UAE: Recruiters, social media influencers among those with worst reputation for customer service

Recruiters in the UAE continue to have the worst reputation when it comes to customer service.

According to a new annual report released by Insight Discovery on Wednesday, 52 per cent of UAE residents named recruiters when it comes to those who deliver the worst customer service, followed by telemarketers or call centre operatives at 33 per cent and credit card issuers at 31 per cent.

This is the third consecutive year that recruiters have topped the ranking.

“It’s disappointing to see recruiters called out yet again for having the lowest professional reputation in the country. This matters because the demand for talent is growing exponentially as more and more companies set up or expand in the UAE. Hiring managers and job seekers need efficient, trustworthy recruiters, and we all need them to succeed to keep the economy moving forwards,” said Nigel Sillitoe, CEO of Insight Discovery.

He said it is a good opportunity for good recruiters to shine and gain an advantage by being responsive and giving clear guidance to individuals who are looking for a new job.

The annual study found that 20 per cent of internal recruiters and 11 per cent of executive search firms contributed to dissatisfaction with the industry. Property agents fared a little better at 25 per cent, and were joined for the first time by a new category – social media influencers.

Westerners most dissatisfied

“I’m not surprised to see a quarter of UAE residents citing social media influencers as having the worst reputation. It isn’t always clear when influencers are being paid to promote products and this lack of transparency leads to a lack of trust,” said Sillitoe, adding that ‘finfluencers’ share posts about financial products about unregulated schemes, including cryptocurrency and schemes, which can be highly risky or even outright illegal.

The study found that Western expats are the most dissatisfied.

The data showed that people aged 25-44 were the most dissatisfied with recruiters, while those 18-24 and those over 45 were most dissatisfied with telemarketers and call centre operatives.

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