Ondrej Safar, CEZ Romania: “We need more insightful knowledge of our clients in order to predict potential impacts”

“We are expecting the world after the pandemic to become more digitalized. Sector wide, it is visible that a bigger push for digitization and implementation of collected data is needed. We need to have an ever more insightful knowledge of our clients in order to predict potential impacts more accurately and earlier. Most likely, the buzz words for the energy generation market will be flexibility and liquidity in order to be able to react faster to the changes in the consumption,” Ondrej Safar, Country Manager for Romania, CEZ Group, told The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“The current pandemic context was definitely a hard dry-run for our digitization strategy, but it also proved once more that we are on the right path. One of the key pillars that kept us functioning under the strictest prevention conditions was the extended remote dispatching of the network, allowing us to work in turns with the dispatchers, and thus provide them with the highest prevention possible against contamination, while still having a functional control over the network.”

What do you think will be the main business drivers for business growth in your company in 2021?

In 2021, we are expecting the world after the pandemic to become more digitalized. Sector wide, it is visible that a bigger push for digitization and implementation of collected data is needed. We need to have an ever more insightful knowledge of our clients in order to predict potential impacts more accurately and earlier. Most likely, the buzz words for the energy generation market will be flexibility and liquidity in order to be able to react faster to the changes in the consumption.

Will we assist to a Great Reset-oriented strategy in business or returning to business-as-usual?

We already assisted to a reset oriented strategy as we proved that we can adapt to any circumstances and still continue to offer top quality services to our customers. By the nature of our activity, we play a critical role in the overall economic, social, and technical ecosystem and we have the mission to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity to many critical locations, population segments and business partners. This is why, we have created a comprehensive plan of measures to ensure the optimum protection and functioning for our employees as well as for the customers and consumers of electricity and natural gas. The impact of the worldwide experience in 2020 will be visible down to the most practical aspects of business: the service & product design and management. For 2021, CEZ Vanzare has designed a product that will address two main aspects wherein our clients need certainty: health and job stability. CEZ Confort Asigurat will protect our clients against the financial consequences of a potential infection with SARS-CoV-2 and unemployment, among other benefits related to the household facilities. The product will be released by the end of January and is, currently, unique on the energy market.

What is the flagship project of 2020 in your company?

The current pandemic context was definitely a hard dry-run for our digitization strategy, but it also proved once more that we are on the right path. One of the key pillars that kept us functioning under the strictest prevention conditions was the extended remote dispatching of the network, allowing us to work in turns with the dispatchers, and thus provide them with the highest prevention possible against contamination, while still having a functional control over the network. In 2021, we are expecting for the world after the pandemic to become more digitalized.

What kind of workspace culture & values will  be consolidated in your company in 2021? 

Both as a company and as separate individuals, we appreciate integrity, honesty, openness, personal excellence, constructive self-criticism, continuous personal improvement, and mutual respect. We are dedicated to customers and partners and have a great passion for technology. We take on important challenges and are proud to see how we accomplish them. We consider ourselves responsible to customers, shareholders, partners, and employees, honouring our commitments, providing results, and fighting for the highest quality. We will certainly continue to believe and fight for these values ​​in the future.

What is a manager’s role and skills in order to maintain and enhance a team’s cohesion?

For CEZ, the employees are one of the central elements of its activity. Almost 16 years have passed since CEZ arrived in Romania and started to build a strong and reliable partnership with local suppliers and partners, authorities and of course, the local community. I would say that we have proven that energy always comes from people, despite all circumstances and challenges. I always see opportunities instead of challenges, and I enjoy talking with our colleagues. I would say that easy and quick adapting to all unforeseen conditions is one of the most useful leadership skills in the current situation. This combined with always transforming your challenges into new opportunities, as I said before.

What kind of skills and capabilities need to be improved in your company / team in 2021?

Aside from the above-mentioned priorities, we are looking into new ways  to maintain a very fragile, but very important thing for us – the team spirit and the sense of belonging to the company, in a world in which we have less physical contact.  The digital world is taking us to the necessity to find the right recipe  to keep “the human touch” and, thus, preserve the drive that leads us to success.    

In term of general business & teams’ core values, which are your 3 power words for 2021?

DIGITIZATION –  Last year, during the pandemic, we were able to manage the entire service and product portfolio with more than 50% of the employees working remotely, from home. We are expecting that the world after the pandemic will become more digitalized.

Last year, Digitization of employees / activity was essential – 2 functional robots, an electronic signature application and other applications adapted to the telework system.

– DORA is the first software based on UiPath technology and advanced mechanisms in the company and is very helpful for colleagues in CEZ Vanzare. Due to DORA, the human effort required to operate NIR in SAP has decreased by 95% and the error rate is 0%.

– Cronos – the second robot, made in house, in about 2 months, by the ICT colleagues, which brings major benefits to the HR colleagues, in the sense of optimizing 10 times the process of searching and generating documents for our employees.

– DocSign electronic signature application – is a new and simple application that has substantially reduced the duration of signing internal documents and procedures. The actual signing of the documents can be done both on the computer and on the mobile phone and only involves checking one of the mentioned options. At the same time, the initiator of the process receives notifications regarding the signing stage of the document being signed.

– all contracts and acquisitions within CEZ Group in Romania will be made by introducing the electronic signature, respecting the legal norms.

– Critical systems and applications adapted for telework: SAP, Email, WEBEX Videoconferencing, Intranet, GEFEE, CRM, Call Center, Share Point, Helpdesk.

SMART TRANSFORMATION – we started this project in 2016, and last year we proved, more than ever, to be on the right path. The current project extends until 2024; but the term can be prolonged according to the Digitization Direction strategy. The architecture of the program is designed to meet future challenges: growing customer demands, prosumers, smart grids,
the decarbonization and decentralization trends and beyond.

The program aims to increase the operational efficiency, flexibility and adaptability in the current conditions of the market as well as  the analytics and digitized competences of DEO’s staff. The program has 9 initiatives:

• Smart metering implementation;
• Field team management implementation system (MWM);
• GIS concept expansion for low voltage grid;
• SCADA concept expansion;
• IT support systems and defining new system architecture for DEO;
• Implementation of governance data.

Three of the nine initiatives are projects based on European Funds (being in the implementation or approval phase):

• The MDM – Implementation of Management Meter Data;
• The AMS – Process Analysis and Assets Management System;
• The ADMS – Process Analysis and Grids Data Management.

 FLEXIBILITY– With more than half of the employees changing their way of working from one day to the other, we understand the change may be uncomfortable, but we have faced it. This is why, we are undergoing training and support for employees to adapt and keep the performance of the teams high.