Maxine Pillinger , Regional Managing Director , EMEA , highlights AMS ’ s opening of a Russia office , the challenges of working across a diverse region , and the current focus on hybrid working and wellbeing .
Taking the ‘ brave new world ’ of RPO into Russia is an educational journey . People are used to dealing with agencies and traditional methods of recruiting , so it takes a lot of stakeholder engagement .
However , our clients ’ talent acquisition stretches throughout EMEA , and over the past four years , more and more have wanted a presence in Russia . It ’ s a complex country from a political , delivery , and compliance and data protection perspective , so to support clients , we needed to go ‘ on the ground ’. The talent market is highly regulated and it ’ s not possible to deliver our services remotely due to rules around ‘ data localisation ’.
There has been a perfect storm in terms of talent trends . We noted a V-shaped COVID recovery at the beginning of this year , but the Russian talent market has always been dynamic . There ’ s only 5 % unemployment ( or 2 % in Moscow , which is where most of our clients ’ employees are likely to be located ) – so clients find it challenging to find the right talent . This has been coupled with quite a significant demographic dip in terms of the younger population in the cities . It ’ s an intense piece of work finding , engaging and nurturing people .
In Russia , employees also have two-week notice period at all levels , so it ’ s very easy for people to move , which makes the market incredibly competitive . It ’ s crucial that candidates don ’ t spend too long in the recruitment process , or they receive multiple offers .
With the opening of the AMS office in Russia , we can begin to understand , learn and build a community for our people and clients
Cultural understanding
In EMEA , AMS is on the ground in 25 countries . It makes the region exciting , diverse and challenging in equal measure . It ’ s an opportunity to learn about the differing cultures and attitudes and ensure we evolve people strategies to engage and inspire our teams on an ongoing basis .
Pre-COVID-19 , I used to travel regularly around the region and had the pleasure of visiting clients in Moscow . Experiencing and understanding the nuances of culture and people ’ s motivations are much easier in person . It is a well-known fact that body language or non-verbal communication is a real and great way of building rapport , and it ’ s amazing how much you can absorb subconsciously about an individual , business and culture when you ’ re sitting across from them with a coffee and a view of Red Square .
Inclusion and building communities are very important to AMS wherever we are in the world . Cultural awareness plays a big part in this by understanding traditions , heritage , food , music and much more . With the opening of the AMS office in Russia we can begin to understand , learn and build a community for our people and our clients .
How do we ensure duty of care of our employees and ensure their physical and mental wellbeing with extended periods of homeworking ?
Hybrid working
COVID-19 has also impacted different countries ( and sectors ) in varying ways . Our clients in Russia are mostly pharmaceutical , so it has been less about recovery and more about maintaining and expanding , especially in the commercial and sales functions which are having to adapt to a less face-to-face environment .
In international companies , as with local companies , the working culture in Russia is to be on-site every day , so I think it will be interesting to see if there is a trend for more hybrid or flexible working . Equally , we ’ re seeing the topic being hotly discussed in all markets – on a continuum of ‘ everyone back in the office ’ to ‘ we ’ re not going to make any decision until October ’ and every possible option in between .
The conundrum for talent acquisition and HR functions is around employee value proposition . Clients are asking “ are we going to be able to attract the same talent if we ’ re not flexible ?” and “ how do we address the equity question of homeworking ?” Most importantly , how do we ensure duty of care of our employees and ensure their physical and mental wellbeing with extended periods of homeworking ? These are not questions to be answered hastily .
However , a great example of a wellbeing programme in Russia has been developed by our client Essilor Russia which has trialled a ‘ Not Just Job ’ webinar programme , where senior leaders talk about their passions – from cooking to cars ( see p11 ). Video calls can be very task driven so this is a way of opening up and sharing experiences . It ’ s fabulous , and I think initiatives like this will become more common .