Work processes in ICL Services: 5 steps for achieving the best results

Reference point. When does the relationship between an employee and the company start?

We believe that the relationship between the employee and the company will be the most stable and mutually beneficial only when they are not limited to the scope of the employment contract. The high-level diagram of employment stages in ICL Services is shown below.

1. Occupational training

The capabilities of a large IT company allow us to add practical training to the university theoretical courses in the field of IT. According to the students themselves, not only the opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills is important, but also the experience of participation in processes and projects as part of a real IT team. As a rule, such experience is especially lacking in universities or small regional companies, where young professionals often start their career.

We have deployed the following training system for young professionals:

• career guidance and basic elements required for IT specialists (in featured schools);
• fundamental education at the premises of IT universities;
• short-term special IT courses (Database, IT Security, etc.) provided by the company;
• internships for students working on real projects.

The company's strategic policy decision is that the students are not obliged to work for ICL Services in the future. However, many interns and course graduates join the company. The rest of them become members of the local IT community, and the knowledge that they have gained from ICL Services increases its overall level.

2. Hiring

The main task of the company and the candidate at the hiring stage is to prudently assess the prospects for further cooperation. However, it is equally important to make the selection process comfortable for the applicant. This approach not only increases the probability of successful hiring, but also contributes to the company's reputation in the labor market and improves the efficiency of onboarding and subsequent work of the employee.

The following are the basic principles of ICL Services in respect of recruitment.

• Access to the company's information. ICL Services is present on specialized websites and job fairs, social networks and other job search websites; at the same time, the company provides quick responses to applicants.
• Impartial assessment that is understandable to the applicant. During the interview, applicants talk to HR, technical experts and their future managers. This reduces the risk of human error during evaluation and guarantees impartiality.
• Comfort and care. For example, ICL Services compensates 50% of transport expenses for applicants; new employees will get help in finding a home and handling registration.

3. Onboarding

After recruitment, new employees need help in onboarding at the company and getting acquainted with the team. Corresponding processes are deployed in ICL Services: 100% of new employees will have a buddy for the first 3 months. This is an experienced worker and "personal adviser" who will answer all questions related to work and associated issues.

4. Work

Apart from compliance with the Labor Code of Russian Federation, employees will receive:

• Clear performance evaluation. Personal KPIs decompose the company's strategic goals up to the level of individual experts. Automatic evaluation eliminates subjectivity. The evaluation system fully takes into account the interests of both business and employees, as a pilot project involving 100% of the team has been implemented before adoption, and then improvements are regularly made in accordance with the LEAN methodology.
• Safe workplaces reviewed by external experts.
• Comfortable workplaces. In 2018, ICL Group built a new ultra-modern Technology Park and moved some of ICL Services divisions to this business center. The eight-storey office building with an area of almost 13 thousand square meters is located in an ecologically clean rural area within 20 minutes drive from the center of Kazan and near the airport. There are roads, bus routes and a train stop in close proximity to the office building. The building has areas for passive and active recreation, sports grounds, a dining room and a cafe, a drinking water supply system, etc. Modern noise insulation materials are used to improve comfort and productivity, including sound-absorbing ceilings, wall panels, and acoustic baffles for workstations. High-speed Wi-Fi allows employees to solve tasks anywhere in the office (activity based), for example, on comfortable sofas or at special tables for standing at work.
• Opportunities for education: internal and external courses (technical, soft skills, foreign language), vendor certification, internal library, "labor pool", etc. Number of employees who annually undergo internal or external training is more than 90%; and number of employees who pass certification exams at least once a year is 84%. There are over 50 providers of external training services for employees. This is very important because ICL Services is a service provider that specializes in high-tech and rapidly changing IT field.
• Clear "game rules". Work processes are logged in internal documents. Each employee can study them and they are mandatory for all staff, including top managers. In non-regulated scenarios, you shall be guided by the company's code, and in critical situations (legal noncompliance, financial and reputational risk, etc.), contact the compliance manager and directors in person.
• Extended compensation package:
1. health care (voluntary medical insurance for 100% of employees, vaccinations, allowance for health centers for the children of employees, allowance for sports, free football, volleyball and basketball classes);
2. rest and entertainment (leave allowance, holidays for employees and their families, corporate recreation center, internal tournaments, corporate discounts in more than 30 coffee shops, stores, travel firms, etc.);
3. help in important events (interest-free loans, allowance for weddings, birth of children and funerals of relatives);
4. help with accommodation (relocation allowance or corporate apartment if moving from another city, housing communities for employees, allowance for mortgage interest).

The company's philosophy, both when providing services to customers and in relation to internal processes, is based on the principle of continuous improvement:

The key tool for continuous improvement is communication, in particular via feedback channels. Each employee can ask vital questions and get answers (including from top managers), as well as influence events inside the company by suggesting improvements and changes.

ICL Services maintains 13 feedback channels, for example:

• Annual general survey. Results of such survey are taken into account when approving the annual action plan to improve all aspects of work within the company — from the development of competencies or interaction with managers to administrative and economic issues.
• Strategy Update – personal meeting of top managers with volunteering employees.
• Expert consultations – answers from field-specific employees (HR, administration, etc.) on staff questions.
• "Red button" – a way to communicate about privacy violations, reputational risk for the company and other critical situations.
• iC-SAT – internal Customer SATisfaction, a survey to quickly evaluate the performance of internal services.
• Change Processes service which allows employees to offer and justify the desired changes in any of the company's processes, from working with customers to the paperwork for a leave.
• An information terminal to collect feedback on the quality of food in the corporate canteen, etc.

According to the internal survey, 95% of employees do not have problems with information inside the company, and 77% are sure that they can address top managers, despite occupational hierarchy.

5. Termination of labor relations and further cooperation

The company keeps in contact with former colleagues, for example, we invite them on corporate holidays and tell them about new job openings. In turn, our alumni act as brand ambassadors and recommend our company to their friends, and sometimes they return to ICL Services.

Well-established work processes that take into account the interests of both the company and its employees are not the only factor that determines the business sustainability and the engagement of employees. However, this is one of the key features of a socially responsible company. And more than that, a proper approach to workflow management creates a basis for the introduction of other components of the "social platform" at the company, for example, the widespread implementation of the principle of observing human rights or fruitful interaction with the local community.