Zain Bahrain, a telecommunications industry innovator focused on enhancing customer experience, was awarded a mobile telecom license on 22 April 2003 and commenced commercial operations on 28^th of December 2003. The operation promptly placed Bahrain on the world telecom map through the introduction of many mobile technology innovations that continue to this day, ranging from fixed fiber broadband, 5G, to a nationwide high-speed 4G LTE services being offered through the Kingdom's most advanced mobile network along with an innovation complete end-to-end e-commerce offering customers the opportunity to buy products and services online anywhere, anytime. The operator was recognized as the network with the highest fixed wireless broadband download speeds in the Kingdom in 2018 by the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA).

Zain Bahrain is listed on the Bahrain Bourse (Ticker: ZAINBH) and is considered to be a stakeholder in and contributor to Bahrain's future prosperity, as outlined in the leadership's Vision 2030. Empowering employees remains the heart of Zain Bahrain's strategy; and the operator achieved a Bahranization of close to 95% in 2018. It has demonstrated its commitment to the community by relaunching its youth empower program, under the new name 'Zain Youth Programme.

The following data has been taken from Zains Sustainability report 2021 (https://zain.com/SR2021/20-our-people/)

General Employee Info

	BAHRAIN	IRAQ	JORDAN	KUWAIT	SAUDI ARABIA	SUDAN	SOUTH SUDAN	TOTAL AVERAGE
Full-Time Employees	187	1,237	1,337	1,657	1,751	741	96	7,006
Part-Time and Temporary Employees	143	1,487	312	0	0	0	0	1,942
Employees (All Contract Types)	330	2,724	1,649	1,657	1,751	741	96	9,005
Full-Time Male Employees	137	907	954	1,402	1,506	421	79	5,406
Full-Time Female Employees	50	330	383	255	245	320	17	1,600
% of Full-Time Male Employees	73%	73%	71%	85%	86%	57%	82%	75%
% of Full-Time Male Employees	27%	27%	29%	15%	14%	43%	18%	25%
New Hires - Male Employees	16	125	48	279	131	9	10	618
New Hires % - Males	9%	10%	4%	17%	7%	1%	10%	9%
New Hires - Female Employees	8	44	17	64	64	9	5	211
New Hires % - Females	4%	4%	1%	4%	4%	1%	5%	3%
Total No. of New Hires	24	169	65	343	195	18	15	829
Total New Hire - %	13%	14%	5%	21%	11%	2%	15%	12%
Employee Turnover - Males	10	91	190	312	215	5	3	826
Employee Turnover - Males %	5%	7%	14%	19%	12%	1%	3%	12%
Employee Turnover - Females	7	29	96	67	61	7	1	265
Employee Turnover - Females %	4%	2%	7%	4%	3%	1%	1%	4%
Total Turn Over	17	120	286	379	276	12	4	1,091
Return to Work Rate After Parental Leave - Females	100%	87%	58%	95%	100%	100%	100%	97%
Return to Work Rate After Parental Leave - Males	100%	100%	93%	100%	100%	100%	89%	91%
Retention Rate After Still Working for Zain One Year After Return From Parental Leave - Females	100%	84%	83%	80%	23%	100%	100%	77%
Retention Rate After Still Working For Zain One Year After Return From Parental Leave - Males	93%	100%	98%	65%	82%	100%	100%	82%

Zains Recruitment and Selection Process:

Zain recruitment and selection process puts, the candidate, at the very heart of the process. Below are generic steps for the applicants:

• The candidate journey starts when a potential applicant logs on to the career site. Zain encourages applicants to take a look at what their site has to offer and look through the content.
• Applicants can filter jobs based on the location or the operations/country that they would be interested in applying to.
• Applicants are expected to read the requirements of the job prior to applying to a job that interests them
• Once a potential applicant applies online, they must complete the entire application process and upload all the necessary documents. The application process takes around 10-15 minutes. The guidelines ask the applicants to make sure that they have relevant documents, such as CV, photo, national ID or passport available with when they apply
• Upon application, the CV is viewed by the recruiters at Zain to ascertain the experience and education of the applicant.
• When there is a match between the experience and education with the requirements of the job , the recruiters set-up a time to call the candidate over the phone and gather more information.
• All applicants receive an email with the feedback. If the candidate was not successful, the candidate will be informed, and if the candidate is successful, they receive an email notification with next steps.
• An HR interview and a technical interview will always follow. They may be combined, or they may be done separately. The candidate is asked to inform the recruiter of their preferred date and time.
• The Candidate be asked to attend additional interviews, depending on the position such as:
  • Cultural Interview: This interview focuses on whether the candidate would be the right cultural fit for example Zain recruiters ask candidates if they have have worked in environments in which the corporate culture is similar to theirs or if they have worked in companies that value diversity and gender equality and so on.
  • Panel Interview: You may be asked to attend a panel interview, in which multiple stakeholders are present.
  • Assessment Center: You may be invited to an assessment center, which would include multiple interviews and exercises.
• The recruiters always inform the candidates of next steps following the interviews and we encourage that candidates maintain an open line of communication with the recruiter and do not hesitate to ask any questions.

Zain Supporting Local Talent

Zain is dedicated to investing in local talent in addition to aligning to the governments labor localization policies. This approach contributes to a stabilized workforce and provides societal benefits to the communities Zain operates in. Zain also ensures that it is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing a workforce free from any form of discrimination. In 2021, the percentages of locals in senior management increased across the board. The table below highlights the year-on-year percentages of senior management (defined as the top two management levels) comprised by locals in each of Zains operating companies.

The table below represents the percentage of total local employees in each of Zains operating markets:

OPERATIONS	% OF LOCAL EMPLOYEES
Bahrain	93%
Iraq	97%
Jordan	99%
Kuwait	66%
Saudi Arabia	86%
Sudan	100%
South Sudan	99%

Rewards at Zain

Zain offers is employees more than just a job, more than a career Zain offers them the chance to play a part in the future development of the mobile telecommunications sector itself.

Continuous training and development for their staff is part of Zain's commitment to its employees. Zain has a policy to enable employees to reach their full potential with the opportunities available.

They say that our pace is fast, our rewards high, our work a constant challenge. We are looking for proven skills and we are looking for potential. We are looking for trained professionals and we are looking for trainees, we have high standards, and we have excellent rewards and benefits for the right people. We look forward to welcoming you to the Zain team.

Task 1: (LO 2,3) (25 marks)

Explain the Process of Workforce Planning to Zain using a standard workforce planning model. Conduct PESTLE analysis for the Telecom Sector in the GCC/MENA region and use the risk management framework of Zain to highlight the risks facing the telecom sector.

Task 2 (LO2) (25 marks)

1. What are the characteristics of the labor market in Bahrain? Explain the concept of tight and loose labor market. Highlight the concept of hiring locals and the government initiatives to promote the nationalization of workforce.
2. Keeping in consideration the recovery from pandemic and back to normal scenario explain the latest trends of workforce in the telecom industry in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Compare the statistics of Zain Bahrain with any other country that Zain is currently operating in?

Task 3 (LO2, LO3) (25 marks)

a) What alternatives to recruitment can Zain consider incase it faces a shortage of talent in the organization and why?

b) Analyse the current recruitment and selection process followed by Zain considering the business needs of the organization with special emphasis on diversity and inclusion (consider the various initiatives it is currently undertaking in different countries). What improvements can it make to the current process?

c) How can Artificial Intelligence enable efficiency in these processes? Explain why the organizations in the telecom industry must look for innovative ways of hiring and selecting its workforce.

Task 4 (LO2, LO3) (20 marks)

What strategies of talent management and retention should Zain consider aligning with its business needs? Suggest at least 5 initiatives that they can adopt based on best practices in Telecom Sector.