| Plus |
|
|||
| Flying
high "I was head-hunted for the post, I didn't apply," revealed Menik in a chat before her departure. She was approached last year by the Middle-Eastern airline. "I had to sleep over the idea for some time before deciding," she said, adding that SriLankan Airlines was a great place to work, and that "it's difficult to leave a company you have served for years." Menik is a lawyer by profession, having obtained First Class Honours from the Sri Lanka Law College. She was admitted to the bar in 1978, appeared as a junior for many eminent lawyers, and set up private practice in commercial, family and property law by the age of 23. She passed the solicitors final examination of the Law Society of England in 1987. Menik switched to Human Resources Development as she joined SriLankan (then Air Lanka) as a Senior HR Executive Overseas Relations in 1991. "I wanted to work with people more," says Menik. She was assigned to handle the overseas workstations. Three years later, she was promoted to Executive Assistant to the Chairman. "General Attygalle was my guru," she says referring to then Chairman General Sepala Attygalle. In 1997, Menik was appointed Manager Human Resources for SriLankan, just as the airline was entering a privatisation process with Emirates. "It was very challenging," she says, as the HR Manager had to be the intermediary between the employees and the new management. In 1999, she devised the Voluntary Resignation Scheme for SriLankan Airlines. Licensed in Psychometric Testing by the British Psychological Society, she was responsible for the introduction of the innovative HR mechanism in the process of assigning positions to the airline's staff. During her stint as HR Manager, she also developed the Management Trainee Programme. Her legal qualifications apart, she has a master’s degree in International Relations (IR) from the University of Colombo and a diploma in Personnel Management. She is also a first-degree holder in French from the Alliance Francaise de Colombo. Her legal background has come in handy, she says, as the knowledge of the labour laws of different countries is an asset. An interior designing enthusiast, Menik is a member of the Association of Interior Designers. She is also a nature-lover and helped launch SriLankan Airlines' photographic club this year. As for her flight abroad, Menik was excited and ready to take on the challenge. Qatar Airways is one of the fastest expanding in the world. "My work at Qatar will take on a very global slant," she says, especially since the airline recently announced an expansion in its network commencing flights to South East Asia, the Maldives, Casablanca and San'a. Handling the airline's entire international workforce compels her to set up base at its headquarters in Doha, and she has already been assigned to construct the recruitment division and HR in the overseas workstations. She will also be required to organize structures and pay limits in these overseas stations and upgrade the HR product of the airline. "It's an opportunity to optimise on your own resources in an expanding multi-cultural environment, " she says, smiling. It may seem a tall order, but for Menik, the sky is the limit. |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
