In 2022 the group achieved its best results ever. What exactly are we
talking about?
It was another year in a row, in which the Decisões e Soluções Group
achieved its best results ever, with sustained growth, as much in the number of
shops, as in employees and customers. We grew in all business areas in which we
operate, especially in credit brokerage, insurance brokerage and real estate
brokerage, with the group’s turnover increasing 38% compared to the previous
year.
Today, the Decisões e Soluções Group has 415 branches, located from the
north to the south of the country and islands, and currently has 3500 employees
and more than 500,000 customers nationally.
The Group is made up of eight brands that stand out for their excellent
services. These are Decisões e Soluções, DS Seguros, DS Intermediários de
Crédito, DS Imobiliária, DS Travel, DS investimento, DS Auto and DS Travel.
2022 was a year in which we launched two new brands, DS Auto and DS Travel,
the services of which bring something different to the market. DS Auto is a
brand dedicated to the car segment with an innovative concept, which provides
its customers with a series of services across the board, in particular in the
purchase and sale of cars and in credit intermediation. This brand aims to open
100 dealerships in Portugal over the next two years, becoming a reference in
our country in its segment. DS Travel is specialised in organising travel and
tourism for individuals and companies, with a personalised and exclusive
service, which also covers the area of credit intermediation. It aims to open
100 agencies in Portugal over the next three years and become the largest
network of travel agencies in Portugal.
The DS Group was also in the news for another reason: due to the results
obtained it rewarded its best employees. What exactly did it do?
The Decisões e Soluções Group rewarded the best professionals from the
Decisões e Soluções, DS Seguros, DS Iintermediários de Crédito, DS Private, DS
Imobiliária, DS Auto and DS Travel networks with a trip in recognition of the
excellent results achieved. The trip took place in January with the
participation of 51 people.
This trip followed the celebration of the 18th anniversary of
the Decisões e Soluções Group, which was held in October 2021, when a challenge
was launched to all the Group’s shops: an incentive trip would be awarded to
those 50 professionals who stood out the most for their results achieved
between October of that year and October 2022.
During the trip, the employees of the group’s various brands had the
opportunity to socialise and have fun on board the magnificent cruise ship Costa
Toscana, and to visit the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab
Emirates, Muscat, in Oman and Doha, in Qatar.
«Competitiveness can be seen as positive when well managed and can even be
a motivating factor»
Economically and financially, the DS Group seems to be sailing against the
tide that is hitting the world. What tools do you use to motivate yourself and
your teams?
Firstly, it is important to bear in mind that our areas of activity and the
services we provide are extremely useful for the general population, especially
when we are going through times of economic crisis. The specialised and free
advice that we provide, for example, in terms of credit intermediation and
insurance mediation, areas directly linked to the property sector, most of the
time enables Portuguese families to save hundreds or even thousands of Euros a
year. This positive impact, which our teams know they can have with each day in
the lives of many people, is one of the factors of greatest motivation for
those who are part of the DS Group.
Secondly, and no less importantly, it is up to each of the Group’s brands
and their respective national and regional coordination structures and an
entire operational support structure to create all the conditions for our teams
to have the necessary tools to provide a service of excellence, in particular a
personalised, continuous training, recognition of the results obtained,
constant sharing of knowledge and a convivial atmosphere that makes the DS
Group a great family. We believe that it is possible to grow together, in an
environment of professional and personal fulfilment, where everyone is happy
doing what they really enjoy.
This fulfilment is reflected in the consistently positive results that the
DS Group has had over almost 20 years of existence.
Should this positive «competitiveness» that you foster among your employees
be an example for other companies?
I think so, not least because in my opinion competitiveness is quite
different from competition. Competitiveness can be seen as positive when well
managed and can even be a motivating factor. What we try to encourage in DS
Group employees is for them to feel driven to be continually better, because
experience and knowledge increases from month to month, and from year to year.
This positive competitiveness aims to foster the evolution of each person
individually. And it is a way for teams to build environments of creativity, innovation
and entrepreneurship. A competitive person tries to find in others the
inspiration to be better, and this implies that the person is obliged to
develop, grow professionally and challenge themselves daily.
The fact that we reward this competitiveness should be an example to
follow, as it means that we are surrounded by excellent professionals, who set
goals and manage to achieve them, a performance that is recognised and valued
by the Decisões e Soluções Group and its brands.
You are known for setting goals and achieving them. What are the necessary
ingredients to be a successful businessman?
I think that first of all you have to like what you do and, nearly 20 years
ago, when I created Decisões e Soluções, I was thinking about how I could help
people, both those who needed advice and those who wanted a career opportunity.
Then, it is necessary to have initiative and some capacity for anticipation, anyone
unable to create business opportunities will find it hard to survive, you have to
have an entrepreneurial vision. Which leads me to the need to be very
persistent, take risks and not be afraid of failure, but at the same time have
the ability to learn from mistakes.
It is very important to know how to be surrounded by the right people,
people to whom I can delegate and in whom I can trust, who treat the various
brands of the Group as their own, and whom I can do nothing but thank. Without
people there are no companies, no brands, no businesses. We have to learn to
recognise talent and success, to congratulate each achievement. Personally, I
like to have everything very organised, I am persistent and disciplined. Those
who know me know that my entrepreneurial spirit does not allow me to stand
still, which leads me to always be creating, and that is what I have been doing
for two decades and what I intend to continue doing.