Businesses in the UAE are inclined to follow the footsteps of their peers in European markets by increasing their hiring of talent on a gig basis, helping them operate more flexibly and bring in specialist skills. New research from Oracle reveals that 64% of human resource leaders in the UAE believe the gig economy approach will reduce long term costs associated with recruitment and training.
That said, a significant number of companies remain unconvinced by the concept of gig economy. Only one third 34% plan to hire more temporary employees by 2020 and nearly half 48% view the gig economy as a passing fad or believe it is not broadly applicable to their industry.
The survey uncovered the trends shaping the global development of the gig economy, an environment where the number of temporary or short term contract positions available is common.
The survey found 48% of human resource directors in the UAE believe the gig approach will allow them to develop a broader and more specialist range of skills. 46% also said having to invest less in recruitment will provide them with better training and development opportunities when compared to hiring only full-time employees.
Swami Natarajan, SaaS Sales Development and Strategy Leader ECEMEA, said: “Over the last few years, the UAE has seen a significant number of strategic initiatives and economic reforms. As businesses continue to explore new opportunities to diversify revenue streams and deploy transformative business models, they need a fluid talent pool to meet the accelerated demand for specialised skills. As human resource leaders continue to play a more strategic role in the boardroom, they need to rethink talent development to recruit skilled candidates at shorter notice and help the organisation stay on top of multiple projects.”
As organisations globally continue to see the merit in adopting a gig economy mind set to recruitment and talent development, human resource leaders in the UAE will be tasked with evaluating the value of undertaking these initiatives in the face of rapid economic development.
Oracle partnered with Opinium Research to poll businesses and employees in EMEA about their outlook on the gig economy and the rise of contract work. Fifty human resource Directors and three hundred employees in the UAE were surveyed as part of the research.
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