As reported by Marina Šunjerga/Poslovni Dnevnik on November 13, 2019; Emil Tedeschi, the largest real-sector employer in Croatia, reveals two of the most important factors in employee retention. He currently employs more than 5500 people in the Atlantic Grupa company.
This year Poslovni Dnevnik and Vecernji List will again present the most prestigious business awards in the country. The award of “Master of Business” and “Economic Event of the Year” will be presented to the most successful and strongest businessman and event in Croatia, whose business or influence crucially impacts economic trends in the country and improves the economic and social climate.
Emil Tedeschi, after leaving Ivica Todorić’s business sphere, is the largest real-sector employer in Croatia. Atlantic Grupa, which has generated HRK 4 billion in sales revenue in the first nine months of this year, has continued to develop since the 1990s, when it emerged on the regional scene, taking over numerous companies, among which Droga Kolinska is the most famous, of course.
Ambience and Security are Important
Tedeschi, who currently employs more than 5500 people, recently announced that he is seriously considering introducing a four-day work week.
“I am sad that we are successful in a failed society. For years, I have been talking about the responsibility of the elite but will continue to insist that people in high positions in different spheres of society also carry a responsibility. In the past, the saying “noblesse oblige” was valid, the nobility obliged, and today it can be said that the leadership obliged. Along with the various benefits that a leadership position carries, it entails far more obligations and responsibilities than the wider community,” he expressed to Vecernji List. In this context, Tedeschi is working on managing and implementing new business practices within his company. He is among the first entrepreneurs to make the most of the opportunity offered by tax reform to reward employees, and last year gave them additional bonuses of HRK 7,500, which are non-taxable under new regulations. He is also considering introducing a four-day work week. Tedeschi explained that he wants to attract a workforce of professionals, but, more importantly, devise a effective way to retain them. The most important factors in retaining a good employee are ambience and security, he indicated.
“Responsible employees are also concerned with a range of benefits which include a quality work environment, a corporate culture and a good balance of leisure and work, and we are seriously considering a four-day work week,” Tedeschi said.
This new global trend has already shown results, so it has been empirically proven that employees who work on this model are 20 percent more productive than employees who have more traditional working hours. The four-day workweek movement has since expanded everywhere, with most of the advocates appearing in the UK and Germany, where it has been embraced by many small businesses offering a wide range of intellectual services. In the context of his view that entrepreneurs must have a social responsibility, he gave a talk in which he took on the role of a social chronicler, and not a businessman, but analysts were not surprised by the appearance of this businessman.
At the time, he said at that Croatia had two resources: people and nature, but people are still leaving! He added that it would be great if we only had ideas of places for them to return.
He Will Not Remain Silent About Todorić
Lately, Tedeschi has been speaking very openly about the ‘Croatian silence’ in the Agrokor case, particularly, how our society allowed ‘that Frankenstein of Agrokor management’ to happen, and to Vecernji List he claimed that “Todorić acted as a sultan, he made his own decisions, and by his way of running the company he blundered not just a decade but an epoch.”
His Atlantic Grupa originated from the acquisition of several trading companies but has grown into a company that boasts significant production. The most famous brands in Croatia are Cedevita and Barcaffè. However, after taking Droga Kolinka under the Atlantic umbrella, they have also acquired the Donat and Cockta brands. The well-known Argeta and Smoki brands, which are produced by the Soko Štark factory, are produced under the company as well. Lovers of local delicacies are also familiar with the Bakina tajna brand, but its financial impact is only a minor part of Atlantic Grupa’s business.
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