The FINANCIAL -- Bank Republic, Societe Generale Group, one of the biggest employers in Georgia said it’s going to hire more workers in 2010. Ana Tikaradze of Career Development at Bank Republic told The FINANCIAL that the Bank is expanding its network, which will require about a 10% increase of personnel in 2010. Other leading companies interviewed by The FINANCIAL are also considering pay rises. Many of them are waiting for annual financial results that will determine the new average salary in Georgia for 2010.

“Bank Republic made about a 10-15% staff salary increase estimation for 2010,” Ana Tikaradze, Coordinator of Career Development at Bank Republic, SocGen Group, told The FINANCIAL.

The number of workers at Bank Republic is currently 998.

“Bank Republic has not fired any of its staff members since the start of the global recession,” Tikaradze, BR, told us.

Bank Republic revises its salary budget twice a year. “Mass salary increase was done at the beginning of 2008; salary increase depends on individual performance,” Tikaradze declares.

“We have several motivators for increasing staff salary,” Tikaradze mentions. “The Bank is moving forward, expending network, gaining market share and has a great support from Societe Generale Group.”

Bank of Georgia, the largest retail bank in the country with an approximate 34% market share by total assets, employs 3,000 people excluding any job cuts.

“I can’t tell you in advance if we will increase the salary budget of our employees but we can exclude its reduction,” Irakli Gilauri, CEO of Bank of Georgia , said.

Bank of Georgia serves over 695,000 retail clients through its network of 140 branches and 394 ATMs (the largest ATM footprint in Georgia), as well as through other delivery channels including the Internet, mobile banking and state-of-the-art call centre.

“Bank of Georgia has already increased its staff in 2009 and in case of future needs we will continue this process, according to demand,” Gilauri explains.

He said that the Bank is considering reemployment of personnel dismissed in late 2008. Those people are in the reemployment priority list, Gilauri says.

“VTB staff salaries will be revised by the end of the year and decision on increasing salaries in 2010 will be made according to the market research,” Irakli Dolidze, Vice-President and Head of HR Department of VTB Bank, says.

Dolidze excludes the reduction of staff salary in 2010.

“The number of staff may increase according to the current needs in 2010. VTB Bank is not planning to reduce the number of its staff in 2010, though it depends on the situation in the banking sector,” Dolidze says.

Presently VTB Bank hires 759 staff members. The staff number of the Bank was reduced by 188 since the beginning of global recession.

VTB is revising its salary budget annually. Recently salaries were increased for the whole staff of the Bank in January 2009 by 5%, after changes in tax legislation.

“Salaries are increased to motivate staff, to reduce staff flow, and to respond to the market situation,” Dolidze says.

“At HSBC pay-rises are subject to employee performance and linked to business performance,” Tamar Seturi, HR Manager of HSBC Bank Georgia explains.

“The year-end results for 2009 will be available in January 2010. Performance Year runs from January until December 2009. Therefore, we will have a clear picture in January on what will be the average percent of pay-increases in 2010,” Tamar Seturi, HSBC Bank Georgia, declares.

Seturi says HSBC Georgia does not plan any salary reductions in 2010.

“We also have no plans to reduce our staff number in 2010,” Seturi notes.

”We will hire more staff according to our business expansion,” Seturi, HSBC , told the FINANCIAL.

Currently HSBC Bank Georgia employs 69 workers.

“In June 2009 HSBC reviewed its strategy in Georgia and the decision was made to concentrate bank resources on commercial banking rather than retail banking. In line with this strategic decision we had to make 16 positions redundant. As a result of this 16 of our colleagues were made redundant,” Seturi said.

Geocell, one of the leading mobile communication companies in Georgia, plans to approve 2010’s budget in September. “In 2009 during the peak of the global recession, when most of the companies faced financial difficulties we increased the salary our staff by 15%. We also gave out bonuses. We did our best to avoid our employees feeling the effects of the recession,” says Osman Turan, General Director of the company Geocell.

“In 2009 we have not only not reduced the number of our workers but actually hired some more,” Mr.Turan told The FINANCIAL. He said that plans for the future increase of Geocell workers will be up to company development and demand.

“Usually we increase the salary of our staff at the beginning of the year. Every six months we overview staff increase issues and when it’s needed we do it,” he adds.

Another leading mobile communication company, Magticom told The FINANCIAL that salaries of company workers will not be reduced in 2010.

“Since 2002 an average salary at MagtiCom increases by 5-10 % every year,” Nana Mukeria, Head of HR Department of Magticom, notes. 

“Pay-rises will be determined according to the financial results at the end of 2009,” Mukeria says.

“In January 2009 all the staff members had their salaries increased. The welfare and the proper management of the company motivate our company to increase the salary budget,” Mukeria declares.

“In line with the constant growth of the company the number of employees permanently increases,” Mukeria says.

Currently Magticom employs 988 people. The company has said that no one was dismissed since the global recession started.

For 2010 pharmaceutical company PSP does not plan to make any changes in the salary budget of its workers.

“We are revising our salary budget once a year. We last modified our staff’s salary in 2008 and increased it by 20-25%. Salaries in the company PSP are higher than the average sum of the total salary market in Georgia,” Maia Robakidze, Head of HR Department of PSP, notes.

“PSP plans to hire new workers in 2010, about 50-60 employees,” Robakidze notes.

Presently the total number of workers of PSP is 2,100. The company has not fired any of our employees since the beginning of the global recession.

JSC Nikora, leading food processing company in Georgia with estimated meat products market share of 55% plans to increase salary budget according to the sales index.

“Important changes are not forecasted,” Lili Bibilashvili, Head of HR Department JSC Nikora, told us.

“The budget’s revision is a permanent process and is carried out individually once a year. Our company has implemented a salary gradation system that means to determine several categories to increase the salary amount in accordance with the relevant work evaluation and accomplishment results,” Bibilashvili said.

The company dismissed 40 of its staff members at the beginning of the year.

Currently about 1,400 people are employed by Nikora.

Wissol one of the largest oil importers in Georgia plans to increase 2010 salary budget.

“We are planning to increase salary budget to ensure corporate job satisfaction and high working quality,” Rusudan Sanikidze, Head of HR Department of Wissol Petroleum Georgia told The FINANCIAL.
 
Sanikidze said Wissol is implementing a very successful compensation system.
Number of company workers did not decrease since the global downturn.

“Moreover, Wissol increases Human Resources every year due to service diversification and business development. Wissol plans to add new job positions that will create new opportunities for people willing to work in our company,” Sanikidze notes. 

UNI Group LUKOIL Georgia, which employs 276 people, wants to keep stability in its employment process. 

“We try to keep it on the level which we currently have,” Nana Darsania, Head of HR Department of UNI Group LUKOIL Georgia, told us. 

UNI Group is the official marketing service for LUKOIL Georgia, one of the biggest oil importers in Georgia.

“We do not have concrete termed tendencies of increasing the salary budget. We raise it according to the total enlargement of the living level. We increase the salary for our staff when the average sum of it rises on the market. We try to keep higher than the middle of the salary level on the market. We last increased the salary budget of our workers in 2007, by 25%,” Darsania says.

Written By Madona Gasanova

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