“Would you like to go out and blog our first personalized client story?” asked Rabea Ataya, CEO of Bayt.com. This question stemmed from an idea regarding change in the workplace. Change may ruffle a few feathers; but ultimately change is inevitable and almost always, change is good. I viewed the question as yet another opportunity to digress from my work routine. As an HR professional human interaction is what I cherish the most and I saw this as a chance to learn more about the Bayt.com experience from an employer’s perspective. I readily accepted. This acceptance took me and my colleague Abdul to the corporate office of Daikin McQuay one lovely Sunday morning.
While skillfully balancing a phone on one shoulder, a smiling receptionist tactfully signaled for us to sign the visitor register and take our seats in the waiting area. This was while simultaneously dealing with a courier provider and another visitor. Impressive service I thought and told Abdul out loud. In less than two minutes Mai Mostafa, the Recruitment Manager greeted us warmly and showed us to a meeting room. Despite having gotten off a plane just a few hours earlier, Mai looked impeccable and well rested. She briefed us about her trip to Amman and apologized in advance for any interruptions we might face during her interview. For those of you who have met Mai, I am sure you will agree that she creates an indelible first impression. Confident, yet poised in all her mannerisms. “When I joined Daikin McQuay eleven months ago, we were dealing with several recruitment agencies. I was given the freedom to refine the existing recruitment process. I decided we needed a change! And for that, I needed a trusted recruitment partner. I am a perfectionist and like processes to be streamlined. When I make a decision, I ensure I make the decision for the right reasons. I’d been hearing about Bayt.com for a long time but never really used the website”. Mai continued, “Being socially active on Twitter and LinkedIn, I have a huge network of professionals that I interact with. I spoke to several Recruitment Managers and HR Managers within the region and asked them to refer an established recruitment portal in the region. All of them named Bayt.com. I went a step further and sent out a survey to jobseekers to understand the websites they used to post CVs and search for jobs. Once again, Bayt.com!” A recruitment expert, Mai Mostafa has nine years of recruitment experience under her belt. In spite of all challenges in the vicious circle of recruitment, she would not trade her career for anything else in the world and still gets an adrenaline rush when a candidate signs an offer.
Mai holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the Cairo University and a certificate in Human Resource Management from the American University of Cairo. An avid tweeter, she makes it her personal mission to assist jobseekers in the multifaceted world of recruitment. She started her career as a recruitment specialist with Alkan Networks following which she worked with Talent2.com in Dubai, where her core skills as a recruiter were refined. She then moved back to Egypt as HR Resourcing Manager with Barclays Bank. During her stint with Barclays, she trained 250 managers and 30 Hiring Managers on the recruitment process. “It was great! Competency-based interviews, mock interviews, do’s and don’ts, and much more, “she reminisces proudly. After two amazingly successful years of dealing with the 54 Barclays’ branches across Egypt, Mai returned to the UAE and was hired at Daikin McQuay ME. As Recruitment Manager, Mai manages the entire recruitment process from approval to on-boarding for Daikin McQuay across Middle East and Africa. She is also responsible for selecting and training recruitment partners in Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, KSA, and the UAE. “It’s been a great 11 months,” Mai continued. “Challenging, yet fulfilling. I’ve been exposed to different cultures, learnt different labor laws and traveled to several new countries recruiting great talent. Bayt.com has made the journey easier”. With a flourish, she pulled out her mobile calculator and with an elegant savoir-faire punched in the equation that reinforced this perspective. She showed us how the investment in a one-month Bayt.com package reduced costs drastically compared to traditional recruitment methods. “I discussed this ROI with my manager, Marleen.” And together they decided to invest in an annual package with Bayt.com. “I chose Bayt.com to serve Daikin McQuay”, she said with an aura of wisdom. “Bayt.com is not inexpensive, but the service you provide is definitely value for money.” I listened intently and jotted down notes. I say intently because it took me a few seconds to realize that Mai was waiting for my next question.
I promptly asked her about the features she liked best about Bayt.com. “The search filter”, she said without batting an eyelid. “I can be very selective and still get a huge pool of talent within minutes and all at the click of a few buttons. Not only that, I really like the diverse yet qualified pool of talent that Bayt.com provides. We recently hired Ugandan, Romanian, Algerian, and Lebanese nationals through Bayt.com”. It dawned on me that the receptionist was one of the recent hires at Daikin McQuay and I confirmed the same with Mai. Obviously a great hire, Mai had done magic with her onboarding to have the new receptionist adjusted to the office culture in such a short period. I asked her whether she would recommend Bayt.com to other employers. “Absolutely, I already have. Ever since I hired the first candidate I have been tweeting about the benefits of using Bayt.com.” Bayt.com is also number 1 when it comes to the customer service provided. My interaction with Abdul and Patrick has been nothing but the best. Even when I call and message after office hours I get the response I need.” I was beaming from ear to ear. Never one to overstay a visit, I quickly fired the last few questions:
What do you look for in an ideal hire? Potential, skills and ambition. What is your advice to fresh grads looking to join your company? Have an open mind with a huge willingness to learn. In three words, what is the culture of Daikin McQuay? Dynamic, challenging and passionate! If there is one document an HR professional should read, what is it? Labor laws! Our time was up. We thanked Mai profusely for her invaluable testimony. Both Bayt.com and Mai had benefited from a minor change in the workplace. Bayt.com secured a loyal client and Mai hired the right candidates.
