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The Slovak connection
Written by: Monika Mudranincová & Jiří Vašek
Photo by: Martin Marenčín & Vojtěch Vlk
The past year or so has seen several
leading Czech managers taking high-profile assignments in Slovakia.
What's behind this trend of exporting managerial know-how?
THERE ARE HISTORICAL precedents for labor migrations
between the two countries. Throughout the existence
of the former Czechoslovakia there were movements of
Czechs to Slovakia at various times and for various
reasons, whether within the framework of the prewar
wave of state officials, military specialists, and
physicians, and some years later of construction experts,
university professors, and career soldiers who moved
east to find work and so-called assigned jobs. As of
1 January 1993, the day when the Czechoslovak Federal
Republic was partitioned, approximately 55,000 Czechs
had lived and worked in Slovakia for a long time. Conversely,
at the beginning of the nineties many Slovaks came
to the Czech Republic seeking not only jobs, but also
greater political freedom and freedom of expression.
While 300,000 Slovaks are now living in the Czech Republic,
the number of Czechs living in Slovakia is estimated
at under 7,000. While only a small fraction of them
are highly-placed managers, these corporate commuters
represent a growing trend in cross-border labor relations.
"
Since the partitioning of our countries the entire
field of human resources has gone through a vast change," says
Slavomír Chovanec, a consultant for Synergie Slovakia,
a personnel agency. "This is marked by a change
in corporate culture, with a clear shift towards high-quality
managers, who are currently in demand regardless of
nationality or culture." One of the reasons is
omnipresent globalization, which, according to Eva
Laiferová, head of the sociology department of the
Comenius University School of Philosophy in Bratislava,
is connected with the opening of the labor market and
the hiring of narrowly specialized experts in neighboring
countries.
Financial remuneration has also gone through changes.
This remains an important motivating factor for Slovaks,
who earn less at home, and travel to Prague to work
for firms that have no offices in their country. They
see the Czech Republic as a stepping stone to Hungary
or Germany. "Conversely, Czechs move to Bratislava
if they get really interesting offers involving greater
authority," Chovanec continues. "Money often
plays only a secondary role in their decisions, as
they are attracted by the possibility of being in on
the ground floor of something completely new and being
able to take some time out off the beaten track."
Although there is substantially higher unemployment
in Slovakia (with the exception of Bratislava) hiring
Czechs is a logical step at a time when companies cannot
find local experts with the required know-how. As opposed
to other foreigners, Czechs do not need to overcome
a language barrier, and there is no danger of so-called
culture shock. "In Slovakia they have a similar
culture and work ethic, and similarly constructed corporate
culture and social networks. All this helps in the
more effective inclusion of employees in the work process
of the country," explains Laiferová. This "comfort
zone" in regard to the national transition means
that it's easier for Czechs working in top management
positions in Slovakia to make important decisions in
banks, IT companies, and even the media.
Throwing down the gauntlet
Business is a two-way street. Companies in Slovakia get managers
who have already proved their abilities in their given fields
and are able to put their knowledge to work. And the managers
find in Slovakia what the Czech Republic could no longer provide
them with - further career advancement, greater self-realization,
creative freedom, and challenges. Incidentally, the word challenge
was the common denominator among the people The Prague Tribune
spoke with. "I don't like the word challenge, but I have
to admit that in this case it is the most appropriate, and that
it was the main reason I accepted the job in Slovakia," says
Zdeněk Šámal, news director for Czech Television, who worked
for two and a half years as the news director for the Slovak
television station TA3.
Milan Vašina, marketing director for EuroTel Bratislava, formerly
marketing director for T-Mobile in the Czech Republic, claims that
while in this country everything ran relatively smoothly and was "stagnant",
in Slovakia he still has room for professional growth. He went
there to put together a team of people and choose a new marketing
strategy, complex tasks that he saw as a challenge. His colleague
Barbora Stejskalová is of a similar opinion. In September she went
to Slovakia from GE Capital in Prague, where she had worked as
senior human resources manager for compensation and benefits, and
she is now a human resources director. "Working for EuroTel
means a change in sector, firm, country, and position. I have an
opportunity to build a new personnel department, which is the most
attractive part of the job," she explains.
Their boss, Robert Chvátal, EuroTel Bratislava's general director,
also went to Slovakia to advance to a higher position. He reached
the highest level of the career ladder from the position of executive
vice president of T-Mobile Czech Republic in charge of marketing.
He is overflowing with praise for the opportunity he received. "For
me this means advancement in my career but as well as personal
maturing," he says. Alexander Winkler, who used to work for
Eurotel Praha as chief operating officer, is now senior vice-president
for corporate clients, but for Slovenské telekomunikácie. He too
confirms that working in Slovakia presented him with a challenge. "I
came from an environment that I knew intimately and where I had
earned a certain reputation into an environment where no one knew
me. So I had to start out from scratch," he recalls.
So close, yet so far
Although it might seem that the Czech and Slovak nations couldn't
be closer, some differences do exist. Czech managers must at least
partly adapt themselves to local conditions, or else they have
to change the entire firm. Often they are chosen for their positions
because they have no personal ties in the area, because Slovakia
is a small country where everyone knows everyone else, which results
in the commingling of the personal and the professional. This involves
a so-called game among friends - or, more precisely, one hand washes
the other. The result is the undesirable predominance of personal
interests of individuals over the interests of firms and their
shareholders. The advantage of Czech managers is that they are
outsiders, so they don't have to take personal ties into account.
They can remain unprejudiced and nonpartisan, reject unsuitable
requests for such things as sponsoring, and resist protectionism
without remorse.
Most of the Czechs The Prague Tribune spoke with admitted that
this is one reason they avoid excessive sociability. For example,
the editor-in-chief of the Slovak tabloid daily Nový Čas (similar
to Blesk in the Czech Republic) Vladimír Mužík, says, "I hardly
go to any parties, and I hardly meet with anyone, so as not to
build such ties. Ties only make dealing with potential favors and
requests worse." Jitka Obzinová, the former popular announcer
for TV Nova and today the production director for the television
station JOJ, agrees: "I see the absence of such ties as my
greatest advantage and a certain type of freedom when I make decisions." Jiří
Kunert, the general director of Živnobanka, who managed Unibanka
in Bratislava for a year and a half, also speaks candidly about
this issue: "In Slovakia there is a deep-seated custom of
doing business through friends and relatives, in rather closed
communities. It took me a long time to get used to it, as I searched
for a 'modus vivendi', and at last I found it."
Assistance from the "West"
Although the penetration of Czech managers into Slovakia might look like a continuation
of the "Big Brother" approach - i.e., the feeling that the Czechs are
calling the shots and making decisions on important matters, sociologist Eva
Laiferová of Komenský University believes that this theory does not apply in
this case. "Today economic and commercial criteria of individual firms play
the main role," she claims. The older and middle-aged generation even feels
some nostalgia for the single state. "Czechs are seen here as colleagues
who have come from the west to help," Obzinová says. None of the people
we spoke with complained about any animosity on the part of their Slovak colleagues,
and formerly difficult issues of nationalism have faded into the background.
Laiferová thinks that there are no negative reactions or nationalistic undertones
if a top manager is chosen on the basis of a transparent personnel selection
process based on equal opportunity. Barbora Stejskalová confirms this, saying
that her present position as human resources director was open to anyone for
a long time - Slovaks and Czechs. "The main criterion is knowing what you're
doing in your job and being able to help when needed. Then it doesn't matter
a bit what nationality you are," she says.
Although far more people go to Slovakia from the Czech Republic than ten years
ago, no close Czech community has been formed there. This could be because the
two countries are so close to each other, and the language barrier is negligible,
so it isn't necessary to create isolated groups. "I've never been invited
to a Czech soirée," laughs Tomáš Spurný, president of Všeobecná úverová
banka. I don't even know if there is a Czech community in Slovakia." He
says that most Czechs don't feel like foreigners in Slovakia, and that he's looking
forward to next May, when we will all become Europeans.
Photo by: Martin
Marenčin
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Robert
Chvátal: A step forward
Since May of 2003 Robert Chvátal has been the general
director of EuroTel Bratislava. Prior to his arrival
in Bratislava, he was the marketing director and
a member of the board of directors of T-Mobile Czech
Republic. Since EuroTel in Slovakia and T-Mobile
in the Czech Republic belong to a single international
group, his transfer within the firm didn't require
the assistance of headhunters. He sees his specific
experience with the Czech mobile phone market, which
is about a year ahead of its Slovak counterpart,
as the reason he in particular, and not one of his
Slovak colleagues, was chosen for the job. Chvátal
is expected to merge the interests of the two main
shareholders (Slovenské telekomunikácie and Atlantic
West B.V.) and lead EuroTel to growth. He'll get
help from 1,200 employees, including five colleagues
who came over with him from the Czech Republic. But
he points out that he didn't favor his Czech colleagues
in the selection process. "We always look for
the person with the most suitable skills for a specific
position, rather than a Slovak, a Czech, or an American," says
this manager, who has reached the very top level
of management with EuroTel and is very grateful for
the opportunity. "It is clearly a great step
forward for my career, and for my maturing in my
profession," he confides.
During his six months in his new job he has noticed
certain differences in the behavior of Slovak employees
and customers from what he was used to in Prague.
Slovaks strike him as more emotional than the more
reserved Czechs. This has both positive and negative
sides. "On the one hand is sincerity and openness,
and on the other is rashness and taking things personally,
especially in business," he explains. He notes
that Slovaks aren't sensitive about where you're
from, they're interested in what you can do. "If
you show them that you understand the business, that
you're able to lead people, and you don't put on
airs before your subordinates, they respect you." Chvátal
has little time to feel homesick, but he's glad for
visits from numerous Praguers and friends from abroad,
whom he shows around the town. "Bratislava makes
up for my nostalgia about Prague by being on the
borders of three countries. So everything's close,
and that's great," he says.
Monika Mudranincová
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Photo by: Martin Marenčin |
Tomáš
Spurný: Right place, right time
The general director and chairman of the board of the Slovak
Všeobecná úverová banka (VÚB), a majority stake in which is
owned by the Italian Banka Itesa, is a Czech with Moravian-Slovakian
roots. He was chosen for the position of head of VÚB, to which
he came from the post of CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and
member of the board of directors of Komerční banka in Prague
in May of last year.
His task is to restructure and transform VÚB, so the length
of his engagement there will depend on his success in fulfilling
the strategy. "I feel like a naval officer who for the
first time is getting a chance to command a large ship, and
I feel an enormous responsibility to steer her safely into
port at the right time, with a healthy and motivated crew," Spurný
says with enthusiasm. He adds that he is pleased for the chance
to take part in resolving the complex problems associated with
public finance reform.
A combination of opportunities the likes of which he never
encountered in his previous jobs has created a unique life
situation for him. "I was in the right place at the right
time," he points out. Additionally, he says, he always
had an aversion to Prague paternalism and unfulfilled promises.
At VÚB, which has 4,100 employees, he is systematically building
an international top management team made up of "repatriated" Slovaks
as well as Czechs, a Hungarian, an Englishman, and an American.
In general, Spurný says that he finds Slovak society more open,
emotive, and flexible than that of the Czech Republic. "It's
easy to recognize whether people will support you in a specific
situation," he notes. "Furthermore, there is a strong
sense of ethnicity in Slovakia that has nearly died out in
the Czech Republic. These attributes make a manager's work
more interesting," he adds.
Spurný is philosophical about occasional rebukes that he is
depriving Slovaks of an exclusive job. "It bothers people
who have lost influence over the bank's decision making and
those who aren't very good about paying their bills," he
says laconically. He is very satisfied with his professional
and personal life, although he and his fiancée manage to travel
to Bohemia no more than once a month. "Bratislava's location
presents huge possibilities for spending free time, and in
addition we live in what is de facto a suburb of Vienna, one
of Europe's most beautiful metropolises," he says with
satisfaction. Incidentally, neither borders nor nationality
play much of a role according to him. "I'm glad that people
finally have an opportunity for mobility, and I hope that this
phenomenon will continue to develop," he says.
Monika Mudranincová |
Photo
by: Martin Marenčin |
Vladimír
Mužík: Big fish, small pond
"I don't hold a high managerial position, and I don't
even look at it that way," was how Vladimír Mužík, the
editor-in-chief of the daily Nový Čas, began our interview.
He has about eighty subordinates, and thanks to the wide circulation
of this Slovak variant of Blesk, he has lots of influence. "To
me, my stay here is a task that I'm just trying to carry out...even
though that sounds a bit pejorative," he adds immediately.
He was originally sent to the editorial office for three months
as an advisor to pass on his experience from heading Nedělní
Blesk. Both dailies belong to the portfolio of the Swiss company
Ringier AG. But it turned out that he was named editor-in-chief,
and his stay has so far extended to a year and a half. "In
the situation here no one else was found who had a concept
for the direction the daily should take in order to conform
to the owners' plans," he explains. "There aren't
many opportunities in which a person can become number one
after being number two, and it would be a pity not to take
advantage of it. Especially when I can freely implement my
ideas and be certain that, as I say, it will happen."
According to Mužík, the media market in Slovakia is much different
from the market in the Czech Republic - not only in size, and
the limited share of advertising - but also in the number of
readers. From the total number of inhabitants it is necessary
to subtract about half a million Roma and five to seven hundred
thousand members of the Hungarian minority, who prefer their
own press. Far fewer foreign publishers are represented in
Slovakia, with just the German Vltava-Labe-Press and the aforementioned
Ringier. The economical status of the market is also reflected
in smaller investments for technical facilities and editorial
offices, as well as the fact that newspaper staff don't make
as much money. That's allegedly one more reason why Slovaks
speak of their net, rather than their gross, earnings. Mužík
himself isn't complaining about how much he makes, he just
says it's in six figures. He is paid according to circulation,
exactly, in Czech crowns. Are there any disadvantages to working
there? "Of course," he replies. "I'm far from
my family, my buddies, my friends. My wife and daughter don't
want to be here, and going to Prague for weekends is tough.
350 kilometers there on Friday, and 350 kilometers back on
Sunday. It's unimaginable," he says.
Jiří Vašek |
Photo by: Martin Marenčin |
Alexander
Winkler: A truly new home
"A person has to live in the country he works in. This
is one of my convictions," says Alexander Winkler, the
senior vice president for corporate clients for Slovenské
telekomunikácie. He has about 300 subordinates whom he stands
behind even during weekends. He came to his position in Slovakia
from the Eurotel Praha headquarters exactly a year ago. He
was appointed on the condition that this professional change
would last several years. "In my opinion the stay of
a foreign worker lasts as long as he works and performs as
expected of him, thus bringing added value to the firm," he
explains. "I came to Slovenské telekomunikácie with
the assignment of establishing business ties with the leading
corporate clients on the Slovak market." Because he
feels that the local workforce has rather high managerial
potential, he didn't bring anyone with him from the Czech
Republic.
While in Prague he enjoyed a certain renown, no one in Slovakia
knew him, and he had to start from the beginning. Unlike
other Czech managers, his first activities included getting
to know colleagues, clients, and customers personally. "I
think that personal ties are very important, and even desirable
in this field, if for no other reason than that for me they
have meant greater responsibility towards the given customer.
And they must never be at odds with the interests of the
company or its shareholders," he says of his managerial
approach. Winkler has done very well in his new environment,
possibly because, as he claims, in his case there was hardly
any language barrier. A good half the books in his library
are in Slovak. Additionally, his employer set good conditions
for him, in terms of both his authority and his financial
remuneration. In this vein he point out, "I think that
each manager's motivation is created by his job description
and his remuneration. These two elements must be in balance.
If that were not the case his professional interest and performance
would be affected."
Jiří Vašek |
Photo by: Vojtěch
Vlk |
Views of returnees: Jiří
Kunert: Fulfilling a clear task
From 2001 to 2003 the current head of Živnostenská banka
in Prague served as chairman of the board and general director
of Poľnobanka in Slovakia, which was later known as UniBanka,
a part of the European financial group UniCredit Group. The
besieged UniBanka needed restructuring, and since UniCredit
Group's management couldn't find a suitable person in Slovakia,
it requested that Kunert, who until then had been general
director of Živnostenská banka, help transform the bank and
initiate growth. Six months later he looks back on his work
in Bratislava as nothing but positive. "It was a challenge.
I acquired new perspectives, as well as a chance to verify
my abilities," he says. He fulfilled the wishes of the
shareholders and created a good name for himself. Additionally,
he appreciated the facts that his task was clear and he had
corresponding authority. "That was something I didn't
have in my previous job in Prague," he notes. He didn't
take anyone from the Czech Republic along with him, and when
managing 950 employees he relied on the same procedures that
he had applied in the Czech Republic. But he was surprised
to discover that in fact Czechs and Slovaks are different. "Slovaks
are more open, more candid than Czechs, but also more vain,
even though they call it pride," he says with a laugh.
No one gave him the feeling that they were unwilling to have
a Czech manage a Slovak bank, and his family, including his
wife, a native of Bratislava, helped him feel at home. Today
he says concisely, "It was fine."
Monika Mudranincová |
Photo by: Vojtěch
Vlk |
Views of returnees: Zdeněk
Šámal: Free to work
Starting in May 2001 he worked as the editor-in-chief of
a private television news channel, TA3, which was created
literally from scratch. When he returned to Prague twenty
months later he left behind about seventy subordinates and
a television station that was functioning properly. "It
all began with my being addressed directly by TA3's general
director, Martin Lengyel, and I gave his offer the nod. It
was an opportunity to be present at the birth of something
that was lacking in central Europe," recalls this journalist
who had already worked successfully for Czech Television
for several years. He says he took something of a pay cut,
and he also missed his family, but the unique challenge outweighed
the negative aspects. Like other "imported" managers,
Šámal also noticed certain differences between Czechs and
Slovaks during his work there. "Relationships there
are somewhat more emotional, and there is substantially greater
courage to try new things, but on the other hand it's sometimes
surprising that people can't handle things that should be
a matter of course for professionals. The truth is that although
many things function differently there, the similarities
predominate." And why was he chosen in particular? He
thinks two factors were at work. "In the first place,
I wasn't associated with anyone in Slovakia, and that meant
I could be an independent journalist, and the news channel
wanted to build on that. Secondly, my professional past and
results in the eyes of my employer guaranteed that I would
bring the required know-how with me, and that I'd know how
to use it." Today he sees this stage of his life as
an experience that he would recommend in principle to anyone. "It
was unbelievably stimulating, a bit tiring, at times even
exhausting, but it was worth it."
Jiří Vašek
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