Host Polina:
How do you select employees for top positions? What criteria do you focus on?
Anastasia Bzyta:
Regarding top specialists: we have a particular professional distinction here. For a long time, we worked as a veterinary center, and at some point we made a quantum leap. We opened many new divisions and departments that needed leadership. That’s when mid-level management roles appeared in our structure. Previously, we had, roughly speaking, a director and a deputy director. Over time, we introduced department heads, unit supervisors, and other leadership positions.
As you say, these are “top” positions — but at the same time, they were new roles for us.
What did we encounter? Due to the specific nature of our profession, we did not invite external specialists, nor did we hire professional managers from outside. Instead, we developed leaders from within our professional environment. We would take, for example, a veterinarian who, in our opinion, had the qualities of a leader, and offer them a management position.
What challenges did we face? Naturally, at first the new managers were enthusiastic — it was exciting, a new opportunity. But then they began encountering difficult situations that were hard to resolve because they lacked the necessary managerial skills. The kinds of skills that, for example, you are taught. If I had invited you to work with us, it might have been easier for me to see you in a leadership role, but harder to explain the specifics of our field, right?
When we faced this reality, we realized we couldn’t do without internal education for these top managers. What we needed from them as leaders, they simply didn’t yet have — so we had to provide it. Now I understand that we continue to grow as an organization, and perhaps at some point we will turn to professional managers. But for now, we are developing our own staff who have stepped into additional top-level roles.
Host Polina:
Please tell us about your company’s adaptation process. How do you onboard new specialists? And does your company have a mentorship system?
Anastasia Bzyta:
Yes, we do have a mentorship system. Moreover, we have devoted a significant number of documents, developed processes, and regulations to the adaptation of new specialists, because you simply can’t just take someone and throw them into vet’s appointment anymore.
Yes, that worked in our generation. We would come in, they’d say, “Show your diploma.” We’d show it, and they’d say, “All right, you’re a vet - here’s your appointment schedule.” But now that’s no longer acceptable. Our organization has become a fairly complex structure. We have many business processes, a large number of documents, and many employees. When someone new joins us, they must be properly introduced — not only given general and workplace safety briefings, but also ensured psychological safety.
To provide that psychological safety, we developed an adaptation system that includes standard operating procedures, regulations, and job descriptions. Each young specialist is assigned a senior employee whose role is simply to explain where everything is and how things work.
I believe that any company striving to create a comfortable and healthy microclimate must develop such a system. There are many resources today where you can gain knowledge, but I still insist that every manager should design their mentorship system independently, taking into account the specifics of their department, division, or company as a whole.
I really like the idea of an introductory session where new employees are shown a presentation or video explaining the entire system from start to finish — the company’s history, mission, goals, and objectives. Every company should have its own mission. Yes, we have a specific objective, it’s written in our charter — we won’t voice it now, everyone knows what is typically written there for a commercial organization. But the ideas the organization brings into the world must be clear to a young specialist. Otherwise, it will be difficult for them to understand whether they will fit in this company, whether it is their place.
When a young specialist comes for an interview, it is not always clear what principles operate within the organization. All organizations are different. They have completely different motives and goals. Yes, we share one professional goal — providing competent and high-quality veterinary care. But values and missions can differ. It is important that the company leader clearly present this mission to the new generation.
Host Polina:
And what about managers? How do you train them? Do you have any special training methods for leaders?
Anastasia Bzyta:
Of course, we train our young managers. Even though they may have been working with us for a long time, once they begin a new type of activity, they are required to gain new tools for it.
We conduct ongoing management training at our company, including strategic sessions and webinars. When necessary, we send them to various company-funded training sessions at specialized and third-party organizations. And naturally, we — myself and the senior leadership — set an example for the rest of the company, demonstrating how a leader should develop and what professional skills they should acquire in addition to those they already possess as specialists.
Host Polina:
Please tell us about your blog. What motivated you to start it?
Anastasia Bzyta:
The story of the blog. The blog is a continuation of my professional activity. It is not some separate social media persona or online image. It’s a demonstration of what I actually do in my workplace.
Why do I need it? First and foremost, to digitize the knowledge I share in my public speaking engagements. At a certain point, various conferences appeared in our industry — they had existed for quite some time. But over the past 10–12 years, separate management sections have emerged where executives share their skills with other executives.
I began being invited to these conferences as a speaker and lecturer. I talked about business processes and about the knowledge I had already gained. And I realized that I needed to digitize what I do so that people who interact with me professionally would clearly understand what I’m about — what topics I can be invited to speak on, what I can share.
It’s also for my employees, who undergo training every two weeks. Every two weeks we hold meetings where employees and we, as senior leadership, present various reports, including educational ones. They can turn to my channel, revisit what we discussed, and gain additional insights.
I enjoy sharing the events we organize, sometimes adding a bit of light, entertaining content. And of course, I select interesting, non-trivial articles and adapt my knowledge for the general public. Because management is something each of us faces: managing your life, your time, your communication with people.
When we take on management, we take on responsibility — and that’s the most important thing. When we accept responsibility, we gain great power along with it. By managing our lives, we gain strength.
My mission as a person is to share the knowledge I have in a clear and accessible way. Not in complicated terminology or twisted phrases, but in simple language that everyone can understand. So that each person can take something from my channel, reject something that doesn’t resonate, or start applying something today and later say, “Great, that worked.”
So I invite everyone to subscribe to my Telegram channel — I believe the link will be in the description — and I’ll be glad to see each of you there. I especially welcome comments, particularly those where you disagree with me. That’s a stretch for me, because we all look at the world through our own maps and values. Perhaps my values differ from yours — let’s talk about it.
(Link to Telegram channel: https://t.me/bzytaA)
Host Polina:
Please tell us what motivation methods the company Shans BIO uses.
Anastasia Bzyta:
Motivation methods. Let’s set aside financial motivation — bonuses, additional monetary incentives — that’s clear to everyone.
We must remember that we work with people. And what is motivation? There are two types: “toward” motivation — striving to achieve something, and “away from” motivation — striving to avoid something.
To understand which type works for a specific employee, you need to understand their motives, what stimulates them — and that requires working with them over time. A stimulus isn’t always just encouragement; sometimes it may involve negative factors.
Our motivation system is based more on encouragement — recognizing Employee of the Month, Employee of the Year, organizing team-building activities and corporate events. For example, twice a year we hold corporate celebrations. In summer we celebrate the company’s birthday, and in winter we hold a New Year’s corporate party.
Each of these events is made special. It’s never just a simple dinner, tea, drinks, and dancing. There is always a theme. We are creative people, and I believe creative thinking is essential for any businessperson, entrepreneur, or leader. The more creatively and sincerely you approach organizing even internal celebrations, the more your employees will appreciate your emotional involvement, your genuine care.
Every employee wants to feel special. Every employee wants to know they are valued, known, and that their work produces results. Therefore, paying attention to non-financial motivation is extremely important. It should even be written into company policy — what we do so that employees want to come to work and don’t want to leave (not meaning going home after the day ends, but leaving the company altogether).
We must also address work–rest balance. This is very important. We often forget about it, employees forget about it — and by the time they realize they’ve overworked themselves, it may be too late.
We must remember that each employee has a family. That deserves attention too. Sometimes you need to help them with personal matters.
Recently, I watched a video where a speaker — I believe a business coach — asked a young entrepreneur how she would react if her employee asked for time off that same day to attend her child’s school event.
Host Polina:
Oh, I’ve seen that video too.
Anastasia Bzyta:
Yes, it’s quite popular now. And the entrepreneur said, “No, personal matters should be handled on weekends. During the workday, you must work.”
Immediately, I want to look at the context. How valuable is this employee to you? What is your professional history together? How often has she asked for time off before? Has she left unexpectedly in the past? What financial difficulties have you had with this employee? How much has this person overworked, and what physical and emotional contribution has she made to your business? Because it’s your business — she’s a hired employee.
We also need to understand how long the entrepreneur has been in business, how large the business is, and how well-regulated and structured the processes are.
From my perspective, you must approach each employee very carefully and individually. If it’s truly important for that mother to attend her child’s event, and her absence won’t cause serious consequences, and I can release her or arrange coverage — I will do it. That, too, becomes motivation. It creates the understanding that she is valued.
Work is not your whole life. Work is part of your life — not your entire universe. When you reach an understanding of each employee, you also need to maintain a healthy balance. That’s why I said context is very important in that video — what exactly was happening in that situation…
Host Polina:
What was happening behind the scenes.
Anastasia Bzyta:
Behind the scenes. It’s easy to judge, but you have to understand — and to understand, you need to know how to analyze. That’s what I teach in my blog.
Host Polina:
We’ve mentioned conflict situations many times and how negatively they affect motivation, adaptation, and the overall well-being of employee within the company. Could you tell us about a conflict you resolved and how you handled it?
Anastasia Bzyta:
Conflicts always arise at the level of values. What kinds of conflicts do we have? Conflicts between employees, conflicts between a client — in our case, a pet owner — and an employee, or conflicts between a manager and an employee. Those are the three main scenarios.
This means that at a certain point, the values of one side did not align with the values of the other. Expectations, too — because we are always prisoners of our own expectations. I won’t go into all the nuances and types of conflicts right now, but essentially it’s always a dissonance between expectations and reality.
How do you neutralize it? It’s always different; each situation requires a different approach. You must listen to both sides. Understand which values were affected on one side and which on the other. What triggered the conflict?
Was it spontaneous — something that happened here and now? Or had it been building for some time, and the immediate cause was merely the trigger? Whether conflicts exist in your company largely depends on the leader. I’m not afraid to use the phrase “a fish rots from the head.” The way a leader builds work processes and relationships within the company determines how employees behave.
A leader must transmit the values of respectful communication, professionalism, and business etiquette. Because if we neglect business etiquette, we lose our bearings. We need to learn it. We must separate personal, everyday etiquette from professional, business etiquette — they have important differences. And the leader must model this.
Respectful relationships with employees. Respectful relationships with clients. All other elements of the system will align accordingly.
It’s very important to analyze conflicts — and to teach others, managers and subordinates alike, how to analyze them too. To look at conflict from different perspectives: as someone involved and as an outside observer. What was the real trigger? What can be removed so that the conflict simply collapses?
Every conflict has a core, a center. If you identify it and remove it, the conflict falls apart. That’s it.
Host Polina:
That actually sounds very similar to a family model — when parents behave in a certain way and children adopt those behavioral patterns. The same happens in a company.
Anastasia Bzyta:
Of course. Absolutely. As they say, we are all “disabled by childhood.” We’ve all been traumatized in some way. Even if we had a wonderful family and warm, loving parents, a child will still find something to bring to a psychologist at age thirty. That’s normal. It’s actually good. There’s nothing wrong with that. These are experiences we need to process — and they give us a certain push forward.
What about the paradigms formed in childhood? We all grow up in families. Families can be constructive or dysfunctional. We may have siblings or not. And surprisingly, these family systems strongly influence a person’s socialization and how they behave in the workplace.
If you have an older brother or sister, you will often build workplace relationships according to the same scenarios you had with them. If you are the older sibling, you are usually more strong-willed, controlling, and responsible as an employee later in life.
This is another unique framework — I’m still a bit cautious about talking about it publicly — but as we develop further, I believe that sibling systems and family systems — our relationships with relatives — may eventually even be evaluated in the workplace.
It’s quite possible that one day you’ll go to a job interview and be asked: “Do you have an older or younger sibling?” Because that could help predict whether you’ll present yourself as more responsible and leadership-oriented, or more adaptable and willing to follow. These are the behavioral patterns children often develop in their families.
It’s a very interesting topic, though separate and perhaps still controversial for some — but I personally find it fascinating.
Host Polina:
Please give some advice to students of the Human Resources Management Department at the State University of Management.
Anastasia Bzyta:
Dear colleagues, we — your future employers — are really looking forward to meeting you. But before coming to us, please try to get to know yourselves better.
Don’t “search” for yourself at workplaces. Instead, understand yourself more deeply. What are your strengths? What qualities define you? What do you want from life? What do you want to do professionally? What are your values? What are your goals? Tasks will align with your goals.
That’s why we are waiting for you at interviews. We are waiting for your CVs. And we are waiting for your bright, passionate eyes — the kind that appear when you truly understand who you are and what you want to do. When you know yourself better, you will come to us motivated to work and to turn your profession into your true calling.
Host Polina:
And now, the final part of our interview — the rapid-fire round, or rather, the Blitz Lottery. I’ll hand you a box, and with your eyes closed, you’ll choose a card with questions that I’ll ask you.
Anastasia Bzyta:
I’m nervous.
Host Polina:
That’s okay. So, first question: What’s your zodiac sign?
Anastasia Bzyta:
Aries.
Host Polina:
What was your first workplace?
Anastasia Bzyta:
Shans BIO.
Host Polina:
Your credo in one word?
Anastasia Bzyta:
Always. Just kidding. Do what you can, where you are, with what you have — and let what will be, be.
Host Polina:
Do you have a favorite professor from the State University of Management?
Anastasia Bzyta:
Yes — Anastasia Lobacheva.
Host Polina:
What did you have for breakfast?
Anastasia Bzyta:
What did I have for breakfast? I didn’t have breakfast. I was rushing to your interview, so I just had coffee.
Host Polina:
You definitely need to have breakfast! What made you happy today?
Anastasia Bzyta:
Meeting you today made me happy, because you don’t often see such sparkling eyes.
Host Polina:
That’s so nice to hear! As a gift, we’re giving you a motivational card.
Anastasia Bzyta:
Oh, thank you! So, what did I get? “Change your thoughts, and you will change the world.” That’s truly important right now. It’s important to change, to be flexible — because only flexible elements can transform an entire system. So I wish flexibility to you as well.
Host Polina:
Thank you for coming to the interview — it was very interesting to listen to you!
Anastasia Bzyta:
Thank you for inviting me!
Host Polina:
And to you, dear readers — thank you for reading our podcast “HR at Heart”!