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Keep people at the centre of everything Samsung’s Dr Zain Reddiar believes that HR is best done by heart, as employees are multi-faceted and have unique needs that need to be understood and addressed so they can build an emotional connection to the company and the brand.
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BY CHUMA MXO ain Reddiar, HR director for Africa at Samsung Electronics, believes his life skills were seasoned during his upbringing, and equipped him with the finesse to lead people from all walks of life. Having spent a considerable period outside of South Africa, Zain has brought his talent and experience back home. “I learnt that people are at the centre of everything,” he says. “And if, as an HR head, you genuinely see your role as nothing more than being the servant of the people, that sets the tone for everything else.” When it comes to employee engagement, he explains that it’s crucial to remember that employees are multi-faceted and have unique needs. Understanding and addressing these needs in this spirit is what builds an emotional connection to the company and brand. Another contributing factor from an HR perspective is communication, which is key to creating dialogue and engaging in meaningful conversations.
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He also emphasises the importance of doing regular pulse checks. “We are only as good as our last change. Human psychology is fascinating. Knowing what makes people tick and being able to respond adequately to that is powerful. Regular pulse checks, therefore, not only highlight areas for improvement but also test alignment of strategies,” he says.
The winding road into HR Zain’s path into the HR space was not intentionally taken, but he believes that it fitted into a greater design. He started out in the field of emergency medicine where he worked as a flight medic and first responder. He spent some time working alongside medical fund managers doing medical case management in various call centres. A change in career led him to HR, and he later joined the MTN Group, which he was with for 17 years, starting as a general manager before assuming the role of HR director.
