The ‘2019 Online Recruitment in the Middle East and North Africa’ poll, administered by the UAE’s #1 job site Bayt.com, revealed a variety of insights about the evolving hiring landscape and how recruitment practices have changed in the digital era. According to the poll, online job sites emerged as the quickest way to find and recruit talent in organizations across the UAE. In fact, 73% of MENA respondents agree that online recruitment has facilitated the hiring process at their companies.
Recruitment Today
Nearly one in two respondents revealed that their company is looking to hire in the next three months. And while most respondents classify hiring practices in their organizations as sophisticated (57%), they also indicate that it is time-consuming (60%) and costly (45%).
Countering that, poll results indicated continued growing trends in usage for online recruitment tools across the MENA. 28% of poll participants said that searching for CVs directly is an effective strategy, whilst 28% prefer posting jobs on portals, and 16% rely on company website or online Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
For all surveyed MENA recruiters, certain factors contribute to a successful hiring process: the ability to screen and filter candidates efficiently (37%), accessing the largest choice of job seekers (30%), an ability to test and assess candidates online (14%) and strong employer branding (10%).
Omar Tahboub, General Manager at Bayt.com said: “The online recruitment poll is an important depiction of the region’s current techniques and tools that are used to facilitate hiring. With a comprehensive overview of the online hiring process, companies can better understand what works and how the process can be improved. We are glad to be fully aligned with what companies and recruiters look for in terms of high-tech tools; such as Bayt.com’s CV Search and ATS software (also known as Talentera), as well as the hiring success factors including the largest regional CV database and AI-integrated and user-controlled filtering and screening tools.”
Key reasons for organizations to use online recruitment tools are: cost-effectiveness (13%), efficiency (19%), larger talent pools (29%), ease-of-use (17%) and better-quality candidates (17%). In fact, 79.5% of respondents believe that online recruitment tools enable employers to communicate with candidates in a more effective manner. Less than 5% disagree while the remainder are neutral in response to this question.
The Jobseeker Perspective
The Poll also gauged insights on the online hiring process from the jobseeker perspective. It found that jobseekers in MENA are keen on using digital tools to find employment, as (59%) respondents use online job sites to apply, (27%) use company websites directly, (5%) used company drop-ins, (2%) prefer attending job fairs and events and (3%) use their personal networks and referrals from acquaintances.
Data for the 2019 Online Recruitment in the Middle East and North Africa poll was collected online from 19 May 2019 to 28 July 2019. Results are based on a sample of 6,567 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, and others.
