At the SBC Summit in Lisbon, the HR team of PIN-UP Global worked from their own booth, actively promoting the employer brand, holding negotiations with partners, and attracting new candidates. In an interview with CHRO Oksana Izmailova, we discussed the key objectives of their participation in the event, the current challenges in the iGaming job market, and the importance of corporate culture for successfully attracting and retaining talent.
What were the main objectives of the HR department’s participation in the SBC Summit?
This primarily involved promoting our employer brand, actively seeking qualified candidates, and holding meetings and negotiations with external partners, including recruitment agencies. In addition, we conducted a number of interviews and took time to communicate with our specialists to discuss further steps to develop and strengthen the team.
What key trends in talent management and recruiting were highlighted at the show?
We have noticed that many companies miss the opportunity to publicize themselves as employers and attract talent at such exhibitions. We started doing this two years ago, and now I can definitely say that it was the right decision.
Candidates are ready and willing to combine their professional trips with meetings with potential employers, and the exhibition is the place where you can see how teamwork is built and what the corporate culture is like in the company.
According to my observations, the market is still ready to compete, but not to interact and share experience. That is why many companies, even when working at their stands, are closed to communication, employees are afraid to get acquainted, to debate on professional topics.
What challenges are you currently facing in the iGaming job market?
The main problem is the lack of specialists who can work effectively in a highly loaded environment with constant changes and challenges. The market requires people who can not only cope with high loads, but also quickly adapt to new tasks. At the same time, it is very important that specialists understand business goals and are able to work for results, earning money
Have you been able to find new partners/candidates or improve existing relationships for further HR collaboration?
Yes, we had a number of productive interviews at this exhibition, which may lead to concrete proposals for cooperation in the near future. In addition, we have significantly expanded our portfolio of contacts with whom we plan to continue working immediately after the conference, which will certainly strengthen our position in HR and open up new opportunities for partnership.
How important is company culture in attracting and retaining talent in iGaming, and were delegates interested in this?
Corporate culture plays a key role – every candidate wants to understand what values form its basis and what underlies it.
Our values – leadership, teamwork, result-oriented, professionalism and openness – have received positive feedback, because they form the portrait of our candidate.
We are convinced that values should not just be nice words – it is necessary for the team to demonstrate them. For example, we openly share all relevant information with candidates and partners, showing that transparency and honesty are at the heart of our approach. We are not afraid to share, we know that we will create better and new things next that will help us lead and achieve our goals: faster/higher/stronger.
How would you rate the level of interest in PIN-UP Global among potential candidates and professionals at the event?
We consider the interest in us to be very high, as PIN-UP Global is a prominent player in the market. We receive a lot of positive feedback as an employer, so many candidates are eager to meet us in person, ask questions and confirm or deny the information that is circulating in the market.
The interest in us was particularly strong this year, when we were nominated in three categories at once. Our CEO, Marina Ilyina, was honored as Leader of the Year, which also raises our status among professionals, talented and ambitious specialists. And that’s exactly the kind of people we work with.
How was the work of recruiters organized at the PIN-UP Global booth at the SBC Summit? How effective was it in finding new talent?
A team of recruiters worked at the exhibition, whose main task was to meet as many potential candidates as possible and present PIN-UP Global as a top employer. The recruiters actively engaged with delegates and spoke in detail about our values, projects, team and career opportunities.
This approach allowed us to effectively expand our contact base and interest talent in the marketplace.
What feedback did you get from the candidates who visited the PIN-UP Global booth? What were they most interested in working for the holding company? And what vacancies were they most often interested in?
Candidates were interested in information about PIN-UP Global, in particular, in which countries and regions we are represented, as well as our B2B projects that we plan to bring to the market. One of such projects, which aroused special interest, was our anti-fraud solution to improve security and data protection in iGaming and not only, which is being developed by Volodymyr Todurov’s team.
We received a lot of positive feedback about our booth, its style, size. The real star was our robot dog, which caused delight and attracted additional attention to the stand.
As for vacancies. It is interesting that most of the job seekers were marketers, brand managers, event managers, product managers, business development specialists (BizDev), payment system managers (PSP), as well as candidates for C-level positions. All our vacancies can be viewed on the PIN-UP Global website, where we regularly update information on current career opportunities.
What qualities and skills of candidates in the iGaming job market do you consider the most sought after and important for a successful career in PIN-UP?
These are professionalism, focus on results, flexibility, constant development, quickness in correcting mistakes, courage, straightforwardness. For managerial roles, knowledge of management and psychology is important, which helps in forming and managing a team. These qualities are the foundation for success both in PIN-UP and in the iGaming industry as a whole.
What role do events like the SBC Summit play in building PIN-UP Global’s image as an attractive employer?
Such conferences are important for strengthening the image of PIN-UP Global as an attractive employer. It is also an opportunity to get acquainted in one place with a large number of professionals from our field, to gain new knowledge. And communication with candidates allows us to see areas of development in the area of employer brand. The synergy effect from communicating with experts and colleagues often leads to new solutions and important insights that help us to improve and move forward.
