"THE SECOND ANNUAL SME FORUM HELD IN NOVI SAD"

"This year's forum, titled (r)Evolution of the SME Sector through the Lens of Human Capital, featured two panel discussions: Retention 360°: From Motivation to Organizational Culture and International Mobility: How to Find and Employ Talent from Abroad? The forum was moderated by Damir Nađ, Chief Operating Officer of Manpower company.

Regarding the topic of retention in small and medium-sized enterprises, the significance and benefits of a well-defined strategy, measuring its success, challenges, as well as good examples and practices in the SME sector, were discussed by our excellent panelists Aleksandra Anđelić, HR Manager at Mikrotec Optika, and Srđan Dinulović, Executive Director of Assert International. Aleksandra highlighted that over 30% of employees in the company have been there for over 10 years, which is a result of a holistic approach they take when hiring new candidates, paying attention to each individual and their personality, which later greatly facilitates their start in the company. Srđan emphasized that honesty and a clear company vision are important, and a higher purpose within the company is what retains employees. Retention and motivation should not be solely financial; human contact and sentiment are crucial in business. Additionally, agility in retention involves personalization and a flexible approach to employees.

In the second part of the forum, we focused on the increasingly relevant topic of securing talent from abroad. Dejan Borić, Legal Advisory at Magna, and Srđan Milić, Chief Operating Officer of MPS Integration, shared their experiences of this process from two perspectives. Dejan shared the positive experience of Magna, which as part of its long-term strategy, employed 20 candidates from Sri Lanka, as well as the factors they considered during the assimilation of employees - cultural aspects, explanation to the local population, and the role of support and assistance from already employed colleagues. Srđan emphasized the importance of agency partner support in this process, as well as the key factors of a successful process: knowledge and monitoring of legal regulations, good selection, recruitment, and assessment of candidates, as well as cultural integration of workers. We concluded that International Mobility is now a reality in the labor market.

After both panels, a networking session followed where we continued to share experiences, trends, and best practices with the aim of gaining useful insights for even more successful business strategies.

Project partners: Development Agency of Vojvodina, Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina, Confindustria, loop.

We thank the panelists and participants of the forum for their great energy and productive discussion.

See you next year in even greater numbers!