The session was hosted by Mr. Elias Deeb, Executive Director of Kencentric Company, Middle East, and Dima Dimashqia, Consultant in shaping corporate culture and employee engagement Kenscentric Company.

Shedding light on the session, Salwa Abdullah, Director of Projects and Programs Department at the Authority, explained that the session saw great turnout and attention from the HR Club members, with nearly 9,000 followers from different parts of the world.

She added that the Authority held 14 virtual sessions for the HR Club last year. Mankind, followed by more than 47,000 Club affiliates and people interested in human capital development.

Salwa Abdullah said: “The last HR Club’s session, along with all previous sessions are documented and available in the visual library, on the Club's page on the Authority's website: www.fahr.gov.ae, the Club page, and those interested can access it at any time.”

She added: “The HR Club, which was launche in 2010 is one of the Authority’s strategic initiatives, and has become an important intellectual and knowledge communication platform bringing together thousands of people interested in its discussion topics, whether on human resource or support services issues.”

For his part, Mr. Elias Deeb, noted that organizations around the world witnessed during COVID-19 pandemic, tremendous changes in the current work systems and methods. “These changes usually take place within a period of no less than 3 years”, he said. “However, the pandemic, despite so many challenges it imposed on institutions, has greatly contributed to changing the organizations’ culture, as well as the prevailing work patterns, and the mechanisms used in managing employees, both face-to face or  remotely.”

Mr. Elias pointed out that the remote work model will continue, and dependence on it at the global level is increasing, but its success depends on the availability of a number of factors, the most important of which are: the support provided by the leadership for the new model, and provision of resources and technologies that enable employees to perform their tasks around the virtual world.

He shed light on the results of a recent survey conducted by Kensentric,  showing that 36% of employees around the world will continue to work remotely, an increase of 12% than before the pandemic. It also revealed that   institutions in many countries of the world are planning to increase spending on technology, due to the role it plays in achieving their strategic visions and expansion goals.

He added: “Institutions have realized well during the pandemic the importance of enhancing the employees' professional experiences, to improve their performance, productivity and loyalty. However, this requires leaders to be inspirational capable of involving employees in decision-making,  building strong social and professional relationships with them, and talent    development.

“The study also showed that 36% of leaders surveyed were ready to  develop their employees' experiences, while 49% of organizations intend to invest in training programs to develop their leaders during the next 12 months.”

Executive Director of Kencentric Company stressed that a successful leader is one who is keen to meet his employees’ needs, listen to them,  keep his word, look to the future, be humble, and build strong relationships based on mutual trust.

For her part, Ms. Dima Dimashqia, confirmed that the experiences that employees gain every day in the work environment affect their professional behaviors and performance. According to her, the role of the organization is to ensure that employees obtain experiences that are appropriate to the nature of their work, and the tasks that they carry out, as well as their academic qualifications.

She said: “Cornavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated the pace of transformations within organizations, showed the need for attracting qualified and experienced people of various specializations, especially talents with technological background.”

She explained that there is a difference in opinions of employees from different parts of the world about the experience of working remotely during COVID-19. “Some of them see that it has been a success and useful at the professional and personal levels despite the challenges it carries, while some believe that it is a bitter experience”, said Ms. Dima. “They do not wish to repeat it in any way.”

The Human Resource Club

The Human Resources Club launched in 2010 is one of the most important strategic initiatives of the Authority. It is an interactive platform and an intellectual and knowledge communication channel that brings together interested people, human resources specialists and experts under one roof to share ideas, experiences and solutions that could enhance the roles assigned to human resources departments and other institutional service bodies across different sectors in the country.

The HR Club offers its membership, which has grown to over 10 thousand, an  ideal opportunity to learn about the best practices, experiences and success stories of many individuals and institutions, as well as meeting with specialists and actors in the field of institutional work.

It is noteworthy that the door to membership is open free of charge for those interested in human resources, public administration institutional support and other relevant fields. The Club is keen to communicate with its affiliates