i-Free makes Grand Prix nomination as HR Brand of the Year 2009
08.02.2010
This is not the first time i-Free is taking part in the high-profile HR Brand of the Year/Best Employers in Russia Awards. In 2008, the company won the IT, Internet, Hard&Software – Region category and took the Grand Prix for Best HR Brand Management in the Region.
This year, i-Free brought its 2009 HR package – i-Free-Storm – into the competition. To a great extent, i-Free owes its stronger Russian and CIS leadership in mobile content services in 2009 to i-Free-Storm, a program planned and implemented by its HR Department.
The central purpose of the “Storm” package was to keep the company strong in times of economic downturn by boosting employee motivation and sustaining high loyalty among its key specialists.
A comprehensive action plan was drafted to achieve that goal, including employee polls, workload, motivation and morale evaluation, interoperation analysis between corporate units, and a range of events designed to strengthen corporate team spirit: seminars, a weekly Intranet paper, field workshops, team building sessions, corporate events, sporting tournaments, and more.
“Storm” also involved an functional upgrade of the company’s internal portal, which is the principal tool of corporate communication and interaction between i-Free employees. This resulted in easier use of the portal and simplified many business decision-making processes.
“Storm” has left i-Free with an optimized team, better interfaces between its key services and business units and stronger staff motivation overall. The company has kept its key specialists. i-Free has retained its positive atmosphere in which its employees feel confident and secure despite the economic crisis.
“We want to win, but whether we win the actual competition or not is not that important,” said Faina Lerner, Head of Corporate Development and HR at i-Free, who keeps her hopes up for i-Free at HR Brand of the Year Awards ‘2009. “The truth is, we have already won: “Storm” has navigated us well through the complexities and challenges of economic downturn. We have preserved our unique corporate culture and key values. So if we do win the competition, it will be a double triumph for us.”
Forty five companies from different fields of enterprise have been nominated for the HR Brand of the Year Awards ‘2009, including Adidas Group, DHL, IBS, JTI, L’Oreal, PepsiCo, EMC, Intel, i-Free, Softline, TI Systems, Amway, Barclays, Swedbank, Absolut Bank, Alfa Insurance, Nomos Bank, ComStar, Nizhpharm, Renaissance Credit, Northwest Telecom, Transaero, White Wind Digital, Comus, Unimilk, and others.
The competition will be judged on 11 February 2010 and the results will be announced at a ceremony hosted by Moscow’s New Opera House.
For more information on HR Brand of the Year Awards ‘2009, visit www.hrbrand.ru.
i-Free makes Grand Prix nomination as HR Brand of the Year 2009
St. Petersburg, Russia, 8 February 2010. i-Free, a leading provider of content services in Russia and the CIS,* has been nominated for the Grand Prix in the annual HR Brand of the Year Awards held by HeadHunter Group. i-Free came to the competition with i-Free-Storm, the HR package that has helped it strengthen its business and keep its employees loyal and motivated.This is not the first time i-Free is taking part in the high-profile HR Brand of the Year/Best Employers in Russia Awards. In 2008, the company won the IT, Internet, Hard&Software – Region category and took the Grand Prix for Best HR Brand Management in the Region.
This year, i-Free brought its 2009 HR package – i-Free-Storm – into the competition. To a great extent, i-Free owes its stronger Russian and CIS leadership in mobile content services in 2009 to i-Free-Storm, a program planned and implemented by its HR Department.
The central purpose of the “Storm” package was to keep the company strong in times of economic downturn by boosting employee motivation and sustaining high loyalty among its key specialists.
A comprehensive action plan was drafted to achieve that goal, including employee polls, workload, motivation and morale evaluation, interoperation analysis between corporate units, and a range of events designed to strengthen corporate team spirit: seminars, a weekly Intranet paper, field workshops, team building sessions, corporate events, sporting tournaments, and more.
“Storm” also involved an functional upgrade of the company’s internal portal, which is the principal tool of corporate communication and interaction between i-Free employees. This resulted in easier use of the portal and simplified many business decision-making processes.
“Storm” has left i-Free with an optimized team, better interfaces between its key services and business units and stronger staff motivation overall. The company has kept its key specialists. i-Free has retained its positive atmosphere in which its employees feel confident and secure despite the economic crisis.
“We want to win, but whether we win the actual competition or not is not that important,” said Faina Lerner, Head of Corporate Development and HR at i-Free, who keeps her hopes up for i-Free at HR Brand of the Year Awards ‘2009. “The truth is, we have already won: “Storm” has navigated us well through the complexities and challenges of economic downturn. We have preserved our unique corporate culture and key values. So if we do win the competition, it will be a double triumph for us.”
Forty five companies from different fields of enterprise have been nominated for the HR Brand of the Year Awards ‘2009, including Adidas Group, DHL, IBS, JTI, L’Oreal, PepsiCo, EMC, Intel, i-Free, Softline, TI Systems, Amway, Barclays, Swedbank, Absolut Bank, Alfa Insurance, Nomos Bank, ComStar, Nizhpharm, Renaissance Credit, Northwest Telecom, Transaero, White Wind Digital, Comus, Unimilk, and others.
The competition will be judged on 11 February 2010 and the results will be announced at a ceremony hosted by Moscow’s New Opera House.
For more information on HR Brand of the Year Awards ‘2009, visit www.hrbrand.ru.