Page 225 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

Building Your Team: Human Capital Strategies for the GCC 207

TABLE 7.3
The Right Stuff Checklist for Expatriate Recruiting

Domain Sample Criteria
Experience ● Experience in high-growth markets
● Experience in rapidly changing business environments
● Leadership in challenging environments
● Leadership of diverse teams
Skills ● Analytical prowess
● Technical proficiency in area of focus
● Communication skills
● Leadership and management skills
● Ability to manage growth and change
Passion and Affinity ● Genuine passion for the Gulf/Middle East region
● Interest in economic and commercial development of the
region
● Arabic language skills
● Openness toward local culture

Many firms pay adequate attention to the first two domains
but overlook the third: passion and affinity. Through years of
observing expatriates in the Gulf, I have seen time and again how
crucial passion and affinity are and how they often represent the
difference between mediocre and stellar performers.
While passion and affinity need not be—and very often are
not—linked with country of origin, certain countries do tend to
have more professionals with genuine interest in the Gulf. Chief
among these are other Middle East and North Africa countries (e.g.,
Egypt, Lebanon, etc.), for whom language, proximity, and culture
all fit well with the GCC states. Next are the markets of South Asia
(India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka), as South Asian
expatriate communities in the Gulf often create a home-away-from-
home environment. This is especially true for the UAE. Filipino
expatriate communities in the Gulf are also sizable, making it easier
to recruit additional talent from the Philippines. Talent from the
broader Muslim world (e.g., Malaysia, Indonesia, Muslim Africa,
etc.) is another important affinity pool, as many (though certainly
not all) Muslims are attracted to the Islamic environment and facil-
ities of the GCC countries. The same holds for a sizable number