Etihad Day 30 post
I cannot believe it has already been 30 days... It feels like I've been here for months!
Etihad means ‘Unity’ or ‘United’ in Arabic, and everyone I have met so far has been incredibly welcoming.
I’d like to start by sharing a few differences I noticed with working in Hong Kong:
🚊 My daily commute has dropped from 135 minutes to 22 minutes: life-changing!
☕ 99% of the HR team is in Abu Dhabi. So many colleagues came to introduce themselves personally and invite me for a coffee on my first day.
✈ The UAE is incredibly diverse. I particularly enjoyed sitting with a few of our new cabin crew during my induction day, from Bhutan to Syria, to France and Singapore.
🥪 Whilst Hongkongers take their lunch break religiously, teams here work through lunch, so I have quickly learned to block some time in my diary.
📱 Everything here has an app, I had to reorganise my screen on my mobile!
Reflecting on my onboarding, I was fortunate to receive a timely post in my #LinkedIn feed from #AonHRLearningCenter recommending Alan Collins’s book ‘The new HR leader’s first 100 days’. It helped a lot with preparing a clear onboarding plan and planning key conversations ahead of my first day, so I could step right in.
During this important settling-in period, I followed the advice from my new boss, Tully Cashman, to ‘go slow to go fast’, and focused on listening, getting to know the team & key stakeholders, learning about the business, while driving some changes.
The organisation is transforming fast, and preparing for huge capacity growth next year, and I am very impressed with the foundations that have been built in the last couple of years, and the alignment behind the Purpose, Vision, Mission and Values.
With that in mind, my two key focus areas for the coming weeks will be:
1) Making sure my team is successful – Q4 is looking crazy right now, but I'm excited to be working with them to activate key projects and policies.
2) Helping facilitate leadership discussions on our 2025+ people agenda and priorities to drive alignment; define clearer governance to support agility and scalability of our HR delivery, and of course, connecting the dots through a clear narrative.
With all of the above happening in parallel to an international relocation, immigration processes, opening bank accounts, settling in the family, etc., I have been particularly mindful of my own wellbeing. I’m very proud to have been able to establish a strong routine from day one, where I exercise in the morning, and build relaxation time in the evening to help me sleep better.
After 30 days, I know I am in the right place, I can bring my views and be myself, and I belong here. I very much look forward to the next 30 days!
#etihadlife #first30days #Ibelong
Disclaimer: All views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not represent the views of any entity with which I have been, am now or will be affiliated.
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