Jadranka Delač Hrupelj (Creativa): In the Future, We Will Focus on Working with Medium-Sized Companies

Although twenty-five years ago the term ‘human potential’ was not nearly as known and developed as it is today, Jadranka Delač Hrupelj already assumed back then that the business potential in this area was significant. The founder and procurator of Creativa has no doubts today: not only has the care and development of people in business become crucial – the development of human potential has become a serious business.

Creativa started operating in 1997 and has since been engaged in empowering talents and developing potential. It distinguished itself as something completely different during a period dominated by HR departments, went through a time when people only cared about having a job, survived crises, and has persisted to this day when human potential has emerged as an important and complex industry. Namely, over the years, people have ceased to be treated as resources and have become potential, creative creators of enterprises, and in this sense, HR has become extremely important.

Delač Hrupelj, a trained psychologist by profession, worked in a related department at INA before her entrepreneurial venture and had what was considered the most important – a secure job. However, in such a large system at that time, she says, she lacked a more creative way to apply her profession. She wanted a different kind of work and a different contribution of psychology to the organization. Although the importance of human potential is much more understood today, she emphasizes that even in the early years of business, many people recognized that the things she spoke about at various conferences were actually ‘the something different they needed’.

Strengthening the Importance of HR

When Creativa started operating, there were three to four companies in the market, and as the entire HR scene changed, so did the question of the number of competitors. Delač Hrupelj adds that there have already been situations where the market was like ‘a full swamp of crocodiles’, but many did not survive because quality always prevails in the end. Therefore, she notes that one must know how to resist trendy things that appear in the industry, continue to create their services, and strengthen their expertise.

In general, the need for human potential has drastically changed and increased with recent events (most notably with the pandemic), and the scene has been permanently altered.

– The current challenge is dealing with a world of chaos where old tools no longer function, so we are looking for new ones, but they need to be preceded by a change in mental models. The challenge is to do completely new things in a completely new way in a world where there is no right and wrong – stated Delač Hrupelj, adding that in the future, the agency will focus on working with medium-sized companies that they want to help grow and develop.

– Our idea is to create completely different models of managing people than those in large corporations because medium-sized enterprises can have authentic stories. We consider this an area of growth, and it is becoming increasingly clear that they struggle to find, integrate, and retain people – emphasized Delač Hrupelj.

To read about how the company has developed, where it operates, and what challenges it has faced over the years, check out the digital or print edition of Lider.