'New Normal' Offers New Talent to the GCC

2021 will wake up to a much different recruiting landscape from the one 2020 began with. HR trends and change have accelerated as a result of a pandemic. New and developed HR technology has been expedited by a necessity to effectively and securely tackle the challenges the world did not expect to encounter. However, that’s not to say that change is bad. It’s what keeps the world moving, learning and developing. The GCC region continues to find its feet again in light of COVID-19. Measures taken demonstrate the efforts and priorities of respective governments and leaders to ensure the <a href="https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/services/tax/me-tax-legal-news/2020/gcc-immigration-employment-law-round-up.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">region remains an attractive place for investment, employment and opportunities</a>. As the employment market recovers, international professionals cast their career gaze overseas. One such recipient of an influx of interest and talent is the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region that consists of six middle eastern countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.  People are keen to fulfill their new year resolutions in a post-pandemic world, including a change in lifestyle, environment and career. The need for change has become evident on social media platforms such as Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter, which have been rife with conversation and questions from hopeful migrants looking to move their careers and talent to the GCC.  Businesses and recruiters who are keen to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://businessblog.trueprofile.io/the-expanded-workforce-remote-and-contractual-agreements/" target="_blank">expand their current workforce</a> often find that the beginning of a new year is their busiest time and 2021 will be no exception. Candidates fresh from overseas are keen to experience a different work (or work-from-home) setting in a new culture, while businesses are keen to accomplish their set targets, KPIs and goals, with a strong workforce. Hiring internationally broadens the talent pool and opens a door for recruiters to select their perfect applicants to fulfill their skills gaps.     The GCC has become an increasingly popular destination for expats looking for competitive employment opportunities, a high standard of living and year-round sunshine. With 2021 just around the corner, employers will have an abundance of applicants for the roles they’re looking to fill within the GCC. However, how can businesses ensure that these international candidates are precisely who they say they are?  <h2>Talent Is On The Move</h2> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="535" src="https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/shutterstock_304797797-1024x535.jpg" alt="New talent to the GCC" class="wp-image-10858" title="New talent to the GCC" srcset="https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/shutterstock_304797797-1024x535.jpg 1024w, https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/shutterstock_304797797-300x157.jpg 300w, https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/shutterstock_304797797-768x401.jpg 768w, https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/shutterstock_304797797.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure> Sectors like healthcare, engineering, education and finance have seen movement, which is already a positive start to 2021. At the time of writing, LinkedIn had 14million jobs listed, the majority of which are healthcare and technology roles. In LinkedIn’s recent report on <a href="https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/recruiting-tips/the-future-of-recruiting-europe-and-the-middle-east-report/3qc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Future of Recruiting</a>, they stated that 84% of talent professionals in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) agree that <a href="https://businessblog.trueprofile.io/top-tips-for-recruiting-remotely/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">remote recruiting </a>will become the new standard post-COVID. 76% of those professionals say that diversity will be essential to the future of recruiting. The foundation of a business’s 2021 plans should start with who their best customers and clients will be going forward and whether your current staff, as a resource, is at its highest value offering (to you and your clients). HSBC economists forecast that Gulf Cooperation Council economies will grow 3.9% year-on-year in 2021. According to the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/09/30/world-economic-outlook-october-2020" target="_blank">International Monetary Fund</a> (<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/09/30/world-economic-outlook-october-2020" target="_blank">IMF</a>), the GCC will get on the recovery path in 2021, with the Saudi economy expected to grow at 3.1% and the UAE at 3.3%. Following the availability of a vaccine, another ‘new normal’ may well be digitized<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.digital.theglobalrecruiter.com/does-blockchain-hold-the-key/" target="_blank"> health passports</a>, which help travelers store and manage their verified COVID-19 tests and vaccines will be important for international recruitment and professional migration. <h2>Engage With The Right Candidates From The Start</h2> Each year brings with it the chance for new beginnings and to reflect on what has and has not worked. Ineffective recruitment processes in the past may have favored <a href="https://businessblog.trueprofile.io/the-perfect-candidate-or-someone-who-is-great-at-interviews/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">applicants who were great at interviews</a> but not necessarily right for the role or dishonest candidates with falsified identity and professional credentials. Humans endure experiences, adapt to them and create iterations to optimize how these experiences are met. This applies to how we hire and manage a business’s most important assets: its workforce. Companies are reconsidering the world and their employees within it.  Unfortunately, many companies around the globe have experienced <a href="https://businessblog.trueprofile.io/cost-of-making-a-bad-hire/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the real cost of making a bad hire</a>. Taking the time to look at the elements that led to making costly business mistakes in the past and employing the perfect recruitment tools will help to mitigate the repetition of those mistakes.      As the world embraces digitization, the perfect employee is within reach regardless of geography. Widely dispersed talent is something to adopt instead of hiring, onboarding, training and consequently offboarding the wrong hire.  <h2>Optimizing The Perfect Candidate Search</h2> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="535" src="https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/shutterstock_1776602723-1024x535.jpg" alt="New talent to the GCC" class="wp-image-10860" title="New talent to the GCC" srcset="https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/shutterstock_1776602723-1024x535.jpg 1024w, https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/shutterstock_1776602723-300x157.jpg 300w, https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/shutterstock_1776602723-768x401.jpg 768w, https://production-prod-trueprofile-blogassets-origin.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/03/shutterstock_1776602723.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure> <a href="https://www.trueprofile.io/businesspartner/solution" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">6% of educational degrees are forged and 53% of job applications contain false information</a>, proving the lengths that people will go to secure a job dishonestly. It’s effortless for applicants to bump their work experience up a few years on their CV or falsely claim to have specific qualifications, which they never actually attended class for. It’s only once pre-employment verification is implemented that businesses quickly flag and hone in on applicants. If you omit this step, unqualified candidates can weed their way into your business and sooner or later their unsuitability for the role becomes uncomfortably obvious.  With the coming year and the GCC as a desirable location for international professionals, recruiting platforms and businesses will be inundated with job applications. The abundance of interest expressed means that eligible applications may get overlooked or discarded.  Expensive headhunting is another recruitment process that companies use. It can be a problematic strategy for success as the candidate’s credentials that they present on their professional profile may not be authenticated and a waste of resources! <h2>Hiring for the GCC in 2021</h2> You’ve recruited internationally, conducted interviews with your shortlist and are now keen to offer an overseas professional a contract with your company in the GCC. Pre-contract issuance, ensure that the candidate passes mandatory background screening in the form of a <a href="https://businessblog.trueprofile.io/primary-source-verification-in-the-digital-disruptive-age/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">primary source verification</a> (PSV) to safeguard your hiring decision. If you have yet to find your perfect candidate and need to fill a role quickly, you can use a database of qualified individuals who are pre-verified, ready to be hired and keen to move overseas in 2021 and beyond.  Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” While he probably wasn’t referring to the recruitment industry, this truth applies for fortifying your hiring process to hit the ground running in 2021.   If you are looking to hire pre-verified international professionals for the GCC or want to find out how to verify new employees: – visit our dedicated <a href="https://www.trueprofile.io/businesspartner" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Business Partners</a> area – or request your free 7-day trial of <a href="https://lp.trueprofile.io/recruit-medical-staff-free-trial/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TrueProfile.io Recruiting</a> today.