Can Central and Eastern European Management Compete? How good are Romanian Managers? Dr. Klemens Wersonig, CEO TARGET Executive Search

Can Romanian managers compete? Answer from a headhunter: YES Romania is much better than you think!

Headhunting across CEE

TARGET Expat Study 2009 & 2015 1000+ answers across CEE SK – CZ – HU – RO – PL - BG Lokale: 271 Fragen: 44 2015 1. Poland 2. Slovakia 3. Czech Republic 4. Romania 5. Hungary 6. Bulgaria RO 889 CZ 219 HU SK 47 BG http://targetexecutivesearch.com free download

2. I enjoy working here

3. Bureaucracy is not a serious problem here

5. The business environment here is very active and dynamic

8. Deadlines are taken seriously here

10. It is important here to form friendships with colleagues and customers

23. Managers here prefer to work in a planned manner

34. Managers in this country tend to be excellent at selling

38. Local managers are good at dealing with overseas customers and colleagues

47. Local managers are experienced in working together with foreigners

37. Most local managers speak at least one foreign language

26. Ambitious managers are admired

41. Corruption is not a significant problem in doing business here

11. It is easy to find well-trained managers in this country

12. We could recruit better managers if we could pay them more

9. Humour is important in working relationships in this country

6. In this country business and commerce are strongly customer service oriented

42. On the whole women in CEE tend to be more effective managers than men

Quotes…RO “The culture here is haunted by the ghosts of the communist past. This manifests itself not only in the unwillingness to take risks or find creative solutions, but also in the corruption that is prevalent in the culture here.” [American Expat, ROM]

Quotes…RO “Romania is full of young talented managers. The political class and its instability are the main limits to the growth of this country.” [Italian Expat, ROM] “Romania ... much better than you think!” [Belgian Expat, ROM]

Quotes…RO “Romanian Managers are very talented and ambitious. They are creative and find alternative solutions. This might be also a reason why reliability and organization is not their major strength. Exceptions are always in both directions. Anyhow I like very much their dynamism and optimism.” [German Expat, ROM]

CEE summary - the good news CEE managers work very hard and are ambitious Foreigners clearly enjoy living and working in CEE countries Strong interpersonal skills of managers are highly valued Good personal relationships are essential to good business in CEE Women are more effective managers than men Managers in the CEE region do place much value on the company they work for In most CEE countries, managers prefer working in a planned, structured manner

CEE summary – the bad news Bureaucracy and corruption seriously hinder good business performance in CEE Businesses and their managers are not customer-oriented resulting in very poor customer service Hierarchies here tend to be formal Managers do not like to take the initiative in preventing and solving problems CEE managers do not like to take a wider, strategic view

Romanian summary Excellent in interpersonal skills best in sales Best with language skills and international mind Worst in bureaucracy and corruption (with Bulgaria) Most ambitious Bad with deadlines Good humor Women are better managers

My personal conclusions Klemens Wersonig Surprisingly little change during 6 years, even though different expats were asked (2.000+ expats in total) Women in CEE are better managers Main topics are bureaucracy, corruption, customer service Romania is much better than you think! klemens.wersonig@targetexecutivesearch.com