After a string of lay-offs during the last couple of years, companies in Dubai are hiring once again, but this time more firms are opting for the contract -- or, temporary -- hiring route, say experts.

“I would say around 30 per cent to 40 per cent (though it is not officially reported figure), companies are taking contract staffing route. Because of downsizing during 2009/2010 the business had to be managed with high potential staff, who, were retained. Now, with return of a positive trend, companies that are under-staffed are hiring contract staff,” Prabhu Dharmarajan, Senior Manager, HR Outsourcing, Dulsco HR Solutions, told Emirates 24|7.

According to HR experts, the trend of temporary hiring as opposed to permanent staffing is picking up in Dubai as businesses rely on interim solutions to help shoulder growing workloads.

“Contract hiring is on the rise now, as the businesses have started progressing on a positive growth curve. Learning from lessons of the economic slowdown, companies have realised the importance of keeping their payroll and headcounts at the minimal and within a budget.

"Cutting down their excess has become an easy solution. Foreseeing a project long-term is not a trend anymore. Contract staff can be onboard for the time the project exists, hence, a solution for keeping the budgets within control,” added Dharmarajan.

Lama Ataya, Chief Marketing Officer of Bayt.com, believes that although permanent placements are preferred by employers in Dubai, temporary staffing is fast picking up.

“Dubai employers continue to largely favour permanent hires versus contract or temporary hires for a variety of reasons including perceived benefits vis-a-vis long-term staff stability, company culture, overall staff morale as well as current market forces and dynamics which enable employers to handpick top professionals for permanent positions at very competitive packages.

"Local employers are still very cognizant of the importance of staff engagement, retention and continuity after the high turnover years of the mid-2000s and are hesitant to return to the period of staff musical chairs with the inefficiencies that presented,” she told this website.

“However, we have seen a lot of company reorganization and reshuffling take place recently in Dubai and in many cases experts are being brought on short-term and consultancy contracts to spearhead and execute the change. Moreover, many professionals, who for various reasons left highly paid positions in Dubai in recent years in industries such as management consultancy, media and financial services, to name just a few, have set up small consultancies and prefer to offer their professional services to multiple clients on a project or freelance basis.

"They tend to be professionals at mid to senior career levels who have a solid reputation in the region, an impressive track record and good professional networks, which they can tap into to ensure a continuous supply of projects and ongoing success in their field. We anticipate the demand for freelance talent to continue to be robust while local employers continue to diversify their talent pools and sources of talent to accommodate their changing internal needs and the rapidly changing profile of the professionals’ marketplace,” she added.