Expected Benefits

The project connects academia, business, and professional organizations, offering practical solutions to shared HR challenges across the V4 countries. It will strengthen regional competitiveness, support talent retention, and foster long-term innovation and inclusive growth.

Project Team

Our university team consists of Helena Marková, Lucie Reczková, and Sampras Femi Robert.

The project will run from 1 October 2025 to 30 June 2026.

Workshop in Karviná

As part of the project, an expert workshop entitled HR 2026 – Challenges of the Czech Labour Market with a Focus on HR Digitalisation was held on 28 January 2026 at the Faculty of Business Administration in Karviná. The workshop combined short expert inputs with open discussion and experience sharing among participants from both the private and public sectors. Key topics included HR digitalisation and AI, talent management, performance management, job roles and competencies, employer branding, and employee experience. Particular attention was paid to the development of digital skills, motivation for continuous learning, intergenerational communication, and the use of gamification elements in HR processes. The workshop confirmed strong demand from practice for practical, applicable HR tools and created a valuable platform for further cooperation between the university, employers and the HR professional community.

Project Background

The project aims to modernize HRM in the V4 countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland). The lead partner is Knowhouse Consulting Ltd, ensuring the smooth implementation of the project. Other partners include Univerzita Mateja Bela (Banská Bystrica), Uniwersytet Szczeciński, Instytut Zarządzania, and Kodolányi János Egyetem.

This initiative builds on a previous Visegrad Fund–supported project with the same partners, which focused on researching HR practices in over 2,000 organizations across the V4 region. That study revealed five persistent weaknesses in HR, which reduce competitiveness, hinder innovation, and contribute to the “brain drain” of qualified professionals. The new project directly addresses these weaknesses.

Key Challenges Addressed

The project targets five critical HR areas:

1. Integration of HR into strategic decision-making – strengthening the role of HR in company strategies.
2. Updating job descriptions – developing modern, competency-based roles.
3. Performance evaluation systems – introducing transparent and effective methods.
4. Digitalization of HR processes – leveraging tools to streamline daily HR tasks.
5. Talent management – creating structured programs to develop and retain talents.

Compared to Western Europe, where HR relies on data, strategy, and digitalization, HR practice in V4 countries remains often manual, fragmented, and reactive. Academia and business operate separately, regional initiatives lack coordination, and international outreach is limited. In times of major megatrends – the rise of AI, the green transition, and demographic shifts – companies need practical, localized HR tools to strengthen resilience in today’s “BANI” world (brittle, anxious, nonlinear, incomprehensible).

Main Activities

• Development of five modular HR tools – each dedicated to one key area.
• Database of best practices – a multilingual online platform with case studies, templates, and methodologies.
• Workshops and training – both national and international, enabling knowledge transfer and local adaptation.
• V4 HR Professional Network – a community of experts for long-term collaboration, benchmarking, and exchange of experience.
• Sustainability and digitalization – project outputs will be integrated into teaching and consulting activities of the partner institutions, with all materials available online.