“Diversity is a great value to me. Employer branding in practice rarely falls within a rigid framework” - a conversation with Julian Mazur, employer branding expert at Inter Cars.

People - the driving force of the organization 

Multiculturalism, different experiences, age, characters and passions of employees make decisions better, teams more creative and the achievement of strategic goals more effective.  

JobsDoor: Inter Cars is primarily associated with automotive parts, logistics and scale of operations. But today we want to talk about people. From your perspective - what really “drives” Inter Cars from the inside? 

Julian Mazur, Employer Branding Expert at Inter Cars: Of course, it is people who are the driving force behind any organization. This is no different with Inter Cars. The new strategy of the brand focuses on optimizing the working time of mechanics in which we support them with modern digital tools, logistics and training. In its implementation, we are helped by an organizational culture based on the assumptions of responsibility, development and commitment. We promote an attitude according to which the employee looks at his area as the owner — caring about the effects, the meaning of the actions and taking into account the point of view of all stakeholders, both inside and outside the company.

At the same time, we focus on development: we encourage learning from experience, drawing conclusions and improving competence, and we treat mistakes as a natural part of learning. Openness is important to us. Sharing knowledge and information in a clear and accessible way supports the work of entire teams.

We also value innovation and flexibility. We are looking for new solutions, products and approaches. We are fully exploiting the potential of diversity. Multiculturalism, different experiences, age, characters and passions of employees make decisions better, teams more creative and the achievement of strategic goals more effective. 

Employee Deployment 

(...) transparency, dialogue and availability of leaders are a real element of our organizational culture. 

JD: What does the first day of a new employee look like at Inter Cars? What do you do to make him feel that he is part of the organization from the beginning and not just “the new person in the position”? 

JM: The first days at Inter Cars are designed as a conscious start to the relationship with the organization, and not just a formal implementation into systems and procedures.

New employees learn the specifics of the organization from the beginning. Its mode of operation, values and direction of development. An important element of onboarding is the opportunity to meet directly with the President and representatives of the Management Board, which clearly shows that transparency, dialogue and availability of leaders are a real element of our organizational culture. On the first day, we combine formal issues with culture and strategy. New employees take part in OSH, compliance and GDPR training, but meetings with the Member of the Management Board and the Director of Human Capital Management are equally important, which show through their perspective, among others, the scale of the organization, its direction of development and the role of employees in achieving the Group's objectives. 

On the second day onboarding reaches a very practical dimension. New employees visit the European Logistics and Development Centre ILS in Zakroczym. This allows them to see the robotic “operating heart” of Inter Cars and understand how the company operates in practice. Added to this are IT and tooling trainings, which allow you to smoothly enter into everyday work.

A key role is also played by the manager and the team, and an important support is the “Buddha program” - each new person has his own buddy, a colleague who helps to find himself in the organization, translates unwritten rules and helps with adaptation.It is complemented by Onboarding Extended — a series of online meetings with area leaders that allows you to understand the company as a whole, and the Global Introduction to Teams, showing Inter Cars as an international Group operating according to common standards. This allows new employees to see the meaning of their role in the wider ecosystem more quickly.

The Role of Employer Branding 

To a large extent, it is also about building connections between people, facilitating dialogue and helping to ensure that good initiatives and projects are properly promoted in the organization. 

  JD: Let's take a closer look at your personal perspective and position at Inter Cars - what does your “typical day” look like - if anything like that exists in your role at all?  

JM: In an organization of the scale of Inter Cars, it is difficult to talk about a “typical day” in the classical sense. On the one hand, as in any position, there are certain fixed, routine elements.

On the other hand, it is a very dynamic role. Often a day that begins calmly suddenly turns in a completely different direction. One of the moments that shows what my work looks like is when a colleague from one of the companies of the Inter Cars Capital Group approached me asking for marketing and communication support for a certain initiative. Formally, this is not my responsibility. There was no briefing, no time to plan. But there was a real need and people who cared to promote their actions. Of course, I helped despite the short deadline, and the whole action was successful.

When there is a request for quick communication support, an additional newsletter, for graphics or help in organizing the message - I do not refuse if I have the space for it. Sometimes someone comes forward for support on a project that is formally quite far from the HR area I am a part of, but has real meaning and impact on people. In a situation where it requires more commitment on my part, I set up my time possibilities with the HR director and we act. Quite often I get not only strictly communicative topics, but also requests for help in very diverse issues. I then try to help as best I can: sometimes by directing the case to the right address, and sometimes by using the network of contacts that I have built up in the company over the years. This shows that my role is not solely about creating and maintaining communication channels and content. To a large extent, it is also about building connections between people, facilitating dialogue and helping to ensure that good initiatives and projects are properly promoted in the organization.

In summary, it happens that in one day I go from writing an article, to attending a company event, to a communication consultation for an initiative that is just being born. Recently I also supported the activities of the Inter Cars Foundation, then employer branding is naturally combined with doing something good, which gives an additional sense of meaning. This diversity is of great value to me. Employer branding in practice rarely falls within a rigid framework. In my opinion, it is rather a willingness to react, connect the dots and support initiatives that strengthen the organizational culture. And that's probably what describes my “typical day” best: it's never quite typical, but it always revolves around people, communication and organizational support.

Career path 

Employees have the opportunity to change the direction of development, switch between roles, learn new competencies. 

JD: You often talk about development and long-term cooperation. What does the employee's development path look like in practice — from the start up to the expert or managerial level? 

JM: The development at Inter Cars is multi-track and flexible, which is very much due to our strategy and organizational structure.

We have an expert path, based on deepening knowledge, working with data, projects and substantive responsibility. We have a managerial path that develops leadership, decision-making and communication competencies. And we have a design path, allowing to lead initiatives in different areas of the organization. These paths are not closed. Employees change direction of development, switch between roles, learn new competencies. This is possible thanks to the scale of the organization and a culture that does not “lock people in drawers”, only encourages development where their competence and potential bring the greatest value.

Internships, internships and multi-track recruitment 

I must add that Inter Cars has been participating in the Career Programme of the Polish Business Council for years. On the site programkariera.pl students and graduates can search for current internship offers at Inter Cars and apply for them. 

JD: Inter Cars is also the place of the first professional steps. What role do internships and internships play in the organization? What can young people learn from you? 

JM: From a company perspective, internships play an important role in discovering and developing young talent. Interns work with us on real projects in various areas:  – From finance and auditing, to marketing, HR, logistics, to IT and e‑commerce — allowing them to gain hands-on experience and immediately add value to their teams. For the company, it is also a good way to attract future employees, because many trainees stay with us permanently after completing their internships. I could talk about such cases for a long time.

I must add that Inter Cars has been participating in the Career Programme of the Polish Business Council for years. On the site programkariera.pl students and graduates can search for current internship offers at Inter Cars and apply for them. It is also worth visiting career.intercars.eu/practice-and-traineeships and leave your resume. This could be the first step in a career at Inter Cars.

JD: What opportunities does Inter Cars offer to people who want to disguise themselves or develop in a completely different direction than before? 

JM: The scale of activities and the diversity of the organization give great opportunities and flexibility in this regard. With us, you are free to develop in new areas, gain competence and change career direction without having to change your employer.

The international dimension of the team 

JD: How does the presence of international teams affect the work culture and development of people at Inter Cars? 

JM: The international scale of the company's activities certainly gives a multitude of perspectives and teaches cooperation in a diverse environment. We have common standards and at the same time we use local experience, which really improves the quality of cooperation, decisions and, consequently, services.

Competence development — theory vs. practice 

Development is also supported in practice, e.g. through participation in inter-departmental projects (...). 

JD: What tools and initiatives really support the development of people at Inter Cars? I mean training, development programs, mentoring — what actually works best? 

JM: At Inter Cars, employee development is supported by a number of specific tools and initiatives that respond to different needs — both professionals and leaders. We offer, among others, funding for learning foreign languages, access to development tools such as FRIS or Gallup, as well as programs such as the Manager Academy and the Project Manager Academy. Employees can also benefit from funding for studies, training and courses and take part in industry conferences.

Development is also supported in practice, e.g. through participation in inter-departmental projects, changing roles in the organization, daily exchange of knowledge and experience, and a culture of regular feedback. In addition, the initiatives of the Inter Cars Foundation enable the development of social and leadership competencies: our employees act as mentors in the Accelerator program, participate in volunteer projects and can carry out their own initiatives using Inter Dobro grants.

Work experience 

INgoing back to my beginnings in the company. I quickly felt that I was in a place where people were kind to each other, helpful, and open to cooperation, regardless of the position they held.

 JD: What surprised you the most when you started working at Inter Cars — something you completely didn't expect? 

At the very beginning, I was very positively surprised by the attitude of colleagues and the overall great atmosphere prevailing in the company. Every day, the better I got to know her, the more and more impressed me was the scale of Inter Cars' business. The number of countries, structures and teams, and at the same time the pace of development, made me realize how a huge challenge, but also an opportunity is to work on internal communication in such an organization (because originally I was supposed to deal mainly with internal communication). Then I also developed my business in the direction of Employer Branding. But back to my beginnings in the company. I quickly felt that I was in a place where people were kind to each other, helpful, and open to cooperation, regardless of the position they held. This impression was probably further enhanced by the fact that just after starting work I had the opportunity to meet Krzysztof Oleksowicz, the founder of Inter Cars. The opportunity to listen to him, to take a close look at the visionary who built a company of this scale, made a huge impression on me. It set me up very strongly in the perspective of thinking about the organization, its DNA and its values. This experience contrasted strongly with my experience in the previous organization, where the teamleader specialist was divided by light years in the organizational hierarchy. Not to mention that in order to talk to him about a simple matter, it was almost necessary to make a written request for an audience. At Inter Cars, contact with the most important people in the company took place and continues to be carried out on a friendly basis.

To some extent, I was also surprised by the trust and openness I received from my superiors. I came with ready-made ideas and got a real opportunity to initiate my own projects, test new solutions and make a real impact on how the company communicates with employees. This is not at all so obvious in such a large organization. And I think it was the combination of scale of action, cool people and trust in the employee that surprised me the most at Inter Cars.