#HRSpotlight2022 | Alexandra Tureschi, Country HR Manager, Majorel Romania

The #HRSpotlight2022 interview series launched in March this year, a sequel to its 2020 and 2021 installments, continues today with another insightful conversation about the #futureofwork, featuring Alexandra Tureschi, Country HR Manager at Majorel Romania, the company that won the Employer of the Year | Working Romania Champion trophy at this year’s Business Review Awards Gala.

1. Starting with a bit of background, how was 2021 from an HR perspective and what were the most important actions and programs you undertook for your employees?

During COVID-19 times, we managed to thrive as a team and to build trust amongst our employees and clients. In 2021, Majorel Romania received the Brand of the Year award through public voting and also, was named as the Top Employer in Romania in BPO & Services Industry.

We have implemented a series of trainings and professional development programs in order to improve the management skills of existing team managers, enhancing and identifying ways to cope with internal and external stress, boost operational skills, and improve online training skills and online presentation skills.

Also, in 2021 we have launched in Romania the Feel Good Program, Majorel’s global wellbeing and engagement framework that empowers our employees to get engaged and contribute to shaping their workplace.

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We also developed mentoring programs, fostering a leadership culture, cultivating a sense of belonging and community especially now, since we are working from home.

2. Employee wellbeing is no longer seen as a benefit, so how can employers and HR leaders take this concept to new heights and get more involved in the personal wellness of their people?

Our main approach towards wellbeing is to show that we care, because employee wellbeing has benefits for both personal and organizational performance. We underline the importance of emotional stability, we discuss it with our employees and we take actions in order to maintain our team’s wellbeing.

We have always offered to our employees’ professional and personal development opportunities, and in the last years we have launched long term programs in order to create a stable & healthy environment.

In 2021 we have started a long-term wellbeing program for our employees that consists in group therapy sessions with a psychotherapist where we discuss topics like anxiety, burnout, resilience, introspection, and parenting. We also had sessions of mindfulness and live yoga classes.

Through our global Feel Good Program our employees, along with the Feel Good Community Ambassadors come up with different engagement and wellbeing initiatives to reinvent our workplace in accordance with their needs and wishes.

3. We can’t talk about the #futureofwork without talking about the future workplace. Is it going to be back to office or WFH? How does WFH impact HR activities? 

Thinking about the future of work, there is one characteristic that will be mandatory: flexibility. Once the employees have experienced working from home, they received more freedom in organizing their work, prioritizing tasks, working hours, and so on. We need to show that we are flexible enough to accept their needs.

Having more than 2 000 employees that work within different projects, the answer is not simple. We try to take the best decisions that suits our clients’ needs and our employees’ wishes. Probably, part of the team will continue to work from home, some will come back at the office and others will choose a hybrid system.

4. Recent studies show that many employees expect their employer, and business in general, to be a force for good in society. How involved are your employees in your CSR and Sustainability programs and what are you doing to increase this involvement?

All businesses have an impact on the environment, which is why it’s important to conserve natural resources through local initiatives. We also have a responsibility to the local communities where we operate and our wider society – whether that’s getting involved with educational programs or supporting charities and good causes.

In everything we do, we try to show that, as a company, we have a CSR/sustainability approach, we treasure nature and we are involved in helping people. Our actions are developed in this direction, either is about conscious living & sustainability workshops, donations or supporting local businesses and local products.

Most of our CSR initiatives are driven by our people, most of the time they came up with the idea and we make it happen, together. So, they get involved naturally, because they resonate with our CSR actions. This year we will launch a community garden, a unique concept in Brasov that brings the community together through education and nature.

It is an inclusive project used as a tool in education, with a community and responsible spirit. It is also one of the few projects in Romania designed with the participatory involvement of the community and the children / young people in the target group. Also, we have been actively involved in what’s happening with Ukraine, collaborating with various NGOs for specific needs with refugees.

5. Summing up the previous questions and adding your own insights which might not have been covered so far, what are the most important trends that HR leaders will focus on in 2022 (and beyond)?

We need to continue to listen to our employee’s needs and to learn from these pandemic times. To accept the fact that everything has changed, we can’t go back in time, to simply open the doors of our offices like is 2020 again, and start from where we have left. This is not possible. Our employees have different needs now, a different vision about their career, and different life expectations, in general. Only if we accept these changes we can go further.