Talent Attraction,
Development, and Retention

We have taken steps to enhance our recruitment processes by introducing digital technologies to simplify and clarify our process and to make it more transparent. Our job advertisements utilise inclusive language to encourage diversity amongst our applicants.

We have also sought to take all possible steps within our control to make pre-hire visa application processes as straightforward and efficient as possible.

We have improved our orientation and ‘onboarding process’ so that new employees have greater clarity on their plans, schedules and performance goals from day one. This has involved the work of a dedicated onboarding task force who have been responsible for driving improvements in this area.

One innovative and fun initiative we took in 2018 combined local recruitment with sport. Chalhoub Group employees ran and cycled over the Emirates to recruit UAE nationals. Participants stopped at each Ministry of Labour from Fujairah to Abu Dhabi to hold an event and meet prospective recruits. Our goal was to use sport as way to attract employees, promote wellbeing, and to show dedication and commitment to hiring nationals.

Our Learning and Development team constantly strive to enhance our skills and help us grow. We offer several development initiatives throughout the year such as Advanced Management Programme (AMP) which gives learners the opportunity to work in a diverse mix of project teams on a business-related project. 21 Learners were enrolled in AMP in 2018. We also offered Coaching for Excellence (CFE) Programme which provides learners the opportunity to work with external executive coaches, have a customised learning journey and work on individual professional needs and growth areas. In this program, 14 Learners were enrolled in 2018.

In line with the Group’s drive towards digital transformation, our L&D team carried out learning need analyses and matched 59 of our team members to 17 different Digital Transformation Programmes, one of which is Corporate Innovation Certificate Program provided by Stanford Business School of Graduate. These are few of the many mentorship and leadership programmes which we have delivered in 2018 to our team members.

We are working to develop a more consistent approach to the Training & Development program by setting up consistent training budgets with most of our brands to invest in both Back of House and Front of House learning initiatives.

We value our team members and carry out different initiatives across the Group to ensure an inclusive, collaborative and creative workplace where they feel empowered. Many of the ways we have enabled this is through our People Experience community events, IMPACT initiatives, MyChalhoub app, and L&D programmes. By creating this work environment, we retain the best of our employees.

We believe that different age groups bring a diverse set of qualities necessary for the business to thrive. Chalhoub Group is a relatively young company in terms of demographics and in some areas the Group has adopted a start-up mind-set. At the same time, we strongly value the years of expertise and industry knowledge which our mature workforce brings to the business.

We will continue to employ people who are innovative and creative because we recognise that this is fundamental to our long-term success. We also recognise that creative personnel are always looking to broaden their horizons. Our challenge is not only to attract the right people that share our values, but to retain their skills and enthusiasm. We aim, therefore, to continue providing a stimulating work environment which keeps the people we need and makes sure we are the innovative, creative, digital company of the future.