The HR Explorer
Interviewed by: Sandra Ebeid

Have you ever wondered if there was actually an organization that adopts a very distinguished HR system? Did you ever come across one founded on learning and development? Or even better, performance!! Well, apparently this could be true, or so says Mrs. Nagwa S. Moussa - HR Manager at bp Amoco in her interview with the Interest Zone.

It's not that often when I get so closely acquainted with such a friendly and transparent manager who walks the talk and not just talks about it or acts it. I can assure you that the moment you step within bp premises, you've just stepped into a virtual reality where you couldn't really believe the extent of friendliness and openness of everyone and the smile on the faces of employees. Wow, it was too good to be true…so read on if you want to find whether it was just my imagination or a real-life experience!

Main Functions / Responsibilities
Unlike any other organization, bp is distinguished by what they call: "People Agenda" that set the work and activities of all the HR functions in the company. Mrs. Moussa defined it to be: "The People Agenda is a standard applied to all bp companies all over the world." It entails Recruitment, Remunration & Reward, Diversity, Learning & Development, Regional (Alignment) Responsibility, Heath & Safety practices, Succession Planning, and Employee Counseling
Focusing on the training function, Mrs. Moussa stressed that bp is a performance-based and driven company. "This is noticed in our variable pay that are set according to rankings established and communicated clearly to all employees."
Each employee has "Performance Contract", which is then incorporated into a larger performance contractor for the business unit. These "Contracts" are taken very seriously because they are considered a promise to deliver. Mrs. Moussa emphasized that: "Here, you don't just stop at baking the cake; you are also required to deliver it."

The learning & development standards come from bp headquarters, and are available for all employees in all locations where the bp Group operates. . Mrs. Moussa went on to describe some internal processes her team implements: "The process of learning and development starts the moment graduates join the organization where they enter into "Challenge Programs" after which select employees - superior performers - move on to "high potential" category, and are put on the |"fast track" for development and progression in the company. Diversity is another function we focus on. It's about using the skill set and competitive edge of all nationalities working together in order to progress together and perform with the same efficiency all over the world."

Bp also supports the national development of joint ventures in terms of training to maintain the same wavelength and alignment across the various branches of the company. Feedback is continuously obtained to monitor the whole process. This is implemented through "People Assurance Survey" to evaluate all aspects related to the employee.
The conversation then shifted to the personnel area of HR and this is what Mrs. Moussa said: "When it comes to any personnel/administrative transactional function that is repetitive in its nature, this function is outsourced; however, payroll of Egyptian employees is completely handled in-house. The distinctiveness of bp lies in its tendency to be transformational and this means to have open boundaries in translating guidelines into employee needs and being flexible."

Essential Qualifications / Skills
Right out of the top of her head, Mrs. Moussa said: "TRUST is the foundation." She said that the HR team has to be trust-worthy. Other characteristics included the following: "You have to be always available applying the OPEN-DOOR policy is very important. You have to be transparent and progressive (creative, dynamic, think in transformational terms and be aligned to market changes). It goes without saying - the possession of the core HR skills You have to be honest and you have to be a change-agent yourself always keeping an eye on other HR practitioners outside your circle (networking). A SHRM certificate or its equivalent is a must. Gaining outside (international) exposure definitely helps in broadening your horizons. You have to be a mentor and not just an implementer."

Advice to new career seekers
Adding to all the above, Mrs. Moussa believes that: "Nothing is beneath you; it's about getting your hands dirty performing all tasks." Do it yourself is her motto to progress in your career. She continued: "It's about laying the right foundation by exerting more time on basics and being better.. You create the job and not vice versa. You are the only one who can bring out the best and new things in your job and make it more interesting, don't count on your boss or colleagues for that."

Ms. Moussa's Story
She graduated with an Accounting degree from Cairo University's Faculty of Commerce. Ms. Moussa worked for a very short period in GUPCO, and then she joined Amoco as a secretary for 3 years during which she was promoted to office manager. Ms. Moussa was later transferred to quality management for 2 years. She went on to become an HR Generalist for 3 years then Media Relations, Public and Government Affairs for 1 year. Ms. Moussa then took up the post of International HR Specialist in Houston, Texas, for 3½ years. And finally back to Cairo in 1999, Ms. Moussa assumed the position of HR Manager with bp Amoco.
Nagwa enjoys working with people eg. Fundraising and community work. Her hobbies according to priority are: Walking, Yoga, Swimming (under sports category). Listening to all kinds of music and reading. She isn't fond of T.V. nor golf.

About BP
BP p.l.c. is the holding company of one of the world's largest petroleum and petrochemicals groups. Their main activities are exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas; refining, marketing, supply and transportation; and manufacturing and marketing of petrochemicals. They have a growing activity in gas and power and in solar power generation. BP has well-established operations in Europe, North and South America, Australia, Asia and Africa.

The past two years have seen the development of a new team. Individuals from British Petroleum, Amoco, Arco, Burmah Castrol, Mobil in Europe and from numerous other businesses, which are now or will soon be combined in the new BP have come together to build a great new business.