Stories where dataled to change

CSI Leasing is a global company specializing in IT equipment leasing and lifecycle management. The CEE region includes the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Austria. The CEE management team operates in a matrix environment and collaborates across countries.

The Head of HR CEE proposed the region’s first 360° feedback exercise. With leadership agreement, all managers from the CEE region took part in the HR project, named Leadership Mirror 2026.

The aim was to gather comprehensive feedback on CEE leadership, map the management team’s strengths, identify areas for further development, and support learning through CSI’s existing local and global development tools.

No 360° feedback exercise had previously been carried out in the CEE region. Some managers therefore felt a degree of uncertainty about the tool.

For the HR team, it was essential to plan the new project carefully, communicate it transparently across the CEE region, and ensure that the first round delivered the most useful results possible. The project was intended to build trust in feedback, the HR team, and its development activities.

• A complete solution with assessment areas and questions tailored to the client
• Three facilitated online meetings with the whole team
• Optional individual consultations, used by about a third of participants

We worked closely with the Head of HR CEE throughout the project. The client wanted a tailored solution, so we designed every step around their specific needs.

Several elements proved particularly useful:

• Careful timing and planning of every step, including the final evaluation, before data collection began.
• Support from the Managing Director CEE, who led by example. He assessed every manager taking part, openly shared his own development commitments after receiving his results, and gave a short motivational introduction at each online team workshop.
• Online meetings with all managers being assessed before and after data collection. The entire process was explained transparently, and participants had space to ask questions.
• Frequent yet concise internal communication across the company before and during the feedback exercise.
• A safe environment.

Thanks to the dedication of the Head of HR CEE and support from the Managing Director CEE, the project achieved an exceptional questionnaire completion rate of 96%.

The client gained insight into development priorities for the management team and concrete ideas for next steps, including ways to pair participants for an internal mentoring programme.

• All CEE managers identified a specific commitment for the coming period: an aspect of leadership they would work on.
• They shared their commitments within the team, reinforcing a shared purpose and connections between managers.
• HR strengthened its position locally and internationally. The global HR team viewed the project positively, and it served as inspiration for other regions.

The project also identified opportunities for a future round:

• Improve how raters are selected.
• Offer languages beyond English for participants who need them.
• Explain how to prepare for individual interpretation meetings.