HELB has a lot of nice and good people

Hrvoje Ivaniš joined HELB 6 years ago, where he works as an Expert associate in procurement. Young, ambitious, meticulous, he wants more from people and work, and at the same time, he is very collegial and likes to help others. His colleagues say that he is a great guy who understands the issues, wants to cooperate, is extremely engaged and very punctual, and sometimes gets annoyed by unnecessary little things that hinder and slow down the work. In a large company such as HELB, he sometimes does not come to the fore but can contribute much more. We are convinced that Hrvoje, with his persistence and dedication, will achieve everything he has planned.

What does your job at HELB include and what does your average day look like?

I like to say that my job is commercial. And this includes operational and commercial affairs, logistics, procurement, and organization of the collection of goods, as well as communication and cooperation with almost all departments within HELB. I also communicate with suppliers daily.

We start the work day around 7:30 in the morning. Since I mostly cooperate with project managers, I receive requests for the procurement of goods for individual projects from them. I process requests, send them to suppliers and follow the whole process after, including what stage the goods are in, whether they will arrive on time, and so on. As far as cooperation with other departments is concerned, with finance, I usually deal with advance payments and invoices, while in the warehouse I am in charge of the min-max list. I determine and monitor the minimum and maximum stock of goods in the warehouse. It’s a certain number of items, i.e. consumables, about 1500 of them, which I continuously fill because it’s something that our PMs and guys from the workshop use every day. You could say that I collaborate and communicate with all departments in the company, I work with papers, and that’s why I often say that I do commercial work. Most often, this type of work I do by myself, but I cover certain segments with my colleagues from the department so that we can step in as needed. Most of the ordered goods go to HELB, but as we now have bigger projects, there are a few instances when we deliver the goods directly on site because we don’t have enough storage space here. I make sure that all the papers are in order, that we close the orders, that the invoices arrive on time, and, of course, that we respect the VAT. Some of the goods arrive to us via delivery services, and some are collected from suppliers in person. Our colleague Siniša deals with this, and I plan and organize the schedule. I often do work on the spur of the moment, because some things are difficult to plan. It all depends on the project managers and their requirements that day. If they have predetermined deadlines and plans, then I can also plan part of the work. It’s all more or less multitasking.

How long have you been at HELB and did you work in the Procurement department right away?

I have been in HELB for six years. For the first six months, I worked in Sales, doing some calculations, market and price research. During that period, I was also in the warehouse with guys who helped me a lot. I learned a lot from them about HELB products and services. I graduated in economics, and I had my own small construction company, but I ended up in the power industry. So I’m still learning. In every company, you have to learn products and services, and the rest is commercial work, this is what I do. Numbers and papers – I like that. After half a year, a position opened up in Procurement and I immediately transferred there. If I could choose at the beginning, I would definitely choose Procurement.

What are your favorite things about HELB and where do you see room for improvement?

HELB has a lot of nice and good people. As far as my work is concerned, I have a lot of freedom and nobody bothers me when work is going well. If I get stuck, I have a constructive conversation with my superior and correct mistakes. I can visit suppliers, and work on maintaining business contacts, without being controlled. I have a lot of space to adjust my work as I see fit, and I really like that in HELB. I communicate a lot with my colleagues, whether in meetings, in the dining room, or in the corridor, I get a lot of information, and most often things are solved that way. We also always have space and freedom to propose new things and procedures that will improve our business. And what may already sound like a cliché, but is really true at HELB, is a good atmosphere and communication. The working day is pleasant for me, it is not difficult and I feel happy coming to work, whether it is Monday or Friday. I have the feeling that every day, everyone talks to someone. We get to know each other better, we get closer and it’s much easier for us to work. And therefore every day we are becoming more mature and faster in fulfilling our business obligations. We grow, and the company grows with us.

There is always room for improvement. Personally, I would change some things in the organization and procedures to reduce unnecessary steps, duplication, and to save time and make things easier. And I know that HELB cares and works on it. I am aware that any change is an ongoing process, especially in a company that is larger and has tradition, we should all be aware of that. Any change requires time and patience. HELB is working on it, in the interest of making it better and easier for everyone, and that makes me happy.

What do you do in your free time?

First a cold beer, and then a good workout ha ha ha.