Bio: Rena holds multiple degrees including a Masters in science and engineering from Northwestern University, a teaching diploma from The College of New Jersey and a Certificate in Personnel Practice (CPP) from The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) - which is UK’s leading professional body for HR. She started off 5 and-a-half years ago as a recruitment officer with Leo Burnett Dubai, and has since then moved into her current regional role that better compliments her background in education. She is a firm believer in a changing behavior through knowledge and leading by example. Rena is also very eco-conscious and has been a primary advocate for the ‘Go Green’ campaign at Leo Burnett.
Questions: 1. How do you like living and working in UAE?
I moved to Dubai when I joined Leo Burnett in 2006; that was 5 1/2 years ago and counting! Working in the UAE, specifically in Dubai, has so far been tremendously rewarding. Since Dubai is such a metropolitan city, I get to work with people from all over the world. I work in an advertising agency where creativity is the life-line for success, and I love being a part of it. For me, Dubai is the city where I started my family and so far it has been wonderful living here.
2. What is your average day at work like?
My position is unique in our industry, since very few media, communications and advertising firms have someone assigned strictly for learning and development. My days are quite hectic because I am a big 'multitasker' and love juggling multiple assignments at the same time. I am often given objectives and am simply asked to 'make it happen', and so, I do. My day depends on the project, workshop or event that I am working on and the deadlines that I have set.
3. What is your biggest professional challenge?
If this question was asked of me two years ago, my answer would have been very different. My biggest professional challenge is actually a personal one also. I am a working mother with a 2 year old and a 7 month old baby, so making sure I am a successful professional at work and a successful mom and wife at home is my biggest challenge. The next step for me, naturally when the right time comes, would be to continue my own professional learning in HR, possibly even pursue a higher degree or HR certification.
4. What is the most important thing you look for in new hires?
At Leo Burnett, there are various personal attributes that we look for in new hires, such as being creative, visionary, brave, passionate, collaborative and connected. We look for people who have a drive to win. Another attribute that we look for is integrity, we like people who are good at heart and display a sense of honesty, transparency and commitment. I personally like people who are energetic and aren't afraid to do things differently. I also like candidates who display a sense of respect for others and for the world they live in.
5. What is the biggest challenge you face in hiring talent?
The biggest challenges with us would have to be the length of the recruitment cycle and the limited talent pool that we find for this industry.
6. What is your favorite part of your role?
I feel like the luckiest person for three reasons-
7. What has been the highlight of your career in HR?
Moving from a local role to a regional role has been the highlight of my career. I was a recruitment officer for Dubai (UAE) and Kuwait and was later promoted to be the ‘Regional Training Manager’ for all of our Middle East and North Africa offices. I love working with the talented minds behind who run our various regional offices and I really enjoy working closely with the COO, CEO and the MD's. The exposure has allowed me to mature and to consider our agency from a management as well as an employee perspective- this has added value to how I approach things.
8. What do you read to keep abreast of industry developments?
For HR industry news: I often follow twitter links of popular HR sites to read the latest articles and I often check websites such as: Hbr.org, shrm.org, thehrreview.com. For advertising industry news: Campaign Middle-East magazine (https://campaignme.com/) and Communicate magazine (https://communicateonline.me/) and creativity-online.com.
9. What is your advice to someone looking to enter the field of HR?
Be resourceful. People appreciate it when you help them, no matter how small the task may be. They will appreciate this and in turn respect you for respecting them.
10. How do you see the Middle East evolve as a place to practice HR?
I think that HR is being taken more seriously and companies are realizing the value of HR but I don't think they understand how much added value this discipline can actually give. Recruitment is always the biggest point of concern for companies and so, naturally, many HR departments end up focussing time and energy on this whereas they should be focussing more on strategic planning. Strategic planning would include change management, workplace engagement, diversity and the other sweet stuff.
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?
I know this is quite cliché, but since I have been in learning and development for four years now, I wish there would be an easier way to measure the ROI of training programs and to measure if our programs have changed behaviour and to what extent.
12. Anything else you'd like to share with the community of Bayt.com employers?
When you want to introduce budget-cuts, don't introduce a cut on the entire training budget. Having limited budget cuts is fine, besides there are many creative and cost-effective ways to keep your staff happy and well-trained. I believe that training truly does change employee behaviour positively regardless of whether it is measurable or not.
