Ильдар Хусаинов – The power of freedom (страница 26)

Chapter 13. About Business Processes

Let’s discuss business processes and see how they are managed. We’ll break down each point in detail.

Every employee should have an individual development plan for the next five years. This plan outlines their expected salary at each stage of their career. With some candidates, I negotiate a five-year salary agreement on the condition that they will develop according to the plan. What does this achieve? We train the employee right from the start, discussing how they will grow, what responsibilities they will have, and how they can realize their potential. We talk about the skills and competencies they will acquire, how much they will be worth in the market, and which companies might compete for them. We have excellent universities, and I always tell my employees that I understand their aspirations and hold no grudges. If someone tells me they don’t see a future for themselves in our company or feel underpaid, I shake their hand and part ways without hard feelings. I believe I do everything possible for my employees, and if they find better opportunities elsewhere, then it’s the right choice for them.

I don’t hold employees against their will, and even with friends, I have no agreements about not poaching staff. If my friends are "hunting" for my employees, I’m happy for them because it means the people I work with are truly smart and talented.

In about 95% of cases, I let people go. Once, I offered one of my employees improved working conditions twice, but he said he was satisfied with what he had. A year later, he came to me saying he had been offered another job and didn’t know what to do. We talked it over, and he ended up staying with us at “Etagi,” becoming one of our best managers. At that moment, I didn’t know what to think: I felt he was underpaid and had offered him a raise, but he, being modest, declined. This was a lesson for me: if you feel an employee deserves more than you’re currently offering, you should provide them with those better conditions, even if they refuse. Over time, I realized that those who are naturally modest often turn down better offers, and you might comfort yourself with the thought that they don’t need it. But if you believe improvements are warranted, you should make them.

I never get upset when employees leave; I believe I’ve done everything possible for them, and they thank me for that. Sometimes they leave and struggle to succeed elsewhere. In those cases, I feel sad because I sense that I didn’t prepare them adequately for change. It seems they were only valuable within our system, and I made a mistake by giving them too much without choosing those who could truly handle it. There’s a joke that if a wife leaves for someone richer, it’s not so bad. What hurts is if she leaves for someone less fortunate.

At our company, we regularly conduct anonymous surveys among employees to gauge their interest in their work. This anonymity allows everyone to share honestly what they like or dislike about their jobs. We collect and analyze the data we receive. Initially, we encountered complaints of a more basic nature, and we responded promptly by making necessary repairs and improvements. Once these fundamental issues were addressed, new requests emerged: in some departments, we had hired too many underperforming employees. After resolving those concerns, new challenges arose: employees began expressing that the company needed to grow faster, synchronize IT systems with sales, and operate with greater speed. The higher the level of issues that arise, the healthier the organization is. If a company struggles with basic tasks, it’s a bad sign.

Employee engagement can be measured by turnover rates at a given salary level. There’s a so-called “golden triangle” consisting of employee talent, their salary, and turnover rates. How do we measure engagement? I always say it’s evident in people’s eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul, the only organ that reflects everything. Animals may not have speech, but they can understand each other through their gaze. I find it difficult to connect with people over video calls and prefer face-to-face meetings. That’s why I frequently visit our branches; I need to look people in the eye to understand them better.

In the past, the world’s population was much smaller. While living organisms have existed for 500 million years, the evolution of speech has occurred only over the last 100,000 years, whereas the evolution of creatures with eyes has spanned hundreds of millions of years. Therefore, eyes convey more truth than words. Engagement through eye contact reveals more than anything else; it’s important to recognize this. However, for many, this might just sound poetic.

There are two types of engagement: external and internal. External engagement is visible at a glance – an employee actively works, participates in meetings, and shows initiative. Internal engagement, however, is far more important and interesting for the organization. When people are truly connected to their responsibilities and view their work as meaningful, they begin to operate with greater dedication. We often perceive the world through emotions, and the realm of feelings is still not fully understood. Engagement serves as a sort of indicator of internal emotional states, which is why it will be the subject of further research. Currently, many employers are losing ground in this area because overall employee engagement is declining. However, one of the most crucial tasks is to change the internal culture; improving it could turn the situation around.

Through learning, people acquire new skills and discover the world. This is my philosophy. To me, a good leader is someone who can inspire people to work. If an employee doesn't rush to the office in the morning or feels reluctant to go, then something is wrong. If you don’t enjoy your job, it’s better to hand in your resignation and leave. The role of a leader is a complex mechanism that involves relationships, behaviors, emotions, and social, financial, and even personal aspects. It’s a complicated dynamic that fosters a desire to work. Yes, at the core of it all lies desire. When people say that management is about business processes, I disagree: management is a much more intricate matter. I've seen many examples where an employee, lacking formal management tools but possessing life wisdom, proved to be more effective than the most educated manager. This is reality, and I acknowledge it.

Teaching someone practical skills is much easier than helping them find their inner strength, build self-confidence, and overcome communication issues. These are far more challenging to teach. We need to seek out talent in management and understand how the system works, which requires deep analysis.

For me, the question of an employee's experience has long been settled. I never consider experience the main criterion for professionalism. In fact, I often see it as a disadvantage. What matters to me is the person themselves, their essence. I analyze what they are capable of and what skills they possess. Acquiring necessary skills is relatively easy, so work experience doesn’t interest me much. The only thing that truly matters is the real results that a person has achieved. The process of analyzing not just results but competencies and the likelihood of achieving future results is a comprehensive methodology.

This is a separate system that I will discuss in detail in one of the upcoming chapters. But believe me, the secret to success lies in entrepreneurial culture and motivation. Since childhood, I have believed in practical reasoning and have always thought that one of the reasons for the collapse of the USSR was incorrect motivation. People had nothing to fight for, and this became a fatal mistake for the state's leaders when creating ideology.

Proper motivation can work wonders. Let me give you an example. In our company, HR is motivated by revenue volume and the salary of the employee they hire. This makes them invested in the outcome. If an HR manager finds a candidate willing to work for a lower salary but who delivers excellent results, they receive a significant bonus. This scheme is simple but very effective. It encourages employees to perform better. Focusing solely on workload without linking it to results, or having an incomplete understanding of the entire process, often leads to problems. In such situations, it’s essential to closely examine how an employee impacts the final result from start to finish. This usually presents the greatest challenges and leads to frequent excuses: the employee lacks necessary authority, responsibility is blurred, and results are hardly dependent on their efforts. But you know, there’s no need to fear this – you have to try. An employee is like a stream that seeks to merge with a river and then with the sea; they will always find their way. Therefore, it’s crucial not to be afraid and not to impose internal limitations on oneself. Obstacles are often only in our heads. When you create a system, employees will discover amazing solutions on their own. However, if a company has ingrained the paradigm of “this is my area of responsibility, and I won’t go beyond it,” that’s already a signal of a serious problem for the business. Instead, businesses should encourage initiative: “Okay, give it a try, take action. Here’s your goal; I expect results from you.” This approach opens up new opportunities.