STA, 3 October 2019 - Local and global companies are becoming increasingly intertwined and interdependent, which brings many benefits to both, heard a debate on day two of the Slovenia Business Bridge investment and development conference, hosted by AmCham Slovenia to mark its 20th anniversary.

Collaboration with local companies enables multinationals to better identify the wishes and needs of their clients, agreed the participants of Why Are Multinationals also Local Companies? discussion.

Biljana Weber from Microsoft said that smallness could bring flexibility, responsiveness and agility.

"If you come from a small country, you're more open to learn new things and you find it easier to create a social network," she said, adding that ever more large companies would like to present themselves as local businesses.

Gregor Pilgram from Generali CEE Holding said the insurance industry was a sector which could not do without integrating the multinational and local sectors.

"Regardless of an insurance company being part of global networks, insurance business is always a local business," he stressed.

The key to every business is understanding clients. "And who would understand them better than somebody who lives with them," said Pilgram.

Similarly, John Denhof, chairman of the NKBM bank board, said a way to success was a good team.

"We took an important step towards being more successful by giving more focus on understanding the needs of clients in drawing up our business strategy.

"Of course, it was crucial to find the right staff who knew how to get immersed into the needs and expectations of clients and adjust our services to them," he said.

The debate also revolved around small companies having trouble arousing the interest of large companies.

Weber said part of the problem was how to present a good solution to an investor in a simple manner so that everybody would understand it.

Panagiotis Alekos, director general of Bayer Slovenija, said small companies could be interesting to large ones for their talents.

Another focus of the debate was the need not to be afraid of mistakes, but to take take them as part of a way to find a solution.

"The problem is not the lack of innovation but the fear of mistakes. Mistakes used to be a taboo, but today we must understand them as part of the way to success," said Alekos.

Denhof added that it sometimes took testing ten ideas before finding the right one. "There's nothing wrong with this. We should not be afraid of failure," he said.

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STA, 17 April 2019- Slovenia still has a way to go before becoming truly attractive to best talent, a debate organised by AmCham heard on Wednesday. The speakers, among them Labour Minister Ksenija Klampfer, shared the view that capable workforce thrived on demanding and interesting challenges.

Nana Šumrada Slavnič, the head of legal services at Ekipa 2, a branch of Outfit 7 that created the Talking Tom game, believes Slovenia has a good education system but it fails to deliver variety to those who want more than what is offered as part of the curricula.

Moreover, companies should focus on public exposure of their best talent. "People are good at their jobs when they feel valued," Šumrada Slavnič told the event hosted by the Ljubljana Faculty of Economics.

The minister in charge of labour, family, social affairs and equal opportunities, Klampfer, believes that life-work balance remained a blind spot for many Slovenian employers.

Often, people leave their jobs because of poor relations at the company, she said, adding the only way to address this issue was to improve communication at the workplace.

Professor Robert Kaše of the Economics Faculty believes that talent need challenges. A study of the faculty showed that talents believed they were using only about 66% of their potential at work. He also stressed the importance of either formal or informal recognition of the talent's status within the company.

Ksenija Špiler of BB Consulting believes it is key for talents to find their own challenges and not for them to wait to be presented by challenges with the superiors.

Touching on brain drain, the minister said this was a normal phenomenon. It is good for people to go abroad, gain new experience and return back home. Slovenia can achieve that they will indeed return through effective housing policies and welfare system.

Matic Vošnjak of Competo, a human resources consultancy, said that 47% of people who venture abroad return back home. However, they often have problems with finding new opportunities for themselves once they return because companies frequently do not know how to use their potential.

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The group also claims its pro-business stance is apolitical. 

Lectures, visits, and internships to support the next generation of entrepreneurs. 

Warns that it could “could jeopardise jobs, investment and security on both sides of the Atlantic.”