More than half of Dubai finance executives will increase current staff levels over the next six months

The latest Professional Hiring Index from Robert Half covers the latest hiring trends in affecting the UAE in the coming months

  • Finance leaders confident in economic prospects facing Dubai
  • 85% of executives are concerned about losing top performers

Dubai, 28 August 2012 – Six in 10 Dubai finance executives are planning to recruit new permanent finance staff in the first half of 2013, and 8% are forecasting declines. The net 52% increase is lower than the forecast for the first half of the year, but represents the second strongest estimate worldwide behind Brazil (57%). Dubai’s figure is 29 points higher than the global net average (24%), according to an international survey of 2,179 finance executives. Finance leaders are understandably upbeat with eight in 10 remaining confident in their company’s and country’s growth prospects, respectfully, compared with last year, according to the latest Robert Half Professional Hiring Index1 (the ‘Index’).  

The Index, which is the first bi-annual recruitment survey of its size and scope to focus exclusively on finance hiring in Dubai, shows that the biggest drivers for increased hiring levels are rising workloads (64%) and eight in 10 (81%) finance executives find it challenging to find skilled financial professionals today.  

James Sayer, Director, Robert Half UAE said: ‘While some of the larger multinationals are delaying adding to their headcount due to the ongoing uncertainty in the Eurozone, many local companies are hiring in response to strong growth and demand in the region. Regardless of their immediate plans to hire, companies are wanting to meet top candidates for fear that they may miss out, with some creating roles in order to secure the best and brightest.’

Challenged in finding the requisite staff to manage potential growth opportunities, executives are increasingly worried about  finding and retaining talented staff with 85% citing concerns over losing top performers to other job opportunities in 2012.  

Sayer continues: “The large majority of finance leaders report difficulties when recruiting skilled finance professionals, particularly in the areas of audit, risk, financial planning and analysis and IT finance. Companies looking to attract and retain the most sought-after candidates should review their remuneration structures, with tools like the 2012 Robert Half Salary Guide providing guidance and benchmarking information against other companies in the region.”

Prospects for remuneration are also on the rise with half (49%) of finance executives expecting salaries for existing accounting and finance employees, increasing by an average of 6.97%. Looking at bonuses, 35% expect increases, by an average of 6.35% overall.

Notes to editors

  1. The bi-annual Robert Half Financial Hiring Index was developed by Robert Half UAE and is conducted by an independent research firm.  The study is based on 75 interviews with senior finance executives from companies located in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The international survey includes responses from 2,179 finance executives across Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Dubai, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Global statistics are available upon request.

About Robert Half

Robert Half is the world’s first and largest specialised recruitment consultancy and member of the S&P 500. Founded in 1948, the company has over 350 offices worldwide providing permanent recruitment solutions for accounting and finance, financial services, technology, human resources and legal professionals. Ranked #1 in our industry in FORTUNE® magazine’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” list, Robert Half offers workplace and job seeker resources at roberthalf.ae.