Interviewer: Mahmoud Mansi
- HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: You have worked for 17 years as an HR professional. During all these years, what is the most common mistake companies make related to employees?
Nermine Fawzy: I think that there are some important things that companies need to consider and avoid. First, hiring people with the relevant skills needed for the job. I often see companies hire people with skill sets that are different than what is actually needed for a job. For example, requiring someone who is very creative for a very operational, process-driven job: There is limited room, if any, for creativity so hiring someone who is creative can only cause frustration and issues for everyone involved. Another example, hiring a sales engineer where the candidate has fantastic technical skills but very limited communication skills just won’t work. Second, considering diversity in the workforce. This goes beyond gender diversity: It includes having a workforce with different people, with different backgrounds, different educational backgrounds, different personality types, etc. It is very common to hire the same kind of person because it is more comfortable and familiar but the problem is that it is limiting, especially in a diverse business world.Third is lack of alignment. All too often the right conversations don’t happen. These conversations include what is expected from the employee, what they need to work on, what they are doing well, understanding how the employee contributes to the bigger picture. All too often conversations don’t happen causing confusion, disengagement, and lack of results. There are a number of others but I would say that these are the most common.
- HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: In 2007 you worked in a company creating the HR department. What is necessary for an HR department to work well? What are the characteristics a HR employee should have?
Nermine Fawzy: I was very lucky to be able to do this more than once in my career. The key ingredient for a successful HR department is that it needs to match the needs of a business. Understanding what the business really needs, adhering to that and making that successful is what is important. If a business has a lot of young employees and is constantly evolving, makings sure that the HR department has talent development and management capabilities, in addition to change management and planning skills is critical. If the business environment is predominantly in a factory setting, the HR department must have strong administrative and employee relations skills. There needs to be an array of skills but some will be more important based on the business.
There are different characteristics an HR employee needs to have depending on their specific area of work and/or interest. However, I think the universal ones include the ability to listen, think on their feet, work in stressful situations and a curiosity and openness to learn.
- HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: We see a lot of articles talking about what people should do in a job interview to get the job. But some employers don’t conduct good interviews and in the end, some good employees can’t show their skills and that he/she is a fit for the job. How can employers conduct good interviews to know if the person is a fit for the job?
Nermine Fawzy: The best interviewers are those that have a nose for talent but many don’t. With experience, interviewers asking the right questions and probing is important but if the interviewer isn’t asking the right questions, the candidate needs to think how to overcome this situation. Candidates should ask questions about what the job requires and what they are looking for in a candidate. Based on this, the candidate can explain their relevant experience and how they fit the ideal candidate. If you don’t have an opportunity, create the opportunity.
- HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: Motivating employees sometimes is the key to have good workers. How do you usually motivate yourself and motivate people you work with?
Nermine Fawzy: I believe that motivation largely comes from within. External motivation is often short-lived. Having said that, I believe there are some core elements for employees to be engaged. These include having an interesting job, learning, working within a cohesive team, getting recognition, and open communication. I am very self-motivated so as long as I feel I am adding value and enjoying my job, I am fully engaged. I believe that I am directly accountable for my own motivation.
- HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: You are currently working as an Executive Director – Global Talent & Operations, traveling through Egypt, Europe, The Gulf and the US. How do you deal with the differences between cultures in companies? What are your tips to people who travel for work and business in a lot of countries?
Nermine Fawzy: Really understanding different cultures is key. We often have assumptions and adhere to stereotypes about other cultures and companies, and I believe that is dangerous. Be curious about other cultures, ask questions, observe how things are done in different countries. The more you do this, the more successful you will be.
- HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: How can an HR department develop employees’ skills in a right way?
Nermine Fawzy: I think this is a big misconception: It is not the HR departments job to develop employee’s skills. Developing employee skills is a shared accountability starting with the employee, and includes the manager and the HR department. What the HR department needs to do is to make sure that it supports the employee and manager with advise, resources, tools and options. They also need to understand trends and gaps that are consistent within the organization to find bigger solutions.
- HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: How did your degree in Journalism and Mass Communication help you in the HR field?
Nermine Fawzy: I believe it helped me really understand communication and how to deal with people. How to talk to people, how to deliver messages, how to engage in written communication, how to interact with different groups are some of the things I learned by getting this degree. All these things I use almost every day in my job.
- HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: One of your specialties is developing organizational culture. Can you explain more about it? How much this is important for an organization?
Nermine Fawzy: Organizational culture is critical. There is no wrong or right about what organizational culture should be but it does need to be defined. It’s important that the culture is in line with the business and that it is lived in how things are done in the organization. For example, if a company works in cutting-edge medical research, a culture that includes high discipline would be needed, but a culture of flexibility would not be appropriate. If you work in a dotcom start-up, a culture of fun would make sense but a culture that is process-driven may not make sense. A common mistake is that if culture isn’t defined, what often happens is that a culture evolves that is often different than what makes sense for the business.
- HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: What is the bigger difference between companies here in Egypt and companies in Europe or US? What can they learn with each other?
Nermine Fawzy: There are a lot of differences with priorities and what is seen as important is very different. The importance of personal relationships, adaptability to change, planning, focus on execution, the value of time, accountability are some examples. There is a lot that each can learn from the other. However, I don’t believe there is a right or wrong, and what works in one environment doesn’t always works in another environment.
- HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: What are the steps to develop the Employee Branding the right way?
Nermine Fawzy: I think there are a couple of important steps. First is establishing what the employment brand is and what is your employee value proposition is. Second is to communicate that brand. Third is to make sure that you follow through with that brand: Don’t create a brand that employees can’t live once they join the organization.
- HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: As a professional you have been through several job interviews until you have reached your current position. What was the most difficult interview question you were asked, and what was your answer to it?
Nermine Fawzy: I think there are many difficult questions that I have been asked. I think the most difficult was asking about my weaknesses, not areas of development, but real weaknesses that are unlikely to develop. Being genuine, open and honest in answering such a question is difficult. I would answer this is that my pace is fast which sometimes causes issues because not everyone around me or even the business needs or wants a fast pace: It would make more sense to be able to slow the pace when it is needed.
- HR Revolution Middle East Magazine: Many organizations nowadays focus on recruiting their HR people based on certifications such as SHRBP, CIPD, SPHR, SHRM-SCP for instance, while other candidates could be even more talented but they don’t get the job because they don’t have a similar certification. What is your opinion about that? What is your advice to HR recruiters? And what is your advice to HR people who do cannot afford such certifications?
Nermine Fawzy: I think certifications help people get introduced to skill sets and explain some fundamentals but what I really value is ability to learn. I think certifications can only get you so far but experience and learning through experience in HR is the key to success. I don’t get hung up on certifications. What I look for in HR employees is ability to learn, applying learning, change management capabilities, and being open to try new things.
- If you are to organize your own HR conference what would it be about? And in what country will it take place?
Nermine Fawzy: I think a main topic that companies talk about but don’t do much about is managing the different generations in the workplace. This would be the topic I would choose for am HR conference. We talk a lot about this topic but very few companies have really adapted to manage these differences. Because of the nature of topic, I think it can be in any country.