They have to develop new recruitment and retention strategies using digital means, one of the most important aspects in the life of the generation Y employee, the HR managers and consultants in the local companies attending the ZF HR Conference 14 on Tuesday concluded.
“We have a lot of challenges that will come in Romania sooner or later. We are talking about continuation of the economic crisis, about the world population that has reached a very high number, while the number of competent people is still low, about technology picking up the pace and about the active population aging,” said Ioana Marcu, HR manager of mobile phone operator Orange Romania.
“So instead of complaining the young people are poorly trained, that they want a car and money, holidays and freedom, we should be thinking about what we can do to give them a pleasant environment, because this is the future generation of employees.”
The ninth edition of the ZF HR Conference was organized by ZF in partnership with Romtelecom and Cosmote Romania, Smartree Romania, Benefit Systems, Ensight Management Consulting, Bruno Demaille, Talent Keepers Romania, Stand for Development, Zamfirescu Racoti & Partners, KPMG, Max Relax and business school ASEBUSS as academic partner.
The Orange HR manager added that in order to create an employer brand that is more attractive to young people, the HR department of the company developed a series of digital instruments. Virtual tours of the departments which they choose when applying for a job, programming marathons or the possibility to submit one’s CV via a mobile app are but some of the products that Orange developed or plans to release to be able to bring as many young people to job interviews.
“Besides resorting to personnel leasing, it is important that HR managers know they can help improve the labor market by developing retention and constant motivation strategies, which may be about flexible benefits and better communication with employees,” said Adrian Stanciu, chief executive officer of Smartree, a company that provides payroll, temporary staff leasing, personnel management and recruitment services.
“Moreover, it is important that every company adjust to the new trends set by the young generation, which means have a presence in social media when it recruits and so on.”
Florin Tataru, vice-president, HR & Organization with Enel Romania, says utility companies, like the one he works for, too have to adjust quickly to new technologies and prepare their employees for them.
“Seven out of 15 jobs that we consider key positions for 2017 given the technology impact we expect do not exist in Romania at the moment. It’s critical that we develop this knowledge fast in house.”
The manner how HR relates to the profile of the candidate, whose lifestyle is much more digital than that of the current top executives, who is more impatient when it comes to chances of promotion and especially interested in a balance between work and personal life needs adjustment.
There are strategies that do not go beyond a mere idea on paper, or get implemented piece by piece. In many cases, the good ideas that the HR managers have, which would increase employee satisfaction and productivity, are overlooked or even flat out dismissed by the board of a company either because it undermines the role of the HR in an organization or because the HR manager does not understand the real business needs of the company.
“Many HR programs are nicer on paper than in reality. Any organization should be able to create that climate, which makes people feel good and offers opportunities for growth and development,” said Anca Georgescu Aladgem, HR executive with Romtelecom and Cosmote Romania.
“This is very hard to do because it entails balancing the business context, which puts pressure on revenue, costs, profitability and employee performance and giving people the opportunity to grow.”
In order to truly become a strategic partner of the board of a company, so employees can truly benefit from as many programs or strategies as possible intended to make them feel comfortable in the workplace, the board should see the HR as a lead actor. This lead actor builds the base for the business to develop, says Adrian Lupulescu, general manager of Freescale Romania, which develops software for Freescale semiconductor platforms.
“(…) there are conditions to be met to be able to truly talk about a strategic role of human resources. The HR must have the necessary skills, the expertise to understand the business environment and the company must have the right culture to nurture this relationship.”
Since an employee usually changes 10 to 14 jobs by the time they turn 38, which is a worldwide trend, after all, says Ioana Marcu, employers need to identify the reasons why employees quit a job to choose another if they want to reduce costs and personnel turnover.
“The retention strategy must start from [personnel] turnover, the causes that led not only to involuntary but also to voluntary departures need to be discovered. Measuring such departures only sounds a warning,” concluded Simona Podgoreanu, HR manager of Agricover.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)