Practical Cases and Wellbeing Metrics from the HR Director of "Kazakhtelecom"
"Companies are not hiring juniors. This is true," states the HR Director of "Kazakhtelecom", Tolkyn Baitumanova, observing how AI is replacing entry-level specialists. Meanwhile, the company itself is acting contrary to the trend: it is increasing investments in people. The introduction of in-house psychologists is just part of a larger strategy where employee care becomes not a cost but a growth tool for business in the era of digital transformation. In the podcast, we discuss the components of the care strategy of Kazakhstan's largest telecommunications company in detail.
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"Kazakhtelecom" is the largest national telecommunications operator in Kazakhstan. Founded in 1994, the company is now represented in all regions of the country and unites 20,000 employees across 50 branches. Over 30 years of operation, the company has transcended traditional telecom, becoming a driver of digital transformation by actively integrating artificial intelligence into all business processes. "Kazakhtelecom" consistently ranks among the most profitable companies in the country, with an annual turnover in the tens of billions of tenge.
"Kazakhtelecom" pays significant attention to the development and overall well-being of its employees. One of the key areas has been psychological support, overseen by Tolkyn Baitumanova.
The initiative was launched in response to the high levels of workplace stress and the understanding that personal and family circumstances directly affect employees' emotional states and effectiveness.
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The program primarily targets employees whose work involves constant interaction with people or takes place in field conditions. This includes front-office specialists who serve clients, as well as field teams — those who lay fiber-optic communication lines, work with cables, and configure network equipment. Thus, the key audience consists of mass working professions.
The decision to enhance psychological assistance at Kazakhtelecom was made based on two key factors: the high demand for consultations among employees and a tragic incident. The need to expand the program became particularly evident after the incident that occurred in Shymkent.
"To my deep regret, an incident occurred... A young man took his own life. His manager, unfortunately, did not know what it was related to until that moment... For this reason, this was the first reason we began to strengthen the psychologists," she notes.
This case highlighted the importance of developing managerial competencies. In response, the company developed a special modular course for line managers that includes the development of emotional intelligence and empathy.
According to Tolkyn, "this modular training aims to teach our line managers basic managerial skills and emotional empathy," and the course is very popular.The training is optional, and the company relies on the conscious interest of the managers.
"This is optional... training. We put in a lot of effort to ensure that employees mature, so to speak, with their personal desire, come and sign up for the course," says Tolkyn. If the team does not show interest, the HR department conducts preventive work, explaining the value and practical benefits of the course to awaken the desire to participate.
Maxim: Do you notice a connection between the employee's state and the company's results?
Tolkyn: For me, this is a confirmed fact: the employer directly influences the level of employee satisfaction and motivation. A person's internal state directly determines how they perform their work, their productivity, and overall effectiveness.
I consciously choose to work in companies that share this belief. It is important for the organization to understand that to achieve high returns, basic human needs must be met. An employee must feel comfortable in all key areas:
Working conditions — so that the environment is comfortable for work.Salary — so that there is no anxiety about financial well-being.Values and behavioral norms — so that the team is not toxic.
Relationships with management — so that the employee's opinion is respected and their role is considered significant.
Only by creating such an ecosystem can we talk about true effectiveness and sustainable business results.
According to Tolkyn Baitumanova, "Kazakhtelecom" focuses on the social wellbeing of its employees, offering a comprehensive support program that includes financial, physical, and psychological components:
The company implements several financial assistance programs. One of them provides payments of 300,000 tenge (about 500 dollars) for certain categories of employees, such as single mothers, parents of children with disabilities, or large families.
Additionally, the company provides employees with interest-free loans for housing purchases. Annually, about 300 employees receive such support, while around 500 benefit from social payments.
Physical well-being programs include regular sports events and "Spartakiads" in various sports such as tennis, volleyball, basketball, and football. These competitions are held within the company between branches and portfolio companies. Kazakhtelecom's partners also organize health diagnostics for employees, including cardiovascular health checks, to prevent early strokes and heart attacks.
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Special attention is paid to creating infrastructure for recreation and sports. With the support of trade unions funded by the company, sports halls, strength training areas, and table tennis zones are set up in offices.
"So, I sit in an office that has a gym, a strength training room, and a table tennis room.
And during lunch breaks, these rooms are always busy," notes Tolkyn.
According to her, employees have become so accustomed to this opportunity that when the gym is temporarily closed, the company receives requests to provide them with an alternative.
The social package is supplemented by annual financial assistance for vacations amounting to one and a half salaries and the organization of sports and wellness camps for employees' children, which annually accommodate about 700 children.
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Tolkyn shared her experience of implementing wellbeing initiatives in an IT company where there was no budget but a desire to care for the team.
In her previous company with 1500 employees, where most were women under 45, the case with an in-house psychologist worked excellently. Hourly payment for a psychologist is a transparent and accessible option in the market.
Maxim: How comfortable do people feel about the in-house psychologist? How do you build that trust?
Tolkyn: Building trust in a psychologist is purely a communication task. Only through conversation, only through dialogue.
We openly tell employees: "We care about you first and foremost and are concerned for you." At the same time, we emphasize that the psychologist guarantees complete confidentiality of information.
I have been fortunate to work with psychologists who strictly adhere to ethical standards and do not disclose confidential information. We do not request this information from them — it is unethical, and we do not need it.
The most important thing is to convey to employees through open dialogue why and how a psychologist may be needed, and to convince them that we have no hidden motives for obtaining this information. Only in this way can genuine contact be established.
At Kazakhtelecom, a comprehensive system for evaluating employee engagement and loyalty is in place. Regular studies using professional tools allow for precise identification of key drivers of satisfaction. Tolkyn notes that the approach has proven effective in practice: the engagement index consistently grows by 6-7 points annually.
One of the main indicators is the eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score). However, the assessment is based on the analysis of more than 20 factors, including:
Based on this data, not only an overall index is formed, but also two special metrics: social well-being and social stability. Thus, the metrics system allows for tracking the overall picture while accurately identifying growth points, flexibly managing the climate within the team.
In the absence of complex evaluation systems in the company, basic criteria can be used as a starting point. Tolkyn recommends focusing on key internal factors that directly affect employee satisfaction:
To assess each factor, it is sufficient to formulate 3-4 targeted questions. For example:
In IT companies, where the share of young specialists is rapidly increasing, Tolkyn notes a key feature of Generation Z: its representatives are more oriented towards dialogue than immediate action.
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"Unlike millennials, who often prefer the 'go and do' approach, 'zoomers' tend to first discuss the task, consult, and find the optimal path." To unlock their potential, the company has adapted its approaches: regular monitoring of emotional and mental states, as well as providing frequent and detailed feedback.
Young employees not only understand technology — they think differently. Their deep immersion in the digital environment allows them to generate ideas that often remain outside the focus of older colleagues. This leads to the emergence of unconventional solutions that the company had not previously considered. "A striking example is an employee who developed an AI assistant for onboarding new hires in just a few days. The tool automatically answers questions about company procedures, significantly simplifying the onboarding process."
Since the average age in the company is 40-41 years, a ranked approach to onboarding has been implemented, taking into account generational characteristics:
This flexible approach allows Kazakhtelecom to effectively integrate representatives of all age groups into the team, leveraging the strengths of each generation.
At Kazakhtelecom, there is no template for organizing work: the company's policy is based not on coercion, but on providing choice, which allows for consideration of the needs of different generations and specializations within the team. "For specialists in IT and digital business, a fully remote format is available. This is not just a hybrid model (for example, 3+2), but the possibility to work from anywhere on a permanent basis." However, considering the average age of the team (40-41 years), many employees prefer the traditional format. Despite the option to work remotely, most make a conscious choice in favor of the office, where comfortable working conditions and team interaction have been created.
Analysts note that artificial intelligence is currently actively automating tasks traditionally performed by junior specialists. The job search service INDIIT reports a significant decrease in the number of vacancies for university graduates. In 2025, the number of vacancies for university graduates decreased by about 50% compared to the previous year. It is now very difficult for someone finishing university to find a junior position because these tasks are already being handled by AI. Tolkyn confirms the trend in Kazakhstan: the trend aligns with the overall shift in the IT industry. Many companies have abandoned outsourcing in favor of their own in-house teams. Against this backdrop, a clear trend has emerged: "Companies are not hiring juniors. This is true. They are not hiring them because AI is performing the tasks." However, Kazakhtelecom follows its own strategy in this regard. Unlike many IT companies and startups that are increasingly hiring fewer entry-level specialists, the corporation continues to invest in young talent. It is noted that many entry-level specialists, learning with the help of AI, now often choose the path of startups, which explains the active growth of this sector in Kazakhstan and beyond.
In the context of rapid digitalization, it is natural to question what role HR will play when analytics and data handling are taken over by artificial intelligence. The expert is confident that the essence of HR will not change, but the focus of its tasks will shift. AI can take over routine and analytical work, but it cannot replace human relationships. "AI capabilities can replace analytics, metrics, big data. Any analytics can be replaced by AI, but not the human factor, not human relationships and approaches to people. AI will never replace this," emphasizes Tolkyn. Thus, the technological revolution in HR will not lead to the disappearance of the profession, but to its transformation: all routine and tedious tasks will be handed over to robots, while the main value of specialists will remain the human relationship.
