But Vipnet is much more than that - it is a company that does not only care for its business results and figures, but a company oriented towards the customers’ needs and wishes, corporate social responsibility and investments in employees, because it considers that only satisfied employees can offer new values to the customers, which also contributes to the creation of new values of the Croatian economy. The labor market changed considerably with Vipnet’s market entrance because Vipnet’s business policy provided for the development of young experts through different training and advanced training sessions, as a result of which it became a direct competitor to other employers in attracting the most talented staff.
Vipnet had 18 employees when it started to operate in 1998, and this number reached 470 as early as in 1999. Today, Vipnet has more than 1,000 persons in its employ, a majority of whom are highly-educated experts, with an average age of 35 years. 55 percent of the employees are men, while 45 percent of them are women. The surveys conducted among employees in Croatia have been showing for a number of years already that Vipnet is one of the most desirable employers owing to its human resources management strategy, which is based upon attracting, developing and retaining the best employees. In this context, Vipnet was among the first companies in 2005 to be awarded the Employer Partner Certificate, and in 2008 it was proclaimed one of the top five Certificate awardees and was the only one to win 100 percent of the scores in this independent appraisal.
Vipnet confirmed leadership on the list of best employers with Employer Partner Certificate in 2010 as well, and is the only company to win maximal number of points in the cerification process.
On the other hand, in 2006 Vipnet provided its employees in the new business complex with a workspace fitted with the most modern equipment, standards, and restaurants, but also with many other features so that the employees could harmonize their business and private lives more easily. A special building inside the complex accommodates a fitness center, a wellness with swimming pool and sauna, and the first corporate nursery school in Croatia.
Corporate social responsibility is also one of the strategic objectives because the company returns part of its earnings to the society through corporate social responsibility. Vipnet’s most important project has been the support to clearing Croatia from mines since 2002 under the 'Mobility.Communication.Life’ motto. As early as in 2005, the Croatian Mine Clearing Center proclaimed Vipnet its major private donor, and so far Vipnet has invested 9.2 Million kunas in the clearing of land in seven Croatian counties from mines and it has thereby provided for children to grow up in more freedom and for a speedier economic development of these regions.
Vipnet has been systematically investing in healthcare and providing regular assistance to hospitals since 2002, and it has invested 5.1 Million kunas so far in regional healthcare. On the occasion of the achievement of the number of 2 million customers in May 2007, Vipnet donated 2 Million kunas to the Polyclinic for the Rehabilitation of Hearing and Speech SUVAG in order to make everyday communication easier to persons with hearing impairments. Vipnet donated 3.1 Million kuna to regional hospitals, thus helping equal development and implementation of healthcare.
Over the years, Vipnet also participated in the construction of the Bliznec forest track, which provided disabled persons for the first time with an easier access to one of the protected nature parks – the Medvednica Nature Park. It also financed the training of a guide dog for the blind, which was allocated to a blind girl in Zagreb. In 2008, it joined the fight against breast cancer by selling the exclusive Samsung Pink Ribbon mobile phones in the Vip Centers. Funds were raised thereby for the purchase of an ultrasound for the General Hospital in Šibenik, and the sequel of this project in 2009 will secure education of medical teams on psychosocial assistance to women treated for breast cancer. In 2010 Vipnet supported the „All for her" initiative in the fight against breast cancer.
Vipnet's employees from Zagreb and Rijeka have been cleaning and tidying the Medvednica Nature Park and the Risnjak National Park, while employees from other two regions Osijek and Split have been cleaning and tidying Kopački Rit Nature Park and the botanical garden in the Marjan Forest Park. Vipnet started with cleaning and tidying the most beautiful nature parks in four Croatian regions as early as April 2010. Each of Vipnet's one thousand employees approximately will spend one day cleaning the environment instead of being at his/her workplace. The Vip people have shown thereby their care for the environment, which is an essential component of the company's corporate social responsibility, which has confirmed once more its status as environmental leader in the telecommunications industry.
Vipnet has also been investing in the knowledge society, and the first symposium entitled “The Future of Communications” was organized in 2002. Many Croatian and European telecommunications experts and representatives of the business world and the world of politics discussed the development of the Croatian telecommunications industry. The gurus of modern economy and authors of the books Funky Business and Karaoke Capitalism, Dr. Jonas Ridderstråle and Kjell Nordström, gave the lecture “How to Become Sexy” in 2004, while the central topic in 2006 was the mastery of speed and multitasking with the adventurer Bertrand Piccard and Professor Dr. Ernst Pöppel. On July 1st, 2009, on the occasion of the celebration of its 10th anniversary, the Irish rock singer Bob Geldof shared its experience with how to integrate humanity, nobility and ideals about a better world into everyday life and business. The topic of the symposium was corporate responsibility as a guiding principle, and in his lecture entitled ‘Commitment to the Objective’ Bob Geldof spoke about enthusiasm and examples of his humanitarian actions.
As early as in 2002, Vipnet also joined the project of the weekly magazine ‘Nacional’ entitled “Top Scholarships for Top Students”, which provided the highest scholarships in the country to the best Croatian students. Since 2002, Vipnet has also been supporting the educational projects of the Višnjan Science & Education Center and initiated the Vip Eureka project as a multidisciplinary fair of the scientific creativity of Secondary School students. In 2005, Vipnet also launched an educational drama program for Croatian Elementary School pupils, and the three-year cooperation with the Thearto Project and young actors resulted in a unique tour to perform these plays on all the Croatian islands in order to provide the children there with cultural contents that they rarely have the occasion to enjoy.
Vipnet has also been providing its assistance to the community in the form of sponsorships and since 2001 it has been the general sponsor of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, one of the major cultural events in Croatia. Vipnet also sponsored the Motovun Film Festival, and since 2003 it has been the general sponsor of the Zagreb Film Festival. It also supports music and was the general sponsor of the Vip INmusic Festival in 2007 and 2008, and Vipnet also became the general sponsor of the Vip Zagreb Jazz Festival in 2008.
In the field of sports, Vipnet was the general sponsor of the Cibona Vip Basketball Club from 1999 to 2005 and sponsored the Croatian Basketball Federation from 2003 to 2007. From 2001 to 2008, it was the general sponsor of the Croatian Beach Volleyball Championship and Cup (Vip Tour). Following the tradition of investments in beach volleyball, Vipnet has been the general sponsor and co-organizer of the Vip Open, a World Series beach volleyball tournament, for the fourth consecutive year since 2005. Over the years, Vipnet has also supported the Croatian tennis players - Goran Ivanišević, Mario Ančić, Ivan Ljubičić and Marin Čilić. In 2007, Vipnet became the general sponsor of the Croatian Alpine Skiing National Teams and the Vip Snow Queen Trophy slalom race.
