Читать книгу The power of freedom - Ильдар Борисович Хусаинов - Страница 15

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

Long-term Component

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.

Measuring Employee Engagement

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.

Implementation

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.

Motivation

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.

This is fundamentally the right approach. You can do it differently and hire expensive candidates, but will that be justified? Not always. Strong candidates are also needed, but their effectiveness must be supported by results. This is a straightforward example of how an entrepreneurial model should be structured.

Let me give another example. Mortgage brokers have been motivated based on results rather than just conducting consultations. Now they work differently. Marketers are responsible for business volume rather than just incoming client flow. Even our lawyers are incentivized to sign as many contracts as possible. They compete with each other: they earn 75 rubles per contract, and 120 rubles during evening hours. As a result, by 8 AM all contracts are ready, and there’s even a queue for them at night. I see that employees are still working at 2 AM.

We don’t force anyone. We simply say: “Here’s your money; if you want to, go ahead and do it.” We always monitor whether we need to increase salaries, and we see this through results in three systems. At higher management levels, we ensure motivation through net profit. Many of our leaders participate in the distribution of the company’s net profit.

Once, I had a conversation with a talented employee. I offered him a five-year contract where his salary would be based not on achieving KPIs but on a percentage of net profit. We would find legal forms for this, establish partnerships, shares, and everything else. He declined: “No, I’m not ready. Let’s do 100,000 fixed salary and 100,000 for KPIs.” Six months later, he came back to me and said: “Ildar Borisovich, after working with you, I’ve changed my mind. I’m interested in trying a different relationship scheme; I’m ready for your terms.”

We signed a five-year contract, and his effectiveness increased fivefold, if not tenfold. Within two years, his income consistently exceeded one million rubles, and his contribution to the company became invaluable. With a fixed salary and KPIs of 100,000 rubles, he would never have achieved such results or become such a valuable employee.

When an employee understands that every action they take is fairly compensated, their potential is unleashed. Their inner strength comes to the surface. This is the foundation: 1 + 1 becomes 11. However, to harness this potential, one must be generous. Unfortunately, most leaders are hindered by greed.

Why do I speak about this so calmly? Because I have seen it happen many times. Sometimes I ask people a question: “Imagine you’ve gone to Bali, and your business, under the leadership of an employee, has earned 500,000 rubles. You did nothing, and a year later the business is generating 5 million rubles a month. How much are you willing to give to the employee who made this happen?” The most common answer is 10–12%.

Let me share how I personally battled my own greed. Here’s what you need to know about human greed: it’s rooted in the instinct for self-preservation. People have a tendency to hoard. Primitive humans, after killing a deer, didn’t know when they would catch another one. Without refrigerators, they needed to consume as much as possible. This instinctive greed is ingrained in all of us.

In our entrepreneurial culture, there is no value placed on investing. We are not accustomed to giving in order to earn more later. This is a legacy of our primitive communal past and humanity's long evolutionary journey. Our first reaction when we receive something is to hold onto it. Understanding this fact will help us manage ourselves and our decisions better.

The ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun was right: you can’t take anything with you when you leave this world. To think otherwise is to succumb to illusions. So the first reason for greed is the instinct for self-preservation. The second is the fear of uncertainty. Greed requires letting go of something, which triggers fear of the unknown. Even businessmen who keep their funds in dollars are afraid to convert them into rubles, worrying they might lose value. Their minds start painting terrifying scenarios. Many who switch to dollars never convert their money back into rubles; they become prisoners of their savings.

I am an advocate for investing. Money should not sit idle. I have always invested in real businesses. This is a separate topic – investment thinking – and I plan to dedicate an entire chapter to it. The fear of risk is the third reason for greed. Those who do not understand or know how to manage risk will always resort to hoarding. Only knowledge allows one to manage risk and feel comfortable with it.

The fourth reason for greed is distrust of others. A greedy person often does not trust anyone else. They genuinely believe that only they can manage money correctly and that without them, money will be wasted. This reflects a lack of faith in other people’s abilities.

These four aspects of greed – self-preservation instinct, fear of uncertainty, and distrust of others – hinder our development and progress. To overcome them, we need to cultivate an investment mindset and learn to trust others. To illustrate this point, let me share an interesting experiment: a person is given a trinket and asked how much it’s worth. “Three dollars,” they reply. Then they’re told, “Here, keep it; it’s yours.” When asked how much they would sell it for, they respond, “Eight dollars.” Why? Psychologically, people perceive their possessions as more valuable. When something becomes theirs, its worth increases in their minds compared to how they would value it if it didn’t belong to them.

Here lies a trap. I found it very difficult to deal with this. I admit that at first, I was reluctant to give people money. I was stingy and didn’t realize it was a serious flaw. Only now, as I write these lines, can I calmly acknowledge that all the components of greed were within me.

There were times when I was tight-fisted with employee salaries, even when I had enough resources. I hoarded like a hamster instead of investing. Over time, my mindset changed. Several books helped me, especially Daniel Goleman’s "Emotional Intelligence," which I highly recommend. This book discusses, among other things, the nature of greed and the characteristics of human thinking. Greed is always about the past. It is a remnant of the past, while creating future value requires us to be willing to live in the future.

When a person wants to accumulate something, they are essentially choosing to live in the past. Investments are about the future. Each person decides whether to live in the past or look ahead. Many people on their deathbeds regret that they didn’t spend more and didn’t give enough to others.

I derive immense pleasure from seeing my top managers earn well. It makes me ten times happier than my own income. What drives me is the desire to continue developing the business so that my employees can earn well. I want them not just to work for me but to work alongside me, feeling that this is their own venture.

I am willing to sacrifice my income. For instance, during crises, I continue to pay my top managers whose salaries depend on net profit. Even when there is no profit, we implement hedging strategies. For example, in 2004, we hedged our top managers for four out of twelve months. I want to share a story: several top managers approached me then and said, “Ildar Borisovich, we see that things are tough for you right now. Maybe we shouldn’t hedge our salaries?” I replied, “We should.” One of them sat with me for 30 minutes, convincing me that he was doing fine, that he cared about the company and didn’t need the money. I said, “Let’s skip the altruism; it’s not quite right. I’m confident that the business's capitalization is growing, even if it’s declining at the moment. We are creating value, and as soon as the market situation improves, our company will reach a new level. Consider this a form of payment through capitalization and a sign of increased company income.”

In the past, I aimed to accumulate, but then I realized it stemmed from the fear that there wouldn’t be enough money. But those fears are misguided. If a person starts hoarding instead of sharing with others, there truly won’t be enough money.

These fundamental insights changed my perspective on motivation and business. I detailed this in a post on VK, where I explained how proper motivation is formed and how to apply it. You can read this material by scanning the QR code provided on this page.

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/4OPe3QZhtIqNJQ

I believe that those who recognize and appreciate the strengths of others will always reach greater heights, build strong teams, and achieve outstanding results. I’ll be honest: I didn’t possess this skill initially, but I have developed it and continue to do so. Learning is a lifelong journey. What did I do? I attended numerous HR conferences and read books on assessing abilities and competencies. Gradually, I began to realize how little I actually knew.

Now, when I conduct interviews, I often feel like a kind of robot because I’ve mastered many techniques and methodologies. Of course, I try to remain human, but I’m genuinely interested in understanding how the candidate’s “processor” works, how they relate to others, and the extent of their self-reflection. Each of us has our own “processor,” which doesn’t change much over time. There are indeed people with strong cognitive abilities who think quickly, but even their capabilities are limited.

If a person is hardworking, loves people, is honest, principled, and courageous, then their “processor” is more than sufficient for great achievements. In the past, I believed that the “processor” determined everything. However, as I approached my 40s and 45s, I realized that upbringing, environment, principles, and a person’s inner world also play a crucial role. Strong individuals want to work with other strong individuals, which is why sometimes I make the tough decision to let go of those who are not capable of growth. If I don’t do this, I risk losing my top employees.

With Ekaterina Dzhanbrovskaya, Executive Director of the Vladivostok Office, during a business trip to the city, September 2024

To track employees and identify weaknesses, we have a well-structured management system in place. We have a dedicated HR department, a specialized evaluation department, and we utilize specific technologies. We constantly conduct reviews and assessments. Some might call this bureaucracy, but I see it as order. It’s an essential tool that any business should employ.

I believe a company should either focus on finding strong individuals and developing their talents or try to cultivate all employees, but in that case, the overall level of professionalism is unlikely to be high. My approach is to seek out talent and nurture it. The business environment is tough, and if resources are spent on those who cannot grow quickly, the company will struggle financially.

Sometimes a top manager comes to me with a recommendation to hire a good specialist. I say, "Let’s meet and conduct an interview." But if during the conversation it turns out that the person seems decent but their mindset and work approaches don’t align with our values, I decide, "No, we won’t proceed further."

I recently read a book discussing three personality traits: creativity, genius, and intuition. I agree with this. Creativity, genius, and intuition are sparks that everyone should possess. These qualities are difficult to measure or assess in an employee's work. The average evaluation cycle for an employee’s performance is a year; for a manager, it’s one and a half to two years. A performer with a limited role can be evaluated in six months. However, operational staff on the factory floor can be assessed in just one minute – put them in their position, and it’s immediately clear if they fit or not.

However, qualities like courage, resilience, and kindness are harder to evaluate. Life presents situations where people reveal themselves under unexpected circumstances. Remember the scene from "The Dark Knight" where criminals were on one ferry and ordinary citizens on the other? A criminal refused to blow up the ship while a civilian broker was ready to push the button.

Such situations are hard to predict. Therefore, when I talk about talent, I mean that the system should be able to accurately read people's abilities and allocate resources to them when necessary. It's important to understand that there is a significant underwater part of an iceberg. To uncover this "part" in employees, a company must regularly invest in their assessment.

Organizations that implement such approaches will always evolve, and companies with these systems will succeed. A culture of attracting talent inherently fosters the recruitment of talented individuals. Employee development is the most challenging but not the most expensive function. Anyone can quickly answer whether they are growing in this company.

There’s a parable about a young man who asked a wise man how to know if his girlfriend loves him. The wise man replied that if he doesn’t feel that love, he already knows the answer to his question. The same applies in organizations: every employee should unequivocally answer "yes" to whether they are being developed here. This is challenging because the development function does not yield immediate results. Real results appear after 8–12 months of working at the company, especially for senior managers. Basic skills can be acquired more quickly, but serious development takes time.

In our company, we have powerful trainers, adaptation specialists, and strong managers, all contributing to a culture of employee development. We refer to ourselves as a "realtor factory" because we train our agents from the ground up. This is our core business, and I believe in fostering an entrepreneurial culture within each employee. We must help them grow.

We have a screening process in place, and once a recruiter has brought someone on board, our goal is to turn that new hire into a true star. To achieve this, we utilize all available mechanisms: communication, interaction, emotional intelligence, and even mindset.

When we invited business trainers, our finance team rushed to me, saying, "Ildar, get rid of them! We're just throwing money away! Let the managers train the new hires themselves." I responded, "Hold on, let's see how this plays out. Our productivity will increase, turnover will decrease, and people will want to develop. Otherwise, how will we differentiate ourselves from other companies if we don't invest in our employees' growth?"