For the second time The Headhunter Macedonia took part at the
Annual Career Fair, which took place on the Southeast European University
(SEEU) campus in Tetovo on 26th April 2017.
The participants had the chance to get informed about the
variety of services and opportunities that The Headhunter offers to all
students and job seekers on national and international market place.
With the career fair the SEEU offers to its student an opportunity
to gain employment and internships at one of the approximately 40 companies and
organizations that attended the fair this year.
The Career Fair provides an exceptional opportunity for students
to discuss the applicability of their qualifications and skills with the
demands of the labor market or the needs of a specific company.
The HeadHunter shpk, Albania’s largest human resource
company, is pleased to announce the official launch of the LGBTIQ Employment
Equality Index. The Index is Albania and Eastern Europe’s first-ever ranking
system which objectively ranks how well companies protect and uphold the rights
and dignity of LGBTIQ job-seekers and employees. It rewards those who
have put a commitment to workplace diversity into practice. It also represents a
great opportunity for companies, consumers and legal authorities to promote
best practices in the employment sector. This is an occasion to
communicate, educate and raise awareness against discrimination in the
workplace.
The HeadHunter shpk Founder, Elton Illirjani, highlights
this statement. “We
see the issue of workplace inclusion everyday in our company’s work. For
that reason, we created the Index as a way to tangibly contribute to bettering
the lives of LGBTIQ Albanians. By leveraging the competitive spirit in the
private sector, we created this Index to reward companies for their efforts for
workplace inclusion of LGBTIQ persons and encourage companies to receive
ever-higher rewards in future years.”
In this second year of the initiative, Albanian companies showed
a great deal of interest in participating in the ranking and the total of 109
companies from multiple industries voluntarily took part in the research.
Following a standardized format and methodology, The HeadHunter shpk staff
conducted on-site interviews and verification of policies and practices.
Out of the 109 companies, seven achieved a ranking of bronze, silver, or gold
recognition.
Analysis of the findings has shown that workplace diversity
policies, practices, and programs are generally lacking in Albania. If
they do exist, they generally do not include LGBTIQ job-seekers and employees.
Companies lack policies, practices, and trained human resource managers on the
topic of workplace diversity.
Considering the findings, The HeadHunter shpk sees a
tremendous need and demand for trainings on workplace diversity for companies
in Albania as well as standardized policies and practices which companies can
adapt and adopt. “For
these two years findings, we were not surprised to see the lack of investments
in workplace diversity,” says The HeadHunter shpk Founder, Elton
Illirjani, “but rather than
focus on the negative, we see a tremendous opportunity and interest of
companies to adopt policies and train staff on this topic. We stand ready
to offer this support to companies, building on their willingness and offering
our technical skills.”
The HeadHunter shpk will introduce the result of the last Index
on 31 August 2017,
at Tirana
International Hotel, Onufri Room, at 11:00 am. All the
media and other stake-holders are invited to attend this interesting event,
where the results of 2017 will be compared with those of 2016.
For further information on the Index, please visit http://headhunter.al/lgbtiq-index or
contact the Project Manager, Dorina Laçi at: d.laci@headhunter.al
With the support of the United States Embassy in Tirana, “Rini
Albania” Foundation, part of the The HeadHunter Group, will launch in the
coming months the implementation of a training project and awareness on
“Creating a culture of complaining relying on Albania Anti-Discrimination law”.
On focus of the project will be the discrimination in the
workplace.
For this purpose, “Rini Albania”, in collaboration with
important local institutions, will train and sensitize hundreds of potential
job seekers and human resource managers of private companies in different
cities of Albania.
The HeadHunter Group will make continuous reports regarding the
implementation of this very important event.
Invited on TVSH to discuss about life-career balance, The Headhunter recruiter Ergesta Stermasi talked about if there is equality between men and women in Albania when it comes to work hours or salary.
Stermasi said that “In family level, in a simple family, the wife’s income may be higher for the same job in Albania done by the husband” by pointing out that situation in our country is not as discriminant as it may be in other countries.
About the correlation between productivity and work hours, recruitment expert at The Headhunter said that “There’s a reason why work hours have been reduced in some countries, because we are not productive 8 hours a day nonstop, we do not have a good performance. This makes us nervous, makes us not feel well. To have productivity, at least if the Albanian law is respected, everything is ok. But if people work extra hours, it is too much.
Asked if 8 working hours are really effective, Stermasi said: “In between these 8 hours, there are moments of no working. There are never 8 hours, there are 6 or even less productive hours. But there are also companies who offer services in which there are 8 effective work hours. In the last minutes, the employees maybe have nothing left to give. This would make a mother of two to not be dedicated to her family if she works 8 hours. If we would be paid for extra hours, many employees would stay at work because they need these money, but if they are obligated to work extra hours for no payment, because the administrator or the owner makes them do it, this is another thing. There are companies who make employees work on Saturdays, even if it is for four hours, when it is day off by law”.
According to Stermasi, the secret to having a balance between work and life is by turning passions into work so that working is not a survival tool.
Asked if during job interviews recruiters rely more on CVs or characters, Stermasi said that the candidates often say they want to leave their job because they work from morning to evening, even on Saturdays. But this often conflicts the employer, who prefer candidates with flexible hours.
For more, you can watch the video below:
Invited on TVSH to discuss about life-career balance, The Headhunter recruiter Ergesta Stermasi talked about if there is equality between men and women in Albania when it comes to work hours or salary.
Stermasi said that “In family level, in a simple family, the wife’s income may be higher for the same job in Albania done by the husband” by pointing out that situation in our country is not as discriminant as it may be in other countries.
About the correlation between productivity and work hours, recruitment expert at The Headhunter said that “There’s a reason why work hours have been reduced in some countries, because we are not productive 8 hours a day nonstop, we do not have a good performance. This makes us nervous, makes us not feel well. To have productivity, at least if the Albanian law is respected, everything is ok. But if people work extra hours, it is too much.
Asked if 8 working hours are really effective, Stermasi said: “In between these 8 hours, there are moments of no working. There are never 8 hours, there are 6 or even less productive hours. But there are also companies who offer services in which there are 8 effective work hours. In the last minutes, the employees maybe have nothing left to give. This would make a mother of two to not be dedicated to her family if she works 8 hours. If we would be paid for extra hours, many employees would stay at work because they need these money, but if they are obligated to work extra hours for no payment, because the administrator or the owner makes them do it, this is another thing. There are companies who make employees work on Saturdays, even if it is for four hours, when it is day off by law”.
According to Stermasi, the secret to having a balance between work and life is by turning passions into work so that working is not a survival tool. Asked if during job interviews recruiters rely more on CVs or characters, Stermasi said that the candidates often say they want to leave their job because they work from morning to evening, even on Saturdays. But this often conflicts the employer, who prefer candidates with flexible hours.
The HeadHunter Group arranged on 05/09/2017 a Gala Event in
the Palace of Brigades in Tirana (Albania), awarding 10 companies in the frame
of the LGBTIQ Equality Index.
The Index is Albania and Eastern Europe’s first-ever ranking
system which objectively ranks how well companies protect and uphold the rights
and dignity of LGBTIQ job-seekers and employees.
It rewards those who have put a commitment to workplace
diversity into practice. It also represents a great opportunity for companies,
consumers and legal authorities to promote best practices in the employment
sector.
In this second year of the initiative, Albanian companies showed
a great deal of interest in participating in the ranking and the total of 109
companies from multiple industries voluntarily took part in the research.
Following a standardized format and methodology, The HeadHunter shpk staff
conducted on-site interviews and verification of policies and practices.
For this year, the awards were as follows:
Acknowledgement Certificates:
Companies: BAT, Club FM, Argjendari Pirro.
Bronze Awards:Plaza Hotel, Tirana Bank, NOA SHPK.
Silver Awards:Neptun shpk, ABKONS.
Gold Awards:British Council Albania, Vodafone
Albania.
This event was attended by a large number of ambassadors of the
European Union countries, as well as by the Council of Europe, US and UK
ambassadors, who gave the prices to the winner companies.
The Headhunter and UN Women winning companies estimate for
inclusion and equality in employment
Awarding Ceremony for LGBTIQ Index Equality in Employment,
organized by The Headhunter and UN Women was held yesterday evening in
Sarajevo. Dm-drogerie
markt and British
Council won Gold prices, Center for “Investigative
Journalism” prize “Silver” and price
“Bronze” was awarded Klix.ba .
The ceremony was attended by representatives of local and
foreign organizations, private companies and the international
community. The awards were presented by David Saunders ,
representative of UN Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Britain’s ambassador
– Edwards Ferguson ,
German Ambassador – Christiane
Hohmann and CEO of the group The Headhunter – Elton Ilirjani.
“The index is prepared by the private sector to the private
sector. It assesses the extent to companies and institutions address
discrimination and promote equality in the workplace. As an index for
equality in the workplace, UN Women will naturally have partnered with a
company human resources to support the implementation of the Index, “said
the representative of UN Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, David Saunders.
Saunders added: “I
have no doubt that next year will see new companies will join the index, and,
more importantly, I believe we will see improvement steps by companies to
promote real equality and to protect rights and dignity of LGBTIQ candidates
and employees. “
“The Headhunter Though the group has successfully
implemented the Index for several consecutive years in the region, it is the
first time we are doing this in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are very
pleased with the support of partners from the international community who have
realized the importance of this issue as well as domestic and foreign companies
that have agreed to participate this year. It means a lot to us when the
United Nations, the European Union delegation he or German, British, Japanese
and representatives of other embassies publicly support us. Our goal is to
double the number of participating companies next year and see positive
developments in the internal practices of companies that will work next year,
“ said CEO of the group The Headhunter, Elton Ilirjani.
The
LGBTIQ Equality Index is a project group The Headhunter, implemented in Bosnia
and Herzegovina to the UN Women office. The purpose of the implementation
of the Index is to raise awareness about discrimination LGBTIQ community has in
the workplace, and increase equality, diversity and other positive practices
regarding candidates and employees
In one of the activities organized by UNDP in
Belgrade, Serbia, the founder of The Headhunter, Elton ilirjani,
introduced today the unique initiative ever taken from a private
enterprise in Western Balkans, the one of the index of equality in the work
place for LGBTI, which will be held this year for the second year in a row in
Albania, with over 100 businesses surveyed, and with the most loyal of them
which will be awarded again by The Headhunter.
During his speech, Ilirjani declared: “People of LGBTI community should not
be victimized, they should have the courage to pursue a career and move forward”.
According to Ilirjani, these people are people just like anybody
else and should compete with the same values and professional achievements.
According to Ilirjani, the solution of the people mentioned
above is “Hiring people of
LGBTI community, as this is the only salvation towards financial liberty and to
avoid prejudices in family and society“.
It has recently been discussed about an Albanian government
project to change the work schedule of public administration.
It is discussed that the new timetable will be extended
until 17.30, with a full lunch break hour for employees.
To talk about this topic, the founder of The Headhunter,
Elton Ilirjani, was invited yesterday on Albanian public television on the
“Good Morning Albania” show.
Asked about this project, Ilirjani expressed his full
agreement:
” I think this is one of the most successful
reforms the country’s prime minister will do, while I am not politically
oriented, I am among the people who have never voted for any party. But
the Prime Minister has thought well. I think it’s a solution and a right
one. “
“Because our hard-working administrate,” Ilirjani
continued, ironically, “takes a break even for one, two or three hours,
and sometimes we cannot even find them in their offices. So socially I do
not think it will have any major impact because they (employees) will find the
opportunity to leave. The main thing I see here is that one hour of lunch
break should be legitimized, because until now it has not been legitimized.
“I think it’s the right choice,” Ilirjani
reemphasized his conviction. – All this venture, all this launch that the
prime minister is making public-private partnerships make sense, because the
private business closes at 17.30. We open at 09.00 and close at 17.30. It
would be a good thing for the public-private cooperation to work, not to go at
17.00 or 15.49 and find no one in the administration. We may need
documentation, at the last moments we may need changes to NIPT. There are
foreign investors who are surprised that people leave at 15.00. “
Asked whether this would mean that the administration
employees should never eat undisturbed, Ilirjani replied:
“There are many reasons for this. He (Prime
Minister) is a visionary person when it comes to employment, as far as I know him,
I don’t know about the rest. Regarding business in Albania, it would be of
great help to have an administration that finishes work at 5.30 pm; how the
state chooses to regulate this, whether or not the employees are satisfied who
I believe are not as busy as people working in private business, that’s another
job. I see that candidates ask me to get them jobs in the administration
because they are not used in private businesses where the boss is demanding,
where the schedule becomes super schedule, where you work Saturdays and Sundays
and does nobody knows and sometimes get paid less than the
administration. The gentlemen in the administration should understand that
we are walking with the pace of time, we are an emancipated business and we
want an emancipated administration “.
Asked if it would be up to him, how he would arrange the
work schedule, Ilirjan said:
“I would do my best
for Albania. I understand the concerns, but this is a right decision, also
seen from the region I work, compared to 7 countries in the region where I am a
leader. It gives the administration tempo, which should not be
drowsy. The Albanian state should be made at the same rate with which the
Albanian private business is made. This schedule will imply more, will make
them more responsible (employees). I know that in Macedonia there is an
hour and a half or two hours break per day to go feed their
babies. This is not an extension of the timetable, this is a change in the
timetable” – concluded CEO of the largest employing
company in the region his intervention at RTSH.
In a live skype call from Rome in Italy where he is staying at
the moment for work, The Headhunter founder, Elton Ilirjani, discussed today
morning in the tv show Wake Up in Top Channel about the ways to motivate the
employees and companies, so that they can perform in higher levels.
The show host Eno Popi asked Mr. Ilirjani if there are any
changes in job-seeker’s expectations about the type of work and the work
environment in Albania.
“In these last years 30% pay a lot of attention to the work environment and
work conditions other than the salary. There is an increase in awareness also
from managers, who give the right importance to their superiors. During the
interview, they don’t only interview the job seeker, but also their possible
future employer”, said Ilirjani, who has founded since 2002 the leading company
related to employment in Albania, Greece, Kosovo and other Balkan countries
which is now also present in the USA too.
Talking about the case discussed in the studio, where an Indian
company owner had chosen to motivate his employees by giving them cars,
Ilirjani said:
“In every business employees and managers should be partners with the owner. I
treat some of my closest colleagues as business partners, even though they are
not shareholders. They receive a good percentage for every success of the
company, especially when this is not e result of their work. Of course,
headhunting business seeks for luxurious cars, nice clothes, so this is
necessary”.
Ways to motivate the employees
Talking about another case,
when the boss had chosen to motivate his employees by giving them cash,
Ilirjani emphasized: “In a job interview, I always tell the interviewed
ones to not only be interviewed, but to interview the company too. Everything
is image, but you cannot just give cash, everything should be done according to
law. Services need a smile, a clean and curated image”.
Tourism and employment are a new, very positive reality in
Albania.
The Headhunter Company is part of this trend.
To explain this better, Elton Ilirjani, founder of the training and
employment company The Headhunter, was invited recently in the TV shows
“Mesdite” and “Next” in Vizion Plus TV.
Ilirjani talked about “People First” project, co-financed by
USAID, the Sweden government and The Headhunter, which aims to train and hire 2
thousand youngsters in the tourism sector.
“Working in tourism is in style right now, because being a cook,
for example, means you may have a very high salary. The salary varies from 2 to
4 thousand euros.” – said Ilirjani.
“We offer training and employment in 8 profiles. There is even a
new profession in this sector, which is the one of maintenance technician, but
unfortunately all young people want to graduate in law, or be actors, or host a
show just like you today here” – continued Ilirjani.
“There are jobs for IT, for electricians, pool maintenance,
water quality control which also means testing usage of equipment.
Unfortunately, out of 1000 quotes announced so far, we are still at half
of them. Therefore, I advice all youngsters to apply immediately by sending a
CV at [email protected]”, –
stressed the leader of The Headhunter.
Related to this hesitance of youngsters to benefit from the free
training and paid internship, Ilirjani noted:
“They have lost their faith in employment, or they believe they should pay to
get a job, by bribing. This is wrong, because we have 1 thousand openings for
this year and 1 thousand more for next year. This partly a matter of laziness
also
In the end they should think seriously about their career.
In some cases the system does not work, and it is not their fault, but in our
case we are not requiring previous experience from these candidates. All we
need is for them to be at the age needed for working. We also have the Tourism Academy
in Dhermi, called HH Boutique Hotel and the best students will be paid to work
and serve the clients there”.Related to how the employment of these 2 thousand
young people will be done, Ilirjani noted:
“We also have memorandums of understanding with 400 hotels and
restaurants, where these people will be hired, in all seacoast. So they will
have a six-week long training and a nice experience during summer with their
internships. Someone will manage a hotel; someone will be a bartender and so
on. It will be a unique experience and they will feel good. They should apply
immediately at [email protected]. And
they will have an internationally known certificate with USAID, Sweden Embassy,
The Headhunter and Ministry of Social Welfare logo. Besides from the hotel
manager profile, for 7 out of 8 other profiles a high school or primary school
diploma is enough. They will be selected, they will be trained, and they will
have a life opportunity. They will be paid 200 dollars during the internship
and will have health insurance paid too.
“If a hotel such as Hilton comes to Albania, they will need many people and the youngsters will be ready, qualified. The trainings will take place in 5 cities and later the candidates will be hired wherever they want. They should not waste their time in political campaigns, instead they should go to professionals, worry about their career” – ended Ilirjani.
For more, you can watch the videos in the links below:
