An HR professional with a Sound Mission

Interviewed by:  Saleh Abdullah Alkhamyasi



Rashid Al-Nasri
HR Manager
Qalhat LNG



His Smile and humble personality gives you an assurance that you have known him for a long time. Mr. Rashid Al-Nasri is an HR professional with more than 18 years of experience. He initiated his career in  the Central Bank of Oman(CBO)where he was destined to work in different positions for 11years. Currently, he is an HR Manager with Qalhat LNG since 2006.  He is one of the founders of ASHRM chapter in Oman. Recently he was among the speakers in a conference entitled “Managing the Human Asset: The Role of HR” Organized by Fleming Gulf Conferences in 30th & 31st of January 2011. His Presentation Focused on “Growing the Employer Brand: Employer of Choice QLNG Perspective”.

“HR Fragrance” approached him to share his feedback on the conference in general and then delved more specifically in the issue Employer Branding. Our conversation resulted in the following:

1) Your opinion about this conference.

It was a good venue which made it possible for many HR Professional, Business Leaders and Trainers to gather under one roof to share their knowledge about current and persisting HR and organizational topics.

2) What are the benefits of participating in such events?

The benefits are many but to shed light on few, one can safely say that the participants can learn about current best practices from HR professionals, networking and real life examples from companies in Oman and abroad. It is an opportunity to brainstorm and see things from different angles.

3) Your presentation was on employer brand and can you highlight what this term means?

Simply stated, it is an attempt to build more satisfying & effective organizations by attracting, retaining and motivating staff through inculcating sound image about factors such as reputation, development opportunities, and work environment including facilities, work arrangements, recognition, reward and leadership. It is a straight forward formula in which the more you give to staff, the more empowering to you become to get them achieve business results.  It is taking the horse to where the water is and inducing the horse to drink willingly so to speak through such assuring and motivating initiatives.

4) Can you shed light on the QLNG experience in positioning its employer brand and what are some initiatives that were introduced?

Right from the beginning, Qalhat LNG kept the issue of employer branding at heart. Its dedicated efforts brought home many prestigious awards such as “The Asia’s Best Employer Brand Award” in Singapore awarded by the Employer Branding Institute, “Best Company in Omanisation” 2009 & 2010 by Ministry of Manpower, Oman, “Most Admired Company in Human Capital Management” award at the 2nd GCC Human Resources Excellence Awards

No doubt such wide recognitions became tangible reality as a result of initiatives such as company ceremony etc. culture & visionary leadership,  robust recruitment & retention, engaging our talents ,caring, trusting  & respecting our staff ,effective communication, development opportunity & growth, effective reward & recognition, sound performance management, safe social environment & work life balance, enjoyable  workplace, challenging business activities ,management engagement,  consistent innovation & best practices and many others initiatives  that have  inculcated  an urge for staff commitment and loyalty to their company.

5) Challenges the company faced in the process?

In every endeavor in life there will be challenges. It is the attitude that makes a difference. In our case the challenges were viewed and subsequently transformed into opportunities. In all our projects we visualized the good and effective results and made it a point to work hard in achieving them.    

6) What are your key take from this conference?

 Of course there are many but to highlight few examples I would say it was an opportunity for to be abreast with best practices and a chance for nourishing my reservoirs of network. 

7) Last word.

 I congratulate you for your HR blog initiative and thanks for the invitation. I am looking forward for a year full of achievements and greatness to all. I hope to connect with you in the days to come. keep up the creative work.