Renata Crisan, Contitech Thermopol Romania: “When we talk about leadership, I think the most valuable thing is to remain open to the needs of employees”

“We work a lot on awareness in the workshops we organize on different topics. We need to see how we can include this gamification part so that the impact of these workshops and the impact of our initiatives is as great as possible and as engaging as possible for all generations of employees.

Another important aspect is independent help. We have a dedicated mental health service, which is accessible to all employees and through which we want to offer employees the support they need,” Renata Crisan, HR Manager, Contitech Thermopol Romania said at Work Compass HR Conference organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest.

Key statements:

• One of the most appreciated initiatives last year was reverse mentoring. When we launched this initiative, we had a situation of mixed feelings from employees, who were on the one hand very excited, but on the other hand wondering how they could contribute, what they could do, what would be expected of them. The implementation was very interesting, because we had different perspectives and we wanted to address different needs, and the initiative to have a positive impact.
• Another initiative was the one for generational leadership workshops, where we realized that generations are very different and we try to speak the same language, but the needs remain the same. We work with different generations, and these differences are very easily seen in the work environment, in meetings, within projects.
• The more you need collaboration, the more important it is to have discussions about it. From a leadership perspective, it is important to normalize these discussions, to discuss it openly, to be curious and to ask questions.
• When we talk about leadership, I think the most valuable thing is to remain open to the needs of employees and how we can create an open space for discussions, curiosity.
• Collaboration with others is very important. I have repeatedly received feedback from colleagues that the most appreciated thing is the team they work with. It is one of the resources we use the most because it has the greatest impact and helps us overcome challenges.
• Another important aspect is the clarity of roles. If the role is clear and well defined, this makes a positive contribution in terms of how you navigate through all the changes that occur and have become normal.
• We have a training center dedicated to learning and the most appreciated component is the collaborative robot that you can play with, but which also teaches you things. It is a robotic arm used for mechatronics, which helps you implement different theoretical things.