Sergey Krivonogov, the Head of DDB Russia group of companies outlines his strongest competency: to choose right people for right positions, and tells us which qualities he appreciates most in his employees.
1. What is your strongest competency?
I think that my strongest competencies are to choose right people for right positions and to create right atmosphere in the team. I think that these two competencies are the most important. I have other competencies as well, but these two are most important for me.
2. How do you do that?
If we take the principle, only people who are both good and professional could work for us. Someone who is bad but professional cannot work for us, neither someone who is good but incompetent. Our people should be both professional and good. If we take my personal qualities, how I personally assess them, then it comes to my experience of working with people since 1992, plus to my intuition.
3. What criteria do you use to select good people?
They should be open and honest with me; should know how to have fun and should like what they do. They shouldn't have this feeling of internal exhaustion towards their work. You know, there is such professional exhaustion, when people work in the same segment for many years and just get tired, they loose their drive. I like when people have some sincere hobbies, which have nothing to do with their job. It only helps them in work, because they tend to like their work too. There is some interconnection.
4. Do you identify your right employees intuitively or you have some techniques?
I'm trying to make sure that some tangible factors, which can be calculated, dominate the process, and leave only one third to the intuition. However, there are some situations when there isn't enough of information and then we have to trust the intuition. The success of a businessman depends on the ability to make right decisions under conditions of lack of information. Then, we can talk about experience, intuition, which in this case, count for half of the success. When it comes to the work with creative people, then it might become 60-70%. The same people in different companies work differently, and when it comes to a person, you see what he has accomplished in another company, and you see that he, probably, has potential, but didn't reveal it in the other company. Here, the doubts begin: should you take him or not? We are, certainly, taking some risks, but we prove to be right in 80 out of 100%. Still there is a risk, and when you don't get it right, it's upsetting.
5. Tell me about time when a person who originally took one position was finally successful in another?
Yes, there was such a case. We kept one person in the original position for rather long time. We were waiting for a vacancy in another department. Then we offered him the job. He accepted. It was in different office of our company, and there he showed himself from a very good side.
6. What other qualities do you appreciate in people?
The ability to develop: when someone joins in a particular role but absorbs everything, as a sponge. If the initiative doesn't come from us, if he is developing himself, if he is doing everything very well - it's highly appreciated. There is no problem, if a lady who joined us as a receptionist, in two years develops into a high caliber manager. If an employee does everything well, if he learns, and if he likes learning, then his skills and his ability to develop are highly appreciated.
7. What questions do you ask yourself when you're recruiting someone?
I ask standard questions, only sequence varies. The question "Do I, personally, like this candidate?" is as important as the estimation of professional level of the person. I'll also add, whether those people who will be working with this candidate really like him. It is also very important for me. Our business is not simple: people work constantly under stress and they spend a lot of time here. That's why the question of emotional comfort is important. People who work here in convenient and comfortable atmosphere have higher level of productivity. Honestly, we achieve higher results than it could be in a different team.
8. How you make sure that a promoted employee would not feel himself superior to others?
When you appoint such kind of person to a new position, you should consider this risk and feel if this kind of situation may happen with this person. You have to raise this issue with him in advance. In terms of huge talent deficit, some companies still don't have professional HR departments, executives sometimes fail to appoint right people to right positions, even in international companies question arise, who will be willing to work in Russia? There are different situations. And there is only one advice I can give: do everything in time, try to predict and prevent these kinds of situations. Hire only good people - it makes things easier.
