There is a living-room suite, a giant beanbag, a foosball table, there are books and board games, and two children are playing a video game on a huge screen. It is the autumn school holiday time. During their recess, the younger colleagues join the children at the foosball table.

Colling Kft. is an accounting firm that has been operating for 25 years. Its clients are primarily Hungarian enterprises but there are commissions from all over the world. Therefore, the professional qualifications and language competences of the employees are of key importance.

The general manager, Ms. Andrea Butkovics described the HR strategy of the firm as follows:
I believe that the human resource policy of an enterprise can only be effective and authentic if it reflects the ethical and professional creed of the management. The quality of the service depends to a great extent on the attitude of our colleagues, consequently, keeping the high achieving employees is essential for preserving high quality work at my enterprise.

The many years I spent at multinational companies at the senior level helped me realise that the most effective means of small and medium sized enterprises in the race to have the best work-force is to form a coherent team, and to strengthen the loyalty of the employees.

During the expansion of our team, when we choose the new colleagues, the professional expertise, the quality of professional work is of outmost importance. I worked for years as a financial manager, I have first-hand experience with the expectations of the clients towards outsourced accountancy.

It is crucial that every client should keep in touch with only one person, that data recording should be performed by a professional who is acquainted with the economic trends of the client and can also prepare different reports in a foreign language according to international standards if need be.

As part of our payroll calculation services, by taking over the administrative burden of companies, we save quality time for the HR departments, which they can use for recruitment, devising internal PR, and keeping their employees.

Our service rates do not allow a salary competitive with the wage-level generated by the large international companies. The double pressure of having marketable prices whilst assuring the quality of the work and keeping the highly qualified employees has been a serious difficulty.

My philosophy in life is to support others. I always strive to give my best in professional and human terms, for my colleagues and the clients, as well. At the same time, I have further responsibilities as a mother.

Since my younger son often accompanied me to the office during school holidays, it was natural for me to allow my colleagues to bring their children to the workplace. In our previous offices, we had a makeshift “nursery” in the big meeting room during these periods.

Still, there are several other occasions when mothers have to stay at home.

Flexible work hours and home office opportunities have helped our employees in these cases. When we moved into the new offices, we consciously looked for a layout where creating a room for relaxation and play was feasible. On the tender of the Ministry of Human Capacities we were not only rewarded a title of Family Friendly Workplace, but also a grant to support our project.

This summer we all could enjoy the benefits of a “playroom”. Our children were happy to occupy the room. Professional work progressed smoothly even though there were four to six children in the office every day during the summer holidays. Actually, my colleagues also savour the benefits of the “playroom”: when they make phone calls (after work, during recesses), or when they play foosball.

During the team building (which we organise regularly) the previous summer, we asked our employees what they think of Colling as a workplace. This summer we asked them the same question again. I was happy to read that their opinion remained unchanged, most people considered Colling to be “supportive, inspiring, cheerful, flexible, fair”.

Of course, I received critical remarks, as well, which we then discussed in personal conversations. Based on the experiences we changed the distribution of work, among others.

My unconventional strategy has since become exemplary. As a manager, I experience daily how motivating this is, how much joy it gives us, and how greatly it contributes to the effective working of my enterprise.

Visit Colling online