Tuesday 19 March 2024
 
»
 
»
Story

Murray ... emphasis on people.

Alba focuses on human resources: Murray

MANAMA, November 26, 2014

Developing the human resources is critical and Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) puts a great deal of emphasis on its people, said Alba chief executive Tim Murray.

“We are in the people business and 87 per cent of our staff is Bahraini.  Our major concerns are safety and people,” he said addressing the Arabal conference in Bahrain.

Murray also said women were being given more responsible roles. A woman was put in charge of training and another was posted to head the Middle East business – which comprises 70 per cent of Alba’s total business.

Much attention was being paid to develop soft skills. For higher training the motto now was “send the best even if it hurts” as trained staff would bestow significant gains in the long run, he said.
 
Special emphasis was being paid to drive change including creating a reading culture (reading at least for 15 minutes daily), teaching teamwork and coaching, and exhorting people to dream beyond themselves.  

Staff were also being encouraged to think like they were owners in order to create a business mindset, he said.

Organisational structures such as the various potlines, the casting facility and the power station were being run as business units. Owners of businesses are cautious about how money is spent. A similar attitude would prevail if staff viewed their units as businesses they ran, said Murray.

He said it was important that training went beyond the benchmark – creating a culture of education, developing the right team not just the best players and building capabilities for the next 10 to 12 years.

“Money is not what motivates people, it is leadership. You acquire leadership by the power of example,” he said.

Later, at question time, Murray commented that both Alba’s cost-cutting programme named Project Titan (an initiative to cut cost by $150 per tonne by the end of 2016), recourse to maximising value-added production and upgrading people skills would help optimise the company’s operations.  - TradeArabia News Service
 




Tags: Bahrain | aluminium | Alba |

More Industry, Logistics & Shipping Stories

calendarCalendar of Events

Ads