HR Competencies: Understanding the Impact on HR and Organizational Performance in Saudi Arabia

The global economy has continued to change the nature of competition and critically, the role of HR in organizations. Saudi Arabia is undergoing many changes from a strategic business perspective and has an implied demand for HR professionals to be an integral part of the changes and develop people strategies to help organizations compete more effectively.

This study focused on HR competencies and the extent to which current HR professionals in Saudi Arabia possess the pertinent competencies as expected in the HR profession. Specifically, the study sought to: (i) determine if competencies are predictive of success in the HR profession, (ii) understand how competencies vary by type of position within HR (entry level, manager, director and executives), (iii) determine if there is a relationship between specific competencies and particular responsibilities of HR professionals and (iv) determine the relationship among education, years of HR experience, competencies and compensation. The data were collected through a stratified sample across industries, education, role in organization and geographic locations.

Numerous areas are identified as gaps between competencies HR professionals should possess compared to current competencies necessary to function effectively as strategic business partners. As Saudi HR professionals continue to advance the HR profession and add value to their organizations, it is necessary for there to be emphasis on having the appropriate education, participate in continuing education and critically measure the impact of their efforts.