The above case study indicates that the role of the human resources development (HRD) function and the role of various HRD tools and methods, such as competency management, mentoring, coaching, assessment, on the job training and so forth, are very critical to the success of the Emiratisation process. Some of the lessons learned from this case study are summarised below.
Involvement of ‗critical mass of people‘ or the ‗opinion makers‘ during the design and implementation of HR tools and methods is very important for managing change and resistance. Both NOGC and UCOG involved large numbers of ‗critical mass‘ during the design stage as well as the implementation stages of CMS. This helped not only to mobilise the employees and resources needed for introducing such a large scale change, but also helped to motivate the people involved. The large number of engineers and professionals involved in the process also helped to enhance the quality of the CMS roadmaps, templates and training plans. If HR had
designed and then imposed the processes and tools on the line managers, the process would have failed miserably. In fact the case study supports the following famous statements about change management:
a. ‗People do not oppose change! They oppose change which they do not understand‘.
b. ‗People support what they have created! People oppose those things created by others‘.
The above analysis indicates, perhaps, that the HR tools are very effective for supporting the Emiratisation process, provided that they are implemented properly. Probably, often there is nothing wrong with the HR tools, but the reason for their failure is due to the way they are implemented in organisations.
Competent and experienced HR staff members are critical for driving the Emiratisation process. Often it is a practice in GCC regions to consider the HRD division as a target for 100% localisation of a workforce. Many senior managers think HRD involves only administrative and transactional activities which can be done by any employee without any professional experience or background. Such senior executives are not aware of the strategic HR roles and the wide range of HR tools and methods available to support the organisation in dealing with a variety of tasks. One of the strengths of the CMS case study was that the process was designed and driven by qualified and experienced HRD professionals who were well experienced in the change management process.
The case study indicates that it is critical that the top management and corporation give the right signals to young UAE nationals regarding their
development and progress. Before the implementation of CMS many young UAE nationals at the EP level thought that they could survive in the organisation without any special effort to acquire competence and experience by using wasta or connections and politics. The isolated examples of success in such methods often reinforced such beliefs among the EP employees.
Many of them believed that the Government and the parent company wanted to replace experienced expatriates with young and inexperienced UAE nationals without any concern for the risk involved. However, with the implementation of CMS, it was clear to all that the company was not interested in employing UAE nationals unless they were competent and committed to proving their competence on the job. Such clear signals empowered all employees, especially senior expatriate professionals, to pay attention to the development of UAE nationals with conviction and commitment.
It is important to plan well and take time while introducing important HR tools and processes. Many organisations make the mistake of introducing the various HR tools and processes without spending enough time ensuring the quality and maturity. In an eagerness to show the deliverables to the management such HR departments and professionals often make short term wins, but they often lead to failures in the long term. Many HR professionals try to implement such processes and tools and later keep on evolving them through trial and error processes. Such implementation strategies result in negative perceptions about the power of HR methods in the long term.
People lose faith in HR methods and they start treating them as ‗another time wasting‘ initiative from HR. It may be noted that both NOGC and UCOG
spent more time on planning and designing rather than hurrying to launch the process. The final process was launched only after conducting the pilots and making the necessary changes to reduce trial and error methods. This ensured enough buy in from the potential ‗opinion makers‘ in the company, apart from ensuring the quality and robustness of the process. Again, one may conclude that the problems are not with the HR tools and methods, but the way they are handled by the HR professionals.
It is important to pay attention to performance measurement, rewards and recognitions while introducing large scale changes such as CMS. NOGC and UCOG used various methods to not only involve the people but also to measure and monitor their performance and to reward them as needed. The team paid attention to measuring performance and to recognising and rewarding all levels of employees, including general management, senior professionals, HR and training staff and also the EP UAE nationals. Before implementing the CMS process, such systems for measuring and identifying the contribution to the Emiratisation process was missing and mostly the people involved were not rewarded. With the CMS process in place, the message was clear to good coaches and mentors that the company valued their presence and would like to keep them if they were committed to Emiratisation.
Management commitment and sponsorship is essential for the success of large scale change initiatives such as Emiratisation. Often senior management in organisations talk about the need for Emiratisation, usually due to pressure from the Government or parent companies, without committing the required resources to support the process. In the UCOG case study it is clear that both
NOGC and UCOG committed enough resources to support the process. The commitment of top management was another major reason for the success of CMS.
It is also important to pay attention to the competence of people involved while implementing methods like CMS. From the case study, it is clear that NOGC and UCOG provided training and certifications for the people involved to help them play their roles effectively. Training and certifications in topics such as assessment, coaching and mentoring helped also to motivate expatriate employees who were keen to improve their employability through recognised certifications.
The case study indicates that both NOGC and UCOG paid attention to the project team structure, but not the organisational structure to support the process. This led to frequent conflicts and clashes of interest among the different roles and people involved. The restructuring process in UCOG further disturbed the smooth implementation of the CMS to some extent.
The case study indicates that it is also very important to pay attention to technology while implementing major HR processes to support the Emiratisation process. Most experienced employees tended to perceive their roles as mentors and coaches as an additional burden and in the absence of proper automation to support Emiratisation, such perceptions escalate.