More than half of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) business leaders participating in a survey have revealed their intention to hire more staff in the next 12 months.
The survey of more than 600 executives revealed that 53 per cent intend to hire more staff in the next 12 months. Only 13 per cent said they will be reducing staff levels over the same period, while 34 per cent will maintain current staff levels until the second quarter of next year.
The Doing Business in the Gulf Survey, conducted by the Leaders team, comes amidst a flurry of announcements of staff reductions in high profile companies.
The survey was conducted ahead of the largest gathering of regional business leaders at the Leaders in Dubai Business Forum in October this year.
It asked actual and key decision makers across the GCC questions covering a number of vital economic and management issues, such as investment, recruitment, profitability and global competitiveness.
“Tough times are upon us, but majority of the companies surveyed – around 67 per cent - expect their operations to yield increased profits in the next 12 months,” said Lucy Mountain, project director, Leaders in Dubai. “With better than expected performance during the downturn, business leaders are counting on increased profits to help ease the impact of the crisis by providing more employment opportunities.”
Whether the projected profitability can be achieved remains a question, considering current market conditions. This and other issues will be the subject of many presentations and panel discussions amongst business leaders and a high profile list of speakers headed by Nobel Laureate Al Gore and top management guru Gary Hamel at the Leaders in Dubai Business Forum 2009 on October 26-28, 2009 at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre. - TradeArabia News Service