“A company is created by its employees, which is why we first choose each of them with great care, and then we make sure they’re well looked after,” says our HR Manager, Lenka Marková.
“A company is created by its employees, which is why we first choose each of them with great care, and then we make sure they’re well looked after. Our primary aim is to improve their knowledge and skills. People at Aspena are constantly “growing” and pushing themselves, some have been with us for over 10 years, which makes us very happy,” says our HR Manager, Lenka Marková.
Lenka, how do we go about choosing new people to join the company?
The selection procedure here is something of an “experience”: it’s not some dry job interview with an HR manager. We apply interesting recruitment methods, thanks to which prospective employees get the chance to find out something new about themselves. We’re less interested in what educational level they’ve attained, their academic qualifications or work experience with previous jobs; instead, our primary focus is on the personality of the applicant and their potential. For us, the decisive factor is the willingness to learn new skills, motivation, and desire to further extend their abilities. Which is why the core of our team is made up of young graduates – both from universities and secondary education.
How are the new faces inducted?
Every new employee receives a “package” of educational training and information, which is gradually presented to them during the induction process. We concentrate on technical skills: for the positions of project manager or sales manager, this basically means learning about professional translation software, so-called CAT tools, which include programs such as TradosStudio, MemoQ and InDesign.
Besides technical training, their educational “roadmap” also covers, for example, the fundamentals of project management, business communication, entering into commercial/legal documentation, keeping accounts, and much more besides.
How do we look after our employees?
There are about 60 permanent staff at Aspena – in the two Czech cities of Prague and Brno, as well as in Slovakia, in Bratislava. The head office, where the central management is located, can be found in the heart of Brno. Not far away we also run our language school. Despite the apparent distance between our offices, joint company events means we share close bonds.
Every year we organize a company-wide weekend get-together, generally with a sporting, cultural and gastronomic program. Last year we met up at Modrá u Velehrad, at a relaxation center specializing in archaeology – Archeoskanzen Modrá, Centre of Slovácko Traditions. We spent two beautiful autumn days here, packed with fun, relaxation, sport and historic feasting. Successful events in previous years have included a quest in Český Krumlov, a sports-themed stay at a leisure park in Baldovec and a skiing weekend in the Orlické Mountains.
During the year, Aspena branches and departments organize their own smaller-scale teambuilding events – bowling, escape rooms, karting, mini golf and even virtual reality games. In summer there’s usually a BBQ at a reservoir, while visiting Christmas markets is a popular activity in winter.
These benefits are backed up with numerous other perks, for example holiday bonuses, meal vouchers, free-time vouchers, multisport cards, contributions towards language lessons, in-house refreshments as well as loyalty and birthday bonuses.
