HR role in the game of Ludo

Finding a balance between people's satisfaction and company requirements is a common challenge that every HR professional faces. Implementing approaches to manage human emotions and behaviors is essential to maintaining a healthy corporate environment. This task can be likened to the challenges in the popular children's game "Ludo," where a successful move requires tactics, patience, and careful planning. In both the game and in HR management, every action must be thought through in light of different circumstances, sometimes having to compromise, backtrack, or look for alternative paths to success. When HR manages to strike the right balance by effectively managing the emotions and behaviour of the team, the result is not only satisfied people, but a successful company that achieves its goals. In this month's In Our Focus, we invited Petya Pavlova, People & Culture Partner on our team, to share more on this topic.
 

In a corporate world driven by the demands for ever-higher performance, the human factor still remains the most significant. Technology is powerless in the face of emotion recognition and acceptance. When working with people, as is the HR business, the role of HR itself is to constantly manoeuvre between the interest of the people and the interest of the company so as to find an intersection with the most satisfied components for both parties.
 

How can the "Don't get angry" game be applied to HR practices to achieve balance?

Petya: Sometimes, like in a game of "Ludo," it's necessary to step out of line if the six is on the dice and wait patiently. In other situations, you take the route of furiously dashing down the course so that you can cross the finish line with all your pawns, unperturbed by the feelings and emotions of your playing partners. It's also an option to watch the success of all the other players if the die is not cast well for you.
 

It's no coincidence that this game is one of the staples of childhood growing up - there are no draws like in chess. One learns to lose, but also sometimes to win (1 to 3) and eventually to cope with different emotions without blaming or getting angry. Growing up over the years we forget that actually when the game started the playing field was completely level. The stake as an external condition, just like the economic and/or political environment, an investor decision, or business dynamics, turns out to be decisive for the outcome of the game.
 

How can we make the game a useful tool for corporate culture?
Petya: In the process, we forget that we actually started to have fun and achieve a goal. The lack of conformity in the game is actually a sign that we are willing to avoid healthy competition with the belief in the infallibility of strategy and the sovereign right to win and be right. Moving across the board, it is the participants who seek their place, belonging, and identification with the colours of the track in the form of organisational culture, values, and worldview.

The game of "Ludo" teaches that the path is not always smooth and sometimes you have to face obstacles, rivals, or contingencies that you cannot control. However, the key to success is to move forward, guided by your principles and convictions, accompanied by a dose of luck to keep your identity intact. Once you've embraced these values in a company, loyalty becomes a natural extension of your relationship with it.

Loyalty isn't just a contract or a professional obligation, it's a reflection of shared beliefs and values that you've already adopted as your own. When you become part of a company, you not only work for it, but you carry that identity beyond it. Those values you embraced at the beginning of the journey continue to guide your every decision, action, and communication, even if the path is now different for you.
 

How do we adapt to changing conditions while maintaining our identity?

Petya: And to end the metaphor with "Ludo" and the HR function, in closing, I can say that the HR professional fills one of the most delicate roles in the company. They are the balancers between a person's self-interest and the strategic goals of the organization. The role requires not only communication skills and empathy, but also strategic thinking to find the intersection that will bring benefits to both parties. The HR professional must provide an environment where employees feel valued and heard while supporting organizational needs and goals. This balance is delicate, but necessary for building a sustainable and productive corporate culture.