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| Vlad Bog, Capability and Development Director, The Coca Cola Company |
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1) Vlad, you have a vast experience in the HR field. What were the reasons behind your decision to focus on this area?
I am a financier by profession, investment specialist. Still, I began my career as a salesperson and later I ended up in human resources. I think what attracted me most was the fact that I feel equally drawn to business and people and HR is that middle ground where the two collaborate in order to achieve results.
2) What advice would you give companies that want to train their employees even though they have smaller development budgets? What are the areas of training they should focus on?
Training is only responsible for 10% of employee development and efficiency. 70% is generated by on the job learning. In other words the solution lies within managers that teach their subordinates, daily, with the desire to develop them without any fear they might become better that their manager. Training is of course necessary in order to acquire a theoretical base, but it has to be immediately applied. That is why, the areas in which companies have to focus when it comes to training are those in which they cannot have commercial success in both short and long term, supported by on the job training. Collaboration between managers, human resources and training companies has to take place in this area.
3) The difficult period we are going through has a major impact on employees as well. Downsizing, cost reduction or eliminating certain benefits. How can we keep employee productivity in these critical moments? What measures did Coca-Cola take in order to ensure the same degree of efficiency as before?
The answer I give to all those that ask me this question are aligning HR costs with the results that are realistically expected this year. In other words, if forecasts show a decrease of 30% in sales or profitability then all expenses must be adjusted accordingly.
4) What are the effects the current crisis will have on HR departments in Romania and their importance within the company?
As always, their importance will be determined by the way in which the HR department will manage to provide added value to the business and increase efficiency. The crisis offers the opportunity to be one step ahead of others strategy wise. If the HR department generates this then it has proved its value.
5) What was the business logic behind the Coca-Cola University?
We had relatively low scores when it came to employee satisfaction, with both training and development, even though we were spending more per employee than other efficient companies. Thus we realized we had certain shortcomings with regard to the lack of common development goals, certain good practices that weren't promoted, and the fact that every region generated its own solutions working in isolation. Two years after its launch, the effects are spectacular when we consider the possibilities of development, easy access to development as well as its quality compared to the costs. However my responsibilities do not include the Coca-Cola University in Romania, but 43 other countries in Eurasia.
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Human Invest is a Premier League company in the arena of training and organizational development consultancy services, present on the Romanian market since 1998.
We are recognized for conceiving and implementing programs which offer managers an authentic experience towards improving their leadership performances, and thus we support companies in becoming more and more engaged in delivering excellent services for their clients.
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