20.05.2025

Former soldier who breaks records as a dispatcher - meet our colleague Rado

He graduated from military school and served as a soldier for almost 26 years in military units in various cities. He has been our colleague for two years.

He first worked in Rožňava, then in Nitra, Michalovce, Trebišov and Prešov. He was away from his family for weeks at a time. He also completed two missions - in Afghanistan and Syria. This is the story of our colleague Rad, who came to us after his military career ended two years ago. Read our interview with him - a man who has completely changed the profession and is breaking records with us. On the day he was publicly praised for his great performance at the monthly meeting, he set a daily record. He's not resting on his laurels and he's moving on. What is the secret of his success and how does the army relate to it?

Rado, how did you find out about DeutschMann and why did you decide to go into the freight forwarding field? 
I have a cousin here, Rasto. When I was deciding to leave the army, I asked him what it was like here. In the army, I worked in military logistics, which is all about providing for the troops and the running of the unit - from transportation, to accommodation, to catering. I thought it would be similar, but it's something completely different. I was recruited for several jobs, also in completely different areas, for example as a manager in a chain, but I chose DeutschMann and Rasto played an important role in my decision. He told me, come on, I'll help you at the beginning. 

How were your early days at DeutschMann? Was there anything that was really challenging for you?
The hardest part in the beginning was probably when there was a problem with the carrier. To manage it. We are all human. I worked with people, I was in a senior position where I had 95 people under me. So I know that it is simply about people. The most challenging thing was to manage tense situations. Because when everything is going well, we are all friends and everything is OK. But those relationships will show when a problem occurs. In the beginning, my boss Marián helped me a lot, because I didn't know how to handle myself. He never let me down. Today, I can handle such situations on my own. If something happened, we were always able to explain it to each other. We even had a few arguments, but we always explained it and moved on.

How did you get into Marián's team? Why him?
When we were studying at the academy for the first few weeks, they sent us to different departments, and I had the opportunity to meet all the bosses and teams. I just liked the group and Marián so much that I knew right away that I wanted to go here. Rasťo, as my cousin, would have liked us to be together on the second floor, but I told him that I had chosen a different team, but that we could still work together. I am on the first floor, but Rasťo and I work together and it is great.

What is important to you at work?
I enjoy the daily work stress – or rather the adrenaline. I need to be in a good mood. Even at home, my children tell me that they can’t imagine me being retired and doing nothing. I am taught to always be in the pace.
However, it is important to me that we are a good team, have a good atmosphere at the workplace. So that we don’t envy each other, have good relations with each other, help each other. It can't be done without that.
And it's important that we know how to resolve disagreements. It happens to me that I disagree with something, but I have my boss, Marián, here to explain it to us. Sometimes he acknowledged that yes, I'm right and other times he explained to me why things are like this. This is important - the main thing is to communicate. And not to stifle anything inside. That's also my principle, that's how they know me here, that I won't be quiet, and if I have a problem, I'll say it. We have good relationships here. We always explain everything in the end and move on without anything remaining unresolved or us getting angry at each other.

You've been here for two years, but you've managed to make the kind of shift that is common in four years. What is it? 
I'll never forget Miriam asking me at the interview if I was ready for the fact that I might be overtaken by younger people. I didn't respond to that. I proved that the opposite was true. But then I told her that when I enjoy something, I do it 100%. The fact is, I have no problem being available after hours. I keep my work cell phone with me at all times. It certainly helps that the salespeople see that when there's a problem, I don't let it go, and that even if there's something that needs to be resolved after hours, I'll pick up the phone and help. They can count on me. And since we work together on every job, reliability and mutual trust are key.

Do you think people from the military can be happy at DeutschMann and build a successful career here?
Definitely yes, I'm not alone here, my friend Viktor asked me when he wanted to leave the army what it was like here. Today we are colleagues because he also works at DeutschManne. 
The army is also a mission. There we were used to being available 24/7, just as here you also need to be on the phone. We happened to be called back from leave, we were there for all the crises - floods, covid, the beginning of the war in Ukraine... Not everyone went 100%, it's like that everywhere. But those like me, who can't imagine staying at home on retirement but want to move on, this is for them. 

At the same time, in the military we are taught to be orderly and follow orders. From my point of view, that helps especially in the beginning - that I don't look for why not to do something and why to resist, but just go and trust my boss.

What does going 100% give you in life? Why is that important to you?
Progress. I can provide better for my family and I can afford more and not settle for an average standard. Just keep going and finding out where my boundaries are in moving forward. Many times I have failed at something, even fallen "flat on my face", but as they say, you have to shake it off and move on.

DeutschMann family teambuilding - Rado and his family

Your wife Jana also works at DeutschMann. How is it? 
When our HR manager Maja came to me last year and told me that we needed a digital person and that Janka would be a good fit for the position, we considered it at home. She made the decision on her own, knowing the company and the people from both our events together and from my experience. She quit her job and came here. But we're each on a different floor, we only see each other on the way to and from work and over lunch if we're going together. So in the evening we ask each other how our day was. For example, I recently told her that I had achieved a monthly record and a few days later she came in to say that she had also achieved a monthly record. And we were enjoying it together. 

At DeutschMann, everyone chooses their boss and the boss chooses a member of their team. The original plan of having the cousins work together on the same floor came together. Rado chose his team, where it just clicked right away. However, the cousins' collaboration is developing. Neither of them gave up, they found a way to work together.At DeutschMann we don't envy each other. We want everyone to be where they are best and we look for ways to support and work together. We have 9 married couples working for us and 39% of our employees have a family bond between them. 

Do you have a similar story to Rado? Are you a people person and looking for your next career move? Contact us. Maybe we'll find a fit and be the right place for you and you a member of our DeutschMann family. Maybe together we'll get your life moving for the better too.