The Quiet Innovator: Jaya Maru’s HR Transformation Story

Portrait of Naeem Parvez

NAEEM PARVEZ

Guests

Jaya Maru

Jaya Maru, co-founder and CEO of Rewardz in the Middle East leading overall business portfolio and strategic partnerships in the region. She is also responsible for global marketing and human capital management at Rewardz. She has 17+ years experience across HR digital transformation, incentives management and investment banking. After a successful career in financial services with top institutions like Citi and Rabobank, Jaya ventured to address the gap in Singapore’s employee engagement landscape by setting up Rewardz in 2012.

Portrait of Naeem Parvez

Naeem Parvez

Naeem Parvez is the Co-founder of Digitalina. After spending a decade in the corporate world, he started his entrepreneurial journey in 2020, and started this podcast as a way to borrow the best advice from inspirational business owners around him.

Ever wondered just how tough it can be to take the entrepreneurial plunge? 🫣

From the challenging task of finding the right talents who jive with the company’s values and culture to
the inevitable hiccups in landing those big projects, she’s seen her fair share of ups and downs.

Meet Jaya Maru, co-Founder and CEO of Rewardz Middle East, has been into HR digital transformation, incentives management and investment banking for 17+ years now. But she’s not just your typical businessperson. She’s an optimist, a hustler, a learner, and a self-proclaimed nerd. 🤓

Despite these challenges she experienced, she always goes back to the purpose of why she’s doing it: to build moments of joy in a world where people always feel valued. 🥰

During my chat with Jaya, we delved into discussions about:
00:00 🎬 Introduction
09:23 👀 Managing C Players in business
10:43 🤝 Hiring based on value alignment than skillset
21:21 💼 How demotion is necessary for personal growth
33:07 👎 Losing a major deal and learning from it
35:09 💭 Sales process and mindset of enterprise clients
48:15 🗣 Importance of user interaction and feedback for ideas
58:55 💰 Setting realistic expectations and negotiating on pricing
01:13:41 ✨ Aligning personal with business purpose
01:51:57 🫂 How EO helped her during the toughest phase of her life
01:52:40 👩‍🦳 Lessons learned from her late mother

We share stories, insights, and a few good laughs along the way, making this a podcast episode you won’t want to miss. I hope you’ll enjoy listening to our conversation as much as we enjoyed having it. ✨

Where to find the podcast:
▶️ ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠
🎙 ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠
🎙 ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠
🎙 ⁠⁠Google Podcast⁠⁠

Where to find Jaya:
💼 LinkedIn
📸 Instagram
💼 Business LinkedIn – Rewardz
📸 Business Instagram – Rewardz
🌐 Business Website – Rewardz

Where to find me:
📸 Podcast IG: ⁠⁠@myfirstbusinesspodcast⁠⁠
📸 Personal IG: @the.naeem.parvez
💼 ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠
🖥 ⁠⁠Website


This episode is brought to you by Entrepreneur’s Organization – U.A.E.

EO U.A.E. is a community which provides an effective platform for networking, education, and support to business owners and entrepreneurs in the country.

Established in 1997, the organization currently has 119 members from a wide range of industries, including technology, healthcare, oil & gas, real estate, hospitality, jewelry, communications, logistics, travel, and more.

With an economy that changes on a dime, it can be hard to know what your next move should be. That’s where EO comes in with their support.

Being a member of EO UAE provides access to:
-workshops
-social events
-learning opportunities
-networking
-learning from experts in different types of field

The organization also offers a mentorship program that pairs members with experienced business leaders who can provide guidance and support as they grow their businesses.

So if you are a business owner, tired of taking on your challenges all alone and are looking for unique networking opportunities along with structured support through accountability groups and mentors, this community is for you.

To learn more on how to become a member, visit https://eodubai.com/ or reach out to EO UAE Administrator admin@eodubai.com.


Details about the EO membership:
https://eodubai.com/member-benefits-new/apply-for-membership-new/


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