Interview with HR-Breakfast creator

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In everyday life, the founders of HR-Breakfast Anastasia Gurinovich, People & talent Specialist at Hypernova; Daria Bartashevich, Lead HRM at HQSoftware and Anastasia Tarasova, Head of HR at Akveo work in IT companies. We met and learned what the purpose of this community is and what the labor market trends are in IT.

We discuss various topics related to all aspects of HR work: Performance review, working with conflict situations, effective team management . You can also get information about software for automating HR processes, recruiting statistics and indicators, HRPR activity, aspects of personal development of HR and combating burnout, and much more. Finding us is very easy: just add to our Telegram channel "HR Breakfast Belarus" and subscribe to our profile on Instagram and Facebook.

In over two years, we have gathered an audience of 1,745 people. Our Telegram chat is always lively. It is attended by specialists from various fields, mostly from IT), levels and positions. Business owners, managers, and techies also visit us.

Considering that 2020 has become the year of remote work, we managed to try different formats of interaction with the audience: these were classic webinars, as well as live broadcasts on Instagram. Famous people and HR specialists from Belarus —  active members of the community — were guests on our platforms.


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—  Isn't it difficult to make decisions when there are three of you? How do you resolve contentious issues? Is there a "boss" among you, or do you have balanced positions?
— We have absolutely balanced positions, we support each other, share ideas and implement them, working together for a common cause. Each of us shares the ideas of the community and its development, we hear each other and respect the opinions of our colleagues. We have a similar vision of many issues, in controversial issues we argue our point of view, weighing the pros and cons, and jointly make a decision. This is part of our job — to be able to negotiate and resolve issues in a civilized manner.

— Now is a difficult time, I would say a turning point. You all work in IT companies. Please tell our readers how the labor market in this industry has changed over the past year, and what are its specifics now?
—  Darya Bartashevich (D.B.) The market has slowed down, job offers exceed demand. Finding a qualified programmer with the necessary skills for reasonable money has become virtual phone number service even more difficult. Often candidates are not ready to consider offers due to the current situation in the country: they lose confidence in the future, changing jobs, since they already have certainty with their previous employer, a contract, after all. And in a new place, it is unknown what awaits them. Also, situations are increasingly common when candidates are ready to consider a company's offers only if it can move them from Belarus. Both parties have become more selective in their choice.

— Has the pandemic and crisis affected the change in salaries in the IT sector? How much does a mid-level Belarusian programmer, the so-called middle developer, earn on average now?
— The pandemic has had a rather ambiguous impact. On the one hand, skilled specialists have become more expensive, since in the conditions of uncertainty in the country it has become more difficult to lure them from their current position, which means that competition among employers has increased. Some of them are not considering job offers in Belarus at all. People are waiting for a better moment to change jobs and are not as easy to move to another company as they used to be.
Interview with the creators of HR-Breakfast
On the other hand, specialists with lower qualifications do not feel such high competition, since employers are not ready to raise their salaries and part with them more easily. And following interviews at a new place, they are not offered the desired rewards. It is clear that the employer is trying to save money, since in the current situation there are greater risks.

The average middle developer now earns around $2,000 - $2,500 USD depending on their qualifications.

— In your opinion, there are a lot of layoffs in the IT sector now, and do they have problems finding new jobs?
— On the contrary, there is an acute shortage of them, due to the relocation of many businesses and IT teams to other countries. If earlier it was necessary to compete with other companies for excellent specialists only within the country, now we have to rack our brains over how to attract them if the company cannot offer relocation.

— What are the main HR trends that have emerged over the past year? Can you make any predictions for the year that has begun?
— Anastasia Gurinovich (A.G.): In my opinion, the main HR trends over the past year  are remote work, interviews and even online hiring, as well as the search for specialists not only in Belarus, but also in the markets of European countries.




It is difficult to make forecasts, given the unpredictability of the spread of the virus and its strains. But it seems to me that the main HR trend of the year that has begun is to go to a psychologist and have colossal support from the people around you, so as not to lose your resources and energy. We work with people, and in order to benefit the business in such difficult times, you need to, first of all, take care of yourself.

— D.B. I think there are clearly visible trends of the office transition to a “free format” and the expansion of recruiting markets. The first trend follows from the fact that companies have already established the process of effective remote work, and communications now see no point in maintaining huge offices. Organizations can offer employees a choice: “remote” or “office”, retaining only some of the permanently used places, leaving the rest “free”.

The second trend stems from the same "remote work". Companies now do not care what city or country an employee is from, if he meets the requirements and does his job effectively. Previously, employers were more wary of candidates from other countries.


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— Recently, there has been a tendency to lean towards personal skills when selecting candidates. What competencies of candidates are currently most in demand as soft skills?

— A.G. Unfortunately, not all companies pay attention to this. Some even sacrifice them for the sake of releasing a quality product in a short time. But, as my personal experience has shown me, this cannot be sacrificed, since the consequences for the business can be unpredictable and can even lead to its collapse.

In my experience, the most in-demand soft skills now are the desire and ability to learn, collaboration, and communication skills. Without them, teamwork and successful business may simply not work out, even if all the hired employees have excellent hard skills.

— The concept of employer branding is becoming increasingly popular in the field of HR management. How would you suggest developing an HR brand in a company? Maybe your companies have interesting examples?

—  A. G. I can give an example from one company where I previously worked. By the way, I want to implement this feature at my new job. (smiles). I managed to implement the Social Money program, the main idea of ​​which is to provide the largest possible infrastructure for the social package for employees. At the same time, they themselves choose the set of services. Social Money compensates for expenses on education, sports, medical insurance and parking. The package is limited only by a specific budget per month.

— A.T. As an example, I would like to tell you about what increased the loyalty and engagement of Akveo employees in 2020. With the onset of the global pandemic, many businesses suffered. The IT sector was no exception. I watched as companies in a panic fired guys from probationary periods and benches (in the outsourcing business model, a state when an employee does not work on a project, and the client does not pay for his hours of work). Many froze social packages and salary increases. This added to the anxiety of our employees that the same could happen to them.

That's why we introduced the practice of monthly reports, where we talked about the company's financial state (income, expenses, reserves) and the progress of projects. In addition, we promised that we do not plan to fire anyone in the next 2 months. And if the situation worsens, we will inform in advance, adding time to find a new job.

We have maintained this practice to this day, which has received positive feedback from employees. During that difficult time, they were able to rely on the company's care and ease their anxiety.

— Due to remote work, almost all IT companies have switched to interviewing candidates online. What is the best way to conduct a virtual interview? Does this format harm the company in recruiting personnel, given that non-verbal signals are lost, and the applicant opens up less?


It is necessary to record the interview. If you have the opportunity to buy a paid version of Zoom and make a cloud recording of each interview, it will be really convenient: you will not forget anything and will be able to return to the interview during its processing, as well as writing feedback on the candidate. In addition, it is advisable to conduct 3-4 stages of interviews with one candidate.