Tamás' story: Learning together as a family

At Coca‑Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC) we’re not afraid of change! We’re always trying to challenge ourselves, trying to do things outside the box.

The company culture makes sure that we all learn.

CCHBC is a results-oriented, competitive organisation that works hard to stay on top, so there’s a demand for continual high performance, but we’re all here for each other. Our people and their attitudes is one of the most important things that brought me back. It inspires me how we push ourselves forward. When you’re a market leader, it is difficult to stay there – you need people who don’t hold back. And our people are just that. We’re open to change and ready to be brave in pushing forward, no excuses.

I first started at CCHBC in the Management Trainee program, which appealed to me as an opportunity to get a look into all the relevant parts of the company, so I would have an idea of how a large company works. I spent six years with CCHBC, launching Monster Energy in Hungary as well as working as a business development manager and finally as a business strategy manager.

I left briefly to work at a smaller private company because I felt I needed to grow, but I soon discovered the reason I had left was because I had grown complacent not because there was a lack of opportunities to grow at CCHBC. I appreciated very much the chance to return to CCHBC again after only a year away, and now I work as the At Work Manager at CCHBC.

I realised that if I wanted to grow, I needed to want to continuously improve and learn a lot. I love and appreciate having that opportunity again.

I believe that continuous learning and improvement is good for employees and for their families. I think this attitude teaches us that we can always do things a bit better. It means maintaining a focused, high-performance mind-set, but it brings incredible satisfaction to know that we did something well.

We must support each other, directly or indirectly, so that we can perform in such a way, and actually doing that with my team is what I love most about my job. I took over a team of 30, and there are always changes or challenges. I try to look after and support my team members’ personal lives, and of course I have a responsibility to involve them in the company’s strategy and how they can translate it into their daily job. They’re part of a bigger structure and need to feel connected. And I truly see in my team that they stand shoulder-to-shoulder to overcome anything, whether it’s a personal or work-related challenge.

It’s this team spirit that really sets CCHBC apart. CCHBC is a big organisation with so many different kinds of people, but if you’re a forward-looking, positive person, if you’re brave and respectful, you will do well at CCHBC. You’ll find that all of us will listen to you and try to learn from you. We learn together as family, or we do not learn at all.