Author: Abeer Abu Ghaith

2023 Hiring Solutions Using Staff Augmentation

Posted on by Abeer Abu Ghaith

Human resource leaders need help finding qualified IT professionals to fill open positions and start exciting new projects. The problem is blamed on the great resignation and other recent social issues, but there are, in fact, fewer workers. 

In the US, for example, available workers will fall by 3% due to aging. Svenja Gudell, Chief Economist for Indeed, points to demographic shifts in population and immigration policies as two significant factors expected to impact hiring for years. 

Gudell states the supply chain will also impact hiring, product availability, and services. According to Gudell, “Deep-seated and long-term supply dynamics will continue to be a major force that creates a persistent gap between employer demand for new hires and the supply of candidates.”

HR departments are not only challenged by the hiring crisis but face an ongoing need to remain flexible and scale their staff according to the needs of new and ongoing projects. IT staff are in tremendous demand, and managers know actual costs are involved. 

Costs When Hiring an In-House Team

There are costs when hiring an in-house team. No matter the project, new ideas come with excitement and expectations. Your excitement for your company’s great new project might impact your in believing that you can hire a brilliant tech team, lure them away from their present jobs, and they will drop everything for your fantastic idea. Consider the following:

  • Candidate Sourcing – Where will you find talent? A hiring agency has costs involved, but if you search yourself, your time costs, too. 
  • Time = Money – Glassdoor’s research shows that the tech industry’s interview process alone can take 24.4 days. You can expect as much as 95 days from initial contact to hire specialty IT talents.
  • External vs. Internal Hiring – Choose a recruiting agency or use external hiring, and figure in as much as 25% of your new hire’s salary to pay for their services. You are not saving money by doing it yourself. According to Entrepreneur Magazine, startup founders spend up to 40% of their valuable time doing the hiring and other non-income-generating tasks. How much is your time worth?
  • Salary and Benefit Costs – Consider costs. According to Indeed, an average salary for a full-stack developer is $119,177 per year plus cash bonuses, matching 401K, and health insurance. And that doesn’t begin to cover hidden expenses, such as office space, staff IT support, etc.
  • Retention Costs – Once hired, you must keep feeding that relationship. According to PeopleKeep, the cost of losing and replacing a tech employee is often as high as their yearly salary. You don’t want to lose a new hire to a competitive job offer – so expect to provide perks like gym memberships, tuition reimbursement, stock, remote working, and paid time off. 

Staff Augmentation as a Solution

Staff augmentation is a hiring model that brings qualified staff on board to fulfill a short-term need or a job that may be project-based. Staff augmentation can allow smaller companies and startups to reach the skilled team members they need. This option provides your company quick access to vetted applicants at cost savings, increasing your business’s flexibility and scalability options.

Consider the challenges faced when you need to replace staff quickly due to the permanent or temporary loss of a required team member. As you can see above, the hiring model that includes time-consuming searches or expensive recruitment costs can add to the pain. When you begin a relationship with an augmented staffing solutions provider like MENA Alliances you have an affordable answer to finding your needed skills. 

Benefits of Choosing Staff Augmentation 

Staff augmentation benefits you by expanding your hiring options. You can purchase the resources your tech worker provides such as their time and talent. Your company retains control over team members allowing you to develop your project on your own terms. Benefits you will experience by choosing the staff augmentation hiring model: 

  • Manage skill gaps
  • Cost savings
  • Saving time
  • Access to top talent
  • Fast team-building

Level the Field for Startups 

Entire product development teams can be sourced through staff augmentation. Many startup leaders spend up to 40% of their valuable time doing the hiring and other non-income-generating tasks. When you choose to hire through a staff augmentation solution provider, you can focus your energy.

Good News for Human Resource Managers

There is good news: companies can build solid relationships now with staff augmentation solution providers offeringaccess to areas with a wealth of human capital. Information released by Korn Ferry predicts a labor shortage of approximately 85 million skilled workers by 2030. The report also reflects that if this shortage is not addressed, it could mean $8.5 trillion in untapped annual revenues. You will leave this revenue on the table if you can’t access the staffing you need. 

Karin Kimbrough, Chief Economist at LinkedIn, has reported a need to fill 150 million new tech jobs in the next five years. Recent discussions at the World Economic Forum covered rapid tech growth and an expectation that over 50% of current positions will need new skill sets. Finding access to skilled IT staff will be a key factor in your future success. 

MENA Alliances Delivers Staff Augmentation Solutions

When you locate and partner with a staff augmentation solution provider, you can identify and hire the staff you need within a few weeks. You will get access to qualified, skilled IT staff and teams while saving on your two most significant cost factors: time and money. 

At MENA Alliances, you can talk with our consultants on a complimentary basisto go over your staffing needs. We offer three staffing options to deliver the flexibility and scalability you need, on your terms. Consultations allow you to understand our three staffing models, and there is no fee unless you choose to hire. Ask us for details on our options, including:

  • Project-Based Model
  • Staff Augmentation Model
  • Placement Model

There are considerable cost savings when you fill positions through staff augmentation providers. With over 5000 active resumes and growing, our skilled professionals have completed over 700 projects for top companies and startups. 

Build Staffing Solutions with MENA Alliances Today

If you are ready to discover solutions to your technology labor shortage, then IT staff augmentation may be the way to go. Here at MENA Alliances, we are un-compromised in our values and deliver smart, impactful hiring solutions across the globe. 

Our solution is simple: we match your needs to skilled professionals that we have taken the time to vet for their education, skills, and work history. Our company can supply entire tech teams that are ready to start with the skills you need on day one. There is no better solution than one that delivers savings and creates hope. Contact MENA Alliances today for a free consultation. 

MENA TEAM!

 

 

 

References

Bika, N. (2023, March). What is the Average Time to Hire by Industry? Retrieved from Workable: https://resources.workable.com/stories-and-insights/time-to-hire-industry

Charaba, C. (2023, February 2). Employee retention: The real cost of losing an employee. Retrieved from PeopleKeep: https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/employee-retention-the-real-cost-of-losing-an-employee

Devarajan, S. (2016, June 30). The paradox of higher education in MENA. Retrieved from The World Bank: https://blogs.worldbank.org/arabvoices/paradox-higher-education-mena

Gudell, S. (2022, May 23). What’s happening in the labor market right now and why does it matter? Retrieved from Indeed: https://indeedhelps.com/episode/whats-happening-in-the-labor-market/

Gudell, S., & Terrasaz, A. (2022, November 11). Indeed and GlassDoor’s Hiring and Workplace Trends Report 2023. Retrieved from GlassDoor: https://www.glassdoor.com/research/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/Indeed-Glassdoors-2023-Hiring-Workplace-Trends-Report-Glassdoor-Blog.pdf

Gutner, T. (2011, January 14). Is It Time to Outsource Human Resources? Retrieved from Entrepreneur Magazine: https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/is-it-time-to-outsource-human-resources/217866

Kimbrough, K., & Blue, A. (2020, October 23). Your Next Job Move Could Be Easier Than You Think. Retrieved from World Economic Forum: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/your-next-job-move-could-be-easier-than-you-think/

Maurer, R. (2023, January 23). Labor Shortages Forecast to Persist for Years. Retrieved from Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM): https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/labor-shortages-forecast-to-persist-2023.aspx

MENA Generation 2030. (2019, April). Retrieved from UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org/mena/media/4141/file/MENA-Gen2030.pdf

Samans, R., & Zahidi, S. (2017, May). The Future of Jobs and Skills in the Middle East and North Africa – Executive Briefing. Retrieved from World Economic Forum: https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_FOJ_MENA.pdf

 

Finding Success During Global Labor Shortages Today and Beyond

Posted on by Abeer Abu Ghaith
Synopsis:
Discover how diversifying your hiring process and developing unique employment opportunities can help your business grow successfully during trying economic times. Learn how embracing flexible work options will help your corporation overcome the skilled labor shortages faced today. Moving from traditional employment into a more task-oriented or project-managed system could be critical to continued growth in the coming years. Globalization as a marketing strategy can be applied to employment options. Read more about this concept,and how a global workforce strategy can solve your labor issues.

Takeaways: 

  1. Understand the numbers for skilled worker shortages and predictions for the future.
  2. Find out more information about the 2030 problem.
  3. Review how unique work solutions kept businesses going during the pandemic.
  4. What are the attitudes of employees today when searching for employment?
  5. Project management through HR
  6. Where to find your future qualified workforce.
  7. Network with MENA Alliances to access a wealth of knowledge.

We have written a guide to help you understand what is behind the labor shortage, what steps to take to plan for your hiring success, and where to bridge the gap with an abundance of skilled labor. Read more

The 2025 Workforce: Will Your Organization Be Relevant?

Posted on by Abeer Abu Ghaith

The global economy and its workforce is in the midst of a seismic shift. The internet and its far-reaching implications for changing how the world does business is still in its early stages. Leaders and organizations that are looking to the future know that the workforce skills and ways of doing work are not going to be what they have been in the past. Digitization and women play a major role in the relevancy (and existence!) or future organizations.

According to a study five years ago, the internet created 2.4 jobs for every job it destroyed. (McKinsey’s report). Five years ago (in internet terms) is a very long time when only 28.8 percent of the world population had access to internet – now approximately 50.1% has access. 
 

What does that mean for your business and organizations that are trying to look into the future not only for survival but for relevance and continued growth?

 
It means that more than four billion people, or over half of the world’s population is still offline. The value of connecting these people is significant, and as they enter the global digital economy, the world of work will transform in fundamental ways and at an unprecedented pace. Savvy leaders and organizations will need to understand and know how to benefit from this unprecedented pace of transformation in the workplace.

 

There is massive potential in terms of economic value for countries and entities that are willing and able to adopt and adapt to rapid technology. But along with that adoption comes the need of major redeployment and retraining of the labor force. For example, in India, innovations that are derived from new digital technologies could have an economic impact between $550 billion and $1 trillion per year in less than 8 year’s time. That economic value will only be realized however if more people and businesses have access to it. (McKinsey’s report)
 
There are major differences and a considerable amount of unevenness in the access available between sectors, companies and countries at this early stage in the progress of digital technology. It is not enough to merely have access to the technology. There are limits to the benefits of digitalization in sectors/countries where literacy and skills are lacking or limited.
 
For example, emerging economies, in countries like Brazil or countries in the Middle East are currently estimated at capturing less than 10 percent of their potential with digital technology. Europe is a bit ahead of that with only 12 percent. The U.S., although ahead of other countries, has only tapped into an estimated 18 percent of its potential for digital technology! (McKinsey’s report)
 
A major opportunity that the U.S. has to increase its digitization in three areas include:mckinsey-global-institute-report-a-labor-market-that-works-connecting-talent-and-opportunity-in-the-digital-age-24-638

1) the Internet of Things, 2) big data analytics and 3) online talent platforms.

 
 
Online talent platforms (like MENA Alliances) help find the right people for the right jobs, which benefits both the employer and the talent while also increasing job satisfaction and, ultimately, productivity. There are job matching sites (like Monster and LinkedIn) that are changing the ways companies find and recruit talent and also expanding the way people look for work. Digital platforms such as Upwork, Uber, and Etsy are changing the way we have previously looked at how and where work is done.
 
 

The Future of work and women in the MENA region

 

The Middle East and North African countries have the most to gain over the next few decades because of the estimated 50 million who will be coming of age to work in the MENA region. 
 

If MENA women’s participation would reach that of men’s participation, the estimated figures could reach as high as $600 billion annually ($2.7 trillion by 2025).  (3)

 
 

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In recent decades, gender equality in education has been making strides with regional advancements. But even with these educational advancements, only one out of three women in MENA is in the labor force. The global average of women in the workforce is almost at 50%. However, Arab women’s participation is only half of that average. The World Bank predicts that at that current rate, It will take 150 years for MENA countries to reach the current world average of 50%.
 

The rewards of including more MENA women in the workplace will be substantial. This is now the time that we must get serious and find ways to make strides toward this important endeavor of opening opportunities in digital technology to MENA women.

Remote work opens a massive job market for women at the global level regardless of where they may live — as long as they have access and the ‘know how’.  

 

This remote workforce will benefit employers and ensure that they stay relevant and thrive in the new global market.

 

Savvy regional and international leaders and organizations will invest in and embrace these new digitized technologies by opening to this new talent pool.  By hiring remote workers in your business, you can hire the best of the best. At the same time you are not limiting your organization by geographical restrictions. Your organization will increase productivity and save money.
 

 Resources: 

  1. McKinsey’s report
  2. World Bank (2014, 2015)
  3. “First Jobs for Young Women in the Middle East & North Africa: Expectations and Reality“ is a research initiative from Education For Employment (EFE), Bayt.com and YouGov. You can learn more about the initiative and read the white paper here.