Emilia Stroe, Sphera Franchise Group: “It is important to look at culture as a foundation of a building. The stronger the foundation, the more we allow ourselves to build more floors or have a more special architecture”

“Sphera Group manages the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell franchises in Romania. We are a diverse company because each of these brands has its own personality and our common goal is providing an excellent experience.

We are almost 5,000 employees and diversity also comes from the fact that these employees work in over 170 restaurants. When we talk about diversity, we reach all levels, starting from age, education, interests, passions, including citizenship. Starting from this perspective, we believe that a strong culture is based on diversity. Diversity of perspectives is what makes us strong and what helps us to have a broad and improved perspective.

It is important to look at culture as a foundation of a building. The stronger the foundation, the more we allow ourselves to build more floors or have a more special architecture. Skilled architects think the concept, see the object, see the purpose, see the mission and translate these big words into specific objectives, clear, transparent and easy to understand for each of the employees,” Emilia Stroe, HR Director, Sphera Franchise Group said during People Empowering Business Forum organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“We also need quality building materials and here I am referring to skills, I am referring to characters and obviously to the way in which we manage to combine these intelligences together in a form in which we reach the most suitable solution. In addition to these, we also need the right builders. With these resources, we will manage to create the context in which trust and empowerment arise between people.

If we have the right characters that demonstrate effective behaviours and if we have the right skills, then the sky is the limit.

A strong culture is based on strong people who make strong decisions in equally strong situations. The culture of the organization is made up of each of us. We always start from values, and a strong culture creates a synergy between the values ​​of the organization and personal values, so that all people involved feel that they can contribute and their contribution is appreciated by colleagues, superiors, etc.

Another important element that we look at when we talk about organizational culture is how we manage to adapt our leadership styles to the audience we have. This is where the diversity of leadership styles starts, about which any leader must be educated and informed. We live in an era in which the leader is the one who must adapt to the team and less in an era in which the team must adapt to the leader.”