DAMAC offers training and development for all staff as part of career development

The staff development scheme which was launched recently incorporates a range of different training enterprises all aimed at promoting a greater level of staff loyalty, building greater trust within the company and creating a more productive working environment.

Group Training and Development Manager Mr. Menon said that the launch of the new training schemes came after a realization that across all levels, employees were bringing so much benefit to the business as a whole that their efforts and value needed to be recognized.

"A good, strong, healthy business is at its very core driven by good, strong, healthy staff," he said.

"We realized that DAMAC's entire business could be transformed and improved if we put just a little more effort into our employees," he added.

The company adheres to a policy of 'TQP' or Total Quality People which means the company is on a constant search to find and reward the best and most industrious employees. Part of this search means the top employees are pushed towards the Future Leadership Development Programmes (FLDP). The FLDP aims to train and teach the very best employees with a mind to giving them the tools to one day run the company.

One new recruit on the FLDP said: "It's been an incredible journey. When I started at DAMAC I was part of the sales team meeting people on the street. Now I'm dealing with the biggest managers and learning to juggle my tasks in an international arena." He expressed during a recent interview that it was hard work to be in the program but added, "I was only in DAMAC for about 14 months when I was told about the scheme. Now I wouldn't want to be doing anything else."

The DAMAC training scheme is the first of its kind among real estate companies and brings together the latest innovations in staff training. S.M.A.R.T - Self Management Assessment Reviews and Training is an online system where employees can take training tests, read industry updates and renew their current certifications by undergoing further online testing. The advantages of remote training are enormous. "A new employee who has to complete a month's notice in their former job can already be training online - four weeks prior to physically joining the company," Mr. Menon said. "In this way, new employees to DAMAC can hit the ground running and will enter the company more confident of their job role," he continued.

From a business perspective, DAMAC is the first property development company to be offering psychometric testing internally for its employees. Utilizing HBDI, NBDI and MAPP systems for profiling, Mr. Menon explained the advantages of the Work Profiling Centre. "By taking our top performing employees' test results we can set up a benchmark test score for potential new workers," he said. "If the candidate has similar results, it is a good indication that their success in the company will be similar" he added.

In addition to the DAMAC training scheme, the programme features gold and platinum reward opportunities based on the sales targets each agent achieves and their exam results. In response to employees' achievements, DAMAC offers material bonuses as well as financial incentives and rewards.

But despite the positive steps that DAMAC is taking to nurture employees, Mr. Manon remains realistic about the workforce: "At the end of the day it's still a business. Employees will always leave in search of different opportunities and a change of scenery, but if we can offer the best for our employees, we'll stand a good chance of staying the best in the industry," he concluded.