Russia: Over the 20 years since its inception, TMH has developed a unique approach to people development that has become an example of successful integration of training and working practices in the engineering industry. It combines a range of tools, including large-scale training programmes, a flexible approach to personnel policy and a progressive corporate culture. TMH’s openness to new ideas and confidence in its team have made it a leader in the Russian rolling stock market and a global player.
People and innovation as drivers of success
TMH is one of the best employers in Russia, and this fact has been confirmed by the annual RBC rating. Its expert council, which includes the heads of HR departments of 15 major Russian companies, placed TMH in the first of four groups of organisations that received the maximum score based on 30 indicators. The criteria include salary levels and growth dynamics, business efficiency, innovative development, contribution to training, social responsibility, business reputation and opinions of employees themselves. The group of leaders consists of only 30 companies out of the 206 evaluated.
Although the holding company is very large — consolidating more than 200 production sites, including locomotive depot, service and maintenance stations and branches in 89 regions of Russia, it manages to maintain a sustainable development strategy, an important element of which is social policy and human resources development. The TMH Group employs over 130,000 people in more than 700 professions and activities. More than 1,500 designers, engineers, developers and scientists are responsible for introducing innovations and new technologies. Thanks to their contribution, TMH is a leading company in the Russia’s and CIS countries’ markets and is the 6th top largest rolling stock manufacturer (by ROLLINGSTOCK estimate for 2023), with a presence in more than 30 countries.
The efficient and well-coordinated work of such a team naturally requires a comprehensive and at the same time flexible HR service, which contributes to increasing attractiveness of working in the holding and to improvement of working conditions. TMH has always relied on the commitment of its employees and takes care of the professional growth of each specialist, for whom individual development plans are drawn up as part of the Candidate Pool programme to enable continuous capacity building.
Kirill Lipa, TMH CEO
“In organising TMH’s work, both the management and shareholders strive to focus everything on people. We know the value of each professional and we value their time and effort. That is why we pay so much attention to creating comfortable working conditions.
We firmly believe that a person should not be distracted at work by matters outside their area of expertise, nor should they be burdened with manual labour or paperwork. Whether they are a welder, an operator of a giant machining centre, a storekeeper, or a commercial director, each of our employees should clearly understand what their job is, how much time they have to do it and what resources are available to them.
The real way to unleash the full potential of each employee, increase productivity and stimulate creativity is to ensure that they receive the materials and information they need to do their jobs on time, have simple and clear channels of communication with colleagues and managers, receive a fair and timely evaluation of their work, are not idle and are not overworked”.
From “TMH. The path to success”, 2024
Investing in knowledge
Annual investment of the holding into employee training is around RUB 200 mln ($2 mln). TMH’s Corporate University, which has an educational licence since 2023, provides employees with ample opportunities for professional development, enabling them to develop their careers within the holding by acquiring new skills and even professions. More than 10,000 employees are trained every year. Thanks to advanced educational standards and innovative training methods, students adapt to modern challenges and develop the necessary skills. The university’s long-term plans for future include programmes for the external market.
At a training at TMH’s Corporate University. Source: TMH
Another focus of the holding is on-site training, with each TMH company offering its employees mandatory programmes with subsequent certification. A remote learning system, the TMH Educational System (TES), has been created to support employees. Training includes advanced courses taught by experienced instructors, lectures and webinars on the latest trends.
In December 2024, the Emperor Alexander I St. Petersburg State Transport University opened the ISKRA Engineering School, after six years of efforts by TMH to establish it. The school provides training not only for TMH personnel but also for those involved in infrastructure operations or working for partner companies and projects.
The Ivolga EMU simulator for drivers at the TMH plant in Tver. Source: TMH
Cooperation with the St. Petersburg university is not the only TMH’s training project. The holding works with many other leading universities and institutes in Russia, including the Higher School of Economics, Skolkovo Moscow School of Management and Innopolis University 2035. Together with these partners, the holding develops and implements modern training programmes aimed at developing key skills, including online programmes. The School of Innovators programme, which brings TMH’s best engineers to the Higher School of Economics, is one example of such cooperation.
From universities to production facilities
TMH has entered into strategic agreements with the country’s leading technical universities to organise consistent training and recruitment. These include the Moscow State Technical University, Russian University of Transport, the Bryansk State Technical University, the University of Science and Technology, the Platov South Russian State Polytechnic University, the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and the St. Petersburg State Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design. Through these partnerships, the holding receives an influx of young specialists who have successfully completed their studies. Graduates of technical colleges and universities are offered internships with subsequent employment.
In a related move, TMH is developing collaborations with foreign universities. This includes extensive cooperation with universities in Uzbekistan. For almost a year now, TMH has been working with the Tashkent State Transport University, the Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent and the Tashkent State Technical University. The cross-border cooperation enables the exchange of experience and knowledge, strengthens TMH’s training base and builds human resource potential for work in promising markets.
Development strategy for the next decade
TMH’s HR strategy provides for consistent and all-embracing management of human capital. Its implementation is particularly noteworthy given the current significant shortage of personnel and the fierce competition for them.
Natalia Shishlakova, TMH Deputy CEO for Corporate Development and Project Management, Member of Management Board
“TMH is first and foremost a company of industrialists, manufacturers. In the 22 years of its existence, the company has become strong through its unique human capital. We are not surprised by what is happening in the labour market. The emerging trend was known several years ago, owing to analysis and sociology, and TMH was ready for it. We took preparatory steps that are now bearing fruit.
In the first place, we have chosen to develop our employer brand and take care of the social environment for our employees in the regions where we operate. We rely on the commitment and trust of our employees in the development and reliability of the company, our stable and attractive employer brand and the leadership of TMH. We want our employees to build their careers with us”.
One of the key projects in this area is the Employee Pool programme aimed to train highly qualified specialists to meet our future needs. They are trained in functional areas with a focus on practical knowledge. There are currently 9,000 specialists in the pool, with plans to increase this to 12,000 over the next two to three years.
The programme is used to train specialists at various train levels, from workers to top managers. At the same time, we are actively developing new approaches, such as a separate programme for employees over 55, called Celebrity. In enables them to grow in their careers and contribute to the company’s development by mastering new areas or applying their experience in areas where they are most effective.
“We take care to recruit young people. The average age of our employees is 38, and the average age of our managers is 41. We have done everything to ensure the potential for professional sustainability and our future for the next 10 years”, stresses Natalia Shishlakova.
Supporting working dynasties is an equally important part of the HR strategy. Several generations of families work in almost every TMH company. At the Demikhovo Engineering Works, for example, the Buravlev dynasty has a combined working experience of around 300 years. Such stories underline continuity, sustainability and trust in the company.
The Buravlev dynasty at RUSSIA EXPO. Source: Demikhovo Engineering Works
An important part of TMH’s strategy is to introduce hybrid approaches based on best practices. The holding company is adapting those from the banking and consulting sectors to the engineering industry. The results are tangible, from improving product quality to optimising operational processes. Such flexibility helps to respond quickly to challenges and maintain leadership positions. “When I joined TMH in 2015, only people from the engineering sector worked here. I had a different principle. I wanted to balance the team, so that it consisted partly of veterans and partly of new, young people, preferably from other areas. That is why my deputies came from aviation, banking and other areas. I believe this approach allows us to preserve the accumulated heritage and introduce current trends into the process. As a result, we have created new types of rolling stock, which is a good indicator”, says Kirill Lipa.
Another decision of great moment at TMH was to introduce project management practices. This approach makes it possible to solve problems within the country, implement international projects and develop products for global markets. The group is currently implementing around 170 projects as part of its three-year digital development strategy. About half of these are related to the development of new rolling stock and components, while the rest are aimed at improving the operational efficiency of the holding’s companies, including digitalisation and automation.
The project management system is supported by a project motivation standard, which has also adopted at TMH. “We have started to reward the quality and timeliness of work. Project bonuses take into account not only the project KPIs, but also each employee’s contribution to the overall results and complexity of the project”, says Natalia Shishlakova. According to her, all employees now have a clear understanding of project deadlines and avoid disruptions to production processes caused by external factors. The impact has already been significant. Financial planning has become easier, projects are twice as likely to be completed on time and labour productivity has increased by 14%.
Corporate culture as keystone of leadership and confidence
The holding’s corporate culture is supported by large-scale projects involving all the companies. A good example is Generation INGEN, a youth movement initiated by young employees. It brings together more than a thousand proactive professionals who develop the company’s brand in all the regions in which it operates, in partnership with educational institutions, government agencies and companies. Its strategy involves development in four main areas: corporate volunteering, talent management, patriotism and communication.
Members of Generation INGEN. Source: TMH
Another important area is the TMH Sports League. This competition between all the companies of the holding takes place twice a year, uniting TMH in a celebration of sport, winning spirit and unity. In 2024, the 6th season attracted 4,000 participants from 25 TMH Group companies and partners.
TMH is developing its corporate intranet, a unified information space and social network for employees. Users have access to numerous services designed to improve their interaction. They can book a meeting room, watch videos, find out about events and news, order a badge, send birthday greetings or thanks to colleagues, search for documents, get discounts from TMH’s partners, take part in competitions or share ideas. For large online projects, special sections are created to bring users together and keep them active.
As a systemically important holding company in Russia, TMH is concerned about the social environment in the regions where it operates. According to Vyacheslav Popov, Director of TMH’s Corporate Culture and Recruitment Department, the stability of the company is one of the most important values among employees. “We take this factor and the peculiarities of large-scale production into account and do not use such unpopular methods as job cuts. Even if we have to let people go, we move them to other areas. If it is necessary to change specialisation, we give them the opportunity to train at the Corporate University”, he explains. Other benefits of working at TMH include health programmes, bonus days off, financial help with settling in, special transport to and from work, and holiday vouchers for employees’ children.
Modern rolling stock from TMH. Source: TMH
Leadership, which the entire TMH team strives for every day, is impossible without trust. Kirill Lipa says: “Mistakes are natural. Forgiving mistakes is also natural. If the team has a policy where mistakes are mercilessly punished, people refuse to take responsibility for the decisions they make. And that’s where it stops, the team stops moving forward. Of course, you should not keep making mistakes and destroying everything around you, but you need learn and develop”.
All the conditions for research and development mentioned by the company’s head have been created in the holding, and TMH’s faithfulness to the chosen course is confirmed by its long history and the growing innovative activity based on the principles of technological sovereignty confirm that the path chosen is the right one.
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TMH is the number one manufacturer of railway and light rail transport in Russia and the CIS and is the 6th top largest rolling stock manufacturer, headquartered in Moscow. It offers a wide range of products and services, from the design and development of rolling stock to modernisation, life-cycle maintenance, and digital traffic control systems. The holding’s international footprint covers more than 30 countries. Official website: tmh.global
Advertising. Account: TMH JSC, Taxpayer Identification Number (INN) 7723199790.
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