Western educated, CIPD certified with strong communication and leadership skills, Rondah Khazma-Al Shab is the HR Manager (UAE and GULF) at Kamal Osman Jamjoom Group LLC. She is responsible for all employees across this region, providing guidance and support to all. We met Rondah in Dubai and had this interesting interview with her.
Rondah Khazma-Al Shab has been working in the retail industry for the last six years. She joined Kamal Osman Jamjoom (KOJ) in May 2012. Her career in the UAE started out as Azadea Group’s Employee Relations Manager, during which she handled over 3,000 staff. Among Rondah’s achievements at Azadea Group was reducing staff turnover from 35% down to 11% in just four years. Rondah specializes in Performance Management, Recruitment and Talent Acquisition. Her ability to motivate employees and proven track record in improving HR processes made her one of the most successful professionals in her field. Rondah has completed her CIPD certification in HR, and intends on completing her Masters in HR later this year.
I was born and raised in Australia to Middle East parents. I always felt very Australian and never in a million years did I ever think I would live in this part of the world. I’ve been here for 6 years now, and while Australia will always be my home, I love living and working in the UAE; it has enriched my cultural experience and allowed me to be more humble in life. Dubai has a certain magic about it that makes me want to stay.
My average day at work is extremely busy and challenging, but at the same time very rewarding. You move from one project to another and time just seems to fly by. What you learn in 12 months in this part of the world, you won’t learn in 5 years working in another country. Coaching and guiding employees can take a lot of energy from you, so it’s important to exercise, and most importantly, have a laugh everyday
We look for someone who has genuine passion for what they do. A happy nature also goes a long way. KOJ encourages development of all employees and we have a great sense of belonging. We actually always refer to the business as the KOJ family. It comes right from the chairman and cascades down through the business. We are all very appreciated and looked after. When I ask employees who have been in the business a long time why they continue to stay, they always reply that KOJ is a family, and you never leave your family.
There is a lot of talent here in the UAE, but we do face a lack of creative people. Our business has many unique in-house brands, so trying to find creative people has proven to be challenging. We’ve been lucky with retaining staff due to the company culture we provide our employees, so when selecting the right person, we also take into consideration how they will fit into their respective teams.
We have a great work culture, when you walk around the office, you see many happy employees. It’s a very friendly atmosphere. We all live and breathe our company values which are: good people first; start and end with customer service; and profitability for all stakeholders.
There have been many highlights; HR can be a thankless job sometimes. What makes it all worthwhile is the people you help along the way. I still run into people I’ve worked with and they stop me to say how much I’ve impacted their lives. I’m always very humbled by this. Seeing employees you have worked with go on to be managers, or run their own businesses, is lovely to see.
HR is an ever changing field. Most of the key new best practices are generated outside of UAE so I have a lot of HR websites to which I’m subscribed. I’m also a member of CIPD UK. Having many HR colleagues also helps, and we get together from time to time to share our own views, achievements and challenges.
It’s always tough when you reach a point in your career and realize “this is not what I want to do”. It’s important to do checks on your lives and ask yourself “am I happy in my career”? Be passionate with all you do, it will take you a long way. Oh and one more thing, moving jobs every 12-18 months does not look good on your CV so think twice before you take a job.
