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Human Resources management is one of the most complex business areas, as it requires very different skills compared to technology, finance and fixed asset management. Even having achieved success in personnel management in one company, in another firm a different approach may be required, as every company has its own corporate culture, history and ways of interacting.

I have devoted my career to HR management because I have always been interested in people and how they achieve their own and their company goals, and how they go on developing and advancing through their career. In over 10 years work as an HR executive I have come across both typical and unique professional issues and have accumulated a wealth of experience to deal with them successfully. Now, as an HR consultant, I assist companies and their managers to solve personnel issues – starting from the selection and retention of key employees through to their professional development and remuneration.

How can I add value to your business?

A corporate manager will typically ask: ‘Why do we need an HR consultant? We are doing okay, and yes maybe we have some problems, but which company doesn’t have problems?’
I would like to quote the Black Queen from Lewis Caroll’s ‘Alice in the Wonderland’: “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”

If today the issues are solvable, tomorrow they might become critical and the situation may not be able to be resolved quickly, since individuals are not simply mechanical tools that may be re-programmed. Working with people requires time for any changes to be accepted and for individuals to get accustomed to them. Issues that have been accumulating for years may not be fixed at the flick of a switch. A lack of motivated, trained and loyal personnel directly impact your company’s efficiency, resulting in lower profits. Moreover, when it comes to managers, a lack of expertise in HR management may result in critical errors in the company’s operations.

It is well known that any company is efficient only if it has a competitive advantage that is difficult or impossible to copy. When applying a marketing approach, your corporate culture, personnel and associated business processes may become such an unique competitive advantage.

American researchers ¹ calculated that up to 85% of a company’s value can be traced to intangible assets, including human resources - representing a solid basis for added value creation.
How efficient is your company’s HR function? How does it compare with your competitors? How does it stack up against your industry average? How loyal is your personnel? How satisfied are they with their work in your company? Are they looking for a job in your competitor’s firm? Do you have the optimum headcount? Is your management pool sufficient or is it excessive? Have you got succession pool? How do you develop your rising stars?

How do you retain talent without increasing their salaries? How do you create a remuneration system and make it transparent and fair? If a key employee is ready to leave – is it necessary to increase his pay level? Do you overpay or underpay your staff? How can you make savings on the salary budget? Do you know how to reduce salaries without breaking the law? Have your managers have undiscovered talents? How do you reveal and develop these talents? How do you increase management’s efficiency and improve company management in general? How does corporate culture make its influence felt? Is there a way of improving the corporate culture?

If you are looking for answers to such issues – I can help.

If you are going to start your business from scratch in Russia or a CIS country and need some HR professional advice or support – I can provide you with it. I have experience (including legal issues and staff downsizing) in both start up businesses and in restructuring more established companies and am ready to share my knowledge and expertise to boost your company’s efficiency with regard to human capital.

¹ The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy, and Performance, Brian E. Becker, Mark A. Huselid, Dave Ulrich, HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PRESS, 2001, p.IX