People Managers: the secret to the stability, fulfillment, and productivity of your tech team.
If you ever worked or have heard of us, then you may be familiar with the term “People Manager”, or simply “PM…
As we believe they are the secret of our KWANers’ stability, in the tech teams of the clients we work with, this article aims to explore what they are, how their work is carried out, and how your tech team benefits from working with People Managers.
To this end, we interviewed our team of People Managers: Rita Santos, Jorge Becho, Joana Ferreira, Eliana Almeida, Liliana Veríssimo, and Sara Melo.
1 – What is a People Manager?
Someone who accompanies KWANers throughout their life cycle in the company. A professional focused on personal and professional wellbeing and development, aiming to provide the best experience at KWAN.” – Joana Ferreira
A People Manager is someone focused on serving the KWANer proactively and reactively. Whatever challenge the KWANer faces, they can be sure that they will not get through it without the constant support of their People Manager – Jorge Becho
As I use to say, a PM is a “best friend” inside Kwan. The person who is always available and prepared to help and make the employee’s professional path easier through recurring conversations about professional, and sometimes even personal topics.” – Eliana Almeida
2 – What are the functions of a People Manager?
A People Manager is someone with an operational and proactive role, and who is centered on the monitoring and management of our KWANer’s career path. He/She takes all the necessary actions to help the KWANer be more productive from the first day to the last. The follow-up is constant and it stands out for being how we analyze the employee’s satisfaction level, how we provide performance feedback, and above all, that’s when we listen to their expectations and motivations over time. We always want to know about the employee’s motivations and how we can help them. The focus of the PM is to ensure that the professional is motivated, satisfied with his/her career, as well as aligned with the values of KWAN and the ones of our partners.” – Rita Santos
3 – What are the advantages of having a People Manager coaching your IT professionals?
The possibility of KWANers setting and achieving goals that are beneficial to their daily life and career path, both in hard and soft skills.“. – Joana Ferreira
The focus is on helping the KWANer align with the team and the organizational environment, working on their soft skills in behavior, posture, public speaking, time management, social skills, and conflict management, always with the focus on what is happening now and what the employee needs to improve or wants to achieve.”. – Eliana Almeida e Rita Santos
It is someone the employee can count on for both positive and less positive things. Our work is always developed with the purpose of making the employee feel good in the company and in his current project.”. – Sara Melo
4 – How does working with a People Manager increase the stability and quality of tech teams?
We are able to keep up with their needs in a timely manner. Through the training program, we are also able to foresee which technical areas/soft skills they will need to improve, and we help them in this respect.”. – Liliana Veríssimo
The tech leader does not have to worry about whether one of his team members is on the desired career path since there is a dedicated People Manager. People Managers bring this stability and security for the team to meet its challenges, as the individual challenges are being secured/addressed.”. – Jorge Becho
Keeping a KWANer more satisfied and technically trained adds quality to a team – so not only do these professionals stay on the team longer, they do so with better qualifications. It allows the team to focus on the tasks of the project, and not have to worry about ancillary issues that can create “noise” in the daily routine.” – Joana Ferreira
5 – How many People Managers are there in KWAN? And what is their technical background?
Currently, the People Managers team consists of 6 PMs.
- Rita Santos, the team leader, who has over 5 years of professional experience in consultant management, recruitment, and client management in the IT area, and an academic background in Public and Business Administration.
- Jorge Becho, who has over 7 years of professional experience in the same fields, and an academic background in Organizational and Sports Psychology.
- Liliana Veríssimo, who has over 10 years of professional experience, initially in Marketing, spending over 2 years in Customer Service and over 7 years in Human Resource Management, and an academic background in Marketing and Human Resource Management.
- Joana Ferreira, who has over 14 years of professional experience in the fields of recruitment and training, 2 years of professional experience in the areas of IT recruitment, consultant management and client management, and an academic background in Psychology with a specialization in legal/social reintegration.
- Eliana Almeida, who has over 4 years of professional experience in the fields of human resources and training, plus 6 months of experience managing IT consultants, and an academic background in Human Resources Management.
- Sara Melo, who has more than 6 years of professional experience: more than 5 years in Clinical Psychology and 6 months in management of IT consultants, with Clinical Psychology academic background.
In addition, more than half of the PMs team is certified in Professional Coaching.
6 – What do clients say about the work of People Managers? And KWANers?
Our Partners consider it an innovative and differentiated initiative in the current market, and that it definitely adds value to have a professional 100% dedicated to human resource management. They feel that we are an extension of their teams and that we take care of the careers, both on the emotional, and the motivational level management of their IT professionals. As for our KWANers, a satisfaction questionnaire was submitted earlier this year to all our employees, who rated their satisfaction at 98%.” – Rita Santos
KWANers mostly point out the availability not only to solve problems but also to receive feedback, whether it’s personal or not. It is also referred to as someone who bridges the gap between what they need and its resolution, as well as a guide to overcome difficulties.” – Jorge Becho
Feedback from KWANers regarding their People Managers
Eliana is always willing to help, and a professional but also friendly relationship was built, which facilitates communication and makes me more comfortable to ask for help when needed.” – João Nunes, .Net Developer
I feel comfortable talking about any topic with Jorge. I have never had to expose difficult or delicate situations, but I know he would handle any sensitive topic well. He is super available, friendly, and fun. He always checks to see if I am okay. He is very present despite this remote context. We should all have a Jorge in our lives.” – Paula Rodrigues, UX/UI Designer
Among Sara’s many qualities, the most outstanding is her patience! Even though I had tons of questions and doubts since I was approved in the selection process, Sara always answered me on the spot, or when she didn’t know the answer, she would talk to whoever knew how to help me. She has always showed a lot of willingness and always treated me with great attention when I needed it (and this goes for all KWAN employees). I stress that this attention and care are very important for those who live abroad.” – Fábio Kerber da Silva, DevOps
Rita is amazing! She was always very attentive, transparent, and honest during all our interactions. I always felt comfortable talking about any subject and was always well “received”, even on the most difficult subjects.” – Genésio Valois, Full Stack Developer
Liliana and I have a good personal relationship. She is always available to help me or clarify any doubts. She makes sure I don’t miss anything and she cares about my personal and professional well-being.” – Bruno Malheiro, .Net Developer
Joana is always available for everything I need, always attentive, and is always in constant contact. I no longer feel like a “number”. I feel a constant support and concern for my well-being.” – Tiago Fraga, Java Developer
Our secret can also be your secret!
If you think that working with our People Manager could contribute to retaining and increasing the quality of your technical team, please get in touch.
Let’s collaborate and contribute to the success of your project!
