Interviews with newspapers of heads of trading companies. Interview with the director. And when it became interesting

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Brief information about the speaker:

Blitz survey (short answers are needed, 2-3 phrases each):

"Detailed" questions

The scope of answers to the questions listed below is unlimited.

Problems and solutions

Business problems. What do you consider to be the main problems in your business sector? Why? What problems can be solved with “little blood” and on your own, and what problems cannot be solved?

Problem solving. What problems did you manage to solve? Lately? What did you do as a leader for this?

Unsolved problems. Are there any problems that have not yet been resolved? Why?

Attitude to problems. Every leader has to face problems from time to time. How do you think problems should be approached?

Achievements. What business achievements are you most proud of? Why? What helped you achieve this?

Staff motivation

Staff motivation. What motivates more - a cash bonus or the praise of a manager?

Awards and bonuses. Do your employees have a fixed and variable part of their earnings? Why do your employees receive bonuses and rewards? How transparent is the accrual system? Does an employee’s bonus depend on the performance of his colleagues, other departments, or the company as a whole?

Non-material motivation. Is non-material motivation needed today or is it a relic of the communist past? What methods of non-material motivation do you use in your company? How employees feel about them (from “I’m proud to be called the best seller” to “I’d rather have money!”).

Cost reduction

Cost reduction. What steps have you taken in your company recently? What results have been achieved? What advice do you have for fellow leaders?

Working with clients

Customer loyalty. Does your company have a loyalty program? How do you get clients to love your company? What has been done recently to increase customer loyalty?

Dealing with complaints. An angry customer who didn't just turn around and leave, but filed a complaint, is a valuable source of information for a company. Do you have a collection channel negative reviews? How do you respond to customer complaints? Who deals with dissatisfied customers?

Compensation to clients. Give examples of compensation that helped turn a disgruntled customer into a committed customer.

Deception in business

Dishonest clients. An example from the practice of a translation agency. Under the guise of a “test translation,” the client tries to get a full translation of the text from the company completely free of charge, promising to pay for a large order in the future. Have you ever encountered deception (attempted deception) from clients? In what situation? What did you do? How do you prevent such deception?

Dishonest employees. Have you ever encountered deception from employees (both full-time and freelancers)? In what situation? What did you do? How do you prevent such deception?

Dishonest suppliers/performers. Have you ever encountered cases of deception when contacting other companies for goods/services/supplies?

Advice to fellow managers. Give 3-4 tips (more is possible) on how to recognize deception, how to prevent it, how to fight it.

Manager's experience

Personal effectiveness. What helps you get more done, lead better, achieve more? What time management techniques do you use? What “leader rules” do you follow?

Leader mistakes. Have there been situations in your life when you made the wrong decision? Describe one of these situations. Why was the decision wrong? What would you do today, given your experience?

Movie. What movie helped you as a leader? What exactly? Made me think, suggested an idea, helped me find a way to solve a problem, opened my eyes to something...

Humor and stuff

1. Your favorite business joke.
2. Do you consider yourself a role model? Why?
3. How do your children feel about your work?
4. What would you do on the last day of your life?
5. Do you have a personal recipe for success? Tell us about him?!
6. Describe how you see your life in 20 years?
7. What childhood dreams have you made come true?
8. What is the most important thing in life for you?
9. How did you choose your profession?
10. If you had a million dollars, what would you buy first?
11. Would you like a book to be written about you? And have you lived your life in such a way that it would be interesting to read to a large audience?

Examples of good questions and answers to them

EXAMPLE 1

Fragment of an interview with the director of an office furniture salon

“- How to determine the cost and class of an office desk by appearance?
- And according to the thickness of the tabletop. The thicker it is, the more expensive it is. 16-18 mm is inexpensive furniture, 22-25 is middle class, more than 30 is luxury. So if you come to any office, accidentally grab the table with your hand and immediately feel whether it is a reputable company or not.”

EXAMPLE 2

Fragment of an interview with the director of a poultry farm

“- How do you feel about genetic engineering and biostimulants? They write that in the West they achieve fantastic results with their help.

“You know, I don’t trust it too much.” The breeds that we now use are the product of natural, I emphasize, natural selection. And we can get an increase of 52 grams per day without any stimulants. To do this, simply feed the chickens well. In the West, mainly to reduce the cost of production, antibiotics and various enzymes are actively used. This broiler costs less. But the quality of the meat is not the same.

You may not believe me, but back then, in the early 90s, our skinny blue chickens, which everyone laughed at, were still better in meat quality than American ones. Yes, they were underfed, but we never gave them as much chemicals as in the West. People didn’t understand that “legs” were being supplied to Russia because no one eats them in the States. It's all fat and cholesterol. Plus it's frozen ten times. We specifically tested this kind of meat: if you boil it, the broth turns out cloudy. And our poultry farms have always been focused on fresh product. In the early 90s, people were forced to buy bad but cheap meat. Now many people have money and have the opportunity to choose. That’s why people turned to our fresh and high-quality products.”

EXAMPLE 3

Fragment of an interview with the director of an audit firm

“- What would you advise your Clients?

— Be skeptical of any opinions published in the press. One day, Economy and Life received an indignant letter from a reader: he did what an expert recommended in one of the magazine’s issues, and then penalties from the tax authorities followed. The reader wanted to recover damages from the newspaper. Sorry, but publishing an expert's opinion in a newspaper does not automatically entail responsibility for someone's actions. The expert, by the way, from my point of view, was right then.”

EXAMPLE 4

“Where can I get reliable information from?

- Visit our website. There we place guidelines, and are ready to answer any questions. In addition, we publish our own branded magazine “A...” - especially for accountants. There was such a case: a client came to us and asked for help regarding the payment of VAT on exports. I open the latest issue of the magazine and show one of the articles. The client is reading. “This is the answer to my question! How much do I owe you?" - Not at all. Read for your health."

EXAMPLE 5

Fragment of an interview with the director of an exhibition carrier company

“What items are most difficult to transport? Probably paintings by ancient masters...

— It’s paradoxical, but it’s quite easy to transport ancient works. Let's take, for example, an icon from the 17th century. The author of such a painting strictly followed a certain technology, so the work is “predictable”: we know exactly what paints were used, what kind of base it was, what the painting is afraid of, in general, there is a standard packaging algorithm that you just need to follow. The same can be said about the paintings of academicians of the 19th century. And modern artists often do not follow any technology; their paintings begin to crumble after 5-10 years. It’s the same with sculptures: with a marble bust - everything is clear, but what about something made from beer cans held together with glue of unknown origin? It is very difficult to transport avant-garde works. As a rule, they use non-traditional materials and non-traditional forms – so you have to be more sophisticated.”

EXAMPLE 6

“One of the services your company offers is tax minimization. Could you give a simple example?

— Let company A buy goods worth 10 thousand rubles from company B and sell it to company B for 11 thousand. In this case, the turnover tax on road users for company A will be 1% of 10 thousand, that is, 100 rubles. If company A enters into a commission agreement with B, that is, it formally becomes an intermediary between A and B, then the tax will be calculated only on the commission, that is, 1% of 1 thousand - 10 rubles. The tax has become 10 times less, although essentially nothing has changed.”

10 rules for a successful interview

1. Rule one: be prepared. Questions, equipment and attitude should be prepared in advance. Impromptu is the lot of professionals, but even they try not to take risks.
2. Rule two: confrontation. Choose face-to-face communication. It will reduce the time when preparing the text and will reveal to you the Personality, and not a soulless set of letters and words. For a full interview, live communication is a necessity, not a whim. In practice, this rule does not always coincide with the capabilities of the interlocutors (distance, busyness, fear).
3. Rule three: the meeting place cannot be changed. Give your interlocutor the right to choose the meeting place. This is not just an indicator of good manners. People usually feel best “in their own territory”: their place of work, their favorite cafe or a park near their home. Then it’s easier to “talk” them. However, you should ask whether extraneous noise or people will disturb you.
4. Rule four: Freedom. Equality. Brotherhood. Communicate as equals, regardless of social status, skin color or language background. Some people think that the main thing in an interview is the ability to ask questions. But then there is a risk of turning the conversation into a regular interrogation, which will have a very negative impact on the content.
5. Rule five: ask questions. Ask open questions. They require detailed answers. A large flow of information from the interlocutor is much better than a lack of it. However, there is no need to delay the interview. On average, an hour is enough for a full conversation. Exceptions occur in the case when the Personality is so captivating that there is a desire and time to communicate more. The mistake of many novice journalists is to embrace the immensity and fit in one text everything they managed to talk about with a person. The final material is the quintessence, a distillation of the most interesting things. Let the text be small in volume, but bright from beginning to end.
6. Rule six: complete the puzzle. Process the information received. The transcript of the interview should not be taken as the final text. Complete your puzzle with facts, figures and quotes. Not all people have eloquence, so their words require serious editing and editing. However, there is a fine line that a journalist has no right to cross: passing off his thoughts as the thoughts of the interview subject.
7. Rule seventh: all you need is love. Love the hero: find in him something that may be interesting to you and others. Without love for the work, it is unlikely that you will get a good result. It is clear that we do not always choose those with whom we have to communicate for an hour. Editorial assignments can be very varied. However, if you don’t find a personal interest in your interlocutor, it’s difficult to write a text that will interest someone else.
8. Rule eight: following the publication. Read the text after publication. What did it say in KVN? Much is revealed upon re-reading. A fresh look helps you evaluate your work more objectively and see the editor’s edits. To be honest, I’ve been doing this less and less lately: there’s a lot of work. But it's not right.
9. Rule nine: good morning, monitoring. Read the press in any of its forms: electronic media, newspapers, magazines. Getting acquainted with the modern press will teach you some techniques that you have not yet reached, will allow you to evaluate your level, and will also help you understand how not to write.
10. Rule ten: from-not-last. Formulate your rules for a successful interview. Of course, the above are truisms, but for some reason not everyone is in a hurry to use them in their work. Therefore, before they come to them, they will step on dozens of rakes. We suggest adding to this set of rules as you gain experience. Still, everyone has their own...

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Today we will have an unusual article and interview. I already talked to the manager once and it was quite well received by you, dear readers. Therefore, the topic of the interview was continued, and today our guest is the head of the Profit Partner company, Roxana Prokofieva.

Do you know what Profit Partner is and what this company does? If you don’t know, then it means you are very lucky and you have very successfully come to me for a light, because it is not always possible to hear about this from the lips of the head of the company himself.

To set up the plot, I’ll say that cooperation with Profit amounts to most mine. Of course, I earn money by showing it, but Profit pays it to me, and also awards bonuses.

They can, for example, be spent on registering in the Yandex Catalog, paying for hosting or (for their subsequent placement in), paying for the necessary SEO software and much more. Intrigued? Well then let's start the interview and ask tricky questions Roxana.

Earning money from Yandex contextual advertising

Hello, Roxana. If you don’t mind, first I’ll ask general questions about making money from Yandex contextual advertising, and only then we’ll move on to questions directly related to your company.

Hello, Dmitry and dear readers.

So, could you tell us in a nutshell what YAN (Yandex Advertising Network) is in terms of potential earnings for website owners?

Are all clicks made by visitors on an advertising platform paid for, or are there criteria by which ineffective or accidental clicks are eliminated?

How effective, in your opinion, is it in combating click-through (manual or software options for artificially increasing the number of clicks on advertisements placed on a site accepted by YAN)?

In my opinion, it is effective. Yandex uses multi-stage technology to track various types of violations (and clicking, as you understand, is such a violation). For this, the site may be blocked from participating in the YAN.

Those. earning and increasing your income in the context of Yandex will have to be done in a difficult but honest way (by increasing the audience of the advertising platform, optimizing appearance and placement of blocks, etc.) and do not count on easy money due to your cunning and sleight of hand.

The honest way is right, but why do you call it “difficult”? Yes, increasing the audience of a site and improving the quality of traffic is not the easiest task (albeit an interesting one). But, for example, changing the block format from “horizontal” to “flat” is much easier, and sometimes helps increase earnings significantly.

Looking ahead a little, I will say that at Profit-Partner we strive to ensure that our partners can say “ make money easily and increase your income“and we strive to direct all our services towards this.

Let's now move closely to the money issue. So we all say: “earnings, earnings,” but this is a very vague definition. Five kopecks a day is also income, but few people are attracted by this prospect.

You can try to measure the “average temperature in a hospital” and say, for example, that with the proper approach to the placement of advertising units (it is possible that with with the help of your specialists), will a site on a certain topic, with a certain traffic, have a certain average income?

Or is it all so deeply individual that it cannot be averaged? After all, when you get a job, you always want to know your future salary?

You are right, everything is very individual. The amount of affiliate remuneration depends, at a minimum, on the quality of the site’s audience, location of blocks, topics, etc. There are a lot of factors.

One of the most frequently asked questions in our support service " How much can I earn from you??. We always answer this question “ The best way To find out for sure, try it.” Judging by what I see among those who have “tried it”, everyone is happy, there are only a few exceptions.

That is, in principle, there is money in the Yandex Advertising Network, you just need to be able to get it. This is where many questions arise, and the first of them concerns, first of all, the acceptance of new advertising platforms. What qualities do you think candidates should have to be more likely to be accepted into the network?

In my opinion, a high-quality audience is the main factor. Normal traffic means good conversion. Well, if the resource is useful, has a nice design, contains unique content and necessary services, most likely it has a high-quality audience.

What could serve as a reason for refusing admission to the YAN? Do Yandex moderators always justify their decisions and is it worth trying again, hoping that another moderator will be more supportive?

Let’s assume that the main issue (admission to YAN) has been resolved positively, but often, having placed the code for advertising units, we begin to expect a large number of clicks and high incomes, but they never come. It’s time to fall into despair (judging by how it happened to me about a year and a half ago - several hundred visitors and only a few clicks per day).

What do you recommend to do in this case and what actions to take to increasing the profitability of the Yandex context? I myself walked like a blind man in the forest for about a year and tried to find the most workable schemes by trying to get things done.

Even earlier, I conducted a study (not yet being the head of Profit-Partner), in which I compiled my schedule of Yandex.Direct bids.

Then the biggest "bids" fell on the topics “cargo transportation”, “ household appliances", "legal services", etc.

Let me note that we do not encourage creating websites using these themes. Personally, I recommend doing projects on topics that are interesting and in which the owner can act as an expert, creating a truly useful and high-quality resource. By the way, then he will probably be accepted into the YAN.

Profit Partner - advantages of working with TsOP

I think that with your answers to general questions about working with the Yandex network, you have already partially satisfied the interest of those who want to start making money from contextual advertising. Let's now talk about your company Profit Partner. Please explain what is COP?

Roxana, please tell me how long has the Profit Partner company existed and how long have you been its leader?

In July 2011, together with our partners, we celebrated the 4th birthday of the Profit-Partner company in St. Petersburg. It has become a good tradition to celebrate this event together. Last year, for example, the company's birthday was celebrated in the style of a pirate party with a yacht trip in the Gulf of Finland and a search for real treasure!

If any of the readers would like to personally meet representatives of the company, we will be glad to see you at the company’s next birthday in 2012! 🙂

As for me, I have been working in the company for 3 years, and have been in charge for just under a year. Just on the last birthday, it was news for our partners that there was a girl in the management of the company, that is, me :) But I try to cope with all the tasks assigned to me.

It just so happens that Profit-Partner is more than just a job for me. I consider it the best company and I try to maintain the high quality of work that has already been achieved, I strive to develop the company and move it in the right direction.

It’s very cool and unusual that the head of such a large company is such a pretty and young girl (I say it’s a compliment while my wife isn’t looking). Roxana, please tell me what we (the owners of advertising platforms) gain from the fact that we work with the Yandex network not directly, but through Profit Partner?

Thank you, Dmitry :). The main reason why they come to our company is to earn money. Accordingly, we are trying to make life as easy as possible for our partners in this direction.

Thanks to our partners, payments to sites that make money on YAN are made exactly on time - before the first five working days of the month. For every ruble earned to a partner bonus point is awarded. For 5,000 bonuses, you can, for example, register a domain for free or order an article. All this helps to save money, and also to develop websites and, accordingly, increase income.

All Profit-Partner partners can receive advice on increasing income, SEO or programmer assistance completely free of charge.

We also have a 24-hour support service that very quickly helps partners resolve any issues.

In general, try to find something that we don’t have! 🙂

I would also like to ask a clarifying question regarding the acceptance of sites in the YAN. Is there a difference between adding a site directly or pre-registering with Profit Partner and adding a site through your interface? In which case will the probability of acceptance be higher, or does it make no difference?

You can register on the YAN website, indicate work through the COP and select Profit-Partner there. Or immediately register with Profit-Partner. In both cases, the site is sent to Yandex moderators and there is no difference in the consideration of applications.

If it's not a secret, what is the size of the staff? At first glance, you should have quite a lot of work.

You know, the number of employees is far from the main thing. Much more important is that these are experts in their field who love their work and are connected to the company with their “souls.” I am lucky to lead such a wonderful team. Most employees have been working almost since the opening of the company. Profit-Partner is a part of life for them.

Tell me, what is your relationship with Yandex? Can you, for example, put in a good word for some site that has been fined or has not been accepted into YAN for a long time?

Our communication with Yandex is of a business nature. “Putting in a good word” is not the right phrase. The point is that we do not single out anyone. If the site was not accepted, then there are reasons. We will provide our partner with recommendations and advice, but we consider any decision to be fair.

Secrets of success and parting words

You have quite often stock, lotteries and other quite creative advertising projects with spectacular prizes (usually from Apple). Hence the question: do you have a special team for this that generates and implements ideas? And how do you evaluate the effectiveness of these activities?

Not only are the prizes themselves quite expensive (and those that are not expensive are given out in large quantities), but then there are also the costs of sending them all over the country. The delivery of just the MacBook Pro laptop that you were lucky enough to cost you ten percent of its considerable price. I'm just surprised that the toad hasn't strangled you yet.

During our work, we have accumulated a large baggage of ideas, just have time to implement everything :) We think through actions collectively, sometimes we argue and make noise. But we always come to a common interesting idea which ultimately brings the expected results.

As for efficiency. For example, we recently held a charity event - we transferred a significant amount to a fund to help children. This money was used to send orphans to a summer camp and help infant in a complex operation.

This is also called a “share” - but what kind of effectiveness can we talk about? We just want to do good deeds and help people. I think we can do it.

Roxana, I apologize for my “toad”, I didn’t know that you also hold charity events. This makes you treat your company, and you personally, with even more respect.

Please tell me, in addition to the advertising promotions mentioned just above, what other ways to promote your services do you use? In I already mentioned your rather generous affiliate program, which I think is paying off. But there are still plenty of ways to advertise yourself. Which of them do you use, if it’s not a secret?

Roxana, and finally, I would like to ask you to say a parting word to those blog readers who, after reading this interview, still decide to try their luck and try to add their site to the Yandex Advertising Network (I think that after this interview no one has the question of choosing Tsop will not occur).

Never stop there!
Work with Profit-Partner - the best company in the world :)

Sincerely, Roxana Prokofieva.
Head of TsOP YAN Profit-Partner.ru

Roxana, thank you very much for the interview, I am sure that readers will like your answers and how charming the head of a large, successful and respected campaign can look. Good luck to you and success to Profit Partner, and therefore to all of us together with him.

Yulia, you have been heading the company for a year now, how did your career begin?

I came to this company 10 years ago, when I was in my second year. financial academy. At first I worked as an assistant to the chief accountant, then I became the leading chief accountant, then I was offered to become deputy general director. I didn’t agree right away – I thought about it for a while, and then held this position for a little less than a year. And now I have been leading the company as CEO for a year now.

When did you decide that you wanted to become an accountant?

It's strange, but I never saw myself as an accountant. While still in school, she was preparing to become a lawyer. I studied well (I graduated from school with a medal), always fought for justice and saw myself helping people. So I was focused on civil law. But then my family returned to Moscow (Yulia’s parents are military - Author), and for some reason I decided to apply for management. And right away, part-time, because I knew that I would be working at the same time. I got a job as a sales manager, and it took me six months to understand that this was not for me. Not interesting... I didn’t understand what you could study for 5 years, if by that time in 6 months I had already become a good specialist in this field... I took the documents and came to enter the financial and legal academy.

But now for law school?

No, economic. Moreover, I still don’t fully understand why I did this. At that time, everyone wanted to become a lawyer, and I, apparently, expressed my protest against “fashion” in this way.

Maybe it was the parents who influenced it?

I was lucky: my parents never openly went against my will... Nobody forced me to study, they trusted me. The only thing my mother advised me was to get a profession that would not only be interesting, but also generate income. For example, at that time I was still interested in psychology, but my mother said that this could become a second profession. I decided to apply to the Faculty of Economics myself.

And now you probably don’t regret it?

Now, of course, not. But it was not always so. In the first year of my studies, I did not work in my specialty - I was a sales manager. Therefore, I didn’t quite understand where I ended up. Only in my second year did I, quite by accident, find myself at an interview at our company and pass it. I worked for 2 months and was even ready to leave - it was boring and uninteresting. But then I slowly began to get involved. Work helped my studies a lot (in this way, and not the other way around) and it became easy.

When did it become interesting?

My interest in work grew every day as I developed as a specialist. It's been a long journey. It became even more interesting when I moved to a leadership position. Here, accounting opened up on the other side, and the management path... I realized that this was mine. In general, I am a very disciplined person, I like office life, I like to stay late at work, understand everything thoroughly...

Why did you think so long when you were offered a promotion?

I worked at one level for quite a long time, holding the position of leading accountant. I think I just didn’t want change at that moment. Moreover, there were enough of them in my personal life: I had just gotten married then... But I no longer thought about the position of general director, I agreed immediately. (Smiles - Author)

You have been working for the company almost since its inception. How much has she changed during this time?

We have grown a lot. When I arrived, there were about 10 employees on staff, and now there are almost 30 people under my leadership. We are part of one of the largest consulting holdings in Russia. PBC's client base already includes more than 400 clients, 300 of whom work with us on an ongoing basis.

Is this expansion of the company due to the fact that your services have become more in demand on the market?

Undoubtedly. We provide outsourcing of accounting and legal services. And if 10 years ago in our country outsourcing was viewed with caution, now European and American experience is increasingly being adopted, where this form of accounting is very common. It’s rather rare there to have your own accountant in the company. Now we are beginning to understand that outsourcing is convenient. There is no need for extra office space and workspaces, no need to store archives, and taxes are reduced. Meetings with an accountant – twice a month.

Of course, it’s convenient, but it’s believed that having your own accountant means reliability and confidentiality. And here is a stranger.

Do you know how many cases when “their” accountant gets up and leaves along with the accounting or client base? And how many people come to us after they have encountered unscrupulous accountants working from home! They wanted to save money, but they ended up with a mess of documents, reports not submitted on time and fines. With us, the human factor is excluded, everything is fixed in the contract, there is an internal auditor, and our liability is insured for 100,000 US dollars by Ingosstrakh Insurance Company.

If for some reason the accountant cannot complete the work, then it is immediately transferred to another employee, and in any case we fulfill our obligations under the contract to the client.

And yet the human factor is probably very important in your work?

After all, clients care who will work with them? Our business is 99 percent dependent on personnel. This is precisely the human factor plus qualifications. Each new employee goes through 4 interview stages when hired. The HR department does its usual job of searching and initial meeting, the internal auditor checks knowledge, the client manager does stress resistance, interaction with the team, communication with clients. Then I check it myself in all three directions. It is very important that a person is not only a professional, but also can easily join the team. In our work, it is very important that the team is friendly, and everyone can consult when necessary with colleagues working in other areas. And this, by the way, is also one of the advantages of outsourcing. The ability to work with clients is also important. Just anyone should not be allowed to visit clients. You need to be able to communicate with them, and psychological compatibility is important here.

Are only experienced professionals allowed to work with you?

Accountant - yes. But there are other vacancies that do not require any special experience (couriers, archivists, secretaries). There have been cases when they grew into leading specialists in managing accounting. All our employees always have the prospect of growth. I welcome active people who want to learn and develop.

Are your main clients small companies? Or are there larger ones?

Different, but more representatives of medium-sized businesses. This is most beneficial for them. Slowly, large businesses are switching to remote accounting. Already, large companies that have their own staff accounting departments, outsource certain areas of work - for example, payroll, etc.

Do they help you with your work? modern technologies? For example, the Internet.

The Internet, of course, helps us and saves the accountant a lot of time. There you can find any information and even send reports without leaving your workplace. There are nuances regarding confidentiality, but everything is thought out and encrypted. By the way, from this year, VAT reporting must be submitted exclusively electronically through telecommunication channels (previously this could be done, for example, by post).

There are quite a lot of companies like yours. What are your advantages?

In fact, everything is about the same for everyone. Some give bonuses, others provide small additional services for free. But free is not always good, as practice shows. Our advantage is that we work without prepayment; our clients do not pay a fixed price, but according to the services actually rendered. Plus, as I already said, we provide liability insurance (this is voluntary, and not everyone does it), which is very important for clients. In addition, our company also provides legal support. Contracts, registration, re-registration, legal proceedings... It is convenient for the client that everything is in one place. And again, you do not need to have your own lawyer on staff. We can take care of the entire legal side of the business.

Have you ever returned to the idea of ​​getting a law degree?

I have an idea, but not enough time. I am very glad that I have the opportunity to learn every day at work, because it is impossible to know everything. In addition, there are a lot of interesting trainings and courses that I attend periodically. The company is not small, I am growing with it, and perhaps in my life the time will come for a second education, and maybe even a third.

Julia, do you have enough time for your family? After all, it is believed that career and family are not compatible.

Perhaps... But in my case everything is compatible. Although my husband is unhappy that I stay late at work, he understands that I should have my own space (just like him). I think we spend enough time together.

How you spend free time?

Sometimes I feel like I don't have any free time. At least I miss him. Even on weekends there is always something to do. But my husband tries to organize his free time so that it is fun: we go to friends, to nature, or to a holiday home... He generally leads a very active lifestyle and does not allow me to sit. In winter we go skiing, although it’s not really my thing.

What's yours? Do you play sports?

You need to exercise regularly, but sometimes I just don’t have time for it. Even to the pool (although sometimes I still go there, since the work is sedentary and it is necessary). I don’t yet feel an urgent need for active sports for myself.

Then how do you manage to maintain such a great shape? Diets?

No. I have never been on a diet. I just try to have a full breakfast, don’t skip lunch and don’t eat at night. At home we prefer healthy food. Although I know how and love to cook. After all, I grew up in harsh military garrison conditions and am adapted to any everyday situations. I will survive even where it would seem impossible to live. Sometimes I can stand at the stove all day, inventing complex dishes, but this happens rarely, because... no need: I was lucky, and the most delicious thing for my husband is steamed chicken and buckwheat.

Do you have a dream?

Dream? Perhaps there is. I want everyone to do well! (Smiles). I have life goals... And I also just want to lie down in front of the TV on the weekend with something tasty. But everything doesn’t work out.

Interview: Svetlana Davydova

Today we will learn from the development director of the company “Constanta” Fedotov A.B., what benefits training events bring to managers, we will talk about the unique asset of the company, about an honest approach to work, about the values ​​that form the Team in business.

Every year, educational and training events become more attractive and relevant for business and company personnel. A couple of weeks ago, the educational forum for entrepreneurs SUP-2018 was once again held in Tyumen, which is not the first time you have visited. What does participating in such events give you?

- These events are useful for entrepreneurs for two reasons: the first is new knowledge, the second is connections. Both are extremely important for business development.

Do you think that employee participation in training, educational, and corporate events is beneficial to their work?

-It certainly brings benefits. Often, everyday routine work blurs your vision, you cannot correctly evaluate your work, find some kind of non-standard approach, and efficiency is lost. Participation in events allows you to change activities for a short time and discuss work issues in an informal setting, which ultimately contributes to the development of the employee. But the company considers development to be its main value. The company is ready to develop together with its Team.

Why do you need a Team in business?

The answer is obvious, one in the field is not a warrior. In my understanding, a team is professionals in their field who interact within the interests of the company, aimed at a common result. All of this clearly reflects our values.

You have repeatedly mentioned the company's values. Let's talk about them - about how they set a company apart from others and help it move forward.

- Our values ​​are development, team and performance. The company’s values ​​reflect its approach to work and allow us to act as a single organism. All the work of the Team is based on these values; we rely on them when interacting with external and internal audiences.

Among the things that set the company apart from others, I would like to include a close-knit, positive-minded team. After all, this is the company’s unique asset, which makes it unique and outstanding.

Name the 5 main qualities that, in your opinion, characterize the Constanta company.

• Honesty. Honesty shapes partnerships. Forms the company’s relationships with staff, investors, customers, and the state. First of all, everyone should be honest with themselves.
• Professionalism. The team is always based on qualified personnel, professionals in their field, who always “pull out” in difficult moments for the company.
• Determination. Quick decision-making and prompt adjustment of strategy will allow you to be competitive in our rapidly changing world.
• Openness. The company's actions must be transparent and understandable to employees, investors, and partners.
• Efficiency . I believe that every day a person should become a little better than yesterday. So for a company, it must constantly change and develop.

If we talk about developing the professional qualities of employees in the company, are there any points that are important to you?

- For me, as a manager, it is important that employees are not only professionals in their industries, but also trust the company, develop self-confidence within the company, and strive to achieve a common result. We always strive to give the best to our employees. You need to learn more modern trends and choose best practices work for company projects, thereby choosing the best for yourself.

What is the most difficult thing about being a development director?

-This is work on yourself, everything else is nonsense! To offer effective strategies for moving the company, I attend a huge number of events. I study market and industry trends. It is often difficult to predict all options for the development of a particular trend; life makes its own adjustments. But such moments greatly train the will and speed of decision-making. For me, all these are not empty words, but daily work, which I love.

This year my company turned 10 years old. Then it all started with a small office for 3 people, arrogant confidence that we could conquer the market and the drive from work and the atmosphere of a small, friendly business.

Now Volga-Tour is one of the largest companies on the Golden Ring, which organizes and services business events of any scale and receives tourists in the center of Russia.

The company employs more than 40 people. This is my main asset, these people make my business successful. Therefore, my main task is to take care of them. And at some point I realized that a decent salary and friendly relations in a team and even love for a common cause is not enough for new victories, complex projects and results that exceed expectations, that is, for further development company and its efficient operation. These are the goals we set for ourselves. Moreover, our work requires enormous dedication and stress resistance from people.

How to motivate staff. I don’t believe that you can achieve any results using pressure and money as the main motivators - this is the path of “tyrants”.

A person ultimately does best what he wants and loves to do, so the motivation system should be based on the free choice of everyone. Motivation must come from within. We asked our employees what they lacked for complete happiness in the company, exactly like this and in this wording. After all, when we sell, we first try to identify the client’s needs. For me, my employees are the same beloved clients, the so-called internal clients. And that means I also have to understand their needs and give them even more than they expect. And then they will reciprocate in the form of effective work, loyalty, team spirit and a selfless attitude towards business. And then, just like in marketing, having built the “right” relationship with the client, they need to be managed.

What motivates the staff of our company? So, what did my colleagues dream about? The results were painfully familiar.

1. About love and recognition. Solution: fan and involvement.

We started using the Intranet, where colleagues can not only see what a particular business unit is doing and discuss each other’s news and achievements, they can thank each other, receive bonuses and so-called “carrots” - this is a virtual currency within the company that can be exchanged at the corporate store for various prizes and little joys. Did something useful for the company - for example, gave a presentation or brought the most important thing to the company a large number of clients - get a “Speaker” or “Hero of Labor” badge and exchange them for a week of free lunches or savings and, as a result, you can “earn” a tablet or a gym membership. You teach foreign language or came up with some cool idea - get breakfast prepared personally by the General Director or 2 hours extra sleep on Friday morning.

All achievements: gingerbread, badges, and gratitude from colleagues are reflected in the employee’s overall rating, so in addition to the game, motivation for “correct and useful” behavior, there is also the passion to be better and cooler.

We have developed a tradition: if we give employees branded calendars, flash drives, mugs, diaries, then we make sure to personalize them - with a photograph, cool status or an honorary title such as “Miss Congeniality”; in the office all year round there are corporate valentines with the text “You make my day brighter”, which you can simply give to a colleague any day; From time to time, employees receive a corporate newsletter from the General Director via SMS with words of gratitude; the employees themselves composed the company anthem, every year we make funny films about each other, we compose and record songs in a professional studio, and provide voiceovers for cartoons. If someone has a cool idea or, on the contrary, a problem and needs to be discussed in an informal setting, then this can be done at breakfast with the General Director - also our new warm tradition.

2. About self-realization. Solution: talent development.

We have completely “reformatted” the thinking of top management and administrative services in the company. Down with hierarchy, internal competition and pressure! Serve those who serve the client. We introduced project management, moving from boss-subordinate relationships to a team and mentoring format.

3. About development and self-improvement. Solution: development and training.

4. About mutual understanding and coordinated teamwork. Solution: corporate events.

Since one of the areas of our work is organizing corporate events, we have accumulated enormous experience in preparing the most popular team building format - quests. This is a game, an intellectual activity, if the budget allows, using mobile technologies, where participants solve problems, complete tasks, look for optimal routes, find themselves in unexpected situations and embark on adventures with one goal: switching from routine problems, relaxing and playing, in an accessible form get new information, accept and understand new corporate values, ideas, feel like part of an effective team united by a common goal. In general, become loyal, motivated, effective, happy employees.

And, of course, we ourselves could not help but begin to actively use this format for our loved ones. The social one turned out to be especially effective. This is not just a game, it is a demonstration of another important thing for us - the company’s responsible attitude towards the world around us. Participants in such a quest are sure to do something useful for others: it could be an environmental cleanup, helping local residents, caring for cultural heritage. Of course, such events change a lot in a person’s perception, and the emotions and impressions experienced will long highlight the event and everything connected with it in the memory of its participants.

It’s too early to talk about stunning results, but it’s a fact that we are getting better every day. At least we are “happy together!”