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Anna Ilchenko, HR manager at Kazakhstan's largest bank Halyk Bank, revealed key trends in the Future HR podcast: from combating template values to the role of expats and AI. Why "sales" is a fundamental competency for HR specialists, how to integrate wellbeing into corporate DNA, and the dangers of a formal approach to surveys — all in this exclusive material.
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Anna Ilchenko has extensive experience in managing adaptation, motivation, and HR projects, emphasizing sales as a fundamental skill for HR professionals. She began her career in HR with recruitment. This experience became a starting point for further development in project management, where, in her opinion, the sales skill remains critically important.
Anna emphasizes: whether it’s implementing a new motivation system, conducting training for the business, or aligning initiatives with management — success depends on the ability to sell an idea, transforming it into a clear value for all participants in the process.
She views HR interactions as a continuous chain of value transmission, where each stage requires risk management, especially when it comes to implementing changes. Thus, for Anna, sales are not just a recruiter’s function, but a universal competency underlying effective people and project management in modern HR.
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Communities and joint activities may seem only indirectly related to work, but they create a sense of community and psychological safety. There are already 17 communities in the Kazakhstan hub, both professional and informal.
How to bridge the gap between declared and real values? Anna answers unequivocally: «Work with what you already have.» Her approach is based on analyzing real business cases and comparing them with target values.
Transforming corporate culture combines education and motivation, starting with publishing success stories on the corporate portal, interactive quizzes for case assessments, and ending with non-material bonuses, such as access to an educational course or purchasing sports equipment in exchange for points.
The key principle according to Anna Ilchenko: values require a dual impact — learning and practice, united by ironclad consistency. Training creates a foundation, but real effect is achieved only through regular case analysis from a values perspective and continuous integration of principles into work processes.
Anna believes that values should be practical tools that genuinely impact business and employees. Turning them into such tools is the key task she is successfully working on at Halyk.
«At Halyk Bank, corporate culture is a strategic priority», emphasizes Anna Ilchenko. A key factor in the effectiveness of culture management at Halyk Bank is integration with C&B (Compensation & Benefits).
According to Anna, control over the social package allows the department not just to execute but to strategically manage processes: «This provides levers of influence — from customizing benefits to targeted motivation.» The main success metrics are increased engagement (eNPS) and reduced turnover. «We conduct regular surveys, monitoring this issue specifically in terms of their function. So, it's a working topic, I highly recommend it,» says Anna.
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According to McKinsey research, the integration of C&B and cultural programs increases HR effectiveness by 40%. At Halyk, this is achieved through:
At Halyk Bank, the process of functional training is very well structured, motivating people from other management blocks to engage with corporate culture. Employees can share the specifics of their work with colleagues, share skills, and thus raise the overall level. For example, Anna runs an English club on psychological topics: this is her personal initiative, supported by the corporate culture management.
There are two approaches to collecting and analyzing employee feedback:
Many companies prefer to engage specialized external agencies. This guarantees a high level of anonymity, objectivity, and a strict methodological basis. External contractors ensure standardization and confidentiality. «If the survey is serious, especially if conducted by an external provider, there will be more stress and less sincerity. Although much depends on the corporate culture,» believes Anna.
Other organizations delegate the conduct of surveys to their HR specialists, aiming to add «liveliness,» informality (genuine), and greater engagement to the process. Internal HR teams can create a more trusting and tailored atmosphere. Notably, even the process of filling out questionnaires — employees' reflections, their attitudes towards the questions — often provides more valuable information about the real atmosphere in the team than the final quantitative survey results. The procedure itself becomes a tool for diagnosing internal dynamics.
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The HR business partner institute acts as a mediator between the HR function and business requests. Using the example of Artelabs (Russia), where the role was implemented from scratch, Anna Ilchenko describes the developed tool:
«We developed 'process cards' — standardized interaction schemes. This aligned expectations: the business client knew exactly what service they would receive, and HR knew what services and in what format they were obliged to provide. The role of HRBP included creating these standards, agreeing with the parties, and resolving contentious cases.»
There are two main problems in implementing well-being initiatives — insufficient formalization or exclusively focal formalization. Halyk is an advanced company where many initiatives are carried out according to certain standards, even if they may seem somewhat formal. A standard is precisely a good start for launching. In other companies, it may be the opposite: there is no form, just a desire to do something convenient, but due to the lack of form, the process is not structured.
Another problem lies in budget approvals. Many organizations strive to raise the level of well-being independently or under limited budgeting conditions. This leads to the conclusion that the well-being culture in Kazakhstan is at an early stage of development and is not among the strategic priorities.
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Expatriates arriving in Kazakhstan import their professional expectations and standards — a key challenge for adaptation. However, local companies show a significant disparity in opportunities: not all are able to offer the expected cultural context (vibe) and benefits package. Organizations with international representation are of the greatest interest. The thesis «the stronger the brand, the higher the salaries» finds no confirmation: «There is no direct correlation here,» emphasizes Anna Ilchenko.
In the race for a strong HR brand in Kazakhstan, it is not local startups that lead, but companies with initial advantages: global presence, monopoly status, or proven experience in external markets. «It is precisely international representation that becomes the key competitive advantage,» emphasizes Anna Ilchenko.
«AI tools provide significant operational efficiency — saving time and resources. However, their penetration is uneven: skepticism and a low adoption culture persist in the regions of Kazakhstan, opening up a field for growth,» notes Anna Ilchenko.
The current structure of HR departments is ineffective due to a bias towards operational work — routine tasks (table reconciliation, mechanical operations) could be performed by AI. This leads to a key problem:
«Creative specialists are forced to spend time on routine instead of generating value. Their natural path is to delegate such tasks to algorithms. At the same time, employees with process-oriented thinking can transition to the role of «AI managers», optimizing its work.»
However, implementation faces a challenge: not everyone is ready to manage technologies, requiring retraining. Full transformation will take years — until a generational paradigm shift occurs, when AI management becomes a basic competency.
When asked if Anna notices a difference between employees representing different generations, the HR specialist responds negatively. There are many factors that influence your worldview more than the year of birth, Anna believes:
Family obligations, financial capital, and educational experience influence worldview more than chronological age, so a 40-year-old specialist without obligations may exhibit Gen Z behavior patterns.
The unexpectedly high status of psychological support in Kazakhstani business contrasts with the Russian experience. Anna noted a high level of employee empathy and a legitimate perception of psychological difficulties.
However, the potential is not realized: companies miss the strategic value of organizational psychology, limiting themselves to individual requests. The key conclusion: the Kazakhstani market is ready for a transformation of the wellbeing culture, but requires a shift from employee support to systematic diagnostics of company health.
The main barrier to development is the fragility of trust: employees fear that psychological information will affect personnel decisions. With an unethical approach, this creates manipulation risks, turning support into a tool for controlling turnover. The solution lies in transparent rules and technologies:
«AI algorithms managed by psychologists can become an ethical buffer. Pre-set tracks (for example, 'retaining an employee') with mutual transparency of goals create a win-win situation: the company reduces the attrition rate, while the specialist consciously chooses an adaptation strategy».
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Start with the demedicalization of psychological assistance: position it as coaching or mentoring, using informal formats like themed random coffee. The key to success is a managed discussion: HR sets the focus (for example, burnout), provides cases and articles, guiding the conversation in a constructive direction.
Important! Comprehensive wellbeing starts with diagnosing physical health: any responsible psychologist initially directs the employee to tests (hormones, biochemistry), excluding organic causes of symptoms. Companies must provide this basis, but with conscious responsibility: if deviations are identified, the organization must provide not only diagnostics but also resources for treatment (leave, insurance).
The key to budget approval is evidence-based analytics: calculating losses from sick leave and absenteeism demonstrates a direct link between investments in psychological support and reduced operational costs. But intangible factors are also critically important:
Formula for presenting to management: costs of programs vs. cost of replacing an employee + losses from absenteeism + increase in eNPS.
Directly offering employees the choice of 'money or benefits' is counterproductive: in 90% of cases, short-term monetary gain wins. But the catch is that this money is rarely invested in health — instead, it is spent on immediate needs. The employer, in turn, incurs double losses:
«You pay for 'satisfying the request', but you get an increase in absenteeism and turnover due to unresolved health issues. Employees physically cannot maintain productivity when their wellbeing is ignored.» The solution is a conscious redistribution of funds into guaranteed health programs. This is not a restriction of freedom, but insurance against strategic risks: a healthy team pays off investments through reduced operational costs and increased loyalty.
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Anna Ilchenko recommends the works of Manfred Kets de Vries (INSEAD) — a guru of organizational psychology. His bestsellers «Leader on the Couch» and «Organization on the Couch» reveal a key principle:
«Corporate pathologies are a consequence of systemic failures, not personal shortcomings. Bureaucracy, burnout, or conflicts require a clinical approach: first diagnose hidden dysfunctions, then adapt therapy methods for business.»
Why does this change the paradigm? It teaches to see maladaptive patterns in routine processes, provides tools for transforming 'broken' elements into resources for development, and debunks the myth: organizational psychology ≠ stigmatization of employees.
