'Nothing can substitute data,' says engineer turned global HR leader
Apotex CHRO Carina Vassilieva's path to becoming a leading voice in human resources is anything but conventional.
Starting her career as an engineer at British American Tobacco (BAT) in Russia, Vassilieva's transition to HR was part of a development program for the company’s high-potential employees.
It was while working in HR for BAT that Vassilieva witnessed how HR and people management could give a company “strategic advantage.”
“All companies have financial resources or products or manufacturing resources, and they really focus on those resources. But people, unfortunately, sometimes are overlooked,” she told HRD Canada.
Once the engineer realized the strategic power of HR, Vassilieva says she switched her focus and “never looked back.”
This unconventional start laid the foundation for an approach to HR that emphasizes the strategic importance of treating human resources as a pivotal component for organizational success.
Data-driven insights: the future of HR
A staunch advocate for data-driven decision-making, the former engineer firmly believes in the power of data to guide HR practices, including extensive research and information-gathering from all stakeholders when preparing for major people decisions.
"Nothing can substitute good data,” Vassilieva says. “All decisions need to be fact-based, and data-based. It worked for me and for our company because we believe in it … this was the approach that we took, and this was the right approach."
Data-based approaches have also been integral to Vassilieva’s leadership style, ensuring that decisions are fact-based and transparent; data is crucial in explaining and justifying HR decisions to employees, she explains, thereby becoming a crucial element in building trust within the organization.
"It's easier to explain to people your decision-making, and then people actually really appreciate it. They may not necessarily agree, but they understand the logic, which again improves the trust index," she says.
There is a direct correlation between employee engagement levels and financial outcomes for an organization, Vassilieva says, stressing that companies that measure and analyze these data sets can leverage the information for increased productivity.
“When people are engaged, they are willing to go over and beyond and contribute more than expected and they do it happily, because they love what they do,” she says.
“What gets measured gets done. So companies who create metrics which show the relationship between engagement scores, which can be measured through engagement surveys, and productivity scores, which can be managed through a variety of financial measures … that really, really helps. Companies which have an engaged workforce, they usually have better outputs than companies that don’t.”
Embracing diversity and inclusion in HR
Vassilieva is a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion within the workplace. Under her leadership, Apotex has launched several initiatives aimed at fostering a more inclusive environment, including a mentorship program focused on developing female leaders.
"Part of the engagement is for everyone who comes to work to feel psychologically safe, so that they can bring their true selves to work and be very productive, because they feel very confident and comfortable," she says.
The soon-to-launch program focuses on mentoring high-potential talent and increasing diversity among its leadership ranks – a goal which Vassilieva hopes will help to make Apotex a “champion of diversity and inclusion in the business.”
In addition to promoting female leaders within the 10,000-employee-strong global pharmaceutical company, Vassilieva is looking to the future and considering the challenge of bringing early career generations into the industry.
“I don't want to look at as a challenge, I want to look at it as an opportunity,” she says. “We are in pharma. Pharma is very innovation-driven. Without innovation, you can't create all these new products, new drugs, and help people on their journey to health.”
Preparing for the future of HR
Citing AI innovation as a perfect example of the innovation that younger employees will bring to the organization, Vassilieva points out that the pharmaceutical industry is the perfect home for innovative newcomers.
“You can’t escape it, it's already happening to the world, and maybe those younger talents will come with some very brave and out-of-the-box ideas, which an industry like mine can implement.”
Looking ahead, Vassilieva is enthusiastic about the potential of artificial intelligence AI in HR. She sees AI as a tool that can streamline various HR processes, from writing job descriptions to conducting surveys.
Her forward-thinking approach includes practical applications of AI that can enhance efficiency and innovation in HR. For instance, she has already used AI tools like ChatGPT to generate useful insights for cultural surveys.
"I went to ChatGPT and asked it to give me 20 most used questions for culture surveys, and it provided 20 good questions. We pulled a few questions out of it for some ad hoc surveys," she shares.
The impact of the pandemic on HR
The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably reshaped many aspects of work, including HR practices Vassilieva says, pointing out the significant learnings she took from that period, particularly the effectiveness of remote work.
"One of the biggest learnings I would say, was that people actually can be very productive working remotely," she says. However, she also acknowledges the value of in-person collaboration, leading to hybrid work models that combine the best of both worlds.
"Companies which work on hybrid work arrangements allow for folks to work collaboratively, creating all this great teamwork which you can achieve virtually as well, combined with the benefit of remote work when people actually can afford some flexibility," Vassilieva explains.
This balance, she believes, is key to maintaining productivity and engagement in the post-pandemic workplace.
