Mark Carson, Co-Founder of Discovered sat down with Sheila Morjaria, Talent Acquisition Director to find out about her experiences in the world of Talent Acquisition in the Middle East...
Hey Sheila, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Sheila Morjaria (Sonia Gokaldas) and I was born and brought up in one of the most charismatic cities in the world - Porto, Portugal. After graduating in Mass Media I left home and went to London with the dream of working for Sky as a journalist. I did actually fulfil my dream but in a profession different from Journalism, I joined their TA team, which turned out to be the best career decision as now, 18 years later I’m still in TA and enjoying every challenge I have encountered. I am also a wife and a mother and I enjoy meeting new people, travelling and going for long walks.
How long have you been in Talent Acquisition
18 years
What made you get into TA?
Initially, TA wasn't exactly part of my grand plan. Believe it or not, I originally had my sights set on becoming a journalist at Sky News, after graduating in Mass Media. When I landed in the UK, reality hit as I realised that my English was basic at best. So I took a job in retail to get a crash course in English, (honestly, the best way for an adult to learn a language). I then took a role in marketing as a step up, but something was missing. I wanted that human connection and the storytelling aspect. Writing, interviewing, sharing information, people – that's what really got me going. A friend suggested recruitment might be a good fit, mentioning the ad writing, interviews, and the whole "selling" candidates to companies. This got me curious, so I started applying to recruitment agencies, and landed my first role with Nicholson Search and Selection – a boutique exec search firm. And that was the start of this whole talent acquisition adventure.
How did you make the move from the UK to UAE?
Whilst I was at Sky/A+E Networks I got headhunted by DarkMatter, a leading Cyber Security company headquartered in Abu Dhabi. Although I had never been to Abu Dhabi, I had visited Dubai and always wondered what it would be like to live there. The role itself presented a really compelling challenge to leverage and develop my skills and network within a dynamic and growing market. I spoke with my husband and we thought that it would be a great challenge to take on. Our son was only 3 at the time so we felt it would be the perfect age for him to be able to adapt. So, we decided to give it a go for two years and see what happens, but the UAE's vibrant environment and thriving professional landscape have solidified it as our home for nearly eight years now.
You are a bit of an expert in scaling companies. Tell us about the growth of Dark Matter / Digital 14 and how many hires you made.
When I joined DarkMatter in 2016 we had 125 staff and within 2 years the team grew to 380. With the transition to Digital14, a lot of new businesses were created and by the time I left (2021) we were just under 1000 staff.
What challenges did you face when making these really tricky hires across CxO, Security, CyberSec, Product, Software Engineering, Sales and Marketing?
These professionals are extremely niche. The skills are very specific and most of them are not based in the region, so often it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. The first place to start is to work closely with your stakeholders to really understand what they are looking for. What skills are non-negotiable, and what market & industry experience should the candidate have? Skills aside, I would say that the most important and hardest challenge was convincing these superstars that they should quit jobs, leave their families behind and relocate to the UAE.
Without giving away your secrets, what worked well for you?
Without a doubt, building relationships, being humble and maintaining integrity are the biggest things that have given me the career I have today. Stay connected with the right people, if you don't know something ask for an explanation and keep asking until you get it, no one sees that as a weakness but a strength, and always do what you say you are going to do.
How did you find living and working in Abu Dhabi?
I enjoyed it very much, the work-life balance was great, it is a calm city catered for young families with beautiful beaches and enough entertainment.
What are the main differences between living/working in Abu Dhabi and Dubai?
The biggest difference you notice is that Dubai is much busier than Abu Dhabi. Dubai has always been more ‘attractive’ to people to move to and work from, and Abu Dhabi is now really becoming an attraction globally also. When I moved to Abu Dhabi in 2016 people were a little more reluctant as they hadn't heard that much about it, felt that it was very far from Dubai and very conservative which wasn't the case. Nowadays Dubai and Abu Dhabi are both Emirates that talent wants to move to. From a personal perspective, Abu Dhabi is calm and very much catered for families, however, in Dubai there is a huge amount of things to do for adults and pre-teenagers which fits well with the stage where my family is.
Your next big scale-up was in Riyadh, KSA, for one of the biggest retailers in the Middle East. Launching a brand new Ecom arm - Cenomi. This was also your first fully remote position, with regular travel to KSA. Firstly.....how did you find remote working? What's the biggest advantage and also the biggest disadvantage of remote working?
I really enjoyed it, it was a great arrangement. I have an office at home so my routine was very similar to going to an actual office and everyone at home knew that once I was working they wouldn't disturb me. I did miss the daily physical interactions with people, and sometimes the face-to-face conversations can be easier, but I made sure that I had daily stand-ups with my team who were also fully remote and in constant communication with the people in the office. I used to go to Riyadh every 2 months for a week which was great and whenever people from the office were in Dubai we would make sure we would meet and work together.
The growth in the company was so exponential that working from home and not having distractions was beneficial to deliver at pace.
How many hires did you and your team make and over what period?
I joined as employee number 12 in June 2022 as the only hire in Talent Acquisition. By the end of December 2022 I was responsible for growing the company headcount to 80. These 68 hires were a combination of referrals, sourced candidates and candidates from agencies. At this point, I hired a team of 5 to support me and by the end of 2023 we had grown the company to 186 staff.
You partnered with Talent Solutions Businesses like Discovered. What competitive advantage did this give you?
I am a firm believer that a successful Talent Acquisition strategy will always need the support of external agencies and Discovered is a true example of that. Working closely with 2 or 3 key partners brings a sense of belonging and trust to both businesses, which contributes to a true partnership and acts as an extension to the internal TA team rather than just trying to fill roles by "throwing" profiles and seeing what lands.
This allows me to strategically focus my efforts on more specialised, non-volume positions and to dedicate my time and resources to establishing the core functions of the Talent Acquisition department, including the development of processes, procedures, and other critical HR initiatives. This collaborative approach has demonstrably enhanced our overall recruitment efficiency and effectiveness.
What were the biggest challenges of relocating international talent to Riyadh, KSA?
Well, I thought that attracting talent to Abu Dhabi was hard but to Riyadh, it was a different ball game. Unfortunately, the perception that the world has of KSA is very different to the reality but I guess if you don't know anyone there or have never been, then all you know is what you see/hear from the media. People only think of Saudi Arabia as a very restricted place and I can confirm 1st hand that this isn't true. Saudi culture and people are extremely welcoming and friendly. In the past 6 years a huge transformation has taken place which is very noticeable. I went to concerts, and attraction parks and was delighted to see how the youngsters interacted and enjoyed their time together.
As well as finding the best international talent, you had aggressive targets for Saudi hiring. How competitive is/ was the market for Saudi Nationals?
It is an extremely competitive market! The talent is great and any delay in making a decision can lead to losing a candidate. I recall interviewing a few candidates for an HR ops role in the space of 1 week and when we made the decision 2 days later some of the candidates were already off the market. It's very much, if you meet someone that fits the role (80% skills / 20% development) and they fit your company's culture then move very fast or you will lose them.
What tips would you give to those TA or HR leaders who need to hire Saudi or Emirati hires?
The region has great, national talent. They are very ambitious, well-educated and have great potential. I would say don't always go for how many years of experience they have but go for the potential they have - they are the leaders of the future so bringing them on board with a learning curve is better so you can develop them to the company’s needs and future goals.
Over the years you have also built various internal TA teams, what do you look for when you hire a Talent Acquisition Partner for your team?
I always look for their ability to work in constant change - this is a very dynamic region and what is a priority today can shift tomorrow. This can be frustrating at times but we (TA) need to keep up with these changes and ensure delivery isn't impacted. I also look for their stakeholder management approach, as we are partnering and advising the business, having trust, understanding and empathy is key.
And it goes without saying, that their sourcing skills, industry knowledge, network and all the other day-to-day components of TA are of course, extremely important.
Finally for those hiring managers, fellow TA’s and HR what 3 pieces of advice would you give for hiring in the Middle East?
1) Always ask a lot of questions, no one will judge you for trying to do your job
2) Say no if that is what you believe, a ‘No’ today could save a company of a lot of "headaches" in the future
3) It is okay to make mistakes as long as you stand up for them, and don't hide behind them, and everything can be solved
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