Synergies within and outside the company can be a win-win position for both the company and its customers, is one of the conclusions from the panel titled ‘C-panel: Change Management’ held at the 11th International Conference on Controlling, which gathered managers from four Croatian companies. Furthermore, in the upcoming period, a balance must be achieved between the expectations of employees and the company in which they work. The panel moderator, Jasmina Očko, a controlling consultant and co-founder and director of the company Kontroling Kognosko, started the discussion by asking the participants how their companies utilize synergy in management.
Petar Thür, CEO of Zagrebačke pekarne Klara, shared experiences from the company he leads, emphasizing that large companies are interesting to all suppliers who want to enter its supply chain.
– We asked ourselves what new value a new supplier can bring us? Therefore, we tell companies that want to become our new suppliers that they will get the opportunity if they are more skilled in their field than we are, if they can provide us with know-how. Today, it is not enough to be cheaper; you must be better – emphasized Thür.
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Marina Marjanović, CEO of Namještaj Mima, demonstrated what synergy looks like in the furniture industry. This company has always faced the challenge of whether to have delivery and assembly services within its structure, given that it is primarily a furniture manufacturer.
– On this issue, we balanced for a long time. In the end, we decided to achieve synergy with external assembly workshops. They do not need to worry about finding work, and we have gained the ability to provide quality service to customers – says Marjanović.
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Vesna Rendulić, Director of Operations and a member of the Management Board, emphasized that Orbico was forced to have a synergy strategy.
– We are a distribution company that operates with low margins, especially in recent years. The synergy between distribution and 3PL services has ensured our efficiency: half of our resources are employed in 3PL services – says Rendulić.
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Mate Knezović, COO of Agrivi, an IT company in the agricultural sector, shared an interesting experience. The challenge Agrivi faced was how to sell its software in Mexico.
– Our goal was to find local IT companies that have clients in the agricultural sector. Once we found them, we shared knowledge and experience with them – said Knezović, adding that this model proved excellent because local partners understand local differences.
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Knezović particularly attracted the attention of more than 300 attendees with the company’s experience in human resource management, which was the second topic of the panel. Before 2020, programmers in Croatia were practically paid ‘with dry gold’, said Knezović.
– Our employees had access to PlayStation, darts, more types of tea than the best cafes in Zagreb offer, burgers, and beer. It went in a direction where we got lost – says Knezović.
– We said ‘enough’ and returned to the original values, goals, and mission of this company, which is that Agrivi is a company that changes the way food is produced. If you agree with that, we can continue discussing employment. Like it or not – said Knezović, earning applause from the audience. As he pointed out, IT companies that do not think differently will fail.
Marina Marjanović emphasized that employers of the new generation will need to inspire.
– Young people today have too many choices and too little motivation. They need to be given meaning, and leaders who succeed in that will achieve results – said the head of Namještaj Mima.
Petar Thür emphasizes that it is necessary to be ready to change the team, which is often not simple in Croatia due to the Labor Law that significantly protects employees.
– It is necessary to invest in change; we thanked people who were not ready to accept the company’s core values – says Thür.
Vesna Rendulić assesses that balance is key.
– Employee expectations today are high, from flexible working hours, through benefits to a new understanding of loyalty – emphasizes Rendulić.
On the other hand, employers are trying to find employees with values that the company nurtures, she added.
– I believe that there will be alignment of employee expectations – concluded Rendulić.
‘Green’ Controlling
After the panel on change management, Jasmina Rojko, a consultant for ESG strategies and sustainable financing at Rojko & Co, continued in the same tone.
– There is a lot of talk about ESG, and you hear about it everywhere. That will remain the case. Today, I will talk about what ESG actually brings to a company and how to best embrace it. Entrepreneurs can be divided into two groups: some believe that all this (ESG) only wastes time and resources, while others are aware that the whole world is moving in that direction. If they already have a huge amount of money, clients, and customers moving towards ESG, then they know they must too – believes Rojko.
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ESG has overnight become a hot topic, especially in the EU, which is truly leading in this area. Why? The answer is very simple. Because resources have been overused in the last 50 years, almost twice as fast as the Earth can renew itself. Today, this is coming back to us, and the risks are becoming greater.
– As many as 74 percent of executives believe that the sustainability report will become as important as the financial report. That says a lot. The integral part of controlling today is expanding to green controlling, and by adopting these processes, you will create a sustainable company with healthy numbers. Then new horizons open up – added Rojko.
Ivan Kekez, CEO of SVAM plus, followed up, bringing the importance of data for modern management closer to the attendees.
– Controlling projects cannot come to life in practice if the whole company does not embrace it. Support for adopting new processes must not be merely declarative, as in that case, no change will occur – concludes Kekez.
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