Successfully recertified were Konzum, Pik Vrbovec, Jamnica, mStart and Fortenova grupa d.d., while Mercator-Serbia, Mg Mivela, Roto dinamic, Zvijezda, Dijamant, Belje, Pik Vinkovci and Vupik were certified for the first time

As many as 13 Fortenova Group companies received the Certificate Employer Partner (CEP) for the year 2022, which is awarded for excellence in human resources management.

Out of the total number, five companies – Konzum, Pik Vrbovec, Jamnica, mStart and Fortenova grupa d.d. – successfully completed the recertification process, while eight companies participated in the certification process for the first time – Mercator-Serbia, Mg Mivela, Roto dinamic, Zvijezda, Dijamant, Belje, Pik Vinkovci and Vupik.

The Certificate Employer Partner is an unbiased acknowledgement by experts from the European HR community verifying the highest quality of management in seven key areas of human resources. Thereby the practices in Croatia are compared to global trends, thus improving the standards in human resources management and promoting examples of excellence in HR. The certification process assesses and awards points to topics such as selection, competence development, leadership, work performance, involvement and satisfaction, career and succession, rewarding etc. at all organisational levels.

“When so many different companies from one Group receive an external professional acknowledgement that the standards they apply in their operations are at the highest level, regardless of their respective area of operations, this is a legitimate reason to be proud and a proof that our internal bonds are getting ever stronger. However, due to the situation on the labour market that employers on all markets have been faced with since several years, this certification has a particular weight as it brings a great positive reverberation and recognition. Having satisfied and motivated employees and encouraging work environments, as well as creating and maintaining those partnership relations is what constitutes one of the key competitive advantages for employers today. This also means having a positive impact on a number of processes in our regional environment, which is the fundamental prerequisite for long-term sustainability” – said Fabris Peruško, Fortenova Group’s Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors on the occasion of the Certificate Employer Partner presentation ceremony.

“This is a truly valuable acknowledgement for all our initiatives taken so far in the area of human resources development at Fortenova Group companies and to all teams working on it with great commitment. Besides showing that the companies’ operations are on the right track and that the employees’ impact on the organisations’ growth is continuously being strengthened, those acknowledgements are also a significant motivation for us to continue being a good practice example for other companies in the region by placing employees in the focus of our operations” – said Gordana Fabris, Director of Human Resources at Fortenova Group.

“It has been a pleasure to follow Fortenova Group over the last three years since the first company from the Group got involved in the quality assessment of human resources management according to the regionally recognised Employer Partner methodology. We are particularly pleased to see that the number of companies from Fortenova Group that hold the Certificate Employer Partner has significantly grown. The thirteen Certificate holders have a headcount of more than 26 500 employees and thereby not only have an impact on the Croatian and the region’s economies, but also affect the quality of many work environments. We know from our consulting experience how challenging it is for companies of that size and diversification to introduce new HR processes and implement changes. Fortenova Group companies particularly stand out in terms of the quality of their recruitment processes, onboarding for new employees and employee development through internal academies with impressive tradition. We look forward to future successes of Fortenova Group companies which will certainly not fail to happen given the great investments in people, which are their main value” – said Lara Šubić Šuše, Employer Partner Project Manager.

Fortenova grupa d.d. has received the acknowledgement “Family Friendly Employer”, awarded for the fourth year in a row by the Central Government Office for Demographics and Youth to companies with best quality solutions in achieving a friendly atmosphere towards employees and their families, particularly taking into account the adjustment of the employers to employees’ families over the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 2018, when it was awarded for the first time, this acknowledgement has established itself as an important public commendation to those employers whose relation to their employees stands witness to their socially responsible approach and also shows a diversity of solutions for creating a friendly and encouraging environment for employees and their families.

“At the company we have focused on our employees with children, by providing parents with certain benefits in those moments of life that are important to them. At the same time we are focused on the idea of projecting optimism, as we believe that the optimism that we build within our company also affects the broader society. Viewed in the context of the declining population, we think that what is missing in our society is optimism. It is important for us to support family life as well as optimism, because we believe that it is possible to create personal wealth, values and business success in our region and that people can feel good here” – said Fabris Peruško, Fortenova Group’s Chief Executive Officer, on the occasion of the award presentation.

Gordana Fabris, Fortenova Group’s Director of Human Resources, noted that the wide array of benefits at Fortenova Group ranged from employee health care by way of covering additional health insurance costs, thru a number of measures supporting parenthood – flexible working hours and four-hour workdays for parents of children with special needs, the possibility of gradual return to work following maternity or parental leave, use of days off for the child’s first day at school or kindergarten – up to subsidized sporting activities for its employees.

“Fortenova Group’s commitment to building a community that places the focus on family values has been recognized by the Central Government Office for Demographics and Youth, which has awarded us the acknowledgement “Family Friendly Employer” for the year 2021. We are exceptionally proud of this valuable recognition, which is also an encouragement to keep focusing on the welfare of our employees even more” – Gordana Fabris said.