INTERVIEWER: MAHMOUD MANSI
EDITOR: Hadeer Salah Aldeen
Interview with Leaders Egyptian Association For Development
1- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Why did you choose to enter the HR field? And how did you join it?
May El-Talawi: In order to know more details about HR and its’ principles, develop myself through my competencies, develop others and add value to the company. I did it through getting Business Administration Certificate from Continuing Education (AUC in Egypt) & then Essentials Human Resources Management from SHRM in AUC in Kuwait. Then, I got my MBA specialized HRM. from Ain Shams University. Then I got my PHD in Bus. Adm. Specialized in HRM from Widu University. Also, I received Lead Quality Auditor for ISO 9001, 29990 from TUV.
2- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: In 1999 you attained your Bachelor degree in English Literature, How did your study in literature help you into being a better HR?
May El-Talawi: First of all, literature supports me to be excellent in the English language and guides me to know the biography of big writers and their achievements in life which let them to be valuable in life, business and society. As HR. field, mainly works on how to be added value in life and community either in social life and business and this is the relation between each other.
3- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: You have appeared several times on T.V discussing HR matters in Egypt. From your point of view, what would be the effect of HR media on the society?
May El-Talawi: HRM would increase the awareness of the transparency and honesty in the information and clear goals. It is important for personal development which is the most important assets of the investment in human beings which add value to the society and the community.
4- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: From your point of view, what were your success factors that made you become successful in the field of HR?
May El-Talawi: Some of my success factors are the fighter inside me, I’m able to learn and develop myself and others, flexibility, cooperation, creativity, planning, decisiveness and patience.
5- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: How did you enter the entrepreneurship world? And please tell us more about your project; LEAD?
May El-Talawi: I entered this world when I start thinking to do activity in training field for youth and mainly to bridge the gap between education and what the market needs. Also, when thinking to create ideas which help the industrial field through CSR program in the companies and add value on our community especially working on women & Youth helped me more in the entrepreneurship world.
In 24th Mar. 2013 (LEAD) Leaders Egyptian Association for Development (LEAD) is a None Governmental Organization (NGO) to help people and business to achieve ambitious goals through providing them with hands on experience.
Vision: – To be a partner in building skillful people and successful business in Egypt.
– To build a place where people can come to find support and consultation for their career and to give a hand for people in our society to perform better.
Mission: Our mission is to figure out and strength people competencies for better performance and success of people in workplace and life and to actively serve business and people for better work results.
Our Slogan: Lead by Development.
Our Objectives: To contribute in solving youth unemployment, lack of competencies and recruiting challenges.
- To build an efficient candidates database.
- To empower women and people of special needs to be effective and efficient members in society.
- To contribute in increasing awareness of safety, health, pollution control and other important environmental matters.
- To contribute in fighting of illiteracy.
- To give a hand to entrepreneurs to establish and grow their businesses.
Our Values: Responsibility, Respect to self and others, Commitment, Honesty and integrity and Continuous Improvement.
Our Services & Activities: Recruitment Services Programs, Training and Development Programs, Vocational and Handicrafts Training Development Program, SHE (Safety, Health and Environment) Programs, Social Responsibility Program, Internships, Project Ideas, Handicaps Programs, Women Development Programs, Friendship Exchange, Human Rights Programs, Prisoners Programs and Drugs Awareness Programs.
Our Members: Our Leaders will be Business Community, Academics, variety of Professionals and graduates members and Undergraduates members and anyone who is interested in social responsibility to provide professional assistance to people who need to perform well in life.
Our Projects Partners: Temmy’s Company, Scib Company, Tredco ELSayad “Passap Factory”, Alex. Wood Factory Industry/ Nabil Adly Factory, Mito Factory, Rotary Heliopolis EL Golf, Cairo Control, PVTD, Ministry of Youth & Sport, Ministry of Environment, Ministry Of Information & communication Technology, Tourism Board “El Fostat handmade Gallery”, GIZ, TVET 1, Giza Government, International NGO, Maser El Kheir / El Orman and Vocational Rotary Egypt District 2451.
6- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: How is managing people in an NGO different from managing people in a profitable organization?
May El-Talawi: It’s the same as NGO have to have a system to work on it, policies and procedures for the work.
7- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Through LEAD, you deal with a lot of youth. What is your opinion regarding Egyptian youth now?
May El-Talawi: Egyptian Youth have power and creativity, but they need to be patient on work and able to learn in order to achieve success in business, and add value to the company, and develop their competencies.
8- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: When you first created LEAD, who were the first people / job titles that you recruited?
May El-Talawi: (HR Specialist, Admin jobs, Accountant & Blue collars).
9- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: As a youth development organization, how do you work on developing your own employees?
May El-Talawi: By letting them attend our training for free, cascade tasks for them to think and create new ideas and solve problems in order to be responsible and leaders in their places.
10- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Tell us some case-studies / challenges you faced in LEAD and how did you overcome them?
May El-Talawi: Funding partners are the biggest challenge but we work on it by working on CSR concept with the companies and sometimes supporting from the NGO board member in order to sustain our project.
An example is one of our projects that the CSR with the company can’t continue because of some financial issues in their system. That’s why; we tried to use our connections with our experts’ connections and our internal strength in training inside NGO. As a result, we continue training without stopping although there is no funding.
11- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: As a Project Manager in Rotary Heliopolis El Golf, how did your HR talents help you into adding to this post?
May El-Talawi: It gives me the chance to do cooperation with LEAD under the umbrella of the Rotary Corporate Community called (RCC) which let full cooperation between Rotary and our NGO faster and easier and create joint project in different areas as Training for youth, Environment, Handicrafts.
12- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Did your success in Rotary support your career success in any way?
May El-Talawi: Yes, it added for me new networking, fellowships, and community development ideas.
13- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What is your criticism regarding civil work and charity activities in Egypt, and what is your advice to enhance it?
May El-Talawi: The bad advertising which appears in Ramadan gives bad effect on community and gives sense that development is like begging. I think we need to change the vision to achieve development which is based on developed minds and human beings who learn how to do the job and be an effective person, either a man or a woman, in their community and how to add value to the society not turning them into beggars.
14- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: You also work as a lecturer. What is the common ground between being a teacher and an HR?
May El-Talawi: The common competencies as below:
- Presentation skills
- Creativity
- Deliver the information in easy way
- Communication Skills
15- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: You worked as a Recruitment & Training Manager in one of the leading automotive organizations. How is HR in the car industry different than any other?
May El-Talawi: IT’s not different but it needs more effort to find the suitable technicians because there are rare jobs and unskilled labors especially in the automotive field.
16- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: You also work as a freelance trainer in the public/private sectors giving courses in HR. How does HR add benefit to the system in Egypt and to the attendees in general?
May El-Talawi: It gives sense of development in the Employees knowledge, skills and behavior. It changes their thinking of the leadership model & the difference between the meaning of manger & leader and how to be effective mangers / leaders in their place.
17- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What are the different organizations you worked in? And tell us one thing you learnt in each organization?
May El-Talawi: As an HR & Proj MGR LEAD I learnt how to deal with NGO system and follow the project.
As an HR. Mgr. MIPCO for Plastic, I learnt how to deal with multinational companies’ system and blue workers strikes.
As a Recruitment & Training Mgr. Modern Motors distributor for Nissan, I learnt how to deal with blue workers and technicians.
As an HR Consultant for Energya PTS, I learnt how to deal with different business sectors.
As an HR Consultant for Delta Medical Hermes, I learnt how to deal with different Cultures/ Revolution Crisis, and personnel problems.
As an HR Consultant for Cairo Control, I learnt how to deal with and mange governmental projects tender with the company.
As an Assistant TUV Expert Quality trainer, I learnt about increasing auditor competencies and QMS.
As a lecturer and expert trainer in HRM, I learnt how to be more patient and listen and search for new ideas and topics.
As a public speaker in media, I learnt how to increase my self-confidence, and L gained a lot of communication and presentation skills.
As a senior English Teacher in Kuwait, I learnt how to increase my self-confidence & trainer competencies.
18- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What were/are your challenges as a “working woman” in Egypt?
May El-Talawi: The challenge is the conflict which happened between some men and women in business especially when the women are in the leading /managerial posts.
19- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What’s your opinion to enhance business education in Egypt?
May El-Talawi: We must teach soft skills which work on students competencies through schools which work on KSA (Knowledge, skills, Ability) in HRD topic as team work, communication skills, time management, creative thinking, etc…
20- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: As a member of Global HR Forum, how does this add a benefit to you?
May El-Talawi: New networking for professional HR leaders and also Global HR Forum appreciate me and rewarded me for my efforts in our project through cooperation with LEAD NGO for training youth and working on Unemployment issues which bridge the gap between education and the market needs with the help of Ministry of Youth & Sport & some Governorates under these two initiatives which called as below:
1st initiative: “Yala N3’yer Fekrna W Neshta3’al” under the program “Active Employee Job Competencies Program”.
2nd initiative: “Mesh3eb” under the program called “Scib LEAD for Teach Painting”.
21- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What is your opinion regarding unemployment in Egypt? And what are your ideas to solve this?
May El-Talawi: We have unemployment for some youth minds because we have jobs but we didn’t find the skilled person who fills the job and the person who is flexible and willing to learn new skills to fill the job. That’s why we need efforts from the youth to change their vision towards jobs; they need to be committed and patient towards their job responsibilities. Also the government has to deliver the suitable training for youth which is suitable for the market needs.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Dr. May, we sincerely thank you for this remarkable interview and for you outstanding efforts for the society.
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