This new economy seems to be creating new terms and phrases every other week. Here's a pop quiz to test your buzzword knowledge: "e-cruitment". Are you familiar with this term? What about "Lifestyle Engineering?" If these words aren't already part of your vocabulary, be prepared to start hearing them a lot in the next few months. The source of all the buzz; Bayt.com.
Bayt.com announced its official launch today, after one month of activity online during which it has been in a "soft launch" phase. Bayt's primary goal is to provide the Middle East with it's largest, most effective and most versatile recruitment site. However, Bayt.com is a recruitment site with a difference. In addition to the functional tools that enable a fast, easy and efficient job or candidate search, Bayt will also round out its offering by providing information designed to help users make informed decisions that go beyond employment. This includes topics in career development, relocation, education and other aspects of their daily lives in the region.
Is this Lifestyle Engineering? "Lifestyle Engineering means providing our users with tools and information to empower them to build their lifestyle of choice", said Rabea Ataya, Bayt's CEO. Since a better lifestyle usually begins with a better job, Bayt acts as a springboard for its users to first make a positive change regarding their workstyle, and then provides them with the information they need to make informed and educated choices about their lifestyles.
Online recruiting has been one of the most successful and fastest growth areas in the Internet in the past2 years. As a region that has one of the highest proportions of expatriate labor in the world and significant limitations on information and people flows, the Middle East is ready and poised to quickly adopt online recruitment.
The soft launch has not only served to test and optimize Bayt.com, but has also given Bayt a head start before their advertising campaign begins, by attracting the business of major companies in the Middle East who are seeking new ways to find talent for their organizations. Over four hundred companies in the Middle East have already registered to use Bayt's services in this short period.
Bayt.com prides itself on being innovative, both in the services they offer and in their business thinking. The site offers a range of unique tools that help both jobseekers and employers optimize and track the progress of their searches through what Bayt calls a virtual "Workspace". In addition, both parties can set up electronic "Agents" to continue searching on their behalf on a regular basis.
This function gave inspiration to the "Bayt Agent" mascot that has been spotted in various locations around the UAE in the last few weeks. Earlier this month at Gitex2000 in Dubai, the Bayt "Agent" complete with raincoat and magnifying glass could be seen parading through the exhibitors' halls followed by a string of people in various professional costumes including a doctor, construction worker, race-car driver, chef, and others, all sporting signs on their backs that read "I found my job at Bayt.com". The troupe attracted a great number of Gitex visitors to the Bayt stand where they could register as a jobseeker or employer and post their CV or vacancies on the spot.
With the spirit of unconventionality that the founders of Bayt bring to this new enterprise, they also bring a great deal of knowledge and expertise.
The CEO of Bayt is Rabea Ataya, a Stanford graduate and veteran entrepreneur whose career history includes a stint at investment Alex Brown and his own highly successful data management company, Infofort. Shakeeb Alireza, the Chief Strategy Officer graduated from Brown University and brings knowledge of venture capital from his work with TL Ventures, as well as extens ive web development experience. Mona Ataya, VP Marketing has11 years of experience in marketing and advertising gained with Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and BBDO, and Dany Farha, Chief Operating Officer & Director of Sales is the co-founder of Intercat, a Dubai-based catering company employing over800 people and serving large institutions in the UAE. Hana Alireza, VP Business Development worked previously in online media and production at Organic in New York, and Lema Shanti, previously a VP at Salomon Brothers Asset Management in London leads the editorial team.
The public response to Bayt to date has been extremely encouraging and the Bayt team is confident that with their superior technology and innovative business thinking, they will be able to attain their long term vision, which is, in the words of their CEO : "to become an indispensable, online extension of peoples' lives in the Middle East."