Daria Pelenska of Swarovski: “Talking to a happy employee is a priceless feeling”

Daria started working in the retail business in 2016. After 2 years in RPO (recruitment process outsourcing) she moved to the internal HR team at Swarovski where she was responsible for retail recruitment mainly in Central Europe. “I really like the dynamic of retail business, where you can talk to many different people and also see results of your work very quickly,” describes Daria. “The feedback you receive when the whole team was successfully hired in a new store, or when you give the offer to the final candidate that is so happy because we made their dream happen is priceless,” continues Daria.

Swarovski has its own 43 stores in Central Europe. The iconic brand with the famous Swan has approximately 2000 stores worldwide. “Recently we have introduced our new Instant Wonder stores, where each store is represented by one or more of the five colors – white, pink, green, blue, and yellow – inspired by the prismatic result of light shining through the crystal,” describes Daria the latest in-store design of Swarovski. Walls are lined from floor to ceiling in the octagonal boxes themselves, used in a repeating pattern theme, inviting customers to embark upon a voyage of discovery and delight.

Latest Swarovski flagship store in Zurich. The store design is simply amazing!

The brand has also quite a unique HR approach because they don’t believe in traditional career paths. At Swarovski, every individual employee is unique. “We believe that opportunities to develop are everywhere in our company, but it is the employee who owns their career and development, especially their career for us is much more than a hierarchical move,” continues Daria.

The real challenge for the HR department of Swarovski especially in the Central European region is the low unemployment rate, which makes it tricky to find the right candidates for in-store positions where attention to detail is extremely important. The brand’s HR team is trying to tackle this issue with a creative approach and great passion.????

“It’s all about the conversation. It’s important to have an open dialogue between managers and employees about their development in the future and how to manage expectations together. You’re more likely to be considered for an internal move if you’ve clearly and openly expressed your desire. And we always give preference to our internal candidates.”

Swarovski offers employees to participate in various workshops, training, masterclasses, stretch assignments, mentoring and leadership programs, and other development opportunities. Great way to keep them happy and motivated! The proofs that they do it well are highly rated employee surveys and overall easy brand culture.?

?“Working with people gives me the most energy. I have the privilege to work with teams that are very open-minded and have lots of fun at work. That is very inspirational to me!” says Daria to round up great insight into the world of Swarovski.