Sanja Milosavljević: Good day, good people, my name is Sanja Milosavljevic and I will be your host today. You are watching a Mondopreneur podcast, supported by the US Embassy in Serbia. The idea behind this podcast is to share the stories of successful women. And men, but the emphasis is on women. We want to highlight those good role models that exist all around us, they may just be hidden somewhere or they may not have enough self-confidence to go out and talk about their experiences. And as the month of March approaches and as the month that is somehow traditionally related to women, the idea is to actually present like, for example, today, a woman who is in a very high position in an international company. So, it is not only related to Serbia. I hope you enjoy my conversation with the guest, Dragica who works in VIP mobile provider. Well, I wouldn’t go into much detail, I’ll let Dragica introduce herself to you and tell you something about herself. Dragica, hello. 

Dragica Stojić: Hello!

Sanja Milosavljević: How are you?

Dragica Stojić: Well honestly, I’m just glad you invited me to talk about such interesting topics. I don’t often have the opportunity to talk about these beautiful things, especially when it comes to women, and apart from some of our challenges that we face every day as successful business women, as moms and finally as women in general. 

Sanja Milosavljević: What did you say, a moment ago? Mum has to be prepared for everything, right?

Dragica Stojić: Always prepared, yes.

Sanja Milosavljević: Always, yes. Mom is always ready. Would you please tell us something about yourself? For example, what is your educational background and how does your education correspond to the job you are currently doing? 

Dragica Stojić: I have graduated from the Faculty of Political Science. I have graduated from International Relations in Political Science. And basically, I’m in a completely different story now. Both literally and figuratively. But my education really, education in general, gives breadth and gives a different view of all the situations you encounter in life. But generally when you graduate college you are at the beginning. So, real experience is gained when you actually start working and when you start gaining some work experience. So my education has given me that kind of breadth, general education, and actually persistence in how some things can end up to the end. Like when you can’t pass an exam for the first time, you don’t give up but continue on, on, on, so today there are projects that may not go the way I imagined in the beginning, but I always remember the persistence I had to have in college to graduate successfully. So at work, it’s one of the connections I often recognize. 

Sanja Milosavljević: Well, yes, I do ask that question vety often – that’s the first question I ask my guests. What is the connection between their formal education and what they are doing at the moment. And for example, exactly what you said a moment ago – my current job has nothing to do with my education, but there is one breadth, there is persistence, there is the fact that I once started something in my life and finished it successfully, so I can do it. It’s just a matter of how I will either adapt or improve. Tell me, what has your life been like in the past year? We know that something has happened to us and we know that our lives have turned upside down. How was it with you? 

Dragica Stojić: It is like, and I think it is similar for most people. With the fact that in general we in VIP Mobile are very connected, to say like the community and that connection with the company helped me a lot to try to at least, occasionally, to disconnect from what is happening. At the beginning it was, of course, like for everyone else, full of uncertainties. We didn’t know exactly what was happening or how much of a real danger it really was, what we should beware of, so we were saving ourselves of the things we shouldn’t. We were somehow completely isolated in the beginning. Of course, we know what happened then. But we were all working from home at the time and we were working really, really, really hard. It was extremely important for us to ensure the health of our employees. That everyone has the right conditions to work from home. That colleagues at points of sale have adequate protective measures. That they can work unhindered. That was the focus for me so that I could shift some personal focus from all these things to solving that situation. That is, ensuring the safety of our people. And then it helped me not to worry, but to have the impression of keeping things under control and making decisions. It helped me feel so much better. And of course, daily contacts with colleagues meant a lot to me. Precisely because we were all isolated and with our families, and that was still my contact with the outside world. It’s like a feeling that those same people are still around me and that not much has changed, although it essentially has. You are essentially locked in one room and you have meetings all day and suddenly everything is online, all the people are far away but somehow they were close to me again. Because we were in online meetings all the time. So that was at the beginning. After that, as we already understood, and how the atmosphere relaxed because that period could not last that long. The management has returned to the company and we have been in the company offices since May last year, while our people are still working from their homes. It is still not the time for us all to get together and I miss that very much. But again, we are in touch every day. All projects are going according to plan, core business is going according to plan, everything is okay, we are all here. In terms of we are connected. But it is significantly, significantly different than it was before. I’m pretty used to it – that doesn’t mean I like it. But there are good things. 

Sanja Milosavljević: Well yes, you have to get used to that. Otherwise, what will happen? What is the alternative?

Dragica Stojić: You have no choice. 

Sanja Milosavljević: Well yes, you don’t have a choice. That’s it. You are going to get used to that and accept it as something that is happening or, what. What is the alternative? 

Dragica Stojić: There is none.

Sanja Milosavljević: There is none, no alternative. 

Dragica Stojić: I don’t think there is. That is the most important to understand. Life goes on, it has to. 

Sanja Milosavljević: Of course, of course. And tell me, how did it seem to you. Because, for example, I was very confused and very often talking to my friends, I know how much they complained about anxiety and some fears that suddenly appeared or emerged due to insufficient information or unverified information that has been the case since the beginning of the pandemic and how they treated us. For example, now about the vaccine, how was it for you? How is it – did you have any fears or did you have a negative reaction to the information they? 

Dragica Stojić: I read somewhere that the media informed us in a way as if the state of war was going on. And of course I didn’t like it, I really felt like something was happening that had no end. Or everything came to an end. But after a while – somewhere in the beginning, I followed the media because that was the only way to get some information. But as we are all in VIP Mobile, we formed a crisis team at the very beginning that was handling this situation in a way to ensure the safety of people, to monitor the number of infected people, to be in contact with people who may be or the members of their families, infected. And then those personal experiences of other people, helped me the most to actually overcome all those crises, to be their support and to understand that not everything is as we hear in the media. The media simply reported some of the most important and some, let’s say, the most specific cases, but in real life there are, of course, easier cases, this is not talked about because there is no space in the media for that. But it is very important to know, just that life can be quite normal, and if we take care and if we take care of ourselves that life simply has to go on. So after a while I really stopped following the media. Here and there I read some news to keep up to date, but we exchanged the most information in the team that dealt with the crisis. There are people who deal with and follow the decisions of the state crisis headquarters, and our HR, of course, and simply somehow, was my biggest – biggest source of information. And it has always been shown that what happens at the state level also happens at the company level, proportionally. When we monitor the number of infected, if it increases at the state level, it also increases in our company. So, that’s how we followed some of our numbers, trends, what we need to pay more attention to, how to protect people, how to encourage them, we also dealt with the fact that people just feel more comfortable at certain moments, to be some extra activities that will draw their attention, that at some of our team meetings, even team meetings that we may not have held live with such a large number of people, now this very way of communication allows us an unlimited number of people to attend. So we often had some conversations, not only about work but also in general to make people relax a little and see that we are all here, we are all together and we are all, after all, in the same situation. So that’s about it. 

Sanja Milosavljević: Yes, and tell me, before we started shooting, we discussed a bit on one topic that is very important to me, and that is that we have a slightly negative image of what it means to work for a large corporation. And I can’t say that it is constantly emphasized, but like, we have some bad emotions or we have some bad ideas about working in a large corporation. I personally think that working in, say, a corporation is an ideal place for a person to learn what the structure of a company is, what an organization should look like in a company, see all the sectors there, see how a project begins, develops and ends, so many things can be learned. Maybe someone doesn’t get along, maybe someone doesn’t like it, but in terms of learning how to run a business, I think that in corporations we can see it the best, and maybe it’s the easiest way to learn, if you’re open to it. What is your experience?

Dragica Stojić: You see, when you told me that in our conversation at the beginning, I was surprised a bit. I have to admit that in my environment, apart from the people who work in corporations, of course I also have people who are entrepreneurs and I don’t know that they have that feeling. My personal experience is that working in a corporation is a great experience. First of all, the opportunity to work with a large number of different people, which you do not choose. It’s just that they’re your associates. They are very different, you can learn something from everyone, whether you like it or not, you just have to work with them. And it is a great experience, and in my opinion the greatest thing is that even things that seem impossible to you in the beginning, are realized step by step. In the end, they are realized. There is simply nothing that cannot be done. That does not exist. There are just so many of us, more heads always know more than one, that’s right, and somewhere my experience is really that working in a corporation really allows you to develop personally, to understand how important teamwork really is. This is passed on to your private life and how you make arrangements with people privately, not just at work. Corporate culture, for example, has a profound effect on people’s development. On me especially. For example, I finished diplomacy, and when I started working in the company, I don’t think I had a shred of diplomacy in me. And now, after so many years, I see how much I have learned to resolve “conflicts” in a diplomatic way. Without anger, without emotions, without personal relationships, just constructive and goal-oriented. So a huge, huge experience and just what you said – how a company works, what it takes to be able to achieve its goals, which sectors, how the goals are achieved, how they are approached, what it looks like at the beginning of the year and how at the end of the year, how projects that are opposite to each other in the end succeed, both. And it’s a really huge, huge experience that’s precious, that I carry with me and that really no one can take away from me personally. It’s something that really and privately reflects on my life and how I end up struggling with some of my personal challenges. So I really wouldn’t trade working in a corporation for entrepreneurship, although entrepreneurship really has many advantages, but here I am – that teamwork and the orientation of different teams towards one goal gives that insight into different opinions and how we can all change things together. This can then be further reflected in a much broader category than the company, but in some broader categories there is a lack of that social culture, and companies nurture that corporate culture very much, which helps you to know how to approach it when you get stuck. How to solve something, and at the same time how to feel satisfied all the time as a hard-working member of the team and a hard-working member of the company. That really means a lot, a lot. 

Sanja Milosavljević: And tell me, do you have, I don’t know within another team or from the company, do you have a mentor? Someone you can turn to when you have a problem that you may not have a solution to at the moment or you don’t have the tools to solve it. Do you have someone to talk to? 

Dragica Stojić: You always have, of course, you always have more experienced colleagues. There are even colleagues who are potentially in some lower positions than me but have experience in some field. We also have a pretty friendly atmosphere and that is the first feature of our corporate culture. So I have freedom – especially since I have been employed in VIP Mobile for 14 years. And I hope at least that much more. You always have time to ask. You always have someone to invite for coffee, to talk about it. Whether your superior, your colleague, or a member of your team – you really have the opportunity to consult on a certain topic with a large number of different people. We are quite connected as a group, so we have very frequent contacts with other members of one group, and there is also an opportunity to exchange some experiences, to open topics if we have someone to say pinpoint, and to see how others solved it. Let’s see how some other companies in the same market solved those situations. You don’t always have to invent the wheel again. You just have people you can learn from and apply some good practices. And we talk a lot inside the company, and on some other projects you can also see how some challenges have been overcome, so you can apply them to your problem. So I don’t have a direct mentor, but to say that we are mentors to each other when we need it and that I really have the freedom to turn to colleagues who have experience in some area I need when I have a problem. Lots of different opinions. Sometimes I come out completely with a different way of thinking than the one I came with. 

Sanja Milosavljević: Yes, with starting approach…

Dragica Stojić: Yes, and really means a lot. Really means a lot. Personally and professionally. An opportunity to talk to people.

Sanja Milosavljević: Well, you said something, for example, you wouldn’t get involved in entrepreneurship, that you just feel comfortable working in a corporation. But does a person working in a corporation have to have a little bit of that entrepreneurial spirit? That an entrepreneur solves a problem that exists? How do you do that in your team, are you actually an entrepreneur within your company? 

Dragica Stojić: Absolutely. When you have a goal, you have one goal whether you are an entrepreneur or part of a corporation. And that is somewhere I would say as a good household approach. So, you are the host and you have to make sure that your household is functioning. Regardless of whether in my case it is a customer service, in another case running your own shop, your own private business – small, big. But you know what your goals are and you have associates with whom you need to achieve those goals. The only difference is in the number of people, maybe in the size of the teams, which of course is not always the case. But when I say entrepreneurship, I mean more “why shouldn’t I get involved”, because I would miss a large number of people with whom I cooperate and with whom I exchange opinions. From whom I learn and who also learn from me, which is also a huge satisfaction. Very often. While in entrepreneurship you are very often alone. You have challenges that you have to solve on your own. You are then very often both HR and executor of these activities all in one.  

Sanja Milosavljević: Woman for all seasons.

Dragica Stojić: Yes, woman for all seasons. In a corporation, you have the luxury that in addition to being a woman for every season, you still have a team of people who are the best in their business, you are surrounded by experts. You know, there’s – starting with that: talking to the user. My colleagues who are in daily contact with users, who have undergone training, who know what it means to talk to the users and meet their expectations will certainly do it much better than me. You know? So the difference is that you just have the privilege of working here with people who are experts in their business. And then every, even the smallest activity will be done in the best possible way, because it is done by a person who is an expert in it. And that is the privilege of the corporation. 

Sanja Milosavljević: Yes. I would like to ask you another question that has to do with the company you work for. I’m thrilled, I know at least four women who are at high positions in the VIP Mobile, and when I say – that’s it, top management. That’s not- yes. What does it feel like to be a woman and to work among other women to lead – sectors that are not- I mean, all sectors are equally important but this is for example, I don’t know, Finance, Marketing, Customer Service, these are the pillars of a company. How does it feel to be a woman in such a position? And how do you get to that position? 

Dragica Stojić: First, in every position whether you are a woman or a man, one comes, from my experience, through work and dedication. Ambition itself is not necessary, I mean, you should be ambitious, but ambition alone will not lead you to the goal. Simply, in my case, the opportunities came as a reward for what had been done well in the past. I never thought about it – you know that question in interviews, where do you see yourself in five years. I don’t even think about where I see myself in six months. I am always focused on the present moment when it comes to work. And, of course, long-term goals exist, but we need to know what we need to do today, what we need to do tomorrow to reach that goal that awaits us at the end of the year. You’re just dedicated to the job, you’re doing it the best you can and that’s my key motivation at all times, it hasn’t changed since the day one in VIP Mobile. That’s why I just told you that when we talk about “successful women in a high position”, I don’t see it that way, I approach my job responsibly and I try to do it the best I can. No matter what position I am in. I will do my job the best I can no matter what it is. And it is a kind of love for work that develops because it pulls you when you see good results or challenges that you manage to overcome, your love for work raises. You can’t wait for the next situation … if everything goes too easily, it’s not that interesting. 

Sanja Milosavljević: There are no challenges?

Dragica Stojić: That’s right, you don’t step out of your comfort zone here. So you don’t develop, you don’t build further. So you come to the position by work, perseverance and the desire to do what you do in the best possible way. Then the rewards come on their own. I mean, I’m really trying to educate my child in such a way that she doesn’t need to do something to get a reward, but by default she should try to do something the best she can, and the reward will come. And indeed in my case, it is so. And I am never burdened with what will be next, it will be what it has to be and it is mine to do my job the best. There are simply things that are not in our control. We may want something, but the most important wish is to do my job well. To make my people happy, to let us all know how we came to this together. It is the answer to the question of how to reach a position, and the answer to the question of what it is like to be a woman and what it is like to be a woman in a high position, again it is satisfaction. My strongest impression is the satisfaction that I have done everything quite well and successfully in the past and that the company believes in me that I can still contribute. And to pass it on to my people somehow. In contact with colleagues who are in the same position as me, I really don’t make a difference whether they are men or women. Nor do I see myself as a woman in a high position. Simply, the very name of the position is “Director of Customer Service” and it doesn’t matter whether the position is held by a woman or a man, what is important is that the person is dedicated or dedicated to the job. And from my colleagues that you mentioned and who are in the same business, I really try to get the best, what I need at that moment, and to get theirs somewhere – to say their commitment and support for my goals, to be what we are as much as possible bound on a daily basis to work together on these goals. There are both women and men and it is this diversity that actually gives charm to the whole business. Because there are big differences in thinking between women and men, and the more different opinions I think, the closer we are to better decisions and better work. So now the trend is to have as many women in management as possible. I really don’t look at it that way, nor do I see myself as a woman in that sense by default, but as a professional person. I’m trying to do my job the best, I’ve repeated that several times, but it really is, you know. I don’t think it would be any different if I was born as a man. Maybe it’s slightly harder for women because when we talk about that balance of private and business life, then women who are mothers and successful women, then we come to that – then I feel like a woman, like a slightly weaker sex because it is expected a lot from a women – both to be a mother and to be a housewife and to be a good wife and to be successful at work and that is the emancipation we were looking for somewhere, right?

Sanja Milosavljević: Well, that’s fine with me, I think – on the one hand, parenting is most often equated with motherhood. Like being a parent, yes, but the mother is the one who actually takes care of the child, and when it needs to be balanced, when they both want to build a career, when both partners in a relationship want to build a career, then you know – fatherhood is never equal to parenthood, rather then, motherhood is equal to parenthood. And then I love when I see- that’s why I said that. I love when I see you and your colleagues – I’m glad. I’m just glad. It’s a good signal, it’s a good message to other girls and women who may be thinking of taking the path you took, that that is possible. So just like you said yourself, try hard, do your best, do the best you know and the results will come. So because of that – I understand you when you say I don’t think of myself in the category I am a successful woman – from my perspective, you are. You and your colleagues and all the other women who are trying to achieve something are successful for me, for sure. 

Dragica Stojić: Well you know, one more thing very, very important. When we talk about how successful you are and whether you feel successful, and about parenting. I mean, I’m- I have a daughter and I’m her role model. If she sees me as a happy and satisfied mother, which means – for me, happy, satisfied means successful – she will simply be a happy child. And somehow she will build from a young age that desire for her to be happy and satisfied tomorrow, not only because she will potentially be realized as a mother, but also because she will have that personal achievement through work, because then she is one complete person. You know, we can never do just one thing in life. We just have to be ready – we as women, so to speak – to be moms, to be housewives when needed, to be successful business women. So simply, everything in life is done in parallel, you can’t do it one by one. You can’t raise a child first and then develop a career, because a moment will pass. You just have to seize the moment and seize the opportunity when it comes up. It’s not always at the best of times, yes, but you just have to find the strength within yourself to do all the things in life in parallel because that’s the only way to be a complete person. It depends, of course, on personal desires, on personal preferences. If you are interested in being successful, if you are interested in being a successful mom, a good mom and a happy, smiling mom the way you want your child to see you, then there are a lot of things I have to do today to when I get home I could really be dedicated to the child and a smiling, not nervous, not frustrated mom, I want to be a really good example to her. It is not difficult- 

Sanja Milosavljević: I believe you are. 

Dragica Stojić: We shall see, the time will show, it is still early to say.

Sanja Milosavljević: Well, you know what – it’s early but that’s it, that’s the base. You are now making a base for what she will grow into. You know, you can’t get confused if  she, at the age of18 or 20, shows or does something you might not approve of or don’t like or is beyond what you find acceptable, you’re building a base for it now. Now she needs to see what a successful, smiling, as you say – not nervous, not frustrated woman should look like. Well, can we talk a little bit about your job now? So, you are the Director of Customer Service, and now that topic is infinitely interesting to me because of my job – so I will now learn from you. Just kidding. But that relationship with clients is crucial, if you don’t have clients, you don’t have a business. 

Dragica Stojić: If you don’t have satisfied clients. 

Sanja Milosavljević: If you don’t have satisfied customers, correct. You can’t do anything, so that’s it. What exactly is that customer relationship? What does it consist of? Is there a tool we can master and learn in order to work better, that is, in order to better build a relationship with clients? 

Dragica Stojić: Of course. It is an extremely complex topic. It’s just that our people, in customer service, go through various trainings in order to be able to do that job. It’s a pretty demanding job. But what is- if I could reduce it to a few key sentences now, the most important thing is to meet the expectations of the users. We often say, if it is a complaint, let’s say – the user calls us and has a complaint. What I often advise my people and what I always bring them back to is that the complaint is resolved when an agreement is reached with the user. Agreement. When the user is satisfied in the end. Regardless, even when he’s wrong. I mean normally, as in every business, we have users who believe they are right and file a complaint. It is important that in this conversation with the user, in a really natural way, with a lot of understanding, with a lot of empathy, we explain to the user why this is so. The user simply has to understand what we are telling him. So, communication is extremely important. How do we talk to the user? We won’t talk the same with a business user who calls us and a user who is 65+. So communication has to be very, very tailored because that understanding is most important. And for us to understand what the user needs, to understand his needs, and for the user to understand what our response to him is. It is only when this conversation ends that the user of the consent formally agrees, but that he understands the answer, we can say that the user, although his complaint was not accepted, is still a satisfied user. Or whatever it is, whether it is an inquiry about some technical difficulties, it is simply important to take the time to listen carefully to the user and explain even more carefully to him in a way that he understands us. That understanding is key. Because if the user did not understand, he will call again. And again, and again. A repeated call means that the user was not satisfied with the first conversation. He did not get all the necessary information. He does not feel that his request or complaint has been accepted, that he has received the understanding he expected. Understanding, of course the situation he is in. Therefore, understanding the user`s requirement. Adequate communication, tailored to that user. And at the end of the conversation in which we agreed that we accomplished mutual understanding, after all. It is not literally like that in practice, but simply through the tone and communication with the user, you can see if he understood you, and in the end, through the assessment that the users give us, they speak in favor of the fact that they understood us. This must be constantly worked on because we are simply a support to both business users and residents or individuals, and we really meet on a daily basis with a variety of inquiries and a variety of people, but that’s the trick – that we can talk to everyone and that everyone can understand us and we can understand everyone in the first place. The first step is for us to understand what the user needs, so that we can provide it to him. This does not necessarily mean meeting the user if it is not really correct. But it really implies a detailed and beautiful and reasonable human explanation of why something is not as the user might have expected. 

Sanja Milosavljević: And where else do we make mistakes? For example, if I do not understand my customer or client, where can I still make mistakes and endanger – because we all know, I don’t want to repeat how much money we need to invest to get a new customer and how much money we need to keep the old customer. Where else can we – besides not understanding the customer, not hearing each other, where else can we be wrong when it comes to the relationship with the client? 

Dragica Stojić: You can make a mistake if you strictly follow the rules. So, the rules exist absolutely everywhere, in every business. But what we need to know is that there are exceptions. So we have to have enough sensibility to recognize an exception to the rule. You know, just customer service is a very big team, and not all colleagues have the same authority. But it is very important to recognize when an exception should be made. Strict adherence to procedures … you know, it’s like talking to a machine in that case. You know, we as a customer service are not just someone who has to know the procedures. We also need to know when there are exceptions – not in terms of violating procedures, but in terms of finding the use of rules in a way that still meets the user’s needs. So it must be felt that this is an exception, that this is a specific situation, that it is not all as it is written in our manuals, in all these training materials. You know, when people come to customer service they first learn the basic procedures. Normally, all the knowledge they must have. And after that, when you know the rules, you do combinatorics. How to literally combinatorially – how to find a solution for the user from all these rules. It’s that, to say, more advanced level of support. You have to have the feeling that the rules are there to help you, to combine them in the right way in the end, to solve what you need. So exceptions do exist, as in any business. 

Sanja Milosavljević: Thank you, this is a valuable lesson. 

Dragica Stojić: Yes, we just have an internal joke, the YM1P. You’re missing a piece of paper. It’s that simple, it’s something that is unacceptable these days from a user experience perspective. Unacceptable. So you can’t reject a user. That YM1P has become that internal joke when you answer the user that something is not according to the procedure and that it cannot be resolved. Everything is possible, we will just explain to you how and in what manner – sometimes it takes a little longer. Sometimes it’s a little bit harder. But anything can be done. If there is a will… 

Sanja Milosavljević: The will, yes. That is a prerequisite. That there is a will to solve a problem. Or situation, it doesn’t have to be a problem. It can just be a situation.

Dragica Stojić: Yes, I took the freedom to say a problem. 

Sanja Milosavljević: No, no… We have that habit of calling things a problem, and actually it is a situation. 

Dragica Stojić: A situation, indeed, for which there is a way out, you know. This is a banal example, for example, there are situations for which we really need the physical presence of the user, but the user is often prevented, perhaps for health reasons, for one reason or another. So it’s just that people need to have enough power to say – we call it people empowerment – to take some further steps to address user demands. And that is why communication with other sectors is important. You know, if I’m an agent in customer service and I’m on headphones today and I can’t leave the workplace – there are colleagues who are in the field and who can visit that user and do what is necessary so that the user does not come to the point of sale. That is why it is important to use that combinatorics of rules that I told you about. You know. If I can’t, there are another 1,400 people working in the same company, for the same goal in the end. It’s just important to think and use the knowledge you have. Do not strictly follow the rules. 

Sanja Milosavljević: Yeah, well you see that’s it. That’s why I’m – that’s why I like talking to you to demystify working in corporations a little bit. Now everyone thinks if you work in a corporation it’s a super competitive environment between colleagues and you can’t, you have to fight with each other and so on. These are some of the prejudices. I can’t say it’s really- 

Dragica Stojić: Really?

Sanja Milosavljević: Yes. That’s why your experience is precious for me, because I know about your experience, I wanted to share it, to demystify that it’s not like that, that working in corporations isn’t the worst thing that can happen, but that it can be really good. 

Dragica Stojić: But it isn’t`t. I really don’t know. 

Sanja Milosavljević: I know, I know examples that people just weren’t really happy working in corporations and that’s it. But that’s okay with me, too. Some like it and work in one, some don’t like it and can’t work in one. That’s fine. 

Dragica Stojić: I think maybe people make decisions like that too soon, you know. Your first encounter with a corporation is always an encounter with the rules, right? I told you that colleagues who come to us, first go through training and these are really rules, procedures, complete trainings, but the advanced level is how to use that acquired knowledge to combine rules. And then, in order to really have the tools in your hands to solve an issue and what at first glance looks like for someone who came on the first day, he will certainly say that it is not exactly according to the procedure, we cannot meet your needs. And someone who is a little more mature and who has learned how to combine rules will say okay, I can’t solve that for you, but I know who can. 

Sanja Milosavljević: I know who can, I know the man.

Dragica Stojić: Yes, literally! My colleagues will contact you in five minutes and everything can be solved simply. Anything can be done. I don’t have to do everything myself, but that is the strength of the corporation. That there are so many of us and then we can all really work together, it’s just important to understand, to recognize. 

Sanja Milosavljević: I would like to ask you one more thing for the end, since we are almost near the end of the conversation. I think it is – I think it is very important. We have seen in the past year that everything has turned around and now we are living some new values. If nothing else, we work from home, we order food online and that really changed our lives. We can talk about this or that, but our lives have really changed. We wear masks, we disinfect our hands and so on. This was not usual before. How has the relationship with the client changed? What are these new values? How do you, as the Director of a sector, how do you treat existing and new clients? I mean really- I think expectations have changed. I can’t say for better or worse, but they simply changed – I, Sanja Milosavljević, have changed. 

Dragica Stojić:  Of course. Well, here’s a very interesting example. During the lockdown period – from March to, I don’t know when, in May. 

Sanja Milosavljević: 7th of May, I know exactly.

Dragica Stojić: That’s right. We had a really large number of calls because the customers were at home and needed support. But you know what’s most interesting about that whole story? We had the best rated user experience after interacting with the user. Why? Because it’s simple – people work here. You know. People who talk to people. And that kind of empathy and understanding and enough time to dedicate to the user and to help them fulfil some of their needs without leaving the house, are the key. So the needs – the expectations of the users were to solve their requests without having to just get out of the chair. And somehow there are a lot of users who are not simple – they are not educated on how they can use the self-care application, how they can make online payments, there were a lot of users who, you know, pay the bill on time, and now they just can’t go to the post office or a bank to pay the bill. Well, that was the key role of customer service. To really show and explain to users how all this can be done without compromising their comfort at any time. And of course the empathy we just showed was the key, and the support we provided to customers was an investment to say some of our time, that paid off tremendously because customers reciprocated by really showing loyalty, the ratings the customer service received at the time, were exceptional. Exceptional indeed. Sometimes when we look at the results, we see that the conversations lasted longer, but that was the period when people needed that warm human word. It’s not the machine on the other side that says “Sorry your payment deadline has passed, we can’t turn your phone on, you have to go to the post office to pay the bill.” We are all really, above all, a socially responsible company, and that is why it is very important for us as individuals to do everything that is necessary to show users that even in the most difficult situations, they are our user. You know. They should get support from us at that moment. The key was that we provided them with support for things they thought had to come to a point of sale that they just didn’t feel comfortable leaving the house. They didn’t know how to use self-care tools, they didn’t know they could order a device or sign a contractual obligation online. We used that moment to really invest our time and give them maximum support and to show understanding for the situation in which we all, including ourselves. You know. There were some situations like – we all worked from home. Countless times during the conversation with the user, you could hear the child crying. You know? It seemed that that situation connected us even more, with the users, because it was clear to them that we were all in the same situation. You know, that means a lot. 

Sanja Milosavljević: We are all in the same situation. I agree with you.

Dragica Stojić: Yes, it means a lot. On the other side is a person that works from home, like I am, he cannot go out and pay bills, he cannot go out for a walk, and it is important that a customer gets a feeling that there is a person on the other side that listens to him, and understands him. That is quite a lot, very important. I mean, as well as in any other relation.

Sanja Milosavljević: Well, yes. It is a base for any other relationship that we are building in our lives, professional or private. Dragica, thanks a lot.

Dragica Stojić: That’s it? I enjoyed it so much that I can go on. It was so pleasant, the only thing I haven’t done, I haven’t made a coffee, and that was a mistake.

Sanja Milosavljević: I have made myself a tea.

Dragica Stojić: For a pleasure.

Sanja Milosavljević: Yes, yes, yes, to be a real pleasure. Um, thank you very much, I’m so glad. I can’t say I’m glad,I am excited, we saw each other, we talked.

Dragica Stojić: Same here.

Sanja Milosavljević: Thank you for your time.  

Dragica Stojić: Thank you for inviting me, I’m really glad to be with you – you’re a wonderful host.

Sanja Milosavljević: Thank you..

Dragica Stojić: Yes, you have prepared some good questions, you manage to get the good things from people. A person feels the need to open up to you.

Sanja Milosavljević: Don’t advertise it. Good people of the world, you have watched and listened Mondopreneur podcast. If you wish, you can always follow us on Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn. And you can always subscribe to YouTube channel and you can follow us on other audio platforms, available. Until next week, stay good and in good health.