Rabat – IT giant Everis has set up a flexible work program for its Moroccan employees in hopes of retaining to its best staff and stopping the brain drain to Europe.
Moroccan IT professionals are flocking to Europe in search of opportunities. Foreign companies come to Morocco to recruit talent, and up to 600 Moroccan engineers leave the country every year to pursue career opportunities.
Everis is an multinational IT company, with offices in Casablanca and Tetouan. It employs over 230 people, and wants to hold on to them. To do this, Everis has set up a program which promotes a better work-life balance for Moroccan employees, through flexible work hours and remote working.
Quality of work life is a key concern for Moroccan employees, even more so than money.
Read also: Morocco Ranks 78th Most Fragile Country, Weighed Down by Brain-Drain
A 2018 study by Boston Consulting Group, the Network and Rekrute interviewed 6 721 Moroccan employees and found that they valued work-life balance and a positive working environment more than they valued salary. Money wasn’t even in the top ten concerns of employees.
It is difficult for Moroccan companies to compete with foreign companies when it comes to employing staff. Foreign companies offer better salaries, but perhaps most importantly, they provide an opportunity for Moroccans to live overseas, a goal for many young people.
The challenge is therefore to make local companies more attractive to Moroccans.
The new program at Everis provides its staff with a number of benefits including the option to work remotely one day a week, Friday afternoons off for an extended weekend, and the option to work “summer hours” from 8am to 3pm during either July or August.
