PEOPLE | CULTURE INTERVIEW
hile it ’ s easy to claim that people are your greatest asset , putting into practice what you preach is often a much more difficult and elusive task .
Not so for Saudi Arabia-based Al-Dabbagh Group ( ADG ), a diversified conglomerate that speaks to what it truly means to put people first .
“ The secret to making ADG a great place to work is the holistic approach we take when it comes to our colleagues ’ wellbeing ,” says Hayfa Abu-Zabibah , Chief Omnipreneurship Officer , People & Culture , at Al-Dabbagh Group .
“ We are driven by outcomes , powered by collaboration , and fuelled by compassion .”
Not only has such an approach to culture proved successful in attracting and retaining the very best talent , but it has garnered the Saudi conglomerate top spot as the ‘ best place to work ’ among large companies in Saudi in 2023 , according to Great place To Work , the global authority on workplace culture – and third-best in Bahrain and the UAE .
It ’ s an approach to company culture that is also entirely unique – coined , created and curated by His Excellency Amr Al Dabbagh , Chairman and CEO of Al-Dabbagh Group , a renowned businessman with 30 years of experience including eight years in the public sector .
Dedicated to bringing principled leadership to business , Amr is the driver behind the Group ’ s homegrown philosophy .
15,000
Number of employees
84
Number of companies
22
Number of countries where operational
Hayfa tells Business Chief how the Chairman and CEO formalised this unique ecosystem from lessons learned from his father , HE Sheikh Abdullah Al-Dabbagh – the former Agriculture Minister of Saudi Arabia and the founder of Al-Dabbagh Group .
While the principles , values and rules have been the modus operandi of ADG since its founding in 1962 , it took on a more formalised approach with the 2016 publication of Amr ’ s Simon & Schuster-published book Omnipreneurship : An Organised Approach to Living a Life of Meaning .
Today , this unique approach governs each of the group ’ s strategic business portfolios
84 September 2023