Employment processes in Dubai always tend to have an easy way about them, at least on paper. There’s an abundance of candidates, people come from all over the globe, one post in LinkedIn is enough to get hundreds of applicants by lunch. But why do many employers end up with the job posting hanging around for three months, and why does new staff leave before first performance appraisals?
But this is not about volume because getting the right person is the issue. That is where a good recruitment agency in Dubai earns its place, and where a poor one quietly costs you far more than the empty chair ever did. Time, patience, some hard talks with your own leadership, and occasionally, a reputation amongst your candidate pool which will take time to rebuild.
There are hundreds of companies in the city. On their sites they all sound very much alike: making similar pledges, using similar vocabulary, showing the same image of a handshake. If you are trying to work out how to choose a recruitment agency that actually suits your business, the following sections will assist you in distinguishing between them before any signing takes place.
Before even approaching any agency, you need to be crystal clear about what this job is all about. I’m not just talking about its designation. What should this individual focus on for the first year? To whom should he report? What should happen in case things don’t go well?
This may seem like common sense, but surprisingly, many briefs are incomplete, and the agencies have to guess. When agencies guess, you receive CVs which look impressive but don’t work out in interviews.
It also helps to know what kind of support you are shopping for, because recruitment services in Dubai cover a lot of ground. Permanent placements, temporary and contract workers, payroll services, background checks, and executive search services. While some companies specialize in all of these services, others are just excellent at doing one particular thing. None of these are wrong ways to go, but a company that fills hospitality jobs in droves is definitely different from the one that finds a finance director after six weeks.
Boring, but essential. The legitimate employment agency in UAE must have a valid trade license and correct approval from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) for its services. Ask to show you the documents. Any good company will show them to you without any problems, and if there are some problems, you have just got important information.
Beyond the documents, you can ask about how many years they work in this area and who will conduct your job search. Is it a senior consultant who knows the market or a group of juniors who follow the script? You can also ask if they know about the Emiratisation requirements for a company like yours, because this question will arise anyway.
After that, you can ask for the client references. Better in your area. And call one of them.
Having a big name doesn’t necessarily mean a good fit. The key thing is whether the agency has an understanding of your industry to be able to form opinions on it. Do they understand what a realistic salary would be for a mid-level project manager in construction today? Do they understand why good logistics professionals have been leaving certain companies this year? Have they met three or four people who could do your job already?
Find out how quickly they managed to fill similar positions recently. What was their time frame? Where did they source the candidates? Their inability to answer specific questions will give you a lot of information.
If you are looking for someone whose responsibilities include the whole GCC region, make sure that the agency has people there besides Dubai.
This is the key point most organizations ignore. Agencies just put up your job listing in the same job portals where you could do so on your own and just send whatever resumes they get. This approach works well for volume or entry-level hires but hardly ever for senior hires.
The people who you want are employed, quite happy about their current employment, and not looking around at all. These people will not even get your message at all. Someone needs to find them, talk to them, and convince them that they stand to gain by switching jobs despite all the risks involved. This needs good networking skills and plenty of time spent talking to many people out of working hours. Thus, make sure that the agency tells you how they would go about it.
When you are hiring at director level or above, a general recruitment agency in Dubai may not be the right tool. This is where executive search firms in Dubai come in, and the difference is real. An executive search is normally retained, which means you retain the firm to do a specified search, and they take part payment up front. What you get in return is focused service, confidentiality, and a professional not running forty other searches for commission.
A good executive recruitment agency in Dubai will spend time with you before it speaks to a single candidate. It will seek to know the board, ownership structures and the actual way decisions are made within the company. For instance, in the case of a family-owned company, the signing of the offer letter and the decision maker may not be one and the same person. A company that knows this will make better shortlists.
Confidentiality is very important. Being able to change CEOs and CFOs without your employees, customers or competitors knowing anything about it is part of what you are getting. Ask them how they do it.
And finally, let’s face the fact that timing is very important. Candidates at the senior level here in the UAE give two or three month notice periods and they have counteroffers waiting for them on the other end. An agency that claims to have someone signed up in two weeks is either lucky or telling lies to you.
The rates can vary from one company to another, but usually they charge a commission based on the salary package of the candidate per year. However, it is not about the rate; it is more about the conditions associated with it. For example, when do you pay the fee – upon signature or once the individual joins the company? What will happen if the hired person quits soon? What is the guarantee period? Are you allowed to recruit this individual if you meet him/her six months later?
Write it down on paper. Read it carefully. Usually, recruitment agencies do not mind explaining their terms, and if there is something that you don’t like, you should say this before signing the deal, not after receiving the invoice.
And one more point. If an agency requires candidates to pay for their own placement, be extremely careful. Generally, in the UAE the recruitment fees are paid by the employer.
There are fewer professionals in Dubai than it might seem. Interview candidates talk too. A consultant who vanishes after a job interview or one who overpromises and then stops talking altogether is always communicating on behalf of your organization, and everyone will remember it was the recruiting agency’s fault.
So find out how they treat candidates they don’t hire. How fast do they get back to you? Watch how they behave during the first meeting; that’s their best behaviour.
Honesty is important as well. A reputable agency will at times inform you that the pay range you have set is way too low or that the job you need done encompasses three different professions. That’s embarrassing information to learn. But that’s why you hired them in the first place.
- How will you source candidates for a job such as this?
Look for specifics, not slogans.
- Who will be conducting my search on a day-to-day basis?
Names, experience and number of other searches they are running at present.
- Can you provide details of three recent placements within my industry?
Not candidate names necessarily, but position, timeline and outcome.
- What is your process for the weeks ahead?
Reporting, shortlisting, interviews and feedback.
- What will happen if the candidate does not work out?
Replacement details in writing.
- How will you ensure that confidentiality is maintained?
Particularly in regard to senior positions.
- Are you working with any of my direct competitors?
This is a perfectly reasonable question and deserves an easy answer.
Within hours of requesting, CVs were to be provided for a senior level position. Refusal to name any past clients, not even general ones. Pressure to sign up right away. Lots of talk about themselves and nothing much about your company. Not able to give any specific information on how they source people. All of these could be a bad day, but two or three, you need to leave.
Before you decide
The right agency will end up looking not like a supplier but rather like a partner with inside knowledge about the market. They ask difficult questions. They challenge you from time to time. They give you the unvarnished truth about salaries, timelines, and candidates, even when it’s easier to remain silent. That is how we aim to operate at Robbert Murray & Associates, and that is a reasonable bar to set for any firm.
Take your time on the selection process. One week spent comparing two to three companies is worth months of effort later. Picking a recruitment agency in Dubai in a hurry because the pressure is on is exactly how most bad hires begin. Go slowly in the beginning, and everything else will seem to happen faster than you thought.
