Latest news with #talentAcquisition
Khaleej Times
a day ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
RFS HR Consultancy sees surge in demand as UAE firms rush to meet Emiratisation targets
Companies in the UAE are accelerating recruitment efforts to comply with tightening Emiratisation mandates and address critical talent shortages across key industries. With stricter nationalisation policies in place and penalties for non-compliance, businesses in sectors such as construction, oil and gas, finance, healthcare, and logistics are facing mounting pressure to meet localisation quotas. The push comes alongside a surge in demand for mid-to-senior-level professionals, driven by rapid digital transformation and evolving business needs. Human resource consultancies are playing a pivotal role in helping firms navigate the competitive hiring landscape. Specialized services, including high-volume recruitment, executive search, and compliance-driven workforce planning, are in high demand as organizations strive to balance business objectives with regulatory requirements. 'Companies are under significant pressure to fill roles with qualified Emirati talent while addressing sector-specific skill gaps,' said an industry expert. 'Strategic recruitment partners are essential to ensuring compliance without compromising on quality.' The UAE and broader GCC region continue to prioritise national employment, with governments enforcing stricter localization measures. As a result, HR consultancies with expertise in regulatory frameworks and talent acquisition are becoming indispensable to private sector firms. The trend highlights the growing intersection of workforce development and economic policy, as businesses adapt to an increasingly regulated employment market.
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Your AI hiring tool may be rejecting qualified candidates
Like so many lines of business, HR departments are increasingly relying on generative artificial intelligence tools. According to Insight Global's '2025 AI in Hiring' report, 92% of hiring managers say they are using AI for screening résumés or prescreening interviews and more than half (57%) are using them for skills assessments. However, even as more teams rely on AI, especially for screening early in the hiring process, the cost may be the very talent companies are seeking. A 2021 report by Harvard Business School and Accenture found that applicant tracking systems were screening out good candidates. According to the report, 88% of employers said that qualified, highly skilled candidates were vetted out of the process by their applicant tracking systems because they did not match the exact job description criteria. The percentage for middle-skills workers was even higher (94%). As candidates have a harder time finding jobs and companies still struggle to find great talent, that's a problem. 'I think that many companies have jumped the gun and have implemented some of these tools to help on the operations side, says Hope-Elizabeth Sonam, head of community at marketing firm We Are Rosie. But while recruiters and hiring managers have been looking for productivity improvements, they may not be taking enough time to 'make sure that the tools that they're using are creating a fair, inclusive, whole, human approach to how talent is being scrutinized in the process,' she says. While candidate screening tools do offer help to overwhelmed HR teams, they also need thoughtful implementations—and a few safeguards—to ensure that they're serving up the most comprehensive list of talent available. The final deadline for Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech Awards is Friday, June 20, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
Associated Press
02-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Great Hill Partners Appoints Stacey DeVoe as Head of Talent
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 2, 2025-- Great Hill Partners, a private equity firm that invests in high-growth, disruptive companies, today announced the appointment of Stacey DeVoe as Head of Talent. Great Hill's Growth Team is comprised of experienced executives who partner with CEOs and leadership teams to seek to drive priority growth vectors, including strategy, go-to-market, marketing, pricing, product, technology, AI, and talent. In her role, DeVoe will help build world-class leadership teams to support Great Hill's portfolio, overseeing executive hiring across the firm's portfolio companies. She will cultivate and continue to build Great Hill's network of talented executives and founders, many of whom have chosen to partner repeatedly with the firm over their careers. DeVoe will work closely with Mike Thompson, who was recently promoted to Managing Director and Head of Growth Team. DeVoe brings over 25 years of leadership experience in executive search, marketing, and people development strategy. DeVoe most recently served as Global Practice Leader for Executive Recruiting at Google, where she supported senior leadership teams across technology and go-to-market. Prior to Google, she was a Managing Director at Robert Half Executive Search and served as a Marketing Operator in the consumer goods and multi-unit retail industries where she held senior leadership positions at Nabisco, Nestle, and 24 Hour Fitness. 'Great Hill and its portfolio companies hire dozens of senior executives and hundreds of employees every year as we expand leadership teams and build organizations, and we recognize exceptional talent can have a compounding impact on a company's value over time,' said Thompson. 'As an expert in talent strategy with a track record of building strong leadership teams, Stacey will be a key resource for the firm and our portfolio of high-growth companies. We are thrilled to welcome her to Great Hill and look forward to the impact she will make.' 'I am excited to join Great Hill, a firm that prioritizes partnerships and understands the role that talent plays in building companies and creating value,' said DeVoe. 'As Great Hill continues to seek to scale both its team and portfolio, attracting and retaining the best, most qualified leaders is critical. I look forward to collaborating with the deal teams and portfolio company management to build on the firm's momentum and expand its extensive network of entrepreneurs, founders, and executives.' To promote growth and scale, many companies within the Great Hill portfolio continue to build out their teams and are seeking to recruit talented and driven professionals across industries. For more information, please visit About Great Hill Partners Founded in 1998, Great Hill Partners is a private equity firm targeting investments of $100 million to $500 million in high-growth companies across the software, financial services, healthcare, consumer, and business services sectors. With offices in Boston and London, Great Hill has raised over $12 billion of commitments and invested in more than 100 companies, establishing an extensive track record of building long-term partnerships with entrepreneurs and providing flexible resources to help middle-market companies scale. Great Hill has been recognized for its industry leadership, being ranked in the top five of HEC Paris-Dow Jones' Mid-Market and Large Buyout Performance Ranking lists from 2021-2024. For more information, including a list of all Great Hill investments, please visit View source version on CONTACT: Media FGS Global [email protected] (212) 687-8080 KEYWORD: MASSACHUSETTS UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: FINANCE BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ASSET MANAGEMENT HUMAN RESOURCES SOURCE: Great Hill Partners Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 06/02/2025 07:30 AM/DISC: 06/02/2025 07:28 AM
Fast Company
29-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
This is why your perfect hire often fails
After months of rigorous searching, you've found your ideal executive candidate. They tick every box on paper and seem perfect in interviews. But then reality hits: Your 'Cinderella candidate' isn't prepared for the real-world challenges of the role. Now what? A popular study highlights just how common—and costly—this scenario is. A 2015 research report from Corporate Executive Board found that 50% to 70% of leadership hires fail within 18 months. And that can cost the company one-half to twice the hire's annual salary, according to a 2019 Gallup report. Given the high levels of remuneration, the financial impact can be even more severe at the executive level. As someone who has navigated countless executive searches, I've seen how easy it is to fall into the trap of searching for a 'Cinderella candidate'—someone who appears to match a meticulously defined set of qualifications perfectly. And even if the ideal candidate does exist, they may not be interested in your opportunity or ready for a career move. Compounding these challenges, you have noncompete agreements that further shrink the available talent pool. Setting the ideal candidate bar high can help, but an overly rigid vision often results in a long, drawn-out search with diminishing returns. When we accept that perfection on paper rarely translates into perfection in practice, we create opportunities to find strong candidates who bring real, tangible strengths to the table, even if they don't check every box. To find the right hire and mitigate leadership turnover, we must rethink how we define, evaluate, and select leadership candidates. The following insights will help broaden your approach: 1. The right leader is a catalyst, not a title Rather than locking into overly specific C-suite qualifications, consider the characteristics of transformational leaders that your team genuinely needs. While technical skills matter, you should emphasize broader competencies like adaptability, decision-making in ambiguity, and the ability to motivate diverse teams. These qualities often predict long-term success better than niche expertise. Consider leaders with transferable skills. They can bring fresh insights and a broader understanding of how to drive success in evolving environments. To implement this shift in your recruitment strategy, broaden your search criteria. Identify three competencies that you need to navigate the company's evolving needs, and build the ideal candidate profile around them. Instead of seeking candidates with narrow expertise, look for ones who have thrived in roles requiring agility, like leading R&D initiatives or driving organizational change amid disruption. This approach allows you to attract versatile leaders who are ready to innovate and guide your organization through periods of uncertainty and change. 2. Culture isn't one size fits all To achieve a balance in hiring for cultural fit versus hiring for skills, employ structured assessments that translate 'fit' into measurable attributes. Tools like DISC profiles or situational interviews provide concrete data on qualities such as empathy, resilience, and adaptability, allowing hiring teams to evaluate whether candidates align with company culture in objective terms. This avoids the common pitfalls of hiring based on intuition alone and helps avoid overreliance on subjective notions of the perfect candidate. For senior leadership roles like COOs, scenario-based interviews should focus on how candidates have successfully navigated complex challenges related to people, processes, and change management. Ask how they've implemented large-scale organizational changes or optimized operations to drive efficiency. These structured assessments reveal a candidate's approach to strategic problem-solving and their leadership style. In turn, this ensures they can align with the company's vision and foster a high-performing culture. 3. Cross-functional input is key When creating an ideal candidate profile for a role that requires strong cross-departmental collaboration, include perspectives from various departments in the hiring process, such as finance, HR, operations, and product development. By aligning on core characteristics of leaders who inspire and unify, hiring managers gain a comprehensive view of each candidate's potential impact across teams. For instance, used vehicle retailer CarMax involves leaders from product management, engineering, and customer experience to evaluate candidates for roles within its technology and innovation teams. Each team member provides insights into collaborative skills that they need for meeting customer needs and delivering fast solutions across functions. Utilizing these teams in the hiring process helps ensure that selected leaders can build relationships, bridge departmental divides, and facilitate cohesive, organization-wide success. 4. The perfect candidate is a myth The perfect candidate is a myth that often leads hiring managers to overlook leaders with qualities like resilience and learning agility. In executive hiring, finding the right cultural fit often outweighs industry expertise alone. Sure, technical knowledge is essential, and you can use that for a candidate in the room. But ultimately, you should make sure that the candidate aligns with the company's values, vision, and culture. Leaders who seamlessly align with the company's culture tend to engage teams more effectively, navigate challenges agilely, and drive change in ways that feel authentic to the organization. A high-performing C-suite hinges less on 'perfect matches' than on leaders who can innovate within an evolving landscape. Hiring for sustainable success requires shifting from rigid, idealized profiles to assessing candidates for resilience, adaptability, and alignment with the core values of the organization.
South China Morning Post
11-05-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
‘Not surprised' snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan may leave Hong Kong: senior official
Hong Kong's immigration chief has said he is 'not surprised' by the possibility snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan may relocate to the Middle East after the player obtained residency through a talent scheme last year. Advertisement Director of immigration Benson Kwok Joon-fung's comments on Sunday came after O'Sullivan indicated in an interview following his World Championship appearance that he might change his residency arrangement. Kwok acknowledged Hong Kong faced 'stiff competition' when it came to attracting top talent, adding the 49-year-old seven-time world champion also had a snooker academy in Dubai and that he respected his decision. 'It's not surprising he would choose to develop in the Middle East. But he has also been recently preparing to open his snooker academy and club in Hong Kong,' Kwok told a radio programme. 'He hasn't been able to return in the past few months to prepare for his new ventures and life here, so a definitive decision on his future residence may need to wait until he comes back to Hong Kong.' A professional since 1992, O'Sullivan has 41 ranking tournament titles to his name. Photo: Sam Tsang Kwok added that since the adoption of talent acquisition policies in 2022, the department had approved more than 310,000 applications, with 400,000 to 500,000 people coming to Hong Kong, including family members of the main applicants.
