How can Emiratis, HR Departments, Managers and Stakeholders develop the mindset to achieve success with their Nationalization strategy? In the GCC the nationalization of the workforce is thought to be an integral part of every country’s growth strategy and sustainability goals. And in the UAE, the government has an ambitious plan to reach 20% Emiratization of the workforce as part of the its strategic sustainability plan 2021 (Dubai) and plan 2030 on the federal level. To put it simply, it is part of a plan to shift the mindset of its citizens away from dependence on government employment, to being fully vested in private sector enterprise. I mention mindset purposefully, because achieving success first requires the buy-in from its participants. As the saying goes, “you can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”.
Reluctance from Nationals to dive into the private sector and reluctance on the part of the private sector to hire Nationals is due in part to:
- Misconceptions about what it means to work in the private sector by Emiratis. Stereotypes fuel these misconceptions, especially concerns about being the “only” National in an unfamiliar office environment, long working hours, and lack of real career paths.
- Private companies are not sure how to attract Emiratis to their firms and worry about the stereotypes of a “demanding” Emirati, or the perceived additional financial resources that might develop and retain talent.
- Expectations on both sides are sometimes of sync and while some companies have been successful, the majority are still struggling to create a strategy that works for them.
- Leaders know that diversity and inclusion drives innovation but worry about the temporary disruption that might cause.
While these may be real concerns an effective diversity and inclusion strategy that takes into consideration the human factor vs and not just the numbers will produce results. And this will be a win-win situation when we consider why developing a Nationalization mindset is good for business and good for the GCC.
- Nationalization of the workforce will lessen the burden of governments to provide services, stipends, and jobs for its country’s citizens en mass. The private sector will benefit from a diverse workforce that creates a sustainable future for the region.
- Diversity in the workplace, especially in leadership leads to innovation. Just look at the findings published in Harvard Business Review, “Diversity Can Drive Innovation” https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-diversity-can-drive-innovation
- Expats professionals will improve their inter-cultural communication skills and cultural knowledge. Let’s face it, if you move to a foreign country with your company and that company has a negligible local workforce representation, can you really mark that as international experience and working with a diverse team?
- The youth workforce today is not the same as it was even 10 years ago and Millennials do not have a unified identity. Neither does our Emirati and GCC youth. They have a range of different educational backgrounds, skills and workplace attitudes. When hired and empowered, (we’ll take about this in another article) they are sure to bring to the table a fresh new perspective and be ready to take on the responsibilities of their position with enthusiasm and skill. 83% of millennials are more actively engaged when they believe their company fosters an inclusive culture – and in 10 years millennials will comprise nearly 75% of the workforce. (Deloitte)
- Governments has several monetary and time saving incentives in place for companies to meet Nationalization goals.
- Nationalization can help your bottom line:
- companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have returns above national industry medians. (McKinsey)
- companies reporting highest levels of racial diversity in their organizations bring in nearly 15 times more sales revenue than those with lowest levels of racial diversity. (American Sociological Review)
Tips for fostering a Nationalization or Diversity & Inclusion mindset
- Appoint a Champion in your organization with the passion for Nationalization – After mindset, passion is key.
- Shift from short-term to long-Term hiring strategies – Time spent on professional development plans and career paths for fresh graduates can pay off in the long-run. Its well documented that investing in your employees improves retention and loyalty.
- Create incentives for Emiratis as well as the entire team for successful implementation strategies and make everyone in the organization own the task and reap the rewards.
- Provide proper training for working in, and growing multi – cultural teams. Not everyone in your organization will have the skills set to communicate effectively across cultures. Invest in inter cultural communications training, cultural intelligence skill building, and diversity and inclusion training.
The Arab Culturalist delivers Workshops that provide Nationals at your organization the knowledge skills and mindset to succeed, and expat employees the mindset skills to work effectively across cultures. Our philosophy is that building knowledge about culture and work styles helps team members clearly understand their roles and encourages cohesive harmonious teams.