For growth-oriented companies, HR is not just a support function, but a strategic area directly impacting business performance, competitiveness, and organizational culture. The example of the UBM Group shows that the key role of HR goes beyond the operational framework. A structured human strategy, support for data-driven decision-making, and the conscious development of managers and employees are essential for the company’s successful international expansion and efficient operations. How can HR be positioned as an active strategic partner in a dynamically growing company? We talked to László Kiripóczky, HR Director of UBM Group.

László Kiripóczky has more than 10 years of experience in the field of HR, having worked for telecommunications companies and international manufacturing companies. In recent years, he has led several international HR transformation projects and has significant experience in strategic HR planning, managing the implementation of global HR systems, and process improvement projects. In addition to HR, he has recently been studying the business and HR application of artificial intelligence. He has a clear ambition to use his knowledge as HR Director at UBM Group.

How do you see the role and value of HR in the long-term business strategy of the UBM Group?

The UBM Group is currently going through a very exciting period, as the company is redefining itself along a strong growth trajectory and finding the right organizational solutions to address the new organizational, cultural, and operational challenges that this entails.

I see the role and add value of HR in being able to translate the existing, highly ambitious business plans into the language of the employees so that everyone understands and sees their role in the future of UBM. It is important that employees feel that we are moving together in the same direction. UBM is fortunate to have a very strong human resources base and so, building on the existing pool of professionals, it is easier to support the strategy. At the same time, HR’s role is also to influence the development of strategic goals and actions, considering the interests of employees, and to continue building on the company’s heritage of almost 30 years, in line with the principle ’there is only one UBM’.

What are your main HR strategic priorities for the next 6-12 months?

One of our most important tasks now is to review the Group’s organizational structure to ensure that we can respond effectively to operational challenges in line with our growth objectives and to ensure that we have the necessary new competencies in place. This is essential to put our ongoing development projects on a strong footing and to be able to face new challenges with confidence.

In this context, we will also have the important task of strengthening core HR functions, including closer integration of HR activities in the Pilisvörösvár headquarters, and, in the offices abroad, unifying HR operations, and laying common foundations and processes. These will enable us to support the achievement of business objectives and employees as a much more coherent HR team, in the future.

As part of the HR strategy, we will also need to pay particular attention to rethinking HR data management, as it will play a key role in improving HR processes. In addition to these issues, developing the foundations for performance management, talent management and other HR programs that go hand in hand with becoming a large company will also be a priority in the coming period.

What tools and strategies can the HR department use to improve the effectiveness of managerial decision-making?

On the one hand, I believe that leaders can make good decisions if they have the best possible understanding of the issue. To do this, it is very important to have good corporate data management, in which HR has a key role to play as a support function and as a user of HR data. You don’t need to measure everything on the HR side, but you do need to know what data management needs to get the full picture before making certain decisions. This requires well-defined KPIs on our side to help prepare decisions. On the other hand, it is essential to standardize and clarify HR processes, providing a transparent environment and a clear grip for managers, and avoiding grey areas, misunderstandings, and difficult situations for employees.

In addition, HR is responsible for equipping managers and employees with the right skills to make decisions, so training and development programs, and in particular leadership development, are also a key area for decision support.

What would you do to make the employee experience even better?

UBM is in a fortunate position in this area, as the Hungarian HR team has been working for years to provide employees with as many opportunities as possible to achieve a positive employee experience. Existing programs – from volunteer opportunities to library rooms, office yoga, and sauna sessions – are popular with employees, not to mention our highly diverse benefits package. In the future, it is an important goal to increase the involvement of rural sites, foreign sales offices, and feed mills in these programs, in addition to the head office, and to make more of the opportunities available at our Pilisvörösvár location accessible to other employees.

In addition, we are constantly working to ensure that UBM, as an employer, can contribute as much as possible to the well-being of its employees, who are first and foremost human beings, and we must take a holistic approach to this: we must help them to achieve their goals both professionally and personally. This effort is recognized by the numerous family-friendly awards we have received practically every year since 2018.

How do you want to shape the organisational culture of UBM to meet the challenges of the future?

UBM’s growth and international expansion in recent years have inevitably set it on the path to becoming a major international company. However, the pace of growth has meant that the corporate and management culture has not always kept pace with this change, and there are also fears among employees about ‘multinationalisation’ and a lack of ownership of UBM’s corporate culture by foreign offices.

In this situation, one of HR’s most important tasks is to preserve existing cultural values, such as a family-friendly approach, while developing and raising awareness of the strengths of the corporate culture among employees and management.

Another key area for building organizational culture is the development of leadership. Raising awareness and reinforcing leadership roles and expectations has a profound impact on how employees feel about the organization. I believe that with a well-trained leadership team, it is much easier to solve any business challenge, as leaders are the key to getting the most out of the resources available to UBM.

What is the most important HR lesson you have learned in your work over the years?

One of the most important lessons for me is that as a leader in HR, you have to find the balance between HR representing the interests of the employees and the HR team while supporting the long-term strategy of the company. This is a strong dual focus that needs to be aligned. As a leader, the main lesson was that we don’t have to have the best answer to every question, we don’t have to understand everything, we don’t have to always have the best idea. It is more important to be able to align our team’s knowledge, our leadership intentions, and our strategy.