Company success and career satisfaction are indivisible (page 2 of 2)

As currency de-coupling increases, this may very well have an effect on the value of the greenback. Should it de-value then the pegging of Middle East currencies to the dollar will likely be affected, and this may very well prove less attractive to people considering settling in the Middle East in the short-term. If investment values decline then so too would the temptation to move here.

So it's not only the business that faces exposure, incentives need to be realistic.

Often, company form and the function of internal departments are incorrect and this not only puts the business at risk, but it can seriously affect someone's career path and future. Many companies appear to have ineffective operating platforms that create reaction-time inertia. Often, being privately owned, there is far too much micro-management and commercial decision-making tends to be delegated to the accounting function.

This attracts the wrong type of manager or, it may create an unfulfilling working environment for the right person, who just happens to be in the wrong company. Being second-guessed and having insufficient freedom-to-act is a tremendous de-motivator and has often been the fillip to quit. Getting this wrong affects the individual and the company.

The hiring process has often proved to be totally inadequate and quite often downright unprofessional. If companies have the wrong operating structure then they will recruit the wrong people for the job. Add to this, a horse-trading approach to hiring staff and we can see that companies have not only attracted the wrong people to drive business forward, but they have created a regional talent deficit. If you attract the wrong people where do the good guys go?

The last thing this region needs is to be branded a career backwater, for once people leave it is incredibly difficult to tempt them to return. Spiraling property rents on commercial and domestic premises, inflation and infrastructure problems creating a far more stressful environment, does little to help matters. If the region relies on non-domestic talent to spearhead progress, then it needs to create a nurturing environment to encourage the right people to come here. They must also realise that there is increasingly less incentive to give up improved career prospects in the home market, to move to a region of career uncertainty.

Intra-country alliances seem to be a part of many major infrastructure initiatives especially within the leisure, tourism and telecommunications sectors. Market de-regulation within key sectors such as telecommunications, banking and the move towards a common currency is driving investor protection through legislative change. There are some 100 IPOs scheduled across the region for 2006. The portents look good.

The regions success is contingent upon having an installed workforce that is capable of driving change, a workforce who are well motivated and able to attain personal and career satisfaction. Company success and career satisfaction are indivisible.