“Setting goals is incredibly important to career advancement; it’s an effective way to move forward in our lives and achieve our dreams.”

Dr. Rehab Ardash

Interviewer: Mahmoud Mansi
Edited by: Hadeer Salah ElDin

Dr. Rehab Ardash: HR is my passion! I find it very rewarding to support other people and help them find the best path, because we all have an obligation to live meaningful lives.

I started my HR career in 1997 when it was a very new business field; many people at that time were not very familiar with this type of work. Thus, I had to exert many efforts to emphasize the importance of HR and let employees become familiar with my role and responsibilities.

Dr. Rehab Ardash: HR is all about people, respecting their uniqueness and treating them with dignity, respect, and compassion to foster a trusting work environment free of harassment, intimidation, and unlawful discrimination.

Dr. Rehab Ardash: I think that the productivity of the employees is the main problem nowadays. Low productivity has several causes such as poor working practices or lack of resources. Yet, some HR and management practices can be implemented to improve the low productivity such as:

1) Accountability: Every employee needs to be well aware that he is accountable for his actions and decisions.

2) Avoiding micromanagement: Employees must be trusted, given freedom to operate in their own style and adopt methods which they think are the best to achieve the required targets.

3) Encouragement, motivation, reward and recognition: Encouraging employees helps them move forward and work better, and makes them feel happy.

4) Demanding realistic targets: Employers need to set realistic goals that are within the limits of achievement.

And finally, a strong monitoring and evaluation system needs to be set for every target or milestone and needs to be followed up on to see if the progress is sufficient. If progress is insufficient, temporary measures must be taken before it is too late to contain the situation.

Dr. Rehab Ardash: I would say that being prepared is the most sufficient way to pass any interview; every candidate should know at least two or three things about their potential employer by going online and reading about the company from its website or from other links. This will help them tailor their responses and show the potential employer that they are dedicated. They should also understand the job profile in detail. I would also advise each candidate to ask questions that demonstrate an interest in what goes on in the company. Asking questions also gives the opportunity to find out if this is the right place for the candidate or not.

Dr. Rehab Ardash: “Working women” face certain challenges and obstacles that men do not. Women face gender discrimination in business and jobs. However, this does not make women less successful than men. Women are resourceful, and able to succeed, despite the many challenges they face.

One of the main challenges that I was facing was finding the right work/life balance. Being a full-time working mother can lead to feelings of guilt and stress because of the divided attention between work and family. Yet, my advice for each working mother is to focus on a plan, get organized and find the right balance between work and parenthood. Being a full-time working mother can lead to feelings of guilt and stress because of divided attention between work and family

Dr. Rehab Ardash: I worked for several organizations: Tallita, ITIDA, Showtime and Emak, and in all the places I have worked for I learned that teamwork and collaboration are like the oil that makes the machine run. Teamwork and collaboration enable smoother progress towards the targets, can prolong forward momentum, and help teams overcome obstacles.

Dr. Rehab Ardash: I have been honored for many outstanding HR program developments, including a receipt of Best HR Program Award in 2012 from Career Nation, USA, and Excellence in Human Resource Management Award in 2010 from the Egyptian Human Resource Management Association (EHRMA), and best Manager of the Year in 2009 from the Ministry of State for Administrative Development.

From my personal point of view, I won those prizes because I always make sure to set long/short-term goals for my career. Setting goals is incredibly important to career advancement; it’s an effective way to move forward in our lives and achieve our dreams.

Dr. Rehab Ardash: Sure it can. For example, high performing CSR organizations foster a culture of CSR through their HR system and fully integrate CSR throughout their operations, rewarding, decisions and initiatives.

Dr. Rehab Ardash: There are so many benefits in being a member in the Global HR Forum, we share HR ideas, HR updates, best practices and some members offer professional development courses, workshops and publications. Also, networking is a very important element in the Global HR Forum; it gives us the opportunity to mingle with others in the HR field. It is common knowledge that “The more contacts in your network who know you, the more likely you will secure leads, interviews and interesting job offers.”

Dr. Rehab Ardash: Yes, I believe it is about time for the Egyptian companies to think about corporate wellness. I see too many companies trying to implement wellness programs with little or no experience. As a result, more programs fail rather than succeed.

We have to understand that the success of corporate wellness is driven by the unique strategy behind it. It involves a framework that outlines short and long-term goals for the employee and the employer. Corporate wellness needs support, leadership, and commitment from the provider, employer and employees. A successful program takes time and constantly evolves, so it can be integrated into the fabric of the company’s culture. Corporate wellness is not just one solution. It is the culmination of many solutions that work together under one strategy. It involves layers of physical activity, education, communication, incentives, and a long-term commitment.

The benefits of corporate wellness involve a reduction in the rates of illness and injuries among employees, as well as a reduction in employee absenteeism. Employees who are stressed, unhealthy or overworked tend to become sick more often than healthy ones. Increasing productivity is another benefit of corporate wellness. Employees who are happy and healthy tend to produce a greater volume of work with a higher quality than unhealthy employees. Corporate wellness programs also contribute to the enhanced retention of key employees. Companies that implement wellness programs normally experience a much lower rate of employee turnover.

In Limitless, we believe that a higher level of awareness is essential to success. We all should be more conscious about health. Creating an on-site wellness program is important because the majority of an employee’s time is spent in the workplace.

I always challenge both employers and employees to think differently about wellness and what it means to them. If the end goal is healthier employees, then both parties need to be involved to share this common vision.

Dr. Rehab Ardash: Traveling is one of the greatest things in life; it provides education and experiences about places and history. Traveling connects us to other people and culture, and expands our awareness and introduces us to a greater diversity.

As an HR leader, I believe we still need to work on the Egyptian business environment; we need to develop our laws, improve our workers’ productivity and be more creative in attracting foreign direct investments.

Dr. Rehab Ardash: I would advise them to develop their way of thinking, their skills, and leadership proficiency. They should know that they will encounter toxic people. They will be jealous, needy, competitive or just plain annoying. They should know that their greatest power is the ability to say “no” to such people – but in a tactful way that sets boundaries without painting you as selfish. They should also learn how to be useful by rolling up their sleeves and jumping into whatever needs to be done! The more helpful they are, the more friends and allies they will make, and the better their work relationships will be, and the faster they’ll move up the ladder. And finally, they have to know that no one starts out an expert, but anyone can become one. They should ask lots of questions for the sake of skill development. They won’t look bad for not knowing something; rather, they’ll look bad if they’re not trying to learn.