Training companies create lean, mean, employee machines
"There is a training boom, and I think it will continue," said Rafal Stefanski, president of Yes-Consensus. "The human factor and customer care are becoming more important as companies compete with similar technology and products."
Foreign firms often use outside trainers to work with their Polish staff, but now their methods are being adopted by state-owned firms and government agencies as they try to make their organizations competitive, or simply responsive. Telephone monopolist Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA), for example, recently rolled out a sweeping set of customer service initiatives designed to do everything from extending local office hours to forcing traditionally grumpy staffers to begin greeting people by saying "Dzien dobry." (See WBJ, March 2-8, 1998.)
Even the nation's police force is thinking about hiring trainers, said Krzysztof Sroczynski, president of KS Konsulting.
Initiatives such as TPSA's are keeping Yes-Consensus and other training companies busy. Yes-Consensus, for example, watched its net income rise 200% to zl. 600,000 in 1997 from zl. 200,000 in 1995. Stefanski expects a 30% increase in 1998. The company is also looking to increase its core team to 13 people this year.
Demand for all areas of training, including management, leadership, customer care, communication, conflict resolution, negotiation, selling techniques, team building and human resource management, is consistently growing among local and foreign companies, government organizations and universities, training company executives said.
They also agree that future privatization of large sectors of the Polish economy, such as energy, will spur even more business.
They said the fast-paced expansion of the overall economy - gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.5% in 1997 - means that an increasing number of competitors have set up shop here and that all companies need effective employees to compete.
Sroczynski noted that Polish companies are beginning to view personnel development as an important issue, where as previous training was driven by multinational companies. Companies are increasing budgets for external training and treat the cost as an investment, because they will have a more organized and better-educated staff in the future.
"State firms do not have well-trained employees or a well-organized system of activity, and if they want to be private they have to improve the skills of the finance staff to be at the same level as private and multinational firms," said Slawomir Chabros, president of Centrum Edukacyjne Edusoft.
Edusoft's profits have risen 35-40% annually, Chabros said, and the company plans to add to its staff of 37.
One of the problems, however, is that while middle managers are increasingly thrown into training programs, the same does not necessarily hold true for upper management. And many trainers say that middle managers complain that their bosses could do with a dose of the communication skills being taught.
"Trainees say to me, 'wouldn't it be great if our bosses were at this training,'" Sroczynski said. "The biggest problem is an inability to effectively communicate with personnel and that managers are not earning the respect of the subordinates."
Stefanski explained that some companies have precise training needs, for example telemarketing, and only need one training program to enhance quality, while other companies may be looking for a way to change the entire organization.
Teaching methods can vary, but many use exercises such as simulation games, discussion groups and lectures. Most are interactive and many offer seminars outside the workplace.
Specialized conferences is an area that Centrum Kreowania Liderow-Grupa Holdingowa would like to expand, said President Boguslaw Feder. The company, which watched its income double in 1997, has 30 employees and wants to hire five more in 1998, he said.
Feder runs an off-site Leadership Center, a place where 12-15 participants can eat, sleep and learn. In addition to the standard conferences and lectures, trainees also participate in other activities, such as theater, music, painting and rope-climbing. Feder said the outdoor activities give the trainees' self-confidence a boost.
"They feel when they are climbing that they are reaching something," he said.
All of the companies find different ways to get their messages out. Yes-Consensus' senior consultants massage major clients as well as hunt down new business. Edusoft, however, uses direct-mails to advertise its services to 10,000 people. Edusoft's Chabros said the company also wants to launch a monthly magazine - one that would highlight new training methods - to cater to the business community
Yes-Consensus, however, said it wants to reach out to more privately owned businesses and increase its consulting business.
This client group has grown from 30-70% of its business, Stefanski said. He said 20% of the firm's business stems from consulting companies on their training policy, setting up processes, putting together appraisal systems and reviewing management and team performances.
Foreign firms often use outside trainers to work with their Polish staff, but now their methods are being adopted by state-owned firms and government agencies as they try to make their organizations competitive, or simply responsive. Telephone monopolist Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA), for example, recently rolled out a sweeping set of customer service initiatives designed to do everything from extending local office hours to forcing traditionally grumpy staffers to begin greeting people by saying "Dzien dobry." (See WBJ, March 2-8, 1998.)
Even the nation's police force is thinking about hiring trainers, said Krzysztof Sroczynski, president of KS Konsulting.
Initiatives such as TPSA's are keeping Yes-Consensus and other training companies busy. Yes-Consensus, for example, watched its net income rise 200% to zl. 600,000 in 1997 from zl. 200,000 in 1995. Stefanski expects a 30% increase in 1998. The company is also looking to increase its core team to 13 people this year.
Demand for all areas of training, including management, leadership, customer care, communication, conflict resolution, negotiation, selling techniques, team building and human resource management, is consistently growing among local and foreign companies, government organizations and universities, training company executives said.
They also agree that future privatization of large sectors of the Polish economy, such as energy, will spur even more business.
They said the fast-paced expansion of the overall economy - gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.5% in 1997 - means that an increasing number of competitors have set up shop here and that all companies need effective employees to compete.
Sroczynski noted that Polish companies are beginning to view personnel development as an important issue, where as previous training was driven by multinational companies. Companies are increasing budgets for external training and treat the cost as an investment, because they will have a more organized and better-educated staff in the future.
"State firms do not have well-trained employees or a well-organized system of activity, and if they want to be private they have to improve the skills of the finance staff to be at the same level as private and multinational firms," said Slawomir Chabros, president of Centrum Edukacyjne Edusoft.
Edusoft's profits have risen 35-40% annually, Chabros said, and the company plans to add to its staff of 37.
One of the problems, however, is that while middle managers are increasingly thrown into training programs, the same does not necessarily hold true for upper management. And many trainers say that middle managers complain that their bosses could do with a dose of the communication skills being taught.
"Trainees say to me, 'wouldn't it be great if our bosses were at this training,'" Sroczynski said. "The biggest problem is an inability to effectively communicate with personnel and that managers are not earning the respect of the subordinates."
Stefanski explained that some companies have precise training needs, for example telemarketing, and only need one training program to enhance quality, while other companies may be looking for a way to change the entire organization.
Teaching methods can vary, but many use exercises such as simulation games, discussion groups and lectures. Most are interactive and many offer seminars outside the workplace.
Specialized conferences is an area that Centrum Kreowania Liderow-Grupa Holdingowa would like to expand, said President Boguslaw Feder. The company, which watched its income double in 1997, has 30 employees and wants to hire five more in 1998, he said.
Feder runs an off-site Leadership Center, a place where 12-15 participants can eat, sleep and learn. In addition to the standard conferences and lectures, trainees also participate in other activities, such as theater, music, painting and rope-climbing. Feder said the outdoor activities give the trainees' self-confidence a boost.
"They feel when they are climbing that they are reaching something," he said.
All of the companies find different ways to get their messages out. Yes-Consensus' senior consultants massage major clients as well as hunt down new business. Edusoft, however, uses direct-mails to advertise its services to 10,000 people. Edusoft's Chabros said the company also wants to launch a monthly magazine - one that would highlight new training methods - to cater to the business community
Yes-Consensus, however, said it wants to reach out to more privately owned businesses and increase its consulting business.
This client group has grown from 30-70% of its business, Stefanski said. He said 20% of the firm's business stems from consulting companies on their training policy, setting up processes, putting together appraisal systems and reviewing management and team performances.
