Human Resources - Serving Economic Growth by CorD Magazine

HUMAN RESOURCES

Serving Economic Growth Dražen Maravić, Director, National Academy for Public Administration ∎ Ivana Ivić, Head of HR Department at UniCredit Bank Serbia ∎ Milica Jović, CHRO, Nelt ∎ Jelena Spasić, HR Country Manager, LEONI ∎ Dušanka Babić, HR Director, DHL ∎ Nataša Stamenković, HR Director, NIS ∎ Aleksandra Dutina, HR Director, Carlsberg ∎ Nenad Anđelković, HR Business Partner & Talent Attraction Manager People & Organisation - Europe East, Novo Nordisk ∎ Dragana Davidović, HR Manager, HEINEKEN ∎ Dragan Rosić, HR director for Serbia and Montenegro, Apatin Brewery (Molson Coors Europe) ∎ Ivana Milošević, Director, CityScope ∎ Klaus Mock, Regional Coordinator, HELP ∎ Radisav Osmajlić, Country Director, Willis Towers Watson ∎ Mirjana Gomilanović, Managing Director, Executive Coach, One2Grow

CONTENT

TOWARDS A MODERN & EFFICIENT PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

DRAŽEN MARAVIĆ, DIRECTOR OF THE NEWLY-ESTABLISHED NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

10 13

RESHAPING ORGANISATION CHRO

CULTURE AND INNOVATIONS TO FOSTER BUSINESS

IVANA IVIĆ, HEAD OF HR DEPARTMENT AT UNICREDIT BANK SERBIA

14 16

MOTIVATED PEOPLE

DUŠANKA BABIĆ, HR DIRECTOR, DHL

WHAT’S APP IN HR MANAGEMENT?

NATAŠA STAMENKOVIĆ, HR DIRECTOR, NIS A.D. NOVI SAD

TEACHING EMPLOYEES TO BELIEVE IN THEIR OWN CAPABILITIES

JELENA SPASIĆ, HEAD OF HR COUNTRY, LEONI WIRING SYSTEMS SOUTHEAST D.O.O.

19 20

MODERN BUSINESS REQUIRES CONSTANT CHANGE

MILICA JOVIĆ, CHRO, NELT

TWO-WAY STREET

ALEKSANDRA DUTINA, HR DIRECTOR, CARLSBERG SRBIJA

ASSISTING PEOPLE TOWARDS SELF -RELIANCE

KLAUS MOCK, HELP – HILFE ZUR SELBSTHILFE, REGIONAL COORDINATOR FOR MONTENEGRO AND SERBIA

COMPANY THAT CONNECTS PEOPLE

OPERATIONS BASED ON NORDIC CULTURAL VALUES

TOOLS FOR DEVELOPING CHAMPIONS

MIRJANA GOMILANOVIĆ, PCC / CERTIFIED EXECUTIVE & LEADERSHIP COACH, ONE2GROW

BEING PEOPLE’S FIRST CHOICE

DRAGAN ROSIĆ, HR DIRECTOR FOR SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO, APATIN BREWERY (MOLSON COORS EUROPE)

HR AS PART OF STRATEGIC COMPANY PLANNING

RISK AS ANOPPORTUNITY FOR PROFIT

IVANA MILOŠEVIĆ, DIRECTOR, CITYSCOPE

RADISAV OSMAJLIĆ, DIRECTOR OF WILLIS TOWERS WATSON SRBIJA

NEWS

33 34 36

FORUM

DESIGNER Jasmina Laković j.lakovic@aim.rs PHOTOS Zoran Petrović COPY EDITOR Mark Pullen mrpeditorial@mail.com

4 |

PROJECT MANAGERS Biljana Dević b.devic@aim.rs Nataša Trifunović n.trifunovic@aim.rs Nevena Đurković n.djurkovic@aim.rs Vesna Vukajlović v.vukajlovic@aim.rs

OFFICE MANAGER Svetlana Petrović s.petrovic@aim.rs EDITORIAL MANAGER Neda Lukić n.lukic@aim.rs FINANCE Ajilon Solutions m.damjanovic@aim.rs EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Maja Vidaković m.vidakovic@aim.rs

GENERAL MANAGER Ivan Novčić i.novcic@aim.rs

alliance international media Makenzijeva 67, 11111 Belgrade 17, PAK 126909, Serbia

PRINTING Rotografika d.o.o. Segedinski put 72, Subotica, Serbia

Phone: +(381 11) 2450 508 Fascimile: +(381 11) 2450 122 E-mail: office@aim.rs www.aim.rs No 7 ISSN: 2560-4465 March 2018

HUMAN RESOURCES SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH Published by:

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

HOW THE FUTURE OF HR WILL OPERATE

HR FUNCTION WILL BE A KEY BUSINESS ASSET

THE ROLE OF HR IN 2020-2025

DRAGANA DAVIDOVIĆ, HR MANAGER, HEINEKEN SERBIA

HALIFAX TRANSLATION SERVICES office@halifax-translation.com

WORLD ECONOMIC

FUTURE OF HR ORGANISATION

NENAD ANĐELKOVIĆ, HR BUSINESS PARTNER & TALENT ATTRACTION MANAGER EUROPE EAST, NOVO NORDISK

EDITOR Ana Novčić a.novcic@aim.rs

PAY GAP BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN

YOUR RECRUITMENT PARTNER • We have 14 years of proven experience working for / with major multinational companies and investors in Serbia and the region • A proven track record of successful placement of key individuals on middle and senior management positions • An extensive network and knowledge of the region • 96% success rate • Excellent reputation for quality service If you need a tailor-made approach to your needs, the highest standards in professional

selection and the attraction of talented people, as well as current information from the market, we

Bulevar Arsenija Čarnojevića 52a VI/17, Belgrade Tel: 011/ 314 86 62; 011/31 32 467 E-mail: belgrade@walton1.com; www.walton1.com

offer you services in the domain of recruiting people for high managerial or middle level positions.

INTERVIEW

Towards A Modern & Efficient Public Administration Civil servants who are authorised to conduct administrative proceedings, the EU integration process, programming and the use of EU funds, material and financial affairs, inspectors - these are just some of the future beneficiaries of the programme of the National Academy of Public Administration, which should serve to significantly improve the quality of work in public administration

DRAŽEN MARAVIĆ DIRECTOR OF THE NEWLY-ESTABLISHED NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

he Law on Civil Servants (ZoDS) and associated bylaws regulated the civil service system 11 years ago, and now, with the adoption of the 2016 Law on Employees in Autonomous Provinces Local Self-Government Units, the management of human resources at the local level has also been regulated. Thus, all legal requirements were achieved to regulate the system of professional development training throughout the entire public administration. The Law on the National Academy of Public Administration established the Academy as the central institution of this new and completed system of professional development in the public administration of the Republic of Serbia. The Academy became operational in the second half of February and will soon also receive its own building. The first support projects have been agreed – with the European Union in establishing the capacities of the Academy, as well as with the UNDP and the OSCE Mission in Serbia.

6 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

• Considering that you served as assistant to the Minister of State Administration and Local Self-Government prior to this appointment, how you see the needs of the administration for technical specialisation based on your experience? - The Strategy for the Reform of Public Administration has set goals like changing the administrative procedure in order to make the management of the administration more efficient and enable the realisation of public interest, while ensuring the rights and interests of the citizens are secured and protected. Moreover, the necessary legal preconditions have been created for the mutual exchange of electronic data between institutions, so that citizens no longer have to be “postmen” of the administration. Then there’s inspection supervision, which has been changed completely in the direction of prevention and partnership relations with those who operate legally, with control checklists and operational plans. The government also

DEPOLITICISATION

DIGITISATION

IMPROVEMENTS

The training of managers will be additionally professionalised and public administration depoliticised, because good managers are essential to planning and working effectively in the public interest

The Academy not only recognises the importance of developing e-governance and digitisation, but will also be dedicated intensively from the start to the development of e-training programmes

Public administration reform brings into focus the needs of citizens and the economy, and consequently points to the service role of public administration and its need to improve capacities

recently adopted the draft Law on Electronic Administration, which will lead to new online services for citizens, further develop access to open data and introduce order to public registers. Due to all of the aforementioned, it is clear that civil servants need to change their deep-rooted habits, gain new skills and change their attitudes. In this, I’m thinking of both cordiality and efficiency, but also understanding for the fact that we are here because of citizens, who already have some right or obligation on a legal basis, and that the administration is there to enable them to realise that right or obligation in a simple, inexpensive and efficient way. I would particularly emphasise the importance of the training of local officials, because the majority of funding from EU sources will be intended precisely for local self-governments.

• When will the Academy become operational, how great will its capacities be and who will be its first students? - The Academy will become operational very soon. In the second half of February it took over employees from the Human Resources Management Service who performed these tasks to date. Systematisation and the structure of jobs have been adopted, which is a basic precondition for creating its capacities.

• How will the Academy respond to the task of transforming public administration and ensuring civil servants are more professional, more efficient, more courteous and better informed? Which subjects will form the “foundation” for future training and how flexible will the courses be? - The most important task of the administration is to properly apply the law, so that all citizens who find themselves in the same legal situation are in the same position in front of the law. This is a key requirement of the rule of law and a stable democratic system. Firstly, the Academy will establish professional methodology and All programmes of the Academy will be based on instruments that enable continuous and flexible determining of the actual realistic evaluations of the training needs of employees, taking needs of training, then, secondly, it will into account the strategic requirements we have taken on in prepare the programmes and, finally, the EU integration process continuously monitor and adjust the established training programmes in accordance with the needs of public administration bodies. All Work is underway on securing the budget of the Academy, as is programmes of the Academy will be based on realistic evaluthe finalising of the designating of the building that will house the Academy, which is the most important step. The space ations of the training needs of employees, whilst also taking must ensure the kind of functionality that the administration into account the strategic requirements stemming from the traditionally doesn’t possess, such as classrooms, lecture obligations we have taken on as a country, the requirements of halls, workshops and the like, in order for work to be based on national policies, the needs arising from correct implementaa contemporary approach to the professional development tion of laws and other acts, but likewise also from assessments education of adults. These programmes will be designed to of employees themselves regarding what knowhow and skills meet the specialist training needs of different target groups: they need to do their job more professionally and efficiently. civil servants authorised to conduct administrative proceedThe law also ensures that educational bodies – primarily the Programme Council – have compositions that guarantee proings, inspectors, civil servants responsible for implementing the EU integration process, programming and the use of EU funds, fessional development will be carried out in accordance with those engaged in material and financial affairs and those who the needs of the administration, the rules of the profession perform personnel management tasks are just some of the and the needs of the citizens and the economy, whilst also users of the Academy’s programme. being transparent. HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 7

• You believe that standardisation of treatment during hiring is very important. What do you see as the key weaknesses of practises to date? - Regulations that govern the area of hiring employees in the state administration (Law on Civil Servants, Decree on the implementation of internal and public hiring contests for the filling of vacancies in state bodies, Guidelines on the professional competences, knowhow and skills that are checked in the election procedure, the manner by which they are verified and the selection criteria for job places) precisely regulate each step of the process, as well as the obligations and roles of the body filling the post, personnel units in state bodies, the Personnel Management Service, as well as the role and tasks of

the Academy is firmly embedded within the human resources management system. The Academy performs jobs related to the professional development of employees, which has a direct impact on the development of their competences, and then also indirectly impacts on them being rewarded and promoted. New legal solutions should attach special significance to the role of managers in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of professional development training, which will reflect on civil servants’ efficiency in performing their duties. • Training local self-government officials in the issuance of e-permits for construction is one of the examples of effective training of civil servants at the local level. How much will digitisation and understanding in the functioning of eGovernment be in the focus of your training? - The Academy not only recognises the importance of developing e-governance and digitisation, but will also be dedicated intensively from the start to the development of e-training programmes, as one of the Academy’s priorities. We want an institution that is “digital by design”. The task we set ourselves is to digitise business processes in the academy to the maximum extent possible and thus make our work more efficient and our services available to a large number of our users, considering the wide target group of users. That’s why the development of an e-learning programme is an instrument that enables administration personnel to approach training in accordance with the specific needs of their work, at a time and place that suits them, and regardless of their physical attendance in classrooms.

• Based on the experience of countries that have progressed much further in digitising the work of the public administration, we know that officials often resist innovations. How will the AcadThe majority of funding from EU sources will be intended for local emy handle the task of contributing self-governments, and it will only be able to be utilised if staff are to implementing the kind of change adequately trained to manage projects that we are all striving towards in the functioning of public administration? What is the current age structhe members of hiring contest commissions. However, existing ture and profile of personnel? legislation doesn’t envisage, for example, compulsory training, - One of the main tasks of the new system of professional develi.e. training programmes for members of the hiring contest comopment is for employees in the administration to change their standpoint, which is sometimes negative, inert, viewing the citizenry missions. Such a training programme would certainly contribute as a potential threat instead of seeing citizens as claimants that to standardising the work of hiring contest commissions. the administration services exist to serve. It is then necessary for them to be able to effectively implement numerous new laws • The management of personnel also implies elements such and regulations, the number of which is constantly growing as we as planning, the selection and monitoring of staff, and their approach EU membership, and to properly understand the nature evaluation, rewarding and promotion. Where do you see the of the new legal institutes that bring to the fore the protection of Academy’s place in this process? the interests of citizens and the economy. Finally, it is necessary to - The process of managing human resources, as well as mateaccept the necessity of digital methods of working and to forget rial and financial management in the administration, must be the stamp, seal and paper wherever possible, and to introduce modernised in order for the administration to be able to execute paperless administration. All these elements will be integral to its tasks in implementing public policies in specific areas, such the operations of the Academy, so, for example, training for new as social protection, hiring employees, the development of administrative or inspection procedures will be digital, and the like. ■ entrepreneurship and a number of other areas. The place of

8 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

HUMAN RESOURCES â&#x20AC;¢ SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 9

CHRO

Reshaping Organisation

While in the past, CHROs may have been locked out of leadership discussions, that’s no longer the case at a number of organisations. The position has changed in recent years; and, as a result, there can be some confusion among companies looking to identify chief human resource officer candidates — and HR professionals wondering how to prepare to eventually assume a CHRO role

he role of the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), often titled Senior Vice President of Human Resources, has shifted from responding to employee needs and setting policies to the more strategic objective of helping organisations build capabilities to respond to customers and increase confidence from investors. In this new capacity, the Chief HR Officer develops a strategic human capital plan that ensures that executive compensation, professional development, executive recruitment and retention are all aligned with the company’s strategic objectives and goals. He

10 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

or she is also responsible for integrating HR policies into the company; coordinating succession planning; and developing a positive employer brand. The chief human resource officer (CHRO) is responsible for developing and executing human resource strategy in support of the overall business plan and strategic direction of the organisation, specifically in the areas of succession planning, talent management, change management, organisational and performance management, training and development, and compensation. The CHRO provides strategic leadership by

and dialogue improves understanding of the desired future articulating HR needs and plans to the executive management culture and how this connects everyone to Purpose and Strategy. team, shareholders and the board of directors. Activating – building desire and accountability for developWhile in the past, CHROs may have been locked out of ing the future-state culture and making sure company leaders leadership discussions, that’s no longer the case at a number own culture change, not just HR. HR owns some of the levers for of organizations. culture change and should, of course, continuously align these Some sources suggest the amount of chief HR officers to the desired future state. In 2018 CHROs should be critically who now report to directly to the CEO is as high as 94 per examining organisational design and people systems to spot cent; the C-level HR role has also expanded at 62 per cent of where traditional approaches are just not cutting it. Activating organisations to include additional departments reporting requires enrolling every leader and team in strengthening the to the CHRO. culture muscles needed for the challenges ahead. To fully understand what being a HR C-Suite executive encompasses today, and what it will involve in the future, companies and potential candidates need to know what factors are influencing the role’s evolution. The year 2018 brings with it a time to reflect on what’s ahead and what we need to accomplish. For CHRO’s and other HR leaders, this will be a tough year. Not only is the external environment more competitive, dynamic, and complex, but inappropriate or disrespectful behaviour and inequitable practises are less and less acceptable. On top of all of this, organisations need HR to support new business models, digital and business transformation, and creative ways of doing work. At the centre of this is the question of whether the organisation’s culture has the right kinds of cultural DNA to support strategy and brand while protecting reputation. Some CEOs and their executive teams are already immersed in understanding their culture and intentionally shaping it based on a shared vision of the future culture needed for success. Many, however, are saying that The chief human resource officer (CHRO) is responsible for while top leaders pay attention to developing and executing human resource strategy in support of the some aspects of culture (Compliance, overall business plan and strategic direction of the organization, Safety or Engagement), their perspecspecifically in the areas of succession planning, talent management, tive of the culture isn’t complete. It’s change management, organisational and performance more like seeing parts of an airplane management, training and development, and compensation without understanding if the plane is ready to take-off and land in a new location. Most executives are ready Learning and Iterating – when the future-state culture for new approaches to developing culture and HR needs to is defined and desired behaviours become clear, the time is be in the game. right to experiment with new ways of working together. HR Culture development is a journey that requires CHRO’s to can play a key role in supporting pilots, gathering anecdotal continuously help the organisation build its culture story and evidence of culture change, and identifying systemic bardevelop new kinds of culture muscle to meet long-term needs. riers. An important part of this is making sure leaders are It takes time, so CHROs need to be patient, persistent, and supported as they learn. Leaders may want to go outside to ready for intense periods of dialogue and learning. Kathleen find out more about agility or innovation or bring their teams Hogan, CHRO at Microsoft, has been part of its culture change. together to develop culture action strategies. They may She says, “I also can’t over-emphasise the significance of reach out for executive coaching or need support for team perspective over time. It’s a journey that requires endurance, development. The CHRO needs to lobby the CEO to make belief, and optimism for the future.” sure that resources are available to support culture change. Creating Meaning – understanding what is happening inside CEOs and Boards will be asking more questions about how and outside your company that requires change. This means to understand company culture and its risks. CHROs need to connecting the dots between Mission, Strategy, Brand, Leadermake sure they have a robust culture measurement system ship, and Culture. It also means making sure communications HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 11

behaviours and beliefs that reflect the future-state culture and yield results needed for strategy. It’s beneficial to assess whether culture change is being sustained ○ Anecdotes – seminal events unpacked, project or initiative post-mortems/retrospectives While focusing on engagement helps leaders understand employee loyalty and company perceptions, it is what employees, customers, suppliers and contract/contingent workers experience that reveals how healthy the foundation culture is and how the journey to the future culture is progressing. The CHRO in 2018 should be on a campaign to ‘Know Our Culture’ from different perspectives. These include: ○ Top leaders – where misalignment to values is so damaging to reputation and culture development ○ Talent – those under contract, such as in Media, Entertainment ○ Employees – by groups and demographics Contractor and contingent workers – how they experience the culture, how it influences their beliefs and behaviours This is a tall order, but can be staged as quarterly, annual, or every second year processes. For example, one animation company surveys its employees with a broad and deep culture survey every second year and with quarterly Culture Pulses. Their talent gets their own custom survey annually. These provide deep insights for building unique competitive culture DNA that attracts the best Talent and performers in the industry. Given the toppling of so many leaders in Media, Entertainment and Politics at the end of 2017, In 2018, CHROs need to carve out more time for culture, helping the Board will likely ask the CEO and CHRO how they will steward culture leaders and stakeholders understand the way it operates, building and manage its risk in 2018. An annual the future culture story, activating everyone, and then supporting presentation of Engagement Survey learning and iteration results or summary of the Compliance Audit are unlikely to be sufficient to build confidence that culture risk is being managed. has stalled will help top leaders understand the culture, what Wise CHROs should consider how to help the Board unneeds attention, and where they can intervene. Finally, the derstand the organisation’s unique culture DNA, its strengths CHRO needs to present all of the data from a future-focus to be leveraged, and priority areas for attention. With the perspective. This will help top leaders understand the implicaCEO, they need to talk to the Board about how culture is tions for delivery of strategic imperatives. being developed and prepare them for hard choices ahead: Consider the following as part of a robust culture measorganisational redesign, removal of culture violators, shifts urement system: in managing systems etc.. ○ Engagement survey – a targeted survey to understand In 2018, the CHRO has a huge role to play in culture deemployee loyalty velopment. The need for firefighting will not go away and ○ Diversity and inclusion neither will the need to upgrade HR processes and systems. ○ Customer service issues, trends and risks Nevertheless, in 2018, CHROs need to carve out more time ○ Safety trends, issues and risks for culture, helping leaders and stakeholders understand the ○ Compliance trends, issues and risks way it operates, building the future culture story, activating ○ Culture survey – a broad and deep culture measurement everyone, and then supporting learning and iteration. to understand overall culture strengths, development needs, Culture Strategy Fit shares its knowledge and tools through dynamics and vulnerabilities the Culture Resource Centre, a hub of culture activities, tools ○ Culture pulse – frequent checks on the employee experience and surveys to support organisations intent on shaping culture ○ Leadership assessments – strength of leadership capability fit to strategy. Sherrill Burns, Co-Founder, writes frequently to build a strong foundation, culture and teams about how to leverage culture for competitive success. ■ ○ Story gathering and analysis – changes to practises, that can feed meaningful data to leaders for action. HR already has access to some terrific data and, when combined with other data points, insights can be unlocked about underlying beliefs, assumptions, norms of behaviour and practises that support success or create risk. To do this, the CHRO needs to develop a plan to frequently bring key data to the executive team to unpack the story of the culture, its dynamics, risks, and opportunities. Next, the CHRO needs to persist in seeding data into the executive agenda. This may mean partnering with other departments such as Marketing, Safety, or Quality. These groups also have measures that reflect culture. Frequent snapshots of where progress toward the desired culture is being seen and where it

12 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

CORPORATE

IVANA IVIĆ, HEAD OF HR DEPARTMENT AT UNICREDIT BANK SERBIA

Culture And Innovations To Foster Business

The banking sector is extremely dynamic and diverse, and requires a variety of skills. It is therefore very important that the employee can follow all activities and adapt quickly to different business scenarios

t is with the same goal that UniCredit Bank Serbia is developing leaders and talented individuals in leadership skills and in motivating and retaining high-achieving employees who possess high potential.

• The banking sector is extremely dynamic and very flexible in terms of adapting operations to a fast-changing environment. In such an environment, how do you adopt the required variety of skills to achieve the goals of the company and the contribution of employees to achieving those goals? - Since the beginning of the global economic crisis, we haven’t reduced our number of employees, rather, on the contrary, that number has been growing in Serbia. What is equally important is that we constantly invest in our employees. Special emphasis during the past year has been placed on a culture of agility, innovation and a focus on clients. A number of training courses and workshops were organised with the aim of familiarising members of the Management team, as well as the first and second lines of the hierarchy, with new methods of work, ways in which organisations and individuals can innovate, as well as awareness of the importance of digital transformation for business in general. We continuously provide full support to business in achieving results through the improvement of their organisational culture, which implies innovation, agility and giving feedback.

• As part of UniCredit SpA, which is present in numerous European countries, which principles is your HR system in Serbia based on and does it differ from market to market? - A strong geographical presence in 14 countries throughout Europe, where we operate through our banks, represents one of our main competitive advantages. Not only does it give us the possibility to benefit from the local knowledge and expertise of UniCredit’s people, developing strong cooperation, but also to fully exploit best practises deriving from different geographies,

concrete actions to support work-life balance across UniCredit Group. New technologies are implemented to make best use of people’s resources, in terms of both skills and time, while respecting their private life. The document calls for a general approach to setting target standards in all countries where the Group is present, with five macro-areas of focus: Digitisation, Space and time flexibility, Time management at work, Well-being and Cultural change. At UniCredit, we believe in the importance of respect. Taking into consideration

The declaration promotes a set of specific, concrete actions to support work-life balance across UniCredit Group. New technologies are implemented to make best use of people’s resources, in terms of both skills and time, while respecting their private life adapting them to each local market. Employees were provided with lots of internal and external training, with “rotation at work” programmes, either in our country or elsewhere in the Group, planned and held, providing employees with the opportunity to gain a broader perspective, learn the technical skills they need, or gain international experience. • UniCredit was among the first banks to adopt the Declaration on Work and Life Balance. Besides that, you implemented different activities with the aim of create a working environment that best suits employees? - The declaration promotes a set of specific,

both personal and professional interests must be at the heart of everything we do. This will help us create a culture that enhances the value that each and every one of us can contribute. We have already enabled employees to work from home, to have flexible working hours, every Wednesday for us is ‘Healthy’, since we provide fruit for all employees. Moreover, as of last year all our employees have had private health insurance. We have also launched an initiative not to send emails after working hours, in order for us to spend more quality time with friends and family. We will continue with such activities, since our goal is to make UniCredit Bank the best place to work. ■

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 13

CORPORATE

Motivated People Deutsche Post DHL is giant organisation with around half a million employees. DHL Express, which is one of its business units, has a workforce numbering around 100,000 employees

DUŠANKA BABIĆ HR DIRECTOR, DHL

ne of the key success factors of high performing organisations is placing people first, as the business is run by those people.

• Your Strategy 2020 carries three key messages – focus, connect, grow. As they relate to the area of HR, are these messages focused on the external or the internal public? - The ways in which HR helps the organisation to be more effective are primarily through the identification of the need for change and through the execution of change that adds value to organisational effectiveness. Our HR Roadmap 2020 has the same three key themes and its priorities, initiatives and programmes are intended for internal employees. Our HR Focus is to simplify HR processes and services and create a process architecture that efficiently supports our business. Connect means strong leadership through leadership attributes and ways by which we can create and embed a corporate culture that prepares the company for the challenges of the digital future. And the Growth part of the HR strategy is related to talent management, systematic analyses of job profile changes, the re-skilling of our employees and efficient management of selection and on-boarding processes.

14 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

• To what extent is DHL’s human resources management at the global level adapted to local conditions? - Global standards maintain quality at a consistently high benchmark, though achieving those standards may take different approaches in different places. Giving local teams the flexibility to adapt to local practises and norms, while remaining true to the spirit of the law, is the best way to empower and motivate employees. By putting a local spin on the global programme, we can better engage with employees in a manner to which they can relate. As a subsidiary, we align global programmes and initiatives that are locally applicable. Being a large organisation, we are aware of the importance of response times to some specific local matters. Agility and a short response time are critical to survival, and that means being strict on standards but flexible on execution. Our local teams use their market knowledge and cultural insights to overcome challenges for our customers. • Corporate responsibility, as a key element of your corporate strategy, correlates directly with what you define as “living responsibility”. What is the essence of the “living responsibility” concept?

- HR is the ‘Custodian of Ethics in the Company’ from various points of view in creating and promoting equal opportunities throughout the employee lifecycle for all employees in terms of HR activities clustered in Resourcing, Development, Reward Management, Employee Relations, Health and Well-being, Employment Administration and other Line Manager activities, such as setting objectives etc. HR is actively involved in promoting Business ethics, monitoring the level of diversity in the organisation and promoting the interests of the minority. Our corporate value “Accept Social Responsibility” is lived in our day-to-day existence. HR ensures that there is a clear policy in place regarding ‘Dignity at Work’ and contributes strongly to creating Compliance Awareness across the organisation via various educational tools. HR plays an active role in creating and organising CSR activities, in line with our corporate strategy related to the ‘Living Responsibility’ concept with Go Green (zero CO2 footprint), Go Teach (various lectures and workshops for students) and Go Help (helping socially and economically vulnerable groups and less privileged sections of the population in our community). Through our annual Global Volunteer Day programme and activities throughout the year, our employees actively give back by donating their resources, time and knowledge.

• Which is the tougher job – creating a team spirit in accordance with corporate rules or “persuading” employees to play as a team? - Today’s business climate is defined by speed, social technologies and people’s expectations of “values” besides value. People want a sense of purpose; they expect to be involved and to understand how they personally contribute to the success of the organisation. Leaders must create an outstanding culture for all, no matter who they are or what they do for the organisation. Our story shows that we are coping with this challenge very successfully. Since 2011 we have invested millions to launch a bespoke train-

• Are the students that you engage at DHL in seasonal jobs in DHL your “potential” for the future when it comes to employment? At the global level of DP DHL, we translate the organisation’s - In logistics it’s vital that we enstrategy into an effective and actionable HR strategy, with gage young people. By offering inpriorities and a business plan, translating the HR strategy into ternships in all areas of the busikey people initiatives and programmes and identifying the best ness, we are able to give young ways to attract, motivate, and retain new and existing workforce people the chance to explore their segments. That strategy cascades down to the Business Units, career. Then, by training team Regions and, finally, the Country level members from day one and supporting their aspirations, you will not only up-skill your workforce, ing and development programme called Certified Interbut also emphasise your commitment to staff developnational Specialist (CIS), involving everyone from couriment. In the past year our interns from the Faculty of ers to our senior managers. Recognition goes a long way Transport and Traffic Engineering have stayed with DHL. towards cultivating the spark of a winning team. We at Millennials, or Generation Y, will represent 40 per cent DHL Express have a range of initiatives designed to apof the total workforce by 2020 and 75 per cent of the globpreciate the everyday heroes of the business, from regal workforce by 2025. ular, small gestures of appreciation to Employee of the Putting your best specialists in overseas postings or Quarter/Year, Team of the Quarter/Year, ongoing team secondments prepares them for leadership and supplebuilding exercises and site events at which employees ments local teams with cross-cultural expertise. Deutsche bond through family gatherings and other community acPost DHL Group, of which DHL Express is a part, uses an tivities. All of the aforementioned creates a unique spirit online Job Watch to connect talent to overseas roles preof belonging and teamwork. ■ cisely for this purpose. HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 15

CORPORATE

What's App In HR Management? HOW MODERN TIMES CHANGED THE ANATOMY OF HR MANAGEMENT

Thanks to the last 20 years of globalisation, modern technologies and social networks, nowadays we don’t have a delay in approaching the best HR world practises and policies. It is all available immediately. It has just become a matter of choosing which HR models and practises companies will apply. Looking at the local labour market, there are no companies without HR departments and practises, including local ones.

NATAŠA STAMENKOVIĆ HR DIRECTOR, NIS A.D. NOVI SAD

oes quantity guarantee and provide quality in this case? - I am not sure. But in comparison with the situation 10-15 years ago, this is a big improvement. HR management came to Serbia thanks to the first international companies that entered our market. Later on, others used their models and spread HR practises all around. We implemented HR in every company, but we didn’t develop it a lot. There is no doubt that the role and responsibilities of HR management are changing. A few years ago, good HR practises had a different definition and purpose than today. It was important and enough to manage standard HR processes: attraction, recruitment and selection of desired candidates you need, develop talent management

16 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

practises, rewarding policies and employee relations. Of course, labour law rules provide the base for the entire employment lifecycle process. Payroll and personnel administration are a mandatory part of regular and proper HR departments. Each HR department tends to transform from an administrative to a strategic role in the company. HR managers were successful if they had a seat in Board rooms. This was confirmation that the HR function was powerful and recognised as an important player in the company. It was more of a “power game“ than a real need for the high formal status of HR. This is the recent past. Almost history. HR management has always been a suicidal profession. The better you are in HR, the less you are needed in the

important than a few hundred euros. You can punish through company. The main role of HR professionals is to transfer rewards if you don’t do it smart enough… You have to sell knowledge about people management and create and your desired candidates the promise that they will be happy deliver tools to managers that help them manage their and tranquil in your company, respected and treated as people. When our managers are good enough in these adults, loved not feared, free not pressured, provided with competences, they no longer need HR. a meaningful job. It is not about fixed working times, fixed But there is a survival formula for the HR profession: salaries, bonuses and good holiday policies. we need to change our role and way of doing business. We Even if you provide all of this, there is no guarantee have to shift the focus of our attention onto different things. that the best people will not leave sooner than you want. Today, HR is not about skills, knowledge and perforPeople are complex processes not just names. So, as HR mance management anymore. The focus of HR is neither we have to create and provide new tools to our managers, the mind-set of employees nor the management of people’s be able to improve company efficiency by leading a new intellectual and skill potential. workforce profile. To find ways to manage collaboration Something new is happening. Lifestyles have changed. Social networks, new technologies, affect lifestyle changes… It is no longer about the mind-set of employees, it is more about the heart-set of employees. We are talking more and more about emotions and communication. We are ever more focused on stress (mostly created in the work environment) and recovery techniques. Yoga, meditation, energy management, health food, mindfulness, welfare… We are talking more and more about work-life balance… We measure work against life and try to strike a balance between these two areas, as though work is not part of life, but out of life… HR has started to take care about the happiness of employees, stress relief methods etc. We don’t talk about organisational development anymore, but about organisational health… Fitness, sport management and health programmes for our overloaded, exhausted management and employees have become a mandatory Today, HR is not about skills, knowledge and performance part of our benefit policies. It is management anymore. The focus of HR is neither the mindset not an attraction tool anymore if of employees nor the management of people’s intellectual you have a better company car, a and skill potential better laptop or a mobile phone, nice office space… but if you have flexible worktime, if you care about and communication between older employees and those the health of employees and their families, if you have relaxwho grew up looking at screens instead of running outside ing work zones with table football and pool, lazy bags and and typing instead of speaking. massage chairs in the workspace, luxurious and informal These are the challenges of modern HR. It is not about office space that makes you feel totally relaxed… this is the material world in the business environment anymore; it what provides a competitive advantage to the most desired is about emotion management, new lifestyles, neuroscience, companies, the best places to work in. We are trying to peel mindfulness, flexibility and stress release, loyalty - first negative thoughts off the mind of our employees… to instil to yourself and then to the employer… in them a habit of being happy and satisfied. HR managers have to “change old clothes“ to be able to We are trying to motivate them with an opportunity help their managers with this new profile of employees if for personal development, but no longer with money (to they want their profession to survive. They have to make remind you, I am talking about modern and future HR a purpose not to get a purpose. management, not old-fashioned practises)… as money is a I wish good luck to all HR professionals, knowing some tool for lazy managers… If you want to motivate people, it of them will be able to “jump aboard this train“. Those who is not about incentives. You have to manage them through know that discomfort is the price of being world class. ■ culture, through hiring. How you treat your people is more HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 17

CORPORATE

JELENA SPASIĆ, HEAD OF HR COUNTRY, LEONI WIRING SYSTEMS SOUTHEAST D.O.O.

Teaching Employees To Believe In Their Own Capabilities “As a labour-intensive industry, our people are definitely the ones who create a competitive advantage and make us unique” leaders are practising Kata to engage employees in making small improvements day by day, using coaching to maximise employee development and professional growth, promote collaboration, teamwork and healthy interpersonal relations. If you set the climate in this way and create your corporate culture based on these values, results and success are guaranteed.

even expected that every leader in LEONI “has a dream” and makes a difference. From locally tailored solutions and country-specific adaptations come new best practises and improved standards, which are constantly raising the bar.

owtomotivateemployeestogotheextra mile and be passionate in everything • To improve the quality of education, encourthey do? This is the key question every age the employment of qualified workers and HR manager asks themselves, and at the increase their level of employability, LEONI es• LEONI is a global leader in the production of same time there is no unique answer. “Employees tablished cooperation with three faculties of wiring systems and cable technology, with over are very high on the Management Board’s agenda; the University of Niš: Mechanical Engineering, 86,000 employees in 31 countries worldwide. only engaged people can help us achieve our vision Electronical Engineering and Economics. What To what extent do you have autonomy in deciand transform from a wire supplier to a reliable does this cooperation mean and what will be business partner for intelligent energy and data realised within it? sion-making processes in the HR segment of solutions,” explains Jelena Spasić. - These three faculties are strategically important your business in Serbia, where you have near- People work to satisfy their needs or, as for Leoni Serbia, and graduates from these facully 6,000 employees? we usually say, ‘’to earn money’’. But the fact is that they are also ready to go the extra mile for recognition, involvement We nurture such a leadership style that primarily respects human and personal growth. I admire Benjamin beings, their values, principles and needs Franklin’s wise thoughts: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn”. I would just add “Involve - As an international company, LEONI has strictly ties comprise most of our qualified professionals. me and I’ll give you back double”. LEONI is using defined policies and procedures that are appliThat’s why we launched Leoni Scholarship Prothis simple “involvement principle” to motivate cable worldwide. At the same time, being part gramme and provide 15 scholarships for the best its employees. We don’t set targets for our of the highly demanding automotive industry, students of the 2017/18 academic year. In addition employees and tell them they must achieve all processes are documented in our quality to the scholarships, after graduating these stuthem; we involve them in discussion, ask for management system. The company also has dents will be offered jobs in our company and the their opinion and define smart targets together; one of the best systems for measuring and possibility to develop their further professional we involve them in the communication process, monitoring results, as well as for continuous experience. Besides its scholarship programme, while all leaders are approachable and willing improvement and the process of excellence Leoni Serbia will conduct several other activito get feedback. The management’s doors are based on Kaizen and Lean. All of this somehow ties as part of our Employer Branding, such as always open. Only in this way can we ensure every leads to a conclusion that our decision-making student internship programmes, open-door days employee knows where we stand in terms or space is limited. On the contrary, while final and Leoni factory tours for students, case study results, how they can personally contribute and products and services are defined, the way they competitions, as well as lectures and workshops suggest necessary measures. We quickly teach are done leaves huge room to manoeuvre, where focused more on the knowhow and skills required them to believe in their own capabilities. Our you can act independency and creativity. It is for the digital era and Industry 4.0. ■

18 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

CORPORATE

MILICA JOVIĆ, CHRO, NELT

Modern Business Requires Constant Change Becoming a strategic partner to business is a long and demanding progression. Pioneers of HR management could not simply walk up to the decision-making table and claim a seat – they had to earn it

t Nelt we were extremely fortunate to have visionary people at the helm, who have empowered HR to its current position of power. The baton has now been passed to the HR team and we need to continue to grow and develop, in order to justify the trust placed in us. • How does the evolution of the HR function look, from a service for personnel to a strategic partner of business? Where does Nelt see itself on this path? - We want to build internal HR capabilities in order for the whole function to have both the strength to steer the business in a desired direction and the ability to organise our internal processes in an agile manner. We are building a system that promotes an organisational culture which couples high performance and adaptability, as the two most important levers of success. Our future role won’t be to act merely as an in-house caretaker who provides exemption to management from all matters regarding the governance of personnel. The most important task of the HR function is to design tools and frameworks that enable management to orchestrate work of high-performing individuals, so they deliver outstanding results in a timely manner as a product of teamwork. • How does Nelt approach the task of connecting the potential of human capital and the longterm sustainability of the company?

- The only constant in modern business is change. If we want to remain successful, we must embrace the mentality of a great adapter. This holds equally true for companies of all sizes, from lean start-ups to corporate behemoths – the winners in business today are those who innovate the fastest. When this macro outlook is transferred to the company level, the implication for Nelt is that we need to do more than just keep pace; we must be able to anticipate new market demands, pounce on new technologies and seize remarkable opportunities. On the level of human capital, we must instil in our people such a mindset that every colleague understands that the business is evolving con-

that staffing decisions be made solely from the perspective of expected future performance, which is a prerequisite for remaining successful; 2 - individually, we must detach ourselves from the concept of life-long employment and embrace life-long development instead. The best career advice I ever got was to keep learning new skills, remain open to new opportunities, and regularly take on new challenges. • How challenging is it for you to find “the right people in the right place” at NELT, which is constantly expanding and diversifying its field of activity? - Finding the right people is always a challenge,

Talent sourcing is a two-way street – we shouldn’t forget that candidates are evaluating us just as we are evaluating them tinuously – and considers that change as being great. This is done by developing existing staff and hiring new people who are motivated and driven by tackling challenges. I love comparing our company to a highperforming sports team. We have to continuously scout for talent and reconfigure our team line-up. We make changes in the present to be able to have an impact on the future. However, incorporating the talent-to-value principle into people management is challenging from two sides: 1 - as a company, we must be rational in decision making and repeatedly ask ourselves if we have the people of the right mindset and the right skillset in the right places. Emotions should not interfere with our decisions, as staying in the game requires

especially when you refuse to compromise on either values or capabilities. We take pride in hiring people who appreciate the ability to work within a great team that’s huddled around a clear purpose and well-defined deliverables. In the greater scheme of things, it is challenging to translate these theoretical principles into reality in a region that is mostly static in terms of human capital and where talent is thinly spread. In order to respect these principles, we must be very self-disciplined and repeat the same threequestion mantra – what does this person love to do; are they exceptionally good at it; do we need someone to be great at that? Talent sourcing is a two-way street - we shouldn’t forget that candidates are evaluating us just as we are evaluating them. ■

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 19

INTERVIEW

Two-Way Street HR, on the one hand, as part of management structures, must primarily protect and represent the company's interests, while simultaneously managing human resources in the function of creating a team and also respecting the individuality of each employee. At Carlsberg, both of these goals are given equal importance and are implemented in parallel

ALEKSANDRA DUTINA HR DIRECTOR, CARLSBERG SRBIJA

“B

oth tasks are inextricably linked and it’s like a two-way street. The individual cannot express their capacity and individuality if the company does not recognise them, nor can the company work better without a team and the influence of each employee individually. The beauty of management, not just in HR but generally, is fine balancing: good results, preserved company interests and satisfaction among every team member,” says Aleksandra Dutina, HR Director at Carlsberg Srbija. • Money is an important motivating factor for every employee, that is indisputable. But it is also indisputable that monetary stimulation cannot moti-

20 |

vate an employee in the long run, regardless of the profession. What are the other ways that you motivate and stimulate employees? - I agree with this statement. There are many other ways, that are no less important, for an employee to be motivated and satisfied. If the organisational climate and culture of the company are good and healthy, and there is an existing team spirit, mutual support, room for development and learning, such a company can retain its existing personnel and interest new employees.

The HR department is a respected and strategic partner at Carlsberg, as well as a pillar of support for all functions, including in planning, providing the best services, setting and achieving strategic goals. Creating a team spirit is the shared role of all leaders at Carlsberg

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

• How much is Carlsberg’s HR department involved in planning the company’s long-term, strategic goals, which is not unimportant from the perspective of improving efficiency, creating a team spirit and forming the kind of ethical and cultural environment that the company wants to achieve? - At Carlsberg, the HR department is a respected and strategic partner, as well as a pillar of support for all functions, including in planning, providing the best services, setting and achieving strategic goals. Creating a team spirit is the shared role of all leaders at Carlsberg, in order for us – together with our teams – to further advance the good organisational culture.

who leaps out among the average, or the majority, of staff be so important for the company’s team that the Carlsberg system would single them out and encourage them? - A team is comprised of people, with different experiences, of different ages, and with differing natures. Each member of a team brings their own individuality to the team, advances its dynamics and brings different perspectives. Talented individuals in cooperation with experienced experts are a winning combination of energy and knowhow, and a recipe for achieving small and great victories, and coming up with excellent ideas.

• The business environment, both globally and at the local level, is dynamic to such an extent, and often also unpredictable, that changes have become a constant. With this in mind, how much is HR compelled to adapt and change in order to respond to situations that cannot always be anticipated? - The beauty of Human Resources is precisely in its role as a carrier of change. It is HR that should encourage change, the abandoning of comfort zones, overcoming obstacles, seeking win-win solutions, encouraging a healthy competitive atmosphere and the like. Dynamism, speed and adaptability are essential to modern operations and HR must bear that as its “middle name”. • The values that form the basis for the management of human resources at Carlsberg are harmonisation, responsibility and action. On the other hand, however, you are clear in your stance in support of leadership and the entrepreneurial spirit. How are all of these principles A team is comprised of people, with different experiences, of compatible, given the relationship different ages, and with differing natures. Each member of a team between a team and a strong inbrings their own individuality to the team, advances its dynamics dividual, a “leader” and an “entreand brings different perspectives. Talented individuals in preneur”? cooperation with experienced experts are a winning combination - As I stated earlier, this is about a of energy and knowhow, and a recipe for achieving small and two-way relationship. There is no successful leader without a team great victories, and coming up with excellent ideas that works with that leader. Harmonisation relates to the individual, • Various parameters can be used to measure the success but also to the team harmoniously adjusting itself to agreed of a company and these parameters are more or less clear priorities. It is the responsibility – personal responsibility and and measurable. However, what is the measure of success the responsibility of the team – to solve problems and deliver for a good HR department? results. Action means recognising opportunities, encouraging - When employees have confidence in their HR department, and launching changes. Don’t wait. Don’t stand still. when the HR department is invited to get involved in the planning of all the more important projects, to work with them • Carlsberg pays attention to constantly educating its emto plan, work and build, when they are free to propose ideas ployees, but what sets the company apart from many othand changes, and when HR is seen as support in realisation ers is that it recognises and develops talented personnel of achievements, then HR takes the right place within the within the company, and that it adjusts plans in the funcorganisation. ■ tion of promoting talent. Why would a talented individual HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 21

CORPORATE

RADISAV OSMAJLIĆ, DIRECTOR OF WILLIS TOWERS WATSON SRBIJA

Risk As An Opportunity For Profit “It is most important to achieve an optimal ratio between risk taken and level of insurance premium”

illis Towers Watson, a leading but growth trends are noticeable in several all the specificities of a particular market global consulting company in industries. A good example is domestic IT certainly need to be taken into consideration, the field of human resources, companies, which tend to provide their as well as the client’s risk appetite. insurance brokerage and the employees with voluntary health insurance creation of solutions that help clients convert with higher limits and wider coverage. Tal• To what extend does the management of ent in this sector cannot be attracted and risks into growth generators, employs over risk and the optimisation of benefits vary retained with just a high level of earnings, 40,000 people in 140 countries worldwide from country to country or, to be precise, how rather employers must also consider other and generates revenues exceeding $8 billion. does Serbia compare to developed Western motivational factors. In this interview, director Radisav Osmajlić states in this area? explains that the higher the level of risk that investors are willing to take correlates directly with the possibility The most common benefits for employees in Serbia are of achieving higher returns. voluntary health insurance, accident insurance, life insurance - Our philosophy is not to view and voluntary pension funds risks only from the perspective how to minimise their downside, but also • When it comes to your operations in Serbia, - Alongside material risk, the management in terms of utilising their upside potential, are you focused on specific areas in particular, of risk in the domain of human resources is with which we provide our clients with the considering that the market is relatively small also important. The strategies of companies opportunity to generate additional profits. and insufficiently developed? regarding the attracting and retaining of talThe best example is a situation in which our ent must be harmonised with their business - The activities of our business in Serbia are client decides to share the portion of a particular risk with an insurer, which in positive strategy, market specificities and the needs currently limited to insurance brokerage, as this of certain generational groups of employees. scenario can result in an increased level of is a domain regulated by the law on insurance. A profit due to reduced insurance premium Our consultants help clients provide their growing trend in the use of brokerage services costs, but with limited exposure on negative employees with market competitive financial is noticeable, not only among multinational side. Compared to some Western European conditions and other benefits related to companies, but rather also among those that countries, Serbia has average exposure to their individual positions, offering advice are domestically owned. Our most soughtthe risks of natural disasters, business risk in defining KPIs and achievement related after services are in project insurance, where is slightly higher in terms of the political and levels of remuneration. Compared to Westfamiliarity with specific risks and insurance ern Europe, companies operating in Serbia economic risks expressed through the credit products is essential, while the fastest growing provide lower levels of benefits in terms rating, but risk is lower in terms of terrorism. segment is consulting services in the area of of insurance sums and limits of coverage, When we create value proposal for a client, voluntary health insurance. ■

22 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

CORPORATE

DRAGANA DAVIDOVIĆ, HR MANAGER, HEINEKEN SERBIA

Company That Connects People “HEINEKEN Serbia keeps pace completely with global standards applied in the field of human resources”

• HEINEKEN has adopted the so-called “tailor made” approach in the field of human resources management, which implies a lot of training and specialisation for each individual work process. To what extent is HEINEKEN Serbia able to keep pace with the high standards that are applied in this field at the global level? - The ”tailor made” approach allows us to pay more attention to the individual characteristics of each employee. We adapt this approach to everyone, taking into account age group, life experience and personal aspirations, all in line with the role that em-

around the world when it comes to planning and building long-term company strategies. Is this trend also applied in Serbia? - I believe that the trend you mention is present in most companies in Serbia, and that HR sector is given importance when it comes to planning and building company strategies, or at least things are heading in that direction. It is also necessary for colleagues within the framework of HR to have knowledge and skills applicable to the industry in which they work, as well as from other functions (marketing, sales,

ith more than 250 brands and operations in more than 70 countries of the world, HEINEKEN is a company whose products, by definition, connect people – says Dragana Davidović, at the start of her response to the question regarding priorities when it comes to employees. She says that, even prior to selection, HEINEKEN sees people who possess such a character and energy, whilst at the same time having an adequate education and We are proud of our teams in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Zaječar, previous work experience. - It is precisely in such a working because they have made it possible for HEINEKEN to take a leading environment, filled with respect, position, and our task is to continue motivating them, educating collegiality and constructive comthem and creating the best possible conditions for their work munication, that employees can realise their potential and be efficient and satisfied. And when it comes to their ployees play in the company. Depending on communication, etc.), in order for them to the fulfillment of criteria, for the sake of be able to contribute to the development satisfaction, I am proud of the results of the latest business climate survey. HEIENEKEN stimulation and satisfaction, we prepare a of the strategy in the company where conducts this research each year on the large number of workshops, training courses they work. Alongside our brands, human basis of assessments of employee sat- and conferences, as well as additional formal resources are the key to our success on isfaction in key areas, such as business, education in accordance with individual and the market, which is why the way in which professional development, material and company needs. We are proud of our applying these resources are managed is crucial non-material incentives, working conditions, of this approach in our company, because to creating and executing strategies. We take care to ensure that our employees interpersonal relations, their position and it impacts directly on a positive working atmosphere, team spirit and the attitude are in the right positions to provide their perspectives within organisation, access to of employees towards their job, as well as maximum contribution. Defining the key information and communication, management and overall business policy. We use interpersonal relations within the company. competences needed to enable employees to respond to future demands is the collected data to define action plans in the context of further improving conditions • In the past decade, the HR sector another area we deal with, in order to be has been given much more importance ready for future challenges. ■ and working methods. HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 23

CORPORATE

Operations Based On Nordic Cultural Values NENAD ANĐELKOVIĆ HR BUSINESS PARTNER & TALENT ATTRACTION MANAGER - EUROPE EAST, NOVO NORDISK

The HR principles at Novo Nordisk are inextricably linked to its business principles and can be said to have been derived from the company’s system of value and its culture

his primarily relates to respect and trust towards our people, a focus on their personal performance and development, as well as providing the opportunity for them to realise their potential. And those things, as we are discovering, are what we are recognised for on the global market, so in the area of HR we are truly trying to nurture them. • Your company operates globally and has more than 40,000 employees in 75 countries. Are the parameters of HR adapted to the conditions, working methods and business customs in each of these countries, or is it unified at the level of the company, which is headquartered in Denmark - one of the planet’s most socially responsible countries?

24 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

- With this question we are addressing one important dilemma: where to draw the dividing line between the culture of local environments in which the company operates and the company’s internal culture. Novo Nordisk takes the issue of company culture extremely seriously, defining it explicitly through the “Novo Nordisk Way” and striving to ensure it is not merely a dead letter on paper. This seriousness in approach is reflected, among other things, in the existence of a special internal audit that carries out regular controls and takes care to ensure that all key elements of the Novo Nordisk culture and value system really come to life in literally every Novo Nordisk office around the world. Even more interestingly, these auditors are senior executives with great international experience in the company, who have been or remain responsible for all our operations in the countries or regions where we are present. Believe me when I say that they really know how to examine and evaluate the climate and culture in local organisations. Whichever Novo Nordisk office you visit around the world, you will quickly feel the key characteristics of our corporate culture. You mentioned Denmark. And, indeed, in the Novo Nordisk culture there are plenty of elements of Danish culture, including, among others, the pronounced social responsibility that you also mentioned. Another important characteristic of that culture is modesty and treating others with respect – regardless of whether they are patients, doctors, business partners, representatives of state institutions, employees, competitors etc. This respect also leads to the relationship towards diversity as something desirable that we want to encourage. And that also applies to the diversity that the local cultures of countries bring with them, changing the company and additionally enriching it with new perspectives. • When do you mention the ‘Novo Nordisk Way’, is the focus of attention on the success of the company or the person working there? - I think it would be quite short-sighted if we observed those two elements separately. These are mutually interconnected and closely intertwined elements, connected by cause and effect, and Novo Nordisk treats them in that way. Careful nurturing of people working in the company yields multiple returns through their additional engagement and is also reflected in their desire to stay with the company and contribute more to its results than is sought of them, i.e. to invest so-called discretionary effort. That additional

effort cannot be obtained from people in any other way – not through precise work contracts, nor detailed job descriptions, salary, bonuses, penalties etc. This is an emotion-based relationship that functions according to the principle of reciprocity – if I see that you care about me and that my gains are important to you, then I will exert further efforts for things to be better for and for you to be even more successful. And so on, cyclically… • It is clear that various profiles of experts and professions are employed or linked to a large company. However, how do you determine personal contributions to the development of the company in the Serbian branch; what is the merit of that personal contribution? - At Novo Nordisk an individualised approach to every person is cultivated. This is also reflected through our performance management system, which implies the defining of individually tailored objectives that we are each expected to achieve. Of course, all of these objectives are linked in scale to the objectives of the team in which an employee works, and then also with the objectives of the local organisation, and then the company globally. Thanks to this system of clearly linked objectives, a colleague who works, for example, in the field of clinical trials in Serbia can easily identify and gauge their own direct contribution to the global success of the company in introducing new therapies that will improve the lives of millions of patients worldwide. Particular attention is also paid to the way in which these individual goals are achieved, i.e. to determine whether that way is in accordance with Novo Nordisk’s business ethics and other values.

everyone who works at Novo Nordisk in Serbia has that characteristic – I know that because I participate actively in their selection and development. It perhaps sounds unusual to you, but our people independently initiate and organise various activities aimed at helping the local community and vulnerable groups, in which the company needs only to support these initiatives. However, to be frank, each of us have great personal benefit from these initiatives - for example, helping and interacting with orphans is an emotionally very intense experience that quickly provides you with insight into what is really important in life and restores some sense of gratitude and humbleness.

• Where is the boundary between patient care and care for the success of the company itself, which ultimately has its own interests and understanding of its business? - The backbone of Novo Nordisk’s operations is the principle that we call ‘Triple Bottom Line - doing business in a financially, environmentally and socially responsible way’. And it places the patient at the very centre of Novo Nordisk is an innovative pharmaceutical company whose our business. Simply stated, it basicalsuccess starts primarily from the applying of the latest scientific ly represents an orientation towards a long-term perspective and sustainable discoveries. This scientific approach can be felt in every aspect business, and that’s not feasible unless of the company, and therefore also in the human resources our primary concern is the welfare of management field the patient. Novo Nordisk’s almost a century of experience confirms that achieving long-term and sustainable global success is inextricably linked • Is there a “unique recipe” that one can follow in creating a team withto placing patients’ needs, interests and safety as the top priority. Novo in the framework of an organisation or in building the kind of team spirNordisk has proven this on many occasions in various countries, including it that is an important part of a company’s success? ours, where during the course of the war, in 1999, significant efforts were - Novo Nordisk is an innovative pharmaceutical company whose success exerted and resources utilised to provide patients with essential, life-destarts primarily from the applying of the latest scientific discoveries. This pendent therapy under the conditions of bombardment and sanctions. scientific approach can be felt in every aspect of the company, and thereWhen you show true concern for people and the state in such a way, withfore also in the human resources management field. As I am part of that out always making profit the top priority, trust is created that also has a story, if I had to provide some “recipe” I would probably lean heavily on the long-term effect on the success of operations. application of scientific discoveries in the field of human motivation, personality, social psychology etc. However, due to many mutually interacting • Thousands of Novo Nordisk employees volunteer every year and the variables, this is not that simple, and the right approach often varies from company is part of various social activities. How do you motivate peocase to case. However, I am convinced of one thing: the combination of hirple to practically donate their free time to society? ing people who are compatible with the company’s value system and de- As one Serbian proverb says, it’s not difficult to drive a frog to water. Again, veloping leaders who can guide them in accordance with those values subbehind this stands the company’s internal culture. Most of our people are sequently leads to a strong team spirit within the organisation. And from genuinely interested and motivated to help others, regardless of whether the aforementioned it is clear that the value system, or culture, is again they are patients, clients, colleagues or anyone else needing help. Almost at the base of everything. ■

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 25

CORPORATE

MIRJANA GOMILANOVIĆ, PCC / CERTIFIED EXECUTIVE & LEADERSHIP COACH, ONE2GROW

Tools For Developing Champions Photo BGOnline

“I am happy about the trend of HR representatives, and often even the top management of companies, dedicating themselves to the development of coaching culture, returning the employee and their pleasure to the core of running a business”

irjana Gomilanović is a professional business and coach trainer. In addition to starting One2Grow, she is running education and leader development projects in international companies, with particular focus on the development of management and teams, leaders and leadership competences, as well as change management. Education and constant work on oneself is an imperative for the age we live in, and our interlocutor says: “Nothing is as constant as change”. -Anyone who wants to be successful must be aware that without constant work on oneself and pushing one’s limits, one cannot get far. A university diploma is only a ticket for further development. Many, unfortunately, never enter this domain, and their ticket soon expires. Depending on what success means for you, we develop a certain set of knowledge and skills. Unfortunately, many miss this analytical step. Coaching, a tool for developing champions, is irreplaceable for getting in touch with one’s own essence, creating a vision, defining a strategy and action steps, raising the level of motivation and focus to implement the defined steps and reach the desired goal efficiently. • For a person to be successful and accomplished, either as a leader or part of a team, they first have to be satisfied with themselves. How do we achieve this?

26 |

- So far nobody has come up with a magical zipper that can split us each morning into our private and business sides. Wherever we are, we are complete persons. The education of internal coaches and leaders for practising coaching communication is an important part of introducing a coaching culture. The hiring of professional coaches provides strong support to the overall process and contributes to the stability and quality of developing a business. On the other hand, leaders have the opportunity to develop themselves, learn trust, patience, gratitude, delegation and accepting ideas that are not their own.

finds ways to eliminate dissatisfaction. Working with a professional coach certainly helps in this. • Many people are paralysed by doubt in their own capabilities, fear of new things, of challenges and changes, even when they are good, and it keeps them from development and progress. How do we overcome this fear and move forward? - Fears are part of our everyday lives. We acquire them in the earliest childhood and live with them convinced we cannot do some things, or we create (non-existent) cause-effect links (”If I stand up to my manager, I’ll get fired”). As for phobias,

Coaching as a management style develops employees and teaches them to take responsibility • A good manager should be capable of managing the entire business, including the staff, but primarily their own life, which is not easy. Can coaching help, and how? - Setting people at the core of doing business is a long-term process. Every individual, including the leader, has the responsibility of dedicating time to understand oneself, dive into their own needs, sources of pleasure, and undertake steps that will help them be an accomplished person. Sometimes it is more important to define those aspects that limit us, or are in discord with our essence, and

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

anxiety or trauma, every professional coach will refer their client to colleagues, psychotherapists. In all other cases, work on limiting beliefs is one of the most frequent topics of coaching, because they are what prevents us from doing the things we ourselves know would be efficient and useful for us. Because of increasing individual efficiency, according to research implemented in Fortune 100 companies, coaching projects had a ROI nearly six times higher than the money invested. ■

www.one2grow.net

CORPORATE

DRAGAN ROSIĆ, HR DIRECTOR FOR SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO, APATIN BREWERY (MOLSON COORS EUROPE)

Being People's First Choice

“We believe in the power of feedback - clearly defined, formal indicators or informally received suggestions or guidelines, which top management listens to and respects the suggestions of employees”

fact that our team of Trainees, who were among the youngest, won the Case Study Competition in resolving business cases, which was organised by the IEDC Business School in Bled in 2016, and did so in competition against experienced representatives of other large corporations.

proposals or ideas that we jointly mould into success.

• In which way does HR achieve a balance between people’s natural need to compete he recipe for doing business sucwith one another and strive for individual cessfully at Apatin Brewery, which success in the company and the building produces beers that are among the of the kind of team spirit that is relevant best in the world, is seen in an equal to the functioning of every organisation? focus on both business and employees. With• Representatives of Apatin Brewery de- The individual development of our people out people there would be no business and scribe the atmosphere in the company as is the backbone of our success. However, we want to be first choice for our employees, informal and different. What are the specific it is only through the synergy of the team says Dragan Rosić in this interview. contents of this informal environment in that we can achieve our ambition – to be Through individually tailored personal a company that deals in with a serious the first choice for our consumers and development plans, which are shaped by manufacturing business? customers. We all sell beer together, and information regarding the skills and know- Apatin Brewery, despite being part of a the contribution that each of us gives, in large multinational company, fosters an how that employees want to improve, we jointly achieve potential and develop talents. A no less important role is We have succeeded in achieving top results in a relaxed played by the manager, who not only mentors his team members, but is atmosphere, through informal interpersonal communication and also expected to create a context the attitude of openness that we apply in which individuals, but also the team as a whole, will become betthe context of our role in the company, is informal atmosphere among colleagues. ter every day. the strength that binds us. At our company, This in no way implies that work tasks Numerous innovative projects, internal promotion doesn’t only mean progressing aren’t carried out responsibly, seriously training and courses, as well as corporately to a position with more responsibility, but and according to plan. On the contrary, we available resources for personal specialisaalso advancing within one’s current posiwork a lot and try to achieve even better tion, represent additional support on the results every day. The job often requires path of continuous career development. tion. Working in a large system enables swift reactions, and it is precisely informal We are proud of our Management trainee numerous advantages, but we simultanecommunication with people that enables programme, through which we have been ously also nurture personal responsibility us to be faster, more efficient and wiser in employing young and talented graduates for career development. We encourage our decision making. Furthermore, we are for more than ten years. Each trainee has employees to think about possible further proud that it is precisely this culture that we their own mentor who is responsible for steps themselves and to have self-initiative nurture that contributes to each employee development of their young professional in this process, with the constant support expressing their opinions and presenting all the way. Also testifying to this is the of their line manager and the HR sector. ■

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 27

NEWS

WAYS TO PITCH FOR A PROMOTION

Moving up the corporate ladder may not be easy. Consistent hard work and high performance are a given. Equally important is the promotion talk that takes place with your boss. Despite a solid track record of performance, promotion can fall through, especially if not pitched well.

Nature Of Future Jobs Will Change Deloitte CEO Cathy Engelbert thinks the future belong to ‘co-bots’. The top boss recently shared a post on LinkedIn in which she mentioned the future of jobs. Are robots going to take over the jobs of millennials? Here’s what she had to say: “I’ve never met a machine with courage and empathy. We’ll still need those in the new economy. To be sure, technology will change what we do. Tasks that are highly manual, routine, and predictable will be automated. But jobs are made up of many tasks. So the nature of existing jobs will change, and new careers will be created… I believe that the future of work means cooperation between humans and the robots. Making us, in the words of my teen, ‘co-bots’”.

Deloitte CEO CATHY ENGELBERT

Good HR Manage

Here are 5 tips that may be useful.

1. Grow Horizontally: If you are interested in climbing up the career ladder, you need to practice the art of running radially.

You cannot be called a good manager if you miss your 1x1s. That sounds silly, but those basic, tactical elements add up to being a good HR manager. You will become a way better manager overnight if you go to all your 1x1s, make sure you run your 1x1s right, have your report come in with the agenda, talk about career development, and work to give real-time feedback when you see it. All of these basics are elements of a good manager.

2. Be the Eager Beaver: Show zeal for learning and try to take on new roles/ assignments based on organisation and business needs.

3. Time Your Talk: Try to have a conversation with your boss at the right time. Best to have this conversation when your boss is more relaxed

4. Do More Tasks: “Indicate what you would do differently in the new role by taking up additional tasks which are not part of your current profile.

5. Be Prepared: Do your research well before the talk. Also ensure that your performance does not dip right before the discussion. 28 |

IBM Sues Former HR Boss Based On Non-Competitive Agreement International Business Machines Corp (IBM) sued its former executive Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, who was named Microsoft Corp’s new chief diversity officer, alleging violation of a one-year non-competitive agreement. McIntyre, who “abruptly resigned LINDSAY-RAE MCINTYRE to compete against IBM,” was in possession of highly confidential and sensitive information about IBM’s diversity strategies, hiring targets, technologies and innovations, IBM said in the lawsuit filed in a New York federal court .. Both Microsoft and McIntyre were not reachable for comment.

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

The Digital Workplace As our lives become increasingly digital, the organisations that will succeed are the ones that provide employees with a work environment that best supports their needs and expectations. Because HR is the one function of the business that touches every employee, the digital workplace gives HR the opportunity to move from the back-office and truly be in the front lines to lead change. In order to better serve employees, HR deserves service - technology with a user experience that matches our consumer technology experiences today.

A Giant Leap Towards CHRO 3.0

The past two or three years have seen the breakneck speed of change in both the internal and external environment of organisations. No matter which industry one looks at – HR solutions, advertising and PR, healthcare, IT and ITeS, manufacturing, construction, services or the financial sector – each one has been impacted by substantial changes in the form of changing expectations of stakeholders, realignment of business models, and newer forms of competition. You would be hard pressed nowadays to find a senior executive who isn’t spending sleepless nights worrying about human capital. Developing human capital as well as developing leaders who can lead into the future, almost always shows up in the top three priorities for most CEOs. Against this backdrop, the role of the chief human resources officer (CHRO), or the HR director, has never been more prominently in focus. Through policies and systems, the CHRO can evoke the most important ingredients that employees need for business success – passion, ownership, accountability and, most importantly, engagement.

DHL: Dialogue With Employees DHL global workforce, which now totals 508,036 employees, comprises 65% men and 35% women. The average age is 41. There are some 330,000 employees in Europe, making it the Group’s largest region in terms of employment numbers. Of these, around 211,000 employees are based in Germany, where DHL’s headquarters are located. DHL Group has wide internal communications channels to promote a corporate culture of openness and shape opinion within the company. Internal communications is designed not only to inform employees, but to give them direction, encourage them to support the company’s goals, and strengthen their identification with the Group. Internal communication measures focus on communicating corporate messages and values, details of current issues and developments, and the exchange of information across divisions and regions. They foster dialogue through the use of new, interactive offerings and support collaboration and networking with innovative applications in the Group-wide corporate intranet. Using a broad range of communications channels, such as the Extranet, newsletters, digital wall displays, print media, posters and flyer-based campaigns, DHL ensures that all employees, both those with access to a computer workstation and those without, always receive information that is of particular relevance to them.

Employees at all levels of organisation receive timely information about key developments and organisational changes that could impact their work. In addition to event-type formats, such as staff meetings and video conferences, DHL place great importance on one-to-one talks. Their managers are therefore committed to seeking and maintaining trust-based dialogue with their employees.

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 29

CORPORATE

HR As Part Of Strategic Company Planning “Human resources, as a strategic partner to business, have a key role in moving towards establishing the business strategies of organisations in the emerging digital environment”

IVANA MILOŠEVIĆ DIRECTOR, CITYSCOPE

talented, technologically literate candidates who will be y creating practical, professional, functional and open to adapt to changes, focused on achieving goals and applicable solutions in the field of human resources, ready to constantly improve their knowledge and skills. CityScope Enterprises has successfully handled What we have also recognised during our collaboration all the stronger market changes and requirements with companies, regardless of the industry in which they for over a decade, providing clients with a comparative operate, apart from the need for speed and agility in readvantage. By refining through harmonising with world cruitment processes, is a growing need for organisations trends in market conditions, Ivana Milošević explains, to introduce simple and easily accessible HR platforms. As “global processes of digital transformation and accelerpartners within the framework of Staff Leasing services, ated technological development lead to a change in the we have enabled our clients to do this through the online very way companies function, including those operating Human Resources Management System, available equally on the Serbian market.” to both employees and our clients, with the aim to further - Companies are increasingly focusing on turning improve the link between an organisation and employees. It towards solutions that contribute to the efficiency of has been shown that organisations with digital networking operations, in some cases through the digitisation and even virtualisation of jobs. At the same time, It has been shown that organisations with digital networking when looking for new tools and advanced digital platforms recognise improvements staff, employers emphasise the need and in the actual engaging of employees significance of hiring

30 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

tools and advanced digital platforms recognise improvements in the actual engaging of employees.

in further career advancement. I also wouldn’t overlook the fact that the imperative today is constant education; the education process today doesn’t end with graduation.

• Elsewhere in the world, but also in some of our compa• CityScope primarily seeks highly skilled professionals nies, the HR domain has advanced significantly (with the for the needs of its clients. Are there enough of them? Chief Human Resources Officer, CHRO), which implies - Companies operating on the Serbian market are increasthe inclusion of HR in companies’ long-term strategic ingly recognising the strategic significance of human capiplanning. What are your experiences in this segment? tal and the opportunities offered by developing talent with- Human resource management, as well as the hiring, development and retention of talented individuals, are recognised as one of the key factors for the successful operating of every company, regardless of its specific area of business. Talent, as an undeniable differentiator and a significant driver of operations, is accompanied by the challenge of “combined generations of employees” which companies face, as well as the necessity to merge previous generations of employees with younger candidates who have advanced technological knowhow. It has been shown that organisations that have tools for digital networking and advanced digital platforms recognise improvements in the actual engaging of employees. Our many years of experience in providing support to companies in the processes of designing and implementing strategic human resources projects show that there are different ways in which organisations can plan their digital transformation process. In order to enable our partners to achieve comparative advantages in times Human resource management, as well as the hiring, development of dynamic market changes, we and retention of talented individuals, are recognised as one of the provide them with a pillar of supkey factors for the successful operating of every company port in creating solutions in the area of human resources, as well as in organisations and, accordingly, they are also investing inin plans for investing resources, depending on the needs creasingly in their employees and the further development of the organisation. of teams, in order to develop the kind of resources they need. Furthermore, new technologies and the digital trans• As a consulting firm, you certainly have insight into formation of companies provide alternative ways of teachemployee training systems. How much companies ining employees within the organisation, such as e-learning vest in employees in order to turn them into precisely training and learning based on video material, which is more the kind of staff they need, and what is more important effective not only because of the ease of creating content, to companies: formal levels of education or the results but also because of the availability of different contents an employee achieves? for employees. E-learning platforms, as a trend that is on- In the relationship between the “strength” of formal edly just begining on the Serbian market, and which employucation and the results an employee achieves, there is no ees can access anytime and anywhere, connecting and colclear winner. Knowledge acquired through formal educalaborating on the basis of shared goals, represent an examtion is certainly important for all generations of employple of how the digitising of human resources management ees, and especially for young people, as their entrance tools can enable companies to further connect employees ticket to a very competitive labour market. Simultaneousand increase their engagement through new ways of workly, the experience gained through work and the ultimate ing, developing and growing. ■ results that are achieved can often be a decisive factor HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 31

CORPORATE

KLAUS MOCK, HELP – HILFE ZUR SELBSTHILFE, REGIONAL COORDINATOR FOR MONTENEGRO AND SERBIA

Assisting People Towards Self-Reliance There are many factors that influence the establishment, development and sustainability of a business, no matter how big or small it is

elp’s projects aim to ensure the sustainable economic empowerment of the targeted groups of the population and why Help pays special attention to the criteria in the process of selecting potential future entrepreneurs who will not only be able to provide for themselves but also employ more workers.

additional support in education and business and vocational training. The principle of constant learning and development has been woven into the very fabric of the support provided by Help, as it stands in the name of our organisation “Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe” – assisting people towards self-reliance. • In your opinion, what kind of assistance has a greater impact: donating for humanitarian purposes or educating and training vulnerable groups to be self-sustainable? - Since 1981, Help has been committed to providing people in need with prompt, sustainable and long-term aid and support worldwide.

assistance based on sustainable development and the economic independence of vulnerable households provides a lasting impact, not only on the vulnerable communities and their members, but is also reflected, step by step, at the global, country level. • In your experience, how open are members of vulnerable groups to launching businesses, given that such solutions imply total change and a specific way of thinking? - With a portfolio up to this year of nearly 7,000 beneficiaries in income generating activities and a total of 45 million euros of donor assistance provided in Serbia, our experience shows that

• Your humanitarian organisation has spent a decade and a half helpCourage, resilience, focus and constant learning are the ing vulnerable groups in Serbia, but also providing material and profescharacteristics mostly portrayed by our beneficiaries, and those sional assistance to families in their are equally important for an entrepreneur self-employment and the establishing of small and micro enterprispeople, especially those belonging to vulnerable People are the focus of everything we do. es. To what do you owe such good results? sections of the population, are even more open Being active in 24 countries worldwide, with - The criteria developed by Help over the and willing to consider new perspectives that donor support Help has gained significant years ensure the right candidates receive our can change their lives for the better. experience and knowledge in management of assistance through not only in-kind grants, Courage, resilience, focus and constant not only emergency relief projects, but also but also education, business and vocational learning are the characteristics mostly porsustainable development. Meaningful, immeditraining and regular mentoring. Once the cantrayed by our beneficiaries, and those are ate humanitarian assistance is as important as didates most likely to succeed are selected, equally important for an entrepreneur. Concontinuous education and training to reduce the entire “package” of economic empowersidering Help’s experience, criteria, standards the vulnerability of people and their communiment ensures not only their “survival”, but and applied methodologies, we are confident in ties, empowering their self-reliance. And we also that they improve and polish their skills our beneficiaries and their will to change their can see that in all our projects in Serbia, most and competences, giving them a competitive perspective and embrace every possibility recently after the floods, or those for refugees advantage and growth potential. to make it work for them and their families. and migrants, as well as for the vulnerable local Around 85% of businesses supported They are willing to learn and prosper with our population or marginalised groups. Emergency so far by Help generate income, and 74% assistance, because they know they are not relief is important to ease and facilitate the generate profit and employ additional workalone on that path to self-reliance. ■ aftermath effects. However, in the long term, ers thanks to those very criteria, as well as

32 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

Pay Gap Between Men And Women Men are still being paid much more than women. And their earnings are increasing more rapidly. This means the pay gap is widening, despite numerous initiatives to break glass ceilings and force salary disclosure

reaching Global Gender Gap Report 2017 which he ‘unadjusted’ gender pay gap provides The report highlights a small widening of looks at the differences between men and an overall picture of gender inequality the gap this year, within the context of a decade women in four key areas; health, economics, in hourly pay. This gap represents the of improvements. But the story about earnings politics and education. The Global Gender difference between the average gross is different and much less positive. Gap Index was first introduced by the World hourly earnings of men and women expressed There hasn’t been any real improvement Economic Forum in 2006 as a framework for as a percentage of average gross hourly earnover the last 10 years, and things are moving capturing the magnitude of gender-based disin the wrong direction, as seen clearly in the ings of men. It is called ‘unadjusted’ as it does graph above. not take into account all of the factors that parities and tracking their progress over time. influence the gender pay gap, such as differences in education, labour Western Europe records gender gap of 25%, placing it ahead of market experience or type of job. The average pay for women in 2017 North America, with a gap of 28%, Eastern Europe and Central was $12,000, compared with $21,000 Asia, with a gap of 29%, and Latin America and the Caribbean, for men. These figures are included in with a gap of 29.8% the World Economic Forum’s wideMIND THE GAP It is not as simple as saying that men and women who are doing the same job are paid differently (although that is part of the story too). It is also because women are more likely to work in industries with lower average pay, rather than high-income areas such as finance or technology which are traditionally dominated by men. They are more likely to undertake part-time work, due to commitments to care for either children, elderly parents, or both. And they are less likely to be in highly paid senior positions, often because they have chosen to take a career break while having children. Currently, only 22% of individuals holding senior managerial positions are women. ■ HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 33

FUTURE OF HR ORGANISATION

How The Future of HR Will Operate Imagine someone who leads a high-impact HR organisation: in the near future a CHRO – or Chief Employee Experience Officer, as they’re now known – connects to an earnings call to help the CEO explain how newly deployed people programmes helped drive the latest upside earnings surprise

he CHRO then enters a virtual-reality upscale conference room in a Tokyo hotel for a press briefing. The CHRO apologises in Japanese (through a real-time “hearable” translator that everyone now wears discreetly in their ear) for being a minute late before sharing innovative plans for closing the skills gap via continuous workplace learning across Asia Pacific. The CHRO then goes to a high-profile dinner with the company’s top European shipping and logistics customers to get a better sense of how driverless trucking and fully automated shipping continues to shape their company culture and business needs. If anything, the scenario above is on the conservative side, and any prediction on what we’ll do in the future is much safer than how we’ll do it. After all, the human need to connect, communicate, and feel a sense of purpose at work isn’t slated for obsolescence any time soon. In “Disrupting the CHRO: Following in the CFO’s Footsteps”, Deloitte authors note that using the CFO as a model – once a back-office administrator and now a valued strategic partner – is especially timely for HR leaders. After all, CFOs became far more important when it became clear that the movement of money, all by itself, can create

34 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

value for a company. Now, with our economy becoming increasingly more knowledge- and service-based, the movement and application of people is what produces the most value for companies. In fact, in 2010, intangible assets made up 85 per cent of a company’s value – up from 40 per cent in 1982. We’re confident that these figures have become even more dramatic in the last few years. If talent is a company’s most important resource, it makes sense that the person responsible for finding and keeping talent is vital to a company’s survival. After all, getting the best people for your business is far from a sure thing. As the “Disrupting the CHRO” authors write, “For reasons from changing demographics and altering family structures to shifts in generational attitudes and the impacts of public policy, companies can no longer assume they can draw on an ample, let alone abundant, pool of skilled talent to achieve their growth objectives.” In Asia, where HR teams haven’t always been able to keep up with the rapid growth of many companies, CHROs have even more of a blank slate – and more motivation – to turn HR into a driver of business results.

In Europe, where the top five challenges for HR leaders idenCHRO” explain, “The CHRO should work with the CEO and CFO to tified by The Boston Consulting Group are also the issues that examine the causes of misses, because most problems are people companies are least prepared to deal with, the CHRO of the future problems. The idea is to look beyond obvious external factors, such has the opportunity to make a tremendous impact. as falling interest rates or shifting currency valuations, and to link So, if we have a vision of how the CHRO of the future operates, the numbers with insights into the company’s social system – how what should be done today to create this hypothetical future? people work together.” According to the authors of the article “People Before Strategy: A A more global understanding of your organisation, combined New Role for the CHRO” in the Harvard Business Review, predictwith analytical skills, can help you diagnose when, and if, people ing outcomes, diagnosing problems, and prescribing actions on problems are part of product delays, missed projections, and so the people side that will add value to the business are the three on. And we think that the CHRO of the future will take their global marks of a new generation of exemplary CHROs. But, as the authors understanding of the organisation to diagnose the bigger, more write, “Some of these things may seem like the usual charter for a fundamental organisational flaws. HR leaders now have an array of CHRO, but they are largely missing in practice, to the disappointtools to get real-time insights across departmental lines – anonyment of most CEOs.” mous employee feedback and quick, one-question surveys to get Predicting outcomes will help the CFO and CEO see how the pulse of employees under various managers – like never before. the right people in key roles will help meet business and budget Finally, why is the CHRO on an earnings call? Because they goals. In addition, the CHRO should also look outside their own company to assist the C-suite in deciphering their competitors’ business strategy. As an example, scrutinising the moves key competitors are making in the talent market can lead to insights. If a software company is suddenly hiring data scientists and user interface experts, it’s a good bet that they’ll soon be offering analytics dashboards. The key to predicting outcomes – and for earning credibility with traditionally numbers-oriented counterparts in finance and operations – is analytics. Analytics is a buzzword today, so it’s helpful to look at what it really means for a CHRO: simply put, analytics is the practice of using data to answer thorny business questions. Rather than looking for patterns in a roaring data deluge, it’s more useful to outline a desired outcome and work backwards. Without a solid question to start with, it’s easy to get lost in vast amounts of information. Predicting outcomes will help the CFO and CEO see how the right Useful analytics technology and people in key roles will help meet business and budget goals. In clean data are necessary first steps, addition, the CHRO should also look outside their own company to but assuming a CHRO does have the assist the C-suite in deciphering their competitors’ business strategy right tools to work with, a very basic grounding in statistics – via an online course in people analytics or a working understand business imperatives and have the analytical mindsession with the in-house quant – can help avoid common pitfalls. set to put the impact of HR initiatives into hard numbers. The For example, if you compare the performance of managers at two CHRO is talking to the press about what their company is doing different factories, it’s helpful to know that there’s more variability to close the skills gap because they know that a new generation in smaller sample sizes. In other words, you’re likely to find higher of employees demand always-on workplace learning, and that the highs and lower lows in a group of 10 managers than in a group of CHRO’s company has social responsibilities beyond job creation. 100. Numbers don’t lie, but neither do they tell the whole truth, and The CHRO goes to a customer dinner because they know that to the CHRO’s grounding in more-qualitative thinking can actually be be truly effective, they need to stay ahead of the immediate needs a big plus when it comes to data-driven decision-making. By using of the business – and the best way to do this is to understand how analytics to support decision-making, CHROs can ground their customers’ competitive landscapes are evolving. policies and business advice in data, removing some of the “fuzziness” historically associated with HR and putting HR on the same, It wasn’t easy for our CHRO to gain all the skills and knowledge facts-based plane that finance and the rest of the business uses. needed for the role, but there is no question that they earned their The authors of “People Before Strategy: A New Role for the place as a true innovator of human, and business, performance.■

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 35

THE ROLE OF HR IN 2020-2025

HR Function Will Be A Key Business Asset This year will be a crucial year for businesses. Any of the goals that organisations have planned to reach by 2020 or even 2025 will have their roots set in 2018. Working towards those will become a priority. Given that situation, HR has to accelerate its pace of involvement with business even more. Its contribution to business will need to become more impactful than ever before. Talent will be the biggest driver of new growth, and that needs to start now

redicting the future has never been easy. Great entrepreneurs and researchers have often been mistaken in their estimates, even if they subsequently made extraordinary strides. Take Bill Gates, who declared in 1981, “No one will ever need more than 637KB of memory on a personal computer.” Or Thomas Watson, founder of IBM, declaring in 1943, “I think that

36 |

HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

there is a worldwide market for maybe five computers.” Although it is difficult to predict the future, it is still essential to identify and understand the basic social, economic and technological tendencies or “megatrends” that will affect businesses in the next ten to twenty years, in order to anticipate and prepare for the ensuing transformations that will need to take place A paradox

of division of labour: from segmenting jobs into different of the long-term thinking is the more you try to imagine specialisations, companies will be asked to deconstruct the future, the more critical become the tasks of the next jobs and identify which tasks can be best performed by twelve months to clarify it. automation. The objective is to understand the mega trends that Some organisations have started to take actions to will transform the HR function in the next decade in order prepare for such changes, but Future of Work Survey to deduce how its missions, postures and communities shows that the vast majority of respondents (44%) are must evolve in consequence. not fully prepared yet. A workplace in which employees sit alongside contracUndoubtedly, in the medium term Artificial Intelligence tors, freelancers, and individuals from another company, robots and in which talent flows in and out seamlessly from different sources spread across the planet is expected to come. But not just yet. Although it is generally agreed that our society faces an unprecedented rhythm of change mostly due to the impact that Artificial Intelligence has on our lives and that we are in the midst of what has been called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Willis Towers Watson Survey shows that organisations are taking an incremental rather than a transformative approach in their quest to the digital evolution. Some 45% of the surveyed companies in Europe, Middle East, and Africa believe that the key goal of automation is to augment human performance and productivity by A workplace in which employees sit alongside contractors, supporting business needs rather than completely transforming their freelancers, and individuals from another company, robots and in which talent flows in and out seamlessly from different sources workforce and reducing headcounts. A similar initiative led by HBR disspread across the planet is expected to come played that the most common driver for investing in Artificial Intelligence will transform work and how companies do business. But is the integration of human and machine work and most of as of today, our research suggests that organisations are the projects that pioneering organizations like Facebook, taking a step-by-step approach and are indulging in smaller General Electric and Pfizer have undertook focused in fact AI integration projects, while they incrementally transition on the automation of internal and external back-office and their workforce into the future of work. administrative tasks like auditing, data analysis, response to F.A.Q. and simple interaction with customers. HUMAN VALUE Rather than strictly reducing costs then, companies Technology will likely not just impact the way jobs seem to be aiming to enhance their value proposition by are structured but also the skills that human workers will using Artificial Intelligence to handle tasks that have low be requested to master. One of the risks that Artificial added value so that human workers can concentrate on Intelligence poses to businesses and employees is the more qualitative and creative duties. shrinking of the average life of skills. However, in this process some jobs will still be lost, In a job market that will see the shelf life of skills some will be created but most will change: the deconconstantly reducing, 2018 is expected to see the consolistruction of jobs into automatable and non-automatable dation of digital skills: companies are expected to exploit tasks will take to the extreme consequences the concept HUMAN RESOURCES â&#x20AC;˘ SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 37

the capabilities of those roles that are key in integrating human and machine work to smoothly adapt structures and processes to Artificial Intelligence. According to one of pulse surveys, data scientist, data engineer, analytics specialist and system developer roles were amongst the hardest to attract and retain positions in 2017 and are forecasted to grow in market value even faster in 2018. To overcome the scarcity of such skills,

Despite how companies will react to this shortage of digital talent, researchers suggest that there is more at stake: in the years to come, the job market will gradually see market premia shrink for routine and automatable jobs. Anything that a machine can do better, quicker and cheaper will see a decrease in marketability as opposed to jobs and tasks where the human element is the key that will see an increase in market value. More than ever, organisations and their HR functions will be urged to fully understand their workforce and the needs of their diverse talent groups: diagnosis and segmentation seem to increasingly become the fundamental tools through which HR can unlock value and ensure a good ROI on its initiatives whether they focus on internal, external, contingent, artificial or human workers.

SEGMENTATION The deconstruction and segmentation method is likely to go beyond jobs and tasks and embrace employees and their performance. More exactly, the way organisations link pay and performance. In recent years, a significant number of companies have considered to abandon performance Some talent segments (e.g. Digital) are in fact likely to need evaluations and ratings mainly more frequent reviews (e.g. quarterly or monthly) due to their reporting that the process behind marketability or performance while others might just need to be them is inefficient. Those organirewarded by career-driven increases sations are considering moving to a rating-less and continuous feedback culture in an effort to endorse qualitative performance over numbers and organisations are likely to create a team of experts in learning over results. centralised functions and make them available through Since then, various external researches and contriorganisation-wide projects and to keep up with the surge butions from consultants have highlighted that ratings, in demand, they are likely to offer specific Reward initiaalthough informal, still exist: psychological and cognitive tives to such key employees. Surprisingly, these policies studies show in fact that people have an innate tendency will mostly be non-monetary: companies seem to have to rate and without a transparent and formal process, any focused primarily on promoting flexible schedules and performance rating is likely to be arbitrary and the pay remote working locations (83%), personal development decisions linked to it possibly unfair. and growth (80%) and challenging work assignments In response to this, organisations could leverage on (80%) rather than on actual money. Nevertheless, more performance evaluation as an opportunity to increase than half of the responding organisations feel the need to transparency and fairness of pay, values that are becomhave compensation designs that pay, on a case-by-case, ing even more substantial for a multitude of internal and at or above upper quartile, with 44% of organisations external stakeholders. paying at the 75th percentile and 12% of organisations Performance management initiatives could then be paying between the 75th and the 99th percentile.

38 |

HUMAN RESOURCES â&#x20AC;˘ SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

-1.7% against the -3.2% of 2017. In Eastern Europe, real another powerful instrument to fairly segment the workwages are forecasted to grow by 0.6%, an increase of 0.5% force and differentiate pay especially considering that against 2017 values, whereas in the Middle East salaries compensation is amongst the highest costs in companies’ against inflation will increase by 1.8% compared to the balance sheets and getting the adequate value from salary 1.3% of 2017. In Western Europe, the forecasts predict an investments at all levels is evolving from an operational increase in real wages by 1.1%, a +0.2% against 2017 figures. to a strategic concern in many organisations. Regardless of the general trend, some variation can Boards seem to be more and more anxious that the be found when focusing on individual countries even right employee population is correctly rewarded and in a period of generalised low inflation, it has been relatively easy to do so by focusing more on top performers and key talent and less on the rest of the staff leveraging on a rather stable cost of living. In adapting to low inflationary pressures and higher than ever employment rates counterintuitively accompanied by a broad “wageless” recovery, organisations may consider to re-think salary budgeting strategies to allow for a more efficient employee segmentation and move away from the concept of an annual pay review for all. Some talent segments (e.g. Digital) are in fact likely to need more frequent reviews (e.g. quarterly or monthly) due to their marketability or performance while others might just need to be rewarded by In Eastern Europe, real wages are forecasted to grow by 0.6%, an career-driven increases. Whether it will be for deconincrease of 0.5% against 2017 values, whereas in the Middle East structing jobs in tasks or for allocatsalaries against inflation will increase by 1.8% compared to the ing a fair share to Tier-1 employees, 1.3% of 2017. In Western Europe, the forecasts predict an increase segmentation is key and will likely in real wages by 1.1%, +0.2% against 2017 figures modernise the approach to salary budgeting and impact wage growth within the same region. Emblematic is the example of and the labour market in ways yet to be determined. the British and Irish markets where despite a lower overall salary increase (respectively 2.9% vs. 2.5%), the BUDGETING latter job market will enjoy a 1.8% increase in real wages That said, after hitting the lowest increase since 2010, against the 0.3% of the former. our 2017 Q3 Europe, Middle East, and Africa Salary Budget The International Monetary Fund suggests that in 2018 Planning survey shows that 2018 salaries are projected to the world economy will see the “broadest synchronised grow slightly from 4.5% in 2017 to 4.9% in 2018. global growth upsurge since 2010”. Regardless of what With stable inflationary pressures across the Euro area markets do, deconstructing jobs in tasks, identifying and in the other economies across the region (excluding the critical skills, rewarding key employees and allocating the UK), overall real wages will also increase by 0.4% in the face right budget to the various segments of your workforce of a decrease by approximately 0.5% in 2017. will remain key. Forecasting is a risky business and every This aggregated slow upward trend is projected to be prediction is nothing more than organised ignorance, so replicated across the various sub-regions. In Africa, the be prepared, expect the best and plan for the worst. ■ 2018 real wages will still be in negative territory but by HUMAN RESOURCES • SERVING ECONOMIC GROWTH

| 39