A Powerful, Diverse Team Working To Uplift Global Communities

My working career began in Finance.

While I was working as an Assistant Accountant for a group of Consulting Engineers, I was offered the opportunity to cross train into HR and establish their HR department from scratch. I regard this opportunity as true gold, and I will always be grateful for it and to the employer who provided it. I was already operating payroll functions at the time, and payroll always formed part of all the HR positions I held from that time on, whether as full functions payroll or in an oversee capacity.

I was fortunate to establish another HR department from scratch for another employer a few years later. 

My journey in entrepreneurship began several years ago when I operated a wedding coordination service for brides seeking to have their wedding in the beautiful KZN region of South Africa, situated on the east coast. My clients were mainly brides from abroad seeking a unique experience for their wedding day. This was a lifelong dream and when the opportunity presented, I took it. Having said this, don’t let the images of dreamy bridal dresses, flowers and wedding trinkets of a wedding day fool you. Its hard work!

I attracted my clients through an interactive website that was designed to showcase the best of the region and the best venues to host a wedding.

We communicated mainly via email or on the odd occasion via phone or fax. There was no What’s app, Teams or Zoom at that time. We exchanged pictures, colours and style formats initially to determine the overall look and feel for the BIG day. I gathered a team of service providers that would form part of every detail for the big day. Each step was communicated to the bride and groom (where necessary) and agreed upon before the service was appointed.

My clients entrusted me with the funds to pay the deposits to each service provider to secure that service for the date of their wedding. On the day, I arranged the final payments to all service providers for the balance for their services.

There were challenges along the way that required remedy. It was important to keep my client informed of all matters and to reassure them of my dedication in achieving their dream wedding regardless of unforeseen challenges. This involved providing alternate solutions that still met my client’s needs and expectations, and the service providers played a huge role here in providing advice and suggestions to overcome a challenge for the mutual benefit of all parties concerned. 

I look back on the dream weddings I helped to create for my clients with pride and fondness. The lessons and skills I gained in customer service, trust, integrity,  communication and problem solving stand me in good stead with my HR Consultancy business today. 

I have also worked in the Professional Services (Consulting Engineer industry), FMCG (Food Industry), and Shipping sectors within South Africa and more recently in the UK Care Sector. I have held the positions of HR Administrator, HR Officer, HR Coordinator, and HR Manager. 

I spent 3 years in the UK from 2019 until 2022. I commenced a HR role in the care sector just before the world was thrust into lockdown in March 2020. This was a testing time. There was no manual or Google support to guide HR in responding to the COVID pandemic. The challenge for our team lay in seeking solutions for the business to maintain a 24hr 7day service to our residents when many carers feared coming to work. I’m  sure HR teams worldwide faced similar challenges and were stretched to capacity to propose innovative solutions to guide management in the best way forward. Everyone looked to HR and I’m proud to have been part of this time in history. This period showcased HR and revealed the true strength of HR people and their importance to any business.

Furthermore, over my working career I have been privileged to work with some great employers and colleagues. My colleagues valued my professionalism, guidance, advice, and willingness to assist no matter what the issue and they would describe me as caring, supportive, and knowledgeable. My employers valued my integrity, business acumen, and ability to play the role of buffer in juggling the needs of the business and employees with ease.

I am also a ‘figures’ person and thrive in working with payroll activities and spreadsheets. I have extensive experience in managing full-function payroll as well as carrying an overseeing role ensuring accuracy and timely finalisation of monthly and annual payroll activities in accordance with SARS and third-party requirements. I held the positions of Bookkeeper and Assistant Accountant before cross-training into the field of HR

Shama Khurana from Shama Helps You, She’s a certified Personal Performance Life Coach and Corporate and Executive and Neurodiversity Coach. She lectures at Neurodiversity University, where she Advance Awareness of the Uniquely Brilliant Minds.

Her background was in education, where she spent over 20 years lecturing in a Further Education College and University where she taught ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) English Language, maths, IT.  She advanced as the manager of Academic Learning Support across all six sites of the College and managed a team of 14 people. The Academic Learning Support Team provided support for learners with Autism, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).  This support was in the form of in-class support or 1:1 support. We also arranged for examination concessions as necessary and appropriate – extra time, reader, scribe or separate room for the ADHD learners.

The Destiny Connect Foundation (DFC) is a wonderful non-profit foundation which endeavours to make the world a better place for all.  My role is as a facilitator, a Life Coach, an Executive and  Corporate coach and give Neurodiverse awareness to the communities who do not understand what it means for someone to have Autism, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia and ADHD.

My motto in life is : “I want to become so financially stable that God uses my pockets to bless others’’