Leelia Rohumaa, HR Manager at Pipedrive – The competition for the IT talent will get even more intense

(Leelia Rohumaa) The second regional “HR CODE“ conference at the Opera & Theatre Madlenianum on December 07, 2017, will gather representatives of IT companies from Serbia and Europe whose work is closely related to the area of human resources. Participants will have an opportunity to attend lectures and take part in workshops with leading global and local IT experts, learn about analyses of the current situation in the country and new trends and exchange experience and examples of good practice in the HR domain. Renowned Serbian volleyball player Vanja Grbić will present the best ways to overcome complexity in all areas of business.

The “HR CODE” conference is organised for the second time by ManpowerGroup, in the aim of contributing to the education among professionals in the area of human resources, particularly in the IT sector, through this unique one-day event. The conference is supported by silver sponsors HelloWorld.rs and ITAcademy.

One of the keynote speakers at the “HR CODE” conference is Leelia Rohumaa, HR Manager in “Pipedrive“, Estonia, with more than 15 years of professional experience in various HR fields. Leelia is strongly interested in employee development and is very pleased to contribute to advancement and progress of her employees. Before joining Pipedrive over a year ago, Leelia spent more than 10 years with Microsoft and Skype.

What are your current job duties at Pipedrive?

– As an HR Manager, I am responsible for hiring, onboarding and developing Pipedrive’s great talent. This involves running performance management, monitoring employee engagement, and overseeing learning and development programs globally. My responsibility is to lead a local team of 4 recruiters, one HR Operations Specialist, and an Estonian based Office team of 5 people.I am also in charge for initiating Pipedrive’s stronger onboarding program, which includes 2 days of Bootcamp, the New Manager 90-day onboarding program, as well as regular manager community meet-ups. As a new responsibility, I am also Site Leader for Pipedrive Estonia. My goal is to help the company create an environment where people can focus on performing at a high level and work well together to achieve company's goals.

How does one-work day look like at a company like Pipedrive?

– Days are never the same. It is never boring and I have never enough time to do everything I would like to do.

I am grateful to have a job that is also my hobby. I am also very grateful for all the trust from the executive team to let me develop new programs. I have endless opportunities to create and improve processes that make our employees happier, allowing them to fully concentrate on performing at their best. My usual day includes one-on-one meetings (with one of my team members and with a few company managers) and often some form of training either as part of the new employee or manager onboarding. Let’s not forget a lot of emails, signing documents digitally, developing something new (either a new training program, reviewing questions to internal 360 feedback, preparing budget or performance reviews, etc.) and a lot of ad hoc tasks. In one day I really get exposed to all of the possible topics in HR. Either hands-on or via my team members.

How do you get a job in such company?

– I believe I got a job at Pipedrive after 9 interviews because of my passion for HR, my years of experience at Skype and due to the fact that my values aligned with those of Pipedrive. I was referred for the job and the offer came at a great time. I was about to return to work after being on maternity leave.

I landed a job at Skype as a result of my passion and Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration. Also, my final thesis was written on the subject of onboarding programs for small companies. Onboarding was the first program I helped to build when working at Skype. I strongly suggest to everyone to find their passion first and then watch as the right possibilities will come along more naturally. I never hoped or dreamed to have a fancy title, but I have always wanted to make a difference. I am honoured to have had the opportunity to work for such great companies that are steered by some incredible leaders and role models.

Are there any “weird” (out of the ordinary) assessments or questions when applying for vacancy there?

– We have many out of ordinary questions that pop up when you apply for a position at Pipedrive :). But here are few to share: “what’s the purpose of life?“ & “what do you want?” and then ask 5 times why they want it (until you get the most sincere answer). We ask those questions to see how people react to the unexpected. Another example is that one of the recruiters I hired was asked to interview a colleague as part of her own interview :). Also, test tasks are an essential part of the application process for most roles.

Does working for a start-up (was huge company) impose some personal trade-offs?

– Yes, it does. The ability to make a difference and instant feedback you get for the work you do is very addicting. It’s hard to stop and take a break, because there is always so much more to be done and it’s all so exciting. When the company is growing fast then the pace at work is super fast as well. I think it’s an environment that suits people who can cope well with constant change. Here I am in the night after my kids are asleep answering these questions and I like it, because HR challenges are as exciting as a great book that you can’t put down or wait until tomorrow to finish reading.

What are some of the benefits working for the companies like Pipedrive or Skype?

– One of the biggest benefits is the possibility to work with the great talent and with the people who love their work and the company they are part of. I appreciate the possibility to learn from incredible colleagues, share my knowledge and in doing so we grow together. Of course as an HR Manager one of my responsibilities is to make sure we have a great compensation package for our employees but I think no amount of money or other benefits will make you truly happy at work if you do not already love what you do. I believe both Pipedrive and Skype take hiring very seriously and make sure right people with right motives are selected. Both Pipedrive and Skype have very modern and cozy offices and of course lots of dogs who make it a perfect place to be.

What can you share about performance appraisal system at Skype/Pipedrive?

– It’s about summarizing the previous period. We make sure it takes into account employee self-assessments, managers’ assessments and feedback from others. It distinguishes good from great performance, because often the results are connected to the compensation changes for the future.

In general, what can companies do in order to attract and retain the best talents?

– Growing a great culture by hiring right people and by trusting and caring about your employees. Make their experience from the first moment they connect with you until the day they leave as their best-ever work experience. Provide proper onboarding and development opportunities, support their career related dreams, be honest and open in communication and keep them challenged. Make sure you develop and coach your managers as well. I do believe the saying that we join the company but we often leave because of our managers. It’s also extremely important for us to regularly ask for feedback from our employees and improve things that could be better.

Also, make sure the talent you would like to attract is aware of you as an employer. Go to the the career fairs, organize events in your office and be part of competitions for employer awards. Your own happy employees are your best ambassadors, so make sure they share what is great about you as an employer and, if possible, compensate their efforts.

How do you see the future unfolds at the talent market? How would trend of needs for IT experts develop in the future?

– The competition for the IT talent will get even more intense. During the conference “The EU in the Global Race for Talents: Challenges and Solutions in Strengthening the EU’s Competitiveness” it was shared that in 10 years Estonia needs around 22 000 professionals to relocate to Estonia, and like the rest of Europe, we have an aging population. As a result of this, we need all to build an even stronger employer brand and to be unique and positively outstanding. In Estonia, where we have a lot of IT companies in the competition for the IT experts, it will only become more challenging to attract great talent.

Manpower d.o.o. Beograd

LINK group Beograd

Microsoft software doo Beograd

Skype Technologies S.A. Luxembourg

HelloWorld.rs

Pipedrive Estonia

Leelia Rohumaa

HR CODE

IT experts

employing IT experts

Vanja Grbic

ManpowerGroup

HelloWorld

ITAcademy

talent development

Microsoft

Skype