Is it the skills, or the advanced academic qualification, the competence and experience, or maybe their attitude in the workplace? On what basis do you select White Collar employees for your organization? Which criterion should you prioritize? And do all organizations share these same priorities?! Let’s explore further.
What is the concept of “white-collar” roles in administrative contexts, and What is its Origin?
The term White Collar Employees refers to office-based employees whose tasks are centered on managerial, administrative and supervisory work that requires mental effort more than physical. It is also a counterpart to the term Blue Collar, which refers to employees engaged in professional and manual labor.
The term originated in the United States in the early 20th century to describe employees who typically wore formal white shirts (with a white collar) as part of their official office attire. It is a widely used term in management, economic, and social literature.
White-collar employees are usually characterized by strong academic qualifications and managerial experience that enable them to lead operations and make strategic decisions within their organizations.
White collars include managers, financial accountants, and legal consultants, also encompass engineers, architects, doctors, programmers, and similar job categories. In the context of the Saudi labor market, the white collar has become a symbol of the professionals contributing to the rapid growth of modern sectors in the Kingdom.
What Are the Types of White Collar Jobs?
Primarily, white collar jobs can be classified into 5 categories based on the nature of the work and the sectors they serve:
- Professional White Collar Jobs:
A type of white collar jobs that may be practiced outside of offices and requires specialized training alongside high academic degrees. They include doctors, lawyers, engineers, and architects. Also, that category of white collar jobs often operates independently, in private clinics, law firms, or engineering offices, or may join established companies.
- Administrative Support Jobs
This category of white collar jobs is responsible for performing essential administrative and operational tasks that support an organization’s senior management and leadership. These tasks involve executing daily and procedural work to ensure smooth operations and maintain organizational order. Examples include office managers, executive assistants, and administrative staff.
- Senior Managerial Jobs
This is the category most associated with the term “white-collar.” It involves management, planning, leading teams and departments within the organization, guiding supervisors, and making organizational decisions, for the short-term and long-term. Managers oversee projects, allocate resources, and evaluate performance. Examples of jobs in this category include project managers, department heads, and executive directors.
- Technical White Collar Jobs
A category of white collar jobs that requires technical qualifications, both academic and professional, along with experience and a deep understanding of the techs, systems, and tools mainly used by the organization or will be needed soon for developments. Jobs in this category include IT specialists, software developers, and data scientists/analysts. These are pivotal roles in every organization, where holders are leading the vital technical systems that the company relies on, and driving technical developments as well.
- Creative White Collar Jobs
This category is defined by creativity and innovation. It encompasses professionals hired to generate ideas, solve problems, and produce content that shapes and communicates the company’s identity. Typical roles include writers, graphic designers, marketing specialists, and advertising managers.
By understanding the different categories of white collar employees, you can align your goals and recruitment strategies with the organization’s needs and the labor market.
How to Choose the Right Talents for Each White Collars Category?
To select the best white collar professionals and talents, consider the following factors:
- Academic Qualification: This is the most crucial part for the majority of white collar jobs. It is not limited to primary academic degrees; some jobs require professional training integrated into the academic qualification, such as for doctors.
Others demand indispensable practical experience that extends for multiple years, such as senior managerial positions. Some require proficiency with specific tools, like programmers, and some require advanced academic degrees, like project managers in certain sectors. - Soft Skills: Negotiation skills, communication skills, persuasion skills, and teamwork skills are among the most important qualifications for managerial, leadership, and administrative support roles, where soft skills are a core. However, they are less critical for creative, technical, and professional jobs, such as designers, marketers, programmers, and doctors, where specialization skills are the core.
- Cultural and Value Fit: Shared compatibility and values are one of the most important factors for selecting white collars to make communication easier and avoid deep conflicts. The starting point for this depends on having an activated value set within the company. It is essential to formulate and disseminate these values among employees, reinforce them verbally and practically through true application scenarios, and introduce them to new employees as well.
On the other hand, cultural and value fit does not contradict the diversity prevalent in the Saudi Arabian work environment. A Saudi executive director in a hospital can share the same values with an Indonesian nursing head, such as integrity in work performance and encouraging subordinates to develop their skills. - Positive Orientation in the Workplace: Since these jobs rely on mental effort, a moderate positivity attitude is necessary to consider when selecting white collars. Examples of this positive orientation include:
- Building healthy relationships with peers, as well as employees at both higher and lower administrative levels.
- Attempting to find solutions during problems and conflicts.
- A spirit of initiative that doesn’t wait for directives. A spirit of self drive as well.
- Cooperation and teamwork instead of excessive individualism, unless the jobs are creative or technical.
- Readiness for continuous learning and self-development.
- Flexibility in work, working hours, and breaking routine tasks when necessary.
These examples are illustrative, not exhaustive.
- Your Company’s Current and Future Needs: This aspect may require a professional human resources solutions company with experience in the Saudi market, such as the Saudi Manpower Solutions Company (SMASCO).
Our solution is powered by a comprehensive international database of skills and expatriate cadres, enabling us to deploy the right talent to support your growth rapidly and efficiently.
SMASCO is Your Gateway to Effective Administrative Recruitment
SMASCO delivers more than just skilled professionals; we also onboard international talent into the Saudi context and bridging their expertise with your local workforce, ensuring perfect cultural and value compatibility. Partner with SMASCO to select the white collars that will drive your future success.
Sources:
- White-Collar: Definition, Types of Jobs, and Other “Collar” Types, investopedia
- What are The Different Types of Collar Jobs, whitecarrot.io