It is boom time in Abu Dhabi and salaries are going wild, with as much as 100% increases over night (well, for some, at least).

With new companies being formed and many international organisations moving in with large budgets, all on the look-out for competent skilled staff, there are huge movements in the job market. Valuable employees are leaving organisations where they have worked for many years, including CEOs and General Managers, and this is just the tip of the sand-dune.

How then are companies to retain quality staff ?

Withholding “No Objection” letters required for a visa transfer is not the answer as there is nothing worse for a company’s productivity than disgruntled employees, who wish to leave, but are being blocked from doing so.

Also the stamping of the new General Manager’s visa with “Labourer”, since he or she does not have a University Degree can also be a turn-off for someone who is not familiar with the area.

Another move that should definitelybeavoided is that of trying to micro-manage an organisation.

In our view, the only proper answer to the retaining of key staff by any organisation is an approach of total transparency. If you don’t trust them with information, then why should they commit themselves to stay with you?

The whole team must understand, be interested in and be motivated by sharing the vision and objectives of the management. In return, management must show that it is genuinely interested in the well-being of staff and their concerns and explain to them what is happening.

Regular meetings, training, succession planning and other aspects are vital if a company is to retain its staff. Failing to keep touch with one’s employees is commercial suicide in such a volatile market.

The recruitment and training of new staff is also no joke, especially when many employers are having to make compromises with regard to experience and skills, because of cost constraints.

One issue that needs to be addressed urgently, and jointly, by both the public sector and the private sector is also, of course, that of the training and the subsequent employment and retention of UAE nationals – retention being an absolutely crucial issue for, unlike expatriates, UAE nationals can, and do, move jobs without being constrained by visa requirements.

The buzz words should be, quite simply, Transparency & Understanding. Nothing trendy(!) but without effective implementation of both, many organisations may be in for a very rough ride.

ABC is here to help!

Christine Bond is Managing Director of ABC Recruitment

Tel:00971 2 6768558
Fax:00971 2 6769280 / 6769779
Web: www.abcrecruitment.ae