Hello Frode Hübertz Haaland

I think these links are useful for you in relation to the HR in Arab countries.

I wish you success

Chapter Human Resource Management In The United Arab Emirates

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322185137_Workforce_Localization_In_The_UAE_Recruitment_And_Selection_Challenges_And_Practices_In_Private_And_Public_Organizations

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/621a/d1864846201eccbcf86ea689a7fafb65107c.pdf

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/17537981311314682/full/html

https://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/publications/HRMT_w_cover_resized.pdf

Article Talent Management and Development in the United Arab Emirates

I believe that what would made a differentiation in HR competence is to live a curious life.

Here is one of my books on the subject

Book DESIGNING A CURIOUS LIFE

I would recommend reading the following textbook:

- J. Paauwe (2004) HRM and Performance: Achieving Long-term Viability, Oxford University Press, 235 pages.

HR personnel recruits or involved in recruiting managers from the outside when there are no proper insiders or in a case of fast-growing organizations. Often such recruits are "jumpers" from other organizations and this characteristic often cause many problems, way beyond the elementary question of knowing whether they are qualified for the job. My book Mismanagement, "Jumpers," and Morality, which was recently published in paperback by Routledge, give new answers to the many problems of such managerial and expert staff recruitment.

Ulrich, in a celebrated article, talked of the need for HR personnel to play 4 roles in organizations: strategic partner, change agent, administrative expert and employee champion.

To play these 4 roles, 5 types of competencies are often needed by HR managers: strategic contribution to the organization, business knowledge, personal credibility to show that HR activities can be measured, delivery of HR programs and activities and ability to use technology to enhance the role of HR in the organization.

Dear Frode Hübertz Haaland

I agree with Mahfuz Judeh and I would also recommend reading the following textbook:

- J. Paauwe (2004) HRM and Performance: Achieving Long-term Viability, Oxford University Press, 235 pages.

Hi Frode, having worked in HR in Norway (Statoil), USA, UK and Australia the backgrounds and skills do not differ much country by country. Firstly to be successful in HR, you need to understand the business you support. As mentioned above Ulrich references this. Then depending on the specialist areas of HR, people come from different backgrounds e.g. employment law, organisational psychology, business etc. So it very much depends on the specialist area they are supporting.

Thanks a lot, but mostly these replies seems to miss the point of my question. I haven't read all of the suggested texts, but these all seems to center around questions I did NOT ask: What does HR-specialists NEED to know? What SHOULD they know? What competence is NEEDED to be successful in a changing context? Which demands are the changes posing for HR-personnell.

And so on and so forth.

My question was which background DO they have (educational, experience etc)?

My question thus is not normative nor theoretical nor hypthectial - its a question of how it IS...

So I am sorry, so far I haven't seen much of that - which is the reason I ask: I am puzzled by a role that we seem to know little of the de facto competence of its rolekeepers.

One comment that has not been made is to ensure your HRM Department has the the necessary certification. In the Canada and the US students receive certification by obtaining the necessary university and college courses related to HR. They then sit exams and over time must stay relevant in their fields by engaging in opportunities related to their profession such as attending a local HR sponsored event, additional training to stay current. One course that is especially important because of the legislative requirements is Health and Safety. However it depends on the industry and they may require engineers or certified Health and Safety professionals. My main point is for the person to work in the field they must begin with the right credentials in their education. The needed competencies are learned in these courses. The associations in Canada and the US meet with business people regularly to gain an understanding of their needs and then adjust certification requirements to meet those needs. The more senior HR professional will much Involved in the strategic goals of the organization. They will get to understand the business, be aware of what the competition is doing, understand the budgetary constraints and how to work with what’s given. They will be well versed in the economy and what changes are or might be coming. It’s difficult when governments change over and then each undoes whatever legislative changes happened before. HR specialists cannot just live within their organizations. They need to understand how changes outside the organization will impact their people strategies and be ready with a plan to help their organization. They can help their organization not make the wrong people choices. Going to automate...what are my present skills of my staff. Can they be trained? How long to train? In what to train? Can they be deployed somewhere else. These are but a few examples. The main point is they need relevant HR professional designation and truly understand how to balance the needs of the organization and their people against competing demands outside the organization. I hope this helps a little

According to Gomez-Mejia and colleagues, only 27 percent of Human Resource Professionals have any academic preparation!

Many other misguided HRPs view themselves as “the personnel police.”

Verl Anderson and I have recently written two books on HRM (published by NOVA Publishers) that provide a detailed review of the strategic HRM role and the qualifications of HRPs.

CC

Thanks, Cam Caldwell! That's what I need: Only 27% have any academic preparations. Ordered that book from my library to look into the numbers.

Regardless of HR Education. Building their Curiosity is what is going to make a difference.

The attached research papers may be useful for you:

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