Bio:
Hadi B. Riachi is the HR Officer at Arab Bank and is responsible for all things related to recruitment, learning & development and performance management. He holds a diversified educational background, with 3 Masters’ degrees, namely in international affairs, diplomacy & negotiations and in HR management. Prior to his working in the banking sector, he held varied work experience in fields including journalism, rural development, political and human rights awareness, as well as in Arab cinema promotion and production. Currently at Arab Bank – Lebanon he has two major projects under his purview: namely the performance management project and the internal learning and development program that aims to certify internal trainers/mentors and branch managers.
Questions:
1. How do you like living and working in Lebanon?
Lebanon is a small yet multicultural country, and it has a diversified working environment. The Lebanese are synergetic in nature, and they can adapt to most professional environments in Lebanon itself as well as abroad very quickly. Working here is not as easy as it might seem, as the Lebanese are very qualified and they are fast learners, thus the work culture only allows entry for the most qualified candidates. For myself, living and working here is a daily challenge due to the unstable external environment, and a great experience due to the internal fast-paced working environment in my organization.
2. What is your average day at work like?
My average work day is a smooth transition between different HR activities; meeting new candidates, taking care of training preparations, meeting heads of departments to fine-tune or set new functional business objectives for the employees' scorecards, or mentoring during on-job training sessions. The latter is the task I enjoy the most.
3. What is your biggest professional challenge?
The real challenge in the HR department is to promote leadership. Organizations are not just made to increase profit; I believe that our employees’ welfare, their peace of mind, and their work security are prerequisites for getting their optimum output and creativity. On the other hand, my biggest professional challenge is to keep up with the most advanced trends in the HR industry and to customize them to fit my organization’s needs.
4. What is the most important thing you look for in new hires?
The educational background is a very important element for fresh graduates. On the other hand, for experienced candidates, the education has to be coupled with relevant experience. Otherwise, interpersonal skills disclosed from emotional intelligence questionnaires give an accurate idea about the interviewee. Nowadays, the prerequisites for a productive workplace are cooperative, synergetic teams that work in harmony. Harmonization and adaptation are attained from an accurate recruitment process.
5. What is the biggest challenge you face in hiring talent?
The recruitment pool is full of qualified candidates, the real challenge remains in identifying the best fit for the organization.
6. What is your favorite part of your role?
My favorite part of my work is the one related to training and development. Facilitating a development session or mentoring a branch manager during an on-job training session can make you see things from a different perspective. This allows you to offer constructive feedback on employee relations, team building, TNAs (Training Needs Analysis) and ROI to the manager.
7. What has been the highlight of your career in HR?
I started my HR career by chance in a very dynamic working environment at an NGO. I discovered that I enjoyed working with people, so I started to read, investigate, and learn more about that, until I succeeded in establishing and directing the HR department in that organization. Today, being a part of the most prestigious bank in the MENA makes me proud and motivated to give my best, in order to maintain the Arab Bank’s brand.
8. What do you read to keep abreast of industry developments?
Personal development is a combination of learning on the job, learning through subsequent training sessions and learning by experience shared with peers and colleagues. My readings include relevant management and HR websites in addition to books and research studies.
9. What is your advice to someone looking to enter the field of HR?
The HR department is no longer an administrative, personnel or secretarial department. The HR person is no longer a generalist. If you are seeking an HR role you must keep in mind that your department is strategic for the success of a company, therefore you must be armed with the appropriate knowledge and tools and keep on developing your knowledge-base in order to succeed.
10. How do you see the Middle East evolve as a place to practice HR?
Despite its turbulence, the Middle East is still considered one of the fastest developing regions in the world, attracting talents from all over the globe. Thus, practicing HR is a challenging yet delightful experience, especially when you are aligning the efforts of Arabs, Asians, Europeans, Americans, Australians and others by means of a common “Intercultural HR Language”.
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?
In my opinion, I would want to standardize HR practices worldwide. I would also like to enhance leadership, especially for many of today’s managers in order to enable them to lead their teams efficiently.
12. Anything else you'd like to share with the community of Bayt.com Employers?
I would like to share some tips: Believe in empowerment not delegation Focus on continuous learning and development Keep your employees’ morals high
