Workshop for HR directors and professionals in the V4
Build the V4 HR Playbook together!
Benchmark, learn, and co-design what works in HR, across borders!
March 17, 2026 (Tuesday), 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
A high-energy V4 morning built for practice.
Walk away with a V4-ready HR Playbook. Practical guidance you can apply, defend and scale. Co-created with peers across borders. Grounded in evidence and real practice. Not theory, not buzzwords.
Online (Zoom link will be sent to registered participants only).
Language: English.
The event will be recorded, except for breakout room discussions. The recording will be used solely for internal summary purposes and not for publication.
Our central idea:
The V4 is closer than we think — and that makes HR solutions transferable. This workshop brings HR leaders across borders to share real practices, real dilemmas and real lessons learned, so you can see what works in neighbouring countries and take home ideas you can actually apply.
BACKGROUND OF THE EVENT
Good HR ideas don’t always cross borders — even when the context would allow it. In the V4, many organisations face similar constraints, yet strong practices often remain “local knowledge” and never reach neighbouring countries.
This online workshop creates a focused space for HR leaders to exchange proven practices and current challenges, and to surface what is worth adapting beyond one national context. The conversation is anchored in the project’s V4 research insights, so we can move from assumptions to evidence and zoom in on what matters most right now.
What are we working from?
We build on three things:
Large-sample regional insight on HR gaps in the V4 (research involving 2,000+ organisations).
National workshop learnings and tested “what actually works” experience from each country.
The draft content of the V4 toolkit: concise HR models, process-based implementation guidelines, and curated V4 best practices that are being integrated into the Best HRM Solutions Database.
The project turns academic and corporate know-how into practical HR tools for the region. HR 2026 delivers this in a 3.5-hour interactive workshop.
Five key topics – and the related action opportunities
We focus on five HR areas where the V4 shares similar structural gaps. Each topic is about one thing: what can be standardised across the region to make implementation faster, clearer and defensible in business terms?
1. Strategic HR integration
What does “HR at the strategic table” look like in V4 reality?
What is the minimum structure that makes it real, not symbolic?
2. HR digitization
Which HR processes are the smartest to digitalise first for tangible impact?
How do we stay data-driven and people-centred at the same time?
3. Talent and succession development
What are the minimum elements of a talent approach that actually retains people in the V4?
What makes a talent practice scalable across borders?
4. Rethinking job descriptions and roles
What does a modern role framework look like that reduces ambiguity and bias?
What can be a shared V4 template, and what must stay local?
5. Performance management systems
How do we build performance systems that create clarity and accountability, not admin burden?
What are the V4-proof success criteria and the simplest metrics?
In small group discussions, we collect specific, practical exercises and, above all, opportunities for action for each topic: what is worth introducing, transforming, or even abandoning in our countries.
Who is the event for?
For Senior HR professionals and HR leaders
shaping systems and priorities
Consultants and HR ecosystem experts
who translate models into practice
University educators, HR networks
supporting long-term adoption and regional learning
What will participants likely take away?
By the end of the event, participants will:
- gain a clear, evidence-based snapshot of HR in the V4 region and how the four countries compare
- pick up practical, transferable HR solutions through five live cases and peer exchange across borders
- identify 3–5 ideas they can realistically adapt in their own organisation across the five HR topics
- co-create concrete cross-border takeaways in facilitated breakout rooms, captured in a written workshop summary
- receive the presentation slides and the summarised outcomes from the small-group discussions exclusively as registered participants
In addition, attendees will be invited to stay connected through the cross-border V4 HR community and receive selected follow-up materials (research highlights, cases and opportunities for continued exchange).
Program
Opening & Welcome
08:50-09:00
Entering the zoom space
09:00-09:10
About the Best HRM Solutions project and launching the V4 HR community
Edina Kálmán, CEO of Knowhouse Consulting Ltd., the consortium leader of the Best HRM Solutions project
09:10-09:30
What do the findings tell us about HR in the V4? A data-driven look at:
- How the four countries compare to one another
- Where we stand versus Western Europe
- What the biggest gaps and opportunities are in 2026
Dr. József Poór, DSc, Research Professor, MATE, Certified Management Consultant (CMC), President of HSZOSZ
Five Best Practices. Five Live Cases. One Takeaway: “This can work.”
A dynamic, fast-paced showcase of 5 real-life examples across the five focus areas
09:30–09:40
Digital Without Drama: What We Automated, What We Didn’t
Topic: HR digitalisation
Mgr. Eva Hrůšová, MBA, Head of HR for the CZ & SVK region
09:40–09:50
Why Hiring Briefs Fail: A Recruiter’s View on Changing Roles
Topic: Job design & role descriptions
Katalin Farkas, Senior Consultant at Marksman & Wolf Ltd. Executive Search & Recruitment Agency
09:50–10:00
What Works (and What Doesn’t): Performance Management Through a Practising HR Leader’s Eyes
Topic: Performance management
Mária Mészáros, HR Business Partner at Cargill and Associate Member of the CIPD.
10:00–10:10
From ‘HR Supports’ to ‘HR Drives’: How We Got a Seat at the Strategy Table
Topic: Strategic HR integration
Mgr. Magdaléna Balogh, Deputy HR Director at BONARD
10:10–10:20
Keeping the People You Can’t Replace: A Talent Approach That Improved Retention and Internal Moves
Topic: Talent management
Ewa Siuda, Director of Hampton by Hilton in Świnoujście and Kyriad Stargard.
10:20–10:30
Q&A session
10:30–10:45
Break
Coffee, refill, reset — we’ll come back energised.
International Breakout Rooms: Deep Dives Across Borders
Facilitated, interactive small-group conversations in mixed-country rooms, focusing on the five topics.
You’ll exchange what works (and what doesn’t) across the region — and identify what a truly V4-compatible approach should include.
Small group topics:
10:45–11:20
1. Strategic HR integration
- How can HR make a meaningful contribution to business decisions and metrics?
- What structures, roles, and consultation forums strengthen the strategic importance of HR?
- How can an HR manager truly elevate their field to a strategic level?
Moderator:
Jozef Ďurian, Assistant Professor
Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica – Faculty of Economics (SK)
2. HR digitization
- Which HR processes will provide the greatest added value in the coming years?
- How can data-driven yet people-oriented HR operations be built within a company?
Moderator:
Sampras Femi Robert, PhD
Silesian University in Opava – School of Business Administration in Karviná (CZ)
3. Talent and succession development
- What programs truly support retention and future leadership succession?
- How can programs be adapted to the challenges of the digital and green transition?
- What are the key elements that research shows are common to all successful talent programs (business-driven selection, transparent frameworks, work-embedded development, strong leadership involvement, measurable results)?
Moderator:
K. Shihan D. Fernando, PhD
University of Szczecin – Institute of Management (PL)
4. Rethinking job descriptions and roles
- How are digitization and artificial intelligence transforming job profiles?
- What does “rewriting” job descriptions in a transparent, modern role system mean in practice?
Moderator:
Botond Géza Kálmán, PhD
John von Neumann University, Department of Finance and Accounting Assistant Professor
5. Performance management systems
- What does a performance system look like that is not an administrative burden, but a real feedback and focusing tool?
- What are the main success criteria for such a system?
- What metrics can be used to support the business benefits of change?
Moderator:
Szilárd Malatyinszki
Associate Professor at John von Neumann University
Facilitated, interactive small-group conversations in mixed-country rooms, focusing on the five topics.
You’ll exchange what works (and what doesn’t) across the region — and identify what a truly V4-compatible approach should include.
Small group topics:
Each group’s outcomes will be captured in writing and included in the workshop summary.
11:20–11:50
Back to Plenary: What We Learned in the Rooms
A structured, punchy share-out of breakout insights:
- key patterns across countries
- differences that matter
- practical suggestions to refine the models and guidelines
11:50–12:20
Roundtable discussion
How Do We Catch Up — and With What Exactly?
A cross-border roundtable with one HR leader from each V4 country exploring what “closing the gap” means in practice, where we should prioritise and why, and what we can do together regionally to accelerate progress.
Marianna Tóthné dr. Vankucz (Hungary)
Director of Human Resources at Robert Bosch Power Tool Kft.
Helena Marková (Czechia)
Assistant Professor, Silesian University in Opava – School of Business Administration in Karviná
Ms. Kristína Kavická (Slovakia)
Head of HR Zvolen at Aumovio
Marta Cygal-Majewska (Poland)
Business Development Manager at Betacom S.A.
12:20-12:30
Closing & Key Takeaways
A crisp wrap-up of conclusions, next steps, and how you can stay connected to the emerging V4 HR community.
Edina Kálmán, CEO of Knowhouse Consulting Ltd., the consortium leader of the Best HRM Solutions project
Cooperative partners
Main organizer and implementer of the conference and research:
Supporter of the Best HR Practices in V4 countries project
The project is financed by:
Terms and conditions of participation and registration
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
The event is free of charge, but registration is required.
The event is organized within the framework of the Best HR Practices in V4 countries project with the support of the Visegrad Fund.
The event will be recorded, except for breakout room discussions. The recording will be used solely for internal summary purposes and not for publication.
For questions regarding the event, please contact:
Natália Kósa
marketing and event planning assistant