A winner in the Champion category for MAW 2026, Taghreed is a visionary leader dedicated to shaping the future of work in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030. Her leadership centers on building inclusive, high-performance environments through strategic initiatives that bridge the gap between corporate goals and human-centric design. In this conversation, she explores the transition to personalized employee journeys, the evolution of HR tech, and her guiding mantra for empowering the individual.
Q1: You’ve had a remarkable journey in HR leadership. Looking back, how has the evolution of employee experience shaped your approach to rewards, recognition, and culture-building?
A1: The evolution of employee experience has shifted from a one-size-fits-all transactional model to a deeply personalized, human-centric journey. In the past, rewards were often purely financial or annual. Today, they must be instantaneous, social, and meaningful.
My approach at KAFD has been to weave recognition into the daily fabric of our culture. We don’t just reward output; we recognize behaviors that align with our values. Culture-building is no longer about what happens within the office. It is about how an employee feels about their contribution to our vision. This is why our recognition programs are designed to be inclusive and visible across the entire organization.
Q2: What does a typical day in your life as an HR leader look like? How do you juggle your strategic priorities with the daily pulse of employee wellbeing?
A2: A typical day is a balance between the big picture and the heartbeat of the organization. I usually start by reviewing our “daily pulse” by looking at engagement metrics or feedback from our latest internal initiatives. My mornings are often dedicated to strategic meetings regarding organizational transformation and experience design.
However, I make it a priority to stay grounded by connecting directly with the team. You cannot manage “experience” from behind a laptop. Juggling these priorities requires a people-first filter: if a strategic priority doesn’t have a positive impact on the employee pulse, we re-evaluate it.
Q3: Many leaders have a guiding principle they live by. What is your life mantra, and how does it influence your leadership?
A3: My mantra is: “Empower the person, and the professional will flourish.” In the ever-evolving world of HR, we often get caught up in processes and tech. This principle reminds me that at the core of every data point is a human being with unique aspirations and challenges.
As a leader, my job isn’t to micromanage tasks, but to create an environment where individuals feel safe, valued, and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. When you care for the person, high performance becomes a natural byproduct.
Q4: How do you keep employee engagement dynamic, especially when teams are adapting to new ways of working?
A4: Dynamism comes from agility and listening. To keep engagement high during transitions, we’ve moved away from static annual surveys toward real-time feedback loops. We embrace “Experimental Engagement” by trying new formats like virtual coffee chats, hybrid team-building, and digital recognition hubs.
The key is to provide Certainty in the Vision while allowing Flexibility in the Execution. By giving employees a voice in how they work, they remain anchored to the culture regardless of their physical location.
Q5: Looking ahead, what are your aspirations? How do you see the future of employee wellbeing and HR tech evolving?
A5: Professionally, my aspiration is to continue positioning KAFD as a global benchmark for employee experience and to mentor the next generation of HR leaders in Saudi Arabia. Personally, I strive for a life of continuous learning and meaningful impact.
I see the future of HR tech moving toward Empathetic AI. This isn’t just about automation. It is about technology that acts as a supportive partner to identify patterns of burnout early and suggest personalized wellness interventions. Ultimately, HR tech will become invisible and seamlessly integrated into the workflow to remove friction. This allows us to focus more on the human elements of empathy, creativity, and connection.
Stay tuned for more such insightful interviews from our Quick 5 Interview Series!
