The secret of success: Being a German company in Bulgaria

Denitza Borisova is the Head of HR and Legal at Festo Production. She has been part of the Festo Bulgaria team in Bulgaria for 12 years. She has over 20 years of experience in People management in large multinational production and consulting companies.

Since 2005 she has been a lecturer in her subject area in programmes at the University of Portsmouth and Cardiff Metropolitan University, was involved in the development of the Professional Ethics Standards of the Bulgarian Association for People Management and was the first Chairman of the Association's Professional Ethics Committee. She has degrees of Master of Business Administration and a Master of Law. She speaks English, Spanish, Russian and German. She has two children and a dog. Mrs. Borisova is responsible for human resources, communication and events and legal services for Festo in Bulgaria for the production and sales divisions as well as the Technical Engineering Center.

Festo Production won the first place and the biggest award from the German Economy in Bulgaria 2021 in the category "Large Enterprise". What lies behind this recognition?

The German Economy Award is a truly well-deserved recognition for the entire Festo Production team, which has been manufacturing Festo branded products in Bulgaria for more than 30 years. It has been a matter of pride and vocation for me to be part of the Festo family for 12 years now, and together with our entire team to build the leading electronics plant and one of the Group's key Technical Engineering Centers. The company's growth in Bulgaria in recent years has been steady despite the challenges of the pandemic. The total investment for 2020-2022 is BGN 70.8 million. We produce more than 2560 types of products per day, which is more than 10 million products per year. All of this is achieved with team spirit, family values and a close-knit leadership team!

The staff in Bulgaria numbers over 1300, with over 250 recruited in the last year. Investing in education and development has been a priority for the company, with over 25,000 hours of training delivered in 2022, including a leadership development programme for over 100 managers, internship programmes for 80 students, and training for over 30 students in dual education.

Are German corporate values being successfully preserved in the Balkans? How do they differ from the Bulgarian?

As an independent, family-owned company in its third generation, Festo thinks and acts with a long-term view and a sense of responsibility. Festo is associated with clear values, top quality and customer orientation of over 20,000 employees worldwide. Of course, if we did not demonstrate our values every day by our behaviour and the way we work, they would remain just a slogan. Not only in Bulgaria, but also in all Group locations, the focus is on creating a leadership culture that is consistent with our values, namely:

• We are ambitious.
• We are determined.
• We are visionary.
• We value each other.
• We are dependable.
• We are Festo.

For Festo, collaborators are the most valuable asset. That is why the Group invests in the qualifications and competences of its employees, and why results are specifically stimulated and rewarded. According to the accepted management principles, every leader must set an example for others, act in accordance with the corporate Code of Ethics and treat subordinates with respect and responsibility. The data shows that a large percentage of our employees upgrade their qualifications annually through internal promotion and rotation in different departments. We have many success stories of career development as part of the Festo family.

I wouldn't say that German values are very different from Bulgarian or Balkan values. Of course, we employ many graduates from German universities and from the German Faculty at TU-Sofia. There are more and more employees from other nationalities - more than 10 now - who also bring diversity and a multicultural spirit to Festo in Bulgaria, but the common values really bind us together. With consistent double-digit growth over the years and an increase in employees in the hundreds each year, it is a challenge to maintain the spirit and traditions of Festo, while of course investing in a standard induction program, multiple training sessions, family and team celebrations, team buildings, celebrating professional achievements, national, company and personal holidays together.

How do you build a sustainable team in Bulgaria? What do you think about the quality of the workforce in the country?

The strength and sustainability of any business is achieved through its people. Festo's team in Bulgaria has been growing for over 30 years, and every year we celebrate an anniversary day where we congratulate associates with 15, 20, 25 and 30 years of service with us, and we also have quite a few retirees who have spent all or most of their professional career with the company, which in the 21-st century is rare. At the same time, many young people who have just graduated from one of our apprenticeship programs and completed dual training are entering the workforce. This year we celebrate the 100th member of the Technical Engineering Center team in Bulgaria. There is a wide diversity of age, life experience, professional experience and expertise that we are proud of. Sometimes, I would even say often, it happens that employees who have decided to leave and look for better employment outside Festo, apply again with us. We are always respectful of their choices and welcome their return whenever possible because they are the best first-hand comparison of Festo's working conditions, remuneration, benefits package and culture with other organizations, and they are the ones who vividly demonstrate that the neighbor's grass only appears greener.

My observation is that unfortunately the education system in both secondary and higher education, with few exceptions, is quite different from the needs of the business. Massively new entrants need introductory training and further training in the specialty they have graduated from or enter the job with different qualifications. That is why we are investing more and more resources and are also focused on training and qualification of new associates, which inevitably improves the quality of the work they do. On the other hand, we find different and new opportunities and programs for partnership with the education system, such as dual training, subsidizing higher education with employer approval of the specialty and internship programs. This is how we work towards enhancing the competencies of our current and potential future employees.

Is it easy for Bulgarian employees to fit into the corporate culture of a German company and what is the profile of the successful candidate?

I'd say yes, it's easy, and also enjoyable. One of the hallmarks of German corporate culture, as well as of German family companies, is that every employee is treated with respect, not as a resource, but as an individual and a person. We work hard to increase and diversify the benefits package, discuss and seek feedback from employees on issues important to the company. On the other hand, successful candidates should have similar values to ours, be willing to work actively in cross-departmental teams, share our social responsibility, volunteering and philanthropic initiatives, have the spark, drive and motivation to develop and become better every day. From there on, Festo puts a lot of resources into their development and really "gives roots and wings" to each employee so they can reach their full potential.