The Czech Republic has an Association of Negotiators

Prague, 24 January — The Association of Negotiators was founded in the Czech Republic — an independent professional organization that connects the leaders of the field. The year 2023, when the Association officially begins to function, will thus go down in history within the Czech negotiating scene. The initiator and main founder is the international professional negotiator and at the same time president of the association Radim Parik. The Association of Negotiators currently has 1,500,000 members and has branches in five countries, including Slovakia.

“We are looking for the best qualified negotiators. So that they can educate themselves, to have a platform where they share knowledge and experience together and improve each other,” states Radim Parik, president of the Association of Negotiators. The association also aims to advance the field of negotiation itself, setting standards and keeping them in line with developments in the rest of the world. Members of the Association of Negotiators promote the enlightenment and professionalization of this discipline. “If Czech companies, as well as the authorities and ministries negotiate better deals, they will also contribute to an increase in gross domestic product and move the Czech Republic to the economically stronger states of the European Union,” Parík added.

Thanks to the formation of the Association of Negotiators, the Czech Republic is already ranked among countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland or the United States, where similar organizations have been operating for decades and where negotiation is considered a scientific discipline taught in universities. In the Czech Republic, it is possible to complete the Strategic Negotiation Program under the leadership of Radim Přík at Tomáš Bata University in Zlín.

The Association of Negotiators is the first and only such association in the Czech Republic. It opens up its members access to the latest negotiation trends with demonstrably functional strategies and tactics used by FBI or Mossad negotiators and taught by experts such as Harvard University or IMD (International Institute for Management Development). Each member of the association provides expert and information service and support in solving specific problems. Its members subscribe to the Professional Negotiator's Code.

The Czech Association of Negotiators applies requirements in the field of social responsibility and environmental and economic sustainability in negotiations. “Responsibility and sustainability are not proclamations for us. ESG and its associated standards have been formulated in our Code from the beginning and are one of the pillars of the Association. We openly report to them. At the same time, negotiation will be necessary for all entrepreneurs and authorities in the transition to ESG. To negotiate better contracts and more favorable terms. At the same time, the negotiation profession cannot be judged by the economic-economic index,” explains its Managing Director Adam Dolejš.

The headquarters of the Association of Negotiators is in Prague. It also has offices in Bratislava, Slovakia, London, Hong Kong and Boston, USA. The Negotiators Association cooperates with, among others, the Schranner Negotiation Institute in Switzerland, the Kohlrieser Institute for People Leadership, the World Negotiators Club, the Joe Navarro Body Language Academy or the Tomas Bata University, and also brings together negotiators of the security forces. “The functional principles of crisis negotiation, which are used worldwide by the armed services, for example, in the rescue of hostages, are also used by the best companies in business or public sector organizations facing difficult negotiations. We are always negotiating with a person who has his own, different view of the world, has different goals and motives. With the help of negotiation, this can be worked effectively. I am happy to be part of the Association of Negotiators and thus help people and organizations conclude better deals and build better and better relationships,” says Karel Pošíval, coordinator of the Prague Police Negotiators and founding member of the Association of Negotiators.

The Association co-creates a global form of negotiation by sharing knowledge and practices internationally. Negotiators are recruited from across the spectrum of business activities and disciplines. “You don't have to be a police negotiator right away to use the ability to negotiate. Negotiation, as a competence, is intertwined with all disciplines. It fits in business, in the nonprofit sector, in politics and, of course, in ordinary life. Each of us negotiates several times a day without realizing it. I appreciate that Radim and his colleagues managed to bring hundreds of people to professional negotiations in the Czech Republic, that there has been more talk of bargaining in society, and I believe that this will continue to be successful within the association,” adds Salva Badillo, a former Spanish police officer, a professional negotiator working with the NGO Hermione, which deals with crisis and rescue negotiations.

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