“With COVID-19 around, this year has been a challenge for nearly all companies, especially their HR departments. All the more pleased we are that ŠKODA AUTO’s project has won not just one, but two awards,” says ŠKODA AUTO Board Member for HR Management Bohdan Wojnar. “Our colleagues had to quickly expand their usual scope of responsibilities, such as recruitment and career development to include new coronavirus protection activities which, considering the size of our company, was a big challenge.”
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our employees for handling this unexpected situation so well and for helping us to cope by taking a responsible approach to it. Special thanks also to the KOVO trade union and the rescue organisations in the individual regions, from medics and paramedics to firefighters, police and the staff at public health offices,” says Bohdan Wojnar.
Made up of 380 HR officers and HR specialists, the jury assessed a total of 18 projects this year. Due to the increasingly strict coronavirus safety restrictions, the award ceremony took the form of an online streaming session on LinkedIn.
The winning project, ANTICOVID-19, focuses on activities aimed at protecting the over 36,000 ŠKODA AUTO employees at the brand’s three plants in the Czech Republic. It is a package of more than 80 measures to stop the spread of the infection as well as caring for employees at individual sites, humanitarian help for at-risk groups and supporting rescue organisations.
Nearly all ŠKODA AUTO departments have been involved in these measures, and the social partner, the KOVO trade union, has also helped a great deal to cope with the situation. Extensive cooperation with the Regional Public Health Office, the Ministry of Health and the Volkswagen Group has significantly increased the effectiveness of all project-related efforts. Besides other things, the project included issuing protective equipment, testing staff for coronavirus and regularly providing up-to-date information, including using two virtual healthcare centres and consultation helplines. A daily reporting system was also established that generates faster and more accurate data than those provided by the public tracing system.
The winning project, ANTICOVID-19, incorporates a wide range of activities that ŠKODA AUTO has been engaged in since the start of the first wave. As the Czech Republic’s largest provider of mobility in social services and healthcare, ŠKODA AUTO donated 100 ŠKODA OCTAVIAs worth approximately CZK 85 million to organisations throughout Czechia, provided underprivileged children with funds for distance learning equipment and donated 3,000 disinfectant & PPE packages to frontline staff.
Efforts made to help overcome the consequences of the ongoing pandemic take the form of dozens of initiatives, and ŠKODA AUTO has combined them all under #SKODAAUTOpomaha. For more information about these activities, please visit www.skodaautopomaha.cz.
