Human Potential Management and its change.

As a company that is extremely proud, and fully aware of the importance of its employees, Walter Code puts a lot of importance on Human Potential. The internal processes of HP Management begin far before the candidate joins the organization, and continue even when they leave.

We are incredibly happy to be a company that is constantly expanding, onboarding new people to join the team, and our Human Potential management plays a crucial role in this process.

Human resource management is a systematic approach to successfully managing people in a business or organization so that they can contribute to the company’s competitive advantage. Its mission is to increase employee productivity in support of a company’s strategic objectives.

Human potential management is an integrative and ongoing process of developing human talents and capacities by enriching human beings’ current potential and assisting them in discovering and tapping their latent potential, according to the following definition of HPM.

However, the situation regarding the pandemic has brought about some change within this sector. Just like all other businesses and processes had to adapt, so did human resources.

At Walter Code, we have two very diligent women appointed to our HPM team. Meet Nina and Irina. They are our stepping stones when it comes to managing human potential and employer branding, so let’s introduce them to you!

Nina Hasanbegović — Head of Human Potential & Employer Branding

Nina has been very involved with Human Potential and HR processes for almost 10 years throughout her career. For the last 3 years, she has been strictly devoted to HPM. She has been concentrating on managing the processes necessary for the successful acquisition and retention of employees. The friendly energy, and extrovert personality that Nina has, have been making her job a lot more successful, we have to add.

Irina Ćatović — Human Potential specialist

Irina started her HPM career some 4 years ago, with 2 years of active work in Walter Code, juggling administrative assignments related to HPM and other processes such as recruitment and performance management. To be greeted to the company by a person like Irina, who will kindly let you in on all of the processes and steps required, while always making sure that you feel comfortable and accepted within the company.

Nina and Irina are going to endeavor to explain the ways in which they help attract, keep and retain employees, and they’re going to shine a bright light on the topic of onboarding during the pandemic, sharing both their positive and negative experiences.

Establishing internal HPM processes

The HPM strategy touches on all the key areas in HPM. These include employer branding, recruitment, learning & development, performance appraisal, compensation, and succession planning.

This means that a typical HPM function would involve end-to-end employee lifecycle management, which means that the Head of Human Potential and Employer Branding would have to take care of everything concerning the people aspect from the moment the employee enters the organization to the moment the employee leaves or withdraws from the organization.

It has evolved as a strategic function to improve the working environment, plan out potential needs, and strike a balance between the organization and employers in order to increase organizational productivity and meet organizational goals.

We believe it is most important to have effective communication, adaptability, agility, and a positive attitude of HP team who can connect a diverse workforce and retain talent in the organization.

Finding out exactly what strengths and weaknesses you, as a candidate, have is also the job of Human Potential team— they can help admit you to appropriate positions and even additional courses and training should you require them. For the Learning and Development of employees, they have the information required. Making you feel like a part of the team from day one is something they pay great attention to it!

Afterward, the job switches to close monitoring of all employees in order to answer to their needs and requirements, allowing them to do their work with all the technology or resources necessary. Of course, your performance plays an important role, as well.

Tracking your efforts and closely monitoring your achievements plays a vital part in employee retention. Praise is a powerful tool, and we give praise where it’s due. On the other hand, if your performance is lacking, your HP team, and other team members, in general, will approach you in a positive way, trying to solve the issues rather than just criticizing the mistake. Constructive criticism is the only acceptable type.

The main goal of our Human Potential department is to retain the employees. Today, with such a shortage of employees in the IT industry, providing your employees with the resources they need and require, giving them room for promotion and growth, and recognizing their strive for excellence are some of the ways of having happy employees. Happy employees are bound to stay for a longer period of time.

In the case an employee is leaving the company, it is important to find out what exactly made them change their surroundings. The crucial thing to do is to understand what went wrong and why they were unhappy. This is instant feedback for future cases and it’s very important not to miss out on the opportunity to learn from failure as well.

In essence, the biggest challenge is to find the right person for the job, and then keep them around for a while. That is why every phase of the employment lifecycle is cardinal, and successful Human Potential managers are going to make sure to take care of all of these steps within the HP process.

Biggest challenges for HP teams today?

During our discussion with Nina and Irina, they have mentioned two main reasons why their work might be more challenging. First off, the pandemic.

With the pandemic, the onboarding process has completely changed. Personal contact, face-to-face, is made more difficult than ever due to the health and safety measures. Keeping a social distance, wearing masks and similar restrictions have certainly put a strain on the process.

However, it is not all quite dark and unfortunate. There are some side-effects of the pandemic that actually improved productivity and efficiency of the onboarding process.

The pandemic in our case has changed attitudes for the better: greater efficiency and improved productivity.

Our interviewees agree on the positive changes implemented in the past year or two, stressing how much easier and quicker it is to hold meetings, stand-ups, syncs, etc. Without having to physically meet, it is possible to stay in touch with the potential employees, and those who’ve been accepted. It is important to emphasize this since we truly care about the initial connection of the employee to their new workspace, and our goal of making them feel accepted, informed, and in the loop is made easier thanks to the benefits of video calls.

Onboarding process

Our specialists are united in the opinion that the digitalization that the pandemic has imposed is one of the most convenient changes. The meetings and interviews now take place online, via video calls, making that particular part of the process a lot easier to organize. The communication between the potential employees and our Human Potential management team is certainly one of the more important sections, and it’s great to see that adapting to the “virtual” environment has made things better.

Still, the onboarding process is all about allowing the employee a chance to get to know the team, the processes, the tasks and gather other meaningful information. Before Covid, you were instantly a part of the office, and you were physically there from the beginning. Under today’s circumstances, the process of getting to know the way of doing things at the new job is a bit more complicated, and that’s where our colleagues, Irina and Nina, jump in. They bridge the gap between you and the info you require, by involving you in the process since day one.

Making people feel accepted and familiar with the new environment can be accomplished by giving them tips and introducing them to whomever they should talk to, who they’re connected with, and explaining their tasks through constant team communication.

Bringing change in organizational processes and procedures, implementing it, and then managing it is one of the biggest concerns of HP teams.

Maintaining harmonious relationships within the team, providing an excellent work environment, and offering more compensation and benefits than competitors can retain and motivate our employees, and it’s our focus.

Building long-lasting relation

This is a specific topic since each individual has different needs and wants, and the Human Potential team within our company go a long way to get to know the employees. Once they understand the preferences of each employee, they tailor their approach. Everyone has a different opinion about the positives and negatives within the company, but each opinion matters and can make a difference. That’s why constantly communicating and fetching feedback is a regular practice.

A relationship between employees and employers is broader than just the work they do at the office, on projects. This relationship goes even further, and we try to be an active part of our employee’s lives, celebrating great achievements and being included in important life milestones. We go a long way to understand that the employees have their own lives and we tend to their needs even outside of work.

Other than that, the room for promotion and growth is plenty within Walter Code. Our employees are capable of expanding their influence within the company, and we sincerely try to offer them space and opportunities to expand, both privately and professionally. Building long-lasting relationships are preferred, and we make sure that our employees feel accepted and well taken care of.

New, interesting, and challenging projects, recognizing and praising the efforts made, and constant support of the team — these go a long way in making the employee feel satisfied with their job.

One of the greatest things organizations can currently provide to employees is a structured environment that makes life easier and provides a sense of security and predictability at a time when neither is guaranteed.

When you do it right, efficient onboarding will positively impact our result as it builds loyalty among our employees. The stronger this loyalty, the stronger the tendency of employees to stay longer.

Conclusion:

Within our company, employees play a crucial role. They are the pillar of our success and we treat them with respect. Our corporate culture is all about understanding the importance of individuals within teams and adjusting to the requirements of the employees.

If we offer them all the tools, resources, and opportunities to do their work the best way possible, we’ll surely raise the quality of output and increase the content of our employees, guaranteeing a long and fruitful relationship.

Additionally, we’re a team that’s always expanding. We are keen on attracting new employees to our company regularly, and there are frequent opportunities offered. We’re not your standard 8–5 workplace, we offer you much more than just a salary.

Check out the current openings at https://waltercode.com/careers/ and see why we’re more than just a hollow story.

Special thanks to Nina and Irina for being a part of this article.