AmCham Slovakia

Health is about how we live

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Letter to Members by Darina Sedláková, M.D., MPH, Head of the WHO Country Office in Slovakia

Allow me to start with a statement that I believe each of you will agree with: Health is a universal value recognized and valued by all, starting from international organizations through national governments, and in-country sectors to individuals. Health underpins social and economic development and strengthens policies across all sectors. However, the economic and fiscal crisis facing many countries, including Slovakia, presents serious challenges and potentially risks undermining the positive progress that has been made. Nevertheless, it also presents an important opportunity to refocus and renew our efforts to improve the health of all people. Good health is essential for economic and social development. It is a vital concern for the lives of every single person, all families and communities. Poor health wastes potential, causes despair, and drains resources across all sectors.

PPPs as drivers of investment

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: PwC

Government spending on healthcare around the world is growing at a pace that will be unsustainable unless new funding sources and more efficient delivery methods are found. As this reality dawns, governments are looking to Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to solve the problems in care delivery that are driving spending.

Data protection in healthcare

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: bnt attorneys-at-law

With the passage of the new Act on Personal Data Protection, entrepreneurs should become more aware of personal data security. This topic concerns all subjects processing personal data of natural persons. One group of subjects to which this act applies is health care providers.

Fresh wind from Australia carries employment services

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: EPIC, non-profit organization

According to the OECD, the Australian model of employment services is considered to be among the most effective globally. Some of the current EU member states use it already. One of the biggest Australian employment services providers, EPIC Employment Service Inc., opened its first European office in Bratislava almost one year ago. We spoke with Keith Martin, the CEO.

Coaching - fashionable and necessary

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Deloitte

Today’s performance-oriented corporate culture puts exceptionally high pressure on employees who are overloaded and subject to burnout, especially those at managerial levels. Such people are unable to deliver continuously high-quality performance. The recent finding that managers often do not utilize the potential of their subordinates is particularly worrying. They are weak in their ability to coach effectively.

Rethinking human resources in a changing world

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: KPMG

The value of the Human Resources (HR) function elicits sharply contradictory views within organizations. On the one hand, in today’s competitive global markets, the “war for talent” is understood to be crucial to almost every business. On the other hand, the HR function is often dismissed as non-essential or ineffective.

A life-long learning attitude

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: ACCA

Why do employers around the world and in a variety of sectors recognize and often prefer professional qualification? It is not only because they can see the title after a candidate’s name in recognition of success in their studies, but the employer can also see commitment to sound ethics and practical experience gained while training.

How can you motivate employees to be highly productive?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Centire s.r.o.

The complex environment in which production companies have to function brings about many challenges. These challenges are understood mostly in economic terms based on the time-costquality triangle. Thus, the human aspect of the equation, the workforce, is often neglected.

The future belongs to social business

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: PMP Group

Enterprise social media (ESM) represents an inevitable addition to the toolset required for the transformation of an organization into a “social business.” However, social business is more about cultural change, since transformation into a business of the 21st century is primarily based on improved knowledge sharing and relations that affect your business.

Making real-world use of Big Data

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: IBM Slovakia

What is so new about Big Data, the tech buzzword that is attracting so much attention these days? After all, many organizations, from global telecommunications companies to stock exchanges, have been handling and sifting though massive amounts of data for years.

New government grant to preserve jobs

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Masnyk Legal s.r.o.

Slovak authorities have a new tool to help employers who, in spite of experiencing economic problems, decided not to cancel jobs. The official name of this new “weapon” is “grant for support of maintenance of working positions”. Who is eligible?

Combating high turnover at a minimal cost

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Human Dynamic

High turnover remains one of the most challenging phenomena in every organization. Many companies fight to retain employees by raising salaries; however, this is not a cost-effective way to deal with turnover. Dealing with employee retention can be a low-risk, high-benefit investment.

Young and unemployed

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Iventa Slovakia Management Consulting s.r.o.

Slovakia has one of the highest long-term unemployment ranks in Europe. Furthermore, the unemployment rate of people under the age of 29 is at an alarming 30%. We asked Slovak companies about their experience with young employees and candidates, and what they believe might be the cause of high unemployment with this group.

Focused on the right candidate

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Iventa Slovakia Management Consulting s.r.o.

Economic crisis, layoffs, and a high unemployment rate. These terms, frequently used in recent years, may imply that companies have enough available candidates on the labor market. But is it really so? Are there enough candidates on the market? If so, do companies actually need support of recruitment agencies? In which cases do companies use Executive Search or Headhunting Services?

World opera stars in Bratislava

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: KAPOS

The capital of Bratislava has various names. One name that our Beauty on the Danube certainly deserves is The City of Music. True to this tradition, the city is becoming the meeting point of the world stars of the opera thanks to the ambitious agency KAPOS.