HR Director
Cedar White Bradley
Total years of experience :16 years, 2 Months
Re-hired to transform HR into a strategic business partner to support business goals with a unique perspective that human capital is the organization’s greatest asset through implementing best-in-class sustainable HR policies, strong business partnering, and upgrading existing HRIS technology
- HR Organization Leadership: Strategized as a Member and Secretary of the Leadership Team, directing the dialogue and providing guidance to the CEO and the Leadership Team on people agenda. Directing 3 HR professionals in recruitment, benefits, training, employee relations, transactional HR, HRIS, and regulatory compliance
- HR Strategy: Lead the formulation and deployment of business-informed people strategies and operational plans which underpins the organization and employee growth agendas
- Automation: Drove a firm-wide transition to a fully integrated HRIS platform with Microsoft Dynamics D365 (HRIS, ESS, and Payroll) in 7 locations that streamlined daily HR functions and improved efficiency. Conceived and instituted a leadership team dashboard that monitored progress and improved focus and delivery of business and departmental objectives
- Organization Design: Spearheaded the post-acquisition organizational change initiatives including advising on re-organizations, restructuring, redundancies, and transfers which resulted in a leaner, flexible structure with a 20% reduced headcount focused on key business pillars - revenue, service delivery, efficiency
- Employee Wellbeing: Pioneered an early-stage COVID pandemic response, which resulted in minimal employee exposure, seamless transition, and support to remote working that maintained a high level of employee engagement. Ensured a best in class medical insurance to provide both physical and mental health coverage
- Employee Engagement: Devised and implemented a firm-wide engagement strategy through quarterly town halls, a firm-wide communication grid, and a values-driven annual survey that increased inclusion and set the benchmark to facilitate subsequent individual and firm success
- Performance Management: Created a fit-for-purpose equitable, transparent, and fair PM process aligned with the business transformation, focused on objectives/KPIs, values, and functional and legal proficiencies that promotes a performance-driven culture and identifies individual training and development needs
- Compliance: Advised on statutory compliance with local laws and ensured all policies and procedures are legally compliant
- Budget: Prepared and managed the annual budget of around USD 1.3 M including quarterly review of reports to analyze variances, anticipate costs, and identify and address areas of unsatisfactory performance
Recruited at the start-up period with a mandate to build and grow the non-existing HR & Administration functions to support the firm in anticipation of a rapid expansion in the MENA region
- Start-Up Expansion: Setup the HR and Admin infrastructure that supported a rapid expansion across 7 locations in the region in 4 years which lead to a headcount increase from 15 to more than 80 employees. Grew and developed the HR & Admin team from 1 to 6 reports which enabled the business to smoothly grow
- People Management: Managed the effective achievement of the HR Department's objectives by setting individual goals for the team, recruiting qualified staff, managing performance, developing and motivating staff, and providing formal and informal feedback to maximize team and departmental performance
- Policies and Procedures: Designed and implemented standardized HR processes and systems covering all areas of HR and employee life cycle across 7 offices, including employee handbook, on/off boarding, performance reviews, and talent acquisition which raised employee experience and decreased turnover to lower than 10% after 3 years
- HRIS Technology: Drove the first firm-wide rollout, training, and adoption of an automated payroll system (Gulf HR) and HRMS (Lanteria, a SharePoint based ERP system) which reduced administrative tasks. Automated the annual performance review process increasing efficiency and timely administration of the entire process within set timeframes
- Rewards and Benefits: Implemented job analysis and total rewards strategy with the Hay Group which created a fair and equitable employee offering. Managed the periodic market benchmarking activity to ensure that CWB's compensation strategy is competitive across local markets. Advised management on remuneration best practices to attract and retain the best available talent
- HR Projects: Managed and deployed HR initiatives, including talent acquisition, development, and retention. Administered the development of the firm’s behavioral competencies framework with the Hay Group and integrated it into existing processes, which enhanced Performance Management and recruitment selection
- Employee Relations: Managed the day to day HR transactional and employee relations issues and conflict resolution
- Vendor Relations: Negotiated fee agreements and terms of service with vendors such as recruitment agencies, medical insurance providers which provided the business with quality and cost-effective products and services
Recruited to establish and grow BCG’s operations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
- Start-Up Infrastructure: Designed and implemented local countries policies in alignment with BCG global policies for HR, recruiting, office operations, staffing, and marketing that allowed the business to expand from 12 to over 100 employees within 3 years
- Human resources / Staff management: Recruited and developed an operations team from 1 to 11 (EAs, Reception, Internal Services) in less than 3 years including recruiting, developing, managing performance, and resource and workload management. Administered the day to day HR and personnel procedures for Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices
- Facility Management: Coordinated and monitored facilities management processes including repairs and maintenance, office build-outs, office design, and expansion. Managed two office moves simultaneously in Dubai and Abu Dhabi within 12 months which resulted in a seamless transition for employees and business continuity
- Purchasing and Controlling: Oversaw office services & facilities vendors, including government bodies and building management as well as business travel and accommodation agencies, Prepared budget and managed capacity planning and cost control of all office services
- Other Responsibilities: Liaised with the Legal team on compliance matters, immigration, labor law, and government regulations. Organized annual office events, business meetings, and team building events