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- Challenges of hybrid work
- On a Mission to Innovate
- 21st century skills in the regions
- New HR trends transforming the workplace
- The “new normal” means change
- Reversing the She-cession
- Why internet connectivity is more important than ever
- Bridging Academia & Industry
- Students solving real-world problems
- Developing MSD future leaders in-house
- Let’s talk power
- Work and life connections
- Potential Wealth: Gifted & Talented
- Mindfulness: buzzword or superpower?
- Tertiary education is worth it
- New HR legislation explained
- Job sharing explained
- Home office as the new normal
- New approaches to skill-provision in Central Europe
- Gaining practical skills
Human Capital: Education and Labor
Challenges of hybrid work
Trying to define the “new normal” while maintaining productivity, but also morale and company culture, is showing to be one of the biggest challenges companies currently face. We’ve approached some of the big employers associated in AmCham’s BSCF forum with the following question:
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to deal with when it comes to hybrid work models?
On a Mission to Innovate
Our mission is to make the Banská Bystrica region a place where people
can live, work, and raise their children. A thriving community in a
healthy competitive environment that supports continuous creation and
development of innovations. A place where people do not leave from, but
instead new ones come in. We consider the long-term support of science,
research and education in schools and the support of new unconventional
solutions in various areas of life to be a key means of fulfilling this
mission.
21st century skills in the regions
Over the past two decades, AmCham has quickly developed into one of the
most active business communities in the country. Together with our
almost 300 members, we share a vision of Slovakia as a globally
competitive, innovation-driven, and sustainable country that can thrive
in the fast-changing world of the 21st century.
New HR trends transforming the workplace
Welcome to the year 2022. Until all dust is settled in companies, decision-makers are leading an unorganized orchestra. These atomizing times have revealed two opportunities for HR and workplace transformation: how people interact and how organizations operate.
The “new normal” means change
Questions are endless when it comes to envisioning the way we will work in the future. The environment in which we work today has highlighted the need for adaptability and resilience in today’s workforce.
Reversing the She-cession
Empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps in the world of work is good for business and economy as it boosts productivity, increases economic diversification and income equality in addition to other positive development outcomes. Companies greatly benefit from increasing employment and leadership opportunities for women, which is shown to increase organizational effectiveness and growth.
Why internet connectivity is more important than ever
Gartner Research & Advisory forecasts that by the beginning of 2022 more than a half of the employees in the knowledge economy worldwide will be working outside of their workplaces. This represents almost a twofold increase compared to the pre-Covid era. Working from home is necessary for companies to continue functioning.
Bridging Academia & Industry
Nowadays, it is recognized globally that collaboration and understanding between research institutions and business brings innovation with the potential for explosive growth. Bringing academia and business together can be a complex process. We describe an example of such collaboration that is systematically being carried out by establishing a new research institute inspired by the Fraunhofer or similar institutes.
Students solving real-world problems
Companies that want to shape the future should focus on technological leadership and digitalization to be able to promptly react to any market demands and changes. It is digitalization that has mitigated the effects of the pandemic on business and helped stabilize the labor market. However, technology also plays a significant role in education. It has enabled us to keep and even expand interactions with students.
Developing MSD future leaders in-house
It might sound as a bit of cliché, but we in MSD believe it is true: Talent development is one of the key drivers of successful companies. It leads to higher employee engagement, new career opportunities, development of learning culture and therefore accelerates success of the organization.
Let’s talk power
In conversation with Ivana Rybánska, the men who created a company culture as powerful as the batteries produced by Clarios, share the key motivations and elements of their strategy. As a result, Clarios Slovakia manages to acquire and keep talent through internal branding and educational empowerment of its employees.
Work and life connections
Success comes at a price. Business leaders face difficult decisions regarding demands on their time on daily basis. The responsibility towards their families and their employees makes them carefully consider each minute of their day. We want to know how they like to spend their time out of work, what inspires them and motivates them.
Potential Wealth: Gifted & Talented
The need to invest in education is quite emphasized nowadays in the whole world. It is important for the overall development, but specifically for excellence and creativity.
Mindfulness: buzzword or superpower?
Probably everyone has already heard the word “mindfulness”. Many of us practice on a regular basis. Hundreds of millions people worldwide meditate and more and more companies have mindfulness programs. The market with meditation apps is over blooming.
Tertiary education is worth it
One of the evergreens in Slovak labor market discourse is an argument that young people should attend vocational high schools rather than pursue tertiary education. This argument is supported by two statements: 1) there are plenty of jobs in the blue-collar sectors, and 2) the wages earned in blue-collar jobs, mostly construction workers, are competitive even with university graduates.
New HR legislation explained
Coronavirus outbreak, home office and homeschooling, quarantine, uncertainty, self isolation and social distancing. The current pandemic has brought many challenges in the HR area and Slovak decision makers had no other chance but to reflect them in legislation. This article aims to increase the awareness of the legislation in the HR area especially since the frequency of the changes makes it very difficult for the employers to stay on top of it.
Job sharing explained
Due to the pandemic situation, the business environment and the labor market in the Slovak Republic have been facing challenges for almost two years. Consequently the government and the legislator reacted and amended the relevant legislation. The needs of the practice over the past two years have required, among other things, multiple changes to the Labor Code.
Home office as the new normal
The measures put in place due to the pandemic have highlighted many of the legal issues concerning employees working from home prior to the pandemic. The legislature reacted to these issues by adopting multiple amendments to the Slovak Labor Code, dealing with both “home office” during the pandemic and “home office” in general.
New approaches to skill-provision in Central Europe
The present outmoded CEE9 education systems are at best calibrated to the outdated manufacturing-fuelled macro models, and at worst markedly divorced from real labor market needs. For some CEE9 countries, their education system quality is not only poor in relative terms but has deteriorated over time.
Gaining practical skills
The current qualification structure of Slovak graduates does not meet the needs of the market. Moreover, university graduates do not have sufficient skills for the 21st century - they are lacking digital skills, critical and analytical thinking, teamwork, and independent work skills. Last but not least, they do not have direct contact with the practice and therefore lack sufficient practical experience.
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