The financial giant’s manager, Irina Lapshina describes the importance of personnel development
In the context of the growing demand for qualified professionals, the role of mentors becomes critical for the successful development of many industries. According to PwC, 76% of financial sector leaders consider the lack of professional skills a serious potential threat to business growth. For this reason, training and coaching programs have become an integral part of the strategy for many financial companies investing in the upskilling of young talent.
Many organizations take inspiration from huge companies’ corporate policies. Irina Lapshina, Mastercard’s product director for the European region, has been building an educational ecosystem through her career in different markets and companies, helping her team not only master advanced technologies but also achieve high professional results. Her training and mentorship methods have already gained recognition among the industry experts.
“For me, it is important that every employee feels supported,” Irina explains. “Mentorship is not just about sharing knowledge; it’s about unlocking a person’s potential, inspiring them, and showing them they can achieve more.”
Onboarding: Accelerating Adaptation with Real-World Insights
One of the key challenges Irina faced was creating an effective system for developing specialists and onboarding new employees. Her efforts have not only reduced the time needed to settle into new roles but have also made the process as productive as possible.
After observing how new employees are brought into the companies Lapshina saw an opportunity to make a real difference. Instead of drowning people in theory, she used a hands-on approach that cut the full adaptation time from five months to just two. New team members now dive straight into the real cases and practical problem-solving from day one.
“We wanted people to feel a part of the existing working culture and workflow right from the start,” she explains. Each newcomer is paired with an experienced mentor who helps them find their footing in those crucial first months. The impact has been clear: not only are people getting up to speed faster, but they’re also feeling more confident and engaged in their work. The success has been so striking that now her team members have started adopting this approach when they work with the newcomers.
Operational Excellence: Streamlining Through Collaboration
Instead of making changes from the top down, Lapshina believed in getting everyone involved in improving how things work. By bringing her team together to spot bottlenecks and craft solutions, they managed to speed up client request processing by 40%.
“The best ideas come when you really listen,” she says. “We took a close look at what was eating up our team’s time and reimagined those processes to make them smoother and faster.”
One of their biggest wins was creating a single entry point for handling customers requests. Gone were the days of everyone-handling-everything – now team could focus on actual product tasks instead of trying to firefight. This didn’t just make work more efficient; it made it more enjoyable by cutting out unnecessary hassles.
Career Growth: Building Leaders Beyond the Office
Lapshina’s vision extends far beyond just improving workflows – she’s passionate about helping people grow in their careers. Her Employability Masterclass for Young Entrepreneurs Charity at a London school helps participants to understand both financial know-how and professional skills essential in today’s digital economy.
“It’s not just about doing well in your current role; it’s about preparing for where you want to go next,” she explains. Through her career, she’s developed targeted training programs covering everything from product metrics to strategic thinking. These initiatives have helped many team members in different companies step into more senior roles.
To Lapshina, mentoring isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s essential for long-term success. “When you invest in people, you’re really investing in the company’s future,” she says.
A Global Voice in Workforce Development
Lapshina’s expertise hasn’t gone unnoticed. She’s been announced as a speaker at 2024 London Product Operations Summit to share with the others her experience in streamlining product operations and building high-performing teams.
Her message focuses on how leaders need to stay flexible, especially in fast-changing industries, with a lack of resources and time-sensitive timelines. She’s particularly passionate about showing how local solutions can be adapted for global impact. “Every time I share what I’ve learned, I learn something new myself,” she reflects. At the industry events, she often emphasizes the importance of building resilient teams that can adapt to rapid technological changes while maintaining high-performance standards.
What sets Lapshina’s approach apart is her focus on practical, implementable solutions and real-life examples rather than just theoretical frameworks. She often shares real case studies from her experience, showing both successes and lessons learned from challenges. This approach has made her insights particularly valuable for organizations looking to modernize their operations while keeping their teams engaged and motivated.
Leading the Way in Workforce Innovation
Lapshina’s approach to mentoring, training, and making work more efficient offers valuable lessons for companies looking to grow their talent and improve their operations. By focusing on practical solutions, working together, and helping each person develop, she’s created systems that both empower employees and boost business results.
Through her leadership, she’s demonstrated how companies can create environments where innovation thrives alongside personal growth. The programs she’s implemented have shown that investing in people’s development doesn’t just benefit individual careers – it creates a ripple effect that enhances entire organizational cultures.
Looking ahead, Lapshina believes that successful corporate training will need to balance local needs with new technology while creating an environment where people feel supported. She emphasizes the importance of building flexible frameworks that can adapt to changing industry demands while maintaining a strong focus on human connection and personal development. “The companies that move quickly and put their people first are the ones that will lead the way,” she concludes. “But it’s not just about the speed – it’s about creating sustainable systems that support both business growth and individual success.”
