UAE business leaders are confident in their company’s growth prospects for the first half of 2020, with 69 per cent expressing they are ‘very confident’, a report said.

When questioned on the rationale for optimism, many cited their company’s objective to expand business opportunities (43 per cent), ability to attract suitable talent to drive success (19 per cent), and the improving economic climate as a catalyst for business growth (17 per cent), added the independent research commissioned by leading international recruitment consultancy, Robert Half UAE.

Many organisations in the region are struggling to keep up with rapid technological advances, and according to 29 per cent of business leaders, the fast pace of technological change and associated skills is the main cause of a widening skills gap. Organisations should be prepared to compete throughout the year to attract suitable talent, as 76 per cent of business leaders believe that current skills gap will hinder their company’s growth.

Business leaders in the UAE revealed that operational expansion is the primary influence for their 2020 hiring strategy. More than 2 in 5 (42 per cent) of business leaders hold this outlook, while 44 per cent stated that maintaining their existing workforce will be critical for sustaining growth throughout the year.

Regarding hiring plans for 2020, 29 per cent of business leaders indicated that attracting suitable talent was the primary influence on their plan. Many organisations are also experiencing increased workload (21 per cent) and employee turnover (17 per cent).

Top 5 factors influencing hiring plans for 2020 included attracting suitable talent (29 per cent), increased workload (21 per cent), employee turnover (17 per cent), current economic and business climate (17 per cent) and ageing/retiring workforce (7 per cent).

Gareth El Mettouri, associate director of Robert Half UAE, said: “It’s great to see that UAE business leaders are starting the year with an optimistic outlook. Many of the businesses we are working with are exploring opportunities to expand their competitive advantage by implementing digitalisation to meet rising customer expectations.”

“To effectively achieve this, many acknowledge that they need to bolster their ability to attract and retain the best available talent in the region – or in cases needing to compete on an international level. To do this effectively requires being clear on the skillsets required, relaxing job descriptions, and offering greater training and mentoring opportunities.

“That is why we believe it’s vital that we continuously seek to understand current-, medium- and long-term business and labour market trends, to provide both our clients and candidates with the support they need to ‘future-proof’ their careers and businesses,” El Mettouri added. – TradeArabia News Service