Majority of Mena recruiters expect remote hiring to increase this year, survey finds

Eighty-six per cent of recruiters in the Mena region expect remote hiring to increase this year, as the jobs market returns to pre-coronavirus levels amid a broader economic recovery, a new survey shows.

Seventy-seven per cent of recruiters said their company has a clear plan to keep up with expected changes in the recruitment landscape after Covid-19, according to jobs portal Bayt.com, which polled 2,025 respondents from countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Lebanon between December 15, 2021, and January 18, 2022.

About 82 per cent of those surveyed said online interviews are fast becoming a reliable alternative to physical interviews.

Eighty-five per cent of recruiters said their company is adopting or planning to adopt a fully online recruitment process in 2022, the research revealed, while 91 per cent are looking to use an online recruitment solution this year to find talent in organisations across the Mena region.

“This data … provides a glimpse into the current employment landscape and its opportunities, helping job seekers make the right career decisions,” said Ola Haddad, director of human resources at Bayt.com.

Employers in the UAE are set to embark on a hiring spree in 2022 and raise salaries by an average of 4 per cent as demand for jobs pick up amid the UAE’s post-coronavirus economic recovery, a November report by Mercer found.

Attracting and retaining employees will also require an increased focus on flexible working policies such as hybrid or remote working, Mercer said in its 2021 Total Remuneration Survey.

The technology and energy sectors are lagging behind slightly on salary increases of 3.5 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively, the survey found.

However, industries expected to outpace growth include life sciences and consumer goods, at 4 per cent, as a result of the “robust performance of the sectors during the pandemic”, Mercer said.

With digital recruitment becoming indispensable for recruiters across the Mena region, 40 per cent of those polled picked the adoption of online recruitment technology as a top priority this year while 27 per cent opted to improve the quality of new hires. Sixteen per cent cited the need to reduce time taken to recruit staff and 8 per cent identified the need to increase retention rates, according to Bayt.com.

Half of all recruiters in the region said they found CV search to be the most useful digital tool while hiring while 27 per cent picked job postings. One in 10 chose video interviewing platforms and another 10 per cent cited online applicant tracking systems, the survey findings revealed.

About 22 per cent of recruiters picked lack of talent as the biggest challenge associated with recruitment while 19 per cent cited communication with candidates and 15 per cent chose health and safety concerns related to the spread of Covid-19. Twelve per cent referred to misalignment between recruiters and hiring managers, according to Bayt.com.

Three in 10 recruiters said the ability to screen and filter candidates efficiently is key to a successful hire while 29 per cent picked having access to the largest talent base and 22 per cent cited the ability to conduct streamlined onboarding. A fifth chose the ability to test and assess candidates online, the research found.

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