The UAE is the go to global destination for foreign workers; with recent reports stating some 90% of recruitment is from overseas.
Overseas hires can be a great way for your company to reach the next level, however there are two sides to the story.
There are numerous drawbacks to consider, so before turning to the global marketplace, take the time to digest the following remote recruitment tips:
The cost of overseas recruitment
The goal of any company is to boost profit by minimising cost, and hiring what seems to be the perfect candidate from abroad can look like the most cost-efficient solution on paper: reducing the need for a lengthy selection process and removing the need to provide costly training.
However, if recruitment is badly managed, your company can soon end up forking out a fortune in administrative, travel and accommodation fees.
With this in mind, before contacting the recruitment agency of choice or scouring LinkedIn, take pen to paper to tally up all the costs and work out what the most cost-efficient option solution is.
If you do decide to employ workers from abroad, use a streamlined HR administration system such as Beneple. Beneple can be used to easily update employee details, help your company keep track of Emirates IDs, visas and labour cards. Beneple also gives automatic reminders when these are nearing expiry, helping the avoidance of any nasty shocks!
Cost of bad hires
Every business occasionally makes the mistake of hiring a candidate who looks perfect on paper and who can talk the talk, but when it comes to it, can’t walk the walk. This is the risk your company takes when remote hiring. Having to dismiss and re-recruit a new employee is a costly affair, not to mention the additional time taken to organise new visas etc.
Hiring locally following face-to-face interviews and offering work trials is generally considered best practice when recruiting.
If you do decide to hire remotely, make sure to research any candidate thoroughly via the Internet.
For virtual recruitment, social media can be a great tool. The amount of personal information, good and bad, people share on Twitter and Facebook is endless. Two minutes scanning a potential employees social media feed can give you a better understanding of their character and reliability, when compared to combing through their CV.
Internal promotion and succession planning
One of the biggest causes of employee disgruntlement is being passed over for promotion when a company employs an outside candidate. Before thinking of cherry picking talent from elsewhere, remember the assets your company already have, your existing staff. Promoting from within, and training up current employees to fill vacancies, rather than relying on external recruitment, can often be cheaper in the long run, and increase staff morale, showing that a company rewards hard work and talent.
Also, companies that solely recruit from abroad, ignoring home-grown talent, often gain a poor corporate image. This is particularly true in the UK, where many companies have a reputation for exploiting low waged foreign labour, instead of recruiting and training local talent. The UK government is now considering naming and shaming such organizations, as well as charging companies £2,000, around 9,700 AED, for each non-EU foreign worker a business employs.
Bottom line – Hiring from overseas, internal promotions and nurturing talent
Recruiting from abroad is a great way to increase talent, whilst blending different skill sets and backgrounds can often lead to superior results on a number of levels.
On the flip side, overseas recruitment can be a costly affair and a bureaucratic nightmare, leading you to be stuck with the wrong employee, potentially creating resentment among your existing employees and local community alike.
The maxim here: always do your homework!
Calculate the full cost of foreign recruitment, research your candidates from top to toe, consider promoting from within whilst training local candidates where possible.
Your people are your biggest asset, so do your research and hire wisely.