Half of white-collar professionals in the UAE responding to a survey said that they would ‘only’ consider a start-up for their next career move, following a record year of $2.6 billion investments into start-ups across Mena.
Almost half of this investment went toward UAE-based start-ups ($1.2 billion), according to the report titled “Act Like a Start-Up and Win the War on Talent” from global recruitment consultancy Robert Walters.
With an estimated 40% of professionals looking to move jobs this year – and a push from Government to create twenty $1 billion value ‘unicorns’ in the region within the next 9 years - analysts at leading recruiter Robert Walters warn of ‘The Great Corporate Resignation’ where the most established firms could stand to lose their best talent to emerging and fast-growth start-ups whose culture is well-aligned to a post-pandemic world.
The number of professionals working in start-ups has grown by 20% globally in the last 12-months - with this figure expected to grow further as tech, marketing, HR, legal, and finance professionals are all in demand from high-growth companies in the UAE.
Currently, 42% of professionals in the UAE are employed by SMEs – with this figure expected to grow to around 60% as the government enhances it support towards start-ups by way of relaxed visa rules, business reforms, and funding packages aimed at boosting start-ups as well as attracting more expatriates to live and work in the region.
Almost a third of total funding raised in UAE went toward fintech – highlighting the increased innovation and digitisation in the sector – with recruiter Robert Walters warning traditional financial institutions that a mass exodus could be on the horizon if they don’t start to ‘act like a fintech’ sooner.
Jason Grundy – Managing Director of Robert Walters Middle East said: “After any period of economic change, we typically see a wave of entrepreneurial or start-up activity – and so it doesn’t surprise me to hear of the success of these businesses.
“What is interesting – however – is how these relatively-new 10-30 person companies are managing to draw some of the UAE’S top talent away from established firms who typically offer much higher levels of job security.
“Post pandemic we have seen a seismic shift in what professionals want from their employer – with purpose, culture, and people, rated above competitive pay and the well mapped-out corporate ladder.”
The appeal of fast progression
The ability to be innovative (47%), undertake interesting work (34%), be exposed to open & effective management (30%), and have high levels of autonomy (28%), seem to be the leading factors drawing professionals to a start-up.
In fact, it is the flat structure and fast-moving nature of the business which appeals most to ambitious professionals – with 52% stating that they would move to a start-up for lower pay if they saw an opportunity to progress much quicker than they would do within a corporate set-up.
Culture the tipping point
Almost half of professionals (42%) want to work in a culture that inspires them to do their best, and a further third seek out employers whose social values align with their own – be it equity, mental health, or the environment.
Grundy added: “The pandemic and long periods of lockdown working triggered a lot of us to re-evaluate how we have been living and working – and with that has come a drive from people to be more purpose-driven and to do something that adds more meaning to their life.
“By nature, large corporates may be slower to adopt new and emerging values – instead opting to stick with traditional ways that have been a mainstay for over 10 years. Start-ups on the other hand are on the front foot, listening to what is important to their employees – such as homelessness and world hunger – and then acting swiftly to help ‘do their bit.’
“The most attractive start-ups will have ‘visionary’ Founders – those who are not afraid to take a stance on social matters and who pride themselves on bringing their ‘true-self’ to work every day.”
Jason Grundy provides his Top 5 Tips to large firms on how to ‘Act Like a Start-Up:’
1. Adapt for agility: An established company can copy some of a start-up’s agility by adapting its structure by introducing new, much more flexible ways of working and breaking down divisions into more smaller teams operating in a matrix structure.
2. Change how work gets done: In a start-up, professionals have the opportunity to ‘craft their own job’ as the business evolves and grows. Established organisations should look to replicate this by not having such structured and process-driven departments that can sometimes stifle entrepreneurialism and creativity. When recruiting, keep the job description fluid and consider asking “what would you look to bring to the role.”
3. Encourage innovation: “Fast failure” is a prominent feature of start-up culture. Embracing failure encourages innovation and allows for multiple ideas to be tested in quick succession, in search of the idea that works. Established companies can reconsider their employee KPIs and targets to be more focused on trying new things rather than delivering set tasks. In appraisals shift your focus to key learnings rather than output alone.
4. Focus on Talent: Changing the lens on talent is something large organisations can do. Hiring managers need to rid themselves of preconceived notions and unconscious biases and look to hire, promote, and develop different kinds of people who have the potential to grow with their business. Rather than experience, consider the outlook of a person – ask how they would tackle a certain business problem to see their use of creative thinking and initiative.
5. Adapt your leadership style: Successful start-ups work in a productive way if the leaders running them personify all of the traits they want their staff to emulate. Leaders of established companies need to adopt some of these skills in the way they operate - welcoming innovation, reducing levels of hierarchy, and adopting a more collegiate and meritocratic working style. – TradeArabia News Service
UAE professionals eye start-up as next career move
Jason Grundy
&uuid=(email))