Coverage & Photography: Mahmoud Mansi

“Why do we really train our employees?” … a question that was highlighted in Dr. Rita Maselli’s 3-day TNA workshop and was not that difficult to answer. Then far more complicated issues were tackled: Who are the employees you should invest your money in? How to divide your training budget wisely and fairly and most important strategically? How can you measure the impact of your training on your employees? Questions, questions and more questions. The answers were full of lively discussion and always inspiring.

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“Why do we really train our employees?”

Have you heard this before? “Training is a perfect tool for motivating the employee and for making an employee more engaged. Dividing the training budget equally among the employees is most accurate way for employee equality. Employee satisfaction is the best indicator for the training success.”

Although these statements may seem logical, we learned that they were all incorrect answers to the questions Dr. Rita proposed.

Through the workshop the delegates found out the true answers to these questions, and learnt how to apply the methods in their organizations which will make training more effective and efficient.

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The 9 delegates were from 6 different leading organizations in Egypt: TE Data, Gasco, Metro Market, OGS, GIG, and the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport.

With each day Dr. Rita delved deeper into the core reasons for employee behavior and training. The attendees learnt more about dealing with stake holders, knowing how to analyze the organization to detect which type of problems need critical training solutions, and what organizational problems can be solved without training, how to link the training to strategic objectives, the job description and the performance appraisal, and the psychology of the employee.

The breaks were quite interesting as the delegates enjoyed their coffee and lunch in the outdoors under the warm sun of Nasr City, socializing, sharing experiences and talking business. During the outdoor lunch the delegates enjoyed being environmentally friendly and feeding the neighborhood cats and dogs.

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Across the three days the delegates shared case-studies and worked in groups on different assignments. The diversity of the working environment of different sector organizations was fascinating to the delegates and the instructor. Dr. Rita says, “I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity, I think the workshop changed their perspective about the importance of training and development. It also gave them an opportunity to focus on the idea of the results they wanted rather than just the idea of the process itself.”

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A Painting by Dr. Rita Maselli

The workshop took place in her RMA facilities in Nasr City. The training area is decorated with tons of paintings, all marked by her signature. Apparently Dr. Rita is also a very artistic person. What is the relationship between HR and Art? This is a question Dr. Rita shall answer in details some other time.

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Mr. Mohamed Abd-Elwahab – Training and Development Regional Head at Metro Market

One of Egypt’s well-known FMCG companies is Metro Market, and it is very well-known for the quality of its products, employees and their excellent customer service. The HRs of Metro Market speak about their experience in the course and how it will develop their already well-structured system. Mohamed Abd-Elwahab – Training and Development Regional Head at Metro Market, “The goals and objectives of the organization are divided into tasks and duties that are written among the different job descriptions. In Metro we used to gather the names of the needed courses only through the line-managers, but now we will be linking the training need directly with the job description and competencies of the job, and hence the training will have a stronger impact on the person and on the organization. The training this way will be much more effective. Dr. Rita is always keen to make sure that every one of the attendees fully understands. She does that by repeating the key points several times through the workshops from different angles.”

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Mr. Ayman Abdalla – Training Coordinator at Metro Market

On the other hand, Ayman Abdalla – Training Coordinator at Metro Market – reflects how important employees are in their organization, “Sometimes in organizations the HR provides training courses to employees who are already well-trained, in some cases this can be a waste of time and money. After this workshop I will identify the different needs and make the right choice for my employees.”

Heba Mohamed Khedr – Training Supervisor at GIG and a Yoga enthusiast – speaks about the difference of being lectured to and of practicing during learning, “I am currently taking an HR diploma, but what I enjoyed most about Rita’s workshop is the interaction and case-studies. I enjoyed it because it is a workshop rather than a course. Dr. Rita knows how to summarize everything. She uses this skill to review with us what we took during the workshop before we start a new topic.”

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Ms. Sally Elfeky – Manager at OGS

Sally Elfeky – Manager at OGS – is specialized at designing and providing training courses to oil companies in specific, in addition to general organizations, “Before the course I used to focus more on the output of the training programs we provide, but now I will be more focused on the outcome and long-term impact of any training we provide. I admire the wide knowledge of Dr. Rita in different areas of HR, Strategic Management and other fields as well. I loved her answers to all our questions.”

Gasco is one of the powerful governmental organizations in Egypt. They sent two non-HR General Managers of different business units to attend the course and help develop the organization. Magdy Hussein ElSayed – GM at Gasco, “The instructor uses a very simple language while communicating with us. As a person who is not working in the HR field I found this workshop very beneficial. I mostly enjoyed the SWOT analysis part and how it is linked to training and the development of the company.”

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Mr. Magdy Hussein ElSayed – GM at Gasco
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Ms. Salwa Helmy Halim Nada – Admin and Finance GM at GASCO Operation Department

Magdy’s colleague, Salwa Helmy Halim Nada – Admin and Finance GM at GASCO Operation Department – speaks about the changes she will implement after attending the TNA course, “After this course I will invest the training budget for those who are keen to learn and work more. One of the great qualities of the instructor is that she is very smart, she knows how to tackle the themes, and she knows how to grab our attention and never make us feel bored. The group discussions she initiated were very inspiring to me.”

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Ms. Noran Noor ElDin – Training and Development Section Head at TE Data

TE Data is one of the companies that are very well-known for always providing their employees with different training programs through their career lives. Two HR training professionals from TE Data were in the workshop and they had their intake and analysis on the course too. Noran Noor ElDin – Training and Development Section Head at TE Data, “The diversity of attendees was quite interesting. I learnt so much from their different industries and how training is applied in each of them. This helped me into knowing the market and what happens around in other organizations. Rita is giving us things that are not purely theoretical but that can be applied in our work environment, and more importantly she gave us the method of measurement to always benchmark ourselves and determine the progress of our organization. I think Rita has a very special gift in mastering her knowledge. She knows very well what she is saying. Of course she is pleasant and confident and she knows how to contact each individual based on their own level of thinking and knowledge. As a trainer myself I find this as a very special gift.”

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Mr. Yasser El Gohary – HR Training and Development Senior Specialist at TE Data

On the other hand, Noran’s colleague, Yasser El Gohary – HR Training and Development Senior Specialist at TE Data – provides extra tips on the qualities of an effective trainer, “The workshop helped me into understanding the best practices of applying TNA since in TE Data we try to update our methods with each year. I took this course before with another institute but I find this one more into depth. Dr. Rita has a very strong quality. She always makes sure that all the attendees understand and are following up. She doesn’t leave any one behind. With each hour and each day she links the current topic to all the previous ones and by the end we have the biggest picture of which we know the details of how it was formed bit by bit.”

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Mahmoud Mansi – Senior HR Specialist at AASTMT

Mahmoud Mansi – Senior HR Specialist at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport – speaks about the importance of training in an educational organization where students are the customers, “I always took training seriously but I never thought it could be such a complex process having a direct impact on the fate of an organization to that extent. I personally think that not each person is born to be a talented teacher, yet with the appropriate trainings one can always learn more how to use different teaching techniques and the psychology of students, which will be one of my priorities at the HR.”

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Dr. Rita performs one of her mastermind talents in summarizing the aim behind the whole course in a few lines, “It was clear to me that the participants learned how to look at training from a professional point of view. It’s like they now know what long-term results (outcomes) they desire and are able to deliver the direct results (outputs) by taking full control of the issues (inputs) and speed/technique (processes). I am proud of the progress that they made. It is a change of mindset.”

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Picture Taken By: Nessreen Haidara

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