Basel Talal, new brand general manager and district director for Carlson Rezidor, Saudi Arabia, discusses the company’s Saudisation programme
How many Saudi nationals do you currently employ?
The government has decreed that 30% of the workforce for the private sector should be made up of Saudi nationals. We currently have an average of 19.85% Saudi nationals employed across five hotels within the company.
So what is your target for Saudi recruitment?
We have set an ambitious target of 32% Saudisation within our properties. Our goal is to meet the government’s set targets and we are keen to recruit talented Saudi graduates. We are in contact with the Human Resources Development Fund and the Ministry of Labour. Our expansion across KSA means there is a significant demand for candidates to fill the many positions that are rapidly becoming available.
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How do you encourage your team to get on board with the Saudisation drive?
Saudisation is a part of the performance management objective for every head of department. Moreover, workshops have been organised to address the issue of diversity and inclusion to raise the level of awareness about overseeing the work of Saudis, both male and female.
What is the best way to source and recruit Saudi nationals?
We participate in job fairs organised by the local government or by universities and we work closely with HRDF to support the recruitment of Saudis. We have also approached institutes to train students at our Radisson Blu Hotels in Riyadh and Jeddah and we will be participating in a careers day at Al Imam University in Riyadh. We recently appointed Saudi women in F&B, front of house and back of house positions by conducting interviews in the ladies section of the Chamber of Commerce in Riyadh.
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