Elvin Nosi: “This year, we have created over 600 new job positions, increased our salary fund by more than 13 million euros, and boosted our training fund by 26%.”

Despite the rapid development and the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the job market, human capital remains the core pillar of companies. As a result, more and more attention is being focused on attracting, growing, and retaining professionals across all categories. To better understand how this challenge is being addressed and what is happening within companies, we turned to BALFIN Group, an international group headquartered in Albania, operating in the Balkan region and two continents.

Elvin Nosi, Director of Human Resources at BALFIN Group, shared with us the mechanisms the Group uses to attract top professionals and develop talent. He explained that BALFIN creates new jobs each year, despite already having more than 5,300 direct employees and over 10,000 employees working through the Group’s company partners. In 2024, BALFIN Group created over 600 new job positions, increased the salary fund by over 13 million euros, and paid out around 67 million euros in salaries and bonuses.

Mr. Nosi also mentioned the Group’s professional development programs, such as Talent Pool and the BALFIN Training Academy, as well as policies focused on balancing professional and personal life.

Is it becoming difficult to find qualified people? What strategies does BALFIN Group use to attract and retain top talent, especially in competitive industries or markets?

One of our key Human Resources strategies is to recruit the best talent as quickly as possible. This strategy begins with a thorough understanding of the talent potential in the markets where we operate. To this end, our Human Resources teams proactively conduct an annual talent mapping process. This helps us identify where to focus recruitment efforts and makes the process more effective, enabling us to meet business needs quickly.

Naturally, in recent years, recruitment has become more challenging for certain profiles, especially in IT and digital sectors. However, many of our companies, which lead markets in their respective sectors, enjoy a reputation as “employers of choice,” an image they maintain by continuously investing in the value they offer employees.

Some key elements we offer employees as value include ongoing attention to compensation and benefits through enrichment and our continuous efforts to remain competitive in the market. Another aspect is our ongoing investment in their development, allocating the necessary funds for a variety of developmental activities. Constant recognition of employees’ achievements is another critical element that significantly impacts their motivation and retention.

At the beginning of the year, it was announced that BALFIN Group planned to increase the salary fund by 13 million euros. Has this happened, and do you think that just raising salaries is enough to keep employees motivated?

Yes, it has happened. The salary fund for 2024 increased by over 13 million euros. Around 9 million euros of this increase came from the creation of new jobs, and over 4 million euros were allocated to raise the salaries of existing employees. Salary increases are a constant practice for us within the overall compensation and benefits package we offer our employees. In 2024, the Group paid approximately 67 million euros in salaries and bonuses.

Undoubtedly, salary and its increase over time play an important role in employee motivation; however, as a standalone factor, it does not ensure long-term motivation. Several other factors are also important, including decision-making style, clarity of work objectives, internal company culture, opportunities for professional development, and recognition of work achievements.

Does BALFIN Group believe in the continuous development and learning of its employees? Do you have any special policies or programs for this?

At BALFIN Group, we consider investing in the development of our employees a key success factor in achieving business objectives and in motivating our employees. Offering training programs such as BALFIN Training Academy, Talent Pool, and others for executive leaders, along with career opportunities within the Group, constitutes a significant competitive advantage in the labor market for attracting and retaining talent. Our employees benefit from over 100,000 training hours per year. Specifically, in 2024, each employee received an average of 21 hours of training, with an average of 670 employees trained each month. 2024 saw a significant increase of 26% in spending on employee training and development, with a fund exceeding 650,000 euros.

Does the BALFIN Group have an estimate of the new jobs created this year? In which industries and countries were the most new jobs created?

Based on the Group's 3-year business plans, we forecast the number of new jobs positions each year to meet the business growth needs. In 2024, over 600 new jobs were created directly within the Group's companies. Additionally, because of increased business volume for our partners, around 2,000 new jobs were created indirectly.

Most new jobs were created in companies operating in the retail sector, in the countries where we operate, not just in Albania. There was also an increase in new jobs in the construction sector, particularly with the addition of subcontracted workers.

How does the Group support employee well-being and work-life balance?

BALFIN Group consistently focuses on employee well-being, which directly influences work-life balance. We undertake ongoing initiatives that aim to enhance employee well-being, including offering counseling sessions with health professionals from various specialties, organizing sports activities, and incorporating recreational activities both in and outside the workplace.

Another important element is the flexibility we have introduced, including the option for employees to work remotely or follow a flexible daily work schedule. We also carefully monitor the latest best practices from more developed markets, aiming to adopt them in our Group when applicable.

Many international companies, a category in which BALFIN Group also belongs, have in place programs for the discovery of talents in universities. Do you consider today’s students in discovering future talented employees? If yes, how?

The President of BALFIN Group, Mr. Samir Mane, has a special interest in supporting and developing students with talent and abilities. The Group follows two parallel paths to identify, attract, and retain students who demonstrate the potential and ambition to join the Group’s companies. The Group is the main investor and shareholder of Tirana Business University, which makes it easier for us to adapt academic curricula according to the needs and trends of the labor market. This is a great help for students, as they study for real professions, not just theoretical subjects that have little applicability after graduation.

Additionally, we have our own program, B4Students, which supports student startups, improves public university infrastructure, and offers professional internships and scholarships. B4Students is a dynamic program fully dedicated to students, supported by the Mane Foundation.

Through Tirana Business University and B4Students, we can identify talented students, following the best international examples. However, the beneficiaries of our programs are a significantly larger number of students.