80% of Top Management "Grown" Within the Corporation: Interview with Valentyna Dorosh, Director of the Human Resources Department at TERWIN

01.08.2024

The Director of the Human Resources Department at TERWIN discusses the search for candidates, corporate values, corporate culture, and the professional growth of employees.

Could you please tell us about the corporate culture at TERWIN?

The TERWIN corporation sets the tone for all the companies within its structure. We pay special attention to mentorship and the development of our team. All top managers have the opportunity to develop and learn, attend professional conferences, seminars, and training sessions. For example, the Director of the Investment Department recently attended a conference in Berlin.

We provide the best global practices. We invest in the development of our employees and ensure their professional growth. 80% of our top management is "grown" within the corporation. For us, people are the most valuable asset. There is nothing more important than our employees, and we know each one of them personally.

What "perks" do you offer to attract people to your proposition?

Large-scale projects and working with an owner who provides resources to achieve ambitious goals. Ruslan Shostak is open and charismatic, so working with him is something that can attract. The overall offer also includes increased motivation and additional opportunities for professional growth.

How does the adaptation process for a top manager in the company go?

The owner, as a visionary, focuses on strategy, goals, and objectives.

If it concerns the CEO, several managers take on the main role in their adaptation. I, as the HR Director, the Project Director, and the owner regularly hold meetings with the new CEO: I help with communication and interaction, the Project Director provides the necessary resources at the initial stage of business development. We spend a lot of time forming a common vision of the goals and expected business results, as well as the plan to achieve them.

Were there situations when, despite the lack of experience of a candidate, their personal skills and desire for development convinced you to hire them?

Yes. From my experience, such candidates often turn out to be better than those who have all the necessary hard skills but insufficiently developed soft skills. A person can be a super professional but not proactive and flexible, which complicates work a lot. It's always better to teach hard skills. Developing soft skills is much more challenging.

How do you assess whether a candidate's values align with the corporate culture of the company?

There should be synergy in working with a person. An employee should have developed qualities such as professionalism, leadership, proactivity, flexibility, and adaptability in certain issues. And, of course, very good communication skills, otherwise, it will be impossible to adapt in the company and achieve results.

How do you assess the leadership potential of a candidate?

Most often, these are case questions where we immerse a person in a situation, and they must explain how they would act in it. This gives an understanding of how developed, for example, the competencies of leading, managing teams and conflicts, and other aspects are.

How does the interview process for a top manager go, and how is it different from an interview for an ordinary employee?

For each position, we have developed a work evaluation card divided into hard skills and soft skills that are most suitable for the position, usually five. We involve several experts in the interview to make the most objective assessment.

Finalists are also given homework. These are not tests but more "thought tasks"—situations they may encounter in real work conditions.

Name a few hard skills that are most important when selecting candidates.

Successful management experience in a medium or large company with over 500 employees. If it's a new direction, there should be experience working in structures based on production, retail, development, or distribution (depending on the direction we are implementing).

Since we mostly work with startups, the candidate should have successful experience in creating new businesses or business directions and teams. These are very cool competencies for us.

What was the longest negotiation period with a candidate?

About six months. These are constant meetings between the future CEO and the owner, reflections on strategies, and other topics. However, this period was not due to our hesitations but due to the candidate's unresolved tasks with previous employers.

Do you seek feedback from the candidate's previous employers?

Absolutely. Recommendations from at least three previous colleagues: a subordinate, a colleague, and a supervisor, most often the owner.

Do you involve candidates from different industries to diversify experience?

If we open a production direction, we mostly want the candidate to be from the production industry to understand the processes. But if the experience was diverse with different tasks and industries, this will also be an advantage.

There are very interesting cases when the owner likes the candidate so much that he can even create a new direction for them where the person has strong expertise.

What do you pay attention to in a resume?

The structure and conciseness. If a person's resume lists facts and achievements, this is a plus. If the resume is ten pages long, it usually indicates that the person cannot highlight their experience and specify the main and concrete points. All points should be consistent, clear, and not too long; these are not job description duties. Therefore, a properly structured resume with achievements significantly increases the chances of success.

What platforms do you use to search for top managers?

We use as many different channels as possible: our candidate database, personal networking, LinkedIn, job search sites, social networks, messenger groups, recommendations, conferences.

Recommendations work very well. Sometimes even the candidates themselves give recommendations about their acquaintances.

We have our personal search cards. Sometimes we involve agencies to fill the position with relevant candidates and generate the necessary traffic.

Have you had experience with direct headhunting?

Yes. In general, approximately 90% of candidates are people who were not actively looking for a job. Most often, they work in good positions, and we approach them with an offer.

We had an interesting case. We met a top manager who was not considering any offers at the time. We kept in touch and once saw a post on LinkedIn about them contemplating a job change. We reconnected, and now this person works with us.

We know our competitors. We maintain relationships with many top managers. And when we learn about their dissatisfaction with their current job, we offer large-scale projects. We know who interests us and wait for the right moment when they are ready for changes.

How many people do you currently have "on your radar" for the future?

If we are talking about the CEO position, probably about a dozen. These are the best of the best.