H&P Corporate Responsibility Report 2005/2006

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY REPORT 2005/2006

VISION & VALUES & CODE OF CONDUCT - CHAPTER TITLE

HAUSKA & PARTNER CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY REPORT 2005/2006

1

HAUSKA & PARTNER CR REPORT

CONTENT

4 BEING DIFFERENT, WORKING DIFFERENTLY

8 EVOLUTION OF CR IN HAUSKA & PARTNER GROUP

16 SCOPE OF THE REPORT

26 ABOUT HAUSKA & PARTNER GROUP

26 How “disorganised” are we?

29 2005 ﬁnancial results

30 Hauska & Partner employees

30 How many of us there are

30 What we offer

31 General employment information

34 OUR HR PRACTICES

37 Developing our people

38 Improving our workplace

Publisher: Hauska & Partner Ltd. We would appreciate your views

BreπÊenskoga 4 on our report and our performance.

HR-10000 Zagreb

Tel. +385 1 4500 222 Please contact: Andreja PavloviÊ

Fax. +385 1 4557 218 Senior Consultant

Editorial Board: Daria Mateljak Bartulin, Leo Hauska, CR Director for H&P Group

Srba JovanoviÊ, Annette Märk, andreja.pavlovic@hauska.com

Andrea Marπáková, Andreja PavloviÊ,

Katarina Rimac, Ana Smoljo,

Petr Stoklasa, Ivana Tavra,

Gordana VesiÊ, Bernhard Wanasek

Proofreading: Apostrof Ltd.

Designed&produced by:

Number of copies: 500

2

CONTENT

42 SHAPING OUR FUTURE

42 Our future in the World Café

46 Should we not strive to be better than the best?

51 Building unique workplace standards

52 Flexibility in the focus

53 Partnership with DNV

53 By-laws

54 Becoming great consultants

58 A WORD FROM AUDITOR

64 FOLLOWING G3 GUIDELINES

68 MOVING FORWARD

3


BEING DIFFERENT, WORKING DIFFERENTLY

In the brief time that we grew from a situations, acknowledge them and take
traditional PR agency with a strategic the right side before it is too late. We
twist to a more interdisciplinary consult- are still learning.
ing firm, we have been confronted with
several professional sins or temptations. As we grew larger and more sophisti-
The first problematic area is (the more- cated in our work, and achieving better
or-less justified) tarnished reputation of professional results, we encountered
our profession. This field suffers open more chimeras, internal and external,
or tacit accusations for being superficial material and psychological. Responsible
and promotion-oriented, filtering facts behaviour cannot be demanded. Being
into exclusively positive contours, hiding better does not simply mean saying
valuable core information or manipulat- “No, Sir (or Ma’am)” when you disagree
ing stakeholders, and the list goes on. with a client on matters of corporate
Crucial in our development was the mo- reputation or stakeholder relations.
ment when we decided to “do different It means taking the trouble to explain
things differently”. We armed ourselves why we disagree and to demonstrate
with a shield of courage, a sword of additional concern for the client’s long-
persistence and a heart of belief in our term benefits. Sometimes this requires
values and embarked on the high seas statements that are not written in
of corporate and organizational expec- textbooks or proclaimed on the “to-do
tations. In the meantime we figured out lists” of PR manuals. And this makes our
that the very first prerequisite for being work difficult. To keep on the right track
different and better at the same time and properly contribute to the develop-
was to cease providing “ready textbook ment of the communications profession
solutions” to our clients and to start de- and to be able to respond to the ever
veloping situations in which we partner changing world. For example, how can
with our clients in order to jointly create we explain the fact that the media are
the best outcomes. The key word in this growing in power, size, influence, num-
kind of work is quality. Have we been bers and shape, while at the same time
successful in this? Not always. Integrity the share of media relations in consul-
demands high standards and we still tancy activity portfolios is decreasing?
face temptation of yielding to superficial One of the challenges is to find sound
fame and short-term success due to the methods of balancing needs, initiatives
ambiguous boundary limits between or simply common sense in involving
communications and marketing, promo- stakeholder groups directly in the issues
tion and stakeholder dialogue, benefits of an organization. In many ways, we
from extensive media coverage and feel that the world of communications
stakeholder trust. A giant step for us has to undergo a catharsis and address
was the commitment to recognize such the ancient roots of democracy recorded

4

BEING DIFFERENT, WORKING DIFFERENTLY

in the historical works of political think- to superficial and fashionable tools in
ers. PR is not the art of sorting jigsaw our professional lives, instead of explor-
puzzles of words, and we should be very ing the causes to eliminate the problem?
careful not to concentrate too much on
words, sounds and pictures. We must The last, but not least challenge is
look for ways to address and concen- how to create a consultancy which can
trate on behaviour. Promotion blends respond to all of its own ambitions and
well with words. Stakeholder relations external demands? It took us several
require deeds. Humpty-Dumpty exercises to figure
out that not only the shape, but also
Modesty and good measure are addition- the material and the way you move are
al challenges for successful performance. vital to prevent falling off the wall, or
Unfortunately public relations (previ- surviving if it happens. Good material is
ously), communications management difficult to find, grow, cultivate. There-
and stakeholder relations turned into fore, we took creating conditions in our
a very attractive profession for people glass house seriously. Corporate culture
seeking fame and glory, media exposure, is what matters. Matching values to our
extensive travel and fancy lifestyles. At environment, leading by them, cherish-
Hauska & Partner we are a group of pro- ing leadership and fairness may create
fessionals who know that our job is more an organization which is ready to have
about “blood, sweat and tears”. Hard the right professionals. However, the
work is required with a no-nonsense right professionals are not bought - they
attitude, along with good common sense are earned. We are still learning.
for limits and taste. Fancy is not a word
Daria Mateljak Bartulin, MCIPR
that places very high on our agenda.
We are not allowed to take creative
escapades in our behaviour or style like
advertising people. Getting ourselves to
this stage, and convincing our partners
that communications go farther than a
“glass of champagne and a smart suit”,
is a difficult process. It has much to do
with understanding substances. Just
one allegory - if we get up in the morn-
ing feeling sick and looking even worse,
our natural instinct and common sense
should be to call a doctor, rather than
undergoing a thorough make-over at
the beauty parlour. So why do we resort

5


ONLY WITH
OPENNESS
AND FLEXIBILITY

we
CAN SUCCEED

6


1 / EVOLUTION OF CR IN HAUSKA & PARTNER GROUP

7

1

1 / EVOLUTION OF CR
IN HAUSKA & PARTNER GROUP

Unlike many other companies, which two poles, we constantly challenge our
start implementing CR through report- role in development of our profession
ing, we came to CR through relationship and the modern world.
management, the very essence of our
management consulting work. In rela- Dealing with CR requires self-reliance,
tionship management, it is not enough team skills and the ability to make judg-
to just be a good communicator. It re- ments for courses of actions in highly
quires not only openness and flexibility, complex situations with increasingly
but also readiness to combine different, unpredictable outcomes. We use CR
often “hybrid” skills and knowledge, in as an opportunity rather than a risk
order to be able to determine new mod- management tool in order to revisit our
els for collaboration with stakeholder daily business practices, and wherever
groups. needed to instil new management and
business practices.
These new forms, or as we call them
platforms for dialogue, can take many All in all, we have undergone a very
different forms, but what is really impor- dynamic process in which we combined
tant here is to understand that compa- different areas of expertise, our experi-
nies (as well as other organizations)- ence in dealing with many different
overwhelmed with a wide array of issues stakeholder groups and our understand-
and a large number of stakeholders ing of their different agendas, areas of
who quite often have different or even influence, organizational cultures and
opposing expectations and interests- ways of doing business.
need to think of stakeholder relations in
strategic terms. After three years, we believe we are
ready to prepare our first CR report,
In the course of the last three years, we which should serve as a basis for fur-
have developed a framework in which ther dialogue with our employees and
we assess and analyze stakeholders, other stakeholders. We invited some of
their immediate concerns and expecta- them to join us in the reporting process
tions and their relevance to business itself, because we were eager to see our
objectives and strategy in order to be reflection in the mirror realistically, right
able to understand and prioritize issues from the beginning.
that can have significant impact on our
operations. On the other hand, we bring A holistic approach requires complete-
immediate concerns and expectations ness. With this report we will partially
in perspective by aligning them with meet this requirement, because, as we
our vision and direction for reaching already underlined, we are sufficiently
sustainable growth. In between these realistic about ourselves. We wanted

8

EVOLUTION OF CR IN HAUSKA & PARTNER GROUP

“We believe the real measure of success is both combination of
strong profitability and accountability towards our stakeholders”
Leo Hauska, President

to establish a clear case that CR is not quality and that we will be able to com-
possible only when it comes to huge, pare our practices with others.
multinational or regional companies, but
also in the case of small and medium- As GRI OS, we also hope to contribute
sizes companies, regardless of industry to the ongoing debate on applicability
or sector origin. of GRI indicators when it comes to small
companies. In particular, we would like
We also wanted to establish a strong to contribute to the development of a
case for reporting on non-financial in- special sector supplement, given the
dicators that are becoming increasingly unique character of our industry, that
important for performance analysis, would provide additional guidance for
which is not strictly financial but to a reporting.
large extent “reflects the health and
wealth-creating potential of a company Our experience in GRI reporting will also
in an entirely different way”. be valuable in meeting the requirements
of the UN Global Compact. As a signa-
As consultants who contribute to value tory, we will be able to simultaneously
creation that is not strictly financial - respond to both GRI and UN Global
such as corporate reputation and brand Compact requirements, even before we
value, good stakeholders relations, cor- are supposed to produce our first Com-
porate culture, risk management, ethics munication on Progress (COP).
- we consider non-financial reporting
fundamental to understanding a broad Our experience with ISO 9001 and SA
spectrum of issues that “can only be 8000 certification is also valuable in
understood if one looks outside of the terms of engaging in management
narrow confines of the financial reports practices and processes and voluntarily
as they have been constructed”, as Al imposing on ourselves standards not
Gore stated in his speech given at the required by national legislation.
G3 Conference in Amsterdam. In our subsequent reports, we will as-
sess our business practices in other,
We also use the GRI framework for equally important areas: our profession-
reporting, not only because it allows a al conduct on the marketplace, our com-
gradual “phased in” approach, but also munity relations, environmental impact
because we wanted to be able to com- - limited to our case but still important,
pare our practices with those of others. as well as our approach to research and
We believe our experience with G3 will development.
help us make our information equally
valuable both in terms of quantity and

9


KEY MILESTONES:

2003 2004 2005

- First active step - Development of CR - Development of the
towards public CSR Strategy for H&P Code of Conduct for
dialogue: Business or- Group H&P Group
ganizations talk about - Support for the ﬁrst - Participation in the
CSR together with the CSR Conference in work on CSR standard
American Chamber of Croatia - Agenda 2004 ISO 26000 within the
Commerce and IBM - Establishment of Austrian Standards
and more than 50 CSR-Task force within Institute
managers in Austria. Public Relations As- - Participation in the
sociation of Austria work of UNDP - transla-
tion and adjustment
of the Business in the
Community Guidebook
for introducing CR in
companies in Croatia
- Contribution to the
establishment of the
Network of Social Re-
sponsibility in Austria
- Establishment of Vien-
nese Group for Integ-
rity Management and
Social Responsibility
in order to contribute
to CSR research and
development
- Education on the
subject CSR started at
different schools and
universities

10


2006 2007

- Establishment of CR - H&P representative - First CR Report of H&P
Working Group within became Vice-president Group published
H&P and appointment of the Association
of H&P Group CR for CSR within the
Director Croatian Chamber of
- Becoming GRI Organi- Economy
zational Stakeholder - Signing of the memo-
- Signing of the UN Glob- randum of understand-
al Compact principles ing with Det Norske
- Membership in the Veritas in the course
International Business of preparations for SA
Leaders Forum in the 8000 certiﬁcation in
Czech Republic agreed Croatia
as of 1st January 2007 - Signing of the memo-
- Membership in Croa- randum of understand-
tian Business Council ing with UNDP in the
for Sustainable Devel- course of preparing CR
opment report preparations in
- Membership in the Croatia
CSR-Platform respACT - Signing of the memo-
austria randum of understand-
- Participation in the ing with SMart Kolektiv
work on CSR standard in the course of CR
ISO 26000 in Serbia report preparations in
Serbia

11


WHAT IF LEO WERE NOT SO PATIENT?
A glimpse from Andreja

I will never forget one particular period because we might forget what we had
in my life. It started with a meeting I had discussed and decided.
with Leo in September 2004. It was a
long meeting, and to be honest I thought I ﬁnally drafted a comprehensive CR
it would never end. Leo and I discussed program in which I analyzed the develop-
the further development of our CR ments that triggered our CR journey, our
program and I was trying really hard to role in these developments, our objec-
understand what he expected from me. tives and strategies and project frame-
The meeting ended and we agreed that I work, because back in 2004 CR was still
had to prepare a working paper in which a project. I sent the paper to Leo and
I would very brieﬂy underline the steps eagerly awaited his comments. I will
needed for CR program development. never forget his mail: “when you wrote
‘I hope you will be quite pleased when
Easy to say, much harder to do. you see the outcome’, I still thought
‘O.K., let’s see, and don’t be too optimis-
A week passed and I was still not able tic...’ but your document is “WWOOO-
to deliver the paper in the requested OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
format. Two more weeks passed, and !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Leo was still waiting. I sent him an e- Even today when I hold the position of
mail apologizing for being late, explain- CR Director for Hauska & Partner Group,
ing that I would like to be up to the task I sometimes wonder: what if Leo were
and deliver a genuine proposal, and he not so patient with me? Would we ever
replied that he was a little concerned have come so far?

From: Leo Hauska [leo.hauska@hauska.net]
Sent: 14. listopad 2004 17:03
To: andreja.pavlovic@hr.hauska.net
Cc: Daria Mateljak Bartulin
Subject: Re: CSR

Dear Andreja,
when you wrote “I hope you will be quite pleased when you see
the outcome”, I still thought “o.k., let’s see and don’t be to
optimistic...” but your document is “WW0WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
W!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!.

Could you do a short presentation about that at our clausure?
Daria, what do you think about that - and have you read this new
bestseller?

Kind regards,
Leo

12


WHAT IF LEO WERE NOT SO PATIENT?
A glimpse from Leo

Patience is easy to exercise if there is a your tree has grown to a satisfying size
goal you want to achieve. It is also easy to fulfil its purpose. In this case it might
as soon as you realize it is more up to be better just to buy an umbrella. But if
you and that it is your own task to en- you want to have nature in your garden,
courage others to share your ideas. So if you want to have a green environ-
maybe it’s not the patience at all. And ment, if you want to have colours and
maybe it would be even wrong to just then you plant some trees and flowers
be patient. Because that could mean and you do just everything what you can
you already know the expected outcome to support these plants - then you do
and are just waiting for your colleagues not need patience, but you will sooner
achieve what you have defined before- or later enjoy something that you have
hand. But that’s not the way we should never expected. You will be surprised
work. because that what you see and get is
unique. And then you are in the position
If you want to have shade in your gar- to say “Wooow!” - and then it’s up to you
den and therefore you plant a tree - you to be thankful for that. What I herewith
might be impatient all the time until am doing to you, Andreja.

13


THERE IS NO
SUCCESS UNLESS
WE PERFECTLY

understand
EACH OTHER

14

CONTENT

2 / SCOPE OF THE REPORT

15

2

2 / SCOPE OF THE REPORT

We find it quite difficult to maintain a zational change built around our people,
balance between the pressures of daily and not the other way around.
work and our commitment to live CR
in every aspect of our operations. We Our gradual “phased in” approach is
were quite realistic about our capabili- slightly different than the one pre-
ties when we said we can make our CR scribed in G3 reporting framework. In
journey possible only if we take one step the preparation of this report, we have
at the time. That is how we decided to primarily focused on profile disclosures,
start with ourselves by turning our- some economic performance indica-
selves inside out, to make our organi- tors, some labour practices and decent
zation more sustainable and to speak work performance indicators that, in
about it. Gradually, in each subsequent our view, were most relevant to report
year we will report on a new area. This on in our first CR report. In addition, we
time our report is dedicated to our em- have engaged some of the stakeholders
ployees. With the second report, we will in the preparation of our CR report by
also report on our market impact. In the providing a platform for discussion of
third year we plan to tackle environmen- our work related practices, helping us
tal issues, and we have reserved the two identify strengths and weakness, areas
last reports for community relations and for improvement and areas of best
research and development. practices.

We are not reporting about our organi- In Croatia, we cooperated with the
zation because we want like to produce UNDP Resident Representative Office
just another stack of paper. We want in Croatia, which supports the govern-
to report because we have given our ment’s efforts to join the EU by raising
employees a greater say in the future awareness and building the technical
of the organization they work for. We capacity of Croatian companies to
are reporting because we want to show implement CR practices. In Serbia, we
our clients how we become “the right worked with SMart Kolektiv, an or-
people”: assertive, with exemplary com- ganisation that advocates responsible
munication skills, a good understanding business practices and sustainability.
of people, processes and situations, In Austria, we talked about CR man-
creative, but with solid general knowl- agement with the director of respACT
edge and culture, able to adapt to every Austria, an association that provides
topic and ultimately, great networking support to companies on their way to
skills. We also report because we would sustainability, and about flexibility with
like to use the reporting framework for Irene Kernthaler-Moser, specialist in the
dialogue with everyone and for organi- field of Work-Life-Balance.

16

SCOPE OF THE REPORT

We also sought external assurance for countries are included in the report
the report from ethics etc., an indepen- except Latvia. The consultancy in Latvia
dent sustainability and social accounting is not included in the report (although
consultancy and assurance provider. the Latvian representatives participated
in the World Café discussions), be-
Our report provides information for cause it only recently started operating
the 2005 fiscal year and other relevant under the Hauska & Partner name and
information for the 2005/2006 calen- still needs to fully align with all of our
dar year. All Hauska & Partner Group Group’s standards.

On CR management with respACT
Participants: Roman Mesicek, Managing Director of respACT
Leo Hauska,
Annette Märk

respACT austria - an association for en- Question: In respACT’s opinion, is
couraging corporate social responsibility there a minimum requirement that
- is an Austrian platform that provides SMEs should accomplish in order to
the information and support needed by be able to implement CR management
companies on their way to sustainability. in company structures?
The union is a reliable partner for all Mesicek: A minimum requirement is
questions of sustainability, Corporate that SMEs should deal with the issue in a
Responsibility and business ethics. strategic manner. Many SMEs operate in
line with the principles of social respon-
In the framework of its CR-management, sibility, without having to implement a
Hauska & Partner organized an expert strategic approach. It is not necessary
interview with Roman Mesicek, Manag- to implement a management system
ing Director of respACT, to ascertain the designed for big companies. The point
requirements small and middle-sized is to put a management system into
enterprises (SMEs) should meet in their practice. However, this is a very difficult
CR management. What follows are im- criteria for many companies. Presumably,
portant excerpts from the interview: it is even easier to state that different
projects in the fields of environment,
Question: How should SMEs deal with workplace, etc. are enough to be socially
the challenges of CR management? responsible, but this does not correspond
Mesicek: Our first expectation is that to our understanding of CR.
SMEs should be active with respect to
this as they have done so far. My per- Question: Are SMEs and global
sonal requirement is that SMEs should companies confronted with the same
communicate more dynamically about requirements?
existing activities and make it more Mesicek: For me, CR strategically means
structured and process-based. a commitment in which the company
demonstrates its willingness to deal with
an issue in a superior fashion. However,

17


corporations should not perceive it as Question: Which stakeholder groups
a short-term process in which changes should SMEs integrate in any case?
should be made quickly and measures According to the respACT under-
should be implemented in all fields of standing, the process starting from
CR over a short time. It is more a long- acquiring stakeholder information up
term strategic approach, and in this to collaborating and addressing issues
respect our advice is to implement it of common interest that have an im-
successively. Identification of stakehold- pact on both us and stakeholders.
ers and organization of the initial stake- Mesicek: With reference to involvement,
holder dialogues are a very appropriate this is a question of effective dialogue.
starting point. Afterwards, the corpora- Simply releasing information is not
tions should begin evaluating different enough and therefore there should
indicators. be an option for stakeholders to give
feedback or to bring in content. Many
Question: With reference to CR companies are afraid of approaching
reports, what would respACT recom- stakeholder groups in this way, because
mend or require for SMEs? it often leads to criticism.
Mesicek: Basically, if it were up to me, I
wouldn’t require a company to produce It should be mentioned that stakehold-
a CR report. It takes time and effort that ers are expected to demonstrate a level
is not necessary in my opinion. However, of professionalism. Therefore it is im-
if such a report should be elaborated, it portant that both sides try to establish
should be geared to particular standard- a constructive dialogue that should be
ized guidelines. The general practice has realized again successively.
shown, however, that these are designed
mainly to suit the reporting needs of Question: What is the most important
larger enterprises, so it is difficult to requirement concerning the recent
adapt it to the needs of SMEs and their situation in Austria to professionalize
reporting requirements. It is therefore CR for the future?
advisable to create a shortened form Mesicek: My general requirement is to
that can be easily handled. further professionalize the discussion
concerning the topic of CR, involving ev-
In general, I would highly recommend eryone: companies, politics, NGO’s. The
the GRI guidelines. They are recently the point is to expand the issue of CR and to
best orientation framework and there- enable and facilitate an active academic
fore many companies refer to them. discussion in Austria.

18

SCOPE OF THE REPORT

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND CSR RECOGNIZED
A note from UNDP Croatia

focus the first phase of its CSR program
Having reviewed the relevant docu- on a clear priority area for a multi-
ments submitted by Hauska & Partner national consulting company, i.e. its
on the process of development and employees. Employees bring the most
incorporation of the company’s CSR pro- value to H&P business operations, and
gram, I would like to note the following: workplace issues are, therefore, well
recognized as directly relevant to the
1. The Process company’s performance and ambitions.
It is quite obvious that the process of CSR Another clear advantage of setting the
program development was quite compre- workplace as a priority area for the CSR
hensive, and based on extensive cutting program in this case stems from the fact
edge knowledge in the CSR field. Several that it represents an area in company’s
items are particularly noteworthy: immediate sphere of influence.
The process included a clear definition Based on the outputs of the consultative
of the business case for H&P’s engage- process, two additional sets of issues
ment in CSR, with an excellent under- have been identified as relevant:
standing of how CSR internal processes Issues related to the marketplace, i.e.
would help accomplish the company’s to the general and sectoral business
strategic goals. environment in which H&P as a com-
The process was a comprehensive one, pany and its employees do their daily
involving all employees. Employee en- business. H&P should certainly continue
gagement in the development of strate- its present efforts in being recognized
gic initiatives and policies is in fact one as the leader in professional standards
of the most valuable features of H&P’s and CSR, and work with others in pro-
approach to this effort, as reflected in moting the aforementioned standards
the quality of both inputs and outputs. within the industry. I would not neces-
Consultations were followed by the sarily suggest this as the very next area
rapid establishment of implementation of intervention, as these are weighty
procedures, demonstrating an earnest and difficult issues for a relatively small
commitment. company to tackle on its own.
Based on the information contained Based on some responses in the work-
in the submitted documents, I see no place area, especially those pertain-
apparent shortcomings to the process ing to the outfitting, equipment, and
employed in development and incorpo- appearance of work spaces, possible
ration of the CSR policy, I would com- involvement with the environmental
mend it highly, and I recommend the field suggests itself. I believe this to be
continuation of the consultative process relevant also from the standpoint of the
initiated during the present exercise. obvious value H&P employees place on
being able to be proud of the company.
2. The Focus I would, therefore, like to turn your at-
Having reviewed the possible areas of tention the Green Office Initiative. This
CSR engagement, H&P has decided to has an additional possible advantage of

19


being fun to implement, in a way that clarify, amend, or add new items to the
involves employees once more. Code, and make it more applicable and
relevant to everyday practice.
3. The Substance (Materiality) The Rules of Procedure (By-laws) re-
As listed above, it is quite clear that spond substantively to workplace issues
employee/workplace issues were very identified by employees, and regulate
well chosen as the primary focus of the rights and obligations of all relevant
H&P’s CSR program. Also, I find it highly parties. The fact that an effort has
commendable that the outcomes of been made to align its provisions with
the consultative process were immedi- EU legislation, and with conventions
ately incorporated into the company’s and recommendations given by various
business processes by becoming a part international bodies, is particularly note-
of newly developed corporate docu- worthy, as is the fact that a labour law
ments: Rules of Procedure and Code of expert was consulted in the process. In
Conduct. view of the importance the employees
In my opinion, the consultative process have placed on flexible working arrange-
has clearly identified three specific ments, and work/life balance, I would
groups of issues affecting employees, as recommend that this issue be revisited
follows: in a year’s time, to review whether the
Professional education, including the Rules have brought about a substantive
need for specialization and development change.
of teamwork The issue of professional education, spe-
Values, including the creation of a com- cialization, and teamwork arrangements
mon understanding of company values will require comprehensive strategic
in a multicultural setting, their incorpo- discussions, followed by adjustment of
ration in business processes, and their organizational arrangements and HRM
internal and external communication interventions. As the definition of a key
Workplace issues, particularly flexibility set of skills and knowledge for H&P em-
of work arrangements ployees is already listed in the submit-
The Code of Conduct constitutes a seri- ted documents, that seems to be a fair
ous attempt to deal with issues related starting point.
to company values. It lays down a clear Finally, employees have noted that
and transparent framework to orient the nature of the work does not give
current and future employees, in both them sufficient time to spend on wider
general and practical terms. In view of strategic issues, related to either their
the overall consultative nature of the everyday work/industry, to social trends
process so far, I would suggest that an relevant to their work, or on mid- to
appropriate time slot be set aside for long-term issues. A once-a-month brain-
joint discussion of any issues that may storming session could be scheduled in
emerge from the implementation of the this respect in individual country offices,
Code - annually at a minimum - at any where each employee would be entitled
relevant forum where H&P employees to submit an issue for joint discussion,
meet. This should be an informal and and all employees could possibly vote
non-judgmental event, where each on which one is to be discussed.
employee could discuss potential ques-
tions and/or doubts with his/her peers.
The results of these meetings may help

20

SCOPE OF THE REPORT

PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH
The note from SMart Kolektiv

Introduction and financial success. CSR has to be
At the very beginning, it is important to perceived as a core component of doing
stress the importance of the initiative business and as a method for matching
taken by Hauska & Partner. H&P will be social and environmental interests with
the first PR and communication agency, the business and financial interests. In
particularly in the SEE region, to adopt a this context, CSR has to contribute to a
systematic approach in its CSR practic- company’s sustainability and its opera-
es, especially in the sphere of employee tions, and consequently it is important
relations, and to issue their first CSR in to note that the concept developed by
the Workplace Report. This example of H&P does contribute to business goals
good practice is not only noteworthy for by integrating social concerns.
Hauska & Partner, for it also represents
an incentive, a role-model and eventu- Practice what you preach
ally a harbinger of tendencies where The report itself, as well as the entire
attitudes in CSR in this region are development of CSR standards by H&P,
concerned. It is worth mentioning that puts this company in an active posi-
H&P is a PR and communication agency tion of someone who not only consults
offering consulting services to other “others” about the potential of incorpo-
corporate clients, some of which are key rating CSR, but as a company that also
players on SEE markets. In this context, has its own very high standards in this
their pioneering effort certainly repre- area and elaborate programs targeting
sents a significant incentive to other employees, clearly guided by the values
companies and certainly makes H&P it promotes.
competent to provide consulting ser-
vices to their clients in this, as yet insuf- CSR as a growing part
ficiently defined, area. By incorporating of a PR agency’s portfolio
CSR practices into their own business The need for PR agencies, which are
operations, H&P joins those institutions able to provide support to their clients
and organizations that are aware of the to integrate CSR in their operations
importance of sustainable development in an expert, professional and quality
and corporate social responsibility and manner, is certainly growing. H&P will
make a strategic contribution to devel- position themselves in this context and
opment and greater implementation of become a communication company of
this concept in the SEE region. the future, with the ability and capability
to provide multidisciplinary and strate-
The business case for CSR gic support to its clients in the sphere of
- CSR as a business case sustainable development. By integrating
The concept of CSR should not be CSR into the core of its own business
perceived as separate from an organi- operations, H&P has assumed the status
zation’s core business or as activities of a professional and desirable partner
that are not integrated into its business in this area.

21


Better work / employees - better certainly justified. A company that
performance depends on the capabilities, training and
By involving employees in the process competence of its employees recog-
of planning, making and implementing nizes its workforce as a key resource
key decisions about company opera- and the most important stakeholder.
tions, H&P created an atmosphere in On the other hand, the company itself
which employees obtain ownership over does not have a significant impact on
the process of work and become more environmental pollution, is not present
strongly motivated to contribute to fur- on the market among a broad range of
ther development of the company. The consumers and does not have a large
focus on creating optimal conditions in chain of suppliers and subcontractors,
their work environment directly gener- which leaves employees as a key CSR
ates greater employee productivity and category and the work environment as a
fosters higher motivation and loyalty to key issue and an area to be advanced by
company itself. Consequently, the com- the company.
pany gives its employees a framework
and an opportunity to participate and Methodology
contribute to something constructive, The very methodology and approach
important and meaningful. to the development of CSR practices
in terms of work environment have
CSR as a competitiveness tool been adequately designed and envis-
The fact that H&P is the first PR agency age involvement and participation
in the region to issue a CSR report gives of employees themselves in defining
this company a competitive edge over the best practices, needs and future
its competition, because it specializes programs on a responsible approach
and presents itself as an expert in this to employees. Participation, that is,
area. On the other hand, the company inclusion of employees in the process of
is specializing in an ethical and noble defining and planning new approaches
discipline, and thus ensuring its at- in company management, is in and of
tractiveness to a motivated and quality itself a sound and responsible practice
workforce. H&P is a company able to at- providing employees with the opportu-
tract professional employees for whom nity to become more closely acquainted
financial incentives are not necessarily with the very conception, values and
always the first and foremost consider- goals of the company. Establishing a
ation. This fact is particularly important dialogue among employees and open-
given that H&P, as an SME, has no pos- ness of management toward their needs
sibility of competing with multinational creates an atmosphere of teamwork and
companies and chains in this field in gives employees greater ownership over
terms of financial strength and the ben- realization of the company vision and
efits it can offer to its employees. goals.

Key stakeholder It is important to note that the values
Taking into account the character of and goals that a company promotes and
their business, the choice of employ- on which it bases its human resource
ees as key stakeholders, i.e. choosing policy are an interaction and variety of
to integrate CSR practices primarily employee cultures in different countries.
in terms of the work environment, is The company culture defined in this way

22

SCOPE OF THE REPORT

contributes to the creation of additional Clients
values for the company itself and is par- The only way for H&P to decisively and
ticularly important for the SEE region positively influence its clients with re-
in which H&P operates, given that a gard to corporate responsible practices
large part of the region is burdened by is to establish a more active dialogue
misunderstanding and conflicts among and involve clients in these processes.
different national and cultural groups. In this way, clients obtain even greater
assurance in the professionalism and
Obstacles and shortcomings depth with which H&P develop their
This series of recommendations aims to programs, give their contribution to this
facilitate further development of H&P’s process and finally transmit a part of
CSR activities and to present potential their experiences and knowledge to the
guidelines for development of corporate way they manage their own company.
responsible practices.
The recommendations aim to supple- Employee projects
ment already defined guidelines and In addition to establishing a dialogue
programs where the latter have not and working with employees, in the
been sufficiently elaborated, i.e. to forthcoming period it will be necessary
present possible directions for further to consider the even more practical and
development of these programs in forth- active engagement of employees on
coming years. socially responsible projects. The goals
set by the World Café and other pro-
Media grams can be attained in an even more
Company employees themselves cited proactive way by engaging employees
media representatives as important on projects that make use of their
stakeholders for an agency such as knowledge and skills in order to con-
H&P. Our suggestion would be to involve tribute to socially beneficial initiatives.
partners from media houses with which This primarily implies various forms of
a company cooperates in its own CSR volunteer engagement of employees or
programs. Including media representa- their involvement in a series of local ini-
tives in the dialogue about CSR and tiatives. These initiatives and programs
related issues sensitizes media repre- must also contain elements of building
sentatives to this concept. Furthermore, and bolstering team spirit and participa-
education of media representatives on tion of employees in dialogue on the
the importance of the notion itself and future and values that characterize their
the important role played by the media company. One of the forms of such vol-
in strengthening and developing CSR is untary engagement of employees would
an vital effort. In this way, H&P would be to provide consulting/PR support to
establish even better cooperation with a non-profit organization dedicated to
media representatives, but, more impor- a cause that employees find significant
tantly, it would pave the way for initiat- and stimulating.
ing the process of raising awareness
about CSR in the region, which would
be impossible without cooperation with
the media.

23


EXPANSION
OF

the
COMPANY INTEREST
IS NECESSITY, NOT
COMMODITY

24

CONTENT

3 / ABOUT HAUSKA & PARTNER GROUP

25

3

3 / ABOUT HAUSKA & PARTNER GROUP

Hauska & Partner’s history began in 1990, HOW “DISORGANISED”
when Leo Hauska founded a strategic ARE WE?
communications consultancy in Vienna. Rec-
ognizing the potential of emerging markets Governance in Hauska & Partner Group
and guided by entrepreneurial drive, very basically rests with the Management
soon he started expanding business opera- Board. There are eight members of
tions to the region by developing a network the Management Board, two each for
of communications consultancies that form Austria, Croatia and the Czech Repub-
the Hauska & Partner Group. Hauska & lic, and one each for Serbia and Latvia
Partner Group today operates in five coun- respectively. The composition of the
tries: Austria (where its headquarters are Management Board also reflects the
located), Croatia, the Czech Republic, Serbia common practice of Hauska & Part-
and Latvia. Hauska & Partner Group is also ner Group accord preference to local
present in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithu- managers - residents of countries in
ania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and which we operate who also, with the
Slovenia through partnership affiliates. exception of Serbia, share ownership in
the company. The Board operates on the
Hauska & Partner offers a range of services basis of regular meetings and decisions
to its clients. The consultancy is primar- are reached by consensus.
ily specialized in strategic consulting and
stakeholder relations. Other primary In addition to the Management Board
services include media relations, internal one more formal structure has emerged
relations, external relations, public affairs, at the group level at the beginning
crisis and change relations, and corporate of the year. We call it the CR Working
responsibility - a service introduced thanks Group. It consists of senior representa-
to our growing competencies. tives from all the countries and led by
the CR Director. Soon after its establish-
Hauska & Partner Group consults reputable ment, the CR Working Group became
clients in a wide range of industries and a nucleus for establishing a consistent
sectors, from corporate, over national and framework in which we will be able to
local government bodies to international intertwine and embed management of
organizations. We have successful record in sustainability issues into overall corpo-
advising our partners in finance and bank- rate governance. The CR Working Group
ing, telecommunications and ICT, FMCG meets regularly to discuss open issues
sector, health and pharmaceutical industry, and current progress.
energy, infrastructure and development,
government organizations and ministries
in several CEE countries and international
organizations, such as OSCE, World Bank
and some UN programs.

26

ABOUT HAUSKA & PARTNER GROUP

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Headquarters
AUSTRIA

H&P H&P H&P H&P H&P
Serbia Croatia Austria Czech Republic Latvia

MB Member MB Member MB Member MB Member MB Member

Dubravko Václav
MiholiÊ Leo Hauska Pavelka
Srba Märis Plüme
JovanoviÊ
Daria Hedi Hauska Petr
M. Bartulin Stoklasa

CR Working Group
CR Director for H&P Group
Andreja PavloviÊ

27


Our organization combines both flex- our key business processes and improv-
ibility and formal structure. It is a ing our performance in the plan-do-
delicate balance since we are a entirely check-act cycle.
(100%) client-oriented organization. We
have organized our work to meet the Furthermore, following the Croatian
requirements and needs of our clients Clausure, this year dedicated to process
as effectively and efficiently as possible, and project management, and the
regardless of the department involved. discussions we had there pointed to
Thus our organizational structure fol- the necessity of organizing our work so
lows keys processes, rather than the that it more strictly complies with the
opposite. Yet, we have also realized principles of process and project man-
that “our way of doing things” needs to agement. Therefore, we have launched a
evolve into more formal structures and new project that will design H&P Group
processes in order to build an overall project management guidelines with the
process management approach at the objective of modifying the internal and
Hauska & Partner Group level. external organization of work.

For example, in Croatia we underwent We have prioritized these two areas
the process of certification for two because we believe we need to organize
norms, ISO 9001 and SA 8000, in which ourselves more effectively in process
we developed an integrated manage- and project management in order to be
ment manual alongside the key pro- able to disorganize ourselves in other
cedures required by both norms. With areas. We want to give our employees
this we have created single reference the means that will enable them to work
point related to quality and work-related more efficiently and exercise better
issues - an integrated quality and social time management, and by doing so
accountability management system ‘loosen up’ our organization in order to
which will institute a robust framework make it more humane and flexible.
for a systematic approach in managing

28


2005 FINANCIAL RESULTS are an aggregate of the respective
individual amounts in the income state-
The financial section in our first CR ments of the local companies. Inter-of-
report gives an overview of the perfor- fice services have been deducted from
mance of the Hauska & Partner Group revenues as well as costs.
through its local companies in Austria,
Croatia, the Czech Republic and Serbia. Operating costs account for 31.23
The effective date for all reported million, or 47% of revenues, person-
economic values in this report is 31 nel costs are 31.04 million (40%), and
December 2005. payments to suppliers of outside capital
amount to 333,000 (1.5%). Tax liabili-
As compared to the preceding year, the ties, consisting of the income tax and
Group has seen an increase in revenues other special taxes and royalties, add up
(+8%) from 32.42 million to 32.61 mil- to 375,000 or 2.9% of revenues for the
lion for the 1 January 2005 - 31 Decem- period under consideration.
ber 2005 period. All reported amounts

5 1000

Revenues (net sales plus revenues from financial investments, 2.616
sales of assets)

Operating costs (payments to suppliers, non-strategic investments) 1.226

Employee wages and benefits (total monetary outlays 1.040
for the workforce)

Payments to suppliers of capital 33

Payments to governments (gross taxes and royalties) 75

29


HAUSKA & PARTNER Our profession often requires that we
EMPLOYEES work a great deal. Nevertheless, we
have well-delineated working hours that
HOW MANY OF US THERE ARE vary based on the specific requirements
of individual markets and client needs.
That team consisted of 40 employees Generally, we start working at 9.00 am
in four countries in the period from 1 and finish at 5.00 pm, with the possibil-
October 2005 to 30 September 2006, 7 ity of flexibility on either side of these
in Austria, 14 in Croatia, 16 in the Czech core hours to better combine profes-
Republic and 3 in Serbia. Out of that sional and private needs. Also, senior
number, three quarters i.e. 30 employ- employees are occasionally allowed to
ees were women, which, we could say, work from their homes.
serves as a proof of some opinions that
public relations are predominantly a We regularly and entirely fulfil all
female profession. Most of our 40 em- obligations to our employees. All our
ployees are between twenty and forty employees have full-time employment
years of age. Only one is between forty contracts and are registered with the
and fifty, while three are older than fifty. Employment Bureau and Social and In-
We consider ourselves to be quite a surance Office, which means all relevant
young, vibrant company. contributions are paid for them in all
situations regulated by law.
WHAT WE OFFER
Even though our work is rather stress-
The H&P Group offers sound opportuni- ful, we have a low rate of absenteeism.
ties for career development. We do it in Only 79 days in four countries, meaning
different ways - more traditional ones less than two days per employee in one
like internal and external training and year. There was no absenteeism due by
education, and the less traditional ones occupational ailments nor job-related
like constantly challenging creativity fatalities.
and the competitive spirit through daily
work. All of our employees are joint Hauska & Partner Group offers health
(company) members of the Public Rela- and safety standards ranging from an-
tions Associations in their countries, nual inspections of all the equipment
which also provides various forms of used at the offices, information on
training and seminars as well as good hazardous materials and safety instruc-
insights into industry practices and tions, first aid kits, and supplemental
trends. In the case of the Czech Re- health insurance (provided to employees
public, employees are given additional in Croatia). With SA 8000 certification
education possibilities provided by the in Croatia, a senior management repre-
London School of Public Relations. sentative responsible for the health and
safety of all employees was appointed.
Likewise, we offer some more intan-
gible assets like working with energetic, Annual vacation and other free days are
enthusiastic and caring people in a posi- specified either in the By-laws or in oth-
tive atmosphere, where all employees er internal documents. In all countries
can openly speak to their superiors and we provide an equal number of vacation
resolve issues together. days annually to all employees.

30


GENERAL EMPLOYMENT the legally prescribed minimum wage in
INFORMATION each country. Over time, salaries grow
according to personal performance indi-
With reference to employee attri- cators, 360 degrees internal evaluation
tion, during the period from 1 October and one-on-one discussions with the
2005 to 30 September 2006, eleven management.
employees in four countries changed
workplaces, setting the rate of employee Regular performance and career devel-
turnover for the Hauska & Partner opment reviews are conducted regularly
Group at 28 percent. in Croatia and Austria. Reviews have
been introduced in the Czech Republic
Entry level salaries in Hauska & Partner in 2006, and they will commence in
Group companies, depending on the Serbia and Latvia in 2007.
country, are 11 to 89 percent higher than

Rate of injury per 100 employees 2.5

Days of occupational ailments per 100 employees 0.0

Lost days per 100 employees 197.5

Days of absenteeism per 100 employees 0.0

Number of job-related fatalities 0

31


GROWING
BUSINESS

complexity
IS WHAT ONE
MUST EXPECT

32

CONTENT

4 / OUR HR PRACTICES

33

4

4 / OUR HR PRACTICES

All current practices that are primar- One tool applied in all companies is
ily implemented in H&P companies in Protocol, a database of daily working
Austria and Croatia are listed here, activities that all employees ﬁll in on
while other companies in the Group a regular basis. Protocol is primarily
implement only some of these practices. used to document the exact time we
Since the process of alignment is under spend on each client and other projects
way, we expect each of the remaining in order to create a base for our billing
companies in the Group to implement all procedures. It is also used to monitor,
HR practices by the time our next report analyze and evaluate an employee’s
is issued. Austria, as the company’s time invested compared to the quality of
headquarters, and Croatia, as the coun- work, needs of the company and oppor-
try which joined the Group at the earli- tunities for employee development. This
est stages, are closest in formulating all is also one of the tools used to measure
of these HR practices, which is why they employee productivity.
implement them entirely. On the other
hand, over time, as the companies from
other countries joined in, they unable to
adopt all of these HR practices immedi-
ately. This is why the alignment process
is currently ongoing, to make sure all
companies in the H&P Group follow the
same practices with respect to HR.

34

OUR HR PRACTICES

IN SHORT

360 degrees evaluation each employee takes place once a year.
During this conversation, the MB mem-
An HR tool primarily used as for evalu- ber presents the employee with all of
ation tools in H&P’s HR system. It is an his/her performance indicators during
all-around assessment in written form the past year. They jointly discuss set
in which all employees participate by objectives compared to actual achieve-
equally evaluating one another. The re- ments. The details of 360 degrees and
sults are presented in a plenary session client input are also discussed. The im-
once a year and in a more detailed man- mediate result of the one-on-one is the
ner during one-on-ones. 360 degrees is defined yearly PDP.
used to make PDP’s more precise and is
one of the indicators for decision-mak- Personal Development Plan (PDP)
ing on promotions and salaries.
The PDP is a tool we use to continually
Workplace Assessment plan each employee’s development with-
in the framework of company’s needs,
The WA survey is conducted among all requirements and organizational devel-
employees and management, cover- opment. They are written documents in
ing about 50 questions based on those which employees and the MB member
topics most crucial to internal develop- in charge of HR agree on set objectives
ment. It is used to verify, evaluate and for the employee during a year, and
revise management practices, internal the strategies and particular activities
communication, education and personal needed to achieve these objectives.
development, workplace conditions and
overall workplace quality, and to assess Protocol
the potential gap between proclaimed
standards and corporate culture and ac- Protocol is a database of daily work-
tual employee perceptions, understanding activities that H&P employees are
ing and thinking. Results are presented obliged to fill in on a regular basis. Pro-
in a plenary session once a year and tocol is primarily used as a tool to docu-
management presents the resulting ment the time we spend on client work
conclusions and measures that are in order to create a base for our billing
incorporated into the business strategy procedures. It is additionally used to
based on WA findings. monitor, analyze and evaluate employee
time invested compared to the quality
One-on-ones of work, company needs and opportuni-
ties for employee development. It is one
The basic one-on-one between the MB of the tools used to measure employee
member in charge of HR issues and profitability.

35


Academy New employee orientation system

The annual plenary conference orga- New employees are introduced to the
nized by the H&P Group for all employ- company by specific procedures that
ees has two primary functions: strategic initiate them into the corporate culture,
and educational. Over several days, processes, projects, internal develop-
employees participate in theoretical ment, organizational aspects, rules and
and practical sessions concentrating procedures and other parts of their
on corporate culture, education in core daily work. An essential tool in this pro-
business, new developments, best prac- cess is the brochure for new employees.
tices, etc. The Academy is opportunity
to wrap-up the year at the Group level Recruitment of new employees
and work on Group harmonization.
The recruitment process is prescribed
Clausure by set procedures and proceeds in
several selection stages. We use two
Clausure is a strategic and educational methods to contact potential employees
seminar geared to the specific purposes - our own internal database of poten-
of each local office held once annually tial employees and publicly posted job
for participants from one country team. offers.
The content of the Clausure is mostly
concentrated on internal development, Internal Communications
strategy development and team build-
ing. Internal communications are conducted
in writing and verbally. Management
True Professional regularly informs employees of practical
decisions via e-mails and regular meet-
True Professional is a system that pres- ings. Internal communications are also
ents H&P philosophy through a number exchanged on the Intranet.
of steps. True Professional principles are
the core objectives and strategies that
inform employees on what H&P deems
“true professional”, and instructs them
how to reach desired levels.

36

OUR HR PRACTICES

TRUE PROFESSIONAL
The “total team” philosophy in practice

In football, Total Football is a system Total Football depends largely on the
where a player who moves out of his adaptability of each player on the team
position is replaced by another from to succeed. It requires extremely tacti-
his team, thus retaining their intended cally aware players, allowing them to
organizational structure. In this fluid change positions at high speed - in its
system, no footballer is fixed in his or simplest terms, every player is comfort-
her intended outfield role; anyone can able in any other position. It also places
be a striker, midfielder and defender in high technical and physical demands on
succession. the players.

In Hauska & Partner, the Total Football philosophy has become the Total Team Philosophy.

I am my team.
- We work together
- We respect our strengths and overcome our weakness
- We are proud of every team member
- We take the best from each team member
- We are open and honest in our communications
- We find inspiration in our successes and learn from our mistakes

DEVELOPING OUR PEOPLE The Personal Development Plan (PDP)
is a tool we use to continually plan the
We use three key tools for planning our career path of each employee in the
employees’ careers in the H&P Group. framework of the company’s needs,
At the end of each year, we conduct a requirements and organizational de-
360° evaluation, all-around checks in velopment. After submitting the PDP,
written form in which all employees the employee has one final step to take
participate equally by evaluating one - the one-on-one interview with the
another. The results of the 360° evalua- Management Board member. During this
tion are presented to all employees and conversation, the MB member presents
used as the basis for two other tools the employee with all of his/her perfor-
- Personal Development Plans and One- mance indicators during the past year.
on-One discussions with the Managing They jointly discuss set objectives com-
Board Member in charge of HR. pared to actual achievements, as well as
the details of 360° and client input. The
immediate result of the one-on-one is
the defined yearly PDP.

37


IMPROVING OUR daily practices comply with our pro-
WORKPLACE claimed values and standards. With this
survey we also upgraded the employee
Having gone through the process of PDP system by providing another way
initial assessment, we realized that we of checking the reliability of employee
needed to establish framework for re- statements in the PDP. This serves as
sponsible business practices and define an employee consultation tool, which is
a code of conduct alongside mecha- why it does not classify as a standard
nisms which would help us assess the satisfaction survey.
potential gap between proclaimed stan-
dards and actual employee perceptions Once all companies in the H&P Group
and actions. This is how the workplace implement the WA survey, it will also
assessment survey was developed and serve as a benchmarking tool among the
introduced for the first time in Croatia companies. After the second WA survey
within the H&P Group. This was one of is conducted in Croatia in 2007, we are
the elements we used to develop our going to develop key performance indica-
own platform for employee dialogue. tors (performance objectives) based on
The workplace assessment survey is a the results of the survey, and weak points
monitoring tool used to make sure our that need to be addressed.

GRADATION

1.0 - 1.5 area of excellence

1.6 - 2.5 area of strengths

2.6 - 3.5 area of necessary improvement

3.6 - 4.5 area of obligatory improvement

4.6 - 6.0 “red alert” area - company risk - immediate action

SURVEY RESULTS:

Areas of excellence (1.0 - 1.5)
- Stability and reliability of employment 1.4
- Reputation among stakeholders 1.5
- Trust in H&P leadership 1.5
- I enjoy and am proud to work at H&P 1.5

Areas of strengths (1.6 - 2.5)
- Employees are respected and valued as persons 1 .6
- We speak positively about H&P to others 1.7
- We do important work and are generally satisfied 1.8

38

OUR HR PRACTICES

- Management provides a clear direction 1.8
- Management is interested in the well-being and professional growth of employees 1.8
- We are independent and have sense of accomplishment 1.8
- Individual visions blend with the visions of company 1.9
- Differences can be discussed openly 2.0
- Skills and abilities are well-used 2.0
- H&P improves workplace quality 2.0
- We are satisfied with career perspectives at H&P 2.0

IMPROVEMENT

- We are satisfied with our status and allowed to balance life and work 2.3
- We are kept informed and consulted, our ideas are taken into account 2.4
- We enjoy good fringe benefits 2.4
- We have essential materials and are satisfied with our involvement 2.4
- We are satisfied with holidays and free days 2.4

Areas of necessary improvement (2.6 - 3.5)
- Our professional development 2.6
- Formal communication with management 2.7
- Level of technology 2.8
- Workload and working hours 2.8
- Salaries 2.9
- Offering competitive opportunities and taking care of talent 2.9
- Communication with team leaders 2.9
- Our training and education 3.1

Area of obligatory improvement (3.1 - 4.5) none
Red alert area - company risk - immediate action (4.6 - 6.0) none

What we consider most important:
1. Team atmosphere and bonding 143 pts
2. Salary increase 136 pts
3. Possibility of professional promotion 130 pts
4. Insight into company strategy and plans 1 1 9 pts
5. Possibility of involvement in company management 1 1 7 pts

Followed closely by:
6. Openness of communication 115 pts
7. Educational opportunities 1 1 3 pts
9. Opportunity to be innovative and creative 1 1 1 pts
10. Flexible working hours 9 1 pts
11. Opportunity to work on international projects 90 pts

Low priority:
General workplace, free days, fringe benefits, educating others,
training and mentoring range: 65 - 44 pts

39


THE
FUTURE

of
OUR BUSINESS
IS WORKING
TOGETHER AS
ONE TEAM

40

CONTENT

5 / SHAPING OUR FUTURE

41

5

5 / SHAPING OUR FUTURE

Until 2006, the primary objective of our OUR FUTURE IN THE
Academies was to provide our employ- WORLD CAFÉ
ees with new knowledge in the areas we
deemed necessary. This time we wanted The World Café is both a simple meth-
to turn it into a platform on which the odology for creating a living network
management and employees would of collaborative dialogue around issues
jointly work on shaping the future of our that matter in corporate, governmental
Group. and community settings and a pro-
vocative metaphor. Based on a simple
The CR Working Group decided to principle, the underlying idea of the
provide the platform for open employee World Café is to serve as a platform for
discussions by organizing the World sharing knowledge, creating collective
Café, which was set in a stimulating intelligence and contributing to the
café-like environment to additionally elaboration of new value-chains. The
encourage our employees to share World Café at our Academy was also an
their views about the Group’s future. opportunity to bring together all em-
Moreover, the idea was to foster a better ployees, enabling some of them to meet
understanding of our strategy, values, their colleagues from other countries
CR and workplace related issues and for the ﬁrst time. Namely, it was the
stakeholder relations. ﬁrst time employees from Latvian and
Serbian companies joined our Academy
This was an ambitious goal because and met the rest of the Group.
we did not know how employees would
react to suddenly being invited to speak The World Café at our Academy was
out about the issues which were usually organized around six topics, with groups
not discussed in such a wide circle. of employees sitting at small Café-style
tables and background music to create
the café-like ambience and add on to
the informal and easy-going atmo-
sphere. Each discussion table had a
paper table cloth for writing the ideas
and thoughts down as well, as a host
who moderated the discussions. Before
beginning, all participants were asked to
adhere to Café-Etiquette.

42

SHAPING OUR FUTURE

We need to present CR at the Academy to all of our people, but we need
to do so in a way that encourages them not only to participate in discus-
sions about Hauska & Partner’s future, but also to actively shape it.
Petr Stoklasa, Partner

The six topics discussed were: of the direction we will take in the future
1. What is CR and how does it relate to by implementing our CR and HR policy:
H&P? - raising awareness of H&P Group
2. Do our values fit into our daily work? strategy and objectives by intensi-
3. What is the link between PR, CR and fying our internal communication
stakeholders relations? process and establishing a consis-
4. What is our corporate strategy? tent H&P Group CR-framework,
5. Which skills are needed to support - implementing a different kind of
our strategy and growth? thinking and education based on
6. What should the ideal workplace employee and client needs,
look like? - defining working values and estab-
lishing a common understanding
Analyzing the upshots from the dif- of key skills and issues, as well as
ferent theme-discussions at the World establishing multidisciplinary and
Café, we observed some of the main cross-border teams in order to
trends in the way our employees see highlight the intercultural values and
them. Evaluating their ideas and way of know-how transfer,
thinking, we obtained a rather good idea - defining a set of H&P unique work-
place standards.

“World Cafe is a dynamic and witty form in order to verify the company’s current
of conducting employee dialogue that status -this is an excellent tool for mea-
enables employees to freely and openly suring impact and satisfaction of the
express their views and opinions on key stakeholders. Thanks to the synergy
the company they work for. Employees of ideas from people from somewhat
are invited to share their suggestions, different countries, customs and cul-
complaints, concerns, worries, hopes, tures, new ideas emerge, which makes
and expectations of company. Because World Cafe a significant brain-storming
of the relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, tool. In addition, World Cafe is especially
all barriers and hierarchy differences suitable for defining the corporate phi-
cease to exist. losophy - developing a common vision,
mission statement, and values.”
“I recommend that this kind of opinion
sharing/viewing should also be prac- Gordana VesiÊ,
ticed with other important stakeholders consultant in Hauska & Partner Serbia

43


BECAUSE OF THE RELAXED AND PLEASANT ATMOSPHERE, ALL

44

SHAPING OUR FUTURE

BARRIERS AND HIERARCHY DIFFERENCES CEASE TO EXIST.

45


Based on the World Café outcome we vides uniform guidelines with necessary
have already managed to improve our information about our company, our
workplace in two fields. First, we devel- policies and procedures. Second, since
oped a detailed employee brochure that employees recognized diversity as one
should help the newcomers more easily of our distinctive strengths, we have
familiarize themselves with our way of also added it to our values.
doing business. This brochure also pro-

“The idea and concept of World Café slightly amusing atmosphere. World
were excellent. Out of everything in Café was a pleasant surprise for every-
the last Academy, World Café was the body and it should be repeated at the
best part. I think everybody was relaxed following Academies.”
and managed to talk with their senior
colleagues about current topics and Miroslav Brnjak,
assistant in Hauska & Partner Croatia
possible open issues in an informal and

SHOULD WE NOT STRIVE TO BE The list of proposed values was a
BETTER THAN THE BEST? product of past values and the Hauska
& Partner reality. In the same way they
Hauska & Partner’s values, as we know were instrumental to Hauska & Partner’s
them now, emerged as a result of the philosophy and strategy. The values
Corporate Identity/Values Workshop proposed were excellence, reliability,
held at the Hauska & Partner Clausure contribution, passion (dedication) and
in April 2005 as a part of an overall diversity. In the process of verification
project activity that was listed in the CR and selection all value were selected by
strategy and program the year before. workshop participants except for one:
the value of diversity.
The workshop was organized with the
purpose of defining one of the funda- Hauska & Partner values were again dis-
mental elements of the Corporate Iden- cussed in a wider forum at the Hauska &
tity - our values. Prior to the workshop, Partner Academy which was held in May
all participants from Austria, Croatia 2006. In the World Café round-table
and Serbia were given a brief paper in discussion, one of the topics discussed
order to ensure that they all share the was whether our values fit into our daily
same or similar understanding of Corpo- work. Participants underlined excellence
rate Identity elements and use the same and reliability as main the pillars of the
vocabulary in workshop discussions. Hauska & Partner corporate culture.

The brief paper laid down the Hauska & They also placed special emphasis
Partner values with their basic explana- on diversity. As a consequence, this
tions and definitions. Some examples value was re-introduced as a Hauska &
of practical implementation of values in Partner value that enables us to equally
daily work with our clients and business appreciate our similarities and our dif-
partners were also given. ferences.

46

SHAPING OUR FUTURE

Hauska & Partner values:

Excellence Reliability

We constantly strive to provide the best Our behaviour means we deserve to be
consulting and incorporate the highest trusted and entrusted with assets and
standards and best-developed skills into intangible values. We value stability and
our daily actions. Excellence reﬂects act in a way that provides protection,
constant growth in knowledge and lead- help, advice and consultancy so that we
ership in action. This means that: take into the account our stakeholder
rights and interests. This means that:
- We employ people who constantly
wish to develop professionally and - We fulﬁl our responsibilities to our
who contribute to excellence employees, shareholders, clients,
- Our team demands respect for the society and other stakeholders
highest standards of quality - Our employees can rely on the
- We invest in our growth, develop- company and their colleagues for
ment and raise our competence stability of employment, income,
daily professional growth and challenging
- We provide tailor-made solutions to work
our clients that best assists them in - Our clients entrust us with their
achieving their business goals problems and issues and believe in
- We are innovative and contribute to our capabilities to help them solve
the development of our profession these issues and achieve their busi-
ness goals
- We have a responsible attitude to-
ward our profession, our community
and society

47


Contribution Passion and Dedication

Our purpose is to provide the best con- We believe that the best consultancy,
sultancy to our clients, safe employment besides vast knowledge and skills, has
to our team and a sound framework to cultivate the elements of passion and
for their professional development, strong belief. It includes a dedicated
prosperity to our shareholders, tan- approach to people and things and a full
gible and intangible benefits to society, commitment to clients, stakeholders and
constantly adding value, scope, quality issues attached. Passion and dedication
and strength. To contribute means to mean additional energy invested in our
give by adding quality and value. We are work, greater attention to the issues, bet-
dedicated to: ter identification with clients and greater
loyalty.
- Contributing to our clients’ wealth,
not only by providing excellent - We are passionately devoted to our
service levels, but also by reaching profession, our company, our team,
further and proactively coaching, our clients and the positive issues
teaching and educating clients in we promote as consultants
our domain of expertise - Our work goes beyond the simple
- Contributing to our employees’ need to have a job and secure our ex-
quality of life, by allowing them istence; we approach our philosophy
to achieve their highest poten- and our actions with full dedication
tial, respecting their professional - We firmly believe in our values and
ambitions and providing a healthy, vigorously exercise them in our daily
desirable environment for their daily business
work - We approach our stakeholders with
- Contributing to the quality of our the desire to understand them and
profession with innovation, business to share our values with them
development, fair and sound prac- - We are fully devoted to our clients
tices, investments in education and and committed to their success
by facilitating market development
- Contributing to the values of Euro-
pean society and good practices,
not only by being a role-model in
observing regulations and laws, but
going farther and responding to the
needs of society wherever communi-
cations consultants may add value

48

SHAPING OUR FUTURE

Diversity

We equally value our similarities and our Our vision and mission were revised
differences. We recognize that we all again in 2006, when the MB members
come from different cultural and social were simply asked to write down their
settings and therefore we exert efforts vision and mission for Hauska & Partner.
to understand each other and merge When all the vision and mission state-
diverse experiences and knowledge to ments were merged, we realized that
build a strong network of people who all MB members have pretty much the
work together as one team. same understanding of our direction.

- We cherish the qualities that help us
understand, accept and cultivate dif-
ferences
- We believe that with a diversity of
ideas, background and perspectives,
our employees make it possible for us
to develop a more complete picture
and better adapt to the complexities
and challenges of the modern word
- We are fully aware that working in a
diverse team can be more difﬁcult
because we confront different and
often contradictory perspectives, and
yet we strongly believe that working
in diverse teams helps our employees
be more open and develop new ap-
proaches
- We respect diversity in society and
make every effort to understand and
accept each stakeholder and group,
and we are dedicated to brining dif-
ferent perspectives together

49

H&P Corporate Responsibility Report 2005/2006

H&P Corporate Responsibility Report 2005/2006

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