The beginning of a new year is always a special time for the Balcia team; we are celebrating the hard work, creativity and dedication of those who have managed to shine brightest within Balcia and helping us reach several new milestones.
As we dive into what our team members have accomplished, we invite you to learn more about our organizational structure, see how it differs from the traditional task division and what benefits lie within.
An organizational structure that allows everyone to pitch in
Whenever we think of a work environment, the first image that often comes to mind is – start at the bottom and work your way up. So unless you're applying for a managerial position, there's going to be a boss, a boss's boss and a boss's boss's boss handing down strategic decisions for you to execute.
That would be similar to working at Dunder Mifflin, where your direct supervisor is the very spirited Michael Scott, who, in turn, reports to the quick-tempered Jan, who then reports to the COO, David Wallace. Meanwhile Dwight, who seems to be the most dedicated high achiever within the company, struggles to get anywhere for years and is constantly amused by a made-up position.
In short, we're used to a standard in which there's a lot of middle management and a strictly vertical hierarchical structure. At Balcia, we do things a bit differently.
The Balcia team works within a horizontal structure. While this does not mean that there's no managerial staff at all, comparatively, there are far fewer bosses and the ones holding these positions have more people under their wing.
Since a single person can't keep track of everyone in a large team, employees are encouraged to work more independently, communicate and generate ideas between themselves. People are more free to work towards the general company objectives as opposed to following a direct, pre-set path.
In practice this means that you don't have to run everything by your manager, but are empowered to make certain decisions yourself. This is further supported by the OKR (Objective and Key Results) bonus system, where we try to align personal goals with company objectives, giving Balcia employees the freedom to grow in a manner and speed they see fit.
Different promotion possibilities
While the horizontal structure in and of itself does not look like much in terms of promotional opportunities, that's not entirely true. In some ways, it provides even more!
Growth is not only about gaining more responsibility over the tasks you know by heart or going from a doer to a manager. It's expanding your knowledge and getting to know more about what other co-workers are doing and enhancing your own capabilities by learning from them. Therefore within Balcia, you not only have the opportunity to grow vertically, but also horizontally. It's a matter of where you want to go and how you see yourself evolving. As they say – the opportunity is there, it's just a question of whether you're ready to take it.
Growing within Balcia
Each year we review our employee performance, where in addition to task performance we evaluate such aspects as open and transparent communication, professionalism, individuality, ability to take responsibility, willingness to work independently and, of course, the ability to successfully cooperate with others.
As highlighted by our HR team, it's not only about results, but also the attitude you bring to work every day. Great ideas can fall through or take more time and effort than anticipated, but just because you might have a set back along the way, doesn't mean you haven't given it your all and that's what counts. For example, the Balcia mobile app. Last year it was merely an idea, but this year we managed to assemble a team of 10+ people dedicated to the project, quickly making this dream a reality for both iOS and Android users.
2023 – a year of employee excellence
We're pleased to announce that last year 29 Balcia employees across all of our branches have shown exceptional attitude and work ethic leading to a well-deserved promotion!
Laura Staļmakova, who joined Balcia less than two years ago as a Client Relationship Manager, has now been promoted to Corporate Client Relationship Manager. She shares that on her first day on the job, she got the impression that every day at Balcia would be extremely dynamic, bringing with it new and valuable knowledge. Thanks to this invaluable experience, she has now succeeded in her new position.
Sharing her view of the company's horizontal system, Laura says: "It has several advantages. First, it is a unique opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge and professional experience at an expert level, without losing any connection, interaction and presence in other key processes. Second, it allows you to be proactive, generate new ideas and share knowledge with other colleagues."
Meanwhile the newly appointed Head of Customer Relations Mirosława Szewczyk shares that her success is based on teamwork and working towards a common goal. “I strive to strengthen my team, inspire them to achieve their goals and take on new challenges. And I'm constantly motivated by people, both in my team and colleagues from other functions. Together we have a clear goal to follow and wholeheartedly support each other along the way,” says Mirosława.
On behalf of everyone at Balcia, we want to say a major congrats to each and every employee receiving a promotion this year! Your work and dedication are an inspiration to us all, especially those only considering joining our team!
Finally, it's worth noting that in addition to the existing motivational system, Balcia's managerial team continues to work on improving the company's performance review system. Going forward there are plans on organizing and integrating different lectures and training opportunities for the staff, as well as creating individual action plans that would help employees reach their goals much faster.
If this seems like your type of environment, don't forget to stop by our vacancy page and check our jobs in insurance for a potential match!
