About HR during the pandemic and how the criteria change in the “new normal” with Aida Dinu, Global Human Resources Manager with Ezugi
The pandemic has changed all the rules and continues to influence our lives, both personal and professional
Aida Dinu, Global Human Resources Manager with Ezugi
What did the mid-March lockdown meant for employees?
Ezugi offers casino services that are exclusively online, which has significantly reduced the impact on both the company and the employees.
From the point of view of accessing the services, we did not register decreases, considering the fact that people were locked in the house and they accessed the internet more than usual.
From the employees’ point of view, employees with jobs that could be performed remotely, from home, immediately received this benefit and most of them still work from home, depending on their personal choice. For example, parents with young children prefer to come to the office as often as possible, when safety measures were loosened, being able to concentrate better at the office premises.
As for the employees who had to come to the headquarters, they were proactively protected by the company, before the authorities imposed safety measures – ensuring private transportation, intensive and frequent sanitation of the entire workspace, providing masks and sanitizing, modifying work shifts so that exposure to large communities is minimized, etc.
As for the psychological impact, I think we all felt it, from isolation to fear, completely natural emotions, by the way.
By keeping in constant contact with employees, whether they worked from headquarters or at home, offering them continuous support, we believe that we have managed to keep their morale as high as possible.
What did your company and you do to keep people?
During this time, we focused on benefits and additional safety measures to help our employees get through this difficult time. The granting of these benefits and the implementation of safety measures, the constant availability of management to provide support, were unveiled by the attitude and dedication of employees, which led to very good results compared to the same period last year. All these aspects led to a much higher employee retention rate.
I personally talked to each person, I was available to all, I facilitated as much as possible the implementation of particular measures for each employee, I listened, I was empathetic. I think that this aspect also helped a lot.
About HR during the pandemic and how the criteria change in the “new normal” with Aida Dinu, Global Human Resources Manager with Ezugi
What steps have you taken to get through this difficult time?
Ezugi began with a series of very well-developed prevention plans, given various possible scenarios, before the pandemic spread to Europe. Among the prevention measures taken, we can list some, such as: work from home (where possible), ensuring the transportation of employees, differentiated and flexible work schedule and of course ensuring all sanitary materials for all employees.
What is the “new normality” in HR?
In my opinion, the level of trust between employees and management has increased. Literally we all had to learn – that being responsible is something related to the quality of the individuals, not necessarily to the attitude of management; the pleasant surprise came from the fact that the productivity of the employees increased. Employees have learned that managers are available for support, whether they are physically with them or not. And we all knew each other better as people, we unwittingly had access to personal issues – children playing in the background, dog barking in the yard, the cat stepping on the keyboard, etc., which strengthened the relationship between us all, not only from a professional perspective, but also personal.
Also, to put it more colloquially, we all learned that if we “have our backs” everything goes better, and the pandemic has shown us that we do this for each other very well and efficiently.
Therefore, staff retention has increased exponentially and this direction seems to be constant and increasing.
The new normal comes with online interviews, responsible employees and tailored benefits. We also notice a greater interest in working from home, both for employees and employers.
And, last but not least, as an internal HR, normality means that I know myself better with my colleagues and that I am more authentic in my relationship with them, and theirs with me.
Has the pandemic changed the rules of head-hunting? if YES, in what sense?
Although it is difficult to anticipate exactly which direction the business environment is heading, the pandemic has certainly changed all the rules and continues to influence our lives, both personal and professional. Although most companies have suspended recruitment, we are among the lucky ones who, due to the nature of the business, have continued to expand the team.
Ezugi is constantly developing both locally and globally, the latest project being Indian Studio, located in Bucharest, the launch being a real success.
In terms of head-hunting, the actual search areas, especially LinkedIn, have not changed, but yes, the whole recruitment process has changed, everything being online. We all had to adapt to trust (the employer in candidate; the candidate in employer) without previous face-to-face meeting.
Also, the integration of newcomers was a big challenge, from the logistical side – providing the necessary equipment, to technical support and integration in the team and projects. It all involved a lot of communication and increased attention from managers to employees and newcomers.
The recruitment plan has changed, because together with the responsibility, the level of loyalty has increased. In our company we are lucky to have professional and loyal people who have coped brilliantly with this period, have supported and continue to support the business.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our employees for their efforts!
About HR during the pandemic and how the criteria change in the “new normal” with Aida Dinu, Global Human Resources Manager with Ezugi
