Human Resources

Argyll Scott had been providing Finance and Sales & Marketing professionals in the MENA region for more than five years when an increasing number of our clients were additionally requesting HR talent, particularly for generalist roles. There was a lack of experienced HR professionals in the region and no pipeline for local talent. Most local agencies did not have a niche HR focus either, resulting in longer hiring timeframes and a poorer quality of candidates. We diversified our offering and dedicated a specialist team to maintain a strong network of HR professionals, leveraging the relationships we had built over years with the HR professionals who used us as a supplier.

Human Resources has become a more strategic function since we entered the market. Candidates now need extensive knowledge of the labour law as well as all-round generalist experience to deal with complex HR needs. Rapid economic growth in the region, especially among SME’s, has made competition for talent fierce, though more international professionals with valuable skills are keen to relocate. Larger organisations are using both local and international talent to build impactful HR teams and smaller businesses are happy to flex their requirements and invest in the right person.

We believe that HR is at the heart of every business and by placing quality professionals, we are not only positively impacting a business but also the careers of our candidates. Our investment in technology and our global CRM system enable us to uncover new HR talent every day and we partner with our clients and share market insights to help them position their brand better to attract the very best.

​Whether you’re recruiting for a handful of roles a year or a handful of roles a week, we are here to use our extensive network to find the best candidates for you. We can provide long term, permanent additions to your team or also support on any long-term contract support. We can adapt depending on your requirements.

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Key features:

• On-off flexibility to suit your needs

• Time to hire: 2 to 4 weeks, including search

• Dedicated resourcing of 1 or 2 recruiters in your specific disciplines

• Shortlists within 48 hours

• Pre-agreed timeline to hire

• We source and secure high calibre talent using innovative, customised search methods

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Why you’ll love it:

• Quick and easy access to quality candidates

• Reduced time to hire

• Less time spent reviewing CVs and interviewing

• Low risk - no need for financial investment. Our search-to-fill rate is one of the best in the market

• We can accommodate the differing needs of your business over time; whether you are reaching a project stage or need a full team restructure

• You can start your process as soon as you are ready to ensure a complete handover phase

• Long term support and advice

Key features:

• Time to hire: 2 to 4 weeks, including search

• Dedicated resourcing of 1 or 2 recruiters in your specific disciplines

• Shortlists within 48 hours

• Pre-agreed timeline to hire

• We source and secure high calibre talent using innovative, customised search methods

• Flexible pricing structure: we charge a flat fee based on the role seniority and location

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Why you’ll love it:

• Quick and easy access to quality candidates in emerging markets

• Reduced time to hire

• Less time spent reviewing CVs and interviewing

• Low risk - no need for financial investment. Our search-to-fill rate is one of the best in the market

• Better coverage of emerging markets, as we’re able to fill roles that other recruiters would turn down, due to low fees

​Key features:

• Ability to hire multiple candidates fast

• Reduce time to hire from search to hire within days. Full teams hired within weeks

• Interview process is managed by us onsite, quickly and effectively, allowing your management team to focus on their day job

• Catered lunch is included for all interviewers

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Why you’ll love it:

• Secure larger projects based on knowing you can scale quickly

• Better return on investment - you can get your project off the ground quicker and speed up the delivery, thus increase your bottom line

• Removes the need for hiring managers to review CVs and conduct phone interviews, reducing your “time to hire” by 66% on average, meaning your staff can spend more time doing what they are best at

• A dedicated point of contact in your office means you always have access to someone and real visibility over what’s happening at any given time

Key features:

• Using both our Regional Research Center of Excellence (COE) and experienced in-country Consultants, we will objectively map niche markets

• Fully bespoke from a location, skill set and seniority perspective

• Maps will give a visual of the current market conditions and where the talent sits from a regional perspective

• Provides insight on restrictions / NOCs / notice periods

• Proactive and organic for quick access and use

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Why you’ll love it:

• Increased awareness of your employer brand to help you stand out from the crowd

• Benchmark your reward strategy and team structure against the most effective in the market

• Successfully headhunt direct competition to your business

• Your experience will be interactive - we’ll empower you and engage candidates towards your brand

• Arms you with the information you need to make a business case to senior decision makers about gaps in your team

• Proactive and strategic approach to talent acquisition helps you structure your budgets more effectively

​Key features:

• Pre-defined timelines and start date for the candidate agreed as the search is started

• Using innovative, customised search methods, we source and secure the market’s best talent

• Dedicated recruitment team on each specific search

• Thorough market map to present market data and insights along with a weekly update and longlist

• For each new role, you will be assigned to of our experienced Consultants as your primary point of contact

• Flexible billing structure

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Why you’ll love it:

• You gain preferred access to the best candidate pool of active and passive candidates

• Ability to rapidly ramp up and scale down resource

• Your experience will be interactive, as we’ll empower you and engage candidates towards your brand

• Remain anonymous whilst you go out to market

• Easier to plan around a pre-agreed start date

• Guaranteed to secure the hire

• More insights into the market conditions through market maps

• Staggered payment plan

• Work to tighter deadlines due to the increased resources that can be committed to the search

The challenge:

Our client, a leading law firm, needed a new HR Manager at a mid to senior level, with regional experience, to start and complete a handover in Abu Dhabi before the outgoing manager relocated back to the UK. The firm had previously engaged another agency who had not managed to meet the criteria for a candidate with strong knowledge of labour laws, as well as performance management and recruitment expertise.

Our solution:

The specific requirements meant that the talent pool was very small and soon exhausted, but our credibility in the market meant that the firm was persuaded to rework the criteria a little to widen our search options. Our network of referrals soon meant we could produce a shortlist.

The outcome:

• The position was successfully filled with a candidate who would have been rejected based on the original criteria

• We filled the role so quickly that the outgoing manager was able to handover to our candidate before their relocation, which was of huge benefit to the business

The challenge:

Our client urgently needed an HR Manager with a minimum of five years regional experience, to be based in Sudan, following a resignation. They reached out to us as this was not a market that they had any experience in, and recent changes in policy and labour law made this a more complex hire.

Our solution:

We completed a market map of all HR Managers who met the criteria in Sudan and from there we contacted them to establish who was open for a new opportunity. We also uncovered candidates who were open to relocation to the region.

The outcome:

• The position was filled before the 4-week deadline, so that a handover with the outgoing HR Manager could take place

• The time and resources saved gave the client confidence to work with us again on a variety of roles in various international locations