Industry Public Administration
Employees 22
Zagorje Development Agency – Setting up a new standard in the public sector

Zagorje Development Agency (ZARA) is an excellent example of a public sector organisation working strategically to retain employees and develop inclusive leadership.

ZARA is the public institution coordinating regional development activities in the Krapina-Zagorje County. The Agency is focused on strategic planning processes, as well as the preparation and implementation of development projects. As a partner, they deliver excellence and creativity in shaping the sustainable development of the County. The beneficiaries of the Agency’s services are local/regional self-government units, institutions in health care, education and cultural fields, and other public bodies.

Industry Public Administration
Employees 22
Challenges
  • Technological monitoring of employee achievements according to pre-defined criteria
  • Strengthen communication skills and feedback
  • Emphasizing support measures for work-life balance
  • Internal flexibility policies and procedures
  • Ordinance on the system of rewarding employees
  • Provide all employees the use of an electric bicycle
  • Employee education plan on an annual basis
  • Strengthen policies to respect, support, and promote diversity

Results

rast-05

Engagement 18%

networking-19

Improved Collaboration 29%

MAMFORCE Partnership

The introduction of the MAMFORCE standard was an ideal tool to achieve the desired change that will help us retain the existing staff, increase employee engagement, improve productivity and contribute to a change in organizational culture.

Said Gordana Ana Dijaković, who oversees Zara’s human resources.

The evaluation of the management system, analysis of employee-related data, and employee feedback on their experiences working for the organization were used to develop a series of improvements. These were in turn put in practice and implemented systematically over a period of a year.

Several initiatives, designed to align the values held by the organizations, with the values and modes of operation of the employees, have been implemented. To improve information flows, and foster team cohesion, direct communication channels and procedures have been worked on. Several types of regular meetings and channels have been introduced with the aim of shoring up organizational values, developing inclusiveness, or sharing information on the benefits designed to improve the employee well-being. Regular quarterly feedback meetings with individual employees have been introduced, training on soft skills and leadership has been carried out, and attention was given to the issues of personal and professional growth of employees. The transparent management enabled the introduction of flexible working arrangements. This has proven extremely important for employees’ work-life balance, who mostly belong to Generation Y and have small children. A system of mentorship was introduced as an important form of support for women’s careers, to the newly hired employees, and to those returning to work after an extended absence. Diversity and inclusion policy has been adopted as well.

Due to this dedicated work in introducing change, significant improvements have been recorded in key areas relevant for certification. The management system score has been improved by an extraordinary 42%, where a better supervisor-employee relations have been observed, workload distribution is more efficient, employee loyalty and group cohesion have also been improved. Employee satisfaction and engagement have improved by 18%, resulting in a strong sense of belonging to the organization. Sick leave was reduced from 23% to a negligible 2.4%, which in turn improved the productivity significantly.

Moreover, the feedback from employees that they are now able to balance private and business life better, and to collaborate better, which are both now at 88%, give additional boost to these new practices. Finally, the inclusive leadership received a 93% score, and 95% of employees would recommend ZARA as a good place to work for women.

On the collaboration with the MAMFORCE team

The values that underlie ZARA’s work, such as social relevance, integrity, and inclusion, have prompted us to become a part of the project that helped us develop the employee-centred climate, where business-related and private considerations are taken into account. With the professional support from the MAMFORCE team, we have attained the advanced MAMFORCE GROW Standard, and thus have brought added value to the organization, and we now serve as the example to public institutions that, with responsible leadership, the public sector is capable of creating favourable working environment, and consequently to have a motivated workforce.
Karolina Barilar, Director

 

ZARA recognised that the MAMFORCE Standard benefits not only their own operation, but also represents an opportunity to transfer best practices to their beneficiaries, public sectors stakeholders, and to thus help improve the quality of life and work for all residents of the Krapina-Zagorje County.

 

Our employees are our greatest strength. It is only when employees are satisfied and feel safe at their workplace that they can deliver work of the highest quality. Ensuring quality services is crucial to guarantee the satisfaction of our users and the effectiveness of an institution like the Zagorje Development Agency.
Gordana-Ana Dijaković, Head of the Department of Finance and General Affairs

Employee testimonials

 

PROJECT COORDINATOR
Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy
PARTNERS
Croatian County Association
Spona Code
The implementation of the project is co-financed by the European Commission through the REC (Rights, Equality and Citizenship) program.
This information was published as part of the EU project “Redefine Work-Life for Women and Men” with the financial support of the European Union Program “Rights, Equality and Citizenship” (2014-2020). Spona Code is solely responsible for the content of this website. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for how the information on this website will be used.

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