Ingram Micro is a global leader that has 154 distribution centres, more than 1,700 suppliers and 200,000 clients, while standing out as its greatest asset are its 35,000 employees
The time has come for our experienced teams to be joined by young engineers to whom we will convey Ingram’s culture, values and knowhow, while at the same time learning how Generation Z thinks. We look forward to the synergy that we will create together, reveals Ingram Micro’s Katarina Jovanović Bućan in this CorD interview.
How do you manage to retain and motivate your people during these times when everything is changing?
The new normal has taught all of us that, among other things, we all need a good balance between our working and private lives, and that a hybrid work environment – provided it is well structured – yields many more advantages, efficient work and improved results. Satisfied employees, and even more satisfied vendors and partners, are our imperative.
Is the good selecting of personnel one of the preconditions for doing business successfully?
Good, timely selection is one of the preconditions for doing business successfully, and finding high-quality people is a common goal of ours. Sometimes a person who has real potential is already part of the team, and it is up to the leaders and HR team to recognise and support them in a new role.
Staff selection has gradually become more complex. Innovation is essential, as is the involvement of leaders in the entire process. Only together are we able to select the right person, set expectations well and motivate the candidate to join us. Apart from a detailed orientation programme and introduction to the company, its corporate culture and values, new colleagues are also provided with a buddy system, which will help them to quickly find their feet in Ingram’s environment. Once you’ve already found a good person, you must do everything in your power to integrate and motivate them.
We are extremely proud of the success of the Programme of advanced training for students of technical faculties that we established together with renowned technical faculties in Serbia, professors and our experienced colleagues
Your employees belong to the IT sector, which ensures that they are naturally encouraged to learn and improve. Does the company provide them with opportunities to do that?
Ingram Micro is a company in which employees are focused on responding readily to market challenges and the needs of our vendors and partners. A constant desire to learn, accept changes and improve is our reality, which we discuss very openly in the company and with job candidates.
Engineers have a natural need to acquire new knowledge, to be certified, to participate in complex projects, thus ensuring that the sales team always has solutions ready. Innovative, dynamic and professional people who love their job stay at Ingram for a long time and create a comparative market advantage. We learn and grow as a team – there is no other way.
Who at your company is responsible for recognising talented individuals and directing them towards more responsible positions?
People grow and develop within the company, and thus space is created for the arrival of new young personnel. It was at the beginning of this year that we launched a programme through which we familiarise young people from technical faculties with Ingram as a company, the role of a distributor in today’s global market, but also the altered role of engineers.
We are extremely proud of the success of the Programme of advanced training for students of technical faculties that we developed within the scope of cooperation with renowned technical faculties on the territory of Serbia. This project has become part of Ingram’s global learning and we are delighted that the Centre for Technical Expertise from Belgrade and the HR department will have the opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences with colleagues worldwide. We are certainly ready to exchange experiences and open the door to new generations. Our email address is hr-see@ingrammicro.com.
This is also a very precious project for us because the young engineers who successfully traverse Ingram’s training become part of our company, but also part of the business environment of our partner network.