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TMK shares its story of rolling out remote-work arrangements during the pandemic at SPIEF 2021

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2021), Igor Korytko, CEO of TMK, explained the company’s remote-work arrangements during the pandemic and discussed the benefits and limitations of working from home.

During the Corporations and Employees: How to Manage Human Capital in a Post-COVID World panel discussion, Igor Korytko pointed out that early in the pandemic, TMK took quick action to transfer around 10,000 people, mostly office employees, to working remotely. Company production facilities continued to operate uninterrupted throughout the transition, but the work process was redesigned: shift schedules were changed, and in-person meetings between employees were kept to a minimum. Igor Korytko said that this did not affect TMK’s operational efficiency.

“Right now, the company also operates in a hybrid format, but to achieve this, we needed to radically rearrange our office spaces. We set up co-working areas and open-air office areas. Some employees now work remotely, while many work in a hybrid format. Furthermore, all meetings are held in this hybrid format, with each participant free to decide what they consider to be more effective: being present in person or joining remotely. At the same time, we adopted a results-based approach to evaluating performance,” said Igor Korytko.

Mr. Korytko stressed that remote work has its benefits but is not without concerns. “Working in this way, of course, opens up a whole range of opportunities, one of which being the ability to attract talent from other regions. But there is a flipside. First, it is quite difficult to form teams from home. Therefore, new employees at TMK undergo the adaptation process from the office initially,” he explained.

He also touched on how the COVID-19 restrictions affected HR and recruitment processes at the company. “To make metallurgy a more prestigious career, we are rolling out career guidance programs for school students. TMK is also working with educational institutions to set up internships for students so that qualified specialists are ready to go straight to work at modern production facilities. Our capacity to run these events is currently limited. With these factors in mind, we need to keep a close eye on the long-term repercussions of changes and address them,” highlighted Igor Korytko.