How can I convince a great candidate to join for less pay?

January 16th, 2012  |  Posted in Employers Blog, Human Resources by Suha Mardelli Haroun  |  No Comments

Question: I recently interviewed a candidate for a regional sales manager position, and was very impressed with the interview. In fact, I am very keen on getting him on-board immediately. However, we are currently in the salary negotiation phase and the salary he is expecting is more than we are willing to offer as basic compensation. But if the additional bonus on target achievement is considered, the pay we have for offer is more than his expectation. With that in mind, how do I convince him to accept our offer?

Answer: As a recruiter, it is always an exhilarating feeling when you realize that you have found that perfect match in a candidate. However, before you start celebrating and add ‘position closed’ next to the job title, the last and sometimes trickiest hurdle to pass is salary negotiation.

From the employer side, salary negotiation means getting the candidate to agree on a figure that is within their budget. Employers also have to make sure that the candidate finds the offer lucrative. Salary negotiation is not about winning- if either party feels they have bent down to the other, both parties lose.

For some positions (for example, senior level positions or those requiring specialized skill-sets), you may be tempted to go over your salary range to get a particular candidate on-board. However, this would result in a disproportionate salary matrix, when compared to the pay ranges of your current employees. This might result in discomfort for both parties; the work of the new hire might be placed under excessive scrutiny, and resentment maybe felt among fellow employees.

Meanwhile, from the candidate’s side, successfully negotiating their salary allows them to display their negotiation skills – which are a requirement for most positions. Candidates very rarely have a ‘take it or leave it’ approach to their salary figure so you can rest assured that this great candidate will not walk out at this stage without negotiating further.

Having that said, here are a few pointers from Bayt.com to help you carry out a successful salary negotiation:

1. Try to be as clear in your job description as possible and mention the sales targets so that the candidate has a clear understanding of what your company expects. With these key deliverables and sales targets clearly mentioned, the candidate would have a general idea of the salary figure even before you approach the subject.
2. Determine the salary range and know your negotiation limits. When setting the salary rage consider your internal salary levels, market salary for similar positions (check Bayt.com Salaries), the state of the job market (check Bayt.com’s quarterly Job Index report), and the profitability of your company. To make sure that your offer is competitive in the industry, you can also take a look at the published Bayt.com’s Salary survey results.
3. Even if your basic salary figure is non-negotiable, seasoned candidates will negotiate with you in other areas that may be negotiable. These include benefits, bonus pay, sales commissions, car allowance, paid cell phone and relocation expenses, etc. To communicate your offer you can say something along these lines:

“We would like to offer you (your limit amount) in base salary plus the potential to earn up to (bonus amount) in bonuses during your first year.” Explain the career growth plan clearly to the candidate and let him know how much he will be making in bonus pay as he progresses.

Remember, successful salary negotiation is where both the employer and employee leave the table feeling like they’ve got a good deal.

Happy hiring!

مقبالات عمل عدّة لا تؤدي الى عروض، ماذا أفعل؟

January 12th, 2012  |  Posted in Human Resources, Jobseeker Blog by Bayt HR Guru  |  No Comments

سؤال الباحث عن عمل

لقد تلقيت عدة مكالمات من بيت.كوم لإجراء مقابلات عمل، بعضها متصلة بمجال عملي الهدف وبعضها الآخر في مجالات ٍ مختلفة. أرجو أن تقولوا لي ما هو الخطأ الذي أرتكبه والذي يحول دون حصولي على أيّ عرض عمل.

جواب الخبير المهني من بيت.كوم

تلقينا على مرّ السنوات شكاوى من هذا النوع من قبل بعض المهنيين على بيت.كوم. فسيرتهم الذاتية مكتملة ومهنية بشكلٍ كافٍ لتلقي إتصال تحديد موعد المقابلة من قبل مجتمع بيت.كوم من أهم أصحاب العمل ولكنهم غالباً ما يفقدون تركيزهم أو يفشلون في جذب انتباه أصحاب العمل خلال المقابلة. تذكر أن سوق العمل تسوده المنافسة وأن أصحاب العمل بحوذتهم أفضل السير الذاتية الموجودة في المنطقة في كل دقيقة لذا يتعين عليك أن تتجهز للتنافس مع أهم المهنيين في المجال الذي اخترته. يقدم لك بيت.كوم بعض النصائح يتعين عليك أخذها في عين الاعتبار

قم بأداء واجبك من خلال البحث عن الشركة والمجال الذي تود العمل فيه قبل الوصول وحضّر بعض الأسئلة الذكية المتعلقة بالوظيفة التي تقدمت اليها بالإضافة الى الشركة ومجال العمل

عليك أن تصل في الموعد المحدد وأن ترتدي ملابس مهنية وتحضر نسخة عن سيرتك الذاتية، ورسائل التوصية ونموذج عن عملك إذا كان متوفراً

 حافظ على ثقة بالنفس إيجابية وأسلوب لطيف ومحبب طوال المقابلة ولا تقاطع الشخص الجالس أمامك بلا داعٍ. أظهر أنك مهتم بشكلٍ كبير وبصدق بالوظيفة وبالشركة

 جاوب على كافة الأسئلة بصدق وأعطِ التفاصيل اللازمة، وتذكر دائماً المهارات والمؤهلات والخبرة التي يبحث عنها صاحب العمل. تذكر أنه عليك إثبات ملائمة كل من مهاراتك وقدراتك وإنجازاتك ومؤهلاتك مع متطلبات الوظيفة التي تتقدم اليها وأن بإمكانك تعلم مهارات جديدة بشكلٍ سريع

 استخدم الأرقام والتفاصيل الدقيقة لتثبت إنجازاتك الماضية مثل الأموال و/أو توفير الوقت، والمبيعات والأرباح التي حققتها والعملاء الذين كسبتهم والبرامج/المهام/المشاريع التي تمت المباشرة بها/التي شاركت فيها/التي أنجزت

 لا تتكلم بالسوء عن أصحاب العمل الحاليين أو الذين عملت لديهم سابقاً أو تظهر تصرفات سلبية لأنها ستطرح علامة إستفهام حول أخلاقياتك، ونزاهتك وشخصيتك

 أظهر بأنك ستلتزم بما سيطلب منك وستتفهمه وبأنك ستتفوق في ذلك وتذكر أنك تتنافس مع مهنيين من جميع أنحاء العالم في كل الأوقات وبأن صاحب العمل لا ينظر الى سيرتك الذاتية وكأنها السيرة الذاتية الوحيدة المتوفرة أمامه. فاعلان عن عمل عادي على بيت.كوم يحصل عادةً على مئات الطلبات ويتعين عليك إثبات جدارتك وكيف أنك المرشح الأفضل من ناحية الشخصية والقدرات والمؤهلات والإتصالات

للمزيد من النصائح، يرجى زيارة موقع بيت.كوم قسم المقالات والإرشادات والتشاور مع مهنيين آخرين ضمن مجتمعات بيت.كوم. نتمنى لك حظاً سعيداً في بيت.كوم ونتمنى التواصل معك في المستقبل

Interviews but no Job Offers, Help!

January 10th, 2012  |  Posted in Human Resources, Jobseeker Blog, Using Bayt by Bayt HR Guru  |  No Comments

Question from Job Seeker:

I have received many interview calls from Bayt.com, some in my target industry and some in others.  Please advise me what I am doing wrong as none of them have translated into a relevant job offer yet.

Answer from Bayt HR Guru:

We have received this complaint from a few of our Bayt.com professionals over the years.  Their CV is complete and professional enough to land them the interview call from Bayt.com’s community of top employers but somehow they lose focus or fail to attract or engage their preferred employer sufficiently during the interview process.  Remember the job market is always competitive and employers on Bayt.com have the region’s best CVs at their disposal every minute of the day so you need to be ready to compete with the top professionals in your chosen field.  The following are a few tips to consider:

- Do your research homework on the company and industry before you arrive and have some intelligent questions ready that pertain to the role you are targeting and the company and industry.

- Arrive promptly and dressed professionally with a copy of your CV, recommendation letters and portfolio if relevant in hand.

- Maintain a positive confident pleasant attitude and demeanour throughout the interview and do not interrupt unnecessarily.  Show you are genuinely and sincerely interested in the role and the company.

- Answer questions honestly and in detail, bearing in mind the exact skills, qualifications and relevant experience the employer is seeking for the role.  Remember you have to prove that your set of skills, capabilities, achievements and qualifications are actually directly relevant to the role and you can hit the ground running in the new capacity.

- Use exact details and numbers to prove your past achievements eg money and/or time saved, sales and profits made, clients gained, programmes/tasks/projects initiated/participated in/completed.

- Do not badmouth past or present employers or otherwise display uncouth negative attitudes or behaviours as this will be perceived as a clear sign of questionable ethics, integrity and character.

- Show you can and will commit to the role and that you understand what is required and will excel in that capacity in a superlative fashion – remember you are competing with top professionals from all over the world at any point in time and the employer is not considering your CV in isolation. An average job posted on Bayt.com can usually get hundreds of applications and you need to demonstrate that you are better equipped than the next candidate in terms of character, capabilities, qualifications, connections etc.

For plenty more tips and advice kindly refer to our Bayt.com Career Articles and Guides and consult with other professionals in our Bayt.com Communities.  We wish you the very best of luck on Bayt.com and look forward to future interactions.

Interview with Ravi Chandra, Regional Human Resources Manager – MENA at Jotun Paints & Powder Coatings, UAE

December 27th, 2011  |  Posted in Employers Blog, Human Resources by Ravi Chandra  |  No Comments

Bio: Ravi holds a degree in psychology and a post-graduate in human resources. He has extensive experience in operational and strategic human resources. He has been working with Jotun Paints since last 15 years and currently is the Regional Human Resources Manager for Jotun in MENA region.

Questions:

1. How do you like living and working in the UAE? Dubai is a cultural melting pot and has a truly international working environment. It’s a lot of fun interacting with different nationalities. I find that cultural understanding as well as sensitivity to different ethnic temperaments and religious backgrounds is the key to success for every expatriate living and working in the UAE. Besides, Jotun itself is proud to have more than 25 nationalities working together, which is a great experience in itself.

2. What is your average day at work like? Always expect the unexpected in HR. In the HR department, we are mostly occupied with planning different HR activities according to the balanced scorecard. My day also includes attending meetings and HR reviews, as well as conducting workshops for line managers and business leaders. Since HR is an area with a very wide scope, we are always trying to innovate and come up with different initiatives to help improve the work culture at Jotun.

3. What is your biggest professional challenge? To make sure that HR tools and systems are rooted well in different countries and ensuring that these are practiced consistently. All new employees across the region are culturally aligned to the company’s core values. Living in a dynamic environment and in changing economies, the challenges vary from year to year.

4. What is the most important thing you look for in new hires? Being a company with many nationalities working under the same roof, we believe in hiring the candidate with the right attitude. Cultural fit and aligning their personal values with the company is the core of our recruitment process.  Our recruitment mantra that we use often is: ‘Look for attitude and train for potential’. We believe skills can be taught and improved, but the right emotional intelligence is the key to success for any employee in an organization, especially in Jotun.

5. What is the biggest challenge you face in hiring talent? To match the competency that is required for the position. Another important challenge with every recruitment process is to understand and manage the candidate’s expectation and vice versa.

6. What is your favorite part of your role? Coaching and mentoring. I personally believe that if we, as leaders, are able to coach and mentor well, we have created a huge impact on someone’s career.

7. What has been the highlight of your career in HR? Introduction of competency-based HR framework model in the region, which is now well integrated in recruitment, hiring and performance management.

8. What do you read to keep abreast of industry developments? I am a member of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) and the literature gives me a lot of new insights, especially the latest developments in human resources.

9. What is your advice to someone looking to enter the field of HR? We as HR professionals have to be service oriented. We have to think of our employees as our customers and treat them equally. I usually talk to my team about the three main areas that are important for HR:

- Networking

- Knowing your business

- Being humble

10. How do you see the Middle East evolve as a place to practice HR? The role of the HR department has been elevated in recent years. Companies now do not perceive the HR department as a visa processing/administrative department but a strategic partner. I think the Middle East is moving towards a more professional HR outlook. Training and development, for example, were overlooked previously in this region, but now you see companies investing more and more in training and skill development of their employees. We do notice a change; however companies still need it to continue investing in HR to see a difference soon.

11. If you could wave your magic stick and make a significant development in one specific area of HR practices worldwide, where would that fall? Employee recognition and identifying talent and further developing it.

12. Anything else you’d like to share with the community of Bayt.com Employers? It is required that we, among the HR community, develop a good network amongst ourselves and share best practices and knowledge with each other and in the process help improve processes. We in Jotun, are happy to do the same.

How do I develop an HR strategy?

December 18th, 2011  |  Posted in Employers Blog, Human Resources by Suha Mardelli Haroun  |  No Comments

Question: Hi, I work for a company that is a training resource provider with an employee count of about 30. My manager has asked me to draw up the HR strategy for our company for the coming year. Since this is the first time for me in this position, I am not sure how to go about with this. Do you have any advice on how I can start on it?

Answer: Developing a comprehensive yearly (or 5-year) HR strategy is necessary for every organization. Since you are new in this position, you can start of by understanding why it is important.

Your HR strategy is based on the needs analysis of your workplace and is directed towards achieving the defined strategic goals of your organization. The HR strategy is important because it helps communicate the strategic goals of your organization for the coming year.

Developing your department’s strategy plan will allow you to communicate the HR function’s contributions to the organization, or in other words, will help you answer your boss’s question –‘How can the HR department help achieve the company’s yearly strategic goals?’.

Since each organization is different, this is a difficult question to give a generalized answer to. However, the below steps can be suited for most companies for HR strategy development:

1. Start by clarifying exactly what your boss needs and wants from you as well as level of detail required. You don’t want to be spending hours developing a detailed plan that the boss doesn’t need or want.
2. It would be worthwhile to conduct a SWOT analysis of your organization before you start. Find out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks that affect your business. The SWOT analysis will help you identify gaps that your department can help fill in.
3. After the SWOT analysis, take a look at your organization’s overall performance vis-à-vis the target for the past year. Find out what the problems were faced. For example if you notice that the turnover is very, you might have to go back further to 2010 and see if it was any different, then single-out factors that you think could have been responsible for the change this year.
4. Once you have identified the issues and challenges, it’s time to address them by drawing up SMART objectives for 2012. SMART objectives are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.
5. Develop an action plan for implementing your HR strategy. Create a timeline for the successful completion of your key objectives. If your HR strategy is detailed, you can also highlight options for the department heads in your organization, so that they may choose how to best tackle issues at a departmental level.
6. With your SMART objectives and action plan in place, its time to introduce your action plan to your organization. Organize training and discussion sessions for senior management in order to raise awareness and reinforce the importance of their acceptance of the HR strategy plan.
7. The success of your HR strategy lies in proper implementation, and good implementation requires that you communicate your plan to the rest of the workforce. It is important to get employees at all levels on-board with your strategic initiative. You must communicate with employees to let them know how they fit in the overall plan and how they will benefit from the plan on a personal level. This will also help you gain acceptance and ensure compliance with the program.

How do I Choose my Career?

December 16th, 2011  |  Posted in Human Resources, Jobseeker Blog by Bayt HR Guru  |  No Comments

Question from Job Seeker:

Hi, I’m a 19-year-old from Qatar. I’m planning on starting my university coursework next fall and I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the career I would like to pursue, so that I can choose my major accordingly.  I was wondering if you could help me identify the best industries, specifically in Qatar as I don’t think I want to relocate. Thank you.

Answer from Bayt HR Guru:

First of all, that’s an excellent question. The earlier you try to determine the right career path for you, the better. At Bayt.com, we recommend the following:

1-    Determine your interests: Ask yourself what motivates you. What are the aspects that you would value most in a job? Would you enjoy something analytical or administrative? Would you rather have a leadership role or a coaching role? Would you prefer your job involve something creative like designing or writing, or something managerial? What is it that makes you happy? Be truthful to yourself and make a list of the things you like and the things you would like to avoid.

2-    Set your priorities: What do you most look for in a job? While some value work-life balance most, others have no problem sacrificing leisure time for a higher pay. Some look for social status while others look for job security. Determine your goals, your core values and skills by taking self-assessment tests; this will help you in figuring out what your priorities are.

3-    Examine alternate career paths: While on the lookout for that perfect career path, make sure you do research on more than one option. Create an extensive comparison plan clearly laying out the pros and cons of each– look at growth potential, job profiles, pay, benefits, mobility, work/life balance and all other issues that will determine your endurance in the career.

4-    Decide: After doing your research, it is time to succumb to your gut feeling. Don’t be affected by external pressures coming from your family, friends or the society. Don’t let financial considerations alone guide you unless you are determined that this is your one and only priority and ultimate goal. To help you decide, we have provided you below with some key data taken from our latest “Top Industries” survey; and since you mentioned that you are not willing to relocate, all information is strictly relevant to the job market in Qatar. Of course, you can take a look at our research reports yourself as well. Good luck! Do keep us posted on what you decide.

Top industries in Qatar:

• Best Salary Package:

1. Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals (63%)
2. Banking and Finance (17%)
3. Airline (15%)

• Best Benefits Packages (non-monetary):

1. Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals (49%)
2. Government / Civil Service (17%)
3. Airline (13%)

• Work-life Balance:

1. Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals (44%)
2. Government / Civil Service (19%)
3. Banking and Finance (18%)

• Best for Career growth:

1-    Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals (55%)
2-    Banking and Finance (20%)
3-    Construction (20%)

• Retaining the Best Talent:

1. Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals (53%)
2. Banking and Finance (18%)
3. Airline (16%)

• Currently Hiring the Most:

1. Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals (44%)
2. Construction (40%)
3. Government / Civil Service (13%)

• Popular for Local Talent:

1. Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals (20%)
2. Construction (15%)
3.  Government / Civil Service (12%)

• Popular Amongst Fresh Graduates:

1. Government / Civil Service (15%)
2. Construction (11%)
3. Banking and Finance (10%)

 

What is your advice on hiring local talent and nationalization?

November 15th, 2011  |  Posted in Employers Blog, Human Resources, New Enhancements on Bayt by Suha Mardelli Haroun  |  No Comments

Question: I am a private investor planning on opening a construction supplies dealership in Saudi Arabia. Though the market for what I have to offer is very favourable, I am not very clear on the Saudization (Nitaqat) policy. What is your advice to employers in the Middle East when it comes to hiring local talent?

Answer: The governments of many countries in the Middle East have introduced ‘localization’ policies for the private sector. These policies stipulate what percentage of a company’s workforce should be local talent. ‘Nitaqat’ in particular is a program designed by the Saudi Ministry of Labour to boost the employment of nationals and decrease unemployment.

Under the program, private firms are classified into Premium, Green, Yellow and Red categories based on their percentage of Saudization. The program sets penalties and incentives for companies based on which category they fall under. Companies with high Saudization rates will fall under the Premium or Green categories, while those who fail to achieve the required rates will be included in the Yellow and Red categories. Nitaqat ensures that Saudization rates are based on the actual performance of private businesses, and takes into consideration the sector as well as the size of work force for each company.

Apart from the Saudization, the Nitaqat program also aims to fulfil many other short-term and long-term objectives such as accelerating the employment of women, specifying minimum wage, protection of employee rights, etc.

Coming to your question on hiring local talent, selecting the core team is one of the most important decisions that an entrepreneur must make in the early stages of his or her business. The core team is, after all, the initial framework on which structure of the company can be built.

Here are some things you might want to keep in mind during the hiring/selection process:

1. Understand the Labour Law and track it: It is important that you have your ear close to the ground when it comes to governmental labour policies – keep track of them through government website as often as possible.

2. Define your company and set a clear talent development plan: Before hiring, there are several things that are essential to ensuring that your hires are strategic. Start by defining your company culture (mission, vision and goals), set business development strategy, and put in place a talent development plan. These items will help potential candidate understand the company background and assess whether they will be the right person for the job. There cannot be enough stressing on the importance of drafting clear job descriptions and requirements for candidates. This will help your internal recruiters or outside consultants get started on finding you the right candidates.

3. Use the right resource to find local Saudi talent: Online recruitment has revolutionized the recruitment landscape for both employers and job seekers in the Middle East. For employers, online recruitment offers quick access to qualified CVs and advanced screening tools. Our own Bayt.com page for employers in KSA offers all the required information on Nitqat, as well as access to over 326,000 CVs of Saudi professionals.

4. Retention of top talent: Finally, once you have screened and hired the best talent you need to retain it. In order to emphasize on retention, company leaders need to work hard on communicating that their company is a good work with. Regular training programs, opportunities for employee recognition, and company activities can help keep morale high. On a closing note, Saudi employers should be aware of the salary scales in the KSA to ensure that their compensation programs remain competitive.

How do I handle a counter offer?

November 14th, 2011  |  Posted in Human Resources, Jobseeker Blog by Bayt HR Guru  |  5 Comments

Question from Job Seeker:

Hi, I recently got a great job offer and as a result resigned from work. However, two days after letting my manager know of my decision, I received a counter-offer with a salary that is higher than the one I will be getting in my new job. I’m very lost and no longer know what to do. Any advice?

Answer from Bayt HR Guru:

It all seems like good news for you, congratulations!

Receiving a counter offer means that you are a valuable resource within the company and that your boss would not want to see you leave.

While this is flattering, it is important to keep in mind that you have received this counter offer as a reaction to your resignation, which might make you question your value.

Counter offers are more often than not temporary tactics used by employers to give themselves some time to find a replacement. No matter how your employer makes it look, once you have resigned, you are a potential risk to the company.

Thus, before taking your decision think of the reasons that made you resign in the first place. If these reasons remain, then you should definitely reject the counter offer. A higher salary might not motivate you, improve your creativity, or make the management style more agreeable, etc.

Here are the risks of accepting a counter offer:

- Your employer now knows that your are unhappy
- Your employer will no longer consider you as loyal
- You may be overlooked for the next raise/promotion
- Accepting a counter offer will suggest that you only care about the money
- The reasons that made you resign will soon reoccur
- Your relationship with your colleagues/management might be damaged beyond repair
- You will burn bridges with the new company you had agreed to join

It is true that counter offers tend to be very tempting financially; however you need to make sure you are taking a wise decision on the long run. Good luck!

Interview with Frederik F. Haentjens, Executive Advisor, Facilitator & Coach at Stepping Stone Global, Bahrain

October 16th, 2011  |  Posted in Employers Blog, Human Resources by FrederikHaentjens  |  1 Comment

Bio: Frederik F. Haentjens is the Executive Advisor, Facilitator and Coach with Stepping Stone Global (Bahrain). He holds a masters degree in social psychology and sociology and in the past has held key advisory positions at SABIC, UCB Pharma, SIEMENS, KPMG, EADS/Airbus and at governmental organizations in Europe as well as in the Gulf region. At Stepping Stone Global, he specializes in  organization reviews, change management, HR strategy development, planning, executive coaching and sales and management development among other specialties.

He is also a firm believer of the motto ‘The key to successful leadership is to inspire your people, not to manage them.’

Questions:

1. How do you like living and working in Bahrain? I find Bahrain a very attractive and unique place to be in the Middle East. Along with an exceptionally favorable economic climate, Bahrain welcomes foreign investment and offers a unique business and family-friendly culture and environment.

2. What is your average day at work like?  After my morning coffee and dropping my children to school, I read through my emails and answer some messages on professional networking sites like LinkedIn. During the day I have meetings with collegues and clients and discuss their business needs or help develope solutions for their organizational or HR related  challenges. On weekday evenings I try to balance business and pleasure by inviting colleagues or clients for a cup of coffee or  dinner.

3. What is your biggest professional challenge?  To become independent from my client’s organization, once they are empowered and have developed the capabilities to own the changes that I introduced in their organization. I believe it is crucial as an advisor to ensure the full handover of knowledge and skills to a client. This is challenging, and a very rewarding one too.

4. What is the most important thing you look for in new hires? I mainly work with independent professionals who hold a unique view on business and the region. It is very important that they understand the economic, political, cultural and social dynamics of the region and the work cultures of my clients.

5. What is the biggest challenge you face in hiring talent? Finding people willing to work and live in the Middle-East.

6. What is your favorite part of your role?  Networking. You would be surprised with how many professionals use social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook to network effectively. Twitter, is also a tool I use increasingly, to keep track of new developments in my field as well as to communicate easily with colleagues, clients and candidates.

7. What has been the highlight of your career in HR? Being able to assist in major transformation projects with companies like SABIC and EADS and help develop a new HR strategy and organization structure that allows my clients and their staff to perform more effectively.

8. What do you read to keep abreast of industry developments? I mainly read articles and blogs that I come across on social networking sites and especially on Twitter. My mailbox stays empty but my Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter profiles are full of interesting links to articles people share.

9. What is your advice to someone looking to enter the field of HR? My advice for them is to understand the dynamics of strategic thinking. You need to understand the objectives and goals of an organization, to be able to develop a cost-effective  and efficient HR strategy. Once you are able to do that, you’d have adhered to the basics of HR.

10. How do you see the Middle East evolve as a place to practice HR? The Middle-East is the best place for talent management and leadership development. There are huge investments in both these fields that are worth being further explored.

11. If you could wave your magic stick and make a significant development in one specific area of HR practices worldwide, where would that fall? I would ensure that HR is not restricted to employee services only, but includes strategic support practices.

12. Anything else you’d like to share with the community of Bayt.com Employers? Don’t forget to help HR professionals understand your objectives, before you trust them with your staff.

Interview with Nasser Al-Humaid, HR Manager at Oracle Corporation, KSA

October 16th, 2011  |  Posted in Employers Blog, Human Resources by NasserAl-Humaid  |  5 Comments

Bio:

Nasser Al-Humaid is a highly-accomplished HR Executive with over 8 years of proven track record and progressive exposure in different industries including Information Technology, Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals and Building Materials. Nasser is a holder of an MBA in HR Management and currently works as the HR Manager at Oracle Corporation in KSA. Nasser has participated in many regional and global HR conferences and workshops. Having worked in diversified industries and cultures, he became a successful leader who is highly aware of how to add considerable value as a strategic HR business partner.

Questions:

1.     How do you like living and working in KSA? KSA is my home land and I’m very pleased and glad to be raised in this country and get the chance to see the huge evolution in all aspects and accelerated business development.

2.     What is your average day at work like? Quite busy with meetings, counseling, coaching, tackling HR issues. Usually, I spent around 10 hours daily in office.

3.     What is your biggest professional challenge? One of our biggest focuses is on retaining talent. This along with developing our existing top talent is one of the biggest HR challenges, especially in the current very aggressive market competition. This is one of the driving forces behind our current EMEA recruitment campaign, where we are looking to hire 1,700 staff across the EMEA region.

4.     What is the most important thing you look for in new hires? The positive attitude and passion for success are the most important requirements that we are looking for. Oracle works with the largest companies in the world, selling the technology which is helping them to transform their business. We want to find people who are motivated by those kinds of opportunities. In return we Oracle in its talent, from providing extensive training for all employees to ensuring all staff enjoy excellent benefits and opportunities, from truly flexible working practices to health and medical benefits.

5.     What is your favorite part of your role? HR Business Partnership is my favorite and most exciting part of my role which is to focus on making difference to the business not simply “doing HR stuff”. It gives me a great opportunity to see the big picture and play a major role as real strategic partner to the organization.

6.     What has been the highlight of your career in HR? The amazing progression and exposure to diverse and different industries, from local to multi-national organizations has helped me a lot, adding huge value to my career in HR and gave me better understanding of local and global business challenges.

7.     What do you read to keep abreast of industry developments? I read many articles and discussions from many diverse HR professionals from across the world. Also being an active member of some of the top HR associations like SHRM, CIPD and ASTD is fantastic way of keeping up to date with the latest HR trends and best practices.

8.     What is your advice to someone looking to enter the field of HR? First and foremost my advice would be to understand the business as best as you can and identify tangible ways in which you believe you can add considerable value to the organization. HR practitioners should act as a policy advisor. Moreover, candidates should develop strong inter-personal skills, good listeners and should also have excellent analytical skills.

9.  If you could wave your magic stick and make a significant development in one specific area of HR practices worldwide, where would that fall? I would develop and implement HR Body of Knowledge in our region. Based on my MBA research I believe that having a Regional HR Body of Knowledge is important.

10.  Anything else you’d like to share with the community of Bayt.com Employers? I would like to take this opportunity to extend my special thanks and appreciation to bayt.com for having me here and remind readers that there has never been a better time to join Oracle and for anyone interest in more information they can visit:

·    Oracle EMEA Recruitment
·    Oracle Graduate Opportunities
·    Oracle EMEA Jobs on Twitter
·    Oracle EMEA Jobs on Facebook

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