Energy trading company MET has already offered the opportunity to a host of young talents to leave the boundaries of Central and Eastern Europe behind and achieve unprecedented success.
By Gergely Szabó, CEO, MET Hungary
The secret of success is that ever since its founding in 2007, all senior staff members regard the company as their own. You could say the company is a sort of self-realization for those who work here.
So what is it that keeps MET being attractive to talented people? In many ways we are innovators in our field. The tasks at hand are not only very interesting; our colleagues are also given complete independence in carrying them out. You come up with an idea today, make it happen tomorrow, and it becomes part of your life from the day after tomorrow. This way everyone can see clearly their contributions to running the machine.
If you look at the ever-changing list ranking Hungary’s economic elite, you will mostly see knowledge-based companies. These businesses also owe their success in business and on the market to the knowledge of these innovative professionals. In today’s world human resources represent a greater value than factories or production lines – that’s why fostering talents is the most efficient way to boost competitiveness.
At MET we have found that employing highly skilled, creative people also guarantees that “counter-selection” cannot take hold at the company. When those with less-than-adequate professional skills get to mid- or upper-level management positions, they will not be motivated to hire people who are smarter or perform better than they do – a process that only reproduces mediocrity.
Growing into a major company did change life at MET. Today we have colleagues from about 40 different countries, coming from a diverse set of corporate environments, so an open, inclusive company culture is self-evident. The company’s continuous growth offers several benefits. A basic principle of any growing company is that the success of somebody else makes you successful too. There is no envy or jealousy, but ambition and perspective.
Talented colleagues made the dynamic growth of MET possible. Originally founded in Hungary, the company is now present in 15 countries through its affiliates, and has undoubtedly become multinational. While we have grown into a European company headquartered in Switzerland, our roots are in Hungary, something we value highly and are proud of.