HR or running – what gives more endorphins? An interview with Kasia, HR Manager at AUCTANE
Dynamics of work, lack of monotony, the fast pace of changes – these are the advantages of working in our HR department, appreciated by its manager, Kasia. Did she decide to run for the same reasons? Read the interview with Kasia and find out how we support her in the development of her passion and what her professional work and her hobby have in common.
Let’s start with our standard question. What were your beginnings at AUCTANE?
After my studies and my first professional experience, I returned to Zielona Góra from Poznań 8 years ago. That was when I joined XLogics, which had just turned into Metapack, to now take another new name, AUCTANE.
How did I get here? The story is quite interesting. In my previous job as a Recruitment Specialist, I was also responsible for the sale of recruitment services. Intrigued by an interesting company from my hometown, I called the secretariat in Kostrzyńska Street and asked to speak to the HR department. When I heard that they didn’t have such a department, I thought it was a good idea to create one (laughs)! I wrote a CV and a cover letter to Marcin – Managing Director… and 2 months later I was at the interview! I couldn’t believe it had worked. It turned out that Metapack has enormous plans for the development of the location in Zielona Góra and it will not be possible without the HR department (laughs).
This confirms that good timing is essential. Tell us what is your responsibility at the moment. What exactly do you do at AUCTANE?
Currently, as HR Manager, I have the pleasure of influencing the creation of the company’s personnel policy and recommending and implementing the best management practices. In achieving our goals, I am supported by my local team – Magda and Eliza. I translate the company’s business strategy into specific activities in such areas as support for leaders, employee development, organizational changes, employment and remuneration plans, and the company’s image. I actively participate in the implementation of global projects, taking care of their adjustment to our local culture. I am happy to talk to our teams about any matter that is important to them, both when it comes to changing career paths and the challenges of everyday life that arise. Currently, with the organizational changes in AUCTANE, I have the pleasure to be part of European HR, where we are working together on new processes – many interesting projects on the horizon, which makes me very happy!
As you said, when you came to Metapack or the current AUCTANE, you started building your HR department. So you know it inside out. How has the company changed during your work?
I am definitely a good example confirming that many years of work in one company does not equal monotony. During 8 years of my work, I have experienced three acquisitions related to the change of the owner of the company. Each time there were opportunities for development, new projects or opportunities for international cooperation. Each time, as an organization, we have changed in many areas.
When I joined at the very beginning, I can confidently say that my position could have been called HR One Woman Band (laughs). I was in charge of recruitment and payroll, I organized events. I also slowly started working with our managers, starting with ‘what are you actually doing here in this IT?’. We worked on the creation of many HR-related processes, in cooperation with the university, we devoted a lot of work to creating a transparent organizational structure and introducing team leaders (the beginnings of internal recruitment). Due to intensive development plans in Zielona Góra, automation and access to data became more and more important, so we started implementing comprehensive systems that were to help us in this.
Also read: On the team, it’s all about unity. An interview with Sebastian, Project Manager at AUCTANE
With each change, our level of professionalism has definitely increased. International cooperation, exchange of experiences and knowledge sharing, and access to the best tools and approach to HR as a business partner, all means that from my perspective, changes, although they are not always smooth, have brought many interesting challenges, opportunities and rewarding work.
8 years ago, the entire team at Kostrzyńska Street consisted of about 45 employees, today it is over 200 fantastic people who create an amazing atmosphere and culture of this place! My team has grown as well. Eliza manages the recruitment area very well, Magda is the absolute queen of the HR and payroll area. Thanks to the team’s cooperation, I feel that we are doing a great job for our employees.
There is no denying that you like your job. What is most interesting to you about what you do?
Definitely the lack of monotony, every day is different, and dynamics prevail in my work. Juggling priorities, jumping from meeting to meeting. Due to international cooperation, it is not uncommon to change your availability in the calendar to talk to the team from the US. But what makes my job fun is definitely working with people. I love discovering how each of us is different, and how we react and interpret the message differently. A joint attempt to use this difference for the success of a larger group gives great satisfaction.
Due to such dynamic development and expansion of teams, recruitment and onboarding have become very important elements. I believe that we have fine-tuned these processes. It’s also nice to hear direct feedback from candidates or new colleagues that they feel taken care of. When it comes to working culture, I really appreciate the autonomy and the trust of my superiors. I am not afraid to express my own opinion or doubts, I feel that I have an influence on the decisions I make. At AUCTANE, I also love the willingness to share knowledge. Many times my colleagues from engineering departments explained to me what was going on in the world of technological innovations and I must admit that they were really patient (laughs).
We know the good sides of your job. What are the biggest challenges for an HR specialist?
This is an interesting question because in fact, these challenges depend on many factors. For example, a pandemic, something we could not be prepared for, and adapting to new conditions required a huge amount of work. And although it is starting to be as it used to be, the challenge remains – motivation decreases, and building and maintaining interpersonal relationships is more difficult. Despite the many advantages of working remotely, there are also many opportunities that we lose through isolation. This is an important moment for a conscious employer. The times and expectations of employees have changed – in order to win, we have to adapt and work to change the work culture.
One of the most important challenges that are always on top is the acquisition and retention of key talents, especially in the IT industry. Competition is fierce, opportunities to implement interesting projects appear, and the lack of an appropriate number of specialists – all of this generates many HR projects in this area. Tax changes are certainly another challenge. Their number is now so frequent, and the changes so chaotic that only peace and good organization can help us.
You talked about recruiting and retaining talent. Is the IT industry specific in terms of recruiting employees? What do IT employees expect from their employer and how does AUCTANE meet these expectations?
I would say that it has now become specific by the job market. Unfortunately, still many companies and agencies do not pay attention to recruitment. The job description is not consistent with reality, candidates do not receive feedback after recruitment. Unfortunately, this causes many specialists to be very distrustful at the beginning. Therefore, it is important to be transparent at all times. At AUCTANE, we do not sugarcoat things, we are talking about the best technology stack in Zielona Góra, but we also openly talk about the challenges of creating an e-commerce platform used by global customers.
In the recruitment process, you get to know your future leader, but you also have the opportunity to meet the team and ask at the source if you have any doubts. What allows us to be a company with a good reputation in the local market is certainly a lot of work put into our employer branding, in the creation of which our employees take part. So it is not just a marketing procedure. Ideas often come to us from the teams. During the recruitment process, our candidates have often mentioned an article they read on our blog. Therefore, we are certainly pleased that, apart from the well-known benefit package, our candidates are more often interested in technologies, projects and clients for whom we create our software.
You are active at work, but you do not slow down after hours, literally – because you are running. Where did this passion come from?
It’s actually a side effect of the pandemic (laughs). When it comes to sports, I’ve always been very active. My heart was definitely stolen by volleyball, but I was never scared by athletics or other team sports. When it comes to running, it was actually a bit like I was just running pretty fast, so I went to all the competitions in high school. And I think it was this kind of ‘compulsion’ that made running not fun for me. For a long time after graduating from school, I forgot about running. I could be ready for spontaneous volleyball in 5 minutes, I wouldn’t go for a run even for money (laughs).
And then came the pandemic and the first period of isolation, closed rooms and gyms, and training at home began to be boring. For a long time, my friend persuaded me to start running again. I got a watch for my birthday and so I started. Surprised that 5 km does not impress me much, I started to reach longer distances, and since the number always has to be round, then I got to 10, 15, 20 km…
What does running give you? Does it effectively help to get rid of professional stresses?
During the onset of the pandemic, running was the perfect break from work for me. Thanks to the flexible hours, I was able to jump on my standard 5 km and come back with new energy. While running with my favorite music, I experience a nice, calm detachment from the everyday world, very often I don’t think about anything, I just run ahead. On the other hand, while running, I also overcome my limitations. Running more kilometers, turning up the pace or climbing a murderous ascent gives a lot of satisfaction at the end. An additional advantage is certainly the opportunity to meet people with similar passion, exchange of experiences, running together is a great integration element… Well, unless you run much slower and on the uphill run you are fighting for your life, when your smiling friend yells from above, ‘faster, how much longer do I have to wait here?’ (laughs).
We know that not only your friends are cheering you on, because you are beneficiary of the AUCTANE Active program. How does the company support your hobby?
The company supports me financially in the realization of my hobby. Sometimes it is the purchase of equipment, sportswear or payment of a starter package. A nice idea for combining passion with the possibility of advertising a company.
In AUCTANE you set your quarterly goals, is it similar with running? Do you have goals that you are striving for? Increasing distance or pace?
I am most pleased with the overall kilometers, running wisely and without injuries. As for the distance, it turns out that the further the easier, so the first half marathon is behind me. After work, I just got up and ran 21 km. I have several goals for race pace, but that is not my priority. Difficult ascents, mountain running are something that interests me the most.
Congratulations on the Half Marathon! Will we see you in the next organized runs or do you prefer recreational running?
Due to my participation in the program, I started to take part in organized runs, but the solo running gives me the greatest satisfaction. I definitely do not like running in cities, so my next challenges are more focused on mountain running.
So you like to do things the hard way then 😉 Finally, what advice would you give to the beginners or people who want to get off the couch? What should they know when starting their adventure with this form of activity?
As you can see, my beginnings weren’t easy either, so I don’t have any special recipe for success for a runner. I’m definitely into just trying and experiencing new things, so even 1 km will be a great result and it will answer the question ‘is this for me at all?’. I believe that there are so many great opportunities now that everyone can find the discipline that will give the most satisfaction – the most important thing is to move and have fun, then these endorphins work wonders after training and give you energy to act!
