Serco Middle East has outlined the importance of creating a future-ready nationalised workforce to cater to the needs of the ‘new customer’ in a post-COVID-19 world. As the world emerges from lockdown, businesses, governments and citizens will have to adapt to changes in the way we work, live and play. As an employer of more than 4,500 people in the region, Serco Middle East has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring its workforce is trained to provide and meet the expectations of the ‘new customer’ in delivering a world-class customer-orientated service.
In building the next generation workforce, Serco Middle East believes that whilst the DNA of what makes a great employee will still remain (excellent work ethic, positive attitude and skills related to the specific role, etc.), in this post-COVID-19 world, the talent that will thrive are those who have built up new skills along the way.
Edward Gallagher, Managing Director of Integrated Services, Serco Middle East, commented: “Whilst utilising the latest technology and innovations plays into the user experience, so too does the human element of those delivering these frontline services. In short, we need an excellent workforce to deliver an excellent citizen service. Saudi nationals – as part of the Kingdom’s nationalisation agenda – have a huge part to play.
“What we are seeing here is the emergence of a new workforce, and it is one that has to adapt to the new needs and wants of its country’s citizens. It is this workforce that presents a clear opportunity for Saudi nationals to accelerate their careers, and support and thrive in the country that their families have lived and grown up in.
“As governments focus on making efficiencies and cost savings, it is the duty of the private sector to support when it comes to developing the skills of nationals. This in turn supports the growth of the economy and the nationalisation agenda.”
With the fundamental makeup of ‘the office’ changing, the new workforce in a post-COVID-19 world according to Serco Middle East will need to be adept at thriving in virtual working environments, which may now become the norm rather than the exception.
Hana Abu Kharmeh, HR Director Serco Middle East, added: “The pandemic has taught us the need evolve and to embrace change in order to thrive. It has instilled in us a need to think differently and adapt to changing circumstances, and this in turn helps us find solutions to problems by putting the user front and centre of everything. We should not underestimate the opportunity this provides us to build a workforce whose founding principles are based on innovating and adapting to the new needs and wants of its people.”
Serco Middle East also highlights the important role that technology plays in creating a tech-savvy, digital-ready future workforce. The international public services company believes that it is not about replacing humans with robots, but the workforce of the future needs to be ready to take on the opportunity that technology represents to bring about efficiencies, drive innovations and enhance the overall citizen experience. This will include developments when it comes to robotics and AI, which are innovating how we live, work and play.
Hana concludes, “Already we are knocking at the doors of Kingdom’s universities so that we can start our assessments, to recruit and find the brightest talent that we can support on their career journey of tomorrow.
“To that end, we are already looking forward to welcoming the graduates to our team in September. As a multinational organisation, we are committed to ensuring that Saudi talent is equipped with a robust training programme delivered to international standards, and that key skills are learnt and underpinned by the right mentorship to enableSaudi nationals to thrive.”
A key pillar of Serco Middle East’s plans for growth focus on promoting gender diversity. The company is committed to delivering back to governments a fully skilled, ambitious and gender diverse nationalised workforce as part of its ambitions in the Kingdom.
