A way to help
When Salma Salameh started her studies and her career, she didn’t think she would end up working with HR. However, as her career set off, she quickly figured out that she liked the contact with other people and the close dialogue the HR role offers.
“What drives me in my work is that I have the opportunity to help people. If there is something going on privately, I am a safe space where people can load off and have someone who listens. If there is something wrong professionally I can try to change the circumstances,” She explains.
“I want to help people get to where they want to be,” She adds. And as an HR employee, she has the opportunity to help the employees in their daily life, change what isn’t working, and impact the whole organization.
“I find my job very meaningful, because I know I can help people and change something for the better, and I love seeing the results of my work.”
A safe space
For Salma, it is crucial that her employee thrives both in the workplace and with their daily task. And to ensure that, she needs to be someone, the employees are safe coming to when something is off.
“I am very open-minded and I don’t judge. I think that is one of the reasons why people are not afraid of coming to me when they need to talk about something,” Salma explains.
It is essential to her that the employees do not fear talking about what is going on, even though she is the head of HR. She knows that people sometimes prefer talking to someone, who is not their closest manager, and it is her finest job to catch those people and be a safe space for them in their job and day-to-day life.
“With me, there is no judgment. People can be themselves and talk freely about whatever they want. If something bothers them, if they want to change something, or if something is going on privately. I am a breathing space and a safe space where they can just talk.”
Informality and personality are the key philosophies
The keywords for Salma's way of working are informality and personality. She believes that an informal and personal tone and working environment is the key to thriving employees and well-being.
To ensure that she is always up to date with how the employees feel at work, she prioritizes speaking with every employee as often as possible. However, her working methods might be a little untraditional.
The formal sit-down meetings are not a method, she uses a lot unless the employee asks for it themself. Instead, she uses informal meetings in the hallway or by the coffee machine to stay updated.
“Most employees at UXV thrive best in the informal setting. An annual and formal meeting can often be overwhelming and people might not know what to say. But if I am just standing at the coffee machine with someone, or I walk by someone in the hall and they ask me a question, it will start a natural conversation that then has the opportunity to develop, and that way, I can find out how my employees are feeling and what they think,” Salma explains about her approach.
“My informal approach creates a space that is natural and safe, where the employees often find it easier to explain how they are feeling, than if they are sitting across from me in a conference room.”
However, Salma emphasizes that if an employee has a lot on their mind, the conversation can be moved to a meeting room, so they can talk without any disturbances. And if an employee prefers the formal and annual meeting, they get it that way. The important thing for Salma is that everyone feels comfortable and heard.
Therefore personal connection and dialogue with the employees are very important. However, with a company in rapid growth, maintaining personal connections can be a challenge.
“We are hiring a lot of new employees all the time, which makes the close dialogue I have with people more difficult now than it has been before,” Says Salma.
Even though it gets harder for her to speak to everyone personally in the future, she will still ensure that she is updated on how the employees are feeling. Therefore she has monthly meetings with the managers of each department, where they talk about the employees and how the department functions overall:
“If the manager has any remarks or observes something about an employee that may need some extra attention, I will try to get closer to the individual employees through that process. So that way I still have a constant feel of how everyone is doing, even as we grow.”
“I believe that the informal and personal settings set the tone for an open workplace, where the employees thrive and enjoy working,” She concludes.
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