Technology & Transformation

The GCC region was experiencing a period of rapid progression and inevitable change and transformation when we saw that our clients were struggling to source quality technical candidates locally and didn’t have the resources to search further afield. The Technology & Transformation space was active due to bank mergers; digital transformations; cloud expansion solutions; an increased need for advanced IT security; and expanding telecommunication markets; with much of the specialist talent in these areas based elsewhere. With our vast European experience and database, we knew exactly where these niche skillsets would be, right down to specific universities and training programmes, so entering this market was a natural step.

Swift growth in a region results in more jobs on the market than suitable candidates, which becomes difficult for businesses, who have to deal with counter offers and a lack of commitment, as well as candidates, who often have to juggle multiple interviews and offers at once. We pride ourselves on our process management, building relationships with both sides, to help our clients avoid wasting time and money and to help our candidates focus and choose the right path for their careers.

The GCC region is known as a centre of innovation and advancement, home to diverse cultures and unique skillsets. We believe it is crucial for us to support the ongoing development and expansion of the region’s organisations both big and small, as these changes can have a global impact, shaping technological advancements for the rest of the world and for generations to come. We are proud to play a part in this, dedicating large teams and tailored recruitment solutions to our clients’ projects.

Our standard delivery model across the Middle East region. Ideal for clients who want the best candidates in the quickest time. 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

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

Whether you need a team for a specific project or require particular hard-to-find skills for a limited time, we'll source the right contractors for you.

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Key features:

• Through our external partner companies, we can facilitate the hire of fixed-term recruitment solutions for employees on a contract basis for short or long-term projects

• Access to our global community of contractors and cutting-edge expertise

• All contractors pre-screened and vetted as required by local labour laws

• An experienced account team for project duration and a dedicated account manager to provide a single point of contact

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Why you’ll love it:

• Quickly access candidates with the specific skills you require for important projects

• Cost-efficient way to run projects without compromising on quality

• We can onboard the best talent quickly, speeding up your delivery

• Cost-effective option where an employee’s daily rate is all inclusive – you’re exempt from providing benefits, or paying for sick or holiday leave

• No strain on your finance department – we manage everything from onboarding to offboarding

In line with local government initiatives, we support our clients in developing, understanding and meeting their nationalisation requirements.

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Key features:

• Support the development of local candidates in both the public and private sectors

• We have developed partnerships with local universities, businesses and government entities to support, facilitate and recruit the very best talent in each of the countries that we operate in

• Our extensive candidate database accounts for National specific candidate searches and can significantly cut down sourcing time

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Why you’ll love it:

• Improve your brand perception in the market by equipping locals with the required skills and knowledge to succeed in their professions

• Distinguish yourself from the competition through your dedication to social responsibility

• Reap the rewards from having a diverse workforce with individuals from both international and local areas. Cultural diversity is an up-and-coming sticking point for candidates

Perfect for senior hires or multiple roles requiring similar niche skill sets. We take full responsibility for the entire search – our approach is targeted and specific, we meet and screen all prospective candidates for cultural fit before considering an introduction.

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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

An end-to-end service including an analysis of requirements, project scope, delivery and measurement. You maintain full visibility, flexibility and control of a delivery strategy that is aligned to your business requirements.

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Key features:

• More cost-effective end-to-end solutions, compared to bigger consultancies because we have direct access to the talent

• Our pool of trusted advisors – subject matter experts – ensure every part of the project is optimised to ensure success

• Dedicated project delivery team

• On-going administration and compliance management

• Regular progress review meetings

• Project off-boarding/IP transfer

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Why you’ll love it:

• Average savings of 36% against leading consultancies

• A scalable solution that's swift to implement, so you can ramp up and down quickly

• A completely personalised solution for your unique needs

• Global capability - we work in over 60 countries

• Guaranteed knowledge transfers

• On-site dedicated service and programme management led by industry-leading specialists

• Direct access to the best talent in the market, built up over 20 years

Ideal for clients who are recruiting candidates from overseas – we can ensure your new candidates have the required background checks and Visa’s to work in your country.

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Key features:

• We have a lot of experience supporting a range of iqama visa’s regarding transferability, validity, and renewal for candidates across the region

• We conduct the full onboarding service including reference checks, medicals, background checks etc.

• We’re familiar with location-specific onboarding practices whereby we need to source for candidates holding specific iqama visa’s for transfer

• Our dedicated back office compliance team have a 100% pass rate of our clients’ audit’s

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Why you’ll love it:

• Less strain on your internal HR partners, leading to a speedier onboarding time

• Save costs, compared to using your own internal function

• Fully vetted candidates, ready to work in your location

• During COVID-19, our team has successfully onboarded remotely for our clients

The challenge:

Our client, a global telecommunication corporation, wanted to be the leading innovator of global fleet management through micro-sim implementation in civilian and government remits. They needed two new teams with the right technical skillsets to provide an optimized, secure, digital experience for their portfolio of high-profile clients. They engaged us to search internationally for the right talent because job boards had not worked for them and when they had got to the offer stage with candidates, they had struggled to get any to commit to the international relocation.

Our solution:

As the domestic talent pool was limited, we began our international search by identifying the economic or professional pain points for candidates in other regions to create a compelling case for a relocation opportunity. We then supported all interested candidates through detailed interview preparation, relocation guidance, then stayed on throughout onboarding, given it was a huge step and significant for many of the candidates.

The outcome:

• We provided 15 new hires within three months from a completely greenfield candidate pool outside the region

• These 15 candidates made up the two new teams which started the new project on schedule

• As a result of this work, we signed an 18-month contract of exclusivity to carry out all Technology recruitment for the client, both domestic and international

• We have since also supporting the hiring of other divisions within the company, covering Legal, HR, and Finance

The challenge:

Following an acquisition, our client, a UK retail and commercial bank, needed to build a new in-house data warehouse for management information and reporting across the whole organisation. Due to dissatisfaction with the service from their existing technology provider and a need to cut spending, they required a partner who could reduce costs and deliver the specialist expertise to implement this.

Our solution:

We provided a team of expert consultants capable of delivering a fully functioning Data Warehouse. Data sources were to be staged in Teradata with IBM Information Services toolset used to Extract, Transform & Load for the new Data Warehouse.

We delivered a team of 32 locally based Data Warehouse specialists, including a Technical Delivery Lead, a Lead Data Architect, 4 Project/Release Managers, 14 ETL Developers, 8 Data Modellers/Data Analysts and 4 Test Analysts.

A robust data governance framework was put in place. Due to the project’s success, a second phase was established to develop the capabilities of the data warehouse and train staff to maintain and develop it.

The outcome:

• The internal team were onsite within just four weeks of receiving the RFP

• The initial project was completed in 12 months, within budget

• Delivered a legacy without dependency by embedding the newly developed processes into the business

• The bank saved 48% compared to the solution with their existing consultancy

• After successful delivery, we were retained to provide a second phase of the project

The challenge:

Our client, a British Retail & Commercial Bank, which was going through a divestment programme and had to transform 25% of the branch network – former building society locations. As well as a major IT system change, this required training and communication to over 1,000 colleagues – designed and built in just three months with rollout in a further three months.

Our solution:

We deployed a team led by a Programme Manager, as well as five Workstream Leads, 10 Business Analysts and SMEs and three Project Management Specialists.

As part of the roll-out, branch staff needed to undertake a complex set of branch close-down and re-open procedures which they had never undertaken before. In order to achieve the timescales, 97% of this needed to be done remotely with only phone support.

Our team developed a 65-page user-centric guide to take the branch colleagues through the steps they would need to carry out, with common troubleshooting pitfalls and what to do in the event of issues. Every lesson learned was iteratively applied to the document so that issues raised were reduced to almost zero by the fifth week of the 12-week rollout.

The outcome:

• The executive team were absolutely delighted with the quality, speed, and manner of delivery

• Collective previous experience was aggregated to allow enhancement to implementation processes leading to exemplar outcomes

• Over 1,000 staff were trained on the new systems and process, plus over 400 accredited to sell current account and consumer lending products

• The overall project was delivered in six months, three months of scoping and design followed by branch rollout in just three months

• Delivered a legacy without dependency by embedding the newly developed processes into the divesting business

• The project delivered for £5.8m against an original forecast of £6m – that’s on time and under budget