HR trends in the Middle East: reflections on HR Summit & Expo 2014

• 2 min read

DSC_0043As I write this post, Claudio Erba, CEO of Docebo, and Josh Squires, COO of Docebo EMEA, are attending the HR Summit & Expo in Dubai to showcase the latest version of the Docebo Learning Management System: Docebo 6.4.

The HR Summit & Expo is the most important HR event in the region. It includes some of the most widely recognized and awarded companies, and well-known speakers in the global Human Resources scenario such as Marshall Goldsmith, Dave Ulrich, Liz Wiseman and Rasmus Ankersen.

Docebo HR Summit & Expo Dubai

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Each region has its own peculiarities that shape the needs and challenges that companies must face, and the Middle East is certainly no exception. By looking at the main sessions and speeches held at the HR Summit & Expo we could highlight a few trends in the HR sector for the Middle East:

  • Lack of talent: despite the amazing growth, cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi can be considered fairly “young” cities. The entire region has developed a wide range of strategies to attract talent from abroad (mainly US and Europe), investing at the same time in advanced education systems, but it’s not enough – not yet. In fact the Middle East is often considered a temporary stop for most of expatriates, making talent retention a nightmare for most HR departments.
  • Lack of adequate HR technology: as through the entire region, technology is evolving at a very fast rate. In order to stay competitive and grow, companies need to be up to date on the most recent advancements in HR softwares such as mobile learning, talent management and resource planning softwares.
  • Bureaucracy: with great power comes great responsibility (that was originally Voltaire, not Spiderman). Thanks to its great wealth and a unique taxation system (no taxation), the Middle East has been attracting a lot of companies and job seekers. Therefore strict regulation has been enforced to control the influx. Unfortunately this axe has two blades: although the bureaucracy prevents a loss of control, it also slows down companies looking to achieve some serious business in the area.

Middle East elearning market trends and forecasts

Earlier this year Docebo released a paper entitled “E-learning market: trends and forecast 2014-2016”. It is particularly interesting to highlight the growth of elearning usage in the Middle East region – in fact the market is growing at a 8.2% growth rate with over $560 revenues forecasted for 2016.

Elearning market Middle East by Docebo
To get a more indepth analysis of the ME elearning market click here to download the “E-learning market: trends and forecast 2014-2016” paper, or, if you’re based in Dubai come visit us at the HR Summit & Expo, International Convention Center stand E29!