Last month, Reverse Racism got you talking. We were quite staggered by the response that the April-12 article generated.
Many readers agreed that they had been discriminated against while shopping — that they were served on the basis of their skin colour.
And some readers wanted to know why we hadn’t got the other side of the story — the retail perspective.
Well, that’s what we’ve done today. And we’ve even gone beyond the retail sector and brought in voices from the banking, hospitality and event management industry.
We spoke to managers and recruitment specialists of different companies to find out how they trained their staff when it came to racial discrimination.
Some companies admitted that their staff or customers had complained of being discriminated against while others said it was either rare or non-existent.
However, most agreed that hiring a multinational team helped ease tension and increase customer satisfaction. Here is their side of the story.
Retail
There are people from more than 120 nationalities working at the BurJuman Shopping Centre — from managers and shop assistants to security guards and cleaners.
Eisa Adam Ebrahim, general manager of BurJuman Centre, said employees are hired on the basis of their qualifications.
“Some employees do get paid higher than others but the pay package is based purely on qualification and experience,” Ebrahim said.
He said he had not encountered any situation in which there had been complaints of racial discrimination, either by the staff or the customers.
However, if such a complaint did arise, strict measures would be taken.
“Discrimination will not be tolerated at any cost. If it does happen, those involved will have to face the consequences.
We will get to the bottom of the problem and try to make them respect the fact that people are different,” he said.
Strict measures
The general manager said if any member of the staff was found to be discriminating against a colleague or a customer, they would be fired on the spot.
“There are hundreds of nationalities in Dubai and discrimination of any kind should not be encouraged — it is unacceptable behaviour,” Ebrahim said.
Learn to respect
Retail operations manager of the Landmark Group, Ruban Shanmugarajah, also denied any case of racial discrimination.
The group oversees Centrepoint, a major retail concept across the Middle East, along with its other key retail outlets — Home Centre, Max, Babyshop, Splash and Lifestyle.
“I would encourage everyone to respect and learn from each others’ culture and be tolerant of their differences, not oppose them simply because they are from a different background,” Shanmugarajah said.
“In the UAE retail environment, we serve nationalities from all corners of the world.
"As such, it’s vital for our staff to respect each others’ differences and serve each customer with the same respect.
"For me, tolerance and respect are key.”
If somebody lodges a complaint, the staff (comprising individuals from 15 nationalities) is trained to handle the situation calmly and deal only with facts and not assumptions.
As far as pay packages are concerned, Shanmugarajah stresses that only skill, experience and qualification are important.
“In our organisation, individuals are promoted only on the basis of merit and this holds true for all employees.
"Our organisation is fair and everyone is given equal opportunities,” he said.
This is the reason why there have hardly been any discrimination issues involving the group, Shanmugarajah feels.
Events
The events industry is often demanding and one that requires creativity and motivation at all times. So, what happens when employees feel they are not being treated equal?
Jose Varghese, human resources manager for Pico International, a global event management company, says though there is discrimination, Dubai is a cosmopolitan city in which a multitude of backgrounds and thoughts come together.
Therefore, respecting each other becomes fundamental.
“First, we need to understand and define the word ‘discrimination’ because it is no longer just about the colour of the skin,” Varghese said.
“We have 16 nationalities employed with us and if there is ever a problem, I tell the staff not to create a conflict but appreciate and respect the different culture.”
If a client complains of discrimination, Varghese calls for a meeting between the staff, the executives and the customer so they can settle the problem without further acrimony.
In a customer-service-skills programme, employees are taught how to deal with clients skilfully.
“We take on multimillion-dollar projects, so it becomes crucial to respect different backgrounds. The UAE is a great place to work in but you have to learn to prevent discrimination,” Varghese said.
Banks
All complaints related to discrimination and harassment are taken seriously and, if necessary, investigations are carried out, says Juhaina Al Fardan, senior regional manager, employment engagement and diversity, HSBC Bank Middle East Limited.
If customers feel they are being singled out, a complaint directed to the team leader or the manager of the department concerned is logded.
This is then forwarded to the customer-relations department for further investigation.
Not let off easily
“Based on the findings of this investigation, the customer is advised and the situation is rectified.
"We do not tolerate any act of discrimination against our customers or staff. Very strict action is taken against the staff in case they are involved,” Al Fardan said.
Their brand, she says, stands for respect and fairness to customers and staff alike, the latter comprising 64 different nationalities and backgrounds.
When asked if the pay package is the same for employees of all nationalities, Al Fardan said the company offers equal opportunities to all.
“Our pay packages are not based on nationalities but on salary market data and performance levels,” she said.
The company policy also aims to make sure that the staff is not subjected to any unlawful victimisation on the grounds of gender, pregnancy, age, marital status, disability, race, colour, religion, belief, or ethnic or national origin.
“All employees are asked to treat colleagues with equal dignity and respect and create an environment which is healthy and discrimination-free,” Al Fardan said.
Hotels
General manager of Fujairah’s Le Méridien Al Aqah, Patrick Antaki, says there are stray cases when cultural differences arise between guests and the staff but the emphasis placed on customer service demands sensitive handling of such situations.
“Le Méridien Al Aqah takes a multicultural approach towards recruitment and staff retention,” Antaki says.
“Our guests have found that having so many different nationalities on staff means that we can more accurately anticipate the needs of our customers given that they also come from so many varied backgrounds.
"There are over 30 different nationalities of people currently working at Le Méridien Al Aqah.”
The hotel makes sure work groups are balanced, with a strong emphasis on teamwork, he added.
Talking back
“In our organisation, individuals are promoted only on the basis of merit and this holds true for all employees.”
Ruben Shanmugarajah, Retail operations manager, Landmark Group
“First, we need to understand and define ‘discrimination’ because it’s no longer just about the colour of the skin.”
Jose Varghese, Human resources manager, Pico International
“There are hundreds of nationalities in Dubai and discrimination of any kind should not be encouraged.”
Eisa Adam Ebrahim, General manager, BurJuman
“Our pay packages are not based on nationalities but on salary market data and performance.”
Juhaina Al Fardan, Senior regional manager, employment, engagement and diversity, HSBC
“Our guests have found that having different nationalities on staff means we can anticipate the needs of our customers.”
Patrick Antaki, General manager, Le Meridien Al Aqah, Fujairah
