG Associates, Digital Gurus and SALT
who are making waves in these sectors seeing their teams
growing with each quarter that passes giving us an idea
on growth areas.

Within this issue we will also take a look at the ever

increasing trend for recruiters making the switch from
agency to in-house, however, while this creates a
challenge this also creates the opportunity for the
recruitment agencies to outshine.

Heres to a successful 2017 to you all in UAE and Middle East.

For further information, contact our team:

register@recruiterme.ae

8
www.recruiterme.ae www.bullhorn.com
The Middle East Recruiter Magazine
Hopscotch is the first
recruitment company
in the MENA region
to launch an offering purely for
female professionals looking for
flexible working.
Helen McGuire
Co-Founder
and Director
 98% of non-working professional women would
return to the workplace if more flexible options
were available.
O
ver three
lack of flexible options as
a reason for not returning
to work. Hopscotch, the
first recruitment company of its kind
in the MENA region, launches to help
professional women find flexible work.
With limited channels to find flexible
or part time work, womens skills and
knowledge are being lost from the
workplace. In a recent survey of
professional women in the GCC by
Hopscotch.ae, 76% cited a lack of
flexible options as their reason for not
returning to work, with more than a third
stating they would start tomorrow if the
right opportunities were available. In
fact, The World Bank recently estimated
that if women in this region participated
as much as men, another 5% would be
added to GDP.
Hopscotch (a subsidiary company of
MCG Group) aims to change the game
for professional women in the MENA
region. The brainchild of Helen McGuire
and CEO of MCG Group of Companies,
Justin McGuire, the company will work
with professional women and businesses
in the region to marry currently lost skills
with new ways of working.
Flexible working is a growing sector
in the GCC region, popular amongst
The Middle East Recruiter Magazine
quarters cite SMEs and larger organisations alike
for its ability to provide niche skills and
short term, easy hire solutions in an
ever changing global economy. In a
recent survey of its key clients, MCG
Group research shows that 92% require
employees who work non-traditional
hours as part of their workforce and 80%
encourage flexible approaches to time
and location management by their
employees.
With one in ten women feeling that they
lack the confidence to return to work
after a stint away from the workplace,
Hopscotch also supports women at all
stages of the process offering exclusive
workshops and One to One skills
coaching to those who register online
at www.hopscotch.ae
Helen McGuire, former Head of Digital Content at
Impact BBDO / Proximity in Dubai, and herself a mother
of two, commented: After a stint of maternity leave
last summer, I had the chance to mix with so many
super smart women who felt frustrated that they no
longer had opportunities in the workplace. They were
more than willing to be a dedicated resource and put
their knowledge and skills to much needed use, but
because of family commitments had not managed
to find work that suited them. Through Hopscotch,
my mission is to spearhead a change for both those
women and business in this region.
www.recruiterme.ae www.bullhorn.com
 Great initiative.
So many mums
Further statistics of note

would love to go 60% of companies require staff that can work flexibly on a monthly basis.
back to work but
the opportunities Over half of women surveyed had held a position at Director level or
above, before leaving work.
just arent
available.
The majority of respondents (62%) had been away from the workplace for
over a year.

48% of non-working professional women would rate themselves as

ambitious

8 in 10 non-working professional women regarded their hard working

attitude as a key attribute.

Working from home (67%) and part-time working (68%) came out on top as
preferred methods of earning a living.

Additional comments from respondents:

Great initiative. So many mums would love to go back to work but the
opportunities just arent available.

Women who become mums gain new skills which have a valuable place
in the workforce. Giving them the opportunity to utilise those skills would be
advantageous to employers as well as their families.

Even a job that requires me to come in say twice a week would work for me!

www.hopscotch.ae
A division of the MCG Group, the newly launched company offers flexible working
options for professional women and businesses in this region. It also supports
and encourages women back into the workplace by providing exclusive skills
workshops and One To One coaching to registered talent.

For more info and to register, head to hopscotch.ae and contact Hopscotch at
info@hopscotch.ae

Helen McGuire, Hopscotch Carolyn Morgan, Hopscotch

info@hopscotch.ae info@hopscotch.ae

www.recruiterme.ae www.bullhorn.com
The Middle East Recruiter Magazine
Sourcing the Right Talent Successfully
Any talent manager, CEO or board member will gladly attest to the fact that sourcing optimal
talent is one of the main challenges facing corporations today, and that the cost of suboptimal
hiring practices and decisions are exorbitant and growing. Well need them 10 to 12 months
out, and well make the investment, explains Grace Ong, strategic program manager for
Global Staffing.

With hiring sources proliferating and online job-sites vying with social networking sites and traditional sourcing
methods such as physical job fairs, newspaper advertisements, traditional headhunters and word-of-mouth
scouting, it is no wonder corporations are often at a loss with regards to which hiring track to pursue.

Talent Sourcing, by definition, refers to the identification and uncovering of candidates or talents. This process
is of paramount importance to any given organization and thus calls for patience, effort and professionalism
from the employers end. Many top employers who have identified the importance of sourcing and the
positive effects it can have on a companys culture and overall profitability, have developed teams that
are strictly dedicated to talent hunting. Intel, for example, spots and brings onboard a certain number of
strategic hires every year, before an announcement of vacant positions is even made. We may not need
these individuals today, but well need them 10 to 12 months out, and well make the investment, explains
Grace Ong, strategic program manager for Global Staffing.

Why do companies need to make this investment? The equation is quite simple: successful sourcing eventually
leads to successful hiring, it ensures that the right person is in the right place, that there is more employee
productivity, enhanced customer satisfaction, more customer spending, and ultimately more organizational
profitability.
What can you then, as an employer, do to ensure
successful talent sourcing? Here are Bayt.coms top Tips:
1. Source Talent Innovatively: Gone are the days when
a simple job posting in a trade magazine or newspaper
would attract all candidates in the relevant talent
pool. In todays networking proficient, tech-savvy, and
globalised talent, a more holistic approach that does
not favor traditional methods at the expense of new
optimal sourcing tools and techniques is required. Few
would argue that there are better substitutes for online
job-sites. Even fewer would argue that todays top talent
is not predominantly searching for jobs online. Indeed,
online recruitment today, which includes leading,
specialized, and pan-regional sites as such Bayt.com,
remains by far the fastest, easiest, and most effective
recruitment method. Such job-sites cast a wide net
enabling the attraction of top talent on global basis
and provide sophisticated search tools to filter through
applicants and hire the best candidates. Bayt.coms
2009 poll, Using Online Job Site, shows that online
recruitment is the preferred talent sourcing method
for 52% of employers in the Middle East and that an
overwhelming 78% of employers are planning to use it
to meet their hiring needs in the years to come.
2. Make Your Job Descriptions Worthy: No prospective
candidate wants to read through a wish-list of static
traits that does not clearly outline the professional
landscape and whats in the job for the candidate.
The job description is an ideal platform to showcase
company successes, as well as interesting projects that
the bearer of a specific position would normally engage
in as well as to state clearly what the opportunities for
professional growth and career development are.
Use the job description to rouse the talents interest in
your vacancy and your company as a place of work!
A leading online blog for hiring and retaining talent,
Blogcatalog.com, suggests crafting a Success Factor
Snapshot- which focuses on specific, measurable
deliverables and benchmarks and moves hiring out of
the realm of static traits and into the realm of action
and results.
3. Use Interviews to Sell the Position and Your
Company: You have finally managed to attract a
prospective candidate to an interview. He or she has
all it takes to excel in the job, but does your company
have all it takes to fulfill the candidates professional
and personal aspirations? Convince the candidate
that indeed it does. Play your part as an exemplary
ambassador and prove it to the candidate. Sell your
company and the position itself meticulously, in order
to ensure the desired professional walks out wanting
the position and is excited about being a productive
member of your team.
4. Keep Your Branding Creative: You are an employer of
choice and you have incontestably the best employer
brand in your industry. Why settle for dull advertising
campaigns, boring job postings and clichd mission
statements? You are unique; You are innovative!
Differentiate yourself from other employers and let your
distinct designs, content, vision, mission, values and
website do the talking for you! Need some inspiration?
Ben &Jerrys mission statement, for example, contains
a social mission, an economic mission and a product
mission, and all are linked to an exceptional, winning
and progressive set of values. (Larry Kahaner a
seasoned Corporate speaker and author of Business
Intelligence book, a Business Week Bestseller, ranks
Ben &Jerry, Boeing amongst the top 50 companies with
corporate mission statements that hit the mark).
5. Network, Network, Network! Networking does not only
benefit candidates, it is also crucial in assisting employers
to find the perfect talent for their companies. Make it a
strategic habit, not just a tactical necessity, to fit into
your busy schedule, as a recruiter, time for networking
with top talent in your industry. Seek to regularly
call on friends, family, peers and acquaintances to
ask for sourcing leads and expand on your circle
of professional connections while also enquiring
specifically about professionals who may be available
and recommended for your vacancies. Word of mouth
does wonders. Do put the effort in to get in touch with
highly recommended candidates and meet with them.
Even if they are not suitable for an immediate vacancy
they may be just right for a future job or as sources of
further leads and market intelligence.
6. Target the Right Pool of Candidates: Make sure you
are fully aware of what the job entails and you have a
crystal clear idea of the kind of candidates you need
before narrowing down your search to a specific pool
of candidates. This can be greatly facilitated via online
CV Search options on top regional job-sites, targeted
mailers, targeted online bannersetc. The advantages
of online sourcing are not limited to the wide reach of
the employers message; they also extend to candidate
targeting using simple, user-friendly, and sophisticated
filtering tools. Online job fairs, such as those pioneered
in the Middle East by Bayt.com, are another innovative
and highly effective forum for sourcing top talent and
have been extremely popular with Job-seekers and
employers alike since their introduction by Bayt.com in
2008. To learn more about how to get hold of candidates
who possess the skills, qualifications and experience you
require in the Middle East and across the globe, you
can get in touch with us at Bayt.com!
 RecruiterME interviews Louise Vine, Managing Director of Inspire Selection

LEADING THE WAY FOR

BOUTIQUE

RECRUITMENT AGENCIES
The market in 2008 was crazy! Clients
needed candidates urgently, candidates
were receiving multiple offers within
days of arriving in the UAE. I would
meet a candidate on Sunday who was
asking for AED 40k, and by Wednesday
their expectations had risen to AED 55k.
Tell us a bit about Inspire Selection and its success to
date.
I started my recruitment career in the Finance & Accounting
sector in 2004 in the UK, I then moved to Dubai in 2008
and decided I needed a new challenge so founded Inspire
Selection at the end of 2012. Fortunately, by this time,
I had spent 4 years building my network of clients and
senior finance candidates so was able to hit the ground
running. I have hired like-minded, experienced recruiters
who had become tired of working towards pointless
targets, and instead focus on customer service and
maintaining long-term relationships. We are all market
experts in each of our sectors and hence why we have
remained stable throughout the recent economic ups and
downs. Our success is also due to our consistently good
reputation in the market which provides us with many
client referrals. Despite being a smaller boutique agency
which is relatively new to the market, we were still voted
the best recruitment agency in the UAE consecutively
throughout 2013, 2014, 2015 by candidates and clients on
a UAE recruitment-related website.
Louise, youve been here since March 2008. How has the
market changed since then?
The market in 2008 was crazy! Clients needed candidates
urgently, candidates were receiving multiple offers within
days of arriving in the UAE. I would meet a candidate on
Sunday who was asking for AED 40k, and by Wednesday
their expectations had risen to AED 55k. The supply/
demand was quite different to the market now. The
difficulty now is finding top calibre candidates. The really
good ones are very well looked after and it is not easy to
tempt them away. Fortunately, we have stayed in contact
with the best candidates we have met over the years, and
therefore we can approach candidates who arent active in
the market and are not registered on the usual job portals.
How has the recent oil price affected your business?
I dont think there is a single agency in the UAE who hasnt
felt the effects in some way, but again we have continued
to make placements as we work with trusted clients. Our
focus has shifted slightly, away from companies which
have been directly affected by the oil crisis but there are
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still plenty of industries which are thriving, such as Fit Out,
FMCG, Logistics, Services, Pharma Fortunately I have
focused on hiring consultants whose roles spread across
multiple recession-proof industries. The majority of our
roles are back-office white collar roles such as Finance,
HR, Admin, Sales & Marketing, Legal, Procurement etc. In
terms of seniority, there certainly are not as many Director
level positions in the market so again we have had to
refocus towards slightly lower, mid-management roles.
What advice can you give to other recruiters just starting
their careers in the region?
Dubai is a small place and you need to maintain a good,
honest reputation. Return candidates calls, reply to
e-mails, and give candidates the time they deserve. You do
not need a huge client base to be successful; Just become
the industry expert in your sector. Forget hammering out
200 pointless calls per week; Make 50 quality calls and
build solid relationships.
How do you foresee the recruitment industry developing
in the UAE?
In more developed countries, the rationale is that
technology will ultimately replace recruitment
consultants. However here in the UAE, the role of a
recruiter is particularly important. When advertising a job
online here, the vast majority of applicants are completely
unsuitable or are of low calibre. On a daily basis, we spend
hours meticulously sourcing and meeting the best people
in our sectors. Our job is not only to filter the 100s of
applicants but also, and most importantly, to fall back on
our existing networks and actively headhunt individuals
who arent necessarily considering new opportunities. We
have to embrace technology - The use of social media is
important, and most agencies will already have profiles on
Facebook, Google+, Twitter etc. but as long as the wrong
people are applying to job postings, there will always be a
place for us!
www.bullhorn.com
Lets look at the Recruitment
world of Retail
 Claire Storer
Senior Retail Recruiter at Inspire Selection
Retail recruitment market overview
What made you come to Dubai?
I initially visited Dubai as a tourist in 2007 and after witnessing the
exciting development planned, and the rate of growth, I realised
the amazing opportunities on offer for both individuals and
businesses alike. I decided to move here permanently early 2008
and I was instantly astounded by the sheer volume of recruitment
taking place and the exponential growth in the market I was
witnessing from the start.
How has the retail recruitment market changed since you first
arrived?
What an incredible journey the past decade has been for the
retail industry in Dubai and the region overall. Recruiting within
retail at that time was a very different experience compared
to where we are in 2016. The country was transitioning from a
culture of traditional souks and a young retail market, to a more
sophisticated retail market with well-established international
brands and retail chains all opening in the newly established
shopping malls. At that time, many of the major malls we take
for granted today, such as The Dubai Mall, didnt exist. From that
moment, the major retail groups were on a mission to expand
their brand portfolios and to secure the best locations in the malls,
as well as building more malls of course via the major developers
and by strengthening their own real estate divisions. The growth
rate was fast and with that came a need for a workforce which
meant consultants like myself were key in helping them deliver
this.
The market up until a couple of years ago was hugely candidate
driven. There were more openings than candidates, and
particularly back in 2008 and the subsequent years that followed,
there was limited regional experience here so the market dictated
a need to focus on sourcing experienced candidates from the
mature overseas retail markets, particularly the UK. This talent
was instrumental in helping to successfully form and establish the
brands which were opening here in the GCC.
Today is a very different picture however. Salaries have seen
a slight stagnation at most levels, and from the candidates
perspective, the competition is fierce. With a more mature retail
market and an established work force, retailers expectations are
high and they are demanding regional experience, coupled with
an international retail background in many cases.
How does the retail market compare now and how has that
affected recruitment for you?
The economic downturn at the end 2008/2009 was an interesting
time as many of the retailers brought most of their recruitment
inhouse to save on costs, however there is always a place for
strong recruiters who actually partner with their clients and
become an extension of their brand, and therefore continue to
add value. That being said, the retail market has continued to
consistently enjoy year on year growth. The major attraction for
international brands has predominantly been the emergence of
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some of the highest-profile major developments in the world, a
strong local economy, a wealthy local consumer base as well as
a strong tourist market in particular (historically) from Russia and
China. As examples of this, brands such as Bloomingdales and
Victorias Secret chose Dubai to open their first stores outside the
U.S.
It has been reported that 2016 has seen a slightly slower growth
rate due to an uncertain and volatile global economy and the
strong US dollar impacting buying power from tourists particularly
from Russia and China, and this has definitely had an effect on
the luxury market and has undeniably led to more cautious hiring
strategies across the retail sector as a whole. Yet the retail market
overall in the Middle East, has been fairly resilient to this and the
falling oil prices. Local and international brands continue to enter
the market. There are so many exciting things happening both
in the UAE and across the region at the moment with everyone
gearing up for Expo 2020. Across the region new malls continue to
open; in Dubai there has been a noticeable increase in localised
malls such as Jumeirah Village Mall, The Mall, Sunset Mall etc.
In Qatar, The Mall of Qatar has been a hugely exciting project
for them with huge international brands and chains taking retail
space as they get ready for the 2018 World Cup. We are also
noticing the delivery of mall extensions in existing malls. In Dubai
alone work has recently completed on The Mall of The Emirates
and Dubai Festival City, with The Dubai Mall work currently in
process. This has markedly translated into an increase in the
project fit-out and project management recruitment sector.
Future for retail recruitment in the ME?
According to a recent Dubai Chamber of Commerce report,
Dubais retail market is forecast to surpass $52 billion in sales by
2020 with an average growth rate of more than 8%. Tourism is on
the increase with Dubai being on target to achieve its goal of 20m
by 2020, and local and international brands continue to expand
across the region. So for a retail recruiter like myself, there is still a
huge opportunity. More brands are branching out on their own,
away from local partners, which is creating and will continue to
create vacancies. As mentioned previously, with the delivery of
mall expansion projects and new malls opening across the region,
the market is active, which is encouraging for both candidates
and recruiters alike.
How have you stayed successful?
Im passionate about working the regional retail market and most
importantly, I really enjoy working with my clients and candidates.
I have seen the retail recruitment market through the highs and
lows and I believe the reason Im still here today is purely down
to the strengths of my relationships with both my candidates and
clients. Its a hugely competitive market with high expectations,
and I have seen an increasing number of overseas based
agencies enter the retail recruitment space recently. I truly
believe however that being based on the ground here in Dubai,
understanding and feeling the market and all its intricacies, is
essential in being successful and staying on top of your game.
www.bullhorn.com
GROWING
A Recruitment
Business To Sell

EIGHT Ways To
Increase Value
Rhys Jones has built and taken two businesses to sale. Alongside funding start up
recruitment businesses Rhys also provides business coaching and Non Exec services to
existing recruitment businesses. To contact Rhys either seek him out on LinkedIn under his
business Davidson Gray or by email on rhysjones@davidsongray.co.uk
Businesses are valued based on a multiple of EBITDA or in laymans terms a ratio times profit.
The profit figure used is generally based on the last 3 years with a weighting added to each
year to give you the amount used for valuation calculation purposes. As the profit amount
given to the tax man is adjusted to reduce tax some of these adjustments are taken into
account, plus additional considerations, for example large one off investments, debt that
requires writing off. This does make it very hard to value a business quickly.
Businesses are valued based on a multiple of
H
EBITDA or in laymans terms a ratio times profit.
owever rather than going into
more depth on how your business is
valued, this blog is written to help you
to increase the ratio applied to the
profit figure increasing the market
value of your business. Doing this
as you grow, even if youre not sure
youll ever want to sell your business
is makes very good business sense.
If you do ever decide to sell or receive an unsolicited
offer for your business, at that point youll clearly
want to extract the most value possible, and for this
reason alone should think about make a start adding
the below now. For all would be buyers the less risk
there is in their purchase the higher the value they will
put on it, its for this reason youll see virtually all the
suggestions add valuable resilience to your business.
Who knows when another 9/11 or credit crunch will
hit us again so its a no brainer to get your business in
the best possible position to tough out any negative
trading conditions.
There will be numerous potential influences that will
decide if the potential acquirer actually makes an
offer or what size it will be. For this reason I would
advise on an individual business to business basis, so
the additions in your strategy will vary, however the
below is a good blog size start.
Specialist Recruitment Businesses Are Worth A Lot
More Than Generalists:
Acquirers often want to buy their way into a new
market, add weight to an existing business or just want
safer businesses, and specialist firms are a far less risky
purchase than generalists. If you want to expand your
business into new markets itll add more value if you do
so into allied markets so maintaining a broader market
specialisation. If your business has a wide variety of
unconnected markets, the chances are your would be
buyer will only value some of the markets and therefore
discount the value of the others you trade in.
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Good spread of clients:
Over reliance on a small number of businesses
increases the risk factor in any business and will
influence your buyers view on the risk in your business.
In the early days of growing a recruitment business
you definitely want to follow the rules of making more
of existing clients, ring fencing them and building
those strong relationships. However you do need to
expand that client base as soon as your growth allows
and be aware your buyers will want to see longevity
of your client relationships to give the reassurance of
sustainable business. Smashing the new business for
the last couple of years wont fool any buyer.
Have a very strong database:
If your business has a long-standing well maintained
database its much easier for new recruits to bill,
and therefore easier to expand the team. A good
database also makes it easier ramp up the digital
marketing. Both these factors will make post purchase
expansion easier so adding value. This will also add
to much needed reassurance to those interested
in purchasing the business that your business is not
based largely on the existing staff.
A contract book:
As the biggest factor in making a business valuable is
low risk, having a strong contract business (or division)
will add value due to virtually guaranteed forward
order revenue.
However a word of caution, Ive seen businesses try
and add contract divisions to a business to increase
value for sale and it backfire badly. If building a
contract business was easy everyone would do it, so
be aware if its not an area you have strength in, think
carefully on how you can do it without risking what
you have already. It is also worth considering would
adding a contract arm devalue the brand youve
worked so hard to build? Another consideration is
www.bullhorn.com
 the sale agreement will include a
requirement of you staying on in the business
for a set amount of years post sale.
that not all buyers would want both a contract and
perm business, so your expansion may actually be
better served building additional levels of offering
in to your existing business e.g. Executive Search or
adding more disciplines that your existing clients also
recruit for.
staffing up heavily in the
recent history will not work
Long Serving Key Employees and Low Staff Attrition:
Again looking at reducing the risk of purchase, an
acquirer will want to see that key employees have
longevity within the business and therefore less likely
to leave, staffing up heavily prior to sale will not work.
A strong positive business culture with well thought
through incentives and loyalty schemes will give your
buyer confidence in employee loyalty. You could
go a step further and make your key employees
shareholders with long contracts.
Have a strong management team that knows how the
business works:
A big value-ad for your exit and the worth of the
business is your succession planning. You need to be
able to demonstrate a strong management team
that will be in place when you exit that not only run the
business, but run it well. The strong client relationships
you have built must now be with the team you leave
behind.
For you to be able to extract the most value from your
business you need to have an effective management
team in place. Interested buyers will consider the
quality of the management team who will remain in
place post sale. If you intend to leave the business
immediately or soon after the sale, the business
cannot be reliant on your continued involvement. Key
client relationships should be with the remaining team.
Rhys Jones has built and taken two businesses to sale. Alongside funding start up recruitment businesses, Rhys
also provides business coaching and Non Exec services to existing recruitment businesses. To contact Rhys
either seek him out on LinkedIn under his business Davidson Gray or by email on rhysjones@davidsongray.
www.recruiterme.ae
The Middle East Recruiter Magazine
The business should by the point of going to market
be run on a day to day basis by this management
team and not you.
Branding:
Branding is part of the value of being a market
specialist, so having a very strong name in your market
is important. Cherish the market perception of your
business so this strong name has value. The mission
statement I encourage in my businesses is To be seen
as the recruitment business of choice in our market.
We then cascade that down to, How this would be
measured and that takes you to How do we make
these measures happen. An acquirer will want to see
why paying to buy a business is far safer and better
value than trying to do it themselves. So if your brand
is high profile and well regarded theres the low risk
which increase value.
YOUR EXIT:
I touched on this earlier. Unless you want to
only sell part of your business and remain in the
business, its vital you plan for your exit as early as
possible. If your business is still reliant on you in any
way, your acquirer will be far more likely to insist
on an earn out i.e. the sale agreement will include
a requirement of you staying on in the business for
a set amount of years post sale. Clearly this will
mean youll go from running your own business to
having a boss again, not an appealing situation!
Dont think you can coast those earn out years.
The price will be heavily structured around
maintaining profit or hitting the business plan, and
if the market takes a hit your sale price will take
the hit to if you cant keep hitting the numbers.
Creating a succession plan should be a
consideration way before you think about selling
your business, and trust me it can take longer than
you think.
www.bullhorn.com
 UAE no.1 FOR
Recruitment to Recruitment

Recruit-me were given a project to

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FS, Legal and Contracting billing
managers and a director. They
really excelled and found the very
best in the market within Dubai, we
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Recruiters face to face, These guys
are the only serious name in the R2R
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DIVISIONAL MANAGER RECRUITMENT BILLING MANAGER

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RESOURCER SENIOR RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT

RECRUITER RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT

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We have successfully placed the following positions in Middle East

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RECRUITME - +971 55 89 67459 r2r@recruitme.ae www.recruitme.ae

 www.recruiterme.ae www.bullhorn.com
The Middle East Recruiter Magazine
 Justin McGuire
CEO MCG Group London - Dubai - Hong Kong

Its already been a pretty amazing month for all those at MCG Group. Weve turned a corner
and grown from a regional Dubai based business into a global talent consultancy, with new
office openings in London and Hong Kong. Not only that but we received a call from LinkedIn to
tell us our brands were some of the most socially engaged businesses in EMEA! In fact Kemistry
was #1, Hopscotch #7 in the Boutique category and MCG Associates just pipped to the top 25
in the medium sized business category. We move into November having been shortlisted for 5
MDRA awards and three of our team attending the awards hoping to bring home the silverware
for this prestigious industry event. Im so excited about the future and the team we have, and in
this short blog Id like to focus on our social success and what being in the top 25 most socially
engaged businesses actually means.

LinkedIn analysed 60,000 businesses, 627,000 consultants and 450 million members over the past
year. Given the competition and the size of our business, I had to be picked up off the floor when
our rankings were announced. But what does this actually mean? Well LinkedIn looked at a wide
range of metrics such as social reach, employee engagement, interactions, employer brand
and content marketing power. In order to be in the top 25 you have to be consistent across all
these metrics.

Why did our brands perform so well?

Were setting the standard for social communication in the Middle East with a plan to take
this global through our new offices. By making our posts personal, interesting and insightful
we make how we sound and communicate real and human. We do our best to get back to
everyone, and with nearly 40k job applicants each month it can be tough! But its great to see
LinkedIn recognise our efforts and consistency to do so!

Creating content

At MCG we try to create and promote content that is relevant to all our regions. It has to be fresh,
exciting and funny. Our levels of engagement are high because we try to have a conversation
and not just share the same old junk, but also give you a feel for who we are and what we do.
We have brands that have a clearly defined focus and specialisms and our content needs to
educate, inspire and entertain you. We seek out hot topics and try to tell you the answers to
questions before you even ask them!

Winning this award is an illustration of how we do business at MCG Group, and it goes without
saying Im very proud of our team.

Lets hope we win some awards in London at the MDRA event next month and stay tuned for
further announcements of high profile hires and new divisions of our business as we go into 2017.

Thank you to all our followers!

Justin
Why Use Recruiters Today?
With our world changing at a pace which makes the mind boggle, the thought has crossed my mind of late that our
industry has been remarkably resistant to change. For all the time we spend on LinkedIn, recruitment is still very much
a people business of picking up the phone, building relationships and adding value wherever possible for candidates
and clients, working to ensure they get the move they want. And despite all the technological change thats going
on around us, recruitment remains a very healthy business. So where is the added value that recruiters must obviously
bring, and why is our sector still strong after all this time?
1. Your best candidate might not be on LinkedIn
Id be lying if I said LinkedIn hadnt changed the world of
recruitment. It has, and thats why its become such a big
part of the modern Recruiters repertoire. For one thing,
its a great way to access a bunch of capable passive
candidates, who wont necessarily have submitted their
CV to job applications, but have still made important
information about themselves public, which could make
them the ideal hire for a given role. But heres the thing:
thats the kind of thing anyone could be doing. Every
junior Researcher in every recruitment firm everywhere will
be searching LinkedIn endlessly and therefore will be
getting the same results. Then theres the issue of volume
because so many people are approaching the same star
candidates, response rates from Inmails and Connection
requests are low unless you can get your foot in the door
by other means. Experienced recruiters, with networks
which extend far beyond the digital realm and often built
up over years of meeting key industry players directly, will
always find better people than those keyboard recruiters
who have to rely solely on LinkedIn.
2. Open doors with companies who otherwise arent
promoting roles
With the sheer volume of applications being received by
companies in the modern era of Internet job advertisements,
a reply is increasingly becoming a rarity, and that can act
as a deterrent for candidates to apply for roles. Why bother
going through a (sometimes difficult) application process
only to then receive radio silence in response? Recruiters
are able to open doors by promoting your CV actively
with insiders they know within the business youre targeting.
Often, we are trusted to submit the people we know will be
of interest to the clients we work with and therefore a word
from us on your behalf can get your foot in the door for an
opportunity which youd otherwise be unable to access.
3. We have an Inside industry perspective
Recruiters are (or should be) people friendly, talkative,
and always available for a coffee, or to field a long call to
discuss your career aspirations. Although some unscrupulous
operators have given the industry a bad reputation. The
majority of people in the industry are a credit to their field
and many of the people I work with are surprised at the
inside perspective we can provide. This isnt just useful for
finding a new job either (although it often helps). Hiring and
salary trends are our obvious fields of expertise but we gain
a great birds-eye view of the whole market as well in day-to-
day dealings with clients and candidates alike. Taking the
time to build a good relationship with a recruiter can quite
often pay dividends at least, I hope thats what some of
the clients who regularly work with me would tell you!
4. We understand Branding
One of the most underrated aspects of recruitment today is
the importance of employer branding. The modern, savvy
candidate will evaluate company brands before applying
to or accepting a job in much the same way as theyd
evaluate consumer brands while shopping. If youre running
a business (or its hiring function), you need to think about
how your brand will be perceived by employers if you
want to reach the perfect candidate. Likewise, if youre
a candidate, we can help you with aspects of personal
branding as well. What are employers at mid-senior level
looking to see? Its obvious from your profile (either in CV
form or on LinkedIn) that you are capable of doing the job?
When it comes to hiring, appearance and first impressions
do matter, and we are in a unique position as recruiters to
truly learn what works and what doesnt in these areas.
5. We look at personality, not just skills or experience
Recruiters understand that the success of a new hire isnt
determined solely by skills and experience but by personality,
character, and individual motivation. Its a great feeling
to take a punt on a candidate who might not tick all the
boxes but who you simply know has the right character for
an opportunity and then watch them go on to succeed.
We tend to find ourselves truly investing in a persons success
after all, despite all the new-fangled gadgets, we spend
most of our days talking to people. Sometimes all a hiring
manager needs is a little convincing from a recruiter and
then they make a hire who turns out to be brilliant beyond
their expectations. This can only be gained from years of
experience doing our job, which teaches us that finding the
right hire goes way beyond their CV.
So there you have it, five reasons why recruitment consultants
are here to stay and technology will never replace people.

Recruiters are people
people friendly,
talkative, and always
available for a coffee,
or to field a long call
to discuss your career
aspirations.

Article by Craig OConnor

Founder of RecruitME (r2r) & RecruiterME - UAE Recruiter Magazine
 Ali Matar, Head of LinkedIn Talent Solutions,
Head of LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Southern Europe,
Growth markets, Middle East & North Africa,
explains why understanding employee motivation
is the key to a successful referrals program
 4 EASY STEPS TO REFERRALS HAPPINESS
Personal recommendations have always been the
preferred method to help us make decisions in large
parts of our lives. Be that finding the perfect restaurant
for a special occasion, or a reliable plumber. Social
media has served only to increase the importance
of first-hand knowledge by connecting more of us in
more ways.
The same is true in the business world, particularly
in recruitment as organizations compete to find
the best talent in the most efficient way. In fact,
jobseekers are more likely to find a new role through
areferralthan any other route, and 80 per cent of
recruiters rate them as the best for finding quality
candidates. This is because employers know referred
candidates are more likely to get up-to-speed in the
role more quickly, and stay with the company longer.
Despite this, many employers are not fully capitalizing
on referrals. Recent data shows that a concerning
engagement gap has emerged. While the
overwhelming majority of recruiters (87 per cent)
believe that employee engagement is the key to
successful referrals, one in five are happy with the
way their staff currently engage in this process.
INCREASING YOUR TALENT POOL TENFOLD
Social media has vastly increased the size of the
talent pool companies now have access to by
enabling them to tap into the networks of the people
already working for them. The first-degree network of
a companys employees on LinkedIn is on average
10 times the size its Company Page follower base.
Its not a question of why a company should invest in
referral programs, but instead how can they afford
not to?
The biggest trap employers fall into is failing to fully
understand the motivations for staff to recommend a
contact for a job. Just six percent put financial reward
at the top of their list of motivations for referring
someone for a job. Instead they were far more likely
to value other factors such as helping their friends (35
per cent), helping their company (32 per cent) and
be seen as a valuable colleague (26 per cent).
FOUR EASY STEPS TO REFERRALS HAPPINESS
With that in mind, there are four ways for employers
to boost referrals:
Keep referring employees in-the-loop: Nothing will ruin
a referral program quicker than one of your employees
referring someone and never hearing back about it,
and feeling like theyve wasted their time.
Instead, ensure your recruiting team responds to
every single employee referral, even if it is just to
tell the referring employee why youre not moving
forward. Not only does this ensure people feel like
their referral was actually considered, it also helps
educate your workforce on who they should be
referring.
Ensure it is really easy to refer at your company:
The easier it is for an employee to refer someone,
the more referrals youll get. This could simply be
emailing someones LinkedIn profile or resume to a
recruiter, or encouraging employees to drop by and
tell them in person. Social media is helping here as
well. LinkedIn Referrals coming soon to the UK will
match a companys open jobs with the networks
of their employees, and recommend to your
employees who they should refer, taking out a lot of
the guesswork and manual labour.
Instead of a cash referral bonus, try giving away
experiences: Most companies generally give out
some sort of cash bonus if an employee refers a
candidate that ultimately gets hired. That may
work, but theres strong evidence out there that an
experience of the same cost say, a trip or a prize
of some sort will encourage more referrals than just
straight cash.
Market, market, market: Finally, one of the biggest
reasons people dont refer is they dont know what
positions are open at the company or referring isnt
at the top-of-their-mind. So, market your employee
referral program by advertising open positions and
publicly recognizing employees who do refer.
This can be as simple as starting all-hands meetings
with hiring managers talking about open positions
within your company and encouraging their
colleagues to refer anyone they feel is good.
Conversely, on the reward front, a company-wide
email celebrating people who do refer will lead to
more people referring candidates.
Employee referrals program dont have to be
complicated. Social media is making large parts of
business simpler and more intuitive, including the
most important driver of a companys success: it is
the ability to find and recruit the best talent.
 SEPTEMBER 2016

Industry Information Technology And Services

Geography The United Arab Emirates
INDUSTRY TALENT REPORT Members Under 10,000 Under 20,000 Under 50,000 50,000+

EMPLOYMENT TRENDS

LinkedIn Industry Talent Report

+8.4% With more than 450M+ members in over 200 countries/territories, LinkedIn has the ability to
analyze professional movement. This report shows you the macro-trends within an industry
Employment of Information through the lens of LinkedIn data.
Technology And Services industry We hope these insights help to inform your data-driven hiring & planning decisions. You can use
professionals in The United Arab this report to stay up-to-date on what movement looks like within a specic industry and how to
Emirates grew by +8.4% over the engage these professionals.
past year

EMPLOYMENT GROWTH IN MIDDLE EAST top country growth in the Information Technology And Services industry
1 United Arab Emirates +8.4%
2 Saudi Arabia +4.4%
3 Qatar +3.5%
4 Bahrain +2.4%
5 Kuwait +1.9%
6 Oman +1.4%
7 Iraq +1.0%
8 Lebanon +0.76%
9 Pakistan -0.22%
10 Jordan -1.97%
positive growth negative growth

INDUSTRY FLOWS RECENT GRADUATE HIRING graduated within the last 3 yrs
Professionals moving in and out of the The United Arab Emirates Information Top Schools
Technology And Services industry
that produced the largest number of
4,000+
recent grad hires recent graduates are
TALENT MOVED TO/FROM TALENT LOST TALENT GAINED
currently employed in
Computer Software -269 227 Hult International Business
School the The United Arab
40 Emirates Information
Telecommunications -239 208 Technology And Services
Heriot-Watt Univ
40 industry
Banking -169 72
American Univ of Sharjah
38
Airlines/aviation -130 80
Middlesex Univ
14.4%
Financial Services -92 87 36 of recent graduate hires
Univ of Wollongong in
Dubai
hold a postgraduate
34 degree
top 5 displayed based on total movement (in and out)
Information Technology And Services Industry The United Arab Emirates

JOB MOBILITY
SOUGHT AFTER SKILLS WHAT CANDIDATES WANT IN A JOB JOB SWITCHERS
By companies hiring these professionals Percent (%) indicates how important the attribute is to
over the past year these candidates

Excellent compensation & benets

7%
1 Management 68%
2 Team Management Good work/life balance 7% of Information Technology And
53%
Services industry professionals in
3 Business Development Strong career path
51% The United Arab Emirates
4 Project Management A company with a long-term strategic vision changed companies in the past
41% year
5 Pre-sales Challenging Work
41%
The United Arab Emirates Average (all

HOW THESE PROFESSIONALS ENGAGE WITH LINKEDIN

TOP INFLUENCERS based on popularity MOST FOLLOWED COMPANIES by company size group
Under 500 employees 500-9,999 employees 10,000+ employees
Mohammed Al
Noura Al Kaabi
Gergawi
HH Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Mark V. Hurd
Rashid Al
Maktoum Saeed Al
Muntaq
Fadi Ghandour

POPULAR CONTENT TOPICS clicks+likes+comments+shares POPULAR GROUPS by volume

Social Media Marketing Business Intelligence 1 Dubai Recruitment
Cloud Computing Condence Building 2 Dubai Jobs & Careers | UAE | Middle East [Biggest Group]
3 Gulf Recruitment
Sap Internal Communications
4 Software & Technology (#1 in Jobs, HR, Managers, Cloud,
Mobile,
Employee Engagement Saas 5 Dubai Business Network

ENGAGEMENT STATS FOR THESE PROFESSIONALS

Mobile Views Companies Followed Connections
1.1x 1.1x more mobile page views of
LinkedIn than the The United Arab 1.2x 1.2x more companies are followed
than the The United Arab Emirates 1.3x 1.3x more rst-degree connections
than the The United Arab Emirates
Emirates average average average

This report uses a combination of anonymized LinkedIn member data and LinkedIn survey data. For more information on report methodology and sources please visit
http://lnkd.in/industry_report_methodology_v1. Industry is dened by the company where a member works.
 ASSOCIATED PARTNER

The Professional Body of Recruiters & HR

The Middle East Recruiter Magazine

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BREAKDOWN OF READERS :
Trainee Recruiters
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Team Leaders
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Recruitment Directors and CEOs

HR Managers
HR Directors
In-house Recruiters
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WE ARE THE ONLY RECRUITER MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND MIDDLE EAST RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY
 WHAT THE UAE RECRUITERS ARE THINKING
We polled 100 Recruiters in Dubai. Questions ranging from billings for
2016, biggest months and who would consider new recruitment roles
in 2016 & 2017.

Would you consider a new recruitment agency OVER 60% WILL

MOVE TO A NEW
consultant / manager role in 2016 ?

ROLE.
NO

Over 60% of recruiters in UAE would

consider looking for a new recruitment role.

Their reasons why recruiters will be keen

YES on potential new roles are all based
on salaries, commissions and career
progression. 2016 has seen salaries go up
and down with some sectors tightening
up while others such as digital, IT even
Answers Responses
construction recruitment are willing
YES 62.5%
to still pay above the odds to get the
NO 37.5%
strongest recruiters on-board.

www.recruiterme.ae www.bullhorn.com
The Middle East Recruiter Magazine
 35% of the Recruiters we polled are
billing under 700,000 AED
Billings for 2015 (Jan 2015 - Jan 2016)

2.5m AED & above

2m AED - 2.5m AED

1.8m AED - 2m AED 0 - 600K AED

1.4 - 1.7m AED

1m - 1.3m AED

601K - 800K AED

801K - 1m AED

Answers Responses

0 - 600 AED 35.42%

601K - 800K AED 12.5%

801K - 1m AED 14.5%

1m - 1.3m AED 10.42%
1.4m - 1.7m AED 10.42%
1.8 - 2m AED 4.17%
2m - 2.5m 4.17%
2.5m AED & above 8.33%

The industry standard for any agency is for the consultants to be making a strong return on investment by
billing a minimum of 800,000 AED per year. In todays market the majority are falling short of this figure. Even
the Executive Search firms are not making the dizzy heights they previously have. I was heartened to read an
article on LinkedIn by Saudi Aramco CEO predicting an oil price rise in the first half of 2017. This will of course
have a positive impact for recruitment in the region. Roll on 2017!

www.recruiterme.ae www.bullhorn.com
The Middle East Recruiter Magazine
16,000 - 18,000 AED is the average salary
with 48% of recruiters we polled.

UAE Recruiters current salaries in AED per month

40,001 upwards AED p/m

30,001 - 40,000 AED p/m

16,000 - 18,000 AED p/m

25,001 - 30,000 AED p/m

20,001 - 25,000 AED p/m

18,001 - 20,000 AED p/m

Answers Responses

16,000 - 18,000 AED p/m 47.83%

18,001 - 20,000 AED p/m 4.35%

20,001 - 25,000 AED p/m 13.04%

25,001 - 30,000 AED p/m 15.22%
30,001 - 40,000 AED p/m 6.52%
40,000 AED upwards 13.04%

www.recruiterme.ae www.bullhorn.com
The Middle East Recruiter Magazine
 The Middle East Recruiter Magazine

THE UAE RECRUITER

2016/17
SALARY SURVEY

www.recruiterme.ae www.bullhorn.com
The Middle East Recruiter Magazine
 The Middle East Recruiter Magazine

The following are generic salary guidelines gathered from MNC, SMEs
and Boutique Recruitment Agencies within the UAE

RECRUITMENT RESOURCER / RESEARCHERS

Entry Level 8,000 aed per month + Comms

6 months exp 8,000 12,000 aed per month + Comms
Senior Resourcer 10,000 13,000 aed per month + Comms

RECRUITMENT CONSULTANTS (2-6 recruitment years billing)

No UAE Rec exp 12,000 -18,000 aed per month + Comms

UAE exp Recruiters with previous billings of up to 1m aed

18,000 24,000 aed per month + Comms

SENIOR / LEAD RECRUITMENT CONSULTANTS

UAE exp Recruiters with previous billing of 1m 1.3m aed

22,000 25,000 aed per month + Comms

UAE exp Recruiters with previous billing of 1.3m 2m+ aed

26,000 35,000 aed per month + Comms

r2r@recruitme.ae www.recruitme.ae

www.recruiterme.ae www.bullhorn.com
The Middle East Recruiter Magazine
 The Middle East Recruiter Magazine

The following are generic salary guidelines gathered from MNC, SMEs
and Boutique Recruitment Agencies within the UAE

BILLING RECRUITMENT MANAGERS

28,000 35,000 aed per month + Comms + Team Comms

(niche sectors such as Legal, Banking, IT, Digital & Creative would expect higher end)

DIRECTORS

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
30,000 - 40,000 aed per month + Team Comms

DIRECTOR
35,000 45,000 aed per month
+ Office Comms + full family benefits / Visa

MANAGING DIRECTOR
40,000 60,000 aed per month
+ Office Comms + full family benefits / Visa + Schooling

r2r@recruitme.ae www.recruitme.ae

www.recruiterme.ae www.bullhorn.com
The Middle East Recruiter Magazine
 making a difference
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Source_recruitME .indd 1 13/10/2016 13:17
The Middle East Recruiter Magazine
The Rise of the Internal Recruiter
The rise of internal recruitment has been a talking points over the last few years with strong arguments for and
against. The growth of in-house recruitment in the UAE showing no sign of levelling off, the big question is whether
the in-house model can deliver when the market changes from a candidate-rich to a candidate-short one.
Some companies have hired their agency recruiters to head up these internal departments and recruiters are
being affected by the loss of business. Be warned an upswing in the economy will not automatically mean a
return to business as usual for recruiters. Internal recruiters are here to stay.

I
n recent years, the internet and social media have
prompted many businesses to try and streamline their
recruitment processes and as such have established
dedicated internal recruitment departments or even
outsourced RPO providers in order to improve the quality of
hires, minimise costs and time to hire. LinkedIn and products
such as LinkedIn Recruiter have played a huge part in this
using their mass messaging feature which means the internal
recruiters can mass mail hundreds of LinkedIn candidates/
users in one go and simply act on the responses. Without a
doubt this is a very powerful tool.
It was widely anticipated that when this trend began, it could
have been the death of recruitment agencies but in many
cases the opposite has happened and niche recruiters are
flourishing.
So, what are the challenges?
We are in an age that is driven by big data, aka people
analytics which are used to support the recruitment process
and has become a challenge. It is not only helping the
search for better quality of candidates, it is aiding internal
recruiters to become a lot more entrepreneurial in their
approach.
Big data enables companies to observe how certain people
behave on the web, which sites they read, which products
they order and so on and connects this all together to form
a personalised digital footprint. What this means for HR is
that if you know what these people do on the internet, you
can put that together and tailor your advertising specifically
to these people.
Secondly, employee referral incentive schemes are nothing
new, however when executed well, they really do work and
employers are becoming more savvy through educating
their employees on the power of referrals to prioritize tough
to fill positions. With referrals now being one of the most cost
efficient ways of sourcing quality talent offering generous
cash incentives for employees, internal recruiters can
access candidates who are arguably a better cultural fit
and as a result those new hires are having a longer tenure.
Employer branding is also a top priority these days where
spending has significantly increased over the last few years.
Reported in LinkedIns Global Recruiting Trends 2016, 59%
of internal recruitment departments are investing more in
employer branding compared to last
So how have agencies continued to win business when the
internal recruiter is meant to be running the show?
In my experience, its down to a number of reasons.
The best agencies today have learned to adapt to the
hiring landscape becoming more agile, more selective
and more specialist in their approach. The level of service
they provide, their understanding of the clients culture and
the quality of the candidates they produce is of course as
important as ever but equally the quality of the relationship
they build with HR functions and the internal recruiting team,
not just the hiring managers, has a real effect on how they
continue to stand out from the competition.
Getting to know you
This 3-way relationship is worth considering for a moment
as its development and nurturing play a vital role in ensuring
all parties meet the ultimate and mutual end goal getting
the right candidate at the right time.
There can often be an us Vs them mentality between
internal recruitment teams and external agencies but by
breaking down these barriers we can learn a lot.
For agency recruiters, they have to accept that the internal
team should be involved in all vacancies, as it is their
responsibility to manage the process carefully and achieve
their objectives.
Its important also to understand each others motivation.
Clients dont really care about placements; they care
about getting the right person for the right role but and
retaining them (for the duration of the contract).
For a consultant, they want to get the right candidate but
their focus is on getting them through the interview process,
securing an offer and guiding them through until they walk
through that door. For a client, this is where it all starts and
they will judge the agencys competence on that new
employees performance and longevity in the role.
Seeing it from both sides helps us understand each others
motivations, avoiding potential frictions and creates a true
strategic business partnership.
The reason clients chose to work with agencies is because
they understood them as individuals, there is chemistry and
often instinct too helps decide that they were worth a
shot. Smaller, boutique, niche agencies can really stand
out by demonstrating authenticity and genuine passion
to complete the assignment as opposed to just making a
placement.
So what value do they add?
For the volume, lower level roles, more often than not the
internal team can fill these themselves with easy access
to social media, job boards, internal databases and
internal referral systems. Recruiters can be utilised when
they are struggling with the volume which is a lot more
cost effective.
At the more senior or specialised end where vacancies
are harder to fill, its better for the internal recruiter to
engage with a recruiter who has the expertise, market
knowledge and arguably better network where they can
actively headhunt from competitors or even partners of
the client. After all, good recruiters spend much of their
working lives building relationships with candidates and
the industry, making those weekend phone calls and
networking which is very important in UAE.
The good news is as skill sets become rarer and candidates
become scarcer, businesses are taking a more proactive
approach in engaging with third party specialists. The
pressure to fill business critical roles rises, impacting on their
performance indicators such as time to hire for example.
Wading through what can feel like treacle in order to
put a structured preferred supplier list in place, whether
they had a historical relationship with the business or not,
the good recruitment agencies were the ones respect
the process, take the time to understand the business
culture, demonstrated sound industry knowledge and of
course produce quality candidates according to the job
requirements.
What have we learned from inhouse recruitment?
Internal recruitment is hard work. There is an unjust
perception in the agency world that internal recruiters
cant hack the pressure of an agency environment but
this isnt true. Juggling multiple stakeholders, maintaining a
constant pipeline, working on 50+ vacancies at any given
time (you cant say no to a role), budgeting, process
management, managing offers all takes a great deal of
organisation and hard work
A great advantage for an internal recruiter is that they
understand the culture considerably better than an
external recruiter as they are immersed in the business,
have regular update meetings with key stakeholders and
are experiencing it first-hand, every day. This plays a very
important part in their decision making process. The best
agencies will use their time wisely to get to know the client
by finding out what great looks like.
Working together
Our industry continues to evolve and organisations are
refining their internal recruitment strategies in finding,
engaging and attracting the best talent. We need to
embrace the challenges and work together, we need
each other.
Inside the head
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In-House Recruiter
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