Mario Grilc, Manpower: Companies Must Have a Clear Picture of What They Offer and What Kind of People They Want to Attract

The challenges faced by the Croatian labor market are not different from those in the West, emphasizes Mario Grilc, Regional People and Culture Director of Manpower, a global employment agency, in an interview for Lider. Therefore, it is very important to engage a good agency that operates according to regulations and has a quality team for assessing potential employees, whose demands have recently become increasingly unrealistic.

What are the new trends in employee recruitment according to the experience of ManpowerGroup, the largest global human resources agency?

– The trends in employee recruitment, if we talk about how most companies are looking for them, have not significantly changed. The amount invested in searching for employees and the time required to find a suitable team member has changed. The role of agencies has increased, which is evident in the market from the increased number of entities offering such services.

Today, it is more important than ever to have a good agency as a partner because, in addition to direct hiring costs, one must also consider the opportunity costs due to the lack of a quality team member. If we pay attention to the best companies in the market, in addition to engaging agencies like ours, they pay great attention to a more substantial and detailed description of the person they are looking for, not just listing the competencies required for the job, and clearly define what the person who joins them will ‘gain’ besides salary and bonuses.

An additional trend, which is indirectly related to hiring, is the focus on existing teams and defining elements that will retain employees while simultaneously increasing team engagement. We, as a company, have been focusing for some time on contributing to our partners through various programs for existing employees and insisting on clearly defined personalized ‘benefits’ that the company offers potential candidates to speed up the process and increase the likelihood of compatibility between candidates and partners.

Has advertising job vacancies lost its meaning in the general shortage of labor considering that the labor market has lost its local character?

– Advertising job vacancies, like any other advertising, has its purpose, advantages, and limitations. Targeted advertising today, in the digital age, is more measurable than ever. The ROI of ads today is very exact and clear with the help of various tools in online advertising. The greater challenge that many companies face is to embrace new trends, question existing procedures, and make the most of opportunities. They must have a clear picture of what they offer and what kind of people they want to attract. Qualitative analysis has finally become equal to quantitative performance indicators.

What does international mobility imply when it comes to the workforce?

– There is no industry or country in the Western world that has not been affected by a significant shortage of adequate personnel, and solutions are being sought through the import of labor (Great Resignation Trend). More than ever, it is challenging to find employees through traditional channels. In our regions, we are also faced with significant migrations to the West.

All this has led to the emergence of dozens of new agencies engaged in mass recruitment, some of which operate according to very dubious standards, sometimes on the very edge of illegal human trafficking activities. We have established an International Mobility Team to provide our clients and potential candidates with our expertise and regional connections and to leverage our global presence for safe and professional support.

Our specialists in each country ensure broad knowledge and in-depth expertise of very demanding formal frameworks, administrative procedures, and legislative frameworks to guarantee candidates and companies security and trust in the promises made by both sides. This year, we successfully closed thirty projects and continue to learn and progress. Globally, we are recognized as one of the most ethical companies, and for us, this is, besides an obligation, a fundamental value on which we build long-term success.

What is the interest of Croatian companies in finding employees with the help of Manpower, and has the demand for workers increased?

– The interest is growing exponentially. It seems that the hospitality industry has reacted most agilely to market conditions. It is very important that as a society we care about the rights of foreign workers, which should be equal to those of domestic workers. These issues are superior in economic frameworks, encroach on the domain of human rights, and touch on the issues of civilization achievements, religion, and social justice. As a company, we and our teams pay great attention to this aspect of business and are very selective in choosing partners and candidates.

Who are the agency’s clients, from which sectors do they come, and what kind of personnel do they most often seek?

– The clients are various, from corporations to smaller private companies. Some of them are Croatian, and some are international; there are no rules. The current market situation is such that agency clients mostly come from the retail, tourism, construction, logistics, and manufacturing sectors. If we had to highlight the personnel that is most often sought, it would certainly be salespeople, construction workers, and manufacturing workers.

Where do you find suitable candidates for Croatian clients from the IT sector, tourism, and construction?

– We bring candidates from Nepal, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan. We are currently opening an office in the Philippines. We intend to provide our clients with long-term quality employees. Some will stay here, while others wish to return seasonally. For clients who need seasonal labor, we want to ensure the return of trained and permanent seasonal workers.

How do you assess candidates for jobs? What criteria do you use to select the best employees?

– The criteria are primarily determined by the client, where we insist on the best possible description of the needs and competencies required for the specific job. In addition to the interview, we assess candidates using available psychological assessment tools (Harrison Assessment) that provide us with the degree of compatibility of the candidate with the position, as well as additional information such as the candidate’s strengths, areas for further development, specific motivators and demotivators, and specific challenges they may face. How deep we go depends on the context of the position and the demands of the job.

ManpowerGroup is also present in SEE. How is the Croatian labor market more demanding compared to that region?

– The Croatian market is more demanding because the mobility of the workforce towards the European Union is simpler. Tourism brings many benefits to our country, but generally, potential employees are more demanding and selective. In all sectors, salary expectations are often unrealistic.

The return to parents and the stance ‘better for me to stay home than to work for a low salary’ has various syndromes. Our unattractiveness to foreign investors lies not only in regulations and taxes but also in implementation. In some countries where we operate, foreign investors have one address where they resolve all their challenges. Here, local interests and misunderstandings, blackmail, and similar issues often slow down the process.

Employers must learn to attract the best employees, how to enable them to take personal responsibility for results, and employees how to earn a salary – it is not enough to just show up for work. In the public space, we often refer to criminals and ‘hustlers’ as ‘entrepreneurs,’ and political commissars as ‘businesspeople.’ As a society, we must decide whether we are a capitalist or feudal society. Some challenges are similar in all countries, but the ones mentioned, along with the already well-known ones, are among those we rarely discuss. 

*Content created in collaboration with Manpower*