«Employee is our internal client»
Vitalina Levashova
«A humane company with client-centered business», - that’s what Alexander Ostrovsky, founder and General Director says about INVITRO. In an interview to our magazine Vitalina Levashova, Deputy General Director tells when and why employees are considered internal clients, for whom traffic lights are always green and how INVITRO intends to enrich its main capital – human.
What is the main secret of INVITRO HR policy?
To my mind main professional secret is in combining and applying all present possibilities – both traditional and modern, without giving preference. Quite often it turns out that everything new is well forgotten past. Western literature on HR tells a lot about various innovations, but many of them resemble Soviet legacy – visual agitation, elements of competition.
Can you define basic principles with same easiness?
By all means. We base our policy on the principles, set as flagstones by the founders from the very beginning. Most important for us are respect, recognition of professionalism, constant professional and personal growth. Our employees always feel the demand and care on behalf of the company. We formulate our corporate values exactly and bring them to the employees with the intention that such values are shared by all. We try to employ ‘correct’ people and never leave them without attention. I believe that a correct choice when a person is employed does not allow us to leave such a person without our further attention.
How does the company envisage employees’ development?
Company management is of course aware of the importance to invest in employees’ development. Not everything depends on top management will, though. Line managers should share this attitude and participate actively in development of their staff. Besides, they should oversee their staff results in practical implementation of acquired knowledge and skills. Manager’s mission is in delicate everyday work with every subordinate. Manager should have time for everyone to understand what tasks employee faces now and how can he perform in future. Finally, employees themselves must be interested in their development and have clear understanding of their intentions. Joint success is possible and even guaranteed only when company’s objectives meet objectives of employees. Business development is our joint corporate task and not a person in the company should stand aside. If the company develops, every employee needs to develop too. Business development through development of each employee is our success formula. It is important that all participants understand this.
How is it practically implemented?
Development of personal potential is one of the most widely used methods for employee’s development. We need to offer a possibility to participate in new projects launched by the company. Information is very important here – an employee should know what projects company has and what are his personal perspectives. We are intensifying project office now and spread information on new projects over all communications channels, including our magazine and corporate web site. We welcome both professional growth and horizontal movements within the company. E.g. a person is working in the lab for a long time and then it turns out he writes excellent texts. In such case we will definitely ask – Would you like to try yourself as a copywriter?
Our theater helps to disclose our employees’ potential talents, to help them uncover, use their creative abilities in their work. Employees from different divisions take part in the staging, which helps to develop relations between colleagues and between departments. Teamwork is key success factor. Besides, in all our projects from small ones (like club meetings) to global, we try to entrench understanding that only interconnected interests can produce something joint, completed and successful.
Our theater helps to disclose our employees’ potential talents, to help them uncover, use their creative abilities in their work. Employees from different divisions take part in the staging, which helps to develop relations between colleagues and between departments. Teamwork is key success factor. Besides, in all our projects from small ones (like club meetings) to global, we try to entrench understanding that only interconnected interests can produce something joint, completed and successful.
How do you assess individual employees’ efficiency if stress is put on teamwork?
In 2016, we launched employee assessment system, that is a combination of several systems. We called it Traffic Lights. A person both willing to work and develop and capable of same is marked by green light. A person who can but is not willing to, or who is willing but cannot, is marked yellow. Those who both cannot and are unwilling, are marked red. This is done so that managers at all levels, most important at line level, would clearly understand what should be done in respect of every employee – support greens, assist yellows and drop reds in a timely and correct fashion. This is a very important moment. Some would say that such approach hardly meets humane policy of our company. To my mind you help a person when you allow him to step off at a proper moment. This is healthy. There is no need for conflict at separation. Any professional manager can explain to an employee in a well-grounded and respectful way that his objectives do not meet company’s objectives, every beginning has an end. We maintain excellent relations with our former employees (we call them our graduates). Thanks to this attitude we can say that no one is a former INVITRO employee.
You talk of company – employee relations. What of relations between employees?
We need to talk first of all about so called internal client-centering, which we understand in the broadest sense: an employee is our internal client. The way we treat our employees will be the way they treat our patients. We respect each of our patients, we are interested to develop relations and we try to offer what one needs exactly. This is the way we act in respect of company’s staff. When one employee interacts with another, one division with another, principles should be same as for external customers. It means respect, attention, keeping all agreements. Each employee should bear in mind that colleagues have tasks of their own and these tasks are no less important. Finally, assisting our colleagues, showing this internal client-centering we work together on solving company’s tasks. Same is true for company and staff relations.
What awaits company’s HR policy in the future?
Changes are always inevitable. Modern digital trend will fill the company at every level. Communications between employees and with patients will be transferred to digital format. We need quick and effective access to all employees. Therefore, we’ll be using all modern means of information transfer. It becomes crucially important to provide quick access to large volumes of data. Every employee needs a possibility to access information. Currently the possibilities are very much different depending on the profile, one sort of for laboratory workers, another for drivers and couriers. We will be paying greater attention to employees’ competence and its assessment. Current criteria are becoming outdated very quickly, we need to be guided by those of tomorrow. It is normal to have a situation where “Yesterday we were happy, but not so today”. One needs to get used to it. We all, irrespective of our position with the company, need to develop our competences, study, read a lot and be aware of new things in our profession. We will be developing the Traffic Lights system I have mentioned. A year ago, when we launched it, it was enough to assess once in half a year, now it needs to be done at least every quarter. Quite possibly, if we automate the process, we will able to have real time data: what business results we have achieved; how it is connected with divisions’ operation; how employees there influence the results. In such a way company efficiency results are brought down to each employee results.
We switch to a new qualitative level?
We have switched already! The company has grown immensely, now we openly say that we are leaders for the whole medical market. But this is just the beginning. It is always difficult to be leaders; it’s not enough to become first, it takes a lot of everyday work to keep the positions we have won. Remember Lewis Caroll: “My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.”
It means we have switch on all turbines we have to run ahead of competition that’s breathing down our neck.
It means we have switch on all turbines we have to run ahead of competition that’s breathing down our neck.