From Malaysian expats to chatbots in the Gulf, five of the best articles from People Management’s international websites
1 Hire locals, urges Malaysian leader
Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak used his Labour Day speech to send an important message to employers: prioritise locals over foreigners when recruiting. However, achieving such lofty goals will require the country to reskill rapidly, say HR experts, who warn of an “addictive preference” for expat workers, even in lower-paid roles – as well as a drastic shortage of IT skills across the country.
2 How to be a good boss during Ramadan
The Muslim holy month is a great time to bring employees together, according to experts – but it also poses particular challenges for managers. Not only is the working day constrained in many Middle Eastern countries, but fasting employees may find concentration is a problem. By being proactive about rotas and viewing Ramadan as a way to promote team-building and cultural understanding, however, such challenges become opportunities.
3 Are chatbots the future of recruitment?
The potential of AI to revolutionise the way we hire is becoming a talking point in Gulf economies, which are always keen to ride the cutting edge of HR technology. Galina Racheva, co-founder of a Bahrain-based recruitment website, runs through some of the most promising emerging chatbot technology – including services that claim to become an ‘AI recruiter’ for your business, even conducting interviews on your behalf, and those that help jobseekers connect with multiple hirers at once.
4 Singapore still the top draw for talent
Although its economy isn’t quite as tigerish as it used to be, only Switzerland is doing better than Singapore when it comes to attracting and nurturing talented employees, according to new research from INSEAD. The university’s Global Talent Competitiveness Index says Singapore excels because of its language, pay and culture, as well as its highly professional management practices. And the city-state is being urged to become even more attractive by investing further in digital skills.
5 Saudisation is getting a shake-up
Saudi Arabia’s Nitaqat programme sets strict limits on the proportion of local employees in almost all workforces in the Kingdom. And as employment lawyer Sarah Lawrence explains, the requirements are about to get even more stringent: companies in IT, banking and finance will find they have to employ more Saudis, and will have to seek governmental approval to make them redundant. Future amendments could mandate the number of Saudis in different levels of a business, and encourage firms to employ more local women.