Exclusive Interview with Weronika Niemczyk-Savage, Chief People Officer, ABBYY

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In an exclusive interview with HR.com, Weronika touches upon her HR journey, future HR trends, and more.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: What has your HR journey been like and what influenced you the most to have a positive impact on your career?  

Weronika: Studying for a master’s in psychology led me to undertake a few internships in the HR field. I’d always had a passion for learning about the human mind, our different characteristics and personalities, but those internships sparked my interest in humans from a business perspective. I signed up for an MBA to expand my business knowledge so that I could focus on helping people with career achievements, personal development, and leadership goals. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing ever since, and I still love it to this day.  

I’m lucky to have led human resources teams at some large well-known global organizations including Expedia, Google and Ascential. The global nature of the work at ABBYY is what attracted me to my current position as Chief People Officer. I love the diversity of the role and the challenge of providing a great work environment to meet the expectations of people from a variety of cultures. 

Q: What were your challenges during the early days of your career? What are those today?  

Weronika: I think one of the earliest challenges I encountered is still relevant today – and that’s recruiters taking a one size fits all approach. It didn’t work then, and it certainly doesn’t work now, especially since the growth of remote and hybrid working post-pandemic. People expect to be treated in an individual manner, and rightly so, or you end up alienating the needs of a diverse team.  
  
Every candidate is unique, with their own set of skills, experiences, and preferences, and a one-size-fits-all attitude fails to take these differences into account. It often means you do not get the best person for the job, which can lead to high employee turnover.  
  
Take flexible working for example – is it really that flexible if you expect WFH colleagues to be available for meetings or online during specific hours Monday to Friday? You are immediately narrowing your pool of candidates. 
  
At ABBYY we have some employees who prefer to take a few hours off in the mornings or afternoons to deal with childcare or go to the gym while it’s quiet, then continue their work in the evenings. We are happy with that as long as the goals are met. 

Q: How do you see workplace culture changing/evolving over the years/decade? 

Weronika: Firstly, we are moving away from the notion that people are more productive in the office. There is an illusion that if someone is on-site, the manager can see what they are doing, know that they are busy and can keep an eye on them.  
 
The focus is now on results - we need to measure performance by outcomes rather than the number of hours worked.  
 
This involves a good manager setting the correct objectives, assessing those objectives, and getting feedback with an emphasis on driving performance in that context. This method has proved extremely beneficial for ABBYY and has enabled us to have a successful remote working model. It involves a detailed quarterly goal-setting process that is polished with specific objectives in mind. At the end of the quarter, it’s the result of the work that counts - not whether someone has spent a solid eight hours at the office.   
 
Secondly, employee wellbeing is becoming a higher priority. Many employers have not yet tackled how to support employees’ mental health outside of their role, and that has become very critical with the increase in remote/hybrid working. Companies have a duty of care, both as a privilege and a responsibility. This duty of care extends to the manager who is generally the closest person to team members. If someone is struggling, it is the manager’s responsibility to understand what is going on and offer support. They need to engage with individuals to promote mental health while at the same time allowing people to feel their privacy is not being invaded. Creating a place where employees feel valued and supported is key. No one wants to work in an environment that does not bring out the best in them.   
  
Just introducing small changes can make a big difference in supporting your colleagues’ mental health.  
 
We understand that time is our most valuable asset. In addition to offering flexible working hours, we have introduced volunteering time off to allow our colleagues to contribute to the causes they are passionate about. Furthermore, we decided to provide additional summer days off for all employees, enabling them to focus on activities that support their well-being. 
 
Moreover, we actively encourage our colleagues to stay active through company-wide initiatives like the ABBYY Summer Challenge. This annual internal competition brings people together for physical activities, such as running, cycling, and swimming, fostering a healthy spirit of competition while also generating donations for charity. 

Q: Can you share the top three learnings from the challenges you faced?  

Weronika: Judge less: Someone I had the pleasure of working with in the past, told me that his great life lesson is to judge less. I could not agree more, and it applies throughout all dimensions of life, not only personally, but also professionally. Particularly in today’s world, with so many polarized views on all things related to humanity and society, openness and less judgment is possibly the only way we can find common ground.  
  
When we judge, we shut down, we narrow our perception, and limit ourselves to our ability to see others via our own experience. And let’s be honest, we won’t all be able to have the same experience as some of it is tied to our ethnicity, gender, belief system, religious beliefs etc.  Regularly, we must be reminded to judge less. And if we offer this to others, we should also experience it ourselves. 
  
Trust more: You can never build enough rules, restrictions, processes, and policies to prevent problems – that takes a lot of effort. I have an allergic reaction if people say we need to put a policy in place to solve an issue. If the solution to a problem is another company policy, then you really do have a problem to solve!  
 
Instead of using all that energy to try to prevent something from happening, it is better to focus on ways to provide a better employee experience and put trust in your staff. 
 
Of course, there will always be a small percentage of unfortunate events that can never really be predicted in life. But you must give people the freedom to make choices. In my experience, if you allow people to make decisions, they will make the right ones. Giving them your trust means they won’t want to disappoint.  
 
We strongly advocate autonomy at ABBYY, and our employee engagement survey reflects that with a score of 9.1 out of 10. 

Ultimately, no one likes to be micro-managed, and it’s critical to trust staff and provide them with the flexibility they need to achieve their goals and strike a good work-life balance.  
  
Customize your approach to finding the right candidates: Attracting and engaging the best talent in any industry requires a strategic approach and more than just a strong EVP. As I’ve already mentioned, there should never be a one-size-fits-all approach, and I can’t emphasize enough how this can help you recruit and retain top talent.  
  
And it's not only about identifying the best candidate for the role but also for the team and company culture. It’s important for the People team to make it a priority to collaborate with managers and teams to understand their current and future staffing needs, as well as the skills and expertise required to meet those needs. One effective way to identify talent needs is to conduct a skills gap analysis using tools, such as job analysis, competency mapping, and talent reviews. 

The best source of this information, in my experience, is being part of the day-to-day life of business teams - being an integral part of the business life to spot opportunities. It is also crucial to be in lockstep with the commercial side of the organization - to observe and anticipate challenges and propose solutions. The People team should be part of every business decision, as, inevitably, all those decisions have a people component in them.  

Q: Where do you draw inspiration from? What do you have to say to those who are still struggling to find a place in the boardroom?  

Weronika: I’d like to answer this question by drawing on a story from when I first started my career. I joined a local HR team that was going through a lot of change and leadership transition. It was not the easiest environment to navigate, especially after our manager left the business and we were asked to manage ourselves until a replacement was identified. 

We all assumed there was an external search taking place and just got on with our jobs. It was certainly a-typical and we all figured out how to plan and stay aligned as one team. We had our moments of doubt though, and often joked that whoever would come to run the team wouldn’t have an easy task with us being so used to just doing it all ourselves. 

Little did I know that I would be asked to step into this leadership position a few months later. I ended up accepting the offer.  
 
There are two things I have learned from this: firstly, whether you’re formally “the boss” or not, nothing has to change in the way you work with people – the same rules apply. You’re still the same person and in 99.9% of situations, you just need to be open to working with people as a peer vs. a show of authority – this approach always yields better results and generally makes work much more productive and fulfilling. 

Secondly, you may be presented with opportunities you have not seen coming or perhaps you would prefer to explore at a different time. We are all figuring it out as we go, and that’s what makes work interesting. Regardless of the circumstances, if you think you might learn something new, just go for it!  

Q: How do you draw the line to achieve work-life balance?  

Weronika: For a number of years, I was a working full-time single parent – it was exhausting at best and really stressful, even though I was in the privileged position of having help.  

At the time, before the pandemic, the company I worked for and my amazing boss offered me so much flexibility that I was able to come up with a system that worked for me – allowing me to spend more time with my two daughters at hours that fitted around their school schedule, and work when I chose to do so. 

This was a massive shift for me and a great gift. Work-life balance is not a destination any of us arrive at, it’s a journey and it changes as your priorities change – it's a constant balancing act. I focus on what I need to solve at the moment. Is it time with my kids, my friends, learning, or just me-time?

I plan my work based on the objectives and outcomes I am trying to achieve – some will take more time; others will take less. I judge my performance on my ability to make a difference, not the late nights at the desk. This obviously requires flexibility from others, like my team, who may get messages from me at odd times. However, I always let others know that I use my time flexibly and make sure it’s clear I am not expecting others to work when I do, for example on a weekend.

Q: What fundamental change(s) (in terms of culture) have you brought into your company?  

Weronika: Creating a team atmosphere can be difficult in a WFH model but is crucial for encouraging camaraderie and meeting business goals. Even the smallest of gestures can have a significant impact. 
 
For example, at ABBYY, I introduced a Friday Recognition Tradition which allows colleagues at all levels of seniority to express their appreciation for other team members. It has proved to be a great morale booster and provided some excellent feedback on the success of different projects.  
 
When you no longer have those face-to-face meetings or water cooler moments, it’s important to ensure a strong feedback culture. It’s wrong to wait until an annual review to receive true thoughts and opinions on how colleagues are coping in their role, or receive their views on processes and company culture. In the past, companies would rarely undertake employee surveys – maybe once a year. But people’s needs and circumstances can change rapidly. Engaging with staff regularly allows resolutions to problems earlier. 
 
This is why at ABBYY we conduct regular employee engagement surveys which are administered by a third party for anonymity. We recognize that some people may not feel comfortable speaking directly to a line manager or colleague about certain issues. They can share their feelings and how they are doing anonymously through the tool. This sort of feedback is critical when you are not seeing people in the office as often. 
 
It is also an excellent tool for making improvements. For example, at ABBYY, it is the role of our managers to review our engagement results, look at, or compare scores on different subjects, and respond to the needs of individuals. From a company standpoint, some of the issues can be common, or trends may be noticed, such as feeling isolated. The tool allows us greater visibility into how staff think. We can also assess what measures are working for us. For example, we saw the impact and success of our well-being webinars and improved communication. 
 
Also, knowledge comes from the ground up. Regular meetings to receive feedback from all employees bring ideas and strategies that can impact sales, reputation, expenses, and customer retention. ABBYY is a true advocate of an open-door policy and a flat hierarchy which has helped bring fantastic ideas to the table, saved money, and created new business.  

Q: What are some of the major changes you see affecting HR within the next few years?  

Weronika: Firstly, there is no doubt that the strong growth in automation and artificial intelligence is impacting jobs and replacing certain roles. This has been underscored by the recent introduction of generative AI such as ChatGPT which is being used in almost every industry to augment the role of employees in the office. 
 
With estimates of the global talent shortage resulting in $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues by 2030, ensuring employees work smarter and conduct more valuable work will positively impact retention, recruitment, and revenue.  
  
Overall, although some roles may disappear with automation, research shows that it will not affect the total number of occupations in the economy as people will change roles and counterbalance the impact. HR leaders therefore need to think about how they can upskill and repurpose staff. They will need to think about improving employee technical skills to support the growth of citizen developers who will be responsible for helping implement automation through the use of low-code/no-code technology.

These ‘plug-in’ sophisticated AI tools allow companies to go digital quickly and easily, saving time and money. What used to take months of coding can be achieved in a matter of days. It’s important for both employees and employers to be prepared. Gartner estimates that by 2024, 75% of large enterprises will have four or more low-code development tools for IT application development and citizen development initiatives, so upskilling employees is imperative.  
 
In many instances it is not a case of Man vs. Machine, but man AND machine as many people will find themselves working alongside digital assistants helping them in their roles. For example, in a recent survey commissioned by ABBYY, workers said they wasted eight hours a week – a whole day – just searching for information in documents – when they could have easily handed it over to a bot.  
 
I’ve already mentioned flexibility and well-being - people are now very clear on what they want and don’t want, and companies need to do a better job of taking care of candidates. People are taking a greater interest in the culture of a company; it’s not good enough to be told ‘this is what you will be paid, this is who you report to, and this is the role’. Potential employees deserve to be treated like one of your customers, you’re not doing them a favor by hiring them, they can get a job elsewhere.  
 
In fact, employees will be the ones ‘leading’ automation strategies. Businesses realize that being focused on how changes will impact employees is a key factor to the success of digital transformation. A survey in 2022, showed that leaders who took a ‘people-first’ approach to their intelligent automation projects in the last two years have had more success – with 89% believing they had been successful in deploying new technologies compared to only 30%-50% in the past. Business leaders cited that the main reasons for technology upgrades were pressure from employees, to help with staff burnout, or to prepare them for remote or hybrid working. 97% said automation has improved company performance, while across the board, 100% of respondents agreed it had helped grow revenue, increase customer base, and increase efficiency. 
 
So, as you can see, technology is not only changing the way HR teams operate today and, in the future, – from digital recruitment to digital onboarding - it also lies at the heart of change for HR leaders in terms of company culture, re-skilling, growth and development and revenue. 
 

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