Sofia, December 3 (Elena Savova of BTA) - Telus Bulgaria General Manager Kristina
Ivanova believes that the most important quality for a manager or the leader of an
organization is to create a stress-free atmosphere for the employees. Ivanova spoke to BTA shortly after she was named among the ten finalists in the 2021 Manager of the Year Competition of the Manager magazine. In partnership with Manager, BTA interviewed all ten finalists and will run the interviews before the year's end.

A video of the interview can be

Following is the full text of the interview with Kristina Ivanova:

Question: Whar are the qualities that make a good manager?

Answer: To me, the most important quality for a manager or the leader of an organization is to create a stress-free atmosphere. Atmosphere where people feel well, want to develop and achieve more. Atmosphere where they have no fear about what will happen if they make a mistake, and if they have a real creazy idea, they don't hesitate to share it. To me this is the most important thing. The, of course, comes trust between the people in the team, how they work and respect in the team. I believe these are the most important qualities.

Q: Your company is one of the success stories in Bulgarian business. You can even say that it set a model to which many businesses aspire. How would you describe the business environment in Bulgaria? Is it hard to do business? Do businesses get support? What are the challenges to businesses?

A: I very much hope that more companies will follow our example, especially when it comes to corporate social responsibilities (CSR) initiatives because this is really something that helps society while also changing the business climate. As for whether it is hard to do business in Bulgaria, there are certainly things that can use some improvement and the government can certainly help, especially during the pandemic. Many processes can be digitized, others can be made faster or easier. We digitized a large part of our processes and those of our clients, and we would be more than happy to see the government do the same.

Question: In the short term, what are the main challenges for businesses in general and your company in specific? The sector where you operate is very important for the development of business environment.

A: Outsourcing in Bulgaria and the outsourcing industry in general have been making very good progress in the past ten years. We have been growing all these years: not just us but the entire sector. Bulgaria is a good place for outsourcing business. People in Bulgaria speak foreign languages very well, and they are intelligent and smart, which is a key factor. I believe that this industry has a potential to develop and grow further. What the government can help us is in the relocation of people from some countries to add more languages to those that are easy to find on the labour market in Bulgaria. It can also help in digitizing social services, which is key in our businesses.

The companies in the outsourcing industry surely invest in various social services and the process can be made easier.

In the short term, the challenges are obviously connected with the pandemic and the vaccination process. Vaccination in Bulgaria is too slow. The legislation about working from home needs to be revised to make it a permanent option.

Anyway, anything in the short term would have to do with the coronavirus.

Q: Would you liken the management of business processes to art?

A: For sure. One has to be very creative in art and at the same time have a clear idea what they want to achieve. It also takes a lot of discipline. Whether you are playing the piano and have a clear idea of how it should sound, and you play it many times until you achieve that sound, or whether you are painting a picture, making a film or staging a play in the theatre: they all require a lot of efforts, very hard work, creativity and a desire to achieve a specific result. So, I certainly see an analogy. Art gives joy to people with its products and a company can give joy with the way of work and the results it achieves.

Q: Do you have a taste for any art?

A: First, I would compare our company to the process of making a film: things are very dynamic, we are always in a hurry. There are lyrical asides but then it gets hectic like an action movie. The new technologies we use on a daily basis, the huhe number of actors that need to work in a teamЕ I am not sure I would liken myself to a film director but the idea certainly intrigues me.

Unfortunately, I don't have any artistic talents. I donТt draw or sing well. When I am in the car with the kids and nobody else, they encourage me to sing and we sing together.

I certainly enjoy the arts: we watch films, go to the theatre, take the kids to the theatre, because I want to teach my children to love and appreciate art.

Maybe in my next life I will be a better singer, hopefully.

Q: Would you encourage your children to take up art?

A: I have left them to decide that. We are not the kind of parents who chose their children's career. All children go through various phases. Mine wanted to sing in a choir, then to dance folk dances, then other things. We have left them to find where their heart is.

Q: If a business wants to support some form of art or an art project, are there projects that are visible, or ideas that can easily be put together so as to have an easy and efficient process? Is there room for improvement in the management of art project?

A: This is an area where a lot more could be done. Through its community board, TELUS finances various non-governmental projects in healthcare, education, environment, etc. Surely, there are a lot of cultural projects we could support but their visibility is very low. Also, sometimes it can be very difficult to support government organizations. Companies like ours would certainly be interested in funding projects of various organizations, if there is an opportunity and visibility of the projects seeking support.

Q: What would be the criteria in chosing what cultural projects to support?

A: It is important that they reach as many people as possible. For all projects where we are involved, the important thing for us is to make sure they make a contribution in society, support a certain societal group, whether in culture, nature of healthcare. If an organization can reach many people with its projects, we would surely consider such projects more than others.

Q: Would you support independent artists who right now are prevented from reaching a big audience but you see a potential in them?

A: Our company is fairly big, with over 3,800 employees, and there are many young artists among them. What we do is support their participation in various formats, give them more visibility and help them in any way we can. So, the short answer to your question is, Yes, for sure.

Q: That is great! Thank you and good luck!

Source: Sofia