Global HR: Middle East and India
Posted October 12th, 2009 by Personneltoday
Changing attitudes and economic growth are opening up opportunities to develop the HR profession in the Middle East and India. Guy Sheppard reports.
In May, health insurance giant Bupa won Saudi Arabia's first ever 'Best Work Environment for Women' award. Sponsored by the Arab business newspaper Al Eqtisadiah, the award's importance was underlined by the presence of a government minister and a member of the Saudi royal family at the presentation.
One explanation for this endorsement is the drive among Gulf states to reduce their dependence on ex-patriots by increasing the proportion of their own nationals in the labour force. According to the World Bank, the Middle East and North Africa have the largest gender gap in employment rates in the world.
Another explanation is the impact globalisation is having on HR policies. Bupa has been active in Saudi Arabia since 1997, and its office in Jeddah now employs more than 450 people. John Handley, Bupa International's HR director, says HR practices there are similar to those in the 190 or so other countries it operates in. "What we try to do is bring our values wherever we are, even where it does not sit with the norm nationally."
In India, globalisation appears to be having a similar impact, although it is more closely linked to the country's emergence as a world player in sectors such as IT and pharmaceuticals. The career of Alind Sharma, who gained an MBA at the Indian Institute of Management in 1996, mirrors this change.