DEV Community: Andreev Valriy

Working for the Sake of Work: Why It's a Curse for Modern Companies.

Andreev Valriy — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 07:01:36 +0000

Today, I want to share my thoughts and observations on an important topic in the world of modern business: 'Work for the Sake of Work.' In this article, I describe how improper task setting and the lack of a clear strategy impact a company's productivity and employee motivation. Drawing from personal experience and an understanding of internal company processes, I aim to uncover why this is a significant problem for many organizations.

This topic can be divided into two categories: managerial task and situational reason.

Managerial Task
Description:
Managers often assign vague tasks, cannot explain the details, final outcomes, or lack an understanding of the next steps after task completion. This frequently occurs when managers focus on quantitative metrics rather than quality. As a result, employees spend time on tasks that contribute little to the company's development or even hinder it.

Cause: One of the reasons for such an approach is the absence of a clearly defined strategy or insufficient understanding among managers of the company's real needs. This may happen due to a lack of communication between different management levels or because managers are not fully informed about current processes at the workplace.

Personal Example: I witnessed such a task from the CEO.
Task: Gather feedback from 100 users who rated the service level low (Net Promoter Score - NPS).
Hypothesis: Users who were dissatisfied with the offering conditions gave the low rating.
The problems here include:
The absence of a defined sample deadline.
Poor communication (the head of the customer service department had the answer to this question, but the CEO insisted on task completion), leading to a waste of time and company resources.
Lack of understanding of what to do with the confirmation or refutation of the hypothesis. This results in one quality department employee spending an entire day making 100 calls to users with negative ratings.

Issues: Company growth stagnation or decline, reduced employee motivation, worsened work quality, increased stress levels, and fatigue.

Solution:
Managers should learn to listen to their subordinates and adjust their decisions according to the company's real needs and goals.
Conduct weekly meetings to discuss current tasks and their alignment with the company's overall strategic objectives.
Study the mechanics of task assignment (I will provide more details on this in the next article).

Situational Reason
Description: An employee wants to impress the management, demonstrate their efficiency, but lacks the necessary tools. Everything seems to be going well, but you don't see opportunities for growth. Part of the workday is clearly unproductive, and you fear for your job. This leads to creating an appearance of work, resulting in wasted time and increased stress.

Cause: This situation is not common, but work interruptions occur in every company. Factors can be external or internal, such as power outages, delayed deliveries, or even a closed plan for metrics and tasks. Sometimes this period lasts for hours, and sometimes for months, especially when work is automated and done in the shortest possible time, but tools for subsequent growth are not provided.

Personal Example: I faced such a situation at one of my workplaces. I spent 3-4 hours on marketing and analysis daily, but since I was in the office, sharing a room with the director, I had to at least maintain the appearance of work. This continued for months, leading to the problems mentioned below.

Issues: Reduced motivation, decreased work quality, burnout, and a decline in the manager's authority.
Solution: Identify the problem to the manager, who makes the decision to rectify the situation. They should propose new tasks, projects, and provide resources for developing new sales channels or personal skills. A manager leads their team based on strategy, and it's crucial to set tasks and provide tools for their execution.
If this is not a systematic problem, I suggest the employee leave early or engage in other productive activities. However, moderation is key.

In Conclusion:
I hope these ideas will assist you in your professional endeavors and help you avoid common mistakes. I look forward to your feedback and opinions because sharing experiences is the key to improving our professional skills.

The Route to Success: Secrets of Joining a Company and Effective Leadership.

Andreev Valriy — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 11:20:49 +0000

Hello, colleagues! I've decided to share my 10 years of marketing experience gained through financial, medical, and beauty projects. This article is filled with my observations and lessons learned during my career journey, which every aspiring leader must go through, and for the experienced ones, it serves as a reminder of important aspects easily forgotten over time.

What awaits you:

Your arrival at the company: where to start in a new place
Working in the company: steps to achieve results in the first months
Teamwork: key aspects of productive relationships
Hiring and firing: making the right decision in stressful situations
Issues and relationships: a spoon of tar in corporate culture

1. First steps in a new company:
• Obtaining access and reports - the technical part of regular tasks.

• Study the handover from the former manager.

• Learn about the goals, strategy, short-term and long-term tasks of departments, as well as the goals and basic development tasks for your department. This is necessary to understand the overall dynamics and the opportunity to contribute your opinion to the company's strategy or tactics.

• Examine the structure of your department and the hierarchy in the company.

• Schedule a meeting with the department, introduce yourself, get to know your team, understand how communication, task assignment, reporting presentations, and the responsibilities of all employees are organized. I usually create a scheme in Google Sheets or a notebook.

2. Working in the company:
• Step 1. Conduct market and competitor analysis.

• Step 2. Conduct an analysis of the company, ROMI by channels, segments, LTV, partners.

• Step 3. Develop a work plan aligned with the company's goals.

In one of the cases, which I will publish later, impressive results were achieved, including a 30% reduction in expenses ($24,500) without losing customers. Later, by adjusting budget priorities, we increased the number of loans issued across all channels by at least 33%. Only in SEA, the growth was 48%.

• Breaking the ceiling.

Mastering new technologies, services, and creating new connections. For example, using a contact determination service and IVR led to attracting 100 new customers per month within two months.

• Broadening horizons.

Expand your horizons by studying the basics of micro- and macroeconomics, analyzing economic, political, technological, and socio-cultural factors and their impact on the industry. This experience will help make more informed decisions in critical situations.

3. Teamwork:
• Employee Development:

Encourage ongoing training and skill acquisition. A yearly lapse in employee training is viewed negatively.

• Motivation Boost:

Identify and address reasons for decreased efficiency; consider factors like development opportunities, new tasks, promotions, or breaks.

• Fostering Team Atmosphere:

Strengthen relationships through events, training, and open discussions. Regular informal interactions, such as Friday chats, contribute to a positive atmosphere.

• Handling Conflicts:

Publicly praise deserving actions; address criticisms privately. Act as a mentor, focusing on development and offering support, advice, and resources.

• Building Trust:

Avoid excessive interference in specialists' work. Trust employees, providing them freedom to act, leading to time efficiency and improved productivity.

4. Hiring and Firing:
• Enhancing Efficiency:

Departmental efficiency relies on employee qualifications and a positive work atmosphere.

• Problem Source Identification:

Locate issues affecting efficiency and offer choices for improvement, such as training or a change in attitude, before considering dismissal.

• Effective Dialogue:

Communicate expectations calmly, set evaluation time frames, and determine future steps for collaboration.

• Parting Ways:

Describe three dismissal options: employee dismissal (company benefits), voluntary resignation (mutual benefit), termination by mutual agreement (beneficial for the employee).

• Hiring Process:

Establish HR tasks with clear goals, tasks, and requirements. Lack of effort in the resume and portfolio may indicate a lack of commitment to the job.

5. Problems and Relationships:
• Clan Formation:

Be cautious of departmental and directorial clans. Address instigators to dismantle subordinate clans. No reliable levers exist against directorial clans.

• Nepotism:

Related to clans, it involves appointing incompetent acquaintances or family members to leadership positions.

• Overcoming Fears:

Defend your viewpoint based on arguments. If uncomfortable, consider leaving to avoid wasting time and health, especially in non-resume-driven companies.

• Skills vs. Management:

Not every good employee makes a good manager and vice versa. Becoming a manager requires unique skills and responsibilities.

• Friendship in the Workplace:

Encourage partnership in the boss-subordinate relationship for better mental well-being and team collaboration. Be cautious about creating "corporate families" outside this dynamic.

Thank you for your attention and interest in my experience. I hope you found something inspiring and useful for your journey in the business world.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

P.S. Write about the topics you would like to see in my analysis next time.