HR Bosses

Human resources (HR) directors are now being followed much more carefully. The positive developments in the economy in particular are focusing attention on companies with a high rate of recruitment and these companies’ HR executives. These people, who recruit personnel in accordance with their companies’ strategies, have had a significant impact on employment over the last two years. Capital conducted a survey of the HR directors who have recently recruited the most personnel. Lately the employment bosses have mostly been active in banking and retailing. The companies which have recruited most in the last two years come from these sectors. HR experts say that this is the result of the power of individual consumers. They note that since the recession individual consumers have produced higher rates of consumption than corporate consumers or investors.  
 
Banking launches recruitment offensive  
Akbank, whose steady recruitment policy even during the recession attracted attention, employed 779 new personnel in 2001. In 2002 this number fell to 2002 before rising to 727 in 2003 and 660 in the first six months of 2004. The person behind this operation is Esra Bozkurt, Assistant General Manager Responsible for Human Resources. Bozkurt says that recently they have been recruiting in order to develop their branch staffs and to work at the call center. Denizbank has attracted attention by recruiting 1,322 new staff in the last year as part of its restructuring process. The person at the bank behind this move is Mehveş Demir, HR and Training Group Manager. Demir says that recently the development of marketing functions based on customer segmentation has had an impact on new recruitment. Another important player is Dışbank which has taken on 1,200 people since 2003. Selda Kalleci, Assistant General Manager Responsible for Human Resources, says that they have employed 145 new personnel in the first six months of 2004 alone.  
 
Lively times in retailing  
Retailing is another sector in which there has been a lot of movement in terms of recruitment. When one looks at the list of those who have taken on new staff, Tansaş Assistant General Manager Responsible for Human Resources Hakan Alp, who has provided employment for approximately 2,000 people, stands out. Alp says that the company’s greater emphasis on customer focused approaches has played a role in the recruitment of candidates with these characteristics. Since their merger Kipa and Tesco have become two of the most talked about companies in the sector. The human resources policy of HR director Can Gulkesen during the successful realization of this m,erger has attracted attention. Another retailing chain which has caught the eye is Gima which has taken on 1,019 new staff. The man behind the company’s recruitment policy is Gima Assistant General Manager Responsible for Human Resources Murat Ergene. Ergene says that the opening of seven Gima stores and 4 Endi stores in Turkey over the last year has fuelled the increase in recruitment.  
 
THE HR EXECUTIVES WHO HAVE CAUGHT THE EYE IN FINANCE  
 
FİNANSBANK: The person behind the creation of the company’s HR structure is Assistant  
General Manager Responsible for Human Resources Hamdi Aydın. In 2004 Finansbank opened a total of 16 new branches and underwent an increase in recruitment. As a result of the efforts of Hamdi Aydın and his team, as of the end of June 2004 the number of personnel at Finansbank stood at 4,600.  
 
HSBC: Most of the recruitment has been in the telephone banking and individual marketing departments. The person responsible for coordinating this recruitment is Assistant General Manager Responsible for Human Resources Öktem Kalaycıoğlu.  
 
YAPI KREDİ: Has employed 700 new personnel in its banking organization over the last year. Yapı Kredi Assistant General Manager Responsible for Human Resources Neşe Akar says that most of the new jobs have been in positions which provide services directly to the customers. She says that most have been to provide support to branch sales and operations teams.