A recent article reviewing salary differences between nationalities in the GCC made me think. Obviously, in the region, we are all aware of these differences, even if we rarely mention them. According to the annual Gulf Business salary survey, “In the UAE, a Western expat makes 12.6 per cent more than an Arab expat and…
Case study – Give an out-of-cycle increase to my employee now!
Imagine the scene – you won’t have much problem doing so as I’m sure you have faced a similar situation in the past 🙂 : It’s August. The Head of Accounting calls you and theatrically announces : “There is something wrong in what you decided to pay my employee Hassan ! He is underpaid and…
How to make management look into real inflation for salary budgets
Ayesha joined my readership recently and asked : “I would love to hear some suggestions on what to do when market inflation rates are far higher than what the official sources as well the generally accepted sources like the The Economic Intelligence Unit magazine report… and we have to convince the organization to allocate higher…
2012 – A year of Compensation links for the UAE
Here is a gift for my readers: one year ago I wrote a piece describing the challenges facing HR and Compensation professionals in the UAE. I have compiled the most relevant articles published since, in order to update you on the latest trends affecting the work environment in the UAE. The information is compiled by…
One day with Dave Ulrich at the IIRME 2012 Middle East HR Summit
So… My friends from IIRME organised the 2012 Middle East HR Summit and Expo in Dubai last week. It was by far the largest HR event in the Middle East, with a few hundred delegates from all over the region attending the conference. Unfortunately, other commitments prevented me from attending, but 2 of my team members…
The 3 types of employee engagement at high performing companies
In this 9-minute video from WorkspanTV, Max Caldwell of Towers Watson discusses employee engagement. (RSS readers may have to click through). He starts by defining 3 types of engagement : rational, emotional and motivational and explains how engagement is a predictor of business performance as engaged employees are willing to go the extra mile. He…
All you need to know : from compensation surveys to salary ranges and salary review
Frances, one of my readers, recently commented to me as follows : I have to create salary ranges and compare the current salary to market data. This will allow me to make the determination if the person’s pay is within the acceptable range. Year-end is approaching and I am starting to get more questions around…





