His experience is a blend of consulting, technology, and hands-on managerial experience. He has spent 17 years in business & IT consulting, 10 of which were in Deloitte across Central and Eastern Europe. Jan has also 8 years of experience in managing leading distribution, logistics, and manufacturing businesses in Bulgaria.
NEXT Consult is an international business consulting and digital transformation firm, operating primarily in SouthEast Europe. It was established in 2010 by former senior executives from Deloitte, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP. They are a client-obsessed team of diverse talent with 100 professionals from 6 nationalities, and it represents the world’s leading technology vendors - Salesforce, SAP and UiPath.
2020 and 2021 were golden years for technology companies. The Covid pandemic has accelerated digital adoption and transition to the cloud, it has also driven the development of new products and services. Financial institutions which were relying heavily on customers visiting their branches had to react very quickly and fully digitalized their marketing, sales and customer service processes. Many sectors were pushed to online sales and cashless payments. That is why our company has experienced 40% growth year over year.
Around half of all existing work activities could be automated in the next few decades using Robotic process automation (RPA) technology. Just like people, software robots communicate with systems and applications to speed up processes and reduce the workload on humans.
One HR professional may find this technology invasive, as it could lead to headcount reduction. The truth is the opposite. RPA enables organizations to shift employees' attention from low-value tasks to higher-value ones that deliver better customer experience and ultimately support revenue growth.
For example, customer service representatives once spent a significant amount of time gathering data for different customers’ requests. This limited the time they had to directly engage with customers in consultative conversations. But, now, software robots handle that gathering work, giving employees more time to engage directly with customers about meeting their needs. In addition, the shift to more valuable work makes employees more engaged.
By 2025, more than 50 billion devices will be connected to the internet. Robots, automation, 3D printing, and more will generate around 79.4 zettabytes of data per year. Far-greater network availability, powered by 5G, will drive broad shifts in the business landscape towards digitalization.
At the same time, the enormous digitalization creates challenges for data security. Even before the Covid pandemic, more than 8.5 billion data records were compromised. Despite advances in cybersecurity, criminals continue to redouble their efforts.
I predict we’ll see huge growth in the area of security technology and high demand for security experts.
For a decade now, the IT sector has not only been one of the fastest-growing business segments in our region, but also the industry that provides its employees with opportunities for a high standard of living, and steady income growth.
We introduced the home office long before the pandemic so we did not have many challenges to keep working under any new business conditions.
Like in other industries we observed a sharp reduction in staff turnover due to uncertainty. Currently, we experience industry dynamics that makes us innovate people management every day to stay competitive in the industry.
One of the most recruited roles this year in Romania were HR Business Partners. They have been actively sought, regardless the domain or level of seniority.
Just as asking the right question will most often lead us towards the answer, my experience shows that the failure or success of a recruitment process relies, in most cases, on determining the right candidate’s profile. One of the first steps towards this is to determine what function the position we are aiming to fill has in the context of a certain organization. Hence, we initiated a qualitative research project to better outline the profile and function an HR Business Partner should have within an organization. The study was performed using a sample of 37 participants - approx. 60% of which were HR Directors or Managers and 40% HR Business Partners in multinational companies.
When asked “Do organizations need HR Business Partners?” 100% of the study’s participants responded “Yes”. Roughly 70% added that in smaller organizations the function of HR Business Partners is performed by the HR Manager.
HR departments see the role of HR Business Partners as performing a strategic role, one that works to find HR solutions that helps organizations grow and achieve business goals.
Floriana Enescu, Partner
Romania
Members are given the opportunity to share an important moment or dilemma in their professional / managerial lives.
The first such conversation was undertaken by Zoltán who discussed why he decided to put himself forward for the international position of Chair of Friisberg earlier this year.
"It took immense courage actually to decide to run. I have been a member of Friisberg's Executive Committee for a number of years in an international Business Development role and so I understood how the different global markets operated, the way the local offices were run and of course I knew my colleagues well. Even so, to take on this role was a big decision. I knew it would take time, a great deal of personal commitment and of course I am still extremely busy in my own local market of Hungary!"
The Friisberg Partners overwhelmingly voted for Zoltán in July 1, 2021,
"It was a huge honour to be elected and I am committed to growing Friisberg, to strengthening our presence across international markets and to providing all our clients with unrivalled service."
We have all encountered a similar situation that required us to step out of our normal world and to push our borders further. Zoltán's success is instructive for many of us.
The onlyCEO Club is a unique community of business leaders – a meeting place for key leaders from various industries.
Having strong and quality leadership has proved to be a major asset in recent turbulent times. It is not a secret that companies who invest in leadership development perform better than those that do not and they are much more adaptable in periods of crisis.
Quality leadership is a combination of skills, traits, attitudes, and mindset - things not typically innate and therefore necessitating fine tuning.
One of the indicators of how valuable quality leadership is to an organization is the time the company invests in training and development for their leaders. The observations on the local market show that those companies who do invest usually dedicate between 12 and 30 minutes per month - in medium-sized businesses, and about 5 hours per month in larger organizations. The approaches vary from short online chunk sessions, through specialized development programs and individual coaching. The predominant focus is on first-line managers and aspiring leaders and much less on top executives.
Typically, outcomes are based on improved relationship between manager and direct reports. Much research though, indicates that more beneficial impact is on organizational outcomes. That’s why all leadership deserves to be developed. Every level of management in the organization needs to build, master, and nurture the relevant leadership skills in order to be prepared, resilient and alert.
A wide-ranging leadership and management development program includes offerings for all levels of leaders: new, middle, and senior.
Although focusing leadership development is always a good idea, there are some typical situations and stages in the life cycle of the company in which it becomes a must:
When a company cares about their leadership, it actually provides the opportunity for leaders to invest their time and energy back into the organization.
Whether in business or politics, there’s a tendency to select leaders on the basis of their confidence rather than their competence. When our main criterion for appointing leaders is how good they think they are, we will inevitably end up with people who are not very good - except in their own mind.
When hiring for a leadership role you might be overlooking one of the most important traits:
Perhaps humility isn't the first trait that comes to mind when you think about great business leaders. Instead you might think of someone who is a visionary, who is courageous - someone who is overtly charismatic.
Humble leaders tend to understand that they are not necessarily the smartest person in every room. Why? Because they don't need to be. Instead they actively encourage other voices, welcome challenge and run with the best ideas - regardless of whether they originate from a board member or from a junior.
When things go wrong, humble leaders admit their mistakes and take responsibility. When things go right, they shine the spotlight on others.
When leaders lack humility they often make avoidable mistakes, blaming others for their poor decisions, and overestimating their own talents to the point of losing touch with reality, preferring instead to surround themselves with ‘Yes People’.
In leadership, few traits are as indicative of incompetence as arrogance.
I have met all sorts of leaders some of whom are the loudest in the room while others are more introverted. Some really are creative geniuses while others are complete pragmatists.
But when it’s time to make a hiring decision, how do you assess Humbility?
We all tend to be impressed by charismatic people with powerful personalities and a commanding presence. My advice however is to always look a little closer.
Look for quiet confidence, a focus on others, ability and humility.
Lorri Lowe
Partner UK
After a challenging but very successful 2021, we look forward to 2022 with confidence. Sure, the pandemic is not yet over, but we also see great opportunities. The transformation of the industry is in full swing:
Digitization has received a tailwind from the pandemic.
It holds enormous potential, for example, in trade, industry, administration, education and healthcare.
Decarbonization of the industrial sector.
This poses the question to everyone of how they can bring CO2-neutral products to market. One factor: system integration of hydrogen.
Demographic change has affected the entire economy.
The situation in the care sector is dramatic. Solutions are needed from politics, business and education. Approaches could be: Use of robots, optimization of dual training, improved compatibility of family and career, and skilled labour immigration laws.
Decentralization or shortening of supply chains.
Increased sustainability and resilience of supply chains is a lesson from pandemic, along with travel restrictions and the blockade of the Suez Canal.
Overcoming these obstacles and seizing opportunities requires C-level digital expertise, but also decision-making power.
For the second year in a row, our office in Budapest has once again been confirmed as the number one Executive Search firm in Hungary.
We are honoured to be recognized for making an impact that matters for clients and candidates.
Our commitment to responsible business leadership, diversity and a positive culture is only part of our success.
Árpád Németh, Managing Partner in Hungary, said, "We are absolutely delighted. This award is true recognition of the fantastic people we have working within our business. This recognition is testament to our continued hard work, dedication and real relationships we always build with our clients. We remain very appreciative to our client because with their continued support, commitment and votes, we are once again recognised as the number one firm in Hungary. Thank you so much.”.
Friisberg & Partners International realises that our people are our most valuable asset. We are proud to have such highly engaged teams who believe wholeheartedly in our vision – despite the incredibly challenging times we have all faced over the past two years.
This is the result of the current study by WirtschaftsWoche - with around one million readers WirtschaftsWoche is the largest and most up-to-date business magazine for decision-makers in Germany.
We won this award covering two sectors:
Since the HR Consultancy ranking is based on customer reviews, we are all the more pleased about this award!
In the future, we will continue to do everything we can to select the right leaders who will make the difference in companies in these challenging times.
In the future, board members with four or more members will have to have at least one woman.
In addition, in certain life situations, such as maternity leave, parental leave, caring for family members, etc., members of the Board of Management can take liability-free time off.
In order for this strong signal for more equality and for a cultural change in Germany to be implemented quickly, the law has to be passed by the Bundestag before the summer break.
I look forward to when companies discover that more diversity is not a chore, but an essential key to growth!
Meltem Ay, Principal
Frankfurt
Several of our clients have embarked on completely new managerial challenges which require them to find new and innovative ways of creating, and maintaining, a dynamic and motivating workplace.
In the world after Corona, the pressure on management is rising.
While we are slowly returning to a world that resembles what we knew before Corona, it has become clear to many that it will never be quite the same in terms of ”going to work".
Many of our clients have recognized that the virtual workplace has come to stay. Covid-19 has driven a development leading to major and radical changes in the way we will function in a workplace of the future.
It is the management that is responsible for the strategy and therefore the consequences of their decisions. Management must show the way while also acknowledging that many employees now prefer working from home and enjoy being able to plan their time independently.
It has also become harder to motivate employees to meet physically in the workplace and feel part of a physical work environment.
Some challenges our clients face:
In all the above situations, I must conclude that management has simply not been in close enough contact with the employees. At this time HR departments and management have had to be proactive to ensure that all employees are satisfied and motivated.
Three inspiring solutions where management has been creative and dared to explore new avenues:
Which management skills are in demand?
Corona has forced us to think of other and increasingly digital ways of working. Experts estimate that by 2023, 2/3 of the world's economy will be digital – this is a development that puts future leadership roles under huge pressure.
We have noticed that our clients have started to demand more of these 5 personal competencies:
These observations alone cannot answer my initial question, but maybe they will prompt you to think outside the box in managing your post-Covid business.
Susanne Becker Mikkelsen
Partner Denmark
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