Not fines, but a 'Golden Month': how HR in Uzbek retail teaches businesses to negotiate with the new generation

How Uzbekistan is bridging the gap between office and remote work, traditional approaches, and the expectations of the younger generation

What to do if a survey reveals that employees view the head office as 'something evil and inaccessible'? How to convince the owner to replace fines for tardiness with a shared bonus for the department? And how to measure the mood of a team spread across dozens of cities?

Galina Kan, HR Director at Technomart, has transitioned from British American Tobacco to local retail and faces such challenges daily. In an interview, she explained why in 90% of cases the initiative comes from HR, how to achieve 86% engagement in the eNPS survey, and why businesses in Uzbekistan need to learn to 'translate' their ideas into the language of the new generation.

Uzbek retail today is a unique laboratory where several realities collide. On one side is Generation Z, demanding freedom and digitalization. On the other is traditional business, where 90% of employees still work 'from 9 to 6'. In the middle is a fragmented network of dozens of stores, whose employees may view the head office as 'something evil and inaccessible'.

In such conditions, the task of the HR Director transforms from administrative to strategic and almost diplomatic. It is not just about hiring and motivating but building bridges: between generations, between the office and the 'field', between global trends and local mentality.

Galina Kan's experience, having transitioned from an international corporation to local retail, allows us to see this transformation from the inside. In the interview, she not only states the problems but also shows specific tools and cases that work (or do not work) in Uzbekistan. Let's explore the challenges businesses face and what non-obvious solutions have already been found.

To understand the 'temperature' of the team, companies use internal surveys and individual meetings to uncover the true reasons for dissatisfaction.

The expert highlights the main pain point communicated by employees — the rigid work schedule. While the world has largely transitioned to hybrid formats, around 90% of employees in Uzbekistan still work under the traditional '9 to 6' scheme in the office, without the ability to address personal matters during the day.

'Young people are particularly demotivated,' the expert notes. 'It's hard for them to be in the office for all 9 hours. They even want to control their lunch schedule themselves, rather than being tied to a strict window from 12 to 1 or from 1 to 2.'

'In international corporations, comprehensive surveys were used, such as Your Voice, which measured eNPS (employee Net Promoter Score) and overall motivation levels,' she explains. 'The key feature is the willingness of employees to openly express what they dislike: whether it's low team efficiency, an unsuitable management style, or something else. This is part of a culture where feedback is the norm.

'However, in local companies in Uzbekistan, this approach hits a wall. 'The main reason is mentality. We are not accustomed to complaining. People endure but remain silent out of fear: if you speak the truth, you will be fired or ignored,' Galina explains.

In addition to expected topics like flexible schedules, the survey results revealed a deeper and less obvious problem — a demand for unifying corporate culture, which significantly affects overall engagement results in any company.

'We noticed that store employees really want more interaction with the office,' Galina shares. 'They feel that office colleagues are not open and friendly enough, that the office is 'something harmful, evil, that you cannot approach'. This surprised us because in everyday life we considered ourselves quite friendly and did not see obvious problems in communication.'

'The high fragmentation of the network and large distances turn a unified HR strategy into a complex logistical and communication quest.

'The situation is further complicated by another factor — the different professional identities of employees. Galina provides a striking contrast: 'In retail, people work 'on the front line'. They are 'salespeople', their focus is outward, on the client and sales. In manufacturing, they are 'blue-collar workers', their world is confined to the factory, and their circle of communication is colleagues. Therefore, manufacturers are more 'immersed' in the internal culture of the company and respond more actively to surveys.'

According to Galina, management in Uzbekistan genuinely wants change, understanding that business has reached a certain ceiling and needs to move forward. However, a gap arises between desire and action.

'The main problem is that not every leader can explain and justify why a new initiative needs to be launched right now,' she says. 'A pause arises: we seem to want to, but we lack arguments, cases, and information to make a confident decision.

'In 90% of cases, the initiative comes not from the owner but from the HR department. 'First, the HR Director thinks of something, and then they go and convince management: 'Let's implement this initiative.' We act as 'translators' of trends into specific business projects and their conduits within the company.'

'And yet we have reason to be proud! — Galina enthusiastically states. — This year, for the first time in the 17 years of the company's existence, we conducted a full eNPS survey. And we achieved an engagement level of 86%! For us, this is a victory: it means we managed to convey to people the main thing — their opinion matters and will be heard.

'The core of this engagement was the office employees. 'They are our first allies,' the expert notes. However, the real challenge is to communicate this success to every store in every city.

Naturally, the question arises: how did they achieve such a high level of engagement under the described barriers? Galina admits that the initial plan was simple — to hold a general online meeting. However, the team quickly realized its limitations: it was unrealistic to reach the entire fragmented network this way.

A strategic decision was made: to go into the field. 'We had to reach every store,' she recounts. 'Our sales and product trainers went directly to the retail points. They personally explained to employees what the eNPS survey is, why it is needed, and what the company plans to do. We honestly said: 'We have plans, but if you confirm them with your feedback and suggestions, the result will be much better.'

At Technomart, they understand the importance of such an environment and consciously create it, but already in the format of corporate events and activities.'We have, for example, football competitions — the 'Corporate League'.

We form mixed teams from office and store employees, who train and compete together for months. In the process, they truly get to know each other, communicate, and start to 'lobby' each other's interests,' Galina provides an example. In addition to sports, the office has created an infrastructure for easy communication: from board games (both entertaining and strategic) to thematic informal breakfasts and lunches with department directors.

Recognizing the problem of burnout, the company builds a multi-level system to address it, starting with the first line of defense — managers.

Level 1: Training line managers for early detection
'We conduct special training for line managers. We teach them to identify the first 'warning signs' when a person is not yet on the brink but is already close to burnout,' Galina explains. 'The goal is to notice and help in time: perhaps give a break, redistribute tasks, provide support.

'Level 2: Partnership with psychologists for in-depth work
The next level is professional psychological assistance. 'I know that in other networks that have existed for over 20 years, such a system has already been implemented: they hire psychologists who specifically address the issue of burnout,' the expert notes.

Galina notes a fundamental difference in approaches between international and local companies in Uzbekistan. For instance, voluntary health insurance (VHI) has not taken root in the country. 'The reason lies in feedback from the employees themselves. They do not want to be tied to specific clinics or doctors by policy. Everyone has their trusted doctor or pharmacy they rely on.

'Most Uzbek companies opt for an annual treatment compensation model. 'If an employee falls ill, they get treated where they want, provide receipts, and the company reimburses expenses within an established limit. Loyalty to this approach is much higher.'The global trend is shifting towards prevention: vaccination, promoting a healthy lifestyle, combating sedentary behavior. This initiative has also reached local companies, especially among the youth. 'In our network, about 80% of employees actively engage in sports and monitor their nutrition. The religious and cultural context also plays a role — alcohol and tobacco consumption in the country is traditionally lower than in many others.'

Discussing the engagement of remote teams, Galina sees great potential in digital tools that can create a common playing field for the entire network.

"Currently, we don't have practices like mini-challenges in an app where employees could compete, for example, in the number of steps taken: 'As of today, I have walked this many kilometers,' and then tally the results after a month," she explains. "But this is a great example of how informal activities in the virtual space can unite people."

In her opinion, such technologies are ideal for retail. "Competitions can be launched between stores right within the corporate app. The winning store will receive a grand prize, while others will get incentives. And everyone will become healthier in the process. Such initiatives could be the bridge that unites a geographically dispersed team through common goals and excitement."

"International companies, with large budgets for developing corporate culture, can afford a very diverse approach: from advanced digital tools to large-scale wellbeing programs. They have been investing in this systematically and for a long time," she explains. "Local companies simply do not have such budgets. Moreover, many of them are just beginning to grasp the basic understanding of why all these HR tools are needed at all. Their priorities are at a different stage — building basic processes and operational efficiency."

A vivid example of the role of HR as a negotiator and innovator was the situation with the increasing tardiness in the office. "Traditional owners do not like this at all. They want to see everyone at their desks at the start of the day, forgetting that people today may have hybrid schedules or other arrangements," Galina explains.

The management's first reaction was to tighten control: to implement a uniform penalty for tardiness. But instead, the HR team proposed a fundamentally different, positive approach. "We decided to flip the logic: let's not punish for tardiness, but reward for timely arrival. This is both more humane and more effective for the atmosphere in the team," Galina recounts.

Thus, the 'Golden Month' initiative was born. Its essence is simple: if all employees in a department are on time for a month, they receive a collective bonus — a budget for a desired team-building event for the entire group.

"Initially, this idea did not resonate with management. But we returned to it a second time, better prepared with arguments, and it was approved," Galina says. "Employees were happy: there was no need to live in fear of penalties, and they could collectively 'earn' their corporate celebration or team-building event. This created positive motivation and team spirit."

This case clearly illustrates how HR can transform a demand for control into an opportunity for building engagement, finding solutions where it seemed there were only two options: 'punish' or 'tolerate.'

Galina is confident that the future lies in a hybrid path, where international standards will be creatively adapted to local cultural features, giving rise to new, unique management formats.

"This will indeed be hybridization," she believes. "International practices, when described in a local context, will inevitably transform and give rise to their own development path. And this path, in my observations, will not lag too far behind global trends over time. The fierce competition for talent will compel companies to move forward, trying new, sometimes unfamiliar solutions."

According to her forecast, this trend will become particularly evident in the next one to two years. Local companies, in order to attract and retain specialists with quality education and experience, will have to offer significantly better conditions than purely market-driven ones. "Local businesses must become truly competitive in the 'war for talent.' This is no longer a matter of desire, but a matter of survival and growth," Galina summarizes.

At the end of the conversation, we touched on one of the most pressing topics in modern HR — managing different generations. Galina admits that the company tries not to emphasize this, but the theory of generations is actively discussed at professional forums. And, in her observations, the differences are not a myth.

"I notice a significant difference in the approach to work. And now our main task is to teach 'dinosaur' leaders, who grew up in a different paradigm, to manage the new youth," she says.

For younger generations, freedom, the ability to express individuality and creativity are critically important, which is why the company allows casual dress and playing guitar during breaks. "We need to give them the opportunity to realize themselves in the workplace," Galina believes.

The expert formulates a tough but fair law: "We, as leaders, need to adapt to them. They should not have to adapt to us. The number of us ('dinosaurs') is decreasing, while their number is increasing. With each new generation, the gap only widens. Therefore, we have come to the conclusion that our approaches must change."