An Exclusive with Vivek Arora, Managing Director of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM MENA)
Shereen Shabnam
With over two decades of international HR leadership spanning the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Eastern Europe, Vivek Arora has built a reputation as a strategic thinker and people-first leader. As Managing Director of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM MENA), he is at the forefront of aligning global HR frameworks with the region’s evolving cultural and business dynamics.
In this conversation, he shares insights on the changing expectations of talent in the MENA region, the impact of AI and hybrid work on HR priorities, and how purpose-driven leadership can create inclusive workplaces while driving business performance .
With over 20 years of international HR experience, how have you seen talent expectations evolve in the MENA region, especially in light of digital transformation and hybrid work?
Over the past two decades, I’ve witnessed a profound shift in how talent in the MENA region defines value at work. Where once stability and hierarchy were most important, today’s professionals; particularly the emerging generation, Gen Z, prioritize flexibility, continuous learning, and purposeful engagement. The acceleration of digital transformation and hybrid work, driven by Covid but now having become a part of life, has only accelerated this shift.
Employees now expect seamless digital experiences, autonomy, and a sense of belonging. SHRM’s Global Workplace Culture Report also highlights that employee expectations globally, and notably in growth economies, are centered around flexibility, trust, and development.
The SHRM MENA Conference 2025 is focusing on future-forward HR trends. What do you believe will be the top three priorities for HR leaders in the region in the coming year?
While in HR everything is a priority, over the next year’s horizon, I see the following in-focus for the region:
Human-AI Collaboration: With generative AI reshaping workflows, HR must redefine job architectures, lead reskilling efforts, and foster digital fluency.
Localized Employer Branding: To remain competitive, especially in talent-scarce markets and with a growing demand for niche skills, organizations must craft localized EVP narratives that reflect cultural context and national development visions (e.g., Saudi Vision 2030).
Agile Workforce Planning: With geopolitical and economic volatility combined with the rise of gig and contract workers, workforce agility is mission-critical. Scenario-based planning and on-demand talent models are gaining traction.
SHRM promotes a “people-first” philosophy. In your view, how can companies in the Middle East foster more inclusive, purpose-driven workplace cultures while still meeting aggressive business goals?
Inclusion and ambition aren’t competing goals, they’re mutually reinforcing. A “people-first” philosophy begins with intentional listening and shared purpose. Organizations leading the way use surveys or other more personalized interactions to capture what really matters to their people and now more than ever firms that invest in culture are the ones that are consistently outperforming peers in retention and productivity. Included and aligned employees are the ones which will drive results at work. Intentionally incorporating these value aligned ambitious goals the KPIs is the key to delivering on the business ambitions.
From your leadership experience across 10+ countries, what best practices can Middle Eastern businesses adopt from other regions to boost retention and engagement?
When it comes to best practices we must always remember they are best in a context and definitely not a one-size-fits all. Having said that, I still see some transferable best practices come which can be tailored to fit the MEA context and can meaningfully shift the employee experience. These can include:
Transparent Career Pathing – In countries like Singapore and the Netherlands, structured internal mobility and skill-based promotions have transformed retention
Manager Accountability for Engagement – High-performing companies assign managers clear ownership of engagement metrics, supported by leadership coaching.
Real-Time Recognition – Systems for peer-to-peer and manager-led recognition, such as those used by North American firms, boost morale and connection.
As SHRM MENA continues to expand its footprint, how are you aligning global HR frameworks with the region’s cultural and business dynamics?
Our work at SHRM MENA is rooted in adaptive alignment. We bring global standards, like SHRM’s BASK (Body of Applied Skills & Knowledge), which by the way is developed and re-calibrated regularly with HR professionals across the globe, including the middle east. And then, using these global standards and frameworks as a base we look at how best they can be applied in the context of local entities and practitioners. For example, if our model emphasizes autonomy and innovation and the region calls for high-context communication and consensus building, we will share examples and stories of how the balance between the two can be achieved. Through public-private partnerships, such as our collaborations with government and semi-government entities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, we’re localizing learning and driving HR certificate programs to this effect.
What role does technology such as AI and people analytics play in enabling better decision-making in HR today? How can leaders balance data with empathy?
AI and people analytics are transforming the way we identify trends, predict attrition, and even personalize learning. But the real differentiator lies in how we interpret the data. SHRM often refers to the formula “AI + HI = ROI”: a reminder that Human Intelligence must accompany Artificial Intelligence to generate real organizational value. Leaders must embrace data as a guide, not a replacement for judgment. The best organizations pair quantitative insight with qualitative listening, pulse surveys, stay interviews, and real-time feedback loops, to make people decisions with empathy and nuance moving from reactive to predictive analytics.
What advice would you give to emerging HR professionals in the MENA region looking to future-proof their careers?
My advice is threefold:
Be Technologically Curious: Understand how AI, automation, and data intersect with your function.
Build Cross-Functional Fluency: HR’s value is amplified when it speaks the language of business and finance, and
Never Lose the Human Touch: Career durability will increasingly depend on skills like empathy, storytelling, and coaching: the humane skills!
Above all, lean into lifelong learning. Whether through SHRM’s programs or beyond, upskilling is the most direct way to remain relevant in a dynamic world of work.
