TRANSFORMING HR AND STRATEGIZING CHANGE MANAGEMENT

We were recently honored with “Mark of Excellence” for “Best HR Transformation & Change Management Strategy” at the Future Workplace Awards on November 13, 2018 at Park Hyatt, Dubai.The initiative to transform the HR practices at our workplace was rolled in the last quarter of 2017 by our leadership team with the goals of improving productivity and performance management, automating HR, developing people- friendly policies and redesigning HR processes.Therefore, the focus was on ‘the big picture’ for successful transformation.
“We intended to boldly pursue today’s inevitable journey to transform the traditional HR operating model via fully integrated change management strategies and strategically managed HR transformation.”Sumeet Nayyar-CEO& Partner
“We aimed to develop and execute on the right plan by focusing on the people first.”Nihar Kothari –Partner
“We encouraged curiosity across all facets of the organization which opened people’s minds allowing them to try new things differently.”Abeer Syed – Partner
” We created a vision for change which helped us to direct, align and inspire employees.”Tanmay Saxena – Senior Manager, Tax and Compliance Advisory
ACTION PLAN:
Our leaders recognized the huge trends that are emerging very rapidly and started working proactively to respond strategically every step of the way. The following action-plan was laid down.
GoalAction
Transform HR practicesHire a dedicated HR personnel
HR Audit
  • Audit policies according to UAE Labor Law
Establish retention strategies that promote the Firm as a great place to work/live.
  • Develop people friendly policies and procedures
  • Employee engagement activities
Employee HandbookComprehensive development of handbook including updated policies
HR Automation by ensuring process simplification and retaining the “human touch” and avoid creating a feeling that the HR function has been depersonalized
  • Employee self service
  • Automating leave management
Revamping Performance ManagementDevelopment of a PM model that aligns with business objectives
IMPLEMENTATION
“We adopted a realistic approach towards change management as it concentrated on reinforcing the people side of equation combined with effort to manage and execute the change.”Affiniax Management
“Our most senior leadership believed in and supported the idea of revamping the Performance Management Framework — a framework focused on fueling performance in the future rather than assessing it in the past.”Sheeba Mirza, HR Executive
We introduced the KPI and MSC model to develop our employees by weighting the KPIs and competencies so that there is a clarity of goals and competencies among the employees to deliver business outcomes.Challenge: The challenge was just around change. We were sort of used to the rhythms of the old systemKICKOFF: There were phased roll-outs:
  • Mid-2018: May- We chose two departments with a pilot approach – Consulting and Corporate.
  • Training session was held by the HR Executive for the line managers and their direct reports to make them understand the model.
  • July 2018- We added the other departments – Audit, Accounts, Administration and Taxation later in the year.
  • Formation of steering groups consisting of HR Executive, Director and the Line Manager of each department.
  • And by the end of August 2018 we have covered all the departments.
RESULTS
CONNECTING CHANGE TO BUSINESS RESULTS
ProjectPurpose
Revamping Performance Management Framework – MSCs and KPIsEmployees are clear in understanding “how” to deliver on the expectations of “what” is expected. 70% weightage: KPIs and 30% weightage: Competencies
Free HR softwareAutomating HRMS thereby saving time, cost and increasing employees’ productivity.
  • Online Leave application system
  • Employee self service
People friendly workplace
  • Work from Home – 10 working days in a year.
  • Employee Referral Program
  • Complimentary Paid Leave – 2 festival leaves and a Birthday Leave every year.
  • Harassment Policy & Procedure
  • Team building activities such as monthly birthday celebrations, IWD 2018.
L&D Programs – YLP, FLP and Management Development ProgramDevelopment of employees at the entry, mid and senior level through customized learning programs.

THE VALUE OF BUSINESS CONSULTING IN THE UAE?

The True Value of Business Consulting in the UAE

Determining the value you can derive from business consulting is one of those things that often comes with hindsight and, on occasion, is overlooked or missed entirely. Having an expert specialist advise or guidance often leads to the right decisions being made on a day-to-day basis, and that can be mistaken for ‘business as usual’ rather than seeing its true benefit.

One way to highlight the real value of business consulting is to think of it in terms of dentistry (let’s think way outside the box here).

Some people are methodical and make regular appointments to visit their dentist for a checkup. During that checkup, they will look at the health and vitality of the teeth and gums and look for any hidden problems or potential future issues that can be resolved and removed before they happen. When bigger problems are present, remedial action can be taken, and they leave with the knowledge and comfort that they are likely to be incident free in the period until their next visit (and even if that is not the case, they know exactly where to go if something does happen)

At the other end of the scale are those who will only visit the dentist once the pain of a problem has reached the point that they can’t continue to operate without remedial action right now. This is often painful, disruptive, and, more often than not, extremely costly, as the actions required to get back on track are far more extensive and potentially difficult to administer.

This principle fits well with business consultancy. Having highly skilled business professionals give your business a check-up on a regular basis helps anticipate and tackle problems of all shapes and sizes on the go. If you consider the cost of remedial action at the dentist to be high, compare that to having to perform a root canal on your corporate finances or poor due diligence, and you start to appreciate the real value of consultancy as a regular input rather than an emergency procedure.

Business consultancy from Affinax covers a broad spectrum of key aspects that absolutely must be delivered with the utmost accuracy and professionalism. Whether you are valuing your business or a potential investment through to drafting commercial agreements or even winding up an organisation, make sure you are best placed to make effective and correct decisions. Few of us are lucky enough to have experience in every aspect of business and commerce, and even larger corporations don’t always have the core competencies on their staff full-time.

Why not speak to the professionals at Affinax and explore their scope of services and what benefits they can deliver to help you maintain a vibrant, healthy smile in your business?

IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN A CORPORATE CULTURE BASED ON SHARED VISION AND VALUES AND ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE?

Business Setup with International Free Zone Authority (IFZA), Fujairah
I have been pondering over this question for many years and now believe that more and more companies are beginning to recognize the importance of strong corporate culture based on shared vision and values of all stakeholders (more importantly of their own employees) in achieving the bottom line.Even though the idea of vision and values has been explored extensively by numerous academicians and business leaders, and the impact or consequences of developing effective values and vision are well documented, I am surprised to observe that many organisations fail to develop a vision and values that are lived and are resonated with everyone within an organisation.Furthermore, in recent years, the question about increased investments in people processes has become topical and it is argued that building intellectual capital of employees based on the shared vision and value is connected to a better degree of employee’s alignment with their organisation, and hence is crucial to any organisation’s success story.Most organizations, in response to the needs of the global competitive environment, require their managers and executives to deliver products and services that are in line with external or environmental requirements, stakeholder expectation and to be profitable while all the time working to appease a diverse community of consumers worldwide.Many argue that the enhanced organisation’s performance can become a reality once the leader becomes a visionary leader and cultivates the strategic intent of the organizations. And for many businesses, leadership with vision as a core component is the answer or at least the most important piece of the Jigsaw puzzle.However, in my opinion, for a vision and corporate values to have an impact on the organisation’s performance, having a visionary leader is just a starting point. The real impact should come once the corporate vision and values are fully integrated and shared among all employees of an organisation, which forms the basis of the organisation’s culture.Similar to a shared vision, building a values-driven culture where employees find an alignment between their personal values and the organization’s values is the key to organizational success. In my opinion, employees should be included in the development process of core corporate vision and values. This will lead to improved internal communication, building a performance-enhancing corporate culture that facilitates leadership and employee’s alignment with the strategic goals of the organization and in the end the organisation’s bottom line.
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