Gazprom Neft has initiated its own category in the “HR Brand Awards” (held every year by personnel group HeadHunter), sponsoring nominations in the “New Approaches” category, with Russia’s “AgroTerra” Group of Companies awarded first prize at a ceremony held on 1 March, 2017. The agricultural holding’s project was named the best of 14 applications submitted under nominations for the most innovative company in personnel management.
The jury assessed AgroTerra’s HR department’s use of new approaches in personnel development, based around reviews of employees’ engagement, competencies, and commitment to corporate values — the application of innovative and interesting methodologies and techniques in personnel management, delivering genuine benefits for the business, being precisely the basis for assessing projects nominated for the New Approaches category.
Scope for self-realisation, and for the development of personal potential in addressing exceptional or challenging tasks, is an important part of Gazprom Neft’s value proposition. The main objective of this new nominations category is to provide expert support to companies with similar principles in developing their personnel management systems, focussed on the inculcation of progressive working methods and the dissemination of such practices throughout the Russian market.
Elena Surmeiko, Head of Recruitment, Gazprom Neft, commented: “One of the main trends driven by modern businesses today is the development of new professions, meeting the demands of the market and technological developments. AgroTerra, in establishing a new profession, that of the ‘agro-scout’, has begun to reform one of the most conservative industries — agriculture and farming — implementing the most promising digital approaches and cutting-edge technologies, while raising the prestige of the profession and attracting young people into the agricultural industry. And, of course, establishing a new profession has, first and foremost, impacted the field of HR.”
Vitaly Baranov, Deputy CEO for Administration, Gazprom Neft, added: “Gazprom Neft is a company directed at constant development, including HR. We are constantly on the look out for new solutions, implementing the most cutting-edge technologies. In taking the decision to establish the New Approaches nomination category at Russia’s most authoritative personnel awards we were certain there were no few companies within the country striving — with the help of progressive HR techniques — to support the development of their own business, industry and, ultimately, the domestic economy. We are not mistaken, you can be sure, in thinking that the market definitely holds no small number of interesting ideas worth supporting and developing.”
AgroTerra is a Russian agricultural holding, established in 2008. The main crops produced by AgroTerra include wheat, barley, rapeseed, soya beans, sunflowers and maize. With its head office located in Moscow, AgroTerra currently cultivates more than 200,000 hectares of land in the Tula, Ryazan, and Penza regions, as well as four of the country’s “Black Earth (Chernozem)” regions — the Kursk, Tambov, Lipetsk and Orel regions. More than 2,000 employees work throughout the AgroTerra Group of Companies.
The “HR Brand Awards” were established by recruitment company HeadHunter in 2006. They are one of Russia’s most prestigious competitions in personnel management, through which the best HR projects gain recognition and publicity, and HR professionals the opportunity to share experience and insights into best practices in HR. The awards widely recognised throughout the professional community, bringing together major federal and regional employers.
