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Oleg Gromov Founder of IT integrator Extyl.
Since the spring of 2021, Extyl IT company has been employing a corporate psychologist who helps employees develop and cope with problems.
Why a company needs a psychologist
Staff shortage in the IT industry is increasingPersonnel shortage/Lenta.ru every year. At the same time, the development of complex digital products itself is an intense process, during which it is easy to burn out. And the current era, with its covid restrictions and permanent crises, is fertile ground for anxiety.
Now it is important for employers not only to provide employees with comfortable chairs, interesting tasks and delicious free coffee, but also to help them maintain mental health. Just for this you need a corporate psychologist. He constantly communicates with company employees, conducts trainings and courses, and resolves conflicts. As a result, staff turnover is reduced: people do not burn out and are less likely to want to leave due to personal disagreements.
It is equally important that the corporate psychologist works in the organization all the time. He becomes a true member of the team and imbued with the values of the company. Unlike a third-party specialist, such a person is able to explain the ideas of management and convey feedback to managers.
How a corporate psychologist works
He has several main tasks.
Organizes group trainings
A person remembers Dianov. “Brain: a popular encyclopedia” up to 90% of what he does and says at the same time. Therefore, training is a great way to quickly teach employees something through training.
Our psychologist regularly conducts trainings. One of the most effective is the role-playing game “Customer – Performer”. During it, employees act out real work situations, and then, together with a psychologist, analyze what happened. The specialist suggests how to properly respond to manipulation, build communication, manage the dialogue and understand the client's feelings.
Konstantin Extyl Project Manager.
In controversial situations, the client can switch to veiled insults, use psychological pressure or put pressure on pity. We automatically take it personally and begin to defend ourselves, only aggravating the situation. The psychologist's exercises helped not only to understand this, but also to learn how to act correctly.
Advises managers
Now it is easier for them to monitor the motivation of employees and notice emerging problems. The psychologist constantly monitors the relationships in the team and sometimes understands the history of the conflict or difficulties even better than the leader.
Once two managers came to the psychologist with complaints about one employee. The specialist explained that the problem is not in the person, but in the processes of learning and adaptation within the company. After this incident, we began to teach employees personal time management and proper communication with customers in a new way. And it worked: the problem was solved.
In general, this practice helps leaders develop emotional intelligence. The psychologist explains how to notice details, how to monitor the needs and condition of employees, what questions to ask and what to do in conflict situations.
Mediates
Conflicts in the work environment are not uncommon. Deadlines may burn, views on the process may not converge, resentment or rivalry may arise. The task of a psychologist is to understand the causes and translate disagreements into a constructive channel.
Suppose a developer proposes to use a new technology, and the team leader understands that such an option is not economically viable and is unlikely to please the customer. It is the psychologist who will talk with both, find out their motivation and tell you how to negotiate. He will try to make the conflict constructive, to transfer the dispute from the plane of personal accusations to the discussion of business issues.
A neutral look helps the disputants to better understand each other and work more efficiently.
Creates individual employee development plans
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When an employee passes a probationary period, a corporate psychologist, together with HRs, determines the strengths of the newcomer and his areas of growth. Based on the analysis, an employee development plan is developed. The document explains what skills you need to upgrade in order to move to the next professional grade, and gives advice on how to do this.
Cooperation between a psychologist and HR helps to better understand what goals should be set for an employee and what to expect in the future. For example, one employee will become an excellent leader, and the other an invaluable performer.
Helps to organize remote work
When you are in the office, it is much easier to respect the boundaries between home and work, to jointly resolve urgent issues and simply communicate with colleagues, so getting used to remote work can be difficult.
A psychologist can also help with this. He will explain how to separate leisure and work, how to communicate with the team and get used to endless online meetings. So, some of our employees began to apply the Pomodoro method, while others agreed with colleagues on the “golden hours”, that is, periods of hard work that are better not to be interrupted.
How to evaluate the results of a psychologist's work
< p>There are both more objective indicators and less.
Using anonymous surveys of employees
For starters, it makes sense to analyze the mood of people. In our company, we use 360° evaluation: employees anonymously evaluate the work and qualities of their colleagues. The latest survey showed that employees have become more friendly towards each other.
With the help of statistics
The key indicator is the decrease in turnover. A psychologist helps to fight burnout, suggests how to interest employees, and acts as a mediator during conflicts in the team. This has a positive effect on the loyalty of employees who not only receive a decent salary, but also feel better. Over the past six months, we have already seen a positive trend.
With the help of customer surveys
This will help evaluate the effectiveness of the training. We conduct customer satisfaction scoring once a quarter and see that the indicators are gradually growing.
How to choose a corporate psychologist
We were looking for a specialist in all available ways: on job sites, according to recommendations and just social media. As a result, they trusted the advice of colleagues. The assistant of the production department was responsible for the search itself, and the top managers of the company participated in the selection of candidates.
During the search, we went through a variety of evaluation criteria. From the presence of higher education in the direction of “psychology” to motivation and charisma. For us, the most important points were the coincidence in values and experience of working with employees within companies.
Before making the final decision, it is better to make a personal impression of the competence of the psychologist. For example, attend his seminar or training to assess the ability of a specialist to work with a group of people. If this is not possible, you should at least watch the recordings of public speaking. This way you can understand how a specialist talks, how open, emotional or restrained, inclined to a practical or theoretical approach.
Marina Basmanova Corporate psychologist Extyl.
There is no general recipe for finding a corporate psychologist. A specialist may be good, but not the same as the manager personally or not suitable for the tasks of the company. Basically, you need to look at documents on education, work experience and impressions from personal contact. I think that a corporate psychologist should have all the qualities of a good HR and mediator.
