Meet out Product Manager from Slovakia: If you can’t find a suitable solution, create your own | People of Accace

In our new series #PeopleOfAccace, we will take you behind the scenes of Accace through a series of interviews. You will learn how new services or solutions are created here, who has been with Accace the longest and what positions they went through over the years. But most importantly, you will get to know our amazing people.

In the first interview, we will introduce you Andrea Horvátiková, who has been working with us for three years and is slowly, but surely transitioning from the position of Office Manager to an entirely new position as Product Manager, where she will focus on the development of our product book!t.

What are you dedicated to in Accace?

Currently, I am still in the position of Office Manager, so my main focus is on avoiding phrases like “I don’t know, it’s not possible, we don’t have it,” and instead, I aim to solve and eliminate problems. The scope of employment in this position is truly extensive, especially considering that we have offices in 3 cities in Slovakia (Bratislava, Košice, Trenčín), which require thorough management. I also engage in regular communication with suppliers and colleagues, handle business trips, and organize internal events. I am responsible for the smooth running of our reception and oversee the development of my two talented colleagues who welcome us every morning in our Bratislava office. Of course, I must mention our new product, book!t, which we created when we realized we have more heads than desks, and we couldn’t expand the office space endlessly. We also wanted to provide our colleagues with the benefit of sharing managerial parking spaces right in the building.

What allowed you to transition to your new position?

Accace as such, led by our Managing Director Peter Pašek, made it possible. It’s not common to work for a company that allows such career growth and development. I felt that I wanted to focus primarily on the development of book!t, and over time, a person at work and in their agenda develops, transforms, finds out what they actually wants to do. I like to educate myself, move forward and I care very much about always doing work consistently, responsibly, and when the employer perceives it, they can also create a completely new position.  That’s what happened in my case. In individual communication, we agreed together and with great humility but joy, I accepted the role of a Product Manager.

What problem did you face before book!t was created?

Certainly, one of the main problems was parking, which book!t completely eliminated. Additionally, there was a lot of administrative work, a significant amount of time spent on office space management, and unnecessary expenses, all of which book!t significantly reduced. Team managers were also interested in various statistics related to their department’s occupancy and the attendance of employees in those departments, which we didn’t have access to before. With the arrival of book!t, we were able to solve all of these issues.

What was the development process up to “redesign” 2.0?

We have also dealt with the idea of sharing parking spaces and desks in the past. We attended several meetings and reviewed various offers, but none of the solutions met our requirements. Every company operates differently; for example, some don’t have parking spaces, while others have three different entities on different floors with their own rules. So each company solves different problems, thus my assignment was clear. Create a simple and user-friendly product that will help each company tailor to its own needs, not just ours.

We found a reliable supplier who transformed all our requirements into a great product. However, the amazing thing about the product is that it has no end. We are constantly trying to listen to the needs of our colleagues and clients, so we are continually developing our product. That’s why we redesigned it to version 2.0 this summer, which is far from being the last one.

What are the key benefits of book!t from the perspective of an office/HR/team leader? What can it do?

Book!t is a simple product that will help you seamlessly and fluently transition to a hybrid work model. It will assist you in resolving the shortage of desks in your offices or parking spaces. You can independently create a floor plan according to your requirements, or we can assist you with it. You have access to a clear report on desk or parking space occupancy, which allows you to monitor your status.

What companies is book!t designed for?

Book!t is designed for any small, medium, or large companies that want to have their office spaces or parking spots in an attractive digital format. Companies that are struggling with the problem of desk shortage, by introducing a functional hybrid model, are possibly figuring out how to provide employee benefits in the form of shared parking spaces in a very simple and organized way. Book!t can eliminate various problems that companies encounter in today’s remote work trend.

What will it bring to companies’ employees?

Adapting to the new format of work dynamics as quickly as possible, easier organisation of their work, as they can book a desk or parking space in the building with one click and manage their time efficiently. Thanks to book!t, branch managers also have real-time information about the capacity in their departments as well as long-term statistics on the use of office space or parking spaces.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I’m very family-oriented person, so for me, it’s mainly time spent with my family, husband, dog, and good friends over a coffee. It’s a therapy that money can’t buy. Of course, I also enjoy sports in both summer and winter seasons, which helps me recharge. A good book, music, summer festivals, movies, or TV series are such classics.

What do only a few people know about you (so far)?

I like to overcome myself, I love the feeling that I have accomplished something with such a small thing as overcoming the fear of heights, for example by doing bungee jumping off the Lanfranconi Bridge.