Hemofarm - News - Super Story #3 – Internal Communications

The notion of internal communications in a company is actually about the efficiency of its employees, their satisfaction and work motivation. There is a person who, if doing his job the right way, is the first to find out about employees’ achievements, business successes or even problems. That this is possible is confirmed by our new SUPER Story the main actor of which is @Dalibor Radić, Internal Communications Manager in Hemofarm.

Super priča broj 3 – Interne komunikacije – kanal kome se veruje

SAnyone who has worked with Dalibor once knows how much he respects information and does his best to convey it in the right way - objectively and in a timely manner, respecting all the postulates of the journalist profession. Sometimes it happens with a ton of assessing, writing, refining, remaking… But, at the end of the day, everyone knows that when the news is found on the portal or the e-mail of Internal Communications is received - that's it. You believe it.

’It’s a minimum you expect from every good internal communicator. However, people are noticing ever more the way this information is presented. Some texts must be cool and have a corporate tone. There are few texts which I write with my soul. And there are reasons why. As far as pandemic is concerned, when the Crisis Team was formed at the beginning of March and when its members were assigned, I called them saying not to leave me out by any chance :) Namely, I had experience in crisis communications even before this, starting from H1N1 epidemics in 2009 to floods in May 2014, and I realized that things would function only if you present accurate and timely internal information’ says Dalibor.

’Do tell, what your guys are saying?’

The same was recognized by his colleague Bojana, who pointed out nominating him for the SUPER Story: ’And then comes the well-known e-mail from the Crisis Team and Internal Communications. It was read in my house like people used to watch the news at half past seven. When my grandpa watched the news, even the flies had to be silent! The information from Internal Communications was always clear and concrete, straight, timely and without flinching. Over time, this source of information became the only one we listened to, the only one we chose to trust, the only one we had patience and trust for. What would my husband say, nervously turning off the TV: ’Do tell, what your guys are saying?’.

’Your guys’ (read Dalibor) listened to the same information and collected our information from Hemofarm, but instead of bombastic headlines like ’Terrible News’, ’Find Out How Many’ and similar ’journalistic bombshells’, they filtered such information and conveyed the most important, because that’s what good journalists do. They pass on the information, once a journalist, always a journalist.

From personal archives. Whenever there is a crisis, the internal communicator has a responsibility to provide accurate, reliable and timely information.

Those who have been with the company for a long time have witnessed the growth and development of internal communications under Dalibor's guidance. It takes a lot of knowledge, time and effort to establish and develop the internal communications that Hemofarm has. Dalibor recalls his interview for a job at Hemofarm.

’I said then that it would take us three years only to develop new channels and improve the existing ones. But, of course, there were also failures along the way. I do not deny it, e.g. the mobile intranet portal had very poor readability, so we shut it down. Of all the goals I set for myself on my first day at Hemofarm, two are still slipping away. The first is to find a way to really reach people on production sites who don’t use email and have low intranet access. Although, HfTV proved to be quite efficient because I often hear that they saw something on the displays, mostly in a company canteen. Another goal is to create an intranet in Romanian for colleagues from Timisoara. I believe that I will be able to cross it off the list soon with the help of the Global Communications of the STADA Group. And speaking again about the first goal - I carry the region I was born in my soul, I am a stubborn guy from Semberija and I will not stop trying;).’

A Guy from Semberija

No one should ever doubt that he will always keep trying, and whoever knows people from Semberija at all did not doubt it for a moment. However, when he realized that Bojana nominated him for the next story, the discomfort was palpable, you could feel it even communicating through Teams.

’On the one hand, I am happy, as is each of us, when our commitment to the company and efforts are recognized. On the other hand, I have a terrible feeling of discomfort. I think this is the first time in my life that it has been written about me internally. The job of an internal communicator is like a miner’s job, and we usually see miners in the media when something bad happens. Secondly, the job is such that success depends on the relationship you establish with people. I try to accommodate everyone’s needs, regardless of who they are, what and where they work. However, I work closely with all members of the management, and as the saying goes - Whoever is close to the fire… Therefore, I constantly assure myself that it is all deserved.’
The ones who work with him every day know how much he deserves it and that it should not be questioned, because an axiom is self-evidently true. He put off many fires and prevented also many of them from starting. This kind of transparency is not an everyday practice in most companies, but again Dalibor is not like the majority of communicators either, and Hemofarm is not like the majority of companies.

This is exactly the path that led to this story. Constant communication with employees, sharing information, experiences and content, both on the portal and on HfTV or via e-mail strengthens the feeling of involvement and participation in the life of our company. One of the novelties was the ’scoreboard’ on the Intranet where at any time you can see the condition of those infected and, more importantly, the condition of those cured of COVID-19.

’Is it okay for you to share this with them?’

Bojana, in her letter, says that Dalibor is a legend of internal communications. ’This man is so skilful in bringing peace into some utterly disturbing and difficult topics, while remaining clear, direct and giving a hint of ’We’ll make it together’ in his texts, which we cling onto. The fact that it was not difficult for him to share information day and night in the right way, to carefully design communication, to reach everyone - that meant so much to me and helped me stay mentally ok in one serious whirlwind. In the end, I am giving him a professional pro feedback in the hallway, and he says, ‘Thank you so much for this. It really means something to me. But, it's not me, it's my whole team. Really, it's not just me. Is it okay for you to share this with them?' And he impressed me again.’

It is not a platitude, Dalibor appreciates and is motivated by the praises for his work. That’s why he shared Bojana’s praise with his team. At 10:00 every day Communications Team holds a meeting and it is a chance to share everything with the rest of the people, and a praise to an individual is a praise for the whole team. Dalibor emphasises the support of his team.

I don't think people really know how small and efficient the Corporate Communications Team is, much smaller than in all other companies I've worked for so far. I am in charge of internal communications, but without the support of the team, the question is what it would all look like. Everyone is helping as much as a huge pile of his or her own obligations allow it. It has never happened to me that I asked for help without getting it. I can say that my red line is when someone in the team ’is cutting me down’. If our team was like that, I wouldn't stay long to work at Hemofarm. We have our moments, different attitudes and we often confront them. We never know when and how the team meeting will end, but it is known that when the ’push comes to shove’; we are there for each other.

’Team strength is the key to success’ – says Dalibor

The Prison Walls are Yellow

’If an interviewer asked me - what is the colour of the prison walls, I would answer - yellow. It’s the colour of the bedroom walls and I’ve been looking at them for over a year. If it were not for the daily meetings with the team, I think I would have burned out a long time ago. Always available – the phrase is considered true in Communications. It seems impossible to me to do this job well if it were not so. I can’t wait to get back to my office desk. I’m one of those freaks who loves open space. In general, it is not a problem for me to put on headphones at work and switch off to avoid distractions. Now sometimes I miss those distractions as well’, adds Dalibor in the hope that the current pandemic will end soon and that return to old work habits and going to work will become part of our everyday life again.

Dalibor has the knowledge and what is most important, he is willing and knows how to share it with others. Internal communications are often, as he says, a tough job like a miner’s job and it is mostly the case so. Regardless of whether he is writing a text, preparing service information or broadcasting of a town hall meeting wrapped up in a pile of cables (yes, Dalibor does that as well, and not some mega-giga-ultra production company), his dedication to his job is complete and true.

What is Hemofarm’s SUPER Story?

These are intimate stories about people and teams from our environment, some of which can eventually become company legends.

These are stories of collegiality, courage, sacrifice, responsibility, thoughtfulness, stories we exchange with each other when we want to praise someone, not because it is expected, but because it is deserved.

These are our super stories and as such they deserve to be heard and shared both inside and outside our organization.

If you missed SUPER stories, you can read them here: SUPER Story #1, SUPER Story #2