Psychological Support and Universal Employees
08.08.2024
Inna Pecherytsia, HR Director at EVA
On the Impact of the War on HR Strategy
The main HR vectors have not changed since the onset of the invasion. About six months before the war, we had a planned strategic session. Even then, we understood that the situation with personnel would be challenging. Therefore, our key task was to promote the HR brand.
The company has well-established processes for training and development, as well as motivation systems. Moreover, EVA is a high-tech business with a large team of developers and digital technology specialists. We need to attract even more of them. However, for such professionals, it’s not always evident that EVA offers opportunities for growth and involvement in large projects. So, we started actively communicating these messages to the audience.
Our second focus is retaining people. Team cohesion is extremely important, and it can only be achieved with long-term employee tenure. EVA is a reliable employer offering an interesting career path, and those who work with us can confirm this through their own experiences.
On New Standards and Approaches
We had to implement unconventional approaches when opening the EVA BEAUTY store. This is a new format with a range of professional and premium products, along with its own beauty salon. The staff was selected differently, and training and motivation programs were developed specifically for this store. It was necessary to research the work specifics of specialists we hadn’t worked with before, such as hairdressers, colorists, and cosmetologists.
Overall, EVA operates with clear standards and processes. It’s regulated how a person joins the company and develops both professionally and career-wise. This applies to both the office and the stores, the opening of which has long been routine. Quickly restructuring processes on our scale is impossible. We focus on automation and digitalization, which simplifies routine tasks and frees up resources for more creative problem-solving, such as building quality communication. It’s important to us that people can sometimes distract themselves from distressing events. This is facilitated by gamification, involvement in creative activities, and competitions. We are also developing psychological support in various formats, which requires a human approach.
On Psychological Support for Employees
The majority of EVA employees are women. Many have relatives on the front lines, and some are experiencing painful losses. Therefore, issues of psychological support and adaptation, as well as training in how to interact with colleagues and customers in stressful or anxious states, are highly relevant for us.
At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we launched webinars, provided access to materials on psychological assistance and self-help, and created hotlines where corporate psychologists could offer advice. These initiatives eventually evolved into a comprehensive project.
The first component is basic psychological support: periodic group meetings called "Morning Coffee" and personal consultations. An employee who needs psychological assistance is entitled to 10 sessions funded by the company.
The second component is the "Women's Circle." We noticed that not all women in difficult life situations are ready to work with a psychologist. However, they need communication and the exchange of personal experiences with others going through similar challenges. This initiative started recently, but it's already clear that it provides many with a sense of support.
Finally, we train our staff to communicate with veterans, people with disabilities, those who have experienced loss, and those in pain. Our task is to help them as much as possible.
On the Importance of Leader Communication with Staff and Training for Managers
In times of crisis, employers must provide employees with a sense of support and protection. EVA is fortunate in this regard with both the owner and the CEO. They are open, media-savvy, frequently give interviews, share the company’s results and plans, and demonstrate a strong position. We broadcast these interviews on internal communication channels.
However, we focus not on the CEO or the owner but on the role of each team leader, department head, or area manager. Interaction at this level is critical in unusual circumstances, both for feedback and for keeping the team informed about company events. Therefore, the HR department continually works on developing managerial competencies across all leadership levels. Two of our major training programs—"Cato-Management" and Evolution—are aimed at this.
"Cato-Management" was born at the beginning of the pandemic to help managers organize their teams’ work remotely—from under a blanket, like a cat. That was our first experience with remote work, and many found it challenging to maintain connections, delegate tasks, and control without being physically present with their colleagues.
Just one fact to illustrate the program's relevance: we have about 150 managers at various levels, yet 250 people have completed the program. Many have returned to it, partly because we keep it updated.
Evolution is a platform for developing managerial competencies based on the corporate portal. It helps create and implement individual development plans, integrates learning into the workflow, and provides access to a large database of useful books, articles, training sessions, and more.
On Retraining and Universalizing Staff
Despite the difficulties of the war period, we ended 2023 with the best staffing level in five years, but we understand that the situation is becoming more complicated.
We don’t have many men on staff, but they perform very important functions. Products need to be delivered to the stores somehow. For that, warehouse workers, drivers, and loaders are needed. We also need stock receivers in the stores. This is hard physical work that women now often have to perform.
We are universalizing the staff at distribution centers so that they can work in any area. We are also training women to be forklift and truck drivers. However, it’s difficult to find enough women willing to drive trucks—it’s hard and scary for them. This issue is partially addressed by "Help Teams" that can be dispatched if there is trouble. But the global problem lies with the labor market itself, which has not prepared women for such work. Business efforts alone cannot quickly change this situation. That’s why we hope for the implementation of economic conscription with transparent rules so that businesses can reserve key employees crucial to their operations.