Middle East strikes gold with big C&B packages

Asia - Senior oil and gas managers in Singapore are on a losing end as they only earn 74 cents to every dollar their counterpart in Middle East makes, according to new Hay Group findings.

Malaysian and Indonesian senior managers have it worse, earning 34 cents and 17 cents to every dollar a Middle Eastern senior manager makes. Coupled by the tax-free living in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, managers in these two countries have the highest disposable income.

The high C&B payouts are a reflection of a global talent shortage, says Charlotte Park, managing director of Hay Group’s Reward Information Services in Asia. This is likely to worsen in the future as energy consumption grows. In addition, the average ages of middle and senior management are 43 and 51 years old respectively and due to retire soon within the next 15 years, worsening the labour shortage.

"With all oil and gas companies fishing in the same pond for people, the war for talent has not even begun in earnest! What high-performing companies are doing is to build their talent pipeline now, instead of adopting a wait-and-see approach," Park adds.

According to Hay Group, these high-paying positions range from the technical ones from project managers, geologists to engineers to analysts.

When asked about the reasons for the shortage, Park attributes it to the layoffs in the 1990s, which has led to fewer people in the industry at the moment. Furthermore, more people are needed in the area of oil exploration, which requires employees to go beyond traditional work environments.

Lastly, Park says, certain jobs in the oil and gas industry have little appeal among fresh graduates with the perception that they are "dirty jobs".

But before you pack your bags to head to the Gulf, high cost of living and inflation in the Gulf region may diminish any extra earnings a professional; may receive. "The boom in the Gulf infrastructure sector has caused house rentals and expenses for children's education to double in last two years. Hence the level of disposable income has fallen over the years. This has caused some expatriates to re-think and negotiate for higher packages before accepting job offers," says Vijay Gandhi, general manager of Hay Group's Reward Information Services (Middle East).