ista inside may 2012

inside

Focus

InternationalityOn thinking and working globally

International Staff Magazine

# 1 May 2012

Why do we have to be both globally present and locally strong?

Dear Employees,Almost one year after Fukushima, the political ef-fects of those events are quite different all over the world and are affecting our business in equally different ways. Not everywhere is a radical turna-round in energy policy felt as strongly as in Ger-

many. However, the key question around the world is always the same: how can we use energy more efficiently in future? Here, ista is a strong, interna-tional partner with cutting-edge technology. The key factor to our success is our local managers and employees. I am proud that we have grown closer together in recent years – one good reason for this issue of inside to focus on internationality. We still have a good way to go. So we must continue to concentrate on finding and exploiting similarities bet-ween the countries we operate in. After our brand relaunch last year, we will also continue to gear our communications to the future. In this respect, this issue of inside, which is the first to appear in the new design, is an important first step and I hope you enjoy reading it. Yours Walter Schmidt.

we grow 4 More dialogue: M.-A. Stangenberg

wants to ensure a greater exchange of views

we focus: internationality

6 Experienced: Interview with ista globetrotters Andreas Jelonnek and Olaf Hecht

12 Facts: Employees all over the world

13 Virtues: MoVE! – How employees and companies benefit from secondments abroad

we explore

14 Germany: What does the amendment to the Drinking Water Ordinance mean for ista?

16 Poland: Country on the upswing

we engage

19 Compliance: Why every employee benefits from it

we achieve

20 Top job: What employees enjoy about their work

22 Reliable: In Madrid, Gilberto Hernández is known as the friendly ista electricity meter-reader

24 Foundation stone: Trainees report on their ista deployment abroad

26 USA: Thomas Lemper adopts new approaches as the CFO

Walter SchmidtCEO ista International

… the Burj Khalifa tower, at 828 metres the tallest building in the world, is equipped with ista metering technology? It is looked after by our office in Dubai and the ista Service Centre in Bucharest bills the electricity.

Contact us! »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»Do you also know something about ista that should definitely be shared with your colleagues? Simply send an e-mail to: [email protected]

Did you know that ….

4 5

ista inside # 1/2012 ista inside # 1/2012

we grow we grow

NEW DIrEcTIoN For commuNIcATIoNS

TakIng Off InTernaTIOnally

Maika-Alexander Stangenberg, Head of Corporate Communica-tions since the autumn of 2011, wants to promote dialogue at ista, also at international level, and make greater use of digital channels.

S tyle is a simple way of saying complicated things – and not the other way round”.

This quote by the French novelist and direc-tor, Jean cocteau, is hanging in full view next to maika-Alexander Stangenberg’s desk. The 41-year-old has been leading corporate com-munications at ista since last autumn. After the new brand identity made the new strate-gic direction visible to the outside world in 2011, he is now working with his corporate communications team on gearing communi-cations to the future. To him “simple, under-standable, contemporary and dialogue-orien-ted” are the most important features when it comes to characterising ista’s communications.

“In a global company, the overall brand concept and communications need to set a much clearer frame of reference than before,” he says. Therefore, we have to hone the ista profile and communicate it much more offen-sively than before, also within the company. A clear profile which should, to a large extent, be identical, credible and without contradic-tions to all target groups but should never-theless have some rough edges. At the same time, this makes it necessary to harmonise communications across all national organ-isations, above all through a stronger plan-ning process. “So far communications has not benefitted enough from group-wide collabo-

Maika-alexander StangenbergHead of Corporate Communications

ration. Particularly with such a lean struc-ture as ours, it is crucial to ensure a greater exchange of ideas takes place.” According to Stangenberg, Pr is country-specific, therefore the strategy is: as global as necessary, as local as possible. International communications planning has to support the countries in their efforts to be visibly communicative, even with few resources.

Stangenberg believes that communications must all be from the one mould and planned as an integrated system: “We do not need a colour-ful bunch of messages but we want to create communication lighthouses which support the corporate strategy of positioning ista as the leading energy service provider.” The aim is to strengthen the international corporate brand and so further develop ista, also in the public’s perception, as the global leader in energy man-agement solutions. “We should communicate our strengths more offensively. We have many interesting stories to tell, particularly in the in-ternational context.”

Identifying with the brand one focus is internal communications: “We must work on anchoring the brand personality of ista more strongly within the company.” It is only content which provides the necessary stability and recognisability across different regions. “The employees are the control vari-ables in this. communications is ultimately the key factor when it comes to achieving iden-tification with the corporate culture and the corporate brand.”

A strong brand lives primarily from with-in the company and only then can it also be communicated well outside. The function of modern internal communications is not merely to be the mouthpiece for messages

from the top management. on the contrary, it is important to develop instruments which permit a thriving dialogue in the company. “The world has become more complex and un-predictable. Products and market conditions are changing faster than they used to. There-fore, today the challenge for internal commu-nications is rather to explain relationships, developments, strategies and challenges in-side and outside the company.”

Pure dissemination of information is get-ting more difficult; dialogue platforms which also permit direct feedback are becoming more important: “The cEo blog was already the first step towards providing an insight into strate-gic decisions. It is now important to introduce the organisation to social media.” This is a lengthy process and cannot be achieved from one day to the next; after all, communications must also fit the respective corporate culture. “Various aspects have to be considered by Hr, Legal, Internal Audit and IT. We are currently engaged in intensive talks so that we can set the right course in the months to come.”

“online communication is the most im-portant Pr discipline; this is where the chan-

nels all come together.” The individual media channels are currently changing at enormous speed. “If Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn has changed the world in which the employees live outside the company, ista must also keep pace with this development. We cannot in-vent our media landscape ourselves,” of that Stangenberg is sure. The importance of social media is increasing. “We are developing from a monologue to a dialogue, from listening to joining in. Both outside with respect to the customer and also inside the company with re-spect to employees and managers.”

Appealing to the employees Given that the ista portfolio is changing and a large number of products and services are being added, the company needs to open up and explain new strategic developments more than before. In the online age, there is no longer “one” type of journalist. Quite the contrary, a citizen journalism is developing in which customers also have a much greater public influence on communications.

The corporate communications team has obtained valuable information from an

“ Not a colourful bunch of messages but we want to create communication lighthouses.”

in-house survey conducted at the beginning of the year in which more than 1,000 em-ployees rated internal communications and their experience with social media. “As far as content is concerned, the majority of the re-spondents were interested in topics dealing with strategy and products, but also in stor-ies about the people at ista.” And many want greater use of digital channels such as blogs, chats and newsletters at ista: “We have made a start on this. With an inside product family, we will in future be using different channels to provide employees with interesting news in an appealing layout.”

Alongside inside and a newsletter, which will be providing information on new prod-ucts and industry news every four weeks, the infonet is also to be used more as a nerve centre of internal communications. “regard-less of which department somebody works in at our company, the employee will always be the centre of attention. The better each one of us is able to obtain information about ista and the company’s goals, the more each one of us can contribute and identify better with ista in the long term,” Stangenberg is convinced.

Write to us! »»»»»»»»»»»»»»What do you think of our communications strategy? [email protected]

7

ista inside # 1/2012

we focus: internationality

AN INTErVIEW WITH GLoBETroTTErS

DIScOverIng new MarkeTSIn the last 20 years, Andreas Jelonnek and Olaf Hecht have explored new markets, assisted in setting up new companies and so have driven international growth forward. And as a “side-effect” they have also got to know countless countries on their travels.

8 9


we focus: internationality we focus: internationality

Did you know that employees from over 50 different countries work together and speak 19 lan-guages at ista? To be successful at a global level, however, you have to overcome more than just linguistic obstacles. Andreas Jelon-nek and Olaf Hecht can tell you all about that. inside spoke with the two colleagues, who have trav-elled (nearly) the entire world on behalf of ista.

inside: You have both got around quite a lot in these past years. Can you even say how many countries you have visited in total?Jelonnek: At a guess, I would say it must have been about 31.Hecht: If I’ve counted right, it must be 48 for me so far.

What are the countries you are most often in now?Hecht: Just recently I went to china for 3 1/2 weeks. The project I am currently working on involves analysing electronic heat allocation meters. We examined a total of about 14,000 housing units which are equipped with 61,000 doprimo III sensor net. In the next step, we then developed solutions for a better quality of meter-reading.Jelonnek: Basically, you will often find me in the countries and emerging markets. Personal contact with the country managers and local staff is very important to me.

People who travel a lot find themselves in really hair-raising situations on occasions. What about you? Hecht: Well, yes, there have definitely been some of those! For example, I remember a roll-ing Stones concert on the copa cabana in 2006. 1.3 million visitors were there and I was right in the midst of it. After the concert, there was a shooting in a side street and panic broke out. That was indeed quite a hair-raising expe-rience. Brazil is well known for being a hotbed of crime anyway. I can personally testify to that – I have been mugged twice and robbed there. During a short trip to mexico, a colleague and I got caught up in a police raid. But we were lucky as we weren’t locked up in police cars like the others.

actually, I have never really put my foot in it. my motto has always been: Be friendly, not too pushy, listen carefully and try to get to know the country as quickly as possible. To my mind, that also includes going to the supermarket as well as travelling by bus and underground and not just by taxi. And it also means getting a taste of the night life here and there.Jelonnek: Knowing a country’s ground rules is certainly an advantage when you are travel-ling. If you’re visiting Spain, for example, you should remember that you can’t get an evening meal there before 10 at night. It is only then that most of the restaurants open. Anybody who doesn’t know that might be in for a rum-bling tummy. Another thing I just remem-bered to say about Arab countries is that the weekend there is not on Saturday and Sunday but on Friday and Saturday.

Jelonnek: one experience which is indelibly im-printed on my mind already happened about ten years ago. It was then that I experienced the sheer power of nature at first hand: in 1998, I was on my way from San Diego to Washington, my plane had just taken off and was ascending fast when it was struck by lightning. It sound-ed like the rattling of a tin can when it is being shaken. All of sudden, it went dead quiet in the plane. Nobody knew what had happened.

Then we heard the voice of the captain tell-ing us we had been struck by lightning. Fortu-nately, the plane had not been damaged so we were able to fly on to our destination without having to land in-between. Putting your foot in it might not be dangerous but it is definitely embarrassing.

Every country has its own very special peculiarities. What tips can you give your colleagues which they should remember when travelling abroad?Hecht: In Arab countries, you should always be more reserved. At the very start when I was frequently in the middle East, I wanted to shake hands with a veiled woman – the wife of a customer – as I greeted her. The irritated re-action of the two of them quickly showed me that such behaviour was not appropriate. But

Andreas Jelonnek

Olaf Hecht

Andreas Jelonnek and Olaf Hecht have travelled to a total of 79 countries around the world.

“I had the opportunity to shake hands with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.” –– Andreas Jelonnek

Olaf HechtHas travelled to 48 countries

in nearly 20 years.

Andreas JelonnekHas been travelling around the

world for ista for 20 years.

anDreaS JelOnnek is a passionate musician and opera singer

Head of the Region South Europe/ Emerging Markets

20 years at ista

31 countries travelled

6.5 languages spoken: English, Danish, Czech, French, Spanish, (sings Italian), German (native language)

3.5 million miles travelled

Olaf HecHTis writing a book about his experiences on his travels around the world

Responsible for identifying and developing new markets

19 years at ista

48 countries travelled

2.5 languages spoken: German, English and a little bit of Portuguese

2.5 million miles travelled

10 11



Peace SIgn In most western countries, it stands for

victory or peace but in the UK, Australia or South Africa, this gesture is also a grave

insult and means “Get lost!” (when the palm of the hand is facing the person making

the sign).

If you are abroad, you should have an open at-titude to strangers and embrace theircultures, and that also applies to the local cuisine. What unusual dishes have you already discov-ered on the menu?Jelonnek: The most exotic thing I have ever eaten was sea monster. It is a seafood which is considered to be a delicacy in china. It looks like a rain worm with thorns and has a very un-usual taste. The locals swear that you will live to a ripe old age if you eat it regularly.Hecht: I was once served bull’s testicles which I also bravely ate. They actually don’t taste of

anything but you have to keep chewing them for a long time as they are very tough. That was back in 1995 in chita in mongolia. I can still remember it well. I couldn’t phone home for 2 weeks. That was really hard.

That brings us to the next question: an ad-venturous and exotic life is all very well but frequent separation from your home and family is certainly one of the downsides of your work. How do you handle that?Hecht: Particularly for me as a family man, these long separations were and still are always

very difficult. Birthdays, school reports or little parts of everyday life – I often couldn’t be there to share these events with my wife and chil-dren because I was halfway round the world. And you can’t just phone dad when you want to if it is daytime in Germany and night-time in Brazil. As nice as the last 20 years have been and as proud as I am of what I have achieved – I can never catch up on the many moments with my family which I have been forced to miss. Jelonnek: Yes, that’s right. There are always two sides to every coin. on the one hand, travel-ling greatly enriches your life, both from the

“In Natal, Brazil, I once went with a meter-reader to the favelas on the edge of the city’s waste dumps. There was filth and dirt everywhere, even dead horses were lying there. Quite a contrast to the 400 m2 luxury apartments a few streets away. ” –– Olaf Hecht

“Customer focusing also works like this: we offer our customers some-thing special, a network which others don’t have. When we invite inter-national customers to NAA conferences and they have the opportunity to establish contacts with high-ranking people, that also strengthens their relations with ista. ” –– Andreas Jelonnek

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

THuMbS uP In Europe, this is generally a sign of approval.

This gesture is understood quite differently in the Middle East. There it means “Up yours!”

Anybody who wants to order a beer in China using this sign won’t just get one but five bottles. In Brazil, by

contrast, the gesture means “Thank you”.

knOwIng THe PITfallS Of geSTureS

PHOne geSTure If you only extend your thumb and your small

finger whilst keeping your hand closed, in Germany this is a sign that you wish to talk to the other person on the phone. In China, this gesture

stands for the number six and in southern Europe, for example Italy, it is a sign for drinking.

“If you don’t speak the language, then communicate with gestures” – that is what most people do when they are abroad. But you have to be careful because sign language is not the same the world over.

Here are some examples which should promote better intercultural understanding.

DOn’T gIve JeT lag a cHance

01If possible, choose convenient flights departing in the evening and arriving in the morning.

02Try to adjust to the new time several days before the flight. If you are flying from west to east, go to bed one to two hours earlier and get up earlier. If you are flying from east to west, go to bed later and get up later.

03As soon as you are on the plane, change your watch to the time of your country of destination right away.

04Drink plenty of fluids during the flight, that is to say a lot of water or juice and preferably no alcohol.

05Move around during the flight if possible.

06After arriving at your destination, you should immediately switch over to the rhythm of day and night there. Sleep and eat at the local times and stay awake over the day even if you feel tired.

07Eat food which is easy to digest and does not lie heavy in the stomach. Carbohydrates in small amounts make it easier for you to sleep while proteins make you more awake.

08Spend the first day outdoors during daylight hours so you give the sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin, no chance and stay more awake over the day.

09Relaxation techniques such as autogenic training make it easier for you to go to sleep.

10On short trips, you should not bother to get your body used to the new circumstances but retain your old biorhythm.

Tiredness, mood swings and reduced powers of concentration: Travellers on intercontinental routes dread having jet lag. Here are some useful tips for jet-lag-free travel round the world:

professional and the private aspects. on the other hand, it greatly restricts your private life. Therefore, I make a point of keeping in close contact with my family and friends. Thanks to Skype, nowadays it doesn’t cost a fortune any more to phone home every day, wherever you are in the world.

You have both several million air miles un-der your belts. I’m sure you have some good tips against jet lag.Jelonnek: Well, this is my personal anti-jet lag programme: on night flights, I try to sleep on the plane. During the flight, I only drink water and leave all meals out after 8 pm local time. once I arrive at my destination, I don’t go to bed until the evening. And I always try to do sport regularly.Hecht: I have a similar plan. If possible, I sleep on the plane and drink a lot of water. Before I go to sleep, I occasionally allow myself a glass of wine – but no more.

Last but not least, we would be interested to hear what you consider to be your personal highlights. What experience during your trav-els left the biggest impression on you? Hecht: What comes immediately to mind is Dubai eleven years ago. It was my first visit there and everything was still desert. No com-parison with today! Since then, entire cities have been built in the sand, including the tall-est building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. That deeply impresses me. A programme of abso-lute contrasts and another experience which I will never forget was the carnival in Brazil. In 2006, I got the chance to be in rio de Janeiro to experience it “live”. Jelonnek: I still have vivid memories of meet-ings with high-ranking uS politicians. At dif-ferent events of the National Apartment Asso-ciation, the American umbrella organisation of real estate associations, I had the opportu-nity to personally shake hands with the former presidents, Bill clinton and George W. Bush, as well as their Secretaries of State, condoleezza rice and colin Powell. That was really some-thing special.

“One time, I wanted to shake hands with a veiled woman.” –– Olaf Hecht

USA

530 287 243

Austria

98 59 39

Switzerland

23 15 8

Luxembourg

26 11 15

Denmark

179 76 103

Belarus

21 13 8

Norway

19 18 1

Russia

9 5 4

Spain

358 255 103

Belgium

67 50 17

Romania

115 40 75

Czech Republic

44 13 31

Italy

38 21 17

Slovakia

19 7 12

Bulgaria

14 5 9

Hungary

11 6 5

Turkey

21 14 7

Brazil

22 14 8

China

17 12 5

Poland

105 54 51

Netherlands

108 55 53

UAE

6 5 1

UK

39 20 19

France

696 491 205

Germany

1647 787 860

Number of men

Number of women

Some countries shown in magnified size Source: ista, as of 31.12.2010

12 13



moVE!

InTernaTIOnal excHange

eMPlOyeeS By NuMBerS

Promoting international exchange, further developing employees, grow-ing globally –these are the objectives which ista pursues with its strategy. The global initiative MoVe! sup-ports the course of internationalisa-tion. employees who would like to work abroad can apply online. in-side talked about this to Tanja Per-bix, who is responsible for MoVe! in the Corporate Hr department.

inside: Ms Perbix, let‘s suppose an employee in Belgium would like to work in Spain. Would that, in principle, be possible or are there certain requirements which he or she would have to fulfil? Tanja Perbix: Well, the first requirement is, of course, that we learn about the Belgian em-ployee‘s interest and that he or she applies to us. only then can we examine the deployment possibilities and specific requirements in Spain. We do not require any specific qualifications or job experience but the host country, in this case Spain, must clearly benefit from the employee‘s deployment. After all, it foots the bill for the transfer. This is why it is generally employees with specialised knowledge who take part in the moVE! programme. often we already know them from local development programmes. What exactly is meant by specialised knowl-edge naturally depends a lot on the position. So far, specialised knowledge, e.g. in the finance sector or in operations and sales processes, has been most in demand, often in conjunction with managerial experience. However, it could soon also be software or product know-how from other countries that will be required. We are definitely going to keep the programme open to all employees. Naturally, knowing the language or being able to learn it quickly is al-ways a requirement.

Altogether, we are 2,302 women and 2,530 men, working for ista in many different occupations in 25 countries. We are deployed in the service

of our customers in europe, the uSA as well as in the Middle east.

How can employees find out about job vacancies abroad?Perbix: We publish all moVE! positions in our job market on the global infonet. We also e-mail the information to the Hr managers of the countries who then actively publicise the jobs. The uSA and France have just recently been linked up to the online job exchange. So all va-cancies of the three largest countries are now always available online.

Is it also possible to submit an unsolicited application?Perbix: Even if there is no specific moVE! job advertised which would suit them, employees can also apply for the so-called moVE! pool and express their interest in working abroad, as we just discussed in the example of Belgium and Spain. As soon as we hear of a vacancy, we check to see whether any suitable applications have already been received. So we can fill va-cancies even more quickly.

The MoVE! manager, Tanja Perbix, has herself already worked at other ista companies, for example in France and the USA.

infonet »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»You can find further infomation on the infonet: HR & People >> MoVe! or at [email protected]

14 15


we explore we explore

New Zealand:

1,200cubic metres of water consumed per person per year.

Germany:

390cubic metres of water consumed per person per year.

Spain:

710 cubic metres of water consumed per person per year.

Luxembourg: 100cubic metres of water consumed per person per year.

uK: 150cubic metres of water consumedper person per year.

chile:

2,200cubic metres of water consumed per person per year.

ista KNoWLEDGE

cOMParISOn Of waTer cOnSuMPTIOn

ista GErmANY SuPPorTS HouSE oWNErS

fIgHT agaInST legIOnella bacTerIa

every year, some 20,000 people become ill in Germany as a result of Legionella bacteria infections. That’s too many, says the gov-ernment. It is therefore now also obliging owners of multi-family houses to conduct regular checks of the drinking water.

L egionella bacteria like it warm and moist: the rod-shaped bacteria develop

and multiply particularly well at water tem-peratures of between 25 and 55°c. It is there-fore no wonder that they are frequently found in piping systems, hot-water tanks and air-conditioning systems. The Legionella bacte-ria mainly become dangerous when people inhale them – for example when showering. The bacteria are carried on fine water mist which gets into people’s lungs and can cause serious infections there, such as Pontiac fever or Legionnaires’ disease.

Landlords under an obligation In order to reduce the risk of infection with Legionella bacteria, the German government introduced an amendment to the Drinking Water ordinance at the end of last year: since November 1, 2011, not only public buildings but also multi-family houses have to be regu-larly checked for Legionella bacteria. Labora-tories specially certified for this examination

take water samples twice at various points in the piping system and analyse them. All test findings must be sent to the public health de-partment responsible within two weeks. The users are also to be notified of the results with-out delay. If the admissible limit values are ex-ceeded, the owner of the building is obliged to determine the cause of the elevated levels and combat the bacteria – for example with chemical or thermal disinfection.

ista offers comprehensive service package “complying with this new regulation in-volves considerable effort for building owners,” explains Karsten Zastrau from the Business Development department at ista Germany. “In view of this, we have developed a modular

service package for our customers. This helps landlords and property managers with all the tasks and obligations arising from the amend-ment to the Drinking Water ordinance.” To-

crITerIaThere is an inspection requirement for residential properties if the following criteria all apply:

– the property has more than two residential units

– at least one residential unit is let– showers are installed– there is a central drinking water

heating system– the hot water tank holds more than

400 litres or– the pipe between the hot water tank

and the water withdrawal point contains more than 3 litres of water

Karsten Zastrau “The Legionella bacteria values could

be too high in roughly 20% of the drinking water systems in Germany.”

Sampling points

01 Hot-water tank outlet

02 Circulation pipe inlet

03 Sampling point farthest away

gether with partner companies and a certified laboratory, ista is handling the installation of sampling taps, all necessary analyses, punc-tual communication of the data to the public health department as well as disinfection and rehabilitation measures. “The major advan-tage for our customers is that they only have to contact one person and they conveniently obtain all solutions from one source,” Karsten Zastrau says.

Inspection now only every three years?Although the new provisions of the Drinking Water ordinance have just come into force, those responsible are already considering a change to the amendment: The German Fed-eral ministry of Health is planning to extend the inspection interval from once a year to once every three years. The Bundesrat (upper house) intends to vote on the new bill this June or July. If, however, the regulation re-mains unchanged, time will be of the essence. For then landlords of multi-family houses will have to take action this year.

“Complying with this new regulation involves considerable effort for building owners” –– Karsten Zastrau

03

01

02

Source: oEcD, 2011

couNTrY PorTrAIT oF PoLAND

lOcaTIOn wITH gOOD PrOSPecTS

caPITal

WarsawfOrM Of gOvernMenT

Parliamentary republicHeaD Of gOvernMenT MInISTer PreSIDenT

Donald Tuskenergy

Over 90 % is generated using indigenous coal.*

area

322,575 km2

POPulaTIOn (aS aT July 2011)

38,441,588OffIcIal language

Polishcurrency

Zloty

16 17


we explore we explore

even though Polish people prefer to gather wild mushrooms than play football, in a few weeks, everything will revolve around the round leather ball in the coun-try on the Odra and Vistula.

J ust 30 years ago, the whole idea of holding the European Football championships in

Poland would have simply made people smile. After all, the country was still firmly in the grip of communism then. But the changeover to a market economy in 1989 was to mark the start of Poland’s impressive advance: Today, Po-land is the sixth largest economy in the Euro-pean union (Eu) and has developed into an at-tractive business location. ista, which has been operating in Poland since 1993, also received support from iSS in the form of a centralised billing service virtually from the beginning. ista Polska really noticed the effect which join-ing the Eu in 2004 had on the country: “Pres-sure on prices increased considerably,” coun-try manager Tomasz Bazga explained. “But we have steadily improved our competitiveness with innovative ideas and are the number one in Poland when it comes to heating cost billing. our intention is to also increase the services sales to a much higher level than be-fore. ”

Good prospectsDespite competition and high pressure on prices, the business prospects are promising for ista: so far, only half of all housing units in the entire country are billed based on con-sumption. ista currently services nearly 1 mil-lion housing units and therefore has a 35% share of the market. “So we are the leaders in the Polish heat market,” says Tomasz Bazga.

“We want to further extend our lead and equip more than 100,000 housing units with heat meters in the next three years.” The country manager hopes that an amendment to a law making consumption-based billing obligatory

for all Polish citizens will give the ista business a further boost. For although all new builds have to be equipped with water and heat me-ters, heat cost allocators, consumption-based billing is - still – voluntary at the moment.

New structure brings higher sales A new structure is also driving the business forward. In 2006, ista Poland divided the coun-try into three regions - North, South and West – and completely reorganised Sales. In 2011, ista Poland and Sales Improvement engaged a Pol-ish consultancy firm to conduct a comprehen-sive analysis of the market in order to identify previously untapped sales potential. “Some results confirmed our assessment of the mar-ket situation,” says michael Gessner Nielsen, Senior Business consultant, Sales Improve-ment at ista. “But we also discovered some new market opportunities, primarily related to the range of services.” So in future ista Poland will increasingly also offer its customers water meters. It is also planned to push the migration to radio meters. ulrich Fischer, regional man-ager West/East Europe, is satisfied with the re-sults of the Sales Improvement project: “I am sure that these findings will help us to boost growth in Poland.”

Tomasz bazga

Since 2007 managing director of ista Poland. age: 40 Marital status: Tomasz Bazga is married and has a daughter Hobbies: Tomasz Bazga is a passionate motorcyclist. Further hobbies are diving, skiing and travelling.Motto: “Reach higher than expected.”

ista Poland

founded in: 1993business focus: consumptionbased billing of energy, water and heat customers: Building associations, housing co-operatives, property managers, local authorities and energy utilities number of employees: 105branches: 10

ista branches in Poland

Most customers of ista Poland are housing co-operatives

* Although 7.5% of the energy officially comes from renewable sources, most of the renewable energy is biomass and is mainly wood burned in private households. In order to reduce CO2 emissions, Poland wants to start using nuclear energy and the first nuclear reactor is to be connected to the grid in 2020.

Country Manager Tomasz Bazga

“We are the leaders in the Polish heat market” –– Tomasz Bazga

gdansk

białystok

warsaw

Łódz

Poznan

wrocławlublin

katowice

kraków

Szczecin

Housing co-operatives

Gminas (municipal)Public Building Societies

Condominiums

Property managers

732 83%

658 %

29 3 %

19 2 %

35 4 %

19we engage18


we explore

comPLIANcE

OrIenTeerIng In DIffIculT TerraIn

When the press reports about compliance, it generally involves bribery, fraud or similar criminal acts. It is often difficult to under-stand when reading these reports what compliance actually means. It does not always refer to blatant misconduct. In business termino-logy, compliance means the ob-servance of laws, guidelines and policies in companies. But that definition does not necessarily sound easier to understand. inside interviewed the expert at ista, Günther Meggeneder, Head of In-ternal Audit, to throw some light on the subject.

Interview with Steffen Möller, author of the book “Viva Polonia – a German guest worker in Po-land”.inside: Mr Möller, as an expert on Poland, I’m sure you can give us plenty of tips on how to behave at a business lunch in Poland. Above all, what should I wear?Steffen Möller: If it is the first meeting, the rule is: it is better to be elegant than too casual. A German teacher, who recently visited my school in Warsaw, took me aside and asked me: Is it a public holiday today? – No, why? – Be-cause all the teachers are dressed so elegantly. – That’s how they dress every day!

How important is being punctual in Poland?Möller: If it is the first meeting, you should defi-nitely make sure you arrive on time. However, the better people know each other, the more they may turn up “fashionably late”. In general, in all my different jobs I can say I never ceased to be surprised at how punctual people are for work. Poland is certainly not mexico.

Do people use surnames or first names?Möller: Surnames are not used very much in Poland. At the first meeting or at official events, you use mr (Pan) or mrs (Pani) and the person’s surname. As soon as you know each other bet-ter, you go over to using Pan or Pani plus the first name. Among colleagues, people gener-ally use first names. It is always surprising for Polish people that German colleagues still use the person’s surname, even after five years.

WHAT You SHouLD rEmEmBEr AT A BuSINESS LuNcH or DINNEr IN PoLAND

SubTle DIfferenceS

What do I have to remember when greeting somebody? Möller: You never shake hands over a thresh-old. That’s where the ancestors’ bones were buried according to an old superstition. rela-tives and friends kiss three times on alternat-ing cheeks. In business life, however, people normally shake hands. It used to be normal

to greet a woman with a kiss on the hand but this tradition is gradually dying out. In the Pol-ish provinces or at a meeting with an elderly gentleman, a German business woman must, however, still expect her counterpart to kiss her hand.

What do people in Poland like to talk about? Football?Möller: Football is not a very popular topic to talk about – because the Polish footballers have been unsuccessful for many years. Instead, the Polish prefer to talk about wild mushrooms. collecting wild mushrooms is a national sport. Anybody in Poland who does not wander through the woods carrying a wicker basket on a weekend between June and September is just as “antisocial” as a German who watches a black-and-white film on the “arte” TV chan-nel during the final of the European champi-onship.

Steffen Möller, born in 1969, is an actor, author and cabaret artist. After studying philosophy and theology, he moved to Poland in 1994 where he is regularly to be seen as an actor and TV present-er. In 2006 his first book was pub-lished in Poland entitled “Polska da si lubi ” (English translation: “Poland is likeable“). In 2008, the German version appeared “Viva Polonia – Als deutscher Gastar-beiter in Polen” (Viva Polonia – a German guest worker in Poland“). For his contribution towards pro-moting German-Polish relations, Möller received the German Fed-eral Cross of Merit in 2005 and was nominated for the Prix du Livre Européen in 2008.

inside: Mr Meggeneder, what exactly is compliance? Isn’t it primarily a manage-ment issue?Günther Meggeneder: certainly not, the con-duct of every individual is crucial to the repu-tation of our company. We must all observe laws and regulations and that applies to both our professional and private lives and at every hierarchical level.

But surely the focus is on how companies deal with this subject?Meggeneder: Yes, that’s right. The legal require-ments are becoming more and more stringent. The regulations which companies have to ob-serve are getting more and more complex. This means that pressure is growing on companies to guarantee that they are properly observed. At the same time, a number of headline stories in the media have ensured that the general public now pays much greater attention when a company is guilty of misconduct. Therefore, it is important to provide employees with gen-eral guidelines on what laws and policies are relevant so as to protect every individual, and therefore ista as a whole, from harm.

What does this mean exactly for the employee? Meggeneder: Basically, all of us come into con-tact with the subject of compliance on a daily basis even though we are not always aware of this - for example, when we place orders, pay invoices, receive invitations or go on business trips. There are rules for all these activities which we must follow or, in business jargon, “comply with”. For example, two signatures are required for all orders over Eur 100. Any-one going on a business trip has to look into visa and customs requirements in good time.

How does ista help in these cases?Meggeneder: Firstly, we have set up a section on the infonet where the latest guidelines and policies can be read. Secondly, my team and I are also available to answer any queries.

ista operates worldwide in 25 countries. What impact does that have on compliance?Meggeneder: Every country has different laws and regulations which have to be observed. But, within our company there are also basic rules which apply regardless of the country and place you are working in. To make it easier for employees worldwide, we have drawn up a code of conduct which applies internationally and which employees can read at any time on our infonet. After all, you can only stick to the rules if you know them.

Contact us! »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»Do you have any questions on compliance? Günther Meggeneder, Head of Internal Audit, and his team will be glad to assist you: [email protected]

infonet »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»You will find an overview of all the guidelines on the infonet at Company >> Guidelines

“The rule is: it is better to be elegant than too casual”–– Steffen Möller

19we engage

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we achieve we achieve

Contact us! »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

Do you also think that ista is an excellent employer? We look forward to hearing your story:[email protected]

“A positive working atmosphere and good teamwork are par-ticularly important to me in my job. But, for me, personal development opportunities are also key to job satisfaction.

An employer who invests in me and helps me to improve my professional qualifications shows he values me and my work.”

Soïne nesmon, Management assistant, ista France

verena kensbock, apprentice at ista germany (dual vocational training combining an apprenticeship as a whole-sale and foreign trade clerk and a degree course in International Management)

“When I started working life, the training possibilities my employer offered were particularly important to me. ista is giving me the opportunity to do an apprenticeship and study for a degree at the same time.

Whether by giving me money for books and days off to learn or by paying my tuition fees, ista offers me support which makes my life as a dual student a lot easier. other companies do not do as much for their young people!”

Justin adams, Operations analyst, ista North America

“I enjoy working in a company that shows it appreciates its workers. Here in Alpharetta, for example, ista gives all employees a free lunch every Thursday. They also organise activities such as bowling, football and the annual “Spring Fling”. I’m already really looking forward to it. I am willing to go the extra mile for a company that invests so much in the well-being of its employees.”

“A good employer should know that the success of a company is largely due to its employees. So it is important to invest in the staff, train them and develop them into highly qualified experts. After all, they are the basis for the company’s further devel-opment and for a strong market position.”

Malgorzata wilczek (left), Clerk at iSS Poland, billing team USA

“A secure job is very important to me personally. A good em-ployer offers me this job security so I can concentrate on my personal development.

At ista, I can keep developing because I get to work on many different projects. I also like the good working atmosphere – it motivates me and encourages me to work efficiently”.

angela garrido-estévez, HR manager at ista Spain

“After the birth of my second daughter, I had to find the right balance between work and family. It was not an easy decision for me but I have reduced my working time to 32.5 hours per week so I can hold down a job and bring up my children at the same time.

Spanish law supports part-time work but the most important thing is that your employer also plays ball.”

agata Pazdzior (right), Clerk at iSS Poland, billing team Germany

Do You HAVE A ToP JoB?

wHaT really cOunTS In wOrkIng lIfe In Germany, ista has already received an award for the second time in succession as an excellent employer in the SMe category. All employees of ista Germany had previously been asked about communications, culture, leadership and staff development. The positive findings make us curious to know more. After all, ista operates in a total of 25 countries. So let’s take a look beyond Germany’s borders.

once a year, ista North America organises an outdoor event for employees and their families. Alongside hamburgers and hot dogs, the event offers a football tournament, volleyball, a can jam and lots more. A DJ provides a relaxed atmosphere.

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A DAY IN THE LIFE oF GILBErTo HErNáNDEZ

“PaInTIng IS My PaSSIOn”

Gilberto Hernández knows (al-most) every little corner of Ma-drid and meets new people every day. The passionate hobby artist has been working as an electric-ity meter-reader for ista in Ma-drid since the end of 2010.

I am a classic career changer,” Gilberto Hernández explains. “Before I came to

ista, I worked as a fitter for air-conditioning systems and before that I was a painter by trade.” The 48-year-old family man still de-votes every free minute of his time to art but between 9.30 and 6.30 every day he is busy reading, dismantling and installing electric-ity meters. “In the evenings, I go to the office to transmit all the data I’ve collected from my PDA to the central systems at ista. I usually also take a quick look at my routes and desti-nations for the next day.”

Gilberto Hernández really enjoys his work. “As I am on the road all day, I meet lots of peo-ple. I have even become friends with some of them,” he says with a smile. “It is often older people who are particularly nice. Sometimes they even offer me something to eat or drink

– just because they are so pleased to see me.” on his tours, Gilberto Hernández often discov-ers areas and places in madrid which he didn’t know before. He is also interested in the archi-tecture of old buildings.

opportunity for young artists Gilberto Hernández is frequently inspired by the impressions gathered during his daily work and incorporates them in his paintings and sculptures. “my paintings mainly deal with human relationships and social prob-lems,” the family man explains. “And I like to combine different painting techniques.” Gilberto Hernández is in close contact with

Successful entry into the electricity market

Spain is one of the few ista coun-tries which operates in the elec-tricity market. Until six months ago, the southern Europeans ge-nerated most of their sales with gas and water meters. The deci-sive factor for this new direction was the merger of the Spanish energy utilities, Gas Natural and Union Fenosa, in 2008. ista had already worked for the gas utili-ty, Gas Natural, before the two companies merged.

Good experience with istaThe gas supplier already had good experience with ista read-ing its gas meters. The merger with the electricity supplier, Union Fenosa, then also present-ed ista with an opportunity to enter the electricity market. The Spaniards seized their chance, recruited 33 new meter-readers and electricians, re trained their gas meter-readers and provided their employees with new tech-nical equipment.

“My paintings mainly deal with human relationships and social problems.”–– Gilberto Hernández

international galleries and has already shown his works at art exhibitions in Spain, cuba, mexico and canada.

As well as doing his own painting, Gil-berto Hernández helps young artists to gain a foothold in the scene. “In cuba, I ran a house for young artists for some time. Since then I have organised an exhibition every year for the works of young talented artists to make them known in cuba. I also exhibit the best paintings here in madrid.” The next exhibi-tion is probably being held in June. “I would be delighted if one or two of my ista col-leagues came to see this exhibition,” Gilberto Hernández says.

01 Oscilacion (The Stroke of the Pendulum)

02 Homenaje a René Magritte (Homage to René Magritte)

03 Frágil (Fragile)

04 En busca del tiempo perdido (In Search of Lost Time)

Gilberto Hernández48 years old, married, 2 daughters (6 and 11 years old)

HobbiesGilberto Hernández is a passionate artist. His other hobbies are cooking, cycling, reading and going for walks.

Positions at istaGilberto Hernández has been working as a meter-reader at ista in Madrid since November 2010.

01 02

04

03

33 new meter-readers and electricians

retraining for

gas meter- readers

new technical equipment

olé

24 25



MaIl frOM ...ista trainees explore the world. They report on their impressions

and experiences during their work abroad.

Maike lettow is 21 years old and has been doing a dual education programme at ista and the University of Applied Sciences (FOM) in Essen (de-gree in Business Administra-tion) since 2009.

She has already completed the vocational training part of the programme to become a whole sale and foreign trade clerk. At the moment she is working at ista in the IT Solutions Man-agement department. Maike Lettow will probably complete her degree course this year.

Her hobbies are the triathlon, travelling and cooking with friends.

Salut! After working for some time in the Communications

department in essen, I am now working here for ista in

Massy for four weeks. Here, I am helping Christelle Protat

to restructure and update the French Intranet and Internet

websites. I’m really enjoying the work. Firstly, because it

is very creative. Secondly, I’m quickly getting to know the

various departments and colleagues as I regularly attend

meetings with them. Luckily I had French at school for nine

years and so I have hardly any problems with the language.

In the lunch break we go to the canteen together where there

are various menus to choose from every day. And as you get

a whole hour off for lunch here, I have enough time to eat in

peace and chat to my colleagues.

Paris itself is fantastic! I have found a small apartment

which is so central that I can go on foot to Notre Dame and

still be in Massy in 25 minutes. So it’s obvious that I spend

every free minute discovering the city – either jogging, in a

cafe or in one of the many museums (by the way, they are

generally free of charge for students!). And of course I have

now learned how to carry a baguette properly!

Lots of greetings from Paris

Janna

Janna carina bülhoff is 21 years old and has been doing a dual education programme at ista and the University of Applied Sciences (FOM) in Essen (degree in International Man-agement) since 2010.

She has already finished the vocational training part of the programme to become a wholesale and foreign trade clerk and she will complete her university studies in 2014. At the moment, Janna Carina Bülhoff is working in various departments at ista‘s head of-fice to get to know them.

Her hobbies are roller skating, jogging and reading.

77 Zeichen Übersatz

¡Hola!After Australia, ecuador and the Netherlands where I lived and worked for a total of two years during my studies, I have now ended up again in europe this time: as part of my trainee programme, I am currently working for three months at ista in Madrid and getting to know more about the finance sector here. This is very exciting as some of the local struc-tures are different to those in Germany. The business field of metering is entirely new to me and is handled here by the ista subsidiary, Incatema. To gain an impression of this business, I was on the road today with a Spanish meter-reader. It was really great fun and I learned a lot.

I have to admit, life here is more pleasant than in the ruhr area: the sun shines, it is warm and you meet friends in front of bars and cafes at any time of the day or night. The people are friendly and open and that made it very easy for me to feel at home. unfortunately, my trip to Spain will be over again in a few weeks. Then I head on to Ballerup in Denmark – I hope I can take a bit of sun with me!

Greetings from sunny Spain

Henrik

Hi everybody, I have already been here in Murcia, southern Spain, for a

few weeks and am enjoying the sunshine (I even went swim-

ming in the sea in February!). As part of my dual education

programme, I am doing one semester at the universidad

Católica San Antonio de Murcia. I really like the university

where I am studying subjects such as operative marketing,

international project management, international accounting

and finance! It gives me the chance to also gain intercultural

experience during my studies.

The lectures go on here until the evening but during the

“siesta” (from 14.00 to 17.00) and later on in the evening I

frequently meet up with my housemates and other interna-

tional students. Then we often go to a cafe or pub.

Here, there are special language exchange evenings

when, for example, German, english or Spanish is spoken!

My Spanish is coming along quite well – thanks to my crash

course. But that’s also necessary because in Murcia there

are hardly any tourists and you don’t get very far here with

english. In spite of its 500,000 residents, nothing is ever very

far away in the city and we do almost everything here by

bike. All in all, I am really enjoying my stay here!

Greetings from Murcia

Maike

... MurciA

... MADriD

... PAriS

Henrik eichholz is 27 years old. His hobbies are basketball, fitness training, playing the piano/key-board, skiing and travelling. However, Henrik Eichholz not only travels a lot in his free time.

He spent a total of two years abroad during his bachelor degree course (International Business) and his master de-gree course (Applied Finance).

He has been working at ista as a finance trainee since February 2011.

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we achieve

NEW cFo IN THE uSA

wITH THe enTIre faMIly TO THe STaTeS

Thomas Lemper has been the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of ista North America since the beginning of March. inside spoke to him about the challenges of his new job.

inside: Mr Lemper, what is the particular attraction of this new position?Thomas Lemper: Firstly, I have a much broader range of responsibilities here, secondly, the business environment in the uSA is much more dynamic than in Germany. I find the busi-ness process outsourcing sector particularly appealing. This is a field of business in which ista North America offers special IT services for energy retailers. They outsource large parts of their processes to us or handle them using our software platform ista|net. With sales of some uSD 42 million, ista was one of the largest and most successful providers in this market last year.

What goals have you set yourself as the CFO?Lemper: Above all, I would like to be actively involved as a sparring partner in the further development of the uS business. my task is to create transparency regarding the economic development, identify efficiency potential and make sure that we grow profitably.

What does the move to Alpharetta mean for you and your family?Lemper: Basically, we are starting again from scratch – but with the certainty that we will be

returning to Germany some time. my wife and children are not coming to Alpharetta until July but naturally they are already in the midst of preparations at the moment. For the chil-dren, the move will also mean learning a new language.

What is typically American for you?Lemper: Everything is simply bigger - every-thing is “supersize”: my first visit to mcDonald’s ended with 20 chicken mcNuggets, French fries for 3 people and 1.5 litres of coke. And that was just for one person! That’s what happens if you don’t listen carefully when you’re ordering and simply say yes to all the questions ...

The Americans also take decisions much more quickly than we Germans. Decisions are taken immediately and impulsively. I also no-ticed that while house-hunting. If you don’t im-mediately say yes or want to have a few days to think about it, you may well lose out to some-body else.

Have you ever stayed in the USA before for any length of time?Lemper: Yes, twice during my studies. In fact I spent several months in miami on an internship.

What will you miss?Lemper: mainly our friends and our family – even though they are only a Skype call away from us. I will probably also miss “proper” choco late and the typical German bread.

CHEERFUl COlOURS87 employees of ista Poland gave the “Dom Pod Kasztanami” orphanage in Siedlce a new coat of paint during a painting campaign in December 2011. But it was not only the walls that shone brightly afterwards, ista also brought a touch of colour to the children‘s everyday lives with this campaign.

Sidlce

lIkE AnGElS These two employees of ista Romania, Camelia Bosoi and Monica Nonea, did not just donate their blood to help other people. They also actively helped organise the blood donation campaign in Bucharest at the end of 2011. For this work, they were awarded the “Angel Diploma”.

BucharestThomas Lemper38 years old, married, 2 children Hobbies: family, friends, cooking, running

Positions held at ista:

2006 to 2009Group Controller at ista International; responsible for the Region South Europe and iSS

2009 to 2012Head of Controlling Region Central Europe

HelPIngWITH HeArT AND SOuL

Quick, uncomplicated and hands-on: that‘s the way ista staff tackle things both on and off the job. Whether in Poland where they re-decorated an orphanage or in

romania where lives were saved thanks to employees’ blood donations.

ImprintPublISHeD by: ista International GmbH, Corporate Communications, Grugaplatz 2, 45131 Essen, Tel.: +49 (0) 201 459-7160, www.ista.com reSPOnSIble: Maika-Alexander Stangenberg (Head of Corporate Communications) eDITOrIal TeaM: Katrin Gaub (Head), Andrea Goedel, Julia Schwedes, Maika-Alexander Stangenberg, Merve Tugcu, PR-Partner Köln DeSIgn anD IMPleMenTaTIOn: grasundsterne Werbeagentur und Corporate Publishing GmbH, www.grasundsterne.de, Tel.: +49 (0) 89 720 169 100 PHOTOS: adpic; fotolia; ista International; iStockphoto; Neubauwelt: 11; Markus Winninghoff: 28; Taxiarchos228 from the German Wikipedia: 25 PrODucTIOn: Woeste Druck + Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Essen-Kettwig cIrculaTIOn: 5,000 copies worldwide (German, English, French, Polish)

THankS TO: Günther Meggeneder, Olaf Hecht, Andreas Jelonnek, Tanja Perbix, Karsten Zastrau, Thomas Lemper, Marian Sisu, Jagoda Augustyn, Angela Garrido-Estévez, Gilberto Hernández, Agata Pazdzior, Malgorzata Wilczek, Soïne Nesmon, Christelle Protat, Justin Adams, Art Sieger, Verena Kensbock, Karin Wenkel, Ignacio Abatí, Malgorzata Kisielewicz, Henrik Eichholz, Janna-Carina Bülhoff, Maike Lettow, Ulrich Fischer, Michael Gessner-Nielsen, Tomasz Bazga.

what object or what situation have we hidden behind this smile?

Please e-mail your solution by June 15 to:[email protected]

You will find the answer to our picture puzzle in the next issue of inside.

1st prize: Hammock

2nd prize: bicycle iPhone holder

3rd prize: nordic walking poles

A smile says more than a thousand words.

Join in and win!

ista inside may 2012

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ista service centre

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