Monday, July 10, 2006

The recent luncheon meeting last week of Human Resource professionals highlighted a potential serious crisis looming for this country when it comes to key staff.

As noted by the speakers at the Cayman Islands Society for Human Resources Professionals, (CISHRP) luncheon meeting on Wednesday 5 July, the Cayman Islands like many Western countries is struggling with recruitment and retention issues already and this country's immigration policies are adding to their woes.

With Cayman's sophisticated offshore financial sector and the tourist industry being the twin pillars of this economy and with a very small indigenous population, this country more than many others is dependent on recruiting the world-over for the talent it needs.

However, numerous factors are making that job extremely difficult for many businesses here from banks and hedge funds to hoteliers and real estate brokers, recruiting and retaining staff is becoming increasingly difficult for all concerned.

Primarily, the competition for talent is fierce all over the world, which means the most critical and talented employees are in a position to pack up and leave if a more attractive offer comes their way.

Human resource experts are highlighting that between the problems of bad management in general here, the ever-increasing cost of living and finally the unfortunate seven-year rollover immigration policy, Cayman will soon be hemorrhaging its essential or critical workers.

Experts are advising businesses that they need to do a lot more now to recruit and retain their key players, because if they don't step up to the plate this country will find itself desperately under-human resourced and unable to maintain its offshore and tourist sectors.

Perhaps one of the most interesting points made by one of the expert speakers at the event, Kevin Horesman, Deloitte's Manager of Human Capital Consulting, was that salary is not even in the top five for some professionals when it comes to the things that influence them when securing employment.

Work-life balance, corporate cultures and structures, as well as long term career prospects are often far more important that the actual salary to many professionals.

For these key workers, being able to foresee a potential career path with an organization is important, consequently the issue for the seven-year rollover is already playing a part in the decision- making progress for many employees.

After all why choose a job in a jurisdiction that no matter what your employer may be able to offer, the Government can undermine those plans with its immigration policy.

Just about every sector here in the Cayman Islands has criticized the seven-year rollover policy for one reason or another and it is clear that with so many other problems hindering the process of recruitment, this policy is one more obstacle for local businesses across the board to overcome.

In general, most Governments in democratic nations chose to form and establish policies that can help businesses create jobs and fill them. Sadly this is not the case here in the Cayman Islands where we are even more reliant on immigrant labour than most other western countries, where our Government chooses to further hinder and tie the hands of businesses when it comes to expatriate workers.

It seems too, that no matter where and from which quarters the criticism of this policy comes, the current Administration is insisting that the rollover will stay even if the time period in which work permit holders must stay away is reduced, they intend to keep the policy in place.

The financial sector, the main tourist body, human resource specialists, the association representing the building and construction industry, the real estate field, economic experts and numerous others have all made it clear that they and their members from the areas they represent, believe this policy is benefiting no one and that it needs to be changed.

How many more calls from how many more places, how much more evidence and indication does this country's Government need to realize that the rollover must go before it's too late?

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