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In order to mitigate the labor shortage crisis, call center companies have continued with the continuous salary policy.
Ervin Gogo, administrator of "Alba Contact", claims that this measure has not managed to increase the number of staff, while the highest workforce is concentrated in the two to three largest companies in the sector.
Mr. Gogo says that even though Albania will remain a "low cost" market for another 10 years, it will not be a competitive advantage if the standards of human resources are not improved.
How is the situation regarding service contracts compared to last year?
In general, proposals from Italian companies for cooperation are not lacking, only that they have been alienated. The proposals are no longer in the usual energy or telephone and internet sectors, but different sectors of the economy.
Compared to the period before 5 years, these new proposals usually do not arouse interest for Albanian call centers, because they are made by unknown companies, with small volumes, without many guarantees and above all with financial proposals not acceptable for the current standard of the Albanian market.
There are few proposals coming from other countries and in languages other than Italian.
Is your company having trouble finding employees?
We have difficulties in finding employees and the reason is not only the departure of the workforce abroad, but also the loss of interest from young people to work in the call center.
Italian speakers are disappearing and those who are, work en masse in the 2-3 largest call centers in Albania.
The increase in wages has not brought any improvement in the increase in the number of employees. The dynamics of the market have changed and the labor force is included in the labor market at a late age, over 23 years of age, and they immediately turn to the profession.
Students are working less and less in general and in particular in the call center.
Have you considered hiring employees from foreign countries to solve this acute problem?
No, it's too complicated to track performances remotely. The data protection guarantee is at risk and the management of the employment contract is difficult.
Regarding the advantage of the free labor force and the many young people who know the Italian and English languages, does Albania continue to remain a favorable place for the development of this sector?
Absolutely yes, because at the same time that costs increase in Albania, they also increase in other countries, so there is always a profit margin for foreign investors. Albania has to remain "low cost" for at least 10 years.
The problem is that Albania has a very backward labor market in terms of technology, little flexibility towards innovation and does not have good standards in its human resources.
How do you predict the trend of contracts during 2024 but also the problem of finding employees, will it manage to be solved?
In 2024, "Alba Contact" will continue its work. Work volumes compared to 2023 are not expected to decrease. We will focus on selective, quality work and not increasing volumes.
The cooperation contracts will continue to focus on the international market and we will give our offers only for languages other than Italian.
In recent years, the number of Forex companies has increased in Albania. In your opinion, are they harming the call center sector, in hiring employees, creating a gap in the human resources market?
In fact, the Forex market is heading towards destruction and I think that by 2024 there will be no such companies left. These companies created the damage.
They took thousands of employees out of the regular market over the years, creating a double standard on salary expectations. Only a small part of those who left the Forex market have returned to regular call centers./ Monitor
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