Bio:
Tamer holds a BS from the University of Wisconsin and MBA in Human Resources Management. He has over 15 years of experience (GCC and USA) in business process improvement with a focus on Human Resources and Recruitment. He has worked for multiple industries including Oil & Gas, Engineering Consulting and Healthcare. He is currently the Human Resources and Administration Manager for Black Cat Engineering and Construction - one of the top 25 Oil & Gas contractors in the Middle East - Located in Qatar.
1. How do you like living and working in Qatar?
Qatar is a very diverse, cosmopolitan and warm country. It has a palpable desire to be a trendsetter and as the world’s largest exporter of LNG – Qatar is certainly positioned for leadership across all domains. It combines the spirit and tradition of yesterday with the business sense, environmental friendliness and sustainable know-how of tomorrow.
2. What is your average day at work like?
As Human Resources & Administration Manager of one of the leading Oil & Gas contracting companies, my job is to design and manage programs to maximize organizational and employee production. My responsibilities span – Employee Relations, Recruitment, Payroll, Performance Management and Administration among other things.
3. What is your biggest professional challenge?
The biggest challenge as a HR Manager is the continuous need to educate the stakeholders of the fact that Human Resource is a business partner function. HR professionals need to constantly educate and train the stakeholders on the different aspects of HR- whether it is performance management or succession planning, training & development or employee relations. The final conclusion is the alignment of the company’s business strategies with the human capital resources philosophy.
4. What is the most important thing you look for in new hires?
Other than the technical skills, at Black Cat Engineering and Construction, we look for employees that have strong work ethics, analytical thinking, high integrity, commitment and a strong sense of responsibility.
5. What is the biggest challenge you face in hiring talent?
The biggest challenge in hiring a talented workforce is designing diverse retention programs that fit multi-cultural organizations that typically are present in the GCC. It is certainly not a coincidence that there are more than 1000 published research articles on turnover and retention. Hiring knowledgeable employees is essential for any corporation but retaining these employees is a bigger challenge. Employee retention will reduce the hiring, training and productivity/re-hiring loss costs. In addition, employee retention will decrease the loss of intellectual property. In my opinion companies need to develop programs to listen, value and recognize their employees - After all your employees are the most valuable asset for any organization.
6. What is your favorite part of your role?
It would have to be without a doubt employee recognition for performance and long service within the company. Handing awards to employees that have spent 5, 10 and 20 yrs with the corporation is extremely exciting – To me, it is a reflection of the successful implementation of Human Resources Management by the organization. As mentioned earlier, it is hard to recruit but it is much harder to retain.
7. What has been the highlight of your career in HR?
I would have to say the role at Black Cat Engineering & Construction as Human Resources and Administration Manager. At Black Cat Engineering we have 22 nationalities at different professional career levels working in the Oil & Gas contracting industry in multiple project sites – in addition to our corporate location. The challenge is to develop strategies, policies and procedures that meet the business requirements and the demands of such a diverse workforce.
8. What do you read to keep abreast of industry developments?
Being an active member of the American Management Association, the Society of Human Resource Management and the Academy of Human Resource Development is a great tool for professionals to get updated on current practices in the industry. In addition, I am an active member in the local HR communities in Qatar and USA.
9. What is your advice to someone looking to enter the field of HR?
My first advice is to make sure that Human Resources is your passion. You have to love your job in order to excel in it. Secondly, to be a successful HR professional, one must be able to identify the many variables that affect the organization’s ability to attain its strategic objectives. One must develop quantitative and qualitative approaches to efficiently and effectively attract, engage and retain talent. Thirdly, as a HR professional, your customers are the employees, clients, shareholders and the communities served – if one of them is not satisfied, it will yield an unstable environment within the organization.
10. How do you see the Middle East evolve as a place to practice HR?
The Middle East is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing regions in the world today. The region is seeing unprecedented growth in economic activities across industries. Even with the current economic situation, the Middle East is still ahead of the pack. As the region continues to grow exponentially, it is very clear that human capital is the biggest asset in any corporation. Hence I expect companies in the Middle East that are planning on maintaining a competitive advantage will have to invest in attracting and retaining these valuable human capital assets. The Human Resources practices in the Middle East will have to focus on adopting best practices guidelines, strategies, policies and procedures in order to focus the attention of the human capital of the world to the Middle East.
11. If you could wave your magic stick and make a significant development in one specific area of HR practices worldwide, where would that fall?
Succession planning – These coming years, the general business atmosphere will focus on Merger and Acquisitions…etc. This is going to put a huge emphasis on the roles of financial and Human Resources management. It is critical to be able to present a solid business case where your critical management positions have been identified and the quality of the next generation of management and its readiness to propel the enterprise to new heights has been clearly defined.
For the HR angle, the key to future success is in understanding and evaluating the value of your current human resources and forecasting and preparing for future needs for the coming years. I am a firm believer that by optimizing the potential of your current workforce (through succession planning), the enterprise will unleash a wide array of undiscovered capabilities and talents that can be utilized in solidifying the picture of the organization in any future business transaction.
12. Anything else you'd like to share with the community of Bayt.com Employers?
I would like to thank Bayt.com for giving HR leadership across the GCC the opportunity to share their thoughts with the HR community globally. Bayt is one of the few job boards that truly tries to understand the “best practices” business model of servicing the client and this is admirable. I would also like to direct the attention of candidates looking for opportunities in Qatar’s Oil & Gas industry to go to our website at – www.blackcat.com.qa, read about the company and send us their resumes for consideration.
