Romanian Business Services Gala Awards celebrated its WINNERS of 2024’s Edition
On May 22, the business services industry in Romania awarded its FINALISTS & WINNERS for their performances registered in the past business year, within the 10th edition of ROMANIAN BUSINESS SERVICES GALA AWARDS 2024 at JW Marriott Grad Hotel in Bucharest.
THE BUSINESS SERVICES AWARDS GALA, now in its 10th edition, is an elite event and a platform to recognize, reward and celebrate the success of the most prominent companies, projects and individuals acting in the business shared services field in Romania. Based on rigorously researched information and a Judging Panel formed of prominent names in business, the Gala Awards established itself as a must-attend in your Romanian Gala Awards event calendar.
Created 10 years’ ago, Outsourcing Today, the online platform dedicated to the business services industry’s community, reconfirms today its mission to deliver the newsworthy of the industry and business to readers and companies.
Over the past 10 years, the industry of business services saw a foremost transformation, in line with the other industries, and, despite all the challenges we encountered, it escalated the complexity of its services and generated business performance, thousands of hirings, innovation and business transformation.
Fast forwarding to this day, we witnessed an industry leap and transformation to a mature market with an important headcount, turnover and increasing complexity of services.
So, today, we take great pride and joy to join as a trustful and relevant media platform and keep close to the business services industry and we are looking forward to a thriving business community!
The event benefited from the support of:
PLATINUM PARTNER: WIPRO
GOLD PARTNERS: SOCIETE GENERALE GLOBAL SOLUTION CENTRE, ALLIANZ PARTNERS, TELEPERFORMANCE ROMANIA, ACCA, HOT SPOT, CAPGEMINI, VASTINT, MICHELIN, STEFANINI, BOOKING HOLDINGS, GENPACT, TELUS INTERNATIONAL
PARTNERS: SCC ROMANIA, LOVERING & PARTNERS BUSINESS CONSULTANTS, VALORIS CENTER, CONCENTRIX
SUPPORTING PARTNERS: CONCORDIA, BRCC, CCIFER, ANIS, CLUJIT
MEDIA PARTNERS: OUTSOURCING TODAY, SUSTAINABILITY TODAY, AUTOMOTIVE TODAY, FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE, ROMANIA DURABILA, ECONOMISTUL, CLUB ECONOMIC, BURSA
THE WINNERS OF 2024 Edition are:
BUSINESS SERVICES COMPANY OF THE YEAR (OVER 800 EMPLOYEES)
This award goes to a company that performs in outsourced omnichannel customer experience management, starting its activity in Romania in 2004. Now, they count more than 3,700 employees working in offices in Bucharest, Brasov, Sibiu and Cluj-Napoca. Year-on-year, the company posts revenue growth rates of 50-60% with an employee growth of 85%. It runs several initiatives such as the “Business Excellence” initiative, or the “Feel Good Program” developed for employees. For their customers, the introduction of the “Task Force” and enhanced communication channels improved response times and service customization.
The award goes to TELEPERFORMANCE ROMANIA
BUSINESS SERVICES COMPANY OF THE YEAR (LESS THAN 800 EMPLOYEES)
This category award is going to a company that in 2023, focused on brand awareness, social responsibility projects and retention and growth. They have introduced successfully part of the Group training curricula and focused on the top performers in terms of investing in their careers by attending dedicated trainings – such as the Fast track to consulting where they identify top talents who will undergo one-year intense training which finalizes with a promotion and career path in their consulting practice. In sustainability, they developed the Zero-Hero campaign – dedicated to employees to encourage them to recycle.
We offer this award to CAPGEMINI ROMANIA
EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR (OVER 800 EMPLOYEES)
The award goes to a company that is currently a service center for many Group entities, serving 35 countries for all major business lines. They have in their focus the employees, developing complex tailored programs, such as the Employee Experience Program. Among a multiple of other dedicated programs we should mention: the CSR Month #feelresponsible, the “YGain” key program to attract and integrate young graduates, “Academia ARIS” – a project meant to help people with disabilities to be hired, DEI – Introducing Equity in previously D&I Program, or Odyssey – Developing Performance Through Mentoring.
This category award goes to SOCIETE GENERALE GLOBAL SOLUTION CENTRE ROMANIA
EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR (LESS THAN 800 EMPLOYEES)
This award goes to a company that follows five guiding principles: Team together – Team apart, Stay curious and grow, I am – count on me, Get things done, Delight our customers, and Act with respect and integrity. They encompass their vision as: We are the first-choice service provider by driving business profitability with happy customers and dedicated employees. Among multiple project suites, the company runs The skill management project- which is unique due to its emphasis on AI-based training suggestions for personalized learning, access to a wide range of internal and external training platforms, and transparency regarding career development. Besides this, other complex programs refer to implementing Leadership Career, Talents, levelUP!NextGen, mentoring programs or climate and social responsibility actions.
The award goes to DEUTSCHE TELEKOM SERVICES EUROPE ROMANIA
MOST TRANSFORMED WORKPLACE
Most transformed workplace goes to a company that is a Center of Excellence based in Bucharest, since September 2021. The Center of Excellence provides access to specialized and highly skilled talent, leveraging industry best practices, and fostering collaboration opportunities across Booking Holdings’ brands and business units. Long-term plans include expanding the Center to 500 employees in a 5-year period, with a total investment of 100 million Euro. Their efforts are reflected in the results of our internal surveys: very high engagement rate (94), 88% of the respondents were positively satisfied with working arrangements.
The award goes to BOOKING HOLDINGS
NEW ENTRY ON THE MARKET AWARD
The award for this category goes to a company specializing in accounting, payroll and HR administration outsourced services. The company had its first customer in February 2022. Fast forward two years later (April, 2024), the company now serves 60 clients and employs 12 colleagues and has tripled its yearly turnover in 2023 versus 2022. The Group is the dream come true of former C-level executives in the finance consultancy industry, looking to reach an optimum organizational design, consistent entrepreneurship and long-term sustainable business. They walk the talk by combining three main solid differentiators: extensive team expertise in the industry, focus on optimization/business process re-engineering and extensive usage of digital tools to enhance clients’ processes.
The award goes to BPION ROMANIA
HR MANAGER OF THE YEAR
This award is an accolade to a manager recognized for her valued contribution in Human Resources field for over 17 years, working in dynamic industries such as FMCG, Retail and Energy. Through constant growth experiences she has an applied expertise in: Human Resources strategy, organizational design, organizational culture, leadership development, change management, employee engagement, recruitment and selection, performance and talent management, recognition and reward, wellbeing, employer branding. Also, she fosters a caring and respectful leadership style with a mission to drive results in all the communities she is part of.
We offer this award to GINA CRUCERU, Group HR Director, Rompetrol (KMG International)
TEAM LEADER OF THE YEAR
This award is dedicated to a highly appreciated manager for his maturing the Cyber Detection & Response services. As stated by his colleagues – He is someone upon whom you can always rely, consistently willing to go above and beyond to deliver our objectives on time. He consistently demonstrates a proactive approach, taking initiative, anticipating challenges, and driving progress through proactive actions. His extensive technical expertise in CyberSecurity makes him a go-to resource among senior analysts on the operational side.
We offer this award to CATALIN ONOSIE, Cyber Defense Technical Operations & Response Manager – CDR, Booking Holdings
CEO OF THE YEAR
This award goes to an exceptional leader, with extensive experience, visionary leadership, and profound impact on the organization she leads. As the company she leads has been subject to a major acquisition, she assumed the pivotal role of aligning and integrating the two organizations, a task she accomplished with exceptional speed, creating synergies in the shortest time possible. Now the company has more than 3700 employees, in four cities: Bucharest, Brasov, Sibiu and Cluj-Napoca.
The award goes to DANIELA MICUSAN, CEO, Teleperformance Romania
CSR INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
The CSR initiative award reflects the objective and impact of a project that helps at ameliorating the environment. It is about a forest that now has 20,000 saplings planted across 4 hectares of area during the Autumn 2023 and Spring 2024 on a terrain that comes with a climate need. More than 300 volunteers from different communities and backgrounds were adding their footprint to the ecosystem through this project. The next objective is to create hands-on learning opportunities for local communities schools to enhance the sense of community and partnership.
We award WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES for Wipro Forest at this category
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
This category awards an initiative that started with the reshaping of Order to Cash vision for TSTH (Hub company designed to facilitate products export across the world) . By undertaking a comprehensive transformation, the organization recognized the need to streamline and digitalize their ordering process. The primary objectives were to: reduce the time associated with manual processing & monitoring of orders, increase the time available for value-added tasks by eliminating repetitive manual efforts, enhance accuracy and reliability in order monitoring and processing.
We offer this award to MICHELIN ROMANIA and its TSTH Hub
L&D INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
This award goes to a mentoring program that represents a pivotal shift in the organization’s approach to employee development and growth. By leveraging innovative technology and user-centric design principles, they created a platform that seamlessly connects employees with mentors across the organization, transcending geographical boundaries and departmental silos. Quantifiable results underscore the platform’s impact, with over 14,000 mentoring sessions conducted since its launch. The program has yielded tangible results, with approximately 50% of sessions focused on career development, 20% on leadership skills, and another 20% on technological competencies.
We offer this award to STEFANINI ROMANIA for their Mentoring Platform
BEST WELLBEING INITIATIVE
The following awarded initiative highlights that amidst constant change and uncertainty, the company has prioritized the psychological safety of its employees, investing in it for the past two years. Since 2022, over 25 experts supported the growth of 4000+ employees in 6 locations. Each participant received more than 20 hours of training on emotional well-being. The awarded program “came as a response to this new reality of people”
We award ACCENTURE ROMANIA for the development and implementation of “What if – Cultivating Psychological Safety for a Thriving Workplace” program
BEST CUSTOMER CENTRIC INITIATIVE
This awarded initiative was designed by the company to elevate the customer experience by leveraging multilingual content moderation across a wide spectrum of 18 languages. Launched in response to a critical need for diversified customer support capabilities, this project sought to deliver high-quality, secure, and culturally relevant customer interactions. The initiative spanned just three months from inception to full operational capability, showcasing our commitment to swift and efficient execution. The project fostered a culture of excellence and compliance, significantly impacting client trust and satisfaction.
We award CONCENTRIX ROMANIA for the Mercury Sentinel: Multilingual Customer Engagement Excellence
TOP DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION SERVICES PROVIDER
The award of this category goes to a program that is a part of a suite of solutions aimed to revolutionize the finance industry and unlock approximately $1 billion of value for the company’s clients across multiple industries. The solution involves GenAI classification and extraction of unstructured data from emails, workflow, salesforce and realize cross checks vs ERP pricing conditions, enabling the analysis of tens of thousands dispute cases & determining their validity, automatically, in one go.
We offer this award to GENPACT ROMANIA for the development of its “Disputes Powered by Gen AI” solution”
BRAND OF THE YEAR
This award that received the online votes, acknowledges the performance and brand awareness of a company that started its Romanian operations in 2005 opening the first service center in Bucharest. 19 years later, they are now one of the biggest companies in the country with approximately 4,000 employees across two operational centers, Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, one collaboration hub in Iași, and remote working employees across the country. From here, they support most European countries and serve clients on other continents, with a very strong client base in the Life Sciences and Healthcare, Consumer Goods, High Tech, and Manufacturing sectors, represented by top companies in these industries.
Brand of the year in Business Services is GENPACT ROMANIA
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IMPACT
This award is a recognition for a program that brings together a community for all the parents working in the company (1800+ parents officially declared in December 2023) and Caregivers, that provides resources, information, and a sense of belonging to individuals who are responsible for the care and well-being of children. Through this program, the company supports the employees in all life chapters emerging from the responsibility of becoming a parents/ caregiver, or even broader – from being part of a wider family unit (i.e. adoption, step-parenting and eldercare).
For this heart-warming initiative, we award ACCENTURE ROMANIA and the Parents Club program
BEST UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COOPERATION
The academy collaboration award acknowledges the significance and impact of a partnership developed with the Bucharest University of Economic Studies—ASE. With this partnership, the company has built one of the most comprehensive and innovative programs between business sector and higher education, to equip ASE students with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in an ever-changing world. Launched in Oct 2022, and continued extensively in 2023 and 2024, this project is a learning hub for students to interact with innovation, technology and practical work-related skills. Until now (April 2024), the company implemented 24 study programs, that were attended by 850 students. The programs were delivered by 30 company experts.
We award at this category the partnership of ACCENTURE ROMANIA and
THE BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES – ASE
PERFORMANT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
This special award recognizes the performance of an internship program that is a transformative experience that shapes the future leaders of tomorrow. Throughout the internship journey at the company, 11 interns were immersed in a dynamic environment where learning, collaboration, and innovation thrive. The program goes beyond traditional intern responsibilities, offering meaningful projects and mentorship opportunities that empower interns to make tangible contributions from day one. Interns aren’t just observers; What truly sets the internship program apart is the company’s commitment to fostering a culture of inclusivity and diversity.
We award SCC ROMANIA for its valuable internship program initiative.
COMMITMENT TO CUSTOMER CENTRICITY
This award goes to a company whose declared mission is to ensure excellence in designing and developing outsourcing services. With an innovative attitude and proven experience, the company establishes long-term business partnerships with clients and employees. Last year, they launched the CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) program, as a fresh commitment to excellence. They designed and integrated a tailored CSAT workflow with Valoris’s existing infrastructure, ensuring a smooth implementation process that did not require additional investment from their partners. This service is a commitment to customer centricity, because once it starts to be measured it opens the door to improvement and better service.
We offer this award to VALORIS CENTER for The CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) program
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
This award goes to a program that covers a diverse array of skills such as communication, emotional intelligence project management, problem solving, demonstrates a high level of innovation. Developed within the group’s global competency center, this program is a comprehensive initiative aimed at equipping individuals with the skills, mindset, and capabilities necessary to excel in leadership roles. In today’s dynamic and competitive business landscape, effective leadership is crucial for driving innovation, fostering collaboration, and achieving organizational objectives.
We offer this award to ALLIANZ PARTNERS | GCC Romania (Global Competency Center) for its Leadership Development Program