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Alma Besserdin
July 2020
Alma Besserdin is a global advocate for inclusive leadership, diversity, and migrant women’s empowerment. As the founder of Wimmigrants and a sought-after coach and speaker, she draws from personal experience and decades of expertise to help women thrive professionally and become leaders in their workplaces and communities.
The views and experiences shared in this interview are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the official views of Women in Commerce and Politics (WCP).
"Creating a sustainable culture requires a deep dive in the organisation’s existing culture... Everyone needs clarity and direction. Change takes time, and implementing a staged approach is wise."
Alma Besserdin
Q1
What motivated you to pursue a career in Human Resources?
When I came to Australia, as a migrant, my law degree wasn’t recognised, so I completed a Post-Graduate in HR/IR majoring in IR. This helped me to bridge my qualifications with my experience from overseas where I majored in the employment law. Since then I held many senior positions and have been consulting across many different organisations and industries. I believe the human resources function is the key partner to delivering future organisational growth. I always enjoyed working with people, as everyone has different talent and capabilities, so utilising ideas from everyone to implement the organisational vision, really excites me. As a Victorian Councillor and the Vice President Certification & Professional Development at the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), I can advocate further implementation of HR Standards within the industry.
Q2
Your unique approach is intriguing. You have emphasised that you are not interested in “ticking the box”. Organisations should work to create a sustainable workplace culture. How do you work with an organisation to ensure this?
Just helping an organisation here and now will not create sustainable change. It will just “fix” a short-term problem. That is one of the things I always point to people I work with. Creating a long-lasting change requires a deep dive in the organisational existing culture and understanding what must change and why. So, the first step is understanding what the current challenges are, what’s working and what’s not. To support change, senior leadership must drive the change and take ownership. Understanding why organisations need to change is the key, and then communicating and engaging directly across all employees, so they are engaged in the process. Everyone needs clarity and direction. Change takes time, and implementing a stage approach is wise, whilst at the same time, it’s important to create momentum and some quick wins. Supporting leaders and employees through change is critical so that everyone understands their roles. One of the most important elements during change is communication and engagement. Everyone needs to understand the impact on their roles, clients, stakeholders etc. Also, calibration is particularly important. If some things aren’t working you can make adjustments and change your implementation trajectory as needed.
If you could give a key piece of advice to a student aspiring to push for positive change in the Human Resources field, what would it be?
Q3
Understanding the business is the key. Demonstrating your value to the senior leadership team and employees is critical.
What are some of the key challenges that exist in Australian workplaces?
Q4
Given the current circumstances, the key challenges are employee engagement as the workforce majority are now performing remotely. This means planning and employee relations, and redesigning jobs especially with those organisations that had to significantly reduce the number of their staff.