A New Era Requires New Attitudes

[May 2007, EUROBIZNIS]

A visionary and adventurer in one person, Mgr. Renáta Kiselicová, founder and director general of the largest Slovak consulting company S&K Management Systems does not content herself with superficial information or set solutions. She needs to pierce the essence of the subject, to find the hidden meaning and discover unique values in conditions which appear from the outside to be inhospitable and predatory…

Mgr. Renáta Kiselicová
Age: 33
Marital status: married
Education: Faculty of Management UK,
Bratislava
Position: Director general
Credo: Where there’s a will, there’s a way
Hobbies: Travelling, hiking, photography, skiing, ice-skating
Desires: at the moment: to visit the Antarctic one day
I like: seeing the concrete results of my work, a well finished project, recommendations implemented, customer satisfaction, real benefits

She did this interview in a typical manner – from Patagonia – and we caught up with her while she was crossing the Terra del Fuego. An unbelievable woman, who could quite easily be a reporter for a travel magazine; she has chosen for her life another path, but just as grandiose…

Tell us how S&K Management Systems came about?
In 1994, my schoolmate and I founded a company which provided services in the field of economic consulting and the outsourcing of accountancy, payroll and human resources; at the time we were in our third year at university. Gradually, a consultancy division was created, we developed complex projects in the fields of Activity-Based Costing, calculations and profitability, important IT projects (design and implementation of banking information systems), developed new products in the field of process management and performance management in the area of human resources management – this was in 2001, and our company had ten employees at the time. In 2002, the Euro-consulting division was created and we began to provide services in the field of Euro-consulting – there were already 22 of us then; we also developed new products in the field of process management and organisational change in state administration. Since 2004, we have been regularly holding the Euro-fund conference; in 2005, we became members of EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management), we obtained the ISO 9001:2000 certificate and our specialist cooperation on building up eGovernment in Slovakia began. In 2006, a separate IT division was created, we received certificates for 3 EFQM Assessors and became a company employing 73 excellent specialists in the field of business consulting, outsourcing, Euro-consulting and information technology.

What specific things do you focus on when providing services?
Our services resolves problems for clients in the field of ORGANISATION (human resources management, organisational structure, management system, employee satisfaction…), the field of FINANCE AND ACCOUNTANCY (accountancy and tax consulting, setting up controlling systems, creation of business plans, setting up reporting…), the field of OPERATIONS (products targeted at optimising the performance of core processes, reducing costs, increasing quality, efficiency, process automation), the field of MARKETING & SALES (calculating the profitability of customers, products, price policy, setting up sales processes, reporting, optimising the network of branches, CRM…), the field of IT (development, integration, implementing new information systems with the aim of making the company operation more efficient) and the field of EURO-CONSULTING (complete care of processes to draw resources from EU funds).

Your clientele is very varied. This must require quite an individual approach to each client…

When providing consulting services, we base ourselves on our long years of experience on the Slovak and Czech market as well as on our local and foreign know-how gained from close cooperation with important foreign partners in the field of information technology and consulting. The client is our partner to whom we hand over our experience and knowledge gained from successfully implemented projects in various areas. The range of services provided depends on his decision. We like offering direct solution to diverse and complex problems. As part of our auditing services, we place emphasis not only on ensuring the audit is carried out, but in the event that failures or mistakes are found, we suggest solutions to eliminate them. We realise that it is very important not only to provide help when resolving problems arisen, but mainly to avoid them successfully. Each of our projects is unique; it is a unique solution for a specific client. It is always a new challenge for us, and thanks to this, our work makes us happy and keeps us satisfied.
   
If a local consulting company wants to be successful, it has to be twice as good as its foreign competition for people to take it seriously, but you managed…
At the moment, we are linking up with a foreign partner on an international level, and on May 17th, the CENTIRE company should be declared in Slovakia. We will continue working on the provision of unique solutions for local clients along the whole range of our services. Our partner in London will allow us to take part regularly in international competitions and strengthen our position as a strong Central European consulting company. It is our very know-how in this environment and our unique methodology which represented a high added value for the creation of this association. In the near future, we plan to open a branch in Brussels in order to better identify the opportunities for drawing resources for clients, and also to take part in interesting projects of an international nature within the EU.

You have an imposing portfolio of references – which project attracted you the most with the problems it posed?
Every one of our clients is the most important one for us, and we devote our maximum attention and efforts to each one when solving his problems and requirements. Among our clients we count not only large companies with many employees, such as U. S. Steel Košice, Česká pojišťovna, ČSOB Pojišťovna, Slovenská sporiteľňa, Doprastav or T-Mobile; state organisation also turn to us, together with certain central institutions of state administration, town halls and for example all the water companies owned by municipalities, where thanks to various reforms which we are carrying out at the moment, they are able to reach the targets defined for the SR in the field of water management.
  
From May 2007, S&K Management Systems is changing to CENTIRE. What will the immediate future bring?
A new era requires new attitudes. We can call the 21st century the information age, the age of knowledge. It’s worth focusing on the right solutions to the right things. We don’t want to do “business for business”; we measure efficiency with results, and management focuses on leading “knowledgeable workers”. Man is in first place, with his uniqueness and genius. Relationships, trust and communication are incredibly important. We want to continue in the path we have begun and use the huge riches of Slovakia, which are not just made up of manual work, but of talent and the brain potential of our people, to carry out unique projects on a local and international level… simply do things that make sense!

(red) Photo: R. K. archive