Saturday 16 / November / 2024
As a Human Resources professional, Marwa Al Oufi believes that the key resource at any organisation is the well-being of its people to get through the fast changing and complex world of corporate operations.
With HR experience in many organisations including banking and the hospitality sectors, Marwa said organisations need a diverse workforce that are agile and adaptable to make the best use of the key resources available to them.
“You may have a multi-million rial organisation but if your workforce is not motivated, and above all, trusted, then there will be many operational gaps. So, as human resources professionals, our primary role is to properly support people to give them the best available opportunities,” Marwa explained.
She also said that good managers always build a bridge between them and their staff that helps create a good working environment.
“Listening to the staff, without frequently interrupting, is one way of knowing that people who work under you need help. Workers stay in their organisations not because they are highly paid because they feel managers care for their feelings,” Marwa pointed out.
Profitability and loss is often not tied up with the product the company is selling to its clientele, but how well connected the staff are with the market at large.
“You may have an excellent product but that may not be enough. What pulls in customers is how your staff interact with the day to day operations and above all, their relationships with their superiors. For example, a demotivated staff will not interact well with the outside world and that will hurt the company’s competiveness in the market,” Marwa said.
She also said the real role of HR is to find the right talents and skills to push forward the ambitions of the organisation. People with the right attitude to succeed themselves and the organisations they work for. But the biggest challenge, according to Marwa, is to keep the talent within the organisation and not losing them to competitors.
“You may have the right mix of skills but if the management team is aloof and isolate themselves, this action creates cracks within the organisation and the staff will surely start to leave for greener pasture,” She added.
She said the staff need to see professional growth where they work and sometimes even career counselling to clearly see the path of where they are heading, especially the young professionals.
This way, Marwa pointed out, they become loyal even when the organization is going through hard times.
“In conclusion, the HR manager duties are no longer just to recruit or train staff, but to help with strategies and future plans of corporate survival to win the loyalty of the staff within the organisation and motivate them to do more,” Marwa concluded.
