Recruiting right

Christian Merieau
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Recruitment has long been a bugbear for Dubai-based interior design firms. When the market was booming, finding quality design staff was notoriously difficult; keeping them loyal was even more of a challenge.

When the economic slowdown first hit, many companies were faced with the unsavoury task of slashing their workforce. Even those that didn’t have to downsize were forced to stop, take stock and consolidate, making for a decidedly stagnant employment market.

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Dubai-based design firm, Bluehaus, opted to take a cautious, long-term approach to the market, and hasn’t employed any new staff over the last six months. “As management we have a longevity responsibility to the business and our customers and as such have focused on working with the team that we have built up over ten years,” said Ben Corrigan, design principal, Bluehaus.

However, with the first stirrings of renewed confidence being felt in the market, this is set to change. Bluehaus will be looking to recruit new team members in the final quarter of the year, as part of its 2015 growth plan.

“We have always believed in hiring as part of a growth strategy, as opposed to knee-jerk during busy periods. Over 65% of our customers are repeat customers, and like the consistency in our team. It gives them confidence,” Corrigan explained.
Meanwhile, Dubai-based Design Work Porfolio is currently looking to hire a document controller and a mid-level interior designer.

This follows the hiring of seven new members of staff over the last six months. Global Design Interiors, part of the Al Reyami Group, is also currently looking to fill a number of positions, with vacancies for a design director, senior designer, client relationship manager, project managers, business development people and general office assistants currently open.

Edward Smith, director of Global Design Interiors, is looking for candidates with applicable experiences, excellent communication skills and the ability to “wear many hats”. “They must be motivated from within, not by the paycheck. And they must understand our commitment to the client and to the schedule,” Smith explained.

According to Christian Merieau, managing director, Middle East, of Samuel Creations, potential recruits must obviously be intelligent, with a controlled creativity and the capacity to both listen and understand. “They should also be well travelled with a strong cultural and artistic background,” he said.

As companies begin to jump-start their recruitment processes, they could be forgiven for expecting to find a glut of high-quality candidates on the market – a by-product of last year’s lay-offs and a depressed recruitment market. But that’s not necessarily the case, according to Martin Wojnowski, design principal, Design Work Porfolio. High-level candidates are still extremely hard to come by, he maintained.