Interviews

Aleksandra: Being a Team Manager first means being a part of the team

5 min read • Jul 30, 2020

HR Manager, BE-terna Belgrade

Describe your working day at BE-terna.

My working day starts with an awesome cup of green tea a little bit before 9 o'clock. I usually check if there are any unanswered emails from yesterday, and maybe some from our early bird colleagues from that morning. Then, at 9 o'clock, we have our daily meeting where everyone presents what they will do during the day, and after that, we have internal meetings with different teams. The rest of my day is dedicated to clients. Since I became a manager of a team, my responsibilities have changed a bit. The main part of my day is to help my team and provide guidance where needed, making sure we meet deadlines for planned deliveries. I take care of my team members, make sure they have a prompt feedback and, together with them set daily goals.

What skills do you need to do your job successfully?

The ability to communicate effectively is the most essential skill. No matter if it is in the office or outside of it, good communication is required, both inside and outside an organization. You have to make yourself understood and make sure you understand others. We cherish the communication skills in our team very much. Then, as you might have noticed so far, there is the team. Being a team manager first means being a part of the team – so being a team player is essential to my work and my working environment. The way I see it, there is only one major difference between a team member and a team manager: the potential to motivate and set a good example. Motivating teams and other colleagues to give back the best in a way that works for them is not only about assigning and delegating tasks and setting deadlines - it is also about leading by example.

What do you like about your work?

I am someone who enjoys leading people by using effective motivation and management techniques. I love the people I work with. I love a friendly and fun atmosphere we make together. I do, of course, like to work in the dynamic international environment, on different projects in different industries, sectors, size, organizational structure, but what makes my work special are the values we share and our ability to take on every challenge fearlessly – because everyone knows their peers will stand beside and pull the weight of even the most complex projects.

What is the biggest challenge in your job?

That would be exactly the thing I love the most - working with people. Management paradigm of today has changed drastically since the old days. The management is not about telling people what to do, it is about achieving results through people and helping your team so they get the space to deliver their maximum in every field. It is also about setting the right expectations for both, your team and the client, and helping to meet those expectations. In doing so, people have to work through many different processes to get the end result. My job is to create consistency in the environment so that people stay focused.

When you think about BE-terna, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

An international and dynamic environment where people are friendly, where hardworking and smart people are employed and respected, as well as an environment where the team is made up of great individuals.

What does BE-terna offer to employees?

BE-terna offers many opportunities for learning, personal development, awesome working environment and clear career path. There is always a subject of remuneration and all I can say is that our hard work is being more than adequately compensated for.

What has been your best experience at BE-terna?

It is difficult to single out my greatest experience in BE-terna, but certainly one of the most striking was working on a large regional project with colleagues from the Adriatic region. After the first go-live, we rolled out a project for client's Serbian branch where I assumed the role of a leading consultant, together with my colleague who did the part related to localization and finance. Though really challenging, the project went well. A lot of work was done and in the end both we and the client were satisfied. We came out of this project with a lot of new experiences and a very challenging project under our belt.

How do you feel about teamwork at BE-terna?

We constantly improve and try to make space for every individual so they can feed their best into the team. Each one of us is very good in their field, with their unique set of skills, but in the team we need to make the team work as one, and yet everyone still contributes with their uniqueness. This requires complementing people’s skills, and some adjustments for each of us to the team atmosphere. But in the end we work better together.

What advice would you give to a newcomer at BE-terna?

The values we cherish here are hard work (and playing hard), persistence, good sense of humor, and great interpersonal skills. We love being together and taking care of each other. We love challenges, but we take them as a team. We love people who learn; in fact a lot of us came here straight out of university and worked their way up to become highly skilled professionals. If you tick those boxes, BE-terna is a great environment for you.