INTERVIEWER: MARIAM THABET
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Give us an idea about your early life and career and what it was about HR that caught your interest?
Ahmed Haroun: I started my career and post graduate studies (MBA, CPA and CFE) in the United States which was not my home country, being an Egyptian. What caught my interest in HR at that time was how important it was to plan for human resources, which is directly linked to an organization’s efficiency and to achieving business objectives. It is equally important to execute a plan in a timely and efficient manner.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What qualities do you think you had that enabled you to make such a leap from hands-on finance to people management then auditing?
Ahmed Haroun: I am generally a people-person. I believe in building relationships and keeping communication channels open. While some see everything in black and white in the finance/auditing fields, I never ignore the human touch with respect to any business issue at hand.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Where did you start to gain an understanding of a more strategic level of HR?
Ahmed Haroun: Since the beginning of my career with Al Futtaim in 1987, I was given the opportunity to get involved in HR at a strategic level. I was entrusted to act as Group Director – HR three times and selected a member of the remuneration committee. I was also a member of the steering committee which oversees key projects dealing with recommending changes in the pay structure, evaluation of jobs…etc.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: In highly pressured environments, not everyone is capable of doing their best work in such circumstances. What would be your insight?
Ahmed Haroun: Well that’s true, but because we work in a systematic and organized manner, shortcoming or deficiency at a particular stage in the process would be overcome in the subsequent stage owing to our talented employees who are involved in ensuring the overall quality of all the deliverables.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What’s next for Al Futtaim as a business and how are you shaping HR to meet its needs?
Ahmed Haroun: Al Futtaim Group is an ever-growing business not just locally but also in overseas countries. This brings its own challenges from an HR perspective. While I am not overseeing HR anymore at the moment, I am still involved in strategic HR initiatives whether being a member of Remco or advising the shareholders on matters like talent development, employee engagement, Emiratization, compensation structure, …etc.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Everyone has their own take on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and what can go right and wrong, what was your experience?
Ahmed Haroun: We are no different. Every M&A transaction has its own challenges. We always learn something new and utilize the experience to our advantage in the next deal. This is an ongoing learning process.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: How can you be sure that the work you are carrying out when integrating employees is actually getting traction?
Ahmed Haroun: This is the most difficult aspect in an M&A transaction. Employees who have been used to working in a particular environment under a set of policies and pay structure need to be integrated into the culture of the acquiring company. However this has always been one of the most important items in our M&A checklist without which such transactions would render unsuccessful.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Looking back on your career, has HR frustrated you or do you think it has served you and the organizations you have worked for?
Ahmed Haroun: Overall I am satisfied that HR has served the employees and the organizations alike. There is always room for improvement and the most important thing is the willingness to learn and keep improving.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: There’s a lot of talk about the differences that the young generations display, how challenging is it to meet their specific needs and expectations?
Ahmed Haroun: The younger generation is bit impatient. They want to see a faster career growth than what they have actually achieved. Hence it is not easy to keep them motivated. Thus, we try to maintain the balance by constantly challenging their abilities and providing them with the chance to prove themselves and to meet their aspirations.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Do you think people’s motivations have changed?
Ahmed Haroun: Yes, especially in the younger generation as I mentioned above. The motivation is now more linked to the monetary benefits rather than the job satisfaction through professionalism and eagerness to achieve something for the company they work for.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Thank you so much for your sharing your valuable experience and time.