THE DELL computer company has opened new premises in Bratislava that promise to provide the city with 600 new jobs.
Dell's decision to increase their investment in the Slovak capital was a result of their good experience with the city so far, its large talent pool of people with good language and technical skills, and its strategic location, the company stated in a recent press release.
Michael Dell, the company's founder, announced plans to invest more in the Slovak Republic and praised its attractive location and educated workforce during his visit to the country in Spetember 2006. "We were very pleased to find such a huge amount of talented people in Slovakia," he said.
The new European Business Center will provide the Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region with support for a variety of business activities such as accounting, marketing, human resources, technical support, sales, and more.
The centre, which is located on Fazuľová Street on the edge of Bratislava's Old Town district, was officially opened on March 1. Representatives of the company's top management, Slovak government officials, members of parliament, and ambassadors representing a number of countries were all there.
Dell established its first Bratislava site in 2003. By the end of last year, it was Dell's third largest centre in the EMEA region with 1,500 employees. The computer company's new building will enable them to increase their workforce to more than 2,100 within the next few years.
According to Dell's Slovak website, the company is currently offering positions to qualified candidates who have good foreign language skills and who want to be successful in a dynamic environment. Dell is constantly searching for new talent to man its new Bratislava site.
People are Dell's most important capital, the website continued. The company's aim is to enable to its employees to maximize their effectiveness at work and at the same time maintain a healthy balance between their work and personal life. By having created a framework to help support this balance, Dell claims, it has demonstrated its ability and will to hold on to its valued team members and support the further development of their careers.
Dell's efforts to be employee friendly paid off when it won an award last year for being Slovakia's most family friendly employer at a competition organized by the Slovak Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. Seventy-one companies competed in three different categories - family-oriented policies, equal opportunities for men and women, and the most original family-oriented measures. The first year that it participated, Dell won first place for the most original family-oriented measures.
The new 11-storey building provides 20,000 square metres of office space that includes a canteen, two cafeterias, a sports shop, a fitness centre for 100 people, an aerobics studio, and a child centre for employees' children. Each floor has its own 'rest area', some of which include a terrace with a view.
The office layout is based on the open space concept, which Dell uses as a standard, claiming that it enables better communication at the workplace and supports team spirit.
Dell has tried to add an international flavour to the new site by naming every floor and its rooms after different countries and their cities. The English floor, for example, has the Oxford, Cambridge, and Liverpool rooms. Other world famous cities such as Frankfurt, Helsinki, Rio, Madrid, Cork, Linz, and Las Vegas have also been remembered.
Three-level underground parking is also available for employees and visitors.
