ROBUST MOMENTUM

The people factor

The strategy

Developing and nurturing human resources is a major thrust of Tadawul's organization strategy. A key strategic objective is to improve the Organization Health Index (OHI) through focusing on communicating the organization direction and vision, bringing in a culture of positive reinforcement, and greater employee empowerment. In 2020, most of the planned strategic objectives remained in focus and many were achieved. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic a few had to be postponed. The pandemic and the curfew precluded working in normal locations. Employees' working methods had to be rethought to facilitate remote working. They had to be provided the necessary hardware, connection facilities and tools, and awareness for working remotely.

Online access had to be granted to all HR platforms. New communication channels were also introduced to ensure that work flows continued smoothly. “E-learning” training solutions were introduced to replace physical training.

HR activities in 2020

Due to the pandemic, alternative solutions were found for some HR services that were formerly performed manually. During the period when physical meetings were not possible, internal and external communications were conducted through conference calls on a video conferencing medium. When necessary, special permits had to be obtained for the employees to travel during curfew hours. Foreign travel and visits from overseas were unavoidably curtailed. A remarkable event was the conducting of two virtual town hall meetings, with the CEO, the executive team, and the entire staff. These meetings resulted in an open discussion regarding the prevailing situation, challenges, and actions taken. It gave an opportunity for the staff to raise any concerns they were having.

Since employee engagement remained one of the focus areas, some initiatives to engage employees between each other have been conducted despite the pandemic situation. Programmes were redesigned to achieve the best possible outcome in the circumstances. The training priorities were decided on given the exigencies of the situation. Priority was given to new business products, working and leading remotely, and soft skills. A special training programme was developed for middle managers to hone their skills in managing teams remotely. Other online programmes were also tailored and delivered.

A survey was conducted to gauge the level of staff satisfaction and the response to the new working arrangements. The survey showed a generally positive response. As much as 94% of the staff viewed the distanced working arrangements favourably.

The story in numbers

Total employees

 

It is significant that the staff turnover ratio has reduced substantially. While the percentage of time spent on training has reduced, this is understandable in view of the fact that many of the usual training programmes could not be conducted owing to the pandemic.

Training and development

	2020
Number of training programmes	21
Total number of participants	317
Total training days	419 days
Training days per participant	1.3 days
Number of trained staff	153

 

 

Our commitment to the Vision 2030 Goal of increasing female participation in the work force is demonstrated by the doubling of women employees with 0-5 years of service over the period 2016-2020.

 

Training programmes conducted

1.	Data Analysis and Business Reporting Techniques Using Excel - Level 1
2.	Microsoft PowerPoint Techniques and Public Presentation Skills
3.	CME-1 Preparation Course
4.	Strategic Planning Course
5.	KPI Professional (KPI-P) Certification Programme
6.	Business Process Management BPM
7.	PMI Tools and Techniques
8.	Advanced Project Management
9.	Quality Management
10.	Emotional Intelligence
11.	Innovation in Digital World
12.	Women Leadership
13.	Sustainable Leadership a Corporate Social Responsibility
14.	Unleash Innovation
15.	Leading Creative Transformation in Critical Times
16.	Prime Brokerage - Assessment
17.	Introduction to Derivatives - Assessment
18.	Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) - Assessment
19.	Corporate Finance - Assessment
20.	Effectively Leading Teams Remotely
21.	Derivatives Awareness Session

A key strategic HR objective is to improve the Organization Health Index (OHI) through focusing on communicating the organization direction and vision, bringing in a culture of positive reinforcement, and greater employee empowerment.

Employees by category

	Male					Female
Grade	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Senior Management	14	16	13	15	13	2	2	3	2	2
Middle Management	70	68	52	57	55	6	5	5	5	2
Non-Management	200	202	211	214	221	83	77	73	66	70

The steady increase in the ranks of middle management is noteworthy.

Employees by status

	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Permanent	375	370	357	359	363
Outsourced	22	22	15	17	16

 

Employees by age group

	Male					Female
Age group	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
18-30 years	78	88	82	79	78	69	63	61	49	49
31-40 years	130	126	126	141	160	17	17	18	22	23
41-50 years	59	57	56	49	40	5	4	2	2	2
Over 51 years	17	15	12	17	11	-	-	-	-	-
Total	284	286	276	286	289	91	84	81	73	74

 

 

As employee engagement remained as one of the focus areas of the Exchange, initiatives to engage employees between each other have been conducted despite the pandemic situation.

 

Employees by service period

 

	Male					Female
Service period	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
0-5 years	169	165	135	111	90	84	74	64	49	41
6-10 years	34	38	43	62	78	3	6	10	15	23
11-15 years	62	64	75	86	93	4	4	7	9	10
16-20 years	19	19	23	27	28	-	-	-	-	-
Total	284	286	276	286	289	91	84	81	73	74

 

The fact that the number of female employees with service period 0-5 years has doubled since 2016 mirrors the increasing recruitment of females in recent years. This is also reflected in the increasing numbers of female staff in the age group 18-30 years in the employees by age group. This demonstrates our commitment to the goals of Vision 2030, one of which is increasing women's participation in the workforce.

Salaries and benefits

SAR Mn	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Salaries paid	127,404,415	132,161,921	127,595,446	130,257,981	121,416,259
Benefits paid	4,936,316	6,060,536	6,448,966	6,672,563	6,158,636
Social security contributions	9,409,212	9,685,562	9,405,908	9,823,897	9,405,483
Staff Insurance	12,963,851	12,996,762	11,932,641	12,226,274	10,351,161
Total salaries and benefits paid	154,713,794	160,904,781	155,382,961	158,980,715	147,331,539