Ernst & Young
Questionnaire for Employers
QUANTITATIVE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (EMPLOYERS)Part 1 - General Information
Ernst & Young is conducting a nation wide survey in the Kingdom of Bahrain to understand both the macro and micro environment in which the expatriates workforce operate. The objective of the study is to provide inputs to the regulatory authorities in order to formulate and improve upon policies and procedures relating to the labour market.
In this regard, we will be grateful if you could kindly spare some of your valuable time to fill up this questionnaire and send it back to us by email, fax or hand delivered to the address as indicated in the covering letter. We would like to assure you that any information provide by yourself will be strictly confidential and the results of the survey will be aggregated and reported with no reference to individual responses. We would like to hereby thank you in advance for your kind help and participation.
Background Information
1. Please provide us with the following information about yourself and your organization.
Name of the respondent (optional) / / Designation (Optional) /
Name of the Organisation / / CR Number /
Number of Employees / / Number of Years in Business /
Address /
Telephone number / / Fax number /
E-mail /
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2Please select the Main Economic Sector your business is involved in. (Please tick as appropriate)Economic Sector / Please tick / Specific Nature of Business Activity
Agriculture , hunting and forestry / /
Fishing / /
Manufacturing / /
Construction / /
Wholesale and retail trade / /
Hotels and restaurants / /
Transport, storage, communication / /
Financial Intermediation / /
Real estate, Renting , Business Activity / /
Other Social, Personal Services / /
Households with employed persons / /
Other economic activities / /
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3. Please provide us with the following information about the total number of employees in your organization as on date.Bahraini Nationals / Expatriates / Total
Male / Female / Male / Female
/ / / /
4. Please provide us with the breakdown of the number of employees according to the cadre defined in the grid below
Cadre / Bahraini Nationals / Expatriates
Male
(Nos) / Average Age / Female
(Nos) / Average
Age / Male
(Nos) / Average
Age / Female
(Nos) / Average
Age
Executive Management (General Managers, Directors, Branch managers) / / / / / / / /
Middle Management (Supervisors, Officers) / / / / / / / /
Other Staff / / / / / / / /
5. Please provide us with the breakdown of existing jobs in your organisation as follows (To be mapped to the occupational codes):
Permanent Positions / Number of Employees / Nationality / Male / Female
Temporary Positions / Number of Employees / Nationality / Male / Female
Seasonal Jobs / Number of Employees / Nationality / Male / Female
Definitions:
Permanent Employee: Employees who work on full time basis receiving all the benefits of a full time employee.
Temporary Employee: Employees who work on a part-time or temporary basis not receiving the benefits of a full time employee.
Seasonal Employee:Employees employed during any particular season for a temporary period.
Subcontract (outsourced) / Number of Employees
Functions
Maintenance
IT
Security
Others (Please Specify) /
Part Time Jobs / Number of Employees / Nationality / Male / Female
6. Please rank the following factors that create the demand for new jobs in your organization in order of relevance (1 being highest – 5 being lowest)
New Projects /
Expansion of existing Business /
Resignation /
Business restructuring /
Others (please specify) /
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7. What strategies do you adopt to fill in the vacant positions within your organization?(1 being highest – 5 being lowest)Rank
In-house (through redeployment) /
In-house database /
Recruitment agents /
Local /
International (Bahrain) /
International (Target Countries) /
Media advertisements /
Word of mouth /
Campus recruitments / trainees /
Internet /
Any others (please specify below) /
8) Do you look to recruit from the local market first? (Please tick as appropriate)
Yes / / No /
a. if ‘Yes’,
Tick
Nationals /
Locally Available Expatriates /
- If ‘No’, the reasons (Please rank: 1 being Very Significant and 5 being least significant)
Lack of Local Skills /
Lack of Experienced Nationals /
Past Experience /
Higher salary expectations by Nationals /
Lack of Required Attitude /
Others (please specify) /
Expatriate
Lack of Local Skills /
Lack of Experienced Nationals /
Past Experience /
Higher salary expectations by Nationals /
Lack of Required Attitude /
Others (please specify) /
c. Which factors make it difficult to fill Nationals for the job?
Functional Specialisation / Tick
Lack of specialised skills
Language Skills
IT Skills
Not acceptable due to Cultural/Religious inhibitions
Tough Work Conditions
Higher salary expectations
Others (Please Specify)
- Which nationalities are preferred for recruitment? (1 being highest – 5 being lowest)
India
Pakistan
Nepal
Bangladesh
Others (Please Specify)
- What is the main reason for preferring to recruit expatriates?
Hardworking
Skilled
Less Costly
Others (Please Specify)
- How do you verify the workers’ qualifications?
Request Copy of official documents
Reference Check
Others (Please Specify)
9) Do you have a specified time frame after which you look to recruit from other countries?(Please tick as appropriate)
Yes / / No /
- If ‘Yes’, please specify the time period: ______months
10) If you use recruitment agents, how do you evaluate them?(Please tick as appropriate)
In house evaluation criteria /
Personal visit to the agency /
References /
Others (Please specify) /
11)What is the general arrangement with the recruitment agencies for the tasks assigned?(Please tick as appropriate)
Arrangement / Tick / Amount in BD
%age of Gross Pay of the recruited employee / /
Lump sum by various levels of employees / /
Retainer basis / /
12)Do you interview all prospective employees?(Please tick as appropriate)
Yes / / No / / Selective /
- If ‘Selective’, which are the levels
Middle Management /
Other Employees /
13) Do you offer written contract to all prospective employees?(Please tick as appropriate)
Yes / / No / / Selective /
- If ‘Selective’, which are the levels
Middle Management /
Other Employees /
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14)What are the recent difficulties in employing expatriate employees? (Please rank between 1-5; 1 being very severe and 5 being least)a.Do you face any difficulties in employing expatriate employees?(Please tick as appropriate)
Yes / / No /
b. If yes what are these difficulties in employing expatriate employees? (Please rank between 1-5; 1 being very severe and 5 being least)
Rank
Currency Fluctuations /
Local Economic Growth /
Local Legislation /
Higher Salary Expectation /
Competition from GCC countries /
Reluctance of Expatriate to work in Bahrain /
Others (Please Specify) /
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15) What are the key administrative issues faced in recruiting an expatriate employees?(Please tick and rank as appropriate)Issues / Tick / Rank
Arranging for a Work Permit / /
Time for recruitment / /
Right Candidate for the Job / /
Cost of Recruitment / /
Health Check Requirement / /
Others (please specify) / /
a.Are you aware of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA)?
Yes / / No /
- Are you aware of the proposed Expatriate Employment process?
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16)Please indicate the average cost (BD) incurred in the past two years for hiring an employee:Year / Bahraini / Expatriate
Male / Female / Male / Female
Year 2006 / / / /
Year 2005 / / / /
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17) What are the major elements of cost incurred against hiring an employee in the last two years?(Please tick as appropriate)Costs / Tick / %age
Print Ads / /
Online Job Posting Boards / /
CV Banks / /
Administrative Costs (prepare, conduct, summarize and communicate the results of those interviews, negotiation, etc. ) / /
Recruitment Agencies / /
Relocation Allowances / /
Cash Incentiveon appointment / /
Others (please specify) / /
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18) What is the average cycle time in the recruitment process (start of recruitment process to employee joining the organisation)?(Please tick as appropriate)a.
Country / Months
Bahrain
GCC
Bangladesh
Ethiopia
India
Pakistan
Philippines
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Nepal
Others (please specify)
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19) Do you offer induction programs to your employees? (Please Tick the appropriate ones)Introduction to Organisation /
Health & Safety /
Others (please specify) /
20) Do you have formal probation period?(Please tick as appropriate)
.a.
Yes / / No /
- How Long? ……………….
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21)In the past two years, how many people have left the organisation during the probation period?(Please tick as appropriate)Expatriate / Bahraini
2005 / 2006 / 2005 / 2006
Employee was counselled out
Skill Set mismatch
Lack of Communication skills
No written contract
Employee demanding more salary after arriving in Bahrain
Employee chose to leave
Not happy with the work profile
Found better job opportunity
Personal Reasons
Could not adjust to working conditions
Employee escaped
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22) What are your normal working-hours?a. in a Day_____ Hours
b. in a week_____ Days
23) From the following, which are the facilities that you provide to all your employees? (Please tick as appropriate)
Expatriate / Bahraini
Canteen
Defined work area
Recreation and other facilities
Savings Scheme
Transportation
24) Does the nature of the job in your line business require safety equipments?(Please tick as appropriate)
Yes / / No /
If ‘Yes’,
a.Do you educate the employees to using the safety equipments?
Yes / / No /
b. Do you oversee the use of the same by the employees at all times?
Yes / / No /
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25) Do you provide medical insurance coverage for all the employees in your organization?(Please tick as appropriate)Yes / / No /
- If ‘No’, do you reimburse the medical expenses incurred by the employee during his / her tenure with your organisation?
26) Do you provide overtime pay to your employees?(Please tick as appropriate)
Yes / / No /
a.If ‘Yes’, what is the ratio of the Over-Time wages to Staff Costs for the last Two Years?
2005 / 2006
/
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27)Were there instances of disputes in your organization in the last two years?(Please tick as appropriate)Yes / / No /
a.If ‘Yes’, please specify
Disputes / Number of instances
Arising between
Same Nationalities (Expatriates)
Different Nationalities (Expatriates)
Expatriates and Nationals
Amongst Nationals
Arising between employees and management
Others (please specify)
- What are the types of dispute:
Working hours /
Working conditions /
Others (Please Specify) /
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28)How were the disputes resolved?(Please tick as appropriate)Resolution / Number of instances
Negotiated Settlement for disputes between employees /
Reassigning the employees to two different jobs / location for disputes between employees /
Negotiated settlement for disputes between employees and management /
Ministry of Labour /
Relieving employees /
Others (please specify) /
29)Please indicate the turnover of employees for the past two years by nationality and gender
Year / Bahraini / Expatriate
Male / Female / Male / Female
Year 2005 / / / /
Year 2006 / / / /
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30)Please indicate the average cost incurred in the past two years in relation to separation of an employee from your organization:Year / Bahraini / Expatriate
Male / Female / Male / Female
2005 / / / /
2006 / / / /
31) Please indicate the major cost incurred by your organization for the past two years:
Costs / Tick / %age
Compensation / /
End of Service Benefits / /
Repatriation / /
Others (Please Specify) / /
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32)What are the key reasons for relieving an employee from your organisation? (Please indicate the number of instances)National / Expatriate
Male / Female / Male / Female
Lack of Skills required for the job / / / /
Lack of experience / / / /
Frequent Dispute / / / /
Work ethics / / / /
Other job opportunities / / / /
Others (please specify) / / / /
- Have you encountered workers running away? ?(Please tick as appropriate)
If ‘Yes’, what are the reasons behind that? ?(Please tick as appropriate)
Reasons behind that?
1. Dissatisfaction with work nature
2. Unhappy with salary
3. Other (Please Specify)
And how do deal with that? ?(Please tick as appropriate)
How to deal with that?
Inform Police
Contact Ministry of Labour
Others (Please Specify)
- How do you deal with problems relating to expatriate labour in terms of (Qualification, Experience, Behaviours, and others) or when employing directly or through a recruitment agency?
Carry out a reference check to verify documents provided
Contact previous employer
Contact Ministry of Labour
Others (Please Specify)
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33)For the following issues or constraints indicate the statistics.Bahraini / Expatriate
Number of cases (males) / Number of cases (females) / Number of cases (males) / Number of cases (females)
Hiring an Employee
Settling any disputes between the employee and the management
Handling offences created by the employee
Firing an Employee
Hiring Costs
Others (please specify)
34)Would you prefer Employee changing jobs (Employer) without any restrictions??(Please tick as appropriate)
Yes / / No /
- Are there cases where employees change their jobs?
b- If Yes ?(Please tick as appropriate):
Description / Bahrainis / Expatriate
Wage
Promotion
Working Hours
Better package
Other Specify
c. Why do employers don’t allow employees change their jobs?
Bahrainis / Expatriate
Cost of replacement
Time to recruit another employee
Training new employee
Others (please specify)
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35) Rank your concerns with respect to recruiting Nationals? (Please rank: 1 being Very Significant and 5 being least significant)Rank
Attitude /
Salary /
Hiring / Firing /
Skills /
Others (please specify) /
THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND COOPERATION!
BEST REGARDS!
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