Oman’s HR challenges are manageable
August 23: Oman’s current human resource challenges are manageable in the wake of knock-on effect from the recent crash in the oil price and ongoing global economic fluctuations. “The real challenge, however, is war on talent, employee retention, developing sustainable leadership and managing a culture that drives high performance to achieve very ambitious business targets in a depressed market.”
This was stated by human resource expert Laurelle De Sa, who is founder and General Manager of Laurelle De Sa FZE, a UAE-based company that empowers individuals and enables organisations across the Middle East with the ability to achieve personal and business excellence. She was in Salalah recently to attend an important forum on human resources.
In an interview with Observer, Laurelle said HR personnel can heave a sigh of relief as Oman’s current challenges are in fact manageable and controllable. “But pressure on HR continues to grow, as companies restructure, cut budgets, reduce training and development, and battle to implement new strategies with demotivated and frustrated staff.”
Commenting on ‘Organisation climate change’ and its relevance in Oman, Laurelle said the current human resource challenges of the Sultanate were manageable even as: “A very real phenomenon that the HR professionals are battling is the odds against uncontrollable factors such as unstable markets, global economic meltdowns, the impacts of regional uprisings, oil price fluctuations and an increase in market competition”.
She drew a silver lining amidst the perfect storm by saying that “there lies great opportunity to achieve ambitious goals by bringing the ‘human’ back to Human Resources and operating business through conscious capitalism.”
Laurelle said: “As we continue our challenging journey through the ‘Age of Flux’ where uncertainty is limiting our growth, we must challenge the current status quo and adapt our business methodology from a transactional style to an engaged approach, whereby the core business should focus on putting people over profit, driving transparency over secrecy and ensuring values over corruption”. Most business strategies focus on building high performance organisations to achieve a healthy bottom line; however, without an engaged workforce this feat would be deemed impossible.
Laurelle put emphasis on acclimatising and empowering the workforce by building stronger sustainable business cultures. “It will allow our organisations to outlast market challenges and survive organisation climate change”.
“So how do you engage your staff, not just for the purpose of connecting with your workforce, but more so to give them purpose, a sense of belonging and empower them as brand advocates, establishing your company as an employer of choice? The roadmap to achieving this meaningful engagement includes developing a sound employee value proposition (EVP) and aligning everyday business practices, as well as the company strategy to organisation values,” she said.
The additional in country value (ICV) to the Oman’s economy, according to her, can be found with organisations who invest in aligning their everyday working practices to the organisational values, making valuealigned performance more tangible to empower conscious capitalism.
Laurelle explained: “Translating values into tangible working practice is imperative for organisations to build strong cultures, to manage the cause and effect of organisation climate change. This ensures that companies clearly define the way they do business through the way they ‘think, talk & behave (TTB)’, establishing a clear identity and purpose”.
Laurelle is an engaging coach and excellent facilitator in dealing with diverse cultures and cognitive-styles in the workplace. She specialises in personal and business coaching, motivational speaking and consulting.