Announced on 8th November 2023, the ‘Economic Principles of UAE’ are set to position UAE as a global leader. And with dynamic changes like evolving labour laws and accelerating Emiratization efforts, HR professionals in the UAE might find it overwhelming to keep track of every single change.
However, ensuring compliance should be of the utmost priority for any business. So, it is important to balance government-mandated strategic initiatives along with regular tasks like processing payroll and onboarding employees.
Enter – the Eisenhower Matrix.
Since the publishing of Stephen Covey’s ‘7 Habit of Highly Effective People’ in 1989, the Eisenhower Matrix has become a widely known productivity technique. It is regarded as one of the most successful productivity techniques with a 100% success rate. Most people who use it, say it works for them for at least 4 to 5 days of the week.
Understanding the Eisenhower Matrix
Also known as the ‘urgent and important matrix,’ this method involves prioritizing tasks based on urgency and importance. The method consists of creating a grid with four quadrants and organizing tasks according to their nature of urgency and importance. The tasks are divided according to the following criteria:
- Do: Tasks that are urgent and important are the ones that require immediate action. These tasks have consequences unless they’re accomplished immediately.
- Schedule: These tasks are important but not urgent and need to be accomplished in the long term. They do not have any immediate consequences.
- Delegate: These tasks are important but not urgent and cannot be accomplished by any direct actions from you as you either lack the specific skillset or do not have the time to act on them. That’s why these tasks need to be passed on to your team members or subordinates so that they can be accomplished immediately.
- Delete: These tasks are neither important not urgent. They do not need any action as there are no consequences. Therefore, these tasks can be deleted from your to-do list.
The Eisenhower Matrix not only provides individual productivity but also ensures teamwork.
A survey by Bayt revealed that above 95% of professionals believed that time management, communication and teamwork are the most important soft skills required at the workplace.
And by using the Eisenhower matrix, HR professionals can efficiently practice all three to increase productivity.
Using the Eisenhower Matrix to Navigate Common HR Problems in the UAE
With rapidly evolving labour market in the UAE, HR professionals have their hands full, navigating government initiatives and organizational changes. Due to the lack of set procedures and policies when it comes to human resources, especially in the private sector, HR teams in the UAE consistently face challenges for common HR processes like recruiting, processing payroll, training and promotions.
Here’s how the Eisenhower matrix can help HR professionals resolve some of the most common HR challenges in the UAE:
1. Payroll Processing and Compliance
One of the biggest challenges faced by HR teams working for companies in the private sector is ensuring employees get paid on time. UAE courts continue to fine companies as high as 50,000 dirhams for delays and non-payment of wages. In extreme cases, a company’s permits can be revoked as well.
In these cases, the Eisenhower matrix can help HR professionals streamline payroll processes and address any issues that crop up on a priority basis. For instance, if payroll processing is outsourced and data transfer issues are causing bottlenecks, HR professionals must notify the executives and ensure that the issues are resolved promptly.
A task of this degree can be broken down into several steps and notifying the executives can be place in the ‘do’ quadrant, while the technicalities of implementing a solution, like software updates or server changes, can be placed in the ‘delegate’ quadrant.
2. High Employee Turnover Rates
A vast majority of UAE’s workforce consist of expatriates from different parts of the world. However, the rising living costs and inflation have led to a decline in the expatriate workforce. Most employees are looking to quit their jobs within a year if they don’t receive substantial benefits. Employee turnover rate in the UAE is 56%, much higher than the global average of 20%.
In this scenario, it becomes more difficult for HR teams to retain present employees while also offboarding employees and finding their replacements. The Eisenhower matrix can help them list and prioritize task. The ‘do’ quadrant can be used for tasks related to exit processes and the ‘schedule’ quadrant can be used to implement recruitment and employee engagement strategies.
3. Poor Employee Engagement
Companies in the UAE have prioritized employee engagement and wellbeing, especially within the post-pandemic years, and consequently, disengagement rates have fallen from 12% in 2019 to 8% in 2022. Yet, according to a Gallup survey report, companies continue to suffer financial losses between $8.6 to $10.3 billion from lack of productivity. This is why employee engagement is a major concern for business leaders and HR professionals in the UAE.
HR professionals can take steps to ensure consistent employee motivation. From implementing policies that promote work-life balance to offering rewards for consistent performance, these employee engagement tasks are not urgent but important. They also need to be accomplished over a longer period. The ‘schedule’ quadrant of the Eisenhower grid can be used to plan out these strategies to boost employee motivation.
4. Balancing Emiratization with a Global Workforce
While most of the UAE workforce consists of expatriates, the UAE government has pursued active efforts in increasing the number of Emirati nationals in the workforce. As the quota for hiring Emiratis grows by 1% each semester, sourcing skilled candidates can pose a challenge due to increasing mismatch between education and skills.
[Although] the UAE labour market is in demand, the educational system in the UAE is not adapting and delivering the skills and qualifications that graduates require to seek new jobs or excel in their existing ones.
– Khassawneh and Abaker; HRM in the UAE: Towards a Better Understanding
Bridging this gap would require a major infrastructural overhaul, with all stakeholders being involved. But immediate efforts by HR teams to organize training drives and encourage employees to upskill though online resources can play a big part in closing this gap. The ‘schedule’ and ‘delegate’ quadrants of the Eisenhower can come in handy to plan and implement these policies.
Automation and the Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower matrix is one of several ways, HR professionals in the UAE can ensure productivity. However, by pairing HR automation with the Eisenhower matrix for routine tasks, HR professionals can check off tasks from their checklist much more efficiently.
Hiring can be streamlined through ATS and recruitment management software that can source, track and engage candidates. Thus, tasks in the Eisenhower matrix can be condensed into something as simple as updating a portal.
Navigating the complicated payroll system in the UAE can also become much easier with payroll processing software. From integrating leave and attendance data with payroll to calculating deductions, all these processes can be automated. This can help companies maintain statutory compliance while also paying their employees on time.
Comprehensive HCM solutions, like the one by Akrivia HCM, can help HR professionals by reducing the workload for most manual and repetitive processes. This way a HCM software can help companies address all these HR challenges faced in the UAE.
Summing Up
The key to using the Eisenhower Matrix successfully lies in identifying tasks and categorizing them correctly according to their level of urgency. And to do that without getting overwhelmed, HR professionals need to break down long-term strategies into actionable tasks and measure their impact towards organizational goals.
Using HR tools, like HRMS software that facilitate automation, can also help keep a bird’s eye view over ongoing processes and identify matters that need immediate action. This will not only enhance productivity but also be effective in combating industry-wide challenges likes delayed payroll and high turnover rates.
How are you using the Eisenhower Matrix in your daily work schedule? Let us know in the comments.
