Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/86587
Regional Report Spring As most everywhere else in the world, HRO is beginning to catch on in the Arab states of the Middle East, particularly in such countries as Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, and even Iraq. Although tensions continue in the aftermath of the democratising Arab Spring, hopes abound for even greater HRO penetration in the years ahead. HRO and especially recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) are gaining traction, not so much because of cost-savings—many oil-rich Middle East countries are awash in cash—but more because of the exponential growth of all sorts of enterprises in the region and their desire to incorporate world-class business processes. [24] HRO TODAY GLOBAL | SUMMER 2012 Awakening Navigating HRO's growth in the Arab States. By Russ Banham "Local Arab companies require deep expertise and knowledge, and they just don't have that," says Chris Herrmannsen, CEO of Ochre House, a London-based RPO and talent management provider enjoying a growing presence in the Arab states. "They need experts, and fast. And they haven't got the capability and capacity to do this—hence the need to import through outsourcing." Of course, the Arab states are not anywhere close to the HRO and RPO adoption rates of Western Europe and the United States. Political and economic barriers to shedding jobs to foreign workers remain major impediments in some regions. Still, as Kellar Nevill, general manager of the global HRO practice at IBM Global Process