According to a recent survey, the majority of companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region plan to hire more employees and offer bonuses or pay increases this year.
In 2024, nearly 83.3% of GCC businesses aim to offer bonuses or pay increases, and 70.1% of them anticipate an increase in the rate of staff growth, according to a survey released recently by HR consulting firm PROCAPITA.
The yearly report is based on input received from over 1,200 businesses in the region. It covers talent management, recruiting and manpower planning, compensation perks, and board remunerations within organisations throughout the GCC.
According to the report, companies in Saudi Arabia seemed to be the most optimistic about employing employees this year as the country carries out several projects under Vision 2030.
“The outlook for the GCC is promising, as organisations anticipate favourable advancements that will lead to economic growth and progress,” the report noted.
According to the survey, 66.7% of businesses increased their workforces in the previous year. Saudi Arabia had the greatest employee growth rate due to a combination of labour reforms, private sector investment, and entrepreneurial programmes.
However, because of a slowdown in the need for talent following the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar’s staff growth rate was low last year.
Of the companies that will provide their employees financial incentives, almost half (47.6%) will give both bonuses and wage increases this year. Just 16.7% of them do not intend to offer any bonuses or increases.
In 2023, the majority of organisations (77.6%) granted raises. Nearly 32.1% of employers offered fixed-rate wage increases, while nearly half (47.6%) linked wage increases to performance.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see how the businesses in GCC reward their employees via salary raises or pay bonuses.