Services

Executive Compensation is rapidly evolving in the Middle East and unfortunately there is a tendency to make it overly complex and impenetrable to the average employee.

Our focus is to clearly link performance and pay over the long term and ensure incentive plans focus the participants on what really impacts the company’s financial and operational success.

Each plan is customized for the organization in question and is designed based on feedback from all stakeholders.

We will work closely with the Remuneration Committee and the Board as well as the executive directors to create a plan which is both affordable and rewarding.

We have extensive experience with listed and private companies in the region and can implement both cash and equity plans.

All plans are fully documented with financial modeling supporting the potential outcomes.

We also provide employee communication support and we train HR to take ownership of the plan when the project is completed

Helping the Board and Remuneration Committee make informed decisions on the organization’s reward strategy requires regional experience, global perspective and an understanding of industry best practice, all of which we can bring to the table.

As compensation experts we bring experience and balance to discussions between the Board and the executive management team.

We can also provide guidance on everything from establishing a remuneration committee to interpreting market data and scrutinizing third party advice to ensure it is reasonable and aligned to the best interests of the shareholders and not the team that hired them.

Ensuring companies stay compliant with ever changing regulations is a critical role which we can fill. Opining on everything from ESG requirements to listing requirements for companies heading towards an IPO or those already listed.

Where we see the greatest need for our help is setting and measuring KPIs at a corporate and individual executive level. The need for clearly articulated measurable goals has never been greater as government investors and private shareholders demand a clear link between performance and reward. If your company is still setting goals in Q2 every year then we can help bring rigor to the process and facilitate a meaningful cascade  between the corporate goals and individual employee goals so the cascade process is completed in a timely and accurate way.

Many organizations want to stay lean and keep costs as low as possible as the day to day HR activities can be handled in house, however sometimes you need a different perspective on the challenge at hand.

As a full time compensation and benefits advisor we bring experience to bear and external validation to the solutions you need to find without the expense of a full time hire or the complexity of procuring a consultancy project.

In many cases the HR team or the Remuneration committee simply need someone to challenge them or help build out the ideas which have already been formed internally, a retainer relationship allows this to be done in a cost effective way.

Our clients buy a bank of time and use it as they see fit with a flexible approach from our side which allows you to carry forward unused time for when it is most needed.

This can be used as a general sounding board, a way to generate ideas, specifically task oriented, mentoring less experienced comp & ben professionals or simply to challenge you or your external advisors on the reasonableness of what you propose

Even the smallest start up companies can benefit from advice on their reward strategy.

They are cash poor and talent rich environments, but the promise of the big pay day in the future needs to be documented so that all parties remain focused on the task in hand safe in the knowledge that they will be paid when the exit event happens.

Structuring retention plans and employee share plans are ways to ensure talent stays loyal to the company and are wholly aligned with the vision of the founder and the exit strategy of the investors.

There are many pitfalls which can sour the best business relationships and end friendships because of a lack of clarity on both sides, therefore getting third party support to document a path to success makes sense for everyone.

Additional help with HR challenges  allows the business leaders t focus on the important stuff whilst we help cut through the noise in the back ground.

This can be a simple off the shelf recommendation or interim support whilst you try to get the right person into the position in the longer term

We all know this is needed in the GCC but it is one of those tasks that never makes it to the top of the “to do” list because it is simply too difficult to start the task

However as liabilities increase the challenge of managing the End of Service pool becomes a bigger and bigger headache

Even the most advanced investment companies in the region understand the inherent conflict in managing their own money but the reality of low interest rates and increasing salary budgets means that no firm big or small can knowingly sit on the sideline as their future liabilities grow

Therefore we can connect you with an outsourced solution to work on the actuarial calculations or to go as far as managing the funds via a local company who are registered and licensed in ADGM

Whilst we are all entitled to end of service payments when we part ways with our employer we should all be financially astute enough to understand that end of service is a top up to a retirement plan and not the plan itself.

Forward thinking companies who really care about their employees’ financial wellbeing will establish an employee savings scheme. This is a way to protect your employees from the multitude of “investment advisors” out their who only have their own interests at heart. By thoroughly vetting a supplier and partnering with a reputable company you can add an employee savings plan to your offering and massively improve your chances of retaining talent .

Our focus on the benefits side of the employee deal means you can use us to put in place a strategy for employee financial well being with a trusted provider who have already achieved scale in the UAE but who can assist companies of all shapes and sizes to achieve economies of scale with their help

There are three things to consider when planning for an IPO:

First – how do we build a business which manages to harness so much of the potential we can see that it makes sense for others to invest in it,  and make the talent we need to execute the vision stay with us for the journey?

Second – how do we navigate the red tape and get to market and motivate the senior team to do this as well as their day job?

Last – how do we create a reason to stay post IPO so that our best and brightest talent stay with us for the next phase of growth?

The answer to all these questions can be found by building the right incentive platforms and we can help you every step of the journey

Salary scales are a critical tool used to bring order to the fast moving world of market related pay.

Companies who want to attract and retain talent often find they are unable to attract and retain staff and they continually manage by exception.

Structured and up to date scales will help you manage costs, control grade creep and create internal equity; Guiding you through the correct use of market data, the correct way to use compa-ratios and linking performance to fixed pay.

We can provide pay progression plans and manage outliers sitting outside the future-proofed scales we put in place.

If necessary, and where the size and the scale of the company merits it, we can build job descriptions and run your roles through a proprietary job evaluation system which allows comparability against data from all the well-known Job Evaluation systems.

For larger companies with either significant headcounts or very different job families we can create family specific ranges – for example, in hospitals which operate competitive pay systems there should be ranges for Nurses / Doctors / Allied Health / Admin.

Engaged employees are more productive and less likely to leave their job for another company. Therefore measuring engagement, and trying to improve it, is a must for all companies that are serious about employee retention.

We’ve partnered with an industry leader to bring clients the most comprehensive solution which allows companies to compare against both regional and local norms and then formulate realistic and targeted action plans which will address the issues raised.

The technology used is tried and trusted and the turnaround times provide companies with the ability to act quickly when improvement areas are identified.

Comparing cycles year on year to track your progress and improvements against industry and geography norms are all part of the service.

If you’d like to know more about this service, please reach out and we’ll connect you with the right associates.

Organizations which rely on a sales force for their competitive advantage really need to get this right – however there are very few that get the balance between fixed and variable right and have schemes in place which can deal with both famine and feast situations.

Badly designed schemes can either make your sales force lazy as they are to well paid or place them on starvation rations so they are forced to leave and find better paid work

Our role is to help you find the right balance so the sales team remain hungry but don’t starve!

We are not trying to help you revitalize your sales strategy – our whole focus is to create incentive plans which are fair, easily understood, and which provide positive results for the sales force and the company

No matter what product you are selling the right sales incentive plan for the team will undoubtedly improve performance and results

Effective bonus plans bridge the gap between fixed pay and the market total compensation target reference point for firms

This is pay at risk – therefore effective plans create a win / win situation where the stakeholders get stretch performance levels and the employees get recognition for the discretionary effort, they put in.

Every plan needs to be tailored to the business it is designed for – off the shelf generic plans don’t work and never deliver a satisfactory outcome, therefore really understanding the business model and the outcomes the stakeholders are trying to drive is critical to the success of the plan

Good plans are simple, clearly articulated and well understood by the employees and if they deliver the requested outcomes, they get paid – no questions asked !

Our aim is to work with you before the performance year commences to capture the metrics and measures of success, cascade this into the targets which drive performance and link this to a payment mechanism which is both competitive and fair

Bonuses are not an entitlement – they need to be earned and the designs we put in place reward employees and protect shareholders – we can help find that balance

Developing staff at all levels is key to an organizations’ success and we know that from an engagement perspective the one thing which staff crave is more development opportunities

Whether this comes in the shape of executive coaching  and employee assessment or formal in house training we can help move your team or leaders to the next level

Aligning this with formal development plans and career paths which link to succession plans can be one of the most cost effective retention tools available

Our team of specialists ensure that the course materials are tailored to your specifications and deliver the learning experience which will improve your employees understanding of the topic in question

Training can cover specific technical areas or general competency areas

A full range of training offerings can be shared upon request

Executive coaching programs with experienced senior coaches can help address gaps in experience which are identified via the assessment tools we use

If you would like to know more about our coaching team or the assessment areas, we can offer please reach out for more details

If it matters it’s measured – high performing companies follow this mantra with zeal!

However, many organizations enter Q2 without firm corporate / divisional and individual KPIs

This should all be done before the end of Q1 with corporate KPIs set in Q4 of the preceding year by the Board and the CEO, taking this to the next layer of direct reports immediately after.

The best organizations define the target and then set out what over performance and under performance looks like and link this through to the incentive systems before the year begins.

Setting measurable and specific targets that align the strategy with outcome based metrics is difficult and takes time, and if not done correctly it can lead to uncertainty and an underwhelming year end cycle from an employee point of view.

Our process driven approach will focus on the CEO and their direct reports with guidance and training for the leadership on how to cascade goals to their teams leaders and the  individuals in the layers below.

With proper measurements high performance is recognized and rewarded and low performers have nowhere to hide.