Bahrain employers unable to retain top talent

Employers in Bahrain are unable to retain top talent, mainly on account of lack of career development prospects. More than half of the employees are willing to shift to another country or change their current sector of work, to receive better prospects, according to a recent poll conducted by job site Bayt.com.

According to a recent ‘Career Development in the Middle East and North Africa’ poll conducted by Bayt.com, a lack of career development prospects can radically make or break employee engagement.

HR departments are perceived to be not doing enough to provide employees with career development options, the study noted. Promotions, adequate appraisal performance systems, role enhancements, mentoring programmes and advanced training seminars are found to be lacking in the corporate sector, employees in the Kingdom feel.

Career development is of utmost importance to professionals in the MENA – even if it means rebooting their whole lives or taking their careers in a totally different direction. 

In Bahrain, 84 per cent of respondents say that career development is “very important”. In parallel, 53pc are prepared to move to another country to develop their career while another 55pc are willing to change sectors completely.

The study found that, while a total of 58pc of Bahrain job holders want to attain higher-level positions, over one third (34pc) have never had a promotion in their current company. 

Another major takeaway from the survey is that 29pc strongly think that there is equal opportunity for advancement at their company; likewise, 27pc strongly claim that job promotions are awarded fairly and without bias.

Based on the survey results, although over half (53pc) of Bahrain respondents have not formally set any development plans with their manager, the great majority (91pc) would like to have a formal career development plan in place.

On a related note, 45pc of Bahrain working professionals are satisfied with their supervisors’ efforts in identifying their strengths and weaknesses; 31pc, however, are “very dissatisfied”. 

Similarly, 37pc and 40pc of employees in Bahrain are satisfied with the mentoring that they have received from senior peers and their current performance appraisal process, respectively.

In terms of knowing what their company needs and requires from its employees, 31pc of Bahrain working professionals admit to having a good idea.

“Today, employees in Bahrain are – understandably – eager to craft solid career trajectories and advance their professional development,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com. 

“Unfortunately, however, as evidenced by the survey results, many of them feel that their company is failing when it comes to equipping them with the well-rounded tools, blended learning approach, and tailored training needed to ensure their career growth and progression. And this leaves employees feeling stifled in their jobs – which in turn affects their loyalty, morale, and performance.”

Data for the Bayt.com ‘Career Development in the Middle East and North Africa’ poll was collected online in October 2015, with 3,359 respondents covering 13 countries in the MENA region.