Elevating Business to New Heights Through Corporate Training

Corporate training and development are keys to a successful business’s performance. According to a Gallup report, it is one of the top ways to attract and retain good talent. In addition, educational initiatives help companies enhance the productivity and efficiency of current employees and quickly adapt to market changes. We talked to Dmitry Breslavets, a co-founder and Chief Product Officer of P2H, a prominent American IT provider rooted in Ukraine with over 500 employees on board, to learn how to ensure the growth of a team through innovative approaches to guidance and education.

Corporate training   

Seventeen years ago, Dmitry Breslavets and his partner, Dmitriy Kucher, embarked on a quest for an innovative idea, stumbling upon a niche promising high demand and paving the way for an immaculate development process. This visionary duo conceived a unique IT solution, transforming designs into flawless HTML code. Clients could submit orders in the evening, waking up to completed projects the next day – a groundbreaking blend of convenience and efficiency at the time.

Rapid success, however, brought a challenge: an overflow of orders. In his role as CPO and co-founder, Breslavets, the driving force behind the company’s management framework, had the vital responsibility of ensuring an ample workforce for delivering top-notch products. Enterprising as ever, they began recruiting developers, only to find a scarcity of skilled professionals in their native Kharkiv within a few months.

Then Breslavets made a bold decision: launching a program to train junior specialists, molding them into the level the company demanded. This transformative initiative took flight in January 2007 under his expert guidance. Reflecting on the early days, Breslavets recounts that initially, it took six months to shape a junior developer. Yet, just two years later, they streamlined the journey from novice to junior developer to an astonishing 1.5 months. This strategic move paved the way for the company’s steadfast growth.

Today, P2H boasts a remarkable team of over 500 skilled specialists, diligently serving 100,000 clients globally. Breslavets emerges as not just a co-founder but a visionary leader, steering the company through challenges and transforming obstacles into stepping stones for success. His bold decisions and commitment to nurturing talent have not only shaped P2H but have set a standard for innovation and excellence in the ever-evolving landscape of IT solutions.

One of the company’s recent educational initiatives is a 3-month React course developed by Full Stack Developer Maksim Terela and Front-end Developer Dmytro Tatsiy. This program combines their experiences and best practices from global leaders like Deloitte and Google, emphasizing peer-to-peer learning. The course includes lectures, hands-on practices, and homework. Enrollment is open to all employees, contingent on passing a qualifying test with a minimum score of 60%. Successful completion results in a recognized certificate.

This approach proved effective in P2H, resulting in an immediate application of new skills for employees and a remarkable increase in team productivity. While the exact percentage is yet to be disclosed, the feedback from the team has been overwhelmingly positive. However, implementing in-house training came with its set of challenges. Initially, balancing training with ongoing projects and customizing content for diverse learning preferences were challenging. Still, Breslavets and his partner successfully navigated these obstacles with an adaptable course structure and unwavering commitment to the team’s development, ensuring the initiative’s success.

 Strategic Management 

Dmitriy Breslavets’ strategic foresight is unmistakable in P2H’s transformative shift towards goal-oriented progress through OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). This methodology empowers both leaders and team members to actively steer towards tangible results. Breslavets advocates for setting realistic yet ambitious goals, fostering a culture of progress tracking without micromanaging team operations.

To illustrate, P2H embarked on a 10-month journey, experimenting with six diverse approaches to sell a service to a specific customer. Despite initial setbacks, the combination of swift decision-making and team autonomy enabled P2H to adapt and achieve remarkable results. This shift from constant managerial oversight to team autonomy significantly bolstered the company’s profitability, underscoring Breslavets’ leadership in goal-setting while affording teams the liberty to determine their operational strategies.

Moreover, Breslavets introduced the MBO (Management by Objectives) methodology, a cornerstone in P2H’s performance management. This approach entails setting specific objectives for employees, fostering heightened motivation and clarity in individual roles. Breslavets’ steadfast commitment to providing clear goals not only defines P2H’s performance culture but also underscores his leadership in cultivating a motivated and goal-driven workforce.

In addition, under Breslavets’ visionary leadership, P2H underwent a structural transformation out of necessity. Initially relying on a rigid hierarchical framework, where orders traversed each layer from managers to markup developers and testers, the system thrived for a few years, meeting set goals effectively. However, with an influx of clients, escalating project complexity, and more intricate requests, the hierarchical “assembly line” lost its former efficiency.

In response, Breslavets boldly embraced holacracy, a decentralized management approach aiming to distribute authority and decision-making through self-organizing teams. While confident in the motivational impact on staff productivity, this method proved effective for some teams but not all. Over time, the company transitioned to a flat organizational structure, akin to large corporations like Google. This model reduced managerial levels, minimized bureaucracy, and empowered front-line employees with more autonomy and decision-making power.

As per feedback from colleagues, this streamlined format has created a comfortable working environment, allowing them to fully realize their professional potential. Breslavets’ adaptive leadership and commitment to fostering a conducive work structure demonstrate his unwavering dedication to the company’s success and the growth of its individual contributors

Inspired by Leaders, P2H Transforms Productivity with In-House Training Courses.

Have you read?
The Fundamental Element in Planning – Trust.
Valuing Employees, Customers Helps Skilled Trades Companies Combat Inflation.
Leading Working America: Be Intentional with the Micro-Moments.
Best Tips & Tricks for Picking an Instagram Promotion Service.
Want to boost cash flow? Change how you manage the order-to-cash process.