Interviewer: Mahmoud Mansi
“God’s creation is irreplaceable. The development of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the future will make it possible to reduce the increasing number of complex situations and tasks, but there will always be situations that require creative thinking, which only humans are capable of…”
Hawanem omara
Hawanem Omara: Simply, One word (Passion).
Without any doubt, employees are the most valuable asset in any firm thus great companies are made of great people, HR has a unique perspective on business, and a strong understanding of an organization’s priorities and challenges, as a result, we play a significant role to attract, retain and satisfy the best calibers.
This means doing and monitoring the impact of the business operations to ensure that it’s not negatively impacting our people and management when making business decisions, especially those that influence the future of the company.
As we know, nowadays it is getting harder to keep your people motivated and happy while facing all of these dynamics.
I understand the impact one can have in HR, that’s why all the time, I’m trying to tailor the best benefits and solutions that match their need. You can’t imagine how pleased I’m when knowing that what I do on the ground really meets their expectations and satisfy them.
“I have dreams for the future just like everyone else, my dreams are what keep me going, they are an object for me to strive for, I will obtain that object one day so I will keep moving forward”
It was unplanned at all, when I started to work, I was trying to figure out the track that I want to work in, as a result, I worked in many roles in different industries till I found my passion when joining the career in 2015, working in all different HR functions, and currently hold the responsibility of the compensation and benefits as a first-line manager in a pharmaceuticals industry.
Hawanem Omara: During the COVID19 pandemic in 2020, our marvelous management gave all of us the space and opportunity to go the extra mile by initiating new ideas, especially that out of the box which may boost the business and enhance its outcomes as well.
I was very excited so I started to read more, do a deep search about the mega HR and business initiatives and trends, how companies operate especially during crises plus their role towards their people and community, it started with some ideas, some I was lucky to implement on the ground, and some I did not.
I wanted it to be unique, and it was, I do support women in all business/life aspects and looking forward to getting an opportunity to join the community service work in such direction.
So, it came to my mind, why are we not listed as a company in UN Women? And why are we not implementing its Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) or taking it as a roadmap to fill out any gap in our practices?
Although our top management already implementing some of these principles in day-to-day activities/operations, it needs to be highlighted and recognized officially, this was really challenging for me especially since I knew if we acquired it, we would be the first Egyptian organization in this industry to get it, I tried for over 4 months to get it officially.
I kept persistent towards my goal and followed it up, till I got the confirmation email that “Congratulations you are now officially listed “
I took the risk, tried, and got a gain and experience out of that, my second initiative was started at the end of the same year till Q1 in 2021 in Stevie Awards Middle East until winning it.
The real challenge is when all the people tell you that you will fail or your ideas/suggestions are not applicable and so on, but you keep persistent, believe in yourself and your mindset that it will not happen.
Hawanem Omara: It was when I applied online to be a judge, then I got my acceptance email in three different competitions in 2021 (International Business Awards, Women in Business, Great Employer), which assigned judging categories to me based on my area of expertise and function.
I was able to review and rate as many nominations as I like, at my convenience, any time, day or night.
I reviewed 146 nominations from around the whole world submitted by corporates and individuals from different countries, cultures, and industries.
It was a great and priceless learning experience that added to my expertise and improved my professional competence.
Being a judge is not that easy, you have to look from a helicopter view at the organization’s performance and you should provide them with constructive feedback that may be reflected on it later on.
Hawanem Omara: Actually, there were many projects, it will not be fair if I specifically mentioned just one project.
But let’s talk about the parts I was enjoying reading when judging and it was very impressive in their way of implementation and quickness.
Some organizations started earlier and provided workshops/webinars in many languages in order to educate employees/managers on the Covid19 virus, and equip them to manage fears, stress, anxiety, and isolation to enhance psychological immunity and resilience during all of the quarantine restrictions.
And some provide virtual support to employees grieving the death of colleagues and family members which is one of the most painful & hardest moments that anyone could experience in order to face by heart the crisis of COVID19.
Others took quick excellent digital transformation tools and steps towards all stakeholders to support work (remote working, flexible working hours, the use of transfers to the bank account instead of receiving checks, the using of a hard copy via email or Google Suite instead of the original for leasing customers and billing documents).
The most significant was their CSR role either by volunteering or by donating to the municipal governments, hospitals, and community organizations to double efforts to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hawanem Omara: Yes, to some extent, but God’s creation is irreplaceable.
The development of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the future will make it possible to reduce the increasing number of complex situations and tasks, but there will always be situations that require creative thinking, which only humans are capable of.
In order for robots to do anything, they first need to be programmed by humans.
According to scientists, automation is expected to affect human work, and perhaps, after so many years it can replace many human jobs.
From my point of view, robots are not able to completely replace human jobs in the future, but definitely, partially they can.
Although various blue-collar jobs may be threatened by automation, robots tend to bring extraordinary benefits to our lives as they will carry out recurrent and monotonous tasks efficiently and without errors.
Hawanem Omara: There are many tips to say, and let’s illustrate some of these.
First of all, we should take into consideration the employees’ feedback and voice, as I mentioned before great companies are made of great people, so how will our organization be great without listening to our employees? they are a part of our entity and its success, HR is the center point of communication between the top management and the whole organization.
It’s the role of HR to build an open and agile culture full of transparency in order to state and communicate any change smoothly and clearly.
Change must be led from the top down, therefore HR must get all the managers on the same table prior to communicating the message to the rest of the organization.
In that way, the other team leaders in the company are prepared to answer questions and concerns as needed, because every employee wants to know the purpose behind this change, so once the team understood “Why “we do that, the revolt and any resistance will be slowly subsided, moreover you may find the employees help you to reach your goal and achieve the desired outcomes.
Most importantly take into consideration our employees’ mental health because change can be scary, so we have to develop our emotional intelligence skills in order to be able to communicate in a clear and transparent way while showing our empathy, in addition to being open to any discussion to drive a positive change and overcome the obstacles by aligning our people and increase their awareness.
During the Covid 19, companies that succeed to tackle this global crisis were keen to communicate all the time with their employees, furthermore to deal with their insecurities.
So, it’s all about communication, and being mentally and emotionally stable, especially during crisis and change.
Among the global ethical awakenings in our recent century, and among the glorious creative and business erections, the magnitude of the Human Resources aspect has proven to be greatly valuable.
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