Klaudia Garbacz: Working abroad, feeling at home

- After I got my degree in English I started as an elementary school teacher and moved on to teaching adults. Then I moved with my boyfriend to Italy and ventured into the airline industry.

Her job at Ryanair came to a quick halt with Covid 19. With shorter stints in an IT company and another Italian airline, she wanted something more stable. That brought her to the Czech Republic, working at a service desk helping Polish customers.

- It was a stable job, but not very challenging. Thankfully I got the opportunity to work for Tietoevry shortly after.

She now works at the customer support center, helping mainly Norwegian municipalities with the Public 360 application, a system used for administration, documentation and archiving.

Opportunities to grow

What attracted Klaudia to Tietoevry were the many stories she heard and read about the company’s commitment to the employees and their development.

- The mere fact that many employees stay for longer than 10 years says something very positive about the company. The managers I talked to during the interviews were very friendly and welcoming.

The many opportunities for personal growth is what Klaudia values the most. With 2500 employees in Czechia, the number of career paths are plentiful. Klaudia is also part of an internal program for women.

- I’m part of a program called “Empower Her”. Together with my mentor, I develop both soft skills and hard skills, like personal branding, growth and career development. I really appreciate that Tietoevry gives me this chance, they show that they care about my career.

A Nordic work culture

In her various jobs in different countries and companies Klaudia has experienced several work cultures. The Nordic culture at Tietoevry is refreshingly different.

- The lack of hierarchy is fabulous and makes it much easier to talk to anyone – be it management or other colleagues. Simple things like using first names instead of surnames is a sign of this culture. We don’t have to be formal to have respect for each other.

More autonomy is also a trait Klaudia values.

- I’m given room and freedom to be myself and solve issues on my own. I also like that managers focus on how we can improve rather than punishing mistakes. They have a positive attitude, and that creates a great working environment.

This working culture is not common in her homeland or in the Czech Republic, but Klaudia feels it’s right for her.

- Even though I live abroad and work in a company from another country, I feel at home here.