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HR departments are a critical component of an employee’s well-being in any business. Part of their
function is to ensure that the company’s corporate mission, values and vision are successfully
implemented.
The relationship between headquarters and its foreign subsidiary plays an import-
ant role with regard to efficient HR management. The actual location of the person in charge for
personnel matters is of particular interest.
In order to determine local practices, 150 HR field specialists from various industries were queried
about their conditions and operations in the UAE.
According to the survey, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) represent the majority of Ger-
man-language companies in the UAE. As can be seen in the graphs below, mainly sales and service
subsidiaries are established in the UAE whilst managerial and producing divisions remain located at
the headquarters.
HR departments in the UAE
Worldwide employee headcount
On-site employee headcount
> 5,000 >1,000 - 4,999 500 - 999 100 - 499 50 - 99 10 - 49 1 - 9
42%
28%
9%
14%
4%
17%
3%
28%
12%
11%
19%
13%
The survey reveals that 44 per cent of the interviewed companies do not have an HR department in
their UAE subsidiary. It was also found that 18 per cent of interviewed HR decision-makers see the
need to
establish an HR department on the local market to be able to better identify qualified per-
sonnel in the region
and to
shorten decision-making processes
(31 per cent). Such a move would
help accelerate the hiring process to quickly fulfill local requirements.
Recruitment speeds
need to
be increased as most professionals have a variety of choices and prefer businesses that process
their employment application quickly.
HR & Salary Report 2015