Employee motivation, development of sustainable products and services as well as corporate responsibility criteria in selecting suppliers are the main topics on which the companies associated in Business Leaders Forum (BLF) want to focus during the next two years. “A socially responsible company is the company that operates fairly and honestly, the one that appreciates its employees and affects not only the region in which it operates, but also the whole society through its business strategy,” Magdaléna Dobišová, who has replaced Martin Kubala, the former Director General of Hewlett-Packard, in his position as the BLF President, says.

The association of responsible companies has currently 25 members and the number is increasing year by year. “From my point of view, Business Leaders Forum is an important opinion-making platform for Slovak companies as well as for international companies operating in Slovakia that adhere to such business practices. I believe that we have the power to influence the society and especially the perception of young people so that they understand that decency and honesty in business can become an economic and competitive advantage even today,” Magdaléna Dobišová said.

In addition to promoting ethical and transparent business practices, the companies involved in BLF want to continue to deal with their employees’ motivation, environmental impact reduction and spreading the responsibility to their suppliers. “These topics are up-to-date and have a great response also inside the companies. It does not involve any costs for a company if it, for example, provides its employees with flexibility. However, the employees are happier and more motivated, do their job more properly, and are even more loyal in return,” Beata Hlavčáková, the Director Executive of the association, explains.

It turns out that people are getting more and more receptive to the responsibility of companies. The public increasingly realizes that companies not only have economic power but they also can positively change the surrounding environment. According to the latest survey, carried out by Business Leaders Forum and the Focus agency this year, Slovak people associate corporate responsibility the most with an honesty and fair treatment of employees in their companies. Up to a third of them admitted that they had boycotted the products or services of a company the activities of which they had disapproved of.