The Cayman Islands Society of Human Resource Professionals has issued results of a survey refuting statements about the effects of the term limit policy made by Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce President James Tibbetts during the Legislative Luncheon in January.
In calling for a reassessment of the seven-year term limit at the time, Mr. Tibbetts said recruiting staff was ‘becoming an increasingly difficult challenge for businesses in all sectors in Cayman’. He also said ‘more and more businesses are now outsourcing good paying jobs to other countries’.
CISHRP issued a press statement last week about a survey it conducted on the effects of the rollover policy.
‘Based on recent research and data collected by CISHRP, there is no compelling evidence to support the recently published statements in the media suggesting that, due to the current immigration rollover or term limit policy, the recruitment of qualified staff is becoming an increasingly difficult challenge for businesses in all industry sectors,’ the press release stated.
CISHRP said it has more than 150 members representing more than 70 employers from various industry sectors. When polled about the effects of the term limit policy, 55 per cent of the membership responded to the survey.
When asked if recruiting staff had become an increasingly difficult challenge since the introduction of the rollover policy, 45 per cent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed, while 55 per cent disagreed or strongly disagreed. However, in the financial services sector, only 30 per cent agreed or strongly agreed, while 70 per cent disagreed or strongly disagreed.
In addition, CISHRP surveyed local recruitment agencies, and none agreed the rollover policy deterred overseas candidates seeking to relocate to Cayman.
The CISHRP press release stated there were many factors that contributed to an organisation’s ability to effectively attract and recruit top quality labour, including brand and reputation; salary and benefits offered; recruiting strategies; and the conditions and infrastructure of the jurisdiction.
‘As can be seen from the survey results of both target groups… the CISHRP is concerned that the term limit is being blamed for difficulty in recruiting when in fact many other factors… are coming into play and perhaps having a more negative effect.’
The CISHRP press release also commented on Mr. Tibbetts’ statement about outsourcing.
‘Recently expressed commentary regarding ‘outsourcing good paying jobs to other countries due to restrictions on the length of time workers are allowed to remain in the Islands’ is very speculative, and the CISHRP finds no empirical evidence to support the comment,’ the press release stated. ‘Outsourcing is a natural by-product of globalisation, where organisations are challenged to search for low-cost locations due to labour, production and service costs, as well as for market and customer responsiveness reasons.’
CISHRP pointed out that the average length of stay for professional and non-professional expatriate workers had been less than seven years, even prior to the implementation of the seven-year term limit.
‘While it is tempting to point to Cayman’s immigration policies as the primary hurdle for recruitment and retention, that assertion is disingenuous when examined objectively,’ the press release stated.
CISHRP conceded some employers have found dealing with the effects of the rollover policy more difficult than others.
‘While it is clear that the introduction of some sort of term limit has not been easy to accommodate by every employer or employee, it is still too early to assess the real benefits or fall-out of the rollover policy,’ it stated. ‘As HR professionals and employers, we need to shift our focus towards a robust focus on talent management and career development, and as a society, we need to motivate young Caymanians to have a long-term vision by continuously developing their technical, supervisory and managerial skills…’
CISHRP believes the rollover policy could be good for Cayman.
‘For organisations on the Island, large or small, and for HR professionals, the term limit policy has the potential for many positives that we need to embrace, such as forward-thinking talent management, succession planning and development of our people, knowledge management and business continuity planning.’
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