Finding Balance

To align organisational goals with employee needs, Dr. Nikhat M. Hamza, director of HR at Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Learning, improved communication channels, offered support to employees, and boosted engagement efforts.

By Maggie Mancini

HR is not just about policies, procedure, and hiring, says Dr. Nikhat M. Hamza, director of HR at Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Learning. Rather, it’s about dealing with human minds, knowing employees and management well. HR, he says, is something that should be present at every part of the business, as practitioners develop today and tomorrow’s leaders.  

A challenge for Hamza is trying to find a balance between the organisation’s overall goals and employees’ personal lives. Every company wants to improve productivity, and employees need a positive work culture to work efficiently. As a result, Hamza began hosting a town hall meeting to address employee needs; increased the amount of executive committee meetings; added incentives for school faculty publishing research; and offered supports for faculty and other school employees who were struggling with writing and publishing research.  

By understanding the needs of employees and management, Hamza supported both groups in boosting productivity and eliminating wasted time. Additional training and skills development programmes were implemented to help employees advance their careers and reduce turnover.  

Further, improving employee engagement efforts through faculty awards, celebrations, sports, small team-building events, team outings, and a revamped orientation programme helped the organisation reach its overall goals while supporting employee needs.  

Hamza was recognised with the HRO Today Association’s APAC Award for HR Leadership, Education.