Human Resources DevelopmentManager, Corporate Human Resources, Americana Group
As the Human Resources Development Manager for a company with operations as vast as Americana, Ismail Azmy has what he jokingly calls 'hectic days.' Without an assistant, Azmy has learned to organize his schedule, coordinate with the group's offices around the region and get things done, all keeping in mind that no matter what, his family comes first. So despite his jam-packed schedule, Azmy makes an effort to put aside time for his family, friends and himself.
Being a human resources director is all about the people; you have to be people-oriented and you have to listen to them to understand their needs. It's all about attracting, developing and retaining people. Mine is a corporate role that does not involve day to day operations in the group's branches; there are strong teams in each market that handle their needs. As Corporate Human Resources Director, I focus more on the group strategy and how we will be able to accommodate to market changes quickly enough to maintain our position as a market leader in the region.A major part of my job is to conduct field visits to our stores, which usually takes a considerable chunk of my time. Whenever I visit any branch, I have to [stop in on] our stores and also competitors' stores to [keep my finger on] the pulse of the business, understand the needs of the business in addition to how our role can affect the end consumer in a positive way.
If I'm in Egypt, my typical day starts at 8am: I'll hit the shower, check my email, eat breakfast, play with my kids if they're up and then head to the office to be there before 9am.
Once I'm in the office, I check my work email and I'll have a couple of conference calls with our branches in the Middle East. I have a 'to-do' list written up on a big whiteboard in my office, which I will then start to tackle. I check my email continuously throughout the day, and although it might be a bit distracting, I prefer to empty out my inbox on daily basis.
I try my best to leave at 5pm so I can go home to spend time with my kids until their bedtime at 9pm. That's when I head to the gym if my wife and I aren't going out with friends.
I used to be a typical workaholic working more than 12 hours a day until I realized that no matter how hard you work, you will always have unfinished work, pending tasks and you will never be able to make it up to your kids and family. The conclusion that I've reached after working for 10 years is simply that my family will always come first, because this is the only place where investing your time and effort is totally worth it. It pays back big time for the rest of your life.
When I'm traveling on a business trip, my mornings start at around 6am or 7am. I go to the gym, have breakfast and am ready to go to the office by 8:30am. I'll work till 5pm and then I head back to my hotel to rest for about an hour. Then I'll start my store visits until closing time around midnight.
When I'm doing my store rounds in Egypt, I usually drive my car myself. I'll take a cab when I'm going Downtown or visiting crowded neighborhoods.
I do not have a dedicated admin assistant so I take care of handling my appointments and running my errands. You can have several tasks to accomplish every day but I guess the secret is handling first things first and understanding the difference between urgent and important. That way you can prioritize your tasks and schedule them. For me, it's all on my notebook and iMate; I cannot imagine how life would be without them. They are my moving office and without them I think I would forget all my appointments, lose my correspondence and simply lose the edge of communication.
By Fatima El-Saadani
© Business Today Egypt 2007
