As featured in Vagabond, Bulgaria’s English language magazine, in their issue 178/2021

Established more than 21 years ago, Toro Group S is a recognisable name on the Bulgarian HR services market. Its extensive experience and wide domain knowledge covers the whole spectrum of HR business solutions – from Recruitment and Talent Development to Human Capital Management and HR Outsourcing, Toro Group S is here to help both companies and professionals. The company stands out with its personalised approach and dedication to offering services with a human face. This makes Maria Filipova, Head of HR Outsourcing Services at Toro Group S, an excellent choice to talk about the current trends and the future of the field.

How does Toro Group S manage to offer solutions with a human face in the increased digitalisation in which our lives and businesses operate?

Toro Group S is much more than a brand, capital or know-how. Toro Group S unites people who follow their talents and dreams, who embody dedication, loyalty and team spirit, and who believe that business in Bulgaria can and should have a human face.

For more than 21 years we have provided business solutions with a human face. Some of our clients have been with us since our company’s beginnings. We are a 360-degree HR consultancy company, our years of experience and vast knowledge cover the whole spectrum of HR solutions for the business. Regardless of whether we talk about Selection, Talent Development, Outsourcing or HR Management, the personal approach, the human contact and thoroughness have always been and will remain leading in consultancy business.

We are not just a service provider, but a strategic partner to our clients. The solutions that we offer are well thought-over and tailored for each customer’s particular needs. Our Mission is to create solutions that are related to the organisation’s human factor. We invest in this our positive thinking, energy, creativity, perseverance and flexibility.

We do not offer the mass, standardised solutions of others in our field that do not reflect the client’s specific needs.

Human face solutions do not exclude digitalisation. It is an auxiliary tool, not the main one. Digitalisation helps us to be closer and more accessible to our clients than ever, and to automate activities that are not purely consulting ones. It allows us to concentrate on what we do best.

The challenging business environment brought us back on the road of innovation and provoked us to rediscover our added value. Although we are already a mature company, we still aim to develop and acquire new knowledge and skills in order to offer the most meaningful and relevant solutions possible to modern 21st century organisation.

Tell us more about your Employer Of Record/EOR product. What is it? Why did you implement it? What challenges does it solve?

Through the years we gradually expanded our service portfolio to answer our clients’ needs. Today it includes flexible services for employee attraction, a variety of outsourcing solutions, employer’s brand building, leader capacity development, organisational development, etc. And it continues to evolve.

The Covid-19 pandemic closed the physical borders, but opened the virtual ones as never before. It does not matter anymore from what place you work for your employer. A lot of companies make the best of the opportunity to hire Bulgarian professionals in different fields.

We implemented this service after we received so many requests from our international partners and clients. As client companies are not registered legal entities in Bulgaria, they cannot hire directly local professionals working in Bulgaria. We take care of the administration of the employment relationship, conclude contracts of employment, pay the wages, the social security contribution and the income taxes. Our clients are companies from all over the world: the US, China, India, Singapore and many others.

How did the market react to Employer Of Record? What are its advantages?

The interest in Employer Of Record is significant. We receive inquiries for it on a daily basis from all corners of the world.

Its advantages are flexibility and cost effectiveness. The client receives in a single service legal, accounting, and labour and remuneration services. In most cases employees work from their homes and there are no expenses for office spaces and office supplies and maintenance. Many companies are struggling to plan mid- and long-term due to the insecurity brought by the pandemic. This way of organisation gives them access to new markets and resources without the need of significant investment and administrative obstacles, and provides them with an opportunity to flexibly increase or decrease their volume.

Part of the advantages of our outsourcing services are also reduction and easier control of operational costs, improvement of the company’s internal focus, access to world-level opportunities, and improvement of time management and overcoming resource shortage.

The main advantage remains the shared responsibility with trusted partners and the use of professional expertise in all aspects of HR resources management in a single service.

Why are foreign companies attracted by Bulgarian talents?

They are attracted by their professionalism, knowledge and skills, and their solid education. When we talk about qualified professionals, Bulgaria is no longer a destination for cheap labour, as the wages now are on a par with those in the country where the client operates.

Each year Bulgaria attracts significant technological investments thanks to many factors. First and foremost is the human capital, followed by high-quality broadband Internet services, which are among the fastest in the EU, and the flat tax of 10%, one of the lowest in the EU.

Which specialists are most sought after?

I will hardly surprise anyone when I say that these are IT professionals, with a focus on mid- and top-managerial positions and sales professionals with an IT profile. Professionals in business development for a regional level, on the Balkans, and in B2B sales in Eastern Europe are also in demand.

What will the future of outsourcing be, in your opinion? What are the global trends?

In times of crisis and insecurity, companies aim to focus on their main activities and to outsource additional ones that do not bring them added value. Administration and wage processing, accountancy, legal services, corporate fleet management, merchandising, HR resources management are part of the activities that are important for a company’s flawless functioning. They, however, can be outsourced without any problem to an outside partner who specialises in the particular field. This allows the companies to use the expertise of such professionals. The global trends are towards increasingly more active orientation to this type of services, which makes company structures lighter and provides them with professional services. 

Get in touch with us today to learn more about our HR Outsourcing services!

You can read more featured articles and interviews from the world of business in Bulgaria at Vagabond, Bulgaria’s first and only high-end English monthly magazine.