Growing A Company In A Developing Country By Adopting A Contemporary HR Mindset.pdf

11/8/23, 4:00 PM Growing A Company In A Developing Country By Adopting A Contemporary HR Mindset
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/05/11/growing-a-company-in-a-developing-country-by-adopting-a-contemporary-hr-mindset/?sh=181488221314 1/7
FORBES SMALL BUSINESS
Growing A Company In A Developing
Country By Adopting A Contemporary
HR Mindset
Ognjen Cvetkovic Forbes Councils Member
Forbes Business Council COUNCIL POST | Membership (Fee-Based)
May 11, 2022, 07:30am EDT
Ognjen Cvetkovic Partner and Director of Operations at Joorney Business Plans.

GETTY
The economic growth of developing countries is sometimes limited by the prevailing,
traditional human resources (HR) mindset in those countries, as pointed out in an article
in the Journal for East European Management Studies documenting issues in human
resource management in Serbia. This is especially true for companies that do not have an
international or global presence.

Companies in developing regions, as the article notes, can associate human resource
management with administrative work. If you equate HR with administration, then you
are taking care of the people in your organization in only a transactional manner—paying
salaries, handling contracts and so on. In that case, you can also expect exclusively
transactional behavior and no creativity from those people.
A few decades ago, valuing employees and HR practices were two distinct and separate
concepts in the Balkans. The infamous traditional HR mentality often resulted in no clear
career paths or development plans among employees.
Why Did The Traditional HR Mindset Become The Norm?
Many countries have their own HR mentality story. Let’s take Serbia as an example.
MORE FROM FORBES ADVISOR
Best Travel Insurance Companies
By Amy Danise Editor
Best Covid-19 Travel Insurance Plans
By Amy Danise Editor
From the end of WWII until the early 1990s, Serbia was part of Communist Yugoslavia.
Virtually all companies were public or government-owned companies. Talking with older

family members, I found out that to get hired, it mattered more whether you were a
political party member than whether you had the right skills for the job.
I've been told by family members and others that back then, people were not able to
change jobs as they are today. In this kind of environment, HR practices were simply not
utilized. So, a huge knowledge gap has been created in the HR industry.
Recently, Serbia has become a labor outsourcing hub for service companies. While the
supply of true HR experts is low, the demand has gone through the roof. From what I’ve
seen, foreign companies are hiring many people in Serbia, and they need the support of
the HR industry—they need HR professionals—to act as a stabilizing factor in
organizations to maintain and continue the achieved growth.
Evidence That The Traditional HR Mindset Persists
In my experience, it is obvious that a traditional HR mindset persists in places such as
Serbia—you do not see this occur in places like the U.S.
I witness it almost daily while communicating with business owners and leaders. You see
businesses face growth, structure, recruiting and retention issues. Many of these issues
can be solved by prioritizing human resource management as part of the company’s
strategy and then acting on that strategy.
I have even experienced this mentality in my own company. Out of all the positions and
vacancies that have been filled by the company in the last seven-plus years, the most
difficult position to recruit for was the HR Manager.

In an HR Manager, you are looking for someone who can be a bridge between the
company’s leadership and its employees. They must be able to facilitate communication
and simultaneously support the interests of everyone in the organization, ensuring all of
the organization functions as one team. They should deeply understand people and their
behavior, while utilizing HR methods.
We only had partial success recruiting for this position externally, which is why we
decided to take a different route and promote it internally. This allowed us to have an HR
Manager who had grown with the company and learned about it in another role and who
could continue to grow with the system and all of our colleagues. HR is more about
managing people than it is an administrative function.
The Traditional HR Mindset Hinders Retention And Recruiting
Employees need to feel valued in order to immerse themselves in the organization. This is
especially important if your company provides services where satisfied and engaged
people are vital to your success.
At every stage of the hiring process, starting with someone hearing about your company
for the first time, your human resource management can either optimize recruiting and
make it successful—or not.
Further, if you do not care about onboarding new employees effectively, you are not
giving your new colleagues the best shot at performing. They could miss out on technical
tools, colleague support and cultural support. This lack of proper training and support
could quickly lead to a high turnover rate.

Developing an Organizational Structure That Promotes Growth
But, what does it mean to have an organizational structure that allows employees to grow,
and how will this growth contribute to that of the company? The answer lies in the
adoption of the following three pillars.
Visibility
Employees must understand the entire organization and how they fit in the system. This
facilitates immersion. If employees have visibility, they can connect the dots faster, arrive
at conclusions effectively and become growth participants in a more powerful manner.
Maybe you have an employee in the sales department who has the next big idea that will
improve your company’s procurement. You will never find this out if that employee has
no visibility.
Progress
Employees must be able to recognize opportunities for progress in their career
development. Career progression is vital for both the employee and the employer. It leads
to employee satisfaction which, in turn, aids in staff retention.
Trust
Employees should have trust in their leaders, in future company plans and current
decisions. This will help them feel secure in their roles, which can result in an increase in

productivity. Your employees should always feel comfortable asking questions, sharing
ideas and expressing their thoughts.
Getting rid of a traditional mindset toward employment and HR, and implementing an
organizational structure that allows employees to grow, can lead to significant growth for
your company. Your employees will have trust in you as a leader, will be able to progress
in their careers and will feel secure as their voices are being heard.
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business
owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Follow me on LinkedIn. Check out my website.
Ognjen Cvetkovic
Ognjen Cvetkovic, Partner at Joorney Business Plans. Read Ognjen Cvetkovic's full executive profile
here.
ADVERTISEMENT
Editorial Standards Reprints & Permissions

Growing A Company In A Developing Country By Adopting A Contemporary HR Mindset.pdf

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Growing A Company In A Developing Country By Adopting A Contemporary HR Mindset.pdf

Similar to Growing A Company In A Developing Country By Adopting A Contemporary HR Mindset.pdf (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Growing A Company In A Developing Country By Adopting A Contemporary HR Mindset.pdf