Saima Malik
Vice President of Human Resources and Recruiting, Avantus Federal
Saima Malik’s biggest recent achievement was taking a very different angle to the Great Resignation. There’s something fundamental occurring that is changing the way of human resources. As Malik and her team focused on the data, they learned the company’s employees value their work and their work-life balance in a different way. As a result, they reevaluated Avantus’ benefits, processes and engagement practices.
“We listened and we leaned in,” Malik said. “We invested in premium health care at no cost impact to the employee. We tripled our maternity leave benefit and enhanced many other benefits. We put more investments into the development of our employees’ careers through an industry-leading integrated talent management platform.”
This ironclad commitment to clients’ missions is mirrored by Avantus’ commitment to employees across an array of employee resource groups and an employee-driven engagement council to listen and connect employees.
“Saima’s employee-first perspective, understanding of the business and industry, and her ability to pivot to the ever-changing needs of our employees has allowed Avantus to excel in attracting and retaining the best in the industry,” said Luanne Pavco, Avantus president and chief operating officer. “Saima has proactively driven our employee experience to be one of the most engaging, and relentless in its pursuit of constant improvement.”
Why Watch
In 2022, Malik and her team are taking a data-driven approach to people and culture. They kicked off 2022 with a strong focus on employee experience — the new experience post-pandemic. The momentum on the culture they built will not continue if they don’t make it a priority.
“We know we have to do it differently, challenge ourselves to think differently about how we take care of our employees,” Malik said.