Our young employees have the opportunity to participate in the Talent Program, where they can fully utilize their potential. We give them a chance to grow,” says Alena Kozáková, HR Director of Czechoslovak Group.
In recent years, CSG has focused on identifying managerial talent, with the Talent Program running annually. What exactly does it involve?
This is now a well-established program within Czechoslovak Group, aimed at identifying and developing young people with potential. We want to foster their ability to continue improving and enhancing their expertise. The Talent Program is based on nominating talented young individuals selected by the CEOs of the companies within CSG, according to predefined criteria. These criteria include the individual’s expertise, their range of knowledge and skills, and especially their personal interest in development. We receive nominations from company directors, review them, verify the details, and ensure everything is in order. We also take a keen interest in which area the nominated individual wishes to contribute to within the company.
How many nominees can the program accommodate?
Typically, the Talent Program is designed for about 30 selected young individuals with the potential to grow further within the Czechoslovak Group. As our group has expanded, the program is no longer limited to companies in the Czech Republic or Slovakia, but also includes our international companies. For example, this year we have a pilot program for colleagues from Serbia and Italy. The program’s international reach offers all nominees an excellent opportunity to network with colleagues from other countries. This year, we have 34 participants in the program, the highest number since its launch.
Talent program participants at one of the practical workshops
The Talent Program was founded in 2018. How did the idea come about?
The owner of CSG, Michal Strnad, was the main driver behind the creation of the program. He wanted to give young people a chance to engage in a program where they could leverage their talent. For us at CSG, it’s important to tap into the potential of the many companies within our group and to recognize that people within the group possess a vast amount of knowledge that they can utilize for the benefit of their companies. The wide diversity of our companies’ production programs is reflected in the variety of talents and their areas of expertise—young people from the Defence, Aerospace, Mobility, and Ammo+ divisions participate in the program. The newly acquired foreign companies in the ammunition division bring new knowledge and skills. The program is therefore focused on utilizing their expertise and knowledge while also giving young people the opportunity to get to know each other within the group and create a talent pool that can be approached for new job opportunities within the group.
Was the lack of quality managers in the market one of the reasons for launching the Talent Program?
I wasn’t involved in the program’s inception, but I believe the shortage of good, quality managers in the local market was one of the reasons for launching this program, which is fully funded by the group. There is nothing better than when a company develops its own people and gives them the chance to grow. The ultimate goal is for the company to fully utilize such individuals and their skills. The labor market is incredibly turbulent, and it’s not easy to fill the positions we need.
How long does the program last?
For now, we stick to a one-year timeframe. We usually start in January, although this year we began later due to the selection of international talents. However, we aim to complete the program within 12 months, with each month dedicated to a specific workshop, the schedule of which is predetermined. We conclude the program in December with a final conference.
The program accepts people from various fields. In your opinion, which position is currently the hardest to fill?
It’s definitely still positions in research and development. All companies are seeking specialists in these areas, making them difficult to find. Then, of course, there’s the commercial sector, whether in business development or product marketing. These fields go hand-in-hand with a company’s activities and reflect how successful a company is in business. There is also a shortage of IT experts, such as IT architects who build networks or specialists responsible for cybersecurity. These are all high-demand areas in the labor market. If we manage to select talented employees in these fields, give them space to develop in our Talent Program, and they later make the most of this investment, it’s a great success. That’s precisely what our program is meant to achieve.
Have you ever considered creating a similar program that would accept people from outside companies, not part of your group? Wouldn’t that give you a larger pool to choose from?
I don’t think our group is interested in something like that. The Talent Program is designed exclusively for us, solely for the benefit of the Czechoslovak Group and its collaborating companies.
Presentation of projects at the final conference of the Talent Program
Which talents would you highlight from the program’s history?
It’s hard to single anyone out. The very fact that someone is nominated by the company’s CEO speaks to their exceptional talent. When participants complete the program, it’s a huge achievement for them and for us, so it’s not appropriate to single anyone out. Everyone who completes the program is a winner in our eyes because they withstood the time demands and successfully completed their project. At the end of the program, three participants are selected, based on the significance and quality of the project they entered the program with. These individuals deserve to be recognized. Last year, one of the top three was Jakub Pončík, who this year became the Director of Research and Development at Tatra Trucks, making him the youngest R&D director ever.
What does winning the program entail?
The winner receives a Prim watch from our company Elton Hodinářská as a recognition of their contribution to the project and the Talent Program as a whole, but there is no financial reward. CSG funds the program with significant support from the owner, Michal Strnad. The primary financial investment is the implementation of the entire program, which is far from cheap. Additionally, the support of the general managers during the workshops is crucial for the program’s success. Without their support, the program wouldn’t be feasible because participants are away from work for two days each month. Nonetheless, they must continue to meet their responsibilities during the program.
You mentioned the inclusion of foreign participants. What language is the program conducted in?
We still have modules in Czech, but we’ve introduced English modules to accommodate the foreign participants. However, anyone who’s comfortable participating in English can join.
Awarded participants of the Talent Program 2023: from left J. Kováčik (MSM Group), Z. Efler (DAKO-CZ), J. Pončík (TATRA Trucks)
At the end of the program, you select the top three participants. Who makes up the jury?
Each participant has a project sponsor, usually a senior person from their company, and the first evaluation comes from them. This could be the participant’s supervisor or an expert in the project’s field. The evaluation process is ongoing and concludes at the final conference, typically in December. This year it will be on December 5th at our partner institution, the University of Economics in Prague. The evaluation panel includes HR directors from the companies with talent in the program, and someone from the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Economics. We also include a guest with technical expertise related to the projects, often someone who leads a project management workshop. This can vary from year to year.
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Alena Kozáková is the HR Manager for Czechoslovak Group. She holds a law degree from Masaryk University in Brno and studied management at Nottingham Trent University through the Brno University of Technology. Before joining CSG, she worked at Vagónka Studénka and as HR Director for Central and Eastern Europe at Iveco Czech Republic, formerly Karosa. She has been in her current role since the summer of 2021, overseeing HR across dozens of companies in seven countries.
Alena Kozáková
HR Director
This article was originally published in Czech on the E15 website.
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