FOCUS ON Business 6 September-October 2022 by Pro Progressio

focusonbusiness.eu No. 5 (6) | September–October 2022 ISSN PRICE2720-3549 EUR 6 (INCL. 8% VAT)

PUBLISHED BY: Pro Progressio spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością spółka komandytowa ul. Dziekońskiego 1, 00-728 Warszawa www.proprogressio.pl

In the current issue, we took care of the diversity of content. Our main inter view is a talk with Hans-Juergen Cassens, the Head of the Innovation and Training Park Prizren who has answered the question: How a science park in Kosovo is on its way to become the leading location for IT companies and innovators.

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Editor in Chief Editorial office

• Patryk

Exactly a year ago, in September, the decision was made to change the title of our magazine from Outsourcing&More to FOCUS ON Business. The edition you are reading now is already the sixth issue of the only Polish-English bimonthly in the sector of modern business services in Europe. From the perspective of the past year, we can confidently say that you liked the new title and the new shape of the magazine and it is constantly expanding the group of its readers.

DTP: Iwona Księżopolska ADVERTISING: reklama@proprogressio.pl

• Olga

Selected photos come from Anstock.adobe.com.electronicversion of the Magazine see the website www.focusonbusiness.eu. All rights reserved. No copying, reproduction or photocopying allowed without written consent of the publisher. The views expressed in this publication as well as the content of the adverts are not necessarily those of the editor.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Dymitr Doktór | dymitr.doktor@proprogressio.pl

The other FOCUS ON Business pages provide a lot of interesting content in the areas of law, investments as well as the business itself. We hope that you will like them, and by opening the autumn season of business events, we also hope that we will be able to provide you with printed copies of our bimonthly during many conferences.

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• Beata

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AUTHORS: Dr. Iwona Więckiewicz-Szabłowska Hanna Wiejowska Anna Borowska Adam Rudowski Robert Zdunek Magdalena Kartasińska Sebastian Młodziński Bartosz Brak Hans-Juergen Cassens Jeremy Brattle Karolina Gurinaitė Shapoval Sakowska Barucha

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EDITORIAL OFFICE ADDRESS: ul. Dziekońskiego 1, 00-728 Warszawa

INTRODUCTION

Ladies and Gentlemen,

MANAGING EDITOR: Elwira Przybylska | elwira.przybylska@proprogressio.pl

I wish you an interesting reading.

LEGAL SUPPORT: Chudzik i Wspólnicy PRINT: Drukarnia Jantar CIRCULATION: 3000 copies PLACE AND DATE OF ISSUE: Warsaw, 01.09.2022

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• Katarzyna Piotrowska 3Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Taking into account the changes taking place on the labour market, our main interview on Polish pages of the magazine is an interview with Katarzyna Piotrowska, Country Manager of Cpl in Poland, who talks about the Z Generation.

Global giant in Kraków. How does the HSBC service centre operate?

Employee non-competition clause and confidentiality obligation.

How to successfully implement the project plan?

The Internet of Things (IoT) feels at home in Polish companies. Venture Capital Way, or the Founder vs. Fund Game

If we were to define Venture Capital in simple terms we’d say that it describes a capital investment in early stage business ventures.18

BUSINESS NEWS6 INVESTMENT NEWS38 8

For three-quarters of Poles, it is important that employers facilitate healthy eating habits in the workplace.

A quick guide to an effective business implementation of the Internet of Things: it is better to prevent than to counteract consequences of errors

An interview with Bartosz Brak, HSBC Chief Operating Officer for Europe Operations.

An interview with Hans-Juergen Cassens, the Head of the Innovation and Training Park Prizren. MAIN INTERVIEW

The tectonic shift in the ‘role of the office’ has been widely reported in the last two years, and the debate as to the ‘future of work’ continues to rage, but what has been the impact so far on Corporate Real Estate teams?

EV chargers in office buildings

How can a team's healthy eating habits support business goals?

The JLL 11th Real Estate Charity Beach Volleyball Tournament 2022.

INDEX 4 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The real estate industry combines the sector’s strengths for a worthy cause and the employees' sense of empowerment

Who or what stands behind the successfully implemented automation?

Automation Implementation

An interview with Robert Zdunek, GoodRoom Sp. z o.o.

How to effectively protect a company secret?

The name of the entrepreneur's future is ESG. New opportunities and obligations for companies |Sustainable development has a real impact on business, and the ESG obligations can bring real and measurable benefits.

SSC LIONS

As the role of CRE changes, what is the impact on real estate teams?

How a science park in Kosovo is on its way to become the leading location for IT-companies and innovators

We talk with Olga Shapoval, Executive Director Kharkiv IT Cluster.

Interview with Katarzyna Piotrowska, Country Manager Cpl Poland.

Częstochowa marked with Work-Life Balance

Interview with Patryk Barucha, CEO of Trust Investment – a developer carrying out a number of construction investments in Southern Poland. 70 Poznań’s half-year summary

The whole green world in one place? At WUF11 it was possible! Katowice for 5 days, from 26th to 30th June 2022, became the most important city in the world by hosting the most significant event dedicated to the politics, transformation and development of cities – the World Urban Forum (WUF11). 68

Bydgoszcz BSS market – quick overview Bydgoszcz is the strongest business centre in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship.

What is being built in Kielce? Modern office buildings on the horizon

Generation Z – is there a revolution ahead in the labour market?

The "Youth in Łódź" scholarship program attracts and values young talents

Lithuanian GBS centres LEANing towards continuous improvement

HR NEWS Working model may change but there is future for offices! With employees’ rising expectations towards work environment it comes not as a surprise then, that companies and employers focusing on individual approach, safety and satisfaction of employees are expected to be the most valued ones.

The topic of Work-Life Balance is the subject of many statements.

Bielsko-Biała – a city with a good climate Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing mankind today.

The past six months were an extremely intense and productive period for Poznań.

56 5Focus on Business | September–October 2022

IT industry in Ukraine continues to operate despite the war

The methodologies of Lean and Kaizen have been dominant for decades now because of the proven benefits they offer for productivity in manufacturing.

The "Youth in Łódź" [PL: "Młodzi w Łodzi"] program is a unique initiative aimed at supporting young people in developing their careers in the city of Łódź.

Lithuania has an abundance of active local investors and a robust and friendly startup community of more than a thousand startups, growing intensely and expanding into new mar kets. The country has globally leading scores for procedures to start a business and the ease of doing business. More over, this year’s “Startup Genome” report placed Lithuania amongst the 60 emer ging startup ecosystems, and “Startup Blink” ranks its startup ecosystem as high as 17th in the world. We have launched the “Startupca tion” program to allow non-EU startups to experience our spurting ecosystem firsthand and show them the abundant poten tial of relocating their business. During a one-week visit, they will meet success ful startup founders, get to know key business networks and hubs, and learn about soft-landing programs and govern mental support. Our mentors will guide the participants each step of the way and explain the benefits of Lithuania’s posi tion as the gateway to the EU with great work-life balance, says Roberta Rudo kienė, the Head of “Startup Lithuania”. Last year Lithuanian startups attracted a record number of investments – over 428 million euros. The country’s first unicorn, “Vinted”, has tripled its valuation and the creators of the “Nord VPN” service – “Nord Security” – became its second unicorn. Lithuania’s startups are now valued at more than 7.1 billion euros, with the turnover and export of startups having grown by more than 30% in 2021 compared with the previous year.

Lithuania has launched a “Startupca tion” program and invites foreign start ups to experience the booming startup ecosystem of Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital city and main startup hub. The program grants fast-lane access to the country’s relevant business networks and hubs and provides an entry point to the European market with more than 700 million cus tomers open to new technologies. Vilnius is home to “Vinted” and “Nord Security” –two of the country’s unicorns – and over a thousand promising startups enjoying great work and life balance in an innova tion-friendly business environment with an excellently developed infrastructure and a world-class talent pool.

BUSINESS NEWS

Source: Startup Lithuania Arvato Supply Chain Solutions is expand ing its capacity at the Dueren site (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) for the cos metics company SEPHORA. The customer has been relocated to a new hall module with 7,000 square meters of floor space and seven warehouse doors. At the heart of the expansion is a new four-level pick tower where goods will be stored and picked. The shelving system contains over 40,000 storage locations for 20,000 articles. – The storage area has been opti mally designed for SEPHORA's rapidly growing online business, explained Julia Boers, President Consumer Products at Arvato Supply Chain Solutions. – With the new pick tower, we have been able to map large storage volumes into a relatively small space. The project ran over a swift, six month period, with investment volume at 3.3 million Euros. SEPHORA entered a cooperation with Zalando last year. As a result, the products of the beauty brand and its partner companies were available on Zalando’s online platform, resulting in rapid growth in the volume of European SEPHORA e-commerce orders. Arvato stores, picks, and packs for SEPHORA at the Dueren site since 2018, managing distribution to end customers in the Ger man and Austrian markets. In addition to handling incoming and outgoing goods, Arvato also provides additional services such as inventory management, Value -Added Services and returns manage ment. To meet the demands of continuous volume growth more quickly and flexibly, the customer has been moved to a new hall module with a pick tower. The faci lity has a total of four storage levels which have been fit out with drawers, ensuring an optimal and flexible product separation for the almost 1.3 million arti cles. Once workers have picked orders, they are transported by elevator to one of two packing lines, where they are then made ready for shipment.

LITHUANIA KICKS OFF “STARTUPCATION” PROGRAM – INVITES FOREIGN STARTUPS TO VISIT LAND WHERE UNICORNS GRAZE

ARVATO SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS AND SEPHORA BRING NEW PICK TOWER INTO OPERATION IN DUEREN IN GERMANY

The beauty group also expects con tinued growth in the future. With that in mind, the new hall has been designed to accommodate growth – there is capacity to prepare and ship up to 50,000 pack ages daily from this location. Automation of the packaging process is also planned.

Source: SEPHORA 6 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The pandemic has accelerated a quiet ESG revolution, and the scale of these changes is commensurate with the oppor tunities facing companies that will know how to take advantage of it, and in terms of building employee engagement. After those long months spent working remotely, employees are looking for some thing that they can be proud of as well as opportunities to socialise. This chance to meet up combined with a worthy cause, makes raising money for charity through outdoor sports events an ideal occasion.

– We see this every single day in the business field, when discussions with tenants and investors are increasingly based not only on business and environ mental issues, but increasingly on social issues. This trend has been reinforced by the coronavirus pandemic, and we strive to respond to this demand, well beyond issues connected with architecture, energy inten sity or the quality of building design. As JLL, we benefit from practices and solu tions already developed in other countries where we operate, and where social issues have been particularly important for years.

The 11th Real Estate Charity Beach Volleyball Tournament 2022

What’s more, we endeavour to create a shared value that gives our employees the possibility to contribute personally to the issues that mean the most to them – this in turn, increases their engagement – says Mateusz Bonca, CEO, JLL Poland.

JLL

The real estate industry combines the sector’s strengths for a worthy cause and the employees' sense of empowerment.

As the world emerges from the pandemic and seeks to tackle other pressing challenges ranging from the war in Ukraine, food shortages, inflation, and the cost of living, it is vitally important we do not lose our collective focus on the sector’s strengths to empower changes that really matter. Acting in the spirit of ESG, placing a special emphasis on the social aspect, we can do a lot of good for those most in need through initiatives that bring us together.

The global economic recovery, after the pandemic brought on a downturn in 2020, has further heightened the compe tition for talent and increased the impor tance of healthy spaces as well as inclu sive places. That’s why the strengthening of our value proposition in these areas to attract and retain the talent needed to deliver on our strategy, with a focus on employee wellbeing, flexible working, future workplaces, sustainability, and employee engagement in the issues that matter is so important.

An example of an action to support those most in need with the involvement of employees is the recent JLL 11th Real Estate Charity Beach Volleyball Tourna ment 2022, in which 54 teams made up of representatives from the real estate industry faced off against each other on three courts of the MONTA BEACH VOLLEY CLUB in Warsaw. As befits any sports event, there was a genuine sports rivalry. The matches of amateur corpo rate teams of seven people, which all had at least one female teammate in accordance with the principles of gen der equality, were played on the three courts simultaneously.

BUSINESS 8 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The commitment that each team put into the preparation and then into the game itself is a prime example of how important it is to carry out this type of project and how much they affect employees' well-being and their sense of empowerment. Teams participating in the tournament had trained through out the year to perform at their optimum during the event. This is not a random group of people who meet a week before the event. The players put their heart and soul into this, taking seriously their mis sion, the competition, and the tourna ment’s main aim, which was to support those in need. – I know how important this meeting was for all of us, we not only integrate, but it also made us proud of what we do and where we work. The high tempera ture, not only on the thermometers, but also in the stands and in our hearts made this year's tournament an exceptional experience – comments Paulina Smaszcz, Head of Marketing & PR, JLL Poland. An additional effect that enhances the satisfaction surrounding the event were the fund-raising efforts of the employees. During the JLL 11th Real Estate Charity Beach Volleyball Tournament 2022 more than PLN 750,000 was raised from entry fees and during the charity auction. As a gesture of solidarity with our neighbours in Ukraine, PLN 693,500, was donated to the Polish Humanitarian Action and putting a spotlight on the area of diversity, an additional PLN 60,000 was awarded to the Women's Rights Centre Foundation. The significant nature of the event was highlighted by the presence of the tournament's special guests, Andriy Chesnokov, Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports of Ukraine for European Inte gration, and Oleksiy Perevezentsev, State Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine. Furthermore, Tamila Shutak, First Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine in Poland opened the evening charity auction. 54 teams, 378 players, 114 matches, which is more than the FIVB Beach Vol leyball World Tour, competed while 2,500 guests attended the event. Attendees also included representatives of Poland's men's national volleyball team, players from Legia Warszawa, as well as repre sentatives of the Polish Football Associa tion. What is more, Vlada Muravets and Kayah performed in the evening. An event on such a scale increases the employees’ satisfaction as they have helped to create a great event and atmos phere. If a project has a purpose, it is that it can attract employees and organisa tions that compete with one another on a daily basis but who can come together for a good cause, mingle, and have fun at the same time.

9Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The Labour Code separately regu lates the prohibition of competition during the employment relationship and after its termination. An agreement intro ducing the ban during the employment relationship may be concluded with each employee and does not require an addi tional payment for limiting the employ ee's earning potential. However, it is cru cial to define what constitutes an activity competitive to the employer’s, as it must

BUSINESS 10 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Text | Dr. Iwona Więckiewicz-Szabłowska

How to effectively protect a company secret? – Employee non-competition clause and confidentiality obligation

Hardly anyone may need an explanation of how valuable information constituting a business secret is for each entrepreneur. Typically, they include the rules of company organisation and functioning, its commercial or marketing plans, business partners (including, in particular, suppliers and customers) or the legal and economic status. All this information is available –albeit to a different extent – to employees in connection with work performance. That is why it is vital to protect the entrepreneur against information disclosure by their personnel. During the employment relationship, the employee confidentiality obliga tion derives from Art. 100 § 2 item 4 of the Labour Code, i.e. from the obliga tion to care for the welfare of the work place. Per this provision, the employee shall care for the company's welfare, protect its property and keep all infor mation secret that, when disclosed, could cause damage to the employer. It should be noted that the obligations referred to in Art. 100 of the Labour Code are considered as the so-called basic employee duties. Their culpable breach by an employee may result in termina tion of the employment relationship pur suant to Art. 52 § 1 item 1 of the Labour Code. It would seem, therefore, that there is no need to additionally manage this issue in internal statutes (e.g. work regulations) or contracts concluded with an employee. Nevertheless, I assume that instructing an employee that they are obliged to refrain from disclosing infor mation regarding a company secret, as well as defining what such secret covers and what the consequences of the breach may be, is more than just educational value. It also helps to avoid the risk of exemption from liability of an employee who could claim, for example, that they were unaware that certain information was confidential and what value it had for the employer. Concluding non-disclosure agree ments or adding clauses regulating this issue to the employment contract is also significant for the period after employ ment termination. Employee's know ledge of company secrets has a particu lar value, which can survive the con tract termination even for several years.

According to the provisions of the Labour Code (Art. 1001-1004), the com petition ban is introduced by way of a written agreement concluded with the employee. Therefore, only includ ing this issue in the work regulations or other internal company document will not suffice. Furthermore, failure to keep the written form invalidates the non-com petition agreement; therefore, it is worth noting that the written means the con tract is signed by both parties.

It should be highlighted that a breach of the confidentiality obligation by a former employee after termination may be sub ject to a contractual penalty (as opposed to such a breach during the employment contract term). That is also important because, despite the possibly high value of information constituting a trade secret, in the event of its disclosure, the entre preneur may find proving the damage amount uneasy. A possible loss of a con tract or a client is not easy to demon strate as resulting merely from former employee’s disclosure of information being a company secret. The confidentiality obligation des cribed above is not equivalent to the competition ban, i.e. the prohibition for an employee from engaging in competitive acti vities or participating in such operations carried out by other entities. The non-competition clause always restricts the employee's freedom of employment. Therefore, its effective implementation requires compliance with formal condi tions – this prohibition cannot be derived from a general obligation to look after the workplace’s welfare.

The agreement concluded with the employee may contain a clause which will make the payment of the compensation instalment dependent on the employee's declaration that they refrain from run ning a business competitive with the for mer employer.Thepost-termination non-competi tion agreement must also specify the pro hibition term. Such an agreement can not be validly concluded for an indefi nite period. The Labour Code states that the post-termination non-competi tion clause shall expire prematurely if the reasons for such prohibition cease to exist or if the employer fails to pay the compensation.Itisrecommended that the agree ment includes a termination option for the employer so that they can unilate rally decide to end the prohibition in a situation where the former employ ee's refraining from a competitive acti vity is no longer critical for the entrepre neur. Without introducing such a clause, the agreement is, in principle, intermi nable – unless both parties decide to end it by mutual agreement or a case pro vided for in the Act occurs. An excep tion in this respect is introduced in Art. 15gf of the Act of 2 March 2020 on spe cial solutions related to the prevention, counteracting and combating COVID-19, other infectious diseases and emergencies caused by them. It introduces the right to terminate the non-competition agree ment by 7-day notice after cessation of, among other things, employment rela tionship. However, this regulation is only valid during the period of the epidemic threat or epidemic state announced due to COVID-19.

11Focus on Business | September–October 2022

It should be noted here that the employee's refusal to sign a non-compe tition agreement during the employ ment relationship may be the reason for the termination of a permanent employ ment contract. Contrary to the above-mentioned competition ban during the employment relationship, after the job is terminated, Author Dr. Iwona Więckiewicz-Szabłowska attorney-at-law, Head of the Commercial Law Department, CHUDZIK i WSPÓLNICY Radcowie Prawni

At this point, it is worth noting that the competition ban and the related obligation to pay compensation are independent of the method of employ ment termination, as well as whether the employee has found a less-paid job after work cessation. The compensation can be paid one-off or in instalments. In practice, the latter option prevails.

a prohibition agreement may only be con cluded with an employee who had access to vital information whose disclosure could expose the employer to damage. Whether an employee has access to cru cial data is decided by the employer. As a rule, employees cannot claim that they have no access to such information and assume the prohibition does not apply. Moreover, the competition ban after employment termination entails the necessity to pay the former employee compensation throughout the prohibi tion period. The parties may determine the payment amount. Yet, it must not be lower than 25% of the remuneration received by the employee before the ter mination in the period equal to the noncompetition clause duration. The purpose is clear – to compensate the worker for the lower earnings caused by inability to undertake any gainful activity within their field of expertise where they would have the best chance of finding a new job.

The Labour Code separately regulates the prohibition of competition during the relationshipemploymentand after its termination. be clear to the employee. Such explication is made on the one hand by listing exem plary activities that an employee is not allowed to undertake. These include, e.g. self-employed activities as part of a sole proprietorship, contractual employment, employment under a civil law contract or participation in other entities as a partner, body member or representative. Addition ally, the type of activity competitive to the employer should be stated. As a rule, the activities defined by the PKD codes disclosed in the National Court Regis try or CEiDG cannot be considered com petitive as entrepreneurs often include more codes than the actual activities car ried out. So, the non-competition clause may only apply to activities actually con ducted by the employer and any planned activities that the employee knows about. Thus, an employee's activity may be con sidered competitive if the operations they undertake at least partially overlap with the scope of the employer's activity. For example, that may be the case for the pro duction of goods or the provision of ser vices of the same kind or ones which can replace them (of substitutable nature). The contract should specify the types of activity banned for the employee and the territory covered by this prohibi tion. They should be defined accord ing to the employer's activity – actual or planned (as long as the employee knows these plans). The employee's breach of the non-competition clause during the employ ment relationship may result in the their liability for damages. However, a contrac tual penalty cannot be validly stipulated. Therefore, if the prohibition breach is cul pable, it may also result in the termina tion of the employment contract with out a notice period. However, it is neces sary to inform the employee in advance (e.g. in the non-competition agreement itself) that this is one of their essential obligations, and its violation may have such an effect.

So what is hidden under the term Environmental, Social, and Corporate GovernanceNowadays,? the company's success is measured not only by the profit gene rated, but also by examining the com pany's non-financial indicators, such as respect for the environment and local community. ESG is a measure of the values of companies and investment methods in terms of their performance in the non-financial area – the environ ment, society and corporate governance. The environmental impact is examined in terms of implementing the environmental strategy and policy, as well as caring for and showing con cern for the environment, e.g. by pre venting pollution and implementing

WHAT IS ESG?

The last element of ESG is the assessment of management criteria, corpo rate governance, supply chain over sight policy, business ethics, personal data protection and anti-corruption and anti-bribery policies, among others.

The above assessment indicators are intended to encourage companies to make a positive environmental and social change in order to contribute to sustaina ble development and to attract investors, social partners and other concerned par ties. These regulations are essential for preventing greenwashing and achieving the goals of the Green Deal in the Euro pean Union, including, in particular, cli mate neutrality by 2050.

Text | Hanna Wiejowska Regulations are essential for preventing greenwashing and achieving the goals of the Green Deal in the European Union, including, in particular, climate neutrality by 2050.

Currently, the entities required to provide non-financial reporting are large pub lic-interest entities that meet the criteria of an average annual employment level of 500 employees and reaching appropriate financial values. Therefore, appro ximately 11,700 enterprises are currently subject to reporting requirements, and it is also possible for other concerned enti ties to disclose their reports. Neverthe less, the number of companies preparing reports is low and the quality of data is far from reaching a satisfactory level.

ENTITIES SUBJECT TO THE REPORTING REQUIREMENT

Already in 2011, Paul Polman, a Danish investor and former CEO of Unilever, commented on climate change stating: "We cannot choose between economic growth and sustainability – we must have both.". In a word – sustainable development has a real impact on business, and the ESG obligations can bring real and measurable benefits.

The term ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) was first used in 2004 in a report resulting from a joint initiative of financial institutions and the United Nations, but it was from the publication of the SDG (Sustaina ble Development Goals) by the United Nations in 2015 that this term has been becoming more and more popular. Although this acronym is almost two decades old, it is becoming more and more important for entrepreneurs – both in terms of meeting regulatory obliga tions and in terms of their image, current trends and the resulting market pressure.

measures to control such activities, studying the impact of energy consump tion on the environment or appropriate waste management. On the other hand, the issue of corporate social responsibility concerns the perception of the responsibility of a company towards people involved in its activities – employees, entities from the supply chain or any people who are affected by the activities of a given busi ness. Therefore, this criterion applies not only to issues related to human rights, employment (labour law and compli ance with the principles of occupa tional health and safety), counteract ing discrimination in employment and occupation, but also, inter alia, rela tions with consumers or the impact on the social and economic development of local communities.

BUSINESS 12 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The name of the entrepreneur's future is ESG. New opportunities and obligations for companies

13Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Complying with the ESG criteria and mak ing changes don't have to be as compli cated as they sound. The use of technologi cal solutions, including AI and machine learning, designed to set goals, collect and analyze data or mitigate risks can prove to be quite a support for the entrepre neur. In a world where technology and ecology go hand in hand, a combination of proper governance, enterprise ESG strategy and innovative products is prov ing to be the key to success. According to Oracle Group's 2022 Global ESG Survey, up to 61% of respond ents believe that bots will succeed where humans have failed in corporate sustain ability. What's more, as many as 93% of business leaders would be more likely to trust a bot than a human when making sustainability and social responsibility decisions. This data proves that current ESG efforts are insufficient, and pressure – including from consumers – continues to grow. The answer to these needs is technology that can support companies in making real progress on sustainabi lity and ESG initiatives.

Author Hanna Wiejowska Associate, Baker McKenzie Among others, for these reasons, on 21 April 2021, the European Commis sion submitted a draft of Corporate Sus tainability Reporting Directive, accord ing to which a gradually increasing num ber of entrepreneurs will be subject to the requirement to provide reporting on sustainable development (even 50,000 entities), and the criteria of the report ing standard will be clarified, which is to affect the quality of the presented data. Importantly, in order to facilitate the clari ty of the sustainability data, it is foreseen that information on sustainable develop ment will be published in a separate sec tion of the business activity report. More over, this data will be subject to obliga tory verification by a statutory auditor or other authorized entity.

The draft directive on corporate sustainability reporting also provides for sanctions for breaches of national legis lation adopted pursuant to it. The pre scribed penalties are at least financial penalties, publicizing the nature of the violation together with an indication of the entity liable for such violation, or an order to stop a specific conduct.

Given the main users of reports, which are investors, government organi zations and social partners, it can be safely argued that the ESG criteria apply to all entrepreneurs. This allows for a better understanding of the compa ny's risks, its approach to sustainability and the impact of potential investments on people and the environment, leading to a better understanding of the compa ny's operations and objectives, and con sequently to increased trust.

SUMMARY Frequent changes in the regulatory landscape for sustainable development are now a constant part of our reality. Despite the dynamic situation, multina tional companies cannot afford to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. On the contrary, it is an opportunity to act and gain social capital by implementing conscious busi ness processes, taking advantage of avail able technological products to achieve climate policy goals, and strengthening their social responsibility.

The data proves that current ESG efforts are insufficient, and pressure – including from consumers – continues to grow. The answer to these needs is technology that can support companies in making real progress on sustainability and ESG initiatives.

The company's activities and the ap plication of the ESG criteria may have significant consequences, in particular in the context of potential transactions, attracting investors and social partners. It is noted that users of reports expect companies to stay ahead of trends and local regulatory changes in the context of sustainable development. Proactive actions are required, and gaining social capital translates into increasing compe titive advantage and raising capital.

ESG AND TECHNOLOGY

How to successfully achieve this?

Most often by the cooperation with inter nal and external parties. SSC and GBS are very frequently supported by external consultants, who provide automation solution. Having the right resources is the first step to start the business case preparation and define expectations and timelines. This is a collaborative and comprehensive project management approach, followed by right methodology and driven by real practitioners with proven experience. As an external con sultant it is easier to objectively assess the situation in the organization. The discussion about preparation is definitely not a one-time activity but it is rather a complex and exciting jour ney, from the first brainstorming sessions to the final implementation. This long process requires first of all well design project plan – but not only that. It is also a large investment in resources and their time. My intention is to empha size who is the mastermind behind the final automation tool or improvement in the background, or even where to redi rect the strength when difficulties arise. As a practitioner and consultant involved in many projects I had a chance to build

Automation Implementation Anna Borowska

Text |

Who or what stands behind the successfully implemented automation?

BUSINESS 14 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

How to successfully implement the project plan?

In the last few years Automation became a technology trend. It is also the path the business should follow to optimize processes, eliminate the risk of mis takes, have full control over daily tasks and secure the process continuity. Well -designed automation strategy in the organizations contributes to the overall busi ness results.

The role of Change management is to assess organizational readiness for a change. Moreover, it helps to determine the sources of resistance and ability to implement respective change.

“The only source of knowledge is expe rience” – Albert Einstein. Always make sure that people, who are responsible for daily processes or ser vices, take part in the discussions about the upcoming change. They need to know what their role will be. Map and deploy new skills and requirements in the orga nization, which are critical for success ful change deployment. Ensure they will be informed about their future positions and tasks. Minimize the risk of attrition of key user and ensure they will be a part of project plan and preparation. Involve also the employees who deal with cus tomer on the daily basis and who can pre dict customer’s expectation and reactions. Their vast experience and the relation ship build with the client is therefore an invaluable insight into the process. The key element is to give them the voice and give them the space to point out the elements we need to consider. Make certain that their knowledge is retained. In case the process is changed, the know ledge repository must be updated so that the automations may run smoothly. In such dynamically developing environment customer needs, and thus the processes, require continuous improvement.

NEW MINDSET… NEW RESULTS… Gather the people from different depart ments (key users, process owners) who work together in the respective pro cess. Check the test cases and make sure that all stakeholders understand them. Before first go live prepare the com munication letter and make sure who will support with incoming questions, queries or even navigate if panic arises.

15Focus on Business | September–October 2022

ENGAGE THE RELEVANT TEAM…

“The only source of knowledge is experience” –Albert Einstein the real framework and work on diffe rent stages of the projects. In few cases I had to jump in the middle of the project and evaluate effectiveness of implemen tation and solution performance. At other times my task was to enforce changes in the process and desired adjustments com pletion. What I have noticed is that there is a gap on how to transparently collect requirements from relevant departments and how to effectively manage commu nication package. Without exaggerating, change management plays a leading role and should be an indispensable element in planning the entire stage. The role of Change management is to assess organizational readiness for a change. Moreover, it helps to determine the sources of resistance and ability to implement respective change. In time, consistent and standardized communica tion builds trust and openness for change. Automation is a newly created trend and people are simply afraid of the new ways of working and are becoming suspicious. Let’s then develop effective communi cation plan and materials dedicated to respective audience as a credible source of information. Human aspects and automation? Two contradictory thoughts. Automation leads to minimizing human interven tion – that is completely true but you cannot underestimate the importance of the Teams engagement during project planning. The solution phase of the pro ject must indicate the importance of col lecting technical requirements and cre ating functional design. How to deliver it? Put the effort on coordination managed by experts with strong focus on requirements.

LETS’ START FROM THE BEGINNING… Well-designed deployment plan cer tainly should include the correct phases and milestones with carefully planned and agreed lead time. Starting from initiation stage, there will always be a need to engage the relevant stake holders. We must ensure consistent and transparent communication to the right group of people and align on their com mitment. Never forget to collect infor mation from line employees who can identify the gaps and mitigate the risk. They play the key role in finding poten tial for automation as they face the prob lems with the processes on daily basis. As a consultant supporting few projects I observed lack of involvement of rele vant employees. As the business envi ronment is constantly changing, it is cru cial to analyze all relevant factors, con sider customer expectations and people who cope with them on a daily basis.

Human aspects and automation? Two contradictory thoughts. Automation leads to minimizing human intervention – that is completely true but you cannot underestimate the importance of the Teams engagement during project planning.

How to acquire the knowledge and care fully map the processes to ensure that nothing is overlooked or forgotten?

WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP AFTER DEPLOYMENT?

BUSINESS 16 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Make sure that organization is prepared and secured and know how to ensure businessWellcontinuity.informed users with new mindset, keen on continuous improve ment can quickly support the change. Implement and monitor the change exe cution using the support plan. Intro duce engagement sessions and a train ing curriculum to support when ques tions appear. Develop measurable per formance indicators and set milestones to celebrate achievements.

WHAT IF WE MISSED IMPORTANT ELEMENTS?

Make sure there is a time for daily, weekly, monthly calls to maintain communica tion and cooperation between respective departments on a right level. At this stage questions will arise. One of the important element is training framework, especially educational platform dedicated to end user covering functional areas.

Change is aways difficult, therefore addi tional training sessions will help emplo yees to adapt to the new environment. Feeling comfortable with the new tools will allow employees to be productive and optimistic about their work.

„Create a define plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether You’re ready or not, to put it into action”… – Napoleon.

If there are errors in the system and data is not automatically populated we need to decide, who should continue the process manually. Who will be a decision maker? What is the emergency plan? We need to deliver goods to customer but we cannot see the order in the system – it is an issue.

Automation is a process we need to adapt to. Remember to focus on the communication, keep it on the required level and find the benefits from the automation solutions.

At the beginning, employees will enforce the old way of working and find as many excuses as possible to not follow new process. Change is aways difficult, therefore additional training sessions will help employees to adapt to the new environment. Feeling comfortable with the new tools will allow employees to be productive and optimistic about their work.

Author Anna Borowska Project Manager, Senior Consultant, Adaptive Solutions & Advisory Group

Automation is a process we need to adapt to. Remember to focus on the com munication, keep it on the required level and find the benefits from the automation solutions. Establishing the right culture and environment supporting sustaina bility of desired change deployment is a must. At the end, people will be proud to be a part of change and quickly notice benefits and plan the right development path for the future. In that respect it is worth to use the expertise of people with proven experience. They can navigate the company, contribute to finding bene fits and mitigating the potential risks and, at the end, show the bright sight of the change.

Don’t blame each other even if it doesn’t work perfectly, find the root cause and involve people in conversation on how to improve current state. Check the emotion barometer and try to prevent conflicts. Ensure the space for questions and exchange of thoughts. At the begin ning, employees will enforce the old way of working and find as many excuses as possible to not follow new process.

There are a number of pillars that instruct and define how VCs are mak ing their investments. A fund is looking for a top young company showing signs that it’s ready to grow at a rapid pace, gain global market share, and deliver a high ROI. So what kind of a company ticks all the boxes? One that will perma nently change the way a particular indus try operates or one that will influence the behavior of a large group of clients.

STARTUP – A SMALLER VERSION OF AN ENTERPRISE? Simply put, a startup is created with a view to find a repeatable and scalable use case. Company structure should enable steady market share increase as well as rapid and global growth. It should also take into account the interests of investors funding the scaling, i.e. their lucrative exit at a cer tain point in time. Keep in mind that a startup should not be looked at as a smaller version of a mature organization. Its growth depends on different factors. The VC Way is a set of globally valid standards designed to ena ble businesses to grow and scale from zero to a global level over a short period of time.

Numbers are very clear here –approx. 100 out of 1000 VC-supported startups will bring a severalfold profit, and only a few of these may carry on to become unicorns. That’s the reason it is crucial for a VC to diversify its investment portfolio, both in terms of the target mar ket, business model as well as monetiza tion. It’s worth pointing out that venture capital is an attractive asset class – it’s been valued at USD 172 bn globally in 2021 and regularly posted the highest returns among different asset classes across the past decade.

THREE VC PILLARS – DISRUPTION, INVESTMENT TRENDS, AND THE INVESTMENT HORIZON VCs are doing a straightforward job – take the capital entrusted to them by Limited

VCs are doing a straightforward job – take the capital entrusted to them by Limited Partners and multiply it.

BUSINESS 18 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Text | Adam Rudowski

Venture Capital Way, or the Founder vs. Fund Game

VCs base their portfolio strategy around a process that enables them to minimize risk when choosing young companies to invest in. They are thus able to pick com panies that display the greatest potential for global development and, in a five to seven-year term, may score them a hun dredfold return on investment. Granted, not every company will secure a ROI in this region and not every company will turn out to be a unicorn (i.e. reach a valu ation in excess of USD 1 bn).

Partners and multiply it. When success fully executed this leads to global scal ing and growth of innovative companies which is a positive economic effect that stimulates the growth of entire econo mies. This is obviously the case in coun tries with a mature VC landscape.

VCs are looking for startups that deliver innovative products, and – even better –startups that deliver innovation which stems from market disruption.

If we were to define Venture Capital in simple terms we’d say that it describes a capital investment in early stage business ventures. Investments are made by highly specialized VC funds, which start by raising capital from Limited Partners – such as pension funds, state funds, foundations, private investors, etc. – and then transfer capital to organizations at early stages of development (i.e. startups). Importantly, investments are made in return for equity. We are talking about investing in companies that are still looking for the right business model, testing the market, their target groups, and revenue streams; that’s why venture capital is a high risk affair. But a simple definition does not reflect how nuanced that industry really is, and skips over the unwritten rules that you need to know in order to succeed.

COVID-19 or the war in Ukraine are prime examples of disruption as they have initiated what is known as investment trends – waves of new products and com panies that significantly affect our civili zation progress and economic develop ment. We also like to focus on the speed of scaling as ROI should be generated within seven years. That’s a relatively quick turn around when you’re talking about build ing a global brand that generates revenues to the tune of hundreds of millions of dol lars and is valued at over USD 1 bn.

GO OR NO GO OR THE MAKE OR BREAK IN 5 MINUTES

Every VC receives between several hun dred to several thousand pitch decks (i.e. startup presentations) per year; and the largest among them, such as a16z or Seqouia Capital, even up to tens of thousands. It comes as no surprise that the initial project evaluation time boils down to about five minutes on average. In case a VC finds the five crucial pitch deck components to be unappealing, then… well, that startup is basically out of the frame. The above components are: market size, gravity of the issue the com pany wants to solve for, team experience and competence, product profitability, and the market entry strategy.

The problem that the company wants to solve for should be well-de fined and of great import. This is where you often see the genuine difference between people with industry back grounds and those who think they know how companies in this industry are supposed to operate. Also, founders should have the necessary competences required to actually develop a startup –from designing its strategy and product development, through to sales, marketing, management, technology, all the way to HR. Previous experience in building companies, both positive and negative, is welcome. The product itself must be innovative (or at least delivered within an attractive business model) and guaran tee profitability.

A small or a shrinking market preclude the creation of a large company. As long as venture capitalists are in a position to exit the company before it peaks, they can achieve extraordinary and relatively low-risk profits.

I already mentioned that a founder who pursues the VC Way decides to play the game according to certain rules. Most startups operate with next to no capital and resources, and in order to secure them they must regularly obtain exter nal funding. This is what investment rounds are for. The capital thus secured enables investments in product devel opment, product/market fit search, hir ing staff, and – finally – moving onto sales and marketing in vertical and geo graphic markets.

THE VC WAY OR WHAT COMES AFTER THE PITCH DECK?

A founder who pursues the VC Way decides to play the game according to certain rules. Most startups operate with next to no capital and resources, and in order to secure them they must regularly obtain external funding. This is what investment rounds are for.

WHAT MAKES THESE COMPONENTS SO SIGNIFICANT?

First of all, the chosen market must grow at a fast rate and, ultimately, prove to be large enough to provide the company with enough room for development. A small or a shrinking market preclude the creation of a large company. As long as venture capitalists are in a position to exit the company before it peaks, they can achieve extraordinary and relatively low-risk profits.

19Focus on Business | September–October 2022

At this juncture allow me to quickly return to the notion of investment trends resulting from disruption. Why is that? There’s a straightforward expla nation – VCs are well aware that mar kets expand the fastest within the peri meters of such trends and thus ‘drag’ the startups along with them, in turn enabling startups to benefit from the markets’ expansion. Finally, we’re left with the market entry strategy, which should be consistent and provide opportunities for exponential growth. Every startup should have a well-struc tured plan describing the way it’s going to spend the money it’s after and what mile stones it plans to achieve once the fund ing is secured – but that’s an obvious thing I don’t want to dwell on for too long. Pitch deck is every startup’s promise of what the investors are going to get in return for their capital. And if a startup is serious about talking to VCs then their pitch deck must be credible. FROM SEED TO EXIT A startup which satisfies demands posed by the five components above has poten tial to succeed. However, the founders are facing a long and arduous journey from this point onwards – starting from having an idea written down on a piece of paper, through to building a product and the company, scaling the business on international markets, all the way to an exit – most often via an IPO or acqui sition by an industry investor. They will also have to deal with at least several funding rounds, from early pre-seed, seed, and Round A; through the growth phase, i.e. rounds B, C, D, and beyond. What should happen in each round so that further funding can be secured in the following round(s)? What are the VCs actually looking at? In the seed phase, startups focus on problem definition and the product/market fit. At this stage a project’s success hinges on early validation which is designed to determine whether a product solves for an existing, important problem experi enced by potential customers. If success fully validated, the building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) comes next – that’s the product’s initial version. Afterwards we move onto customer acquisition which is linked to generation of recurring reve nues. It is desirable for the end of the seed stage to be marked by a team’s ability to demonstrate an increase in recurring rev enues coming from the domestic market and robust plans to launch the product on foreign markets. It must be empha sized that sales should be underpinned by constant product improvement, develop ment of new features, as well as taking all the necessary measures to protect intellec tual property.RoundA is about securing funding aimed at expansion of the domestic cus tomer base, entering one large or several

In high funding rounds attracting new investors often boils down to a few elements: the company’s ability to deliver on its plans or, even better, whether it’s able to exceed its delivery plans; defensibility –or, simply put, how difficult is it to engage in direct competition with it; and whether there are quality investors and advisers present in its cap table.

BUSINESS 20 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Pitch deck is every startup’s promise of what the investors are going to get in return for their capital. And if a startup is serious about talking to VCs then their pitch deck must be credible.

The VC industry witnessed several peri ods of significant freeze already. Known as the VC Winter , it was most often the result of a collapse in the share price of technology companies listed on US stock exchanges and a growing economic uncertainty. The drop in the valuation of listed companies resulted in the inability to carry out IPOs (exit) as well as declines in valuation multiples. This, of course, was paired with the outflow of invest ment capital towards lower risk instru ments. Spreading globally, it generated a widespread decline in startup valua tions – even by up to 90% – and ren dered the task of obtaining further fund ing rounds a truly difficult one. Available capital levels dropped drastically relative to the period of prosperity, competition among startups intensified, and inves ting conditions – from the founders’ per spective – seriously deteriorated. After the corrections of 2001 and 2008 we are currently dealing with one right now. This should ring alarm bells as funding may be hard to come by. A number of things are of para mount importance during the VC Win ter period: budgetary discipline, the abi lity to cut costs, and knowing one’s key resources needed for development. It basically comes down to drawing up and implementing a survival plan, often enabling the breakeven point (BEP) to be achieved. Experience shows that start ups with a robust business model, a good strategy, and ones not shying away from difficult decisions to cut resources – are going to find joy in the eyes of inves tors. And, as is the case with any busi ness cycle, the VC Winter is always fol lowed by a rebound. Successful startups can expect significantly better valuations in the future. Additionally, they will know how to do business during an economic downturn. And you can’t put a price tag on that.

THE VC WINTER OR IN OTHER WORDS –PREPARE FOR THE WORST AND HOPE FOR THE BEST Every founder's life is punctuated by peaks and troughs, so it makes perfect sense to brace oneself for when difficult times kick in or Plan A does indeed fail.

Author Adam Rudowski General Partner, Level2 Ventures smaller foreign markets, and further product development. Following Round A, a startup should be able to demonstrate permanent revenue growth, i.e. prove its market traction, preferably when sales reach the hockey stick curve period (syno nymous with exponential growth). If proper market traction is achie ved on foreign markets as well, then preparations for the growth phase may commence. Round B – the initial stage of this phase – validates scalability, which means it assesses whether sus tained growth in a number of markets is being achieved, looks at the efficiency of processes, as well as the ability to exe cute a long-term globalization strategy. Round C and the following rounds making up the growth phase usually focus on expanding and solidifying a startup’s market share, both by entering new foreign markets and by means of a local acquisition strategy. In high funding rounds attracting new investors often boils down to a few elements: the company’s ability to deliver on its plans or, even better, whether it’s able to exceed its delivery plans; defensi bility – or, simply put, how difficult is it to engage in direct competition with it; and whether there are quality investors and advisers present in its cap table. VCs will always assess one’s ability to deliver on one’s plans, not only in terms of revenues or geographical expansion, but also by looking at margins, customer acquisition cost, churn, product development outlays, and the ability to constantly increase the company's value. These are just a few metrics and, given they’re industry-spe cific, more may come along depending on what industry a startup operates in.

21Focus on Business | September–October 2022

From 2035, the European Union plans to introduce a total ban on the sale of cars with internal combustion engines. Long perspective? Considering that the Electromobility Act of December 2021 specifies the rules on which developers and owners of new and modernized buildings are to provide infrastructure for charging electric vehicles, the future seems closer.

EV chargers in office buildings

BUSINESS 22 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

We are talking with Robert Zdunek, Mana ging Partner at GoodRoom Sp. z o.o., on how to deal with the electromobility in Poland where increasing the contracted capacity with an energy supplier to install an EV charger in the property is, at best, time-consuming.

FOCUS ON Business: Where does the topic of charging stations come from? Robert Zdunek, GoodRoom Sp. z o.o.: Just a dream of mine. Although an amateur of electromobility without an electric car is an average enthusiast... The reason why I have not yet bought any electric car is the low availability of the charging infrastructure in Poland. At GoodRoom, we started talking on the given subject with our clients from the fit-out area – the office managers, property managers and owners of buil dings. It turned out, that the deficiencies also apply to their customers, tenants, employees, and guests. They all ask about the possibility of charging their cars in the office buildings during a meeting or workday. Research shows that 80% of the EV charging will take place at home on in the workplace. The other 20% will be charged in places of public use. Other wise, it is quite close from the building infrastructure to the charging station. Because of the cable routes? Due to the need to adapt the elec tric installations and the power connec tion, which is often the case for both fit-out projects and EV charger instal lations. In most Polish office buildings, the scaling towards the electromobi lity has not been considered during their construction. Whereas in Poland, the process of increasing the contrac tual capacity with the energy supplier in the building being modernized is, at best, hard and time-consuming, at least in larger cities. The procedure to increase the contractual power of the building can take up to 180 days... or longer.When planning the adaption of the office building infrastructure for the EV charger installations, one should contact the company with the know-how in the field of electricity, so that the exe cution is safe, efficient, and aesthetic. In Poland, in order to avoid waiting for the power connection increase, it is also good to have a charging station that allows you to use the current contractual power of the building. In the first case, GoodRoom's competences as a fit-out com pany are very useful. For the second case, we have found EV chargers that allow ‘only’ the surplus power of the building to be used.

The charging stations that we found have a function of the so-called Dynamic Power Management. They communicate with the Building Management System receiving data on how much power the building is currently consuming and redirect any surplus to charge cars.

A moment ago, there was a shortage of power, and now we have a surplus? The building capacity is always planned in excess. It's just that these sur pluses are too small to permanently con nect several charging stations. A medi um-sized office building in a Polish city has a contractual capacity of approxi mately 800-900 kW. To connect 10 stand ard 22 kW chargers to such a building, approx. 220 kW are needed. This is much in relation to the contractual capacity of the building. Increasing the connection of the building by this amount is likely to be difficult to achieve. Not to men tion that in the future there should be many more EV chargers installed in such a building. The charging stations that we found have a function of the so-called Dynamic Power Management. They communicate with the Building Manage ment System receiving data on how much power the building is currently consum ing and redirect any surplus to charge cars. The Dynamic Power Management allows you to use full contractual capa city of the building. Moreover, Inbalance EV chargers create the charging station clusters.

For Inbalance EV stations the pro cess takes from a few days in the case of the buildings with right infrastructure to up to 2-3 weeks, when the electric ins tallations in the building need to be adjusted. In Poland it will be also neces sary to achieve the UDT (Urząd Nadzoru Technicznego – Technical Inspection Authority) charger approval procedure. However, no matter the building, with or without the right installations, the possi ble process of increasing the contractual capacity will always be the longest one. This is why we picked the Inbalance EV chargers because they allow you to ope rate without interfering with the connec tion using the Dynamic Power Manage ment feature as well as the charging sta tion cluster power management. Why the topic of charging stations for electric vehicles just now?

Since March 2021 the Electromobility Act imposes an obligation on developers and owners of residential and non-resi dential buildings to secure appropriate infrastructure for charging electric vehi cles. The requirement covers both newly constructed and modernized buildings. Moreover, from 2035, the EU plans to introduce a total ban on the sale of cars with internal combustion engines. Either way, my dream about the right EV infra structure should soon come true. Thank you for the interview.

The electromobility market in Poland is growing with each month. The real estate market will need to respond to the demands of the EV users. Since March 2021 the Electromobility Act imposes an obligation on developers and owners of residential and non-residential buildings to secure appropriate infrastructure for charging electric vehicles.

1 cluster can have up to 5 charging sta tions (two Type 2 charging sockets each), which means up to 10 charging points installed on 1 cable. The cluster distri butes the available momentary power among EV chargers. This feature is highly useful because the cars being charged at the same time are likely to have different power requirements. It is related with cars’ different charge levels at a given time and various charging speed in each electrician model. Is installing a charging station a long process? It’s like lawyers say, it depends. In this case it depends on the building, location, as well as the charger type and installation mode. In the case of Inba lance chargers the process is quite quick thanks to the EV charger cluster con figuration (installation of 10 charging points on ‘1 cable’) and the possibility of installing them both indoor and out door (thanks to IP54, residual current and overcurrent protections and electricity meters inside the charger).

23Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The electromobility market in Poland is growing with each month. The real estate market will need to respond to the demands of the EV users. It is enough for a few office buildings in Polish large cities to provide charging stations. To remain competitive, the rest of the premises will need to catch up. Also the le gal perspective cannot be overlooked.

Text | Magdalena Kartasińska

CASE STUDY

For three-quarters of Poles, it is important that employers facilitate healthy eating habits in the workplace. This is one of the findings of the study 'Nutrition habits of working Poles 2022' conducted by Dailyfruits and the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine. Employees are aware that healthy eating habits have an impact on their well-being. Employers are also increasingly recognising the benefits of implementing nutrition education programmes. How can you meet the expectations of your team while supporting your company's business goals?

Many employees are used to remote work and no longer want to work in the office. What is convenient from an individual's point of view does not always serve the organisation. Some companies have adapted well to the realities of the home office, others function with less effi ciency in dispersed teams and would pre fer to bring everyone back to the office. Employees declare that they do not want to return to on-site work, they feel stres sed at the thought of returning to their old routine. The answer to these prob lems is to properly arrange the office space to make it more welcoming. The day of returning to on-site work does not have to be a source of stress. You can disenchant the moment and turn it into a pleasant event. In many compa nies, employers rely on corporate gifts for employees. These are so-called wel come packs or welcome back packs. Alternatively, employees can be invited to the company's kitchen for healthy snacks or freshly squeezed juices, and those wishing to do so can be offered a consultation with a nutritionist who can provide advice on good eating habits at work. There is no doubt that such guid ance is needed, as proven by the study 'Nutrition habits of working Poles 2022', according to which 42% of Poles find it difficult to eat healthily on a daily basis, while 41% feel lost in the flood of infor mation on healthy eating.

In the past 2 years since the pandemic outbreak, many effective solutions have been developed.

BUSINESS 24 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

INVITE YOUR EMPLOYEES TO THE OFFICE... FOR A HEALTHY EVENT!

42% of Poles find it difficult to eat healthily on a daily basis, while 41% feel lost in the flood of information on healthy eating.

How can a team's healthy eating habits support business goals?

NOT JUST IN THE OFFICE – SUPPORT HEALTHY HABITS AND TEAM INTEGRATION AT THE HOME OFFICE

The investment is small and the benefits can be enormous. A healthier diet means less sickness absence and also greater efficiency. Fresh fruit, nuts and dried fruits and NFC juices are foods that provide energy and support concentra tion, while containing no empty calo ries or excess sugar and fat like crisps or candyItbars.isworth noting that the impact of activities that support employee health is measurable. This is stated in the Institute of Occupational Medicine's 2019 publi cation 'What should companies know to effectively promote healthy eating and physical activity for employees? Report on the results of a representative survey of 1,000 employees of medium and large companies in Poland'. When asked for their insights, employers are convinced that productivity has increased (50%), the health of employees has improved (49%) which has translated into a visible decrease in sickness absence (43%). They also admit that the employee's identifi cation with the company has noticeably increased as well (47%).

25Focus on Business | September–October 2022

To the question 'What motivates you to work in the office' most respondents indicated a friendly atmosphere, opportunities to meet over coffee and shared meals (40%).

LET HEALTHY SNACKS REMAIN IN THE WORKPLACE FOREVER!

A one-off event is a good idea for an incentive, but in the long term, bigger changes are needed. What's more, they don't have to be expensive at all. A regular supply of healthy food to the office is one of the cheapest benefits per employee on the market.

Almost half (47%) of respondents in the same survey cited team-building events, shared meals and sports activities as elements that build the working environment.

More than health – how meals con sumed in the office can create an over all atmosphere and integrate your team To the question 'What motivates you to work in the office', which we asked as part of the survey 'Office or home office – which working environment do Polish employees prefer?', most respon dents indicated a friendly atmosphere, opportunities to meet over coffee and shared meals (40%). Almost half (47%) of respondents in the same survey cited team-building events, shared meals and sports activities as elements that build the workingCompaniesenvironment.thatare aware of this regularly organise company breakfasts or other informal gatherings around the table. Eating together is a way to integrate people and build relationships between employees from different departments in a different setting than at work meetings. The company's kitchen is a place where inspiring ideas and concepts can arise. However, for this to happen you need to make it a really attractive place. For a start, a regular sup ply of fruit and other snacks will suffice.

What about the situation when there is no possibility to meet directly over break fast? Necessity is the mother of invention, so solutions have also been created for this circumstance. Back in 2021, the Daily fruits company, in collaboration with Szymon Czerwinski, organised online culinary workshops for companies. Livecooking turned out to be an excel lent idea for building engagement, but the condition for success was that the entire event was well organised. Each participant in the event received a take-home package with a recipe for the selected dishes and all the necessary recipes. On the appointed day, employees joined Szymon Czerwinski remotely, who gave step-by-step insights into the prepa ration of all dishes.

Vegetables are happily consumed several times a day by more and more people – consumption has increased from 26 to 30% of respondents.

HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAMMES ARE A WIN-WIN Investing in developing a nutrition educa tion programme within an organisation requires openness from both employees and employers, but brings tangible bene fits to both groups. For employers, it is a great opportunity to create a friendly workplace that responds to the current needs of employees in the area of, among other things, healthy eating. It is also a form of preventive action that can strengthen the resilience of employees and the potential of the organisation, not only in terms of image, but also in eco nomic terms. Employees who receive the right care are more motivated in their daily professional life. More and more organisations are realising that without strengthening resilience and improving health on the metabolic side (i.e. prevention of lifestyle diseases), there is no chance of reducing absen teeism among employees and improv ing efficiency. These are important areas, affecting the business functioning of any organisation, so a nutrition education programme is an investment worth con sidering and implementing.

BUSINESS 26 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

WHY IS NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT SO DESPERATELY NEEDED? The pandemic has highlighted and exa cerbated workers' existing health prob lems. Functioning in a pandemic reality has added pounds to many of us, weake ned our health, disrupted our daily rou tines and worsened our eating habits, the effects of which we are now suffer ing. Employers are also feeling it more and more acutely, as the number of peo ple on sick leave struggling with meta bolic diseases of civilisation, caused by, among other things, obesity, which is also a disease in itself, is increasing. Studies and surveys carried out by Dailyfruits indicate that the body mass of working Poles is increasing. The first edi tion of the 2020 survey indicated that 40% of respondents had an abnormal body mass. In this year's edition, it is already 44%. Poles still very rarely reach for fruit and vegetables. In the recommended con sumption of fruit over two years, we saw a decrease from 21% to 19% of respon dents. Vegetables are happily consumed several times a day by more and more people – consumption has increased from 26 to 30% of respondents. However, there is still a long way to go to meet this basic requirement of the healthy eating pyra mid, which is a guarantee of health, cor rect body weight and well-being. Unfor tunately, it turns out that working Poles have more and more obstacles in the way of taking care of their healthy eating habits. 46% of employees feel that they have too much work and responsibilities to bother with preparing proper meals.

Author Magdalena Kartasińska Head of the Dailyfruits Dietary Department

According to the latest survey 'Nutrition habits of working Poles 2022', only 45% of companies make sure that an employee has a healthy diet. 11% of survey respondents indicate that they are not provided with a break during the working day to eat in peace.

Parcels with ingredients for soup or cauliflower pizza crust were not the only food packages that employees received. Back in 2020, companies were also order ing packages with health and immunity supporting products to be delivered to employees' homes. This resulted in cit rus, honey, ginger, raspberry juice or warming tea being delivered to emplo yees' homes during the autumn and win ter seasons. In the spring and summer, pack ages for employees also played other roles. As part of ideas to engage and inte grate their teams, the customers opted to send home-grown herb kits or barbe cue products.

Unfortunately, the previously indicated positive examples of employers' efforts are still rare. According to the latest survey 'Nutrition habits of working Poles 2022', only 45% of companies make sure that an employee has a healthy diet. 11% of survey respondents indicate that they are not provided with a break during the working day to eat in peace. Only 16% of employers take an interest in it, ask ing employees what they want in terms of eating at the company, 31% organise workshops on healthy eating or provide materials on the subject, and 24% orga nise meetings with nutritionists. This is still very little, especially when the scale of the problem is so huge.

THE IoT IMPLEMENTATION AND ITS BENEFITS

Text | Sebastian Młodziński

A quick guide to an effective business implementation of the Internet of Things: it is better to prevent than to counteract consequences of errors

The Internet of Things (IoT) feels at home in Polish companies. But this technology is still raising many doubts and questions. Employers are not sure how to tap its full potential, while employees are afraid of control and threats. That is why education and proper management of changes are necessary when such systems are implemented.

More and more companies perceive the value of IoT solutions, mostly because they broaden their awareness of how sig nificant data and data analysis are for the optimisation of business processes. Therefore, managers are on the lookout for systems that will give them a great deal of information about how the com pany is actually functioning. Enterprises which come to us, because they are inte rested in our tool for managing teams and processes, usually expect savings and optimisation from the IoT techno logy. Sometimes they want higher reve nues and they always want better perfor mance. They seek to improve processes and gain visibility into how the com pany operates.Andtheyget exactly what they want.

An IoT system is, to put it simply, a net work of interconnected devices and sen sors which communicate and collect/ exchange data that later undergo process ing. And it is data which provide the great est value in the case of IoT systems. Fol lowing an analysis, such data become the starting point for business optimi sation. The final product is the precious management information which can be used by companies to increase perfor mance and improve the use of resources. What are these resources? Elements of the Internet of Things can measure the work of people and devices. The installation of the IoT infrastructure is plain sailing, but it can be quite difficult to convince employees about its benefits. What are the challenges faced by enter prises which implement the IoT and how can they use this technology effectively?

One should bear in mind that the benefits of the IoT implementation come in stages. We know from our own experience that the first is the placebo effect, lasting up to 2 months. Employees know that their company has a new solution and can feel a certain kind of control over their heads.

After several weeks, however, the teams become accustomed to the new tool and go back to normal. That is when we see the true results. But that’s not all. The constant access to data enables ongoing supervi sion of business processes. The company has reliable information, so it can imme diately detect irregularities and imple ment improvements. However, the key factors in this process are people who interpret data and then translate them into changes in processes and in the atti tudes of employees. – The key is to use data properly.

If we work with data in a wrong way, e.g. we give immediate negative feedback because someone stayed longer on their lunch break, we will demotivate our employees. But we can look at such data from a different vantage point, reflecting on what can be changed in the organisa tion to improve the efficiency of processes and what can be done to make employees use their full potential. This is the combi nation of hard data and the ability to use them in the context of interactions with employees and implementation of changes within processes, says Tomasz Bereźnicki, Managing Partner at DPC Polska.

FEAR OF INNOVATION, FEAR OF CHANGE

Entrepreneurs do not have to be encou raged to become interested in IoT sys tems. They are aware that innovations providing data on how companies and resources function can help them better manage their organisations as well as optimise processes and expenses. When it comes to employees, that’s a different matter. It should be noted that each change within an organisation meets with resistance. Employees are afraid of what they do not know. And they perceive IoT solutions as something

BUSINESS 28 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

For this reason, they become more dili gent in their duties. This change is imme diate, but it results from the employees’ behaviour, not from the system as such.

Employees are afraid of what they do not know. And they perceive IoT solutions as something unfamiliar. What they know is only that such solutions collect some data and work in a wireless network.

AN EXTERNAL PERSPECTIVE Collaboration with people who are not employed at the company that imple ments an IoT solution can bring multiple benefits. When people from the outside analyse the company’s environment and processes, they can see such possibilities of using a specific system that the compa ny’s management would never think of.

Importantly, there is no need for an extensive collaboration with a con sulting company in order to get the expected benefits.

And that is where our role ends, explains Tomasz Bereźnicki.

Are there no problems involved in using an IoT system? Well, the world is not perfect, so there may come a time when users will face some problems or difficulties related to this particular technology. It happens that companies cut corners when implementing the solution and then decide to stop using it. Such situa tions usually result from mistakes made by the (internal or external) implemen tation team. Initially, the company is enchanted, but then the system is handed over to someone who does not know it or does not believe in it. The system is sim ply collecting dust on the shelf without any development, so the company can not use all of its capabilities.

The second threat that I have ob served during my years of working with IoT technologies is the inability to con vert information from the systems into specific changes within the enterprise in the areas of processes and operations. There can be no doubt that the imple mentation as such is only the starting point for using the solution, not the goal itself. The important thing is what we do with the tool and with the data later on. That is why awareness must come first in the process of implementing IoT technologies. We have to be aware why the company actually wants this solution and how we can use the data generated by the tool we have implemented. Compa nies that choose and implement IoT with full commitment and relevant knowledge will quickly notice the benefits and posi tive changes in how their teams work and how business processes function.

Author Sebastian Młodziński CEO, TIMATE

One should bear in mind that the benefits of the IoT implementation come in stages. We know from our own experience that the first is the placebo effect, lasting up to 2 months.

29Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The point is to teach managers and lead ers how to use the IoT system effectively. This can be carried out by the company’s in-house team or by third-party experts (i.e. a consulting company).

unfamiliar. What they know is only that such solutions collect some data and work in a wireless network. That is why employees feel afraid of being sub jected to some total control and ask ques tions about threats to their safety that the implemented system could poten tially generate. In addition, people fear that the new tool will demand extra work and more commitment from them. This fear needs to be taken care of. For this reason, employees should be properly guided through these changes. That is necessary, first and fore most, in order to fully harness the capa bilities of the implemented tool. It is not only about the installation of the solution.

– Our task is to provide the company with knowledge about the system’s opera tion and use as well as about the process of gaining valuable insights during the pilot implementation, i.e. from 3 to 6 months.

CAN ANYTHING GO WRONG?

I will use the TIMATE system as an exam ple. The crucial aspect that can be per ceived from an external perspective and which is often overlooked by managers is the efficient use of resources. Leaders who make use of such a system usually focus on recording time and attendance (the monitoring of clock-ins and clockouts). Meanwhile, the implemented solu tion can provide much more data regard ing the efficiency of resources. An exter nal consulting company shows how to interpret such data in the context of the employees’ performance. Isn’t that the area that comes first for managers?

How is the HSBC global network organised and how is the Kraków centre positioned there? HSBC is one of the largest financial institutions in the world. From the banking business' point of view, we are present in 63 countries, providing services to approximately 40 million clients in the field of private, commercial, corpo rate and wealth management in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, North and Latin America. On the other hand, the structure of HSBC service centres is based on a net work of over 20 centres located, among others, in Mexico, India, the Philippines, China, Sri Lanka and Poland. The Kraków centre is dedicated to servicing internal customers, i.e. those operating within the HSBC group, and – more and more often – final customers, including those based in Europe. This specialization results mainly from the easy access to language competencies among employees and candidates, regulatory points related to Poland's membership in the European Union, and focusing on business pro cesses essential for the bank's operation.

An interview with Bartosz Brak, HSBC Chief Operating Officer for Europe Operations.

How did the pandemic affect function ing of the company employing over 4,000 people?

The COVID-19 pandemic had an evident impact on how HSBC centre in Kraków, and the entire HSBC group, operated but did not affect the pace of the centre’s development. We are constantly grow ing, expanding the scope of our activity. We have far-reaching plans for the cen tre's development in the coming years.

New business processes are transferred to Kraków – not because of the price but because of the possibility of using the added value generated by the team and easy access to the desired competen cies among the candidates.

HSBC is one of the largest financial institutions in the world. From the banking business' point of view, we are present in 63 countries, providing services to approximately 40 million clients.

SSC LIONS 30 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Global giant in Kraków.

From the perspective of Krakow's centre's further development, the rela tions with our business partners and the trust we have earned in the last 12 years of the centre's operation seem to be of crucial importance. The excel lent opinion about the centre in Krakow within the HSBC group allows the team to develop more advanced competen cies. We are a full-fledged partner sup porting the bank's day-to-day operations and transformation in improving and optimising numerous banking processes. Looking ahead, I think we are close to market trends, investing in data mana gement and implementing new techno logies to improve existing processes. In addition to the technological and risk teams based in Krakow, it is also worth mentioning that global cybersecurity team was settled in the centre. In short, we have people, skills and a defined development direction. We also make every effort to ensure that the centre in Kraków is the employer of choice and this year's Great Place to Work certification and a place among the 300 best emplo yers in Poland according to Forbes con firm that this is the right direction.

How does the HSBC service centre operate?

FOCUS ON Business: What sort of pro cesses is supported by the HSBC ser vice centre in Kraków? Bartosz Brak, HSBC: The first term that comes to my mind is "broad" or, even better, "global". HSBC service cen tre in Kraków functions as one coordi nated organism which consists of several related units. In other words, it's a com prehensive set of process improvement centres in finance, banking operations, risk, technology, transformation, procure ment, and a few other competencies we are developing.

The location of those processes in Kraków allows for closer cooperation with global business, a better understanding of the HSBC group priorities and target cus tomers, and the orientation of the centre's development strategy towards providing full-value services. Together, it all offers much better opportunities to the bank's customers around the world.

31Focus on Business | September–October 2022

SSC LIONS 32 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

As I mentioned, the working model during the pandemic has changed dra matically. Within a few days of the first lockdown, we sent almost the entire team at the centre to homeworking. We are cur rently working in a hybrid model, a natu ral consequence of changes in proce dures and the approach to business risk. The hybrid model, in which staff decides for themselves how much and when they work from the office, gives emplo yees the flexibility they have become used to over the past two years. It also brings some challenges in office space mana gement, ensuring the appropriate IT infrastructure and implementing modern, "virtual" team management methodolo gies. It is not an easy process, but like any change, it drives development. The pandemic also affected the "human" needs of the employee. It always has been relevant but has taken on an enti rely new dimension in the past two years. The concepts of "mindfulness" or "well being" have redefined how important it is to provide the employees with appro priate mental space, how to work on their motivation and balancing the business requirements, and how to create a new set of "soft" benefits. Are there any processes, which, due to their specificity, could not have been handled in the remote work model?

At first, we thought it would not be possible to adapt the full remote working model to the critical processes that must be handled within 24 hours or faster. The best example is payments that our customers cannot wait for and that we are required to fulfil per the require ments of internal service agreements. However, out of the need of the moment, we decided to test new methods of work and, above all, to conduct a comprehen sive risk assessment to answer what else

We will grow. Our business partners are changing their operating models to consider the growing role of Kraków because this is where they want to locate their processes.

 33Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The change required a redefini tion of some processes which, thanks to the specific nature of the centre’s opera tions, could have been adapted to remote work requirements. It would not be pos sible in each of our banking units, as some still must provide accounting ser vices or issue checks in paper form due to the characteristics of a specific market.

What are the plans of the HSBC centre in Kraków for the coming years? We will grow. Our business part ners are changing their operating models to consider the growing role of Kraków because this is where they want to locate their processes. The availability of the desired competencies on the market, where more and more attention is paid to modern professional skills also supports our competitive position. It emphasizes the added value Kraków centre offers to partners who want to work with us. At the same time, our activities are closely related to supporting the imple mentation of the HSBC Group's strategy, which underlines the uniform identity, for example, implementing the sustain able development goals. HSBC centre in Kraków has gone through a long maturation path, becom ing a desirable business partner for mem bers of the HSBC group in Europe and around the world. It has created also a diversified and good workplace where everyone can find something suitable, something to identify with, for example, in the field of a wide Diversity & Inclu sion programme, involvement in coope ration programmes with universities, sports activities or volunteering for the local community. Having a well-developed ecosystem of interacting elements, I think we have a good chance of making a continuous step forward.

we can change to adapt to the new con ditions. In banking it is not an easy pro cess, as we are obliged to comply with demanding legal and regulatory require ments, often differing depending on the country where the service is pro vided. The tests allowed us to run then remote and now hybrid work for 99% of our processes. Of course, the critical factor here is the digitization of opera tions, which makes it possible to move away from the circulation of paper docu mentation and transfer it to the virtual level, for example, the use of an electro nic signature.

The hybrid work model seems to be the most appropriate now, both for the employee and HSBC – it is a com promise between the flexibility desired by employees and the need to guaran tee the stability of banking processes and the appropriate level of security for our clients.

Thanks to the changes introduced in the work formula, the Krakow cen tre has also gained new employees from outside the Malopolska or Silesia regions, until recently our main area of recruiting candidates. Before the pan demic, hiring someone from the other end of Poland was not physically pos sible. However, now the area in which we are looking for the best candidate for work has significantly expanded – today, we can offer our employees the opportu nity to work remotely from anywhere in Poland. This change impacts the centre’s positioning and strengthens our brand in the labour market.

Financial institutions increasingly use digitization and modern technologies based, for example, on AI. Do they also play a significant role in HSBC cen tre’s operations? It is another strategic point neces sary for the centre's expansion, next to the development of modern employee competencies. Let's look at the compre hensive path that a bank customer must go from completing the service applica tion to processing, evaluating, approv ing, issuing an opinion and conducting all administrative formalities. This path should be as short as possible, as fast as possible and build a unique customer experience in the relationship with our bank. In banking operations it is con nected, among others, with the imple mentation of electronic document cir culation systems. They seamlessly con nect the banking unit responsible for initiating and maintaining customer relationships with our centre where appropriate teams perform tasks for that customer. As an example let's take credit and loan processes where the client's flow of documentation and applica tion smoothly moves from one stage to the next one. However, we must remember to meet the legal requirements and con sider the elements of the process that cannot be part of it now and which often require the employee's involvement in formal activities, for example applying to a regulatory institution. It is encoura ging that the progress is noticeable. For instance, in high-value payments for European markets, the degree of automa tion is close to 75% and is still growing.

Thank you for the interview.

An interview with Hans-Juergen Cassens, the Head of the Innovation and Training Park Prizren. HOW A SCIENCE PARK IN KOSOVO IS ON ITS WAY TO BECOME THE LEADING LOCATION FOR IT-COMPANIES AND INNOVATORS 34 Focus on Business | September–October 2022 MAIN INTERVIEW

35Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Wiktor Doktór, Pro Progressio: Inno vation and Training Park – the name puts a new swing to the tech park con cept. Can you give us a short introduc tion and tell us what makes the Inno vation and Training Park in Prizren such an interesting proposition for IT and business process service delivery centers?HansJuergen Cassens, Innovation and Training Park Prizren: The Inno vation and Training Park in Prizren –focuses on what makes tech innovation possible and creates different perspec tives on entrepreneurship and in par ticular the environment for IT and busi ness process services companies. We do that by aligning science and talent devel opment in IT with private sector needs focusing on the so-called quadruple of

Now we want to connect the Innovation and Training Park Prizren with Polish ICT centers and service companies because we feel a great compatibility and we feel to be able to provide a very unique value, bridging the need for talent and answering to the evolving location strategies of growing ICT service companies and multi-national service delivery operations.

ITP Prizren from the drone view. 2022

MAIN INTERVIEW

36 Focus on Business | September–October

innovation: government, industry, aca demia and civil society. Our value preposition for our com panies, investors and partners’ rests on 8 pillars: 1. The digital transformation center – a digital ecosystem development initiative 2. Co-Working space – providing worksta tions, infrastructure, Internet access, printers and more 3. Offices space – with an impressive 44,000 sqm rentable space 4. Business development – with strategic partnerships, training, investor consul ting and more 5. Start-up services – such as counseling, office space, incubators and more 6. Dedicated incubation services – with at least 500 sqm as part of a package with facilities, marketing and other services

The ITP Prizren is an initiative under the umbrella of the Kosovar-German Development Cooperation. An ITP asso ciation with equal membership (per stat ute) of Kosovo and German representa tives governs the park, while it is mana ged by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). This ensures a wide network of local and international partners ranging from government institutions through busi ness associations (e.g. German-Kosovar Business Association) to institutions from the educational sector. It provides access to excellent inves tor support services and a local network that is essential to install operations effec tively and in a timely manner.

The park has an astonishing infra structure, occupying an area of about 40 ha with more than 50 buildings and vacant plots for expansion and new facilities. Can you please tell us a bit more about the activities and initiatives behind those pillars?

What is also special is that the Innova tion and Training Park Prizren is a Ger man Kosovar Development Initiative. Can you give us a short introduction?

The fact that ITP is managed by a German-Kosovar team of experts adds investment security and a long-term per spective to the development of the Inno vation and Training Park Prizren. We are convinced that the work we’ve put in over the last few years to transform ITP Prizren to one of the leading Tech and innovation parks in the Balkan region provides unparalleled opportu nities for growing IT companies and for multi-national service delivery organiza tions from Poland. Thank you for the interview.

Behind those 8 pillars you can find for instance the largest private univer sity in Kosovo residing at ITP with more than 2,000 students or a cooperation with Prizren’s public university “Ukshin Hoti” which has 4,500 students in 6 facul ties, including computer sciences. There are also private VET and digital solution providers like Makerspace Prizren or the Center for Digital Excellence mana ged by Kosovo’s Ministry of Economy, including training and 3D modeling and printingITPfacilities.Prizren has also been hosting the latest “DebConf22” Conference organi zed by The Debian Project and its local partner “Free Libre Open Source Software Kosova” (FLOSSK), as well as an International Summer School Priz ren, hosting and interacting with students and professors from more than 40 coun tries worldwide.Withthose activities and features we are especially addressing the need of IT and innovation companies that seek access to highly capable tech talent and want to extend their workforce and diversify their location strategy.

7. Accommodation and recreational faci lities – e.g. housing for students or par ticipants of ITP events, the ITP sports center and more 8. Networking events to foster coopera tion and knowledge management among the different actors in ITP and key partners, like business associations. The combination of those featu res, initiatives and services offers an immense potential for innovative and crea tive companies and those that seek to transform traditional business models. In addition, it is a unique value proposi tion for international IT companies and innovative organizations. Moreover, ITP Prizren – has a stra tegic location in the Balkan region, being only 40 minutes away from the country’s airport in Pristina and additionally close to the airports in Kukes and Tirana, Alba nia and Skopje, North Macedonia.

 37Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Why is Poland an interesting location for ITP to connect to? The short answer is: compatibi lity, conditions, talent pools and oppor tunities. But let me elaborate. Poland has managed to position itself as one of the leading locations for ICT services –not only for the neighboring Germany but for many economies in Europe and overseas. Today almost no other loca tion for ICT services attracts so much attention from service delivery organi zations, IT and business process ser vices providers.Nowwewant to connect the Inno vation and Training Park Prizren with Polish ICT centers and service compa nies because we feel a great compatibility and we feel to be able to provide a very unique value, bridging the need for talent and answering to the evolving location strategies of growing ICT service compa nies and multi-national service delivery operations.Thevalue lies in the access to talent, in access to training, and most impor tantly in the access to an environment that fosters research and development, which provides a context for continu ous innovation. Also the conditions in Kosovo in terms of labor and operation cost, plus the favorable taxation with a 10% cor porate tax rate and a pro-business stance make Kosovo today a very viable choice as IT services delivery location.

At the end of June 2022, Warsaw’s total office stock amounted to approximately 6.27 million sq m. Occupier activity accelerated while the vacancy rate continued its downward trend – these are some of the key findings of the MarketBeat H1 2022 report prepared by experts of global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.Morethan 129,000 sq m of new office space was delivered to the Warsaw mar ket in the first half of 2022. The largest completions included the Forest Tower, SKYSAWA and Lixa C. The second half of 2022 will see another 105,300 sq m delivered in three office buildings. At the end of the second quarter of 2022, Warsaw’s development pipeline scheduled for completion in 2022-2025 comprised approximately 234,000 sq m. In addition, developers stepped up project preparations across all stages, from land acquisition through to obtaining building permits. Warsaw’s vacancy rate remained under upward pressure since the outbreak of the pandemic. Despite the rela tively healthy supply levels in the first half of 2022, the vacancy rate edged down to 11.9% in the second quarter, down by 0.3 pp quarter-on-quarter and 0.5 pp year-on-year. Office availability amoun ted to 747,700 sq m at the end of June, down by close to 2% year-on-year.

INVESTMENT NEWS

WARSAW SEES STRONG OCCUPIER ACTIVITY AMID FALLING VACANCY RATES – CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD SUMMARIZES THE FIRST HALF OF 2022 ON THE WARSAW OFFICE MARKET

Source: Cushman & Wakefield 38 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

– The growing leasing activity also translated into net absorption which came to 157,900 sq m in mid 2022, surpassing 2021’s total. Net absorption exceeded new supply in January June 2022. Looking ahead, we expect the vacancy rate to con tinue its downward trend in the com ing quarters given the recovery in occu pier activity, limited new supply and a relatively high level of pre-lets in office buildings scheduled for completion in 2022, says Jan Szulborski, Senior Consul tant, Consulting & Research, Cushman & Wakefield. Total leasing activity in Warsaw amounted to 479,400 sq m in the first half of 2022, up by 94% on the same period in 2021 and up by 19% compared to 2019. The largest deals in the first quar ter included PKO BP’s pre-let in SKY SAWA I&II, PEKAO’s pre-let in the Forest Tower, the ING Group’s renegotiation and expansion of its lease in Plac Unii, a renewal by a banking services company in Generation Park X, and Generali relo cating to the Jabłonowski Palace. Nota ble transactions in the second quarter saw Samsung Electronics Polska renego tiate its lease in the Warsaw Spire, KOWR renegotiate its deal in the Karolkowa Business Park and an IT company renew its lease in the Warsaw Financial Center. Take-up was powered by the improving rental market and the build-up of transactions closed by large tenants from the financial services sector in the first quarter of the year. As the pan demic began to ease, some tenants who previously sat on the side-lines went ahead with their office deals. This is con firmed by 392 transactions finalised in the first half of 2022, representing a yearon-year increase of close to 58%. Rene wals and new leases accounted for 48% and 45% of the total take-up, respectively, followed by expansions which made up the remaining 7%. – We suspect that demand for office space in 2022 in the Warsaw will continue its gradual upward trend relative to 2021. The downside risk to this scenario is that occupier sentiment around investment plans in Poland may change or worsen in the coming quarters due to geopoliti cal uncertainty and the expected shrinking office availability due to a lack of new sup ply, adds Joanna Blumert, Head of Occu pier Services Warsaw, Office Agency, Cushman & Wakefield.

OutsourcingIndustryreportsLegal compliance ofofemploymentforeigners recruitmentPermanent Blue employeescollar Your HR in our hands Trust 20 years experience! konakt@grupaprogres.plwww.grupaprogres.pl lat

Holding Photo: Carbon Tower building in Wrocław

Source:Holding.Cavatina

Source: Savills Photo: Widok Towers – copyright Commerz Real AG 40 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

SAVILLS APPOINTED TO MANAGE WIDOK TOWERS

CAVATINA FINALISED THE SALE OF A PACKAGE OF THREE PROPERTIES

Real estate advisory firm Savills has been appointed as property manager for Widok Towers, the most centrally located skyscraper in Warsaw. The mandate fol lows many years of cooperation with German Commerz Real AG, the owner of the property, on Tulipan House and Mil lennium Park A. Widok Towers is a mixed-use 95m high skyscraper in the very heart of War saw, located at 44 Jerozolimskie Avenue, next to Romana Dmowskiego Rounda bout. It has an area of almost 35,000 sq m. Sitting next to the new Rotunda buil ding, it was completed in 2021, replac ing the landmark Universal tower.

The anchor tenant of Widok Towers is Warsaw City Hall, which pre-let over 11,000 sq m of office space in the building in 2021. Other key tenants include Enel Med, Funk Gruppe, Movatoo, Vortune Equity and the trade promotion organi sation Advantage Austria. Office leasing and facility management services are provided by S+B Gruppe AG, the develo per of the property. – It is the second skyscraper that has recently strengthened our property management portfolio in Poland. Less than a month ago we had the pleasure of announcing our takeover of property management of Sky Tower in Wrocław. We are delighted with this mandate to deliver for another prestigious high rise building. Boasting a prime location, Widok Towers has become one of the new sym bols of the city centre, says Michał Brysze wski, Head of Property & Asset Manage ment, Savills.

Affiliates of Lone Star Funds have acquired a real estate package from Cavatina Holding S.A. After announcing their inten tion to go ahead with the deal in June, the parties managed to quickly bring it to a conclusion. Carbon Tower in Wrocław, Ocean Office Park A and Tischnera Office in Kraków, offer a total of nearly 66 thousand sqm of GLA, and their aver age lease rate is at the level of approx. 90%. The deal amounted for more than 139 million euro. The sale price amounted to, respec tively: 40.6 million euro in relation to Car bon Tower, 31.1 million euro in relation to Ocean Park A and 67.6 million euro for Tischnera Office. The transaction was prepared under advisory of Dentons and CBRE acting for Cavatina Group. Prime office assets in Poland are attracting strong interest from inves tors. In the first half of the year, the total investment volume reached 2.88 billion euros, of which as much as 44% was in the officeCavatinamarket.Holding is one of the lead ing office developers in Poland, operat ing primarily in major regional markets, focusing on city-building projects inte grated into mixed-use complexes. – Investors today are looking for sus tainable buildings located in prime loca tions. Our proposals meet the needs of both urban residents, tenants and inves tors, who appreciate our approach to real estate. We focus on quality, high end archi tecture and flexibility in cooperation with companies. Another successful portfolio transaction pleases and motivates us to continue our development in the chosen model focusing on major regional mar kets, says Daniel Draga, Vice-President of the Management Board of Cavatina

Text | Jeremy Brattle

The operational reality and complexity of CRE’s role in enabling businesses to continue to trade and operate through out the various phases of the pandemic should not be under-estimated. Naviga ting the complexities of exiting, maintai ning and returning to the office (or deli vering alternative hybrid solutions) in a controlled, safe, compliant, efficient, and informed manner, is a huge under taking that no CRE professional had trained for Whilepreviously.thisprocess is clearly still on-going, the way in which CRE teams and their suppliers have reacted to this chal lenge has earned many a level of trust, res pect, and profile at the C-suite that other wise would have been difficult to achieve.

CRE NOW HAS A FIRM VOICE AT THE BOARDROOM TABLE

As the role of CRE changes, what is the impact on real estate teams?

CRE’s role in understanding, advising and procuring appropriate flexible solutions in all markets will be an increasingly critical component of any portfolio strategy.

Some CRE teams are also hiring leaders with expertise in researching, testing and implementing innovative digi tal workplace applications and technolo gies as they seek to support new flexible ways of working. These roles also require experience in developing / deploying qualitative and quantitative employee listening strategies to ensure alignment with changing employee sentiments.

INVESTMENTS 42 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

This has further increased as busi ness leaders seek data, insights and solu tions to inform and deliver appropriate and sustainable workplace strategies that offer choice, optimise workforce produc tivity, and enable agility. They must also facilitate collaboration, learning, and a culture that drives talent attraction and retention.The real estate industry is trans forming at pace, but it is still traditional and fragmented by nature with a lack of transparency – CRE’s role in naviga ting the sector, gathering real, validated data sources, analysing trends, and pre dicting outcomes is vital in informing appropriate business decisions in the short, medium and longer term. This ability to assimilate, analyse, simplify, and present complex data in a manner that is relevant and digestible to business leaders is increasingly critical for CRE as the function grows in terms of profile and influence.

There has also been a heightened need for integrated thinking and closer col laboration between CRE, HR and Tech nology as organisations strive to cap ture and understand working patterns, behaviours and preferences across their workforces. They must then deliver fric tionless and seamless experiences for all interactions in both a digital and physi cal environment. Operating models are already adapting in some organisations to ensure greater collaboration between these func tional towers. In some cases, we have seen evidence of digital teams migrating from technology departments to CRE to enable digital experience curation and delivery; in others, it is the creation of dedicated ‘future of work’ teams, made up of senior representatives from each of the key towers, owning and driving an integrated approach & solutions across the business.

FOR MANY, IT IS STILL WAIT AND SEE Whilst some organisations have already made bold statements as to the role of the office going forward, most businesses are still collecting and analysing data, watching others and waiting to deter mine the optimal way forward for them & their workforces.

What is becoming increasingly clear however, is that the ‘worker’ is demanding greater choice in terms of how and where they work, and in a com petitive landscape for talent, employers are seeking smart, accessible ‘human first’ and sustainable solutions to hybrid working. CRE’s role in understanding, advising and procuring appropriate flexible solutions in all markets will be an increasingly critical component of any portfolio strategy.

The requirement to deliver at pace and evidence tangible outcomes is driving an unprecedented ‘war for talent’ within the CRE sector. A thirst for innovation combined with a willingness to invest are key factors shaping the future of work strategies that CRE are developing. CRE teams at the forefront of this thinking are increasingly able to find the best talent, transform the way busi nesses operate and attract investment, thereby move their functions further up the corporate value chain. For the pro fessionals working within the sector, this is the opportunity to evolve their role from delivery of workspace to defining the future of work itself. I therefore envisage the skills required for CRE professionals to continue to evolve at pace, to match the require ments for greater collaboration and “pur pose” behind our use of the office envi ronment. We will see more professionals from hospitality and customer services backgrounds joining the sector to cre ate more first rate, amenity-led environ ments. The need for experience in tech nology adoption and integration will become critical as elements of virtual work environments are integrated with the physical office environment. And, it goes without saying, that a base-line ability to collate, manipulate, interpret & present data will become critical to any new entrants to CRE. These are all skills that will add value to the CRE world and improve its ability to demonstrably add to the cor porate bottom line. But when the very future of work is up for grabs, then the sector needs to bring all the skills it can to encourage fertilisation of fresh ideas and a radical new approach.

Author Jeremy Brattle Director & Co-founder of Brattle Cameron & Incendium Consulting

THE FUTURE OF WORK ROLE

A SUSTAINABLE ROLE FOR CRE Whilst CRE’s role in the informing and executing future of work strategies has been and will continue to be a business-critical function, it is arguably secondary when compared to its role in defining, supporting, and delivering corporate Sustainability agendas. The evolution in the ‘future of work’ has provided an addi tional layer of complexity as the Net Zero targets have to be considered wher ever employees may choose to work in the future. Future portfolio strategies and therefore decisions will provide a signi ficant opportunity for CRE leaders to deliver against ESG targets far beyond the four walls of a traditional office and will contribute to the future of the way we all live and work in the generations to come.

WHY HAVING THE RIGHT TOOLS MAKES A DIFFERENCE – THE CITCO GROUP OF COMPANIES (CITCO)

One of the many tools an organisation can use to integrate continuous improve ment at all levels is Asaichi, Japanese for “morning huddle”. In essence, Asaichi is about running brief and effective cross-departmental meetings to continuously monitor KPIs, flag issues and assign ownership. Working towards a common goal increases cooperation amongst employees from different fields as well as develops discipline and responsibility.

While Citco’s Vilnius office, which already employs more than 800 specialists, receives external guidance and feedback on Lean practices, they also have a dedicated cross-departmen tal and cross-functional team that is tasked with developing and imple menting continuous improvement ideas. Everyone can bring their ideas to this team of Kaizen ambassadors, who review all ideas and proposals – from small office space tweaks to refinements to client-focused processes – on a weekly basis, as well as track their implementation.

Text | Karolina Gurinaitė

The methodologies of Lean and Kaizen have been dominant for decades now because of the proven benefits they offer for productivity in manufacturing, but their application isn’t tied to industrial applications alone. Both of these approaches share much in common, guided as they are by the elimination of waste and unnecessary actions that add no value. And the best practices developed by Toyota in the mid-20th century are still guiding organisations around the globe. Kaizen itself is a compound of two Japanese words that can be loosely translated as “continuous improvement”, an approach synonymous with how things are done across many Lithuanian GBS centres.

Lithuanian GBS centres LEANing towards continuous improvement

Before I dive deep into my country’s sec tor, let me share some more thoughts on why I believe Lean and Kaizen practices should be top of mind when it comes to centres across the region. While process automation is all the rage these days, before a process becomes automated, it needs to be analysed, examined and per fected. By continuously asking questions like “Why are we printing 5 copies of every document?”, “Why are we waiting 2 days to report a mistake?” and “Why do we have half the team involved in this?”, lean organisations get closer to the essence, eliminating waste along the way. The best part of it is you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, you can choose from a number of existing tools and frame works that have helped thousands of companies level up their game.

One of the many tools an organisation can use to integrate continuous improvement at all levels is Asaichi, Japanese for “morning huddle”.

One of the advocates of this approach in Lithuania is Citco, a leading provider of asset-servicing solutions that will soon celebrate 15 years in the country. Every morning there starts with a structured Asaichi meeting, where all the relevant information is shared in a concise and effective manner. Today, this approach is inseparable from the “Citco way”, the company’s commitment to investment in the right people, and ensuring they are provided with the means to succeed.

INVESTMENTS 44 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Author Karolina Gurinaitė an Investment Advisor, Business services & ICT at Invest Lithuania

By examining only a small sample of Lithu anian GBS centres, we can see that con tinuous improvement is not about radi cal change but about small, incremental adjustments that make the organisation more efficient and resilient. At the same time, best practices only work if everyone is onboard, which means that investing in and training your staff in the basics truly pays dividends in the long run. Kaizen itself is a compound of two Japanese words that can be loosely translated as “continuous improvement”, an approach synonymous with how things are done across many Lithuanian GBS centres.

To make sure everyone is on the same page, Dana has also introduced a com prehensive onboarding program, during which new hires are familiarised with Lean and Kaizen methods. The company believes talent powers a customer-centric organization that is continuously improving the performance and the efficiency of vehicles and machines around the globe.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ON A STRUCTURAL LEVEL – DANA INCORPORATED

45Focus on Business | September–October 2022

SMALL STEPS LEAD TO GREAT RESULTS

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE TALENT THAT’S READY TO EMBRACE CHANGE – OUTOKUMPU

As a global automotive manufacturing company with 139 major facilities located across six continents, Dana Incorporated has deeply rooted Lean and Kaizen prac tices. By hiring the best talent and having a ceaseless focus on continuous improve ment, the company grew to become one of the leading providers of drivetrains and e-propulsion systems. Established in 2019, Dana’s Vilnius-based European Shared Services Cen tre has its own Continuous Improve ment department, which means that this approach is ingrained in the organi sational structure. By linking Lean practices (e.g., problem-solving, root cause analysis tech niques, Gemba, Kaizen), digitalisation solutions (e.g., RPA, Power Apps.) and con tinuous people development, the centre’s management fosters a culture where qua lity and efficiency are held in high regard.

Established in 2016, the Global Business Services Centre of Outokumpu has Lean principles at its core. After all, the centre was established by the global leader in stainless steel, meaning that a lot of the practices and approaches are actu ally rooted in manufacturing. It’s no sur prise then that Six Sigma (a framework used to minimise errors and defects) and Lean practices were introduced already in their first year of operations. This year, the company also added the Asaichi meeting structure to its mix of best practices. These approaches can only work if they are enthusiastically received and accepted by the team. It is also crucial to onboard new colleagues and familia rise them with the core principles behind the company’s way of continuous improvement. This is why all newcomers undergo Lean Basics and Problem Solving training. And training does not stop there! In fact, in five years’ time, the company has certified two Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and two Yellow Belt groups. Together, these groups, numbering 50 people, implemented over 30 projects, saving the company over 2,000 hours a year. Finally, having spoken to the company’s representatives in Vilnius, I learned that Outokumpu’s colleagues in Lithuania are not just implementing Lean pro cesses in-house, they are also involved in teaching best practices to their coun terparts in other countries.

In 5 months, we held more than 440 community meetups in various direc tions (HR, PR, Legal, Edu CommunITies, GR-events, B2B meetings with members). About 8 thousand people attended those meetups from the Kharkiv IT Cluster dur ing wartime. Now the Kharkiv IT Cluster com munity has united more than 200 organi zations, IT companies-members and partners! During the war, 46 IT compa nies joined the Kharkiv IT Cluster. New membership applications are received

IT industry in Ukraine continues to operate despite the war

We talk with Olga Shapoval, Executive Director Kharkiv IT Cluster about the realities of operating in war conditions and about perspectives for IT business in one of its most powerful hubs.

FOCUS ON Business: Tell us what has changed for Kharkiv IT Cluster since FEB 24th. How do you and your team manage to work now? Olga Shapoval, Kharkiv IT Cluster: Our primary focus since the beginning of the war was the resilience and busi ness continuity of the Kharkiv IT commu nity. We have been working since the first full-scale war day, from the moment we heard the first explosions. The evacuation was the first thing we did. To save the businesses, we've coordinated the evacuation of 15,000 IT professionals with their families and pets. We also launched support and additional services for them in the regions where they have moved. At the same time, the Kharkiv IT cluster team was rebooting all cluster projects, faced with global geography and challenges. But all in all, the first three months of the full-scale war were spent in con stant aid to war-affected people and Ukrainian defenders. As an example of our projects – our team gathered 120 restaurants that provided food to the people on a regular basis. The team of the Kharkiv IT Cluster coordinate its chari ty project IT4Life: collected volunteers, accepted applications, and achieved logis tics through all Kharkiv districts under the bombing.During the 5 months of the war, Kharkiv IT companies and IT people directed more than UAH 824 million to support the defenders and the humani tarian needs of the Kharkiv region.

The impact of the help was huge, for exam ple, about 348 thousand people were fed with hot lunch: soldiers, doctors, elderly people and children.

We updated all your educational projects when the business was saved and allowed to continue working. For those children who live in a shelter in the sub way, we, together with our IT companies, organized math lessons in the subway. Then, in order for future Ukrainian stu dents to get hope for a successful future at home, we organized the IT Applicant Portal, as well as united all participants studying IT, for school graduates and for switchers.

INVESTMENTS 46 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Our IT companies were working globally before the war with their clients. Now – do the same with their teams, acting all over Ukraine, Europe and America. Many members opened their offices in the EU, especially in Poland. But mainly now they are working decen tralized. So does the Kharkiv IT Cluster team, delivering value to the IT commu nity globally. With Kharkiv in our hearts.

Difficulties for Ukrainian IT com panies mostly consist of the fact that some foreign clients consider them as "risk zone" partners. At the same time, this pattern does not correspond to rea lity: Ukrainian IT people are extremely motivated – not least because they need money for donations to help the army and civilians.

The biggest challenge now fills the IT companies which were focused on the local market. For them returning to work was a little bit more compli cated. But they have already returned to work and resumed activity both in Ukraine and in foreign markets. Even with these troubles, they found a new way of doing business.

daily. Participating companies look for solutions to their business needs in the new uncertain reality and find them in our community.

Members and team Lviv. Members and team Kharkiv.

How does the Kharkiv IT business operate during the war? What difficulties does the Ukrainian IT business face now? Tell us about successful cases of overcoming the crisis.

On the eve of the war, the team of Kharkiv IT Cluster held a thematic meet ing with members about possible inva sion threats to the IT business. Each company had a business continuity plan, which they began to implement from the first minutes of a full-scale invasion. Most companies relocated their employ ees to safe places in the first days. So, already at the beginning of spring, Ukrai nian IT was ready to continue its work. Almost everyone from Kharkiv IT business is working on victory delivery as much as possible. Every Ukrainian IT company combines volunteering and charity with the core business. Some of them have cut back on hiring and getting new contracts, but at least they've kept what they had.

47Focus on Business | September–October 2022

For example, digital-marketing agency Promodo has left its development strategy, which was worked out before the war, and remains a Ukrainian com pany with plans for leadership in digi tal marketing in the Kharkiv region. The experience of CHM Software com pany shows that having lost many clients in Kharkiv due to the war, they unexpect edly found a new opportunity. 70% of res taurants in Ukraine and some European countries used Russian software. There fore, the company is now successfully developing Ukrainian software, which turned out much better than Russian.

What is the role of the IT business in the Ukrainian economy during wartime?

Now, the teams are working from all around the world and so is the Kharkiv IT Cluster. We act as a big ecosystem of communITies with thousands of people, with the different projects and initiatives driven by the core cluster team and con stant platforms for cooperation online and offline in the most popular loca tions. For example, our regular general assembly meeting of members on the 4th of August we held at the same time offline on three platforms – in Kharkiv, Lviv and Warsaw, and online. One of the key points still is IT edu cation development. We should not for get that the main problem of Ukrainian IT was the lack of talents. Therefore, work on ensuring that the flow of new emplo yees does not stop continues to be very important. Half of Ukrainians in non-IT industries lost their jobs because of the war, but the IT business creates an opportunity for people to quickly start a new profession. Our universities continue to study online, Kharkiv is the city that gave the world a unicorn GitLab, and we are convinced that it will not be the last. We have a very powerful potential – 94 edu cational IT programs in more than 20 educational institutions with which we constantly cooperate in our projects.

So if you are asking yourself – how to help IT Kharkiv resilience – give our teams a business case and we’ll create the best IT solution for you! Thank you so much for the interview and for your time. Members with Olga in Warsaw.

The world's attention is focused on Ukraine. 50 thousand of Kharkiv IT people and more than 500 Kharkiv IT companies now continue to create IT solu tions and IT products for clients. And the best type of international help are the new orders, new partnerships, new clients. The expertise of Kharkiv IT com munITy is huge and wide, EdTech, E-com merce, enterprise solutions for different business domains, FinTech, Travel Tech and many others. And now IT teams are highly motivated, talented and ready to do more, to continue their businesses and help Ukraine to stand in the war.

INVESTMENTS 48 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The most important base of Kharkiv IT Cluster and our community is our IT people, with Kharkiv in their hearts.

The IT industry remains one of the most sustainable during the war. The only industry that is now consist ently generating income, more than 90% of which is export earnings, which is critical in the context of a weaken ing domestic economy. Unity helped to save 95% of workplaces (according to a study by the IT Ukraine and Kharkiv IT Cluster). During the Q1 and Q2 of 2022, the IT industry provided a recordhigh $3.74 billion of export income in wartime, compared to Q1 and Q2 2021 the volume of IT exports has increased by 23%. The Ukrainian IT industry proved its resilience in a time of instability and increased risks. Also, the IT community continues to pay taxes. Ukrainians call it the "busi ness army": money from saved work places helps to keep the economy, and all savings are donated to the armed forces and humanitarian aid for war victims. In Q1 and Q2 2022 the IT industry paid UAH 32.6 billions of taxes. IT industry has tra ditionally been one of the budget-makers in Ukraine. IT business representatives also participate as specialists in government projects and cyber warfare. It is difficult to make any visions of the future at the moment, however, we all have learned how incredibly resilient and flexible your community is. So what could you tell us about cur rent plans for Kharkiv IT Cluster?

According to the report of the Kharkiv IT Cluster, most of the Kharkiv IT com panies that left the city are planning to return after the war. Part of the IT com munity remains in Kharkiv to this day. They don't leave, helping the city and those who defend it.

Many IT companies have already started projects to recover the city and its infrastructure, so we will do our best to help Kharkiv's renovation after victory.

Ponad 750 tysięcy złotych dla Polskiej Akcji Humanitarnej i Fundacji Centrum Praw Kobiet JLL 11. Charytatywny Turniej Siatkówki Plażowej Branży Nieruchomości 2022 zgromadził aż 54 drużyny i około 2,5 tysięcy gości. Dziękujemy naszym partnerom, klientom, drużynom i ich kibicom, a także wszystkim obecnym na wydarzeniu za otwarte serca oraz pozytywne emocje, jakie towarzyszyły nam podczas rozgrywek siatkarskich. Gratulujemy wygranym turnieju i wszystkim licytującym! Głównym celem najważniejszego wydarzenia sportowego w branży real estate, organizowanego cyklicznie przez JLL, jest wspólne działanie sektora na rzecz najbardziej potrzebujących. W duchu ESG i sportowej rywalizacji łączymy siły by razem napędzać pozytywne zmiany, które mają prawdziwe znaczenie.

– The pandemic has indeed taken its toll on office work. At the beginning, some extreme opinions were voiced that there will no longer be any need for offices. How ever, this gloomy picture has not materialised and I am convinced offices will not lose their functions; quite the opposite –they will broaden them. Surely, they will be different from how we knew them, based on hybrid work model to a larger extent, but they will still exist. Especially, this applies to corporations with well proven working models – explains Anna Celichowska, Commercialisation Director and Board Member of Virako, investor of Monopolis complex in Łódź.

CASE STUDY

Photos Paweł Keler

INVESTMENTS 50 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

BACK TO NORMAL

The pandemic has changed the office working model. Today, a part of work duties is performed from home, and hybrid work has become an integral part of our lives. Does that mean we need to get accustomed to the idea that we are about to experience a revolution in type and size of office space required? Well, not necessarily.

Text | Beata Sakowska

Even though model of hybrid work is becoming more and more dominant, some of the modern mixed-use properties had already proven that there is still future for uniquely designed office spaces. With employees’ rising expectations towards work environment it comes not as a surprise then, that companies and employers focusing on individual approach, safety and satisfaction of employees are expected to be the most valued ones.

Working model may change but there is future for offices!

At the beginning of the previous year, the Polish office property market was very cautious because of the pandemic. However, mid-year things started to get back to normal. In turn, the year 2022 clearly shows that the property mar ket is thriving, as evidenced by availa ble statistics.

It becomes clear that more and more companies choose to bring their employees back to office and hybrid working model. From the global “Hybrid Ways of Working Global Report”, recently prepared by the Danish company Jabra (global manufacturer of mobile com munication equipment), it appears that only one out of five employees can freely choose the place from which they work. Even though 63% of all employees prefer hybrid work, only 45% can flexibly dis tribute their working time between work from home and office work. In most cases, hybrid work is per formed according to a specific pattern. Teams of employees are divided into two McCormick, a global giant, accepted the invitation and the proposed offer and in a few months will be occupying 5,300 square metres of space in Monopolis 2.0 tower.

In Q2 2022, lease agreements were signed for 189,600 square metres of space. This corresponds to an increase by 24% as compared to Q1 2022 and by 12% as compared to Q2 2021. It is also worth not ing that in Q2 2022 as much as 57% of all agreements were entered into with new lessees. Renegotiations and extensions of existing contracts correspond to 35% of agreements (according to the Polish Chamber of Commercial Real Estate).

51Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Monopolis as an extraordinary revitalisation project has already attracted attention both in Poland and abroad.

BIGGEST RELOCATION IN ŁÓDŹ

For the Łódź office property market, the year 2022 is marked with the biggest relocation event. McCormick, a global giant, accepted the invitation and the pro posed offer and in a few months will be occupying 5,300 square metres of space in Monopolis 2.0 tower. According to specialists, relocation is a good way to encourage employees to choose office work, but not the only one. – Such new opening may cause employees to go back to office if the employer offers them better working condi tions in a more attractive location, friend lier environment and a suite of accompa nying services – cultural events, enter tainment, a wide selection of restaurants, a nursery school, a fitness zone, etc. These days, employers put a lot of money and effort in new office arrangements. Work ing space is cosy, friendly and custom ised. I can see more and more companies give up on universal offices in favour of customised solutions. Attractiveness of the location is not to be underestimated. Location of the building, technical solu tions applied, accessibility and accompany ing services are all checked and analysed in detail. I dare say the offer of Monop olis is exceptional and very competitive with other locations in Łódź in all these respects – comments Anna Celichowska.

Author Beata Sakowska groups. One group works from office for two or three days, and the other one works from home. After some time, they swap. Is it always going to be like that? It is hard to say now. Experts believe the new working model should, first and foremost, reflect experiences and con clusions from remote work, meet clients’ requirements and facilitate a company’s success. It seems, however, that this is what office work is going to look like over the coming years. This is what employees expect and their satisfaction level and commitment are going to be decisive in the changing corporate organisational culture. Of course, each company looks for optimal solutions for itself, so details of any measures they take may differ.

SUCCESSFUL MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT Monopolis is a multifunctional space, har monizing with the historic city of Łódź. The concept of combining tradition with modernity and business with art is visible at every step. The psychical integration of office spaces, cultural and educational spots, walkable shopping and entertain ment areas with art and history has suc cessfully enriched the city’s urban fabric. The historic district of Łódź is attracting not only many visitors, but also tenants who lease office spaces in order to secure a place at the most vibrant address in the city. In quickly crowding cities, the adop tion and thoughtful execution of mixed-use development is a necessity and, as the Monopolis case shows, can bring spectacular results. Monopolis as an extraordinary revi talisation project has already attracted attention both in Poland and abroad. The complex was recognized as the best multi-functional project worldwide and was awarded with prestigious “Oskar nieruchomości” (“Real Property Oscar”) in the international MIPIM Awards 2020 competition. Revitalisation of the Łódź Monopol Wódczany won in the mixed-use category against 228 other projects from 45 countries.

COMPANIES APPRECIATE PLACES LIKE THAT Companies which opened their registered offices appreciate this unique environ ment. Apart from McCormick which is to move to Monopolis in autumn, such giants as Clariant and ABB – global companies, well-known and highly-valued in Łódź –operate here. – The idea of a multi function facility is based on having complementary func tions, apart from the leading function. Monopolis is a facility with a theatre, gal leries, a museum, a child development cen tre and many restaurants. All these places create an extraordinary space which is opened for both Łódź residents and visi tors who visit our city on one hand, and on the other hand constitute added value for all our partners who decide to lease office space here – Anna Celichowska emphasizes. And what is coming for Mono polis lessees in the nearest future, what added value is the investor going to pro pose them? Well, they have just signed an agreement for another restaurant. This time, this is going to be a fancy place serving French cuisine. Also, a full-scale nursery school is intended to be opened soon. Locations for a swimming pool and a fitness studio are already prepared, but these attractions will not become avail able until the third stage of the invest ment project, which Virako, the Mono polis investor, plans to launch in the next year.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing mankind today. Considering the fact that the majority of people in Poland live in cities, cities are at the forefront of the fight against climate challenges, and the list of problems to be solved is long. Heavy rains, violent winds, heat waves causing drought, cold waves, urban heat islands, low emission and disturbances of air circulation in the city are the most frequent extreme weather events we have experienced in recent years, and it is worth mentioning that their frequency and intensity are constantly increasing.

INVESTMENTS 52 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Furthermore, remarkable is the fact that the oldest historic tenement houses, which are mostly located in the city cen tre, are also subject of environmental measures. Wherever possible, they are connected to the municipal heating net work. This is the most environmentally friendly and energy-efficient way to eli minate low-emission sources, as there is a modern combined heat and power plant with an efficiency of 89%. More over, interested housing communities who will eliminate coal heating may

Bielsko-Biała

Photo: Paweł Sowa.

– a city with a good climate

It is necessary to take a number of actions not only to reduce the impact of these phenomena, but also to reduce their fre quency and severity. Therefore, moder nisation of heating systems, development of ecological transport, water policy and even urban development are just some of the aspects where local decision-makers might be the key actors of the global suc cess in this struggle.

For many years now, Bielsko-Biała has been carrying out intensive activi ties focused on restoring environmental well-being, and their effects are already been seen both by residents and tourists who are coming to the city. Bielsko-Biała wants to become a city with a "good cli mate" both when it comes to the quality of life and running a business.

The location of Bielsko-Biała at the foot of the Beskids mountains, at the intersection of north-south (S1 road) and east-west (S52 road) routes, makes the city one of the most important eco nomic centers in southern Poland. Almost the same distance separates Bielsko-Biała from such European capitals as Warsaw, Vienna, Prague and Budapest. The high density of transport and tourist traffic is leading to a higher emission of pollutants into the environment. Therefore, the city made intensive efforts to build bypasses, so the main transit traffic was relocated from the city centre.

Polish Theatre in Bielsko-Biała.

As part of struggle with low emis sions, ecological heating has been installed at homes of city residents since 2007, thanks to the municipal subsidy programs for the elimination of non-eco logical coal boilers. So far, more than 4,000 old stoves and boilers have disap peared from the urban space, and due to the fact that the program will ends in 2027 in next few years another ones will be successively eliminated, what will sig nificantly improve the quality of air in the city.

53Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Nowadays, great importance is attached to the development of cycling and pub lic transport.Thelocal authority also focuses their efforts on greenery and nature.

Stairs at 11. Listopada Street.

Photo: Paweł Sowa. receive a subsidy for the construction of internal central heating and hot utility water installations. As a result, 145 apart ments in 10 private tenement houses have been connected to the network. There is no coal source in the city’s pub lic buildings since 2000. On international arena Bielsko-Biała as a long-standing signatory to the European Covenant of Mayors for Sus tainable Energy, is one of the cities that are very aware of the impact of energy use on the environment. Therefore, in its activities, it focuses on the rationali zation of Energy consumption and use of renewable energy sources. Many local public facilities already have installa tions of renewable energy sources, and since 2020 the project "Renewable energy sources for residents of Bielsko-Biała" supported by EU funds is being imple mented, where 1,000 installations of renewable energy sources such as: heat pumps, photovoltaic power plants and solar collectors have been installed in sin gle-family houses. It is worth notice that earlier the local government also co-fi nanced over 1,000 such installations from the city budget. Local infrastructure investments allowed to cover more than 98% of the city with sewage system, to thermomodernize public buildings and to modernize the district heating network.

New parks, gardens and richly flowered streets are part of the "Plan for Adapta tion of the City of Bielsko-Biała to Climate Change", reducing the negative effects of the urban heat island and positively influencing the well-being of residents and tourists. This actions resulted in title of the most beautifully flowered city in Poland which Bielsko-Biała recived in the Terra Flower Power competition in 2020 and 2021. Local government motivates resi dents to take care of the local environ ment by themselves. To support their efforts city launched in 2020 the subsidy program "Bielsko-Biała catches the rain", which promotes the efficient manage ment of rainwater on private proper ties by installing a rainwater tanks. Such attitude allows both to reduce the risk of flooding and water shortages during a droughts. As a result, more than 2,000 investments in this field were co-financed from the city budget. Other subsidy pro grams that were launched to support residents were "Green roofs for the city of Bielsko-Biała" and "Green energy for the city of Bielsko-Biała". So many differ ent activities are part of the city's longterm strategy. Consistency in action is a very important element of struggling with cli mate changes. Bielsko-Biała was the first city in Poland which adopted “Sustain able Energy Action Plan” (SEAP), which assumed the reduction of energy con sumption and CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020 through elimination of non-ecologi cal coal boilers, thermomodernization of buildings, use of renewable energy and through changing the behavior of resi dents to more pro-environmental. Fol lowing the adopted course, in October The local authority also focuses their efforts on greenery and nature. This actions resulted in title of the most beautifully flowered city in Poland which Bielsko-Biała recived in the Terra Flower Power competition in 2020 and 2021.

Photo: Paweł Sowa. 2020 the city renewed its commitment in the "Covenant of Mayors for energy and climate" to achieve even higher, 40% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030. Curren tly, the Agreement has more than 11 thou sand signatories from all over the world. The measures described above led to an significant improvement of the air quality indicators (PM10 and PM2. 5 dusts, benzoalfapirs). By 2013 those indicators have been regulary exceeded. In past few years situation on this field has been systematically improving year by year. Since 2014, there have been no exceedances of the permissible annual concentrations in PM10 dusts, and since 2019, there are no exceedances of PM10 dust within the standard of the permis sible number of days with exceedances.

Cyclists in Bielsko-Biała.

INVESTMENTS 54 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The other indicators shows the lowest values in history. Such state of affairs wouldn’t be possible without both investments and educational activities. In this case, it is worth mentioning that since 2011, the promotional and educational cam paign "Bielsko-Biała protects the cli mate" has been carried out continuously. This action is focused in particular on the city's residents and supported by nearly 90% of local educational institu tions. So far, over 40 thousand people have participated in 12 editions of the campaign. The success of the cam paign would not be possible without the creation of an appropriate struc ture of teachers-campaign coordinators (approx. 200 people) who works in local schools and kindergartens. "Bielsko-Biała protects the climate" is a unique project, an original idea of the city authorities that allows residents and local entities to be involved in the city's climate and energy strategy, which has been noticed and esteemed both on the national and international level. The campaign has received many awards, including the main prize in the competition for the European Public Sector Award – EPSA 2013. "Bielsko-Biała protects the climate" was rated as the best project implemented by local authority in Europe from the total numer of 230 pro jects submittetd from 26 countries and European institutions. The campaign also won the main prize at the European festival of natural sciences "Science on Stage 2013", where 350 projects from 27 European countries were presented. In the category „school cooperation”, the campaign was recognized as a unique project increasing social awareness of the environment. It would not be possi ble without good cooperation between the local government and education sec tor. Since 2020, the city boasts one more award – the Ecolaurel 2020 (Ekolaur 2020), awarded by the Polish Chamber of Ecology in the category for cities over 100,000Thanksresidents.tomany years of efforts concentrated on measures leading to improve the quality of life of the city's resi dents, it can already be said that Bielsko-Biała is a good place to live and work.

55Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The latest ranking of the happiest Polish cities, commissioned by the Otodom portal, shows that local residents are happy in their city. BielskoBiała was ranked fifth among the cities with the highest level of happiness. In 2018 and later on in 2021 Bielsko-Biała was in the forefront of Polish Sustainable Cities Ranking carried out by the inter national consulting company Arcadis, which compared 50 most populated Polish cities evaluating their social, envi ronmental and economic aspects of sus tainable development. It is worth noting that Bielsko-Biała received a very high rating in the field of environment aspect. Sustainable development of the city is also a direction reflected in the "Strategy for the development of Bielsko-Biała until 2030". The city’s stra tegic vision describes it as “worth living”, “green and resilient” and “productive”. It seems that this vision is slowly becom ing a reality, because the latest ranking of the happiest Polish cities, commissioned by the Otodom portal, shows that local More information City Hall in Bielsko-Biała | Strategy and Economic Development Department pl. Ratuszowy 1, 43-300 Bielsko-Biała Phone: +48 33 4971 486, e-mail: wrg@um.bielsko-biala.pl www.bielsko-biala.pl residents are happy in their city. Bielsko-Biała was ranked fifth among the cities with the highest level of happiness. According to 12 evaluation criteria, a happy city is a city that offers a comfortable living conditions, cares of resi dents health and safety and builds inter personal relationships. The future of Bielsko-Biała is clearly defined by its new strategy until 2030, as well as by consistently imple mented measures that helps protect the climate and increase the energy efficiency. The city intends to stay on its long-chosen course, successfully imple menting actions towards ambitious cli mate and energy goals, thanks to which its residents will be able to enjoy life in a healthy and friendly environment.

Ignacy Moscicki's Dam in Wapienica.

Photo: Ryszard Wesołowski.

In Częstochowa, some employers are aware of this problem. Large foreign companies that have been dealing with this issue in their home countries for years are at forefront of activities con nected with the matter.

The city is open to cyclists, inline skaters, lovers of horse sports, climbing or those who want to see the world from a bird's eye view. This is thanks to the coopera tion with neighbouring communes, whose inhabitants often work in Częstochowa. Communes are already linked by bicycle paths and hiking trails. Thanks to this, you

The subject of WLB undoubtedly has an impact on the future of our eco nomy and the health of our society, and therefore it cannot be ignored. It is enough to be aware that work is an inte gral part of our life and, just as the lack of it can be destructive, the excess of it can lead each of us to a crisis. Increasingly, among employers, additional incentives for employees are becoming more and more common, helping them to maintain this very balance. More and more companies allow their employees to make working time more flexible, reliably approach overtime accounting, companies provide childcare, organize additional training, days off for parents and integration events.

Częstochowa marked with Work-Life Balance

The topic of Work-Life Balance is the subject of many statements. You may consider it to be a trendy, alternative, important or irrelevant thing. Regardless of the approach to this topic, it cannot be pretended that such a topic does not exist in society. In addition to activities carried out by entrepreneurs and organizations in this area, the environment in which the employee spends his time outside of work is very important. Częstochowa, not a big city, contrary to appearances, has more to offer its inhabitants than you might think.

INVESTMENTS 56 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Nowadays we are dealing with the employee market. The employers' prob lem with finding the right employees is yet not so much quantitative as it is qualitative. Looking purely pragmatic at this topic: an employee who comes to work willingly and who has no prob lem with burnout is much more effi cient and, perhaps, a bit lofty... raises the morale of the entire team. So it is good that this topic is covered at different levels of employment and in different environments.

can leave the city centre in a very short time and find yourself in the beautiful Sokole Mountains, Towarne Mountains or on the Warta River. Częstochowa annually has over 200 cultural events organized by the city. Most of them are family-oriented and this is also the way they are perceived by the inhabitants. For fans of high culture, there is a rich repertoire of the Często chowa Concert Hall under the direction of the Grammy Award winner – Adam Klocek and the Adam Mickiewicz Theatre whose directors were, inter alia, Henryk Talar, Marek Perepeczko, Piotr Macha lica and Magdalena Piekorz. In Często chowa for over 20 years there has also been organized the International Festi val of Sacred Music "Gaude Mater", which attracts world-famous artists to the city every year and at the same time teaches how beautifully and beyond divisions it is possible to conduct dialogue through art. For those interested in a slightly lighter but similar subject, the HOT JAZZ SPRING International Festival of Traditional Jazz is organized, as well as the International Festival of Chamber Music, organized since Częstochowa,2002. apart from significant achievements in acquiring EU Funds, can boast a very high activity of its inhabitants in the field of social economy. Organizations of the third sector are very active here and, with the support of the city authorities, contribute to building a positive image of the city.

In addition to the willingness and actions of employers who create sys tems conducive to maintaining a balan ce between personal life, the actions of the city are extremely important, as it tries to support its residents and organize their free time so that they can not only work in the city but also relax. The city we choose to live in is one of the most important factors if we want to follow the Work-Life Balance principles. Częstochowa, not a big city, con trary to appearances, has more to offer its inhabitants than you might think. There is no need to convince anyone about the tourist and recreational values of the immediate vicinity of the city. Często chowa is proudly called the gate to the Jura and the city's activities in this area are becoming more and more visible.

Phone: +48 34 3707 212, +48 34 3707 213 e-mail: coi@czestochowa.um.gov.pl, fer@czestochowa.um.gov.pl www.czestochowa.pl Among the two hundred and fifty thou sand inhabitants, there are almost eight hundred third sector organizations. They deal with all aspects of life, cooperate with the commune, create cooperatives and make the inhabitants become more active, more and more socially sensitive, which directly affects their integration. Częstochowa is a family-friendly city. Due to the health programs being intro duced, including the IVF support program, the city's image is changing. It is no longer just a day trip destination or a stopover on a further journey. The city was included in the ranking of Antal – an agency recruiting for specialist and managerial positions –indicating cities attractive for relocation. It is not high in this ranking yet, but it is ahead of some provincial cities. It is certainly a good city to live in, safe and with a low crime rate. A city with a great tradition, history and a beautiful future. A city of inventive, socially sensi tive, enterprising people and also welltrained professionals. All this makes it worth living in Częstochowa. It is worth working and resting – finding this balance without which one is unable to be either an efficient worker or a fulfilled community member.

CzęstochowaBranding.isafamily-

-friendly city. Due to the health programs being introduced, including the IVF support program, the city's image is changing.

More information Investor Assistance Center Department of European Funds and Development | City Hall of Częstochowa

In July the city announced a new competition for employers and residents of the entire Northern Subregion of the Silesian Voivodeship. The competi tion and the JURA PRIDE award are part of the promotion of the Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska region perceived through the prism of the people who make up its community. The prizes will be awarded in five categories: Company, Employee, Investment, Personality and Work-Life Balance – for good reason because the location of Częstochowa is perfect for maintaining the so much needed balance.

For several years, the city has been supporting local entrepreneurs in acti vities in the field of Employer Branding. The Investor Assistance Center pro vides advice and co-organizes training and workshops – their activities aim to change the way of thinking not of only employers but also of employees.

Waszyngtona 5 Street, 42-217 Częstochowa

For several years, the city has been supporting local entrepreneurs in activities in the field of Employer

57Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Bydgoszcz BSS market – quick overview

MAIN RAILWAY STATIONCITY AIRPORTINTERNATIONALHALL10min; 3,5 km 12 min; 5 km 2 express roads 4 national roads 5 regional roads

Bydgoszcz is the strongest busi ness centre in the Kujawsko-Po morskie Voivodeship. An attractive investment offer, con stantly expanded and modernised infrastructure, and access to qualified staff make Bydgoszcz a market with huge potential for further growth for investors. The city’s advantage is also its diversified economy, which provides the desired synergy of competencies. Our city is one of the important loca tions for the modern business services sector in Poland. Around 60 BPO, SSC, IT and R&D centres operate here, creating around 11,500 jobs. The largest, approxi mately 80 per cent, share in the employ ment structure in the sector is generated by IT services, which have become a local specialisation. The F&A and contact centre sector is also developing more and more dynamically. The main representatives of BSS sector in Bydgoszcz develop specia lised business processes here and carry Bydgoszcz is a city that has always been associated with ICT sector. The city has been home for companies such as Lucent and Atos, which for many years have driven the global, European and Polish new technologies and IT solutions markets.Over the last decade, Bydgoszcz has significantly changed its image. The development of modern office space, including flexible offices attracts a num ber of new investments and strengthens Bydgoszcz’s position on the Polish map of destinations chosen by domestic and for eign investors.Itisalso worth noting that due to the increasingly common model of remote and hybrid work, a number of compa nies that so far were associated only with the largest Polish cities, began to value the strong advantages of Bydgoszcz. This stands as a good prognosis for the next months and years, which – I am convinced – will bring a positive impact on the development of the BSS sector in the city.

Edyta Wiwatowska, President of the Management Board, Bydgoszcz Regional Development Agency Wiktor Doktór CEO, Pro Progressio out projects for global IT, telecommuni cations, insurance or automotive compa nies, confirming the highest level of ser vices and competencies. Bydgoszcz provides a good climate for both business and living. It is a unique city, situated on the Brda and Vistula rivers, full of greenery, sport, music and extraordinary monuments, caring for nature and constantly investing in its own development in the spirit of the “work-life balance” idea.

INVESTMENTS 58 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

176 km2 Town area 10 Universities 24 schoolshigh 24 technicalschools 344 091 Population of Bydgoszcz 606 656 Population of Bydgoszcz Metropolis 1 232,8 ha Green areas (forests excluded) 6 854 28 361 selected subjects** philology (foreign languages) administration, business and law engineeringIT/ICTandtechnology medical studies architecture and construction 2 697 14 288 2 356 2 495 7 249 1 623 7 138* 9 116* 636 3 577309115 1 354765 1 411* 1 564* students graduates students graduates students graduates * Data for 2020. ** Data for 2020 for Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship.

A/B+ Class offices office space buildings 136 420 m2 10 000 m2 61 500 m2 2726plannedconstructionunderexisting business and employment Number of BPO/SSC sector employees in Bydgoszcz 11 729 total 9 191 IT industry Type of business operationsSSC 19,4% BPO 9,7% ITO 71% Employment structure of the local BPO/SSC market F&A 10% ITO 80% CentreContact 10% Download "FOCUS ON Bydgoszcz" report to find out more. More information Bydgoszcz Regional Development Agency 4C Unii Lubelskiej Street, 85-059 Bydgoszcz Phone: +48 52 585 88 23, e-mail: barr@barr.pl www.barr.pl INVESTMENTS 60 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The Youth in Łódź program gives companies an excellent opportunity to fine-tune their job offers in close coope ration with universities. This is mani fested by, among others, dedicated majors such as ‘Linguistics for Business’ designed and implemented by program partners together with the Faculty of Philology at the University of Łódź; or ‘Automation of Business Processes’ implemented in cooperation with the Faculty of Manage ment at the University of Łódź. Experts from partner companies turn into pro fessors and deliver lectures, which helps connect the academic real and the world of business tangibly. Paired with summer

Program participation is beneficial and numbers prove this better than any thing else. First of all, the sheer amount of companies that joined the ranks of active partners should not be underestimated. We’re now at more than 300 organiza tions (and counting), oftentimes lead ing employers in Poland and globally, such as Fujitsu, Nordea, and Barry Calle baut – industry leaders and true house hold brands who grew their operations in the city to include hundreds of emplo yees in highly qualified positions.

The program is implemented by the Business Development and International Relations Bureau of the City of Łódź. Youth in Łódź is among priority areas for the Office because it encourages companies and investors to increase their business footprint in Łódź.

Youth in Łódź provides highly quali fied resources for local entrepreneurs and new investors alike – and their num bers are growing. The modern business services sector is a case in point. Data collated by the City of Łódź Office indi cates that this sector added over 1,000 new jobs to the city economy only in Q3 and Q4 of 2021. Fast-paced devel opment of the BSS sector clearly high lights the growing pressure employers are under when searching for well-edu cated talent, and Youth in Łódź taps per fectly into that demand. The program is implemented by the Business Development and Inter national Relations Bureau of the City of Łódź. Youth in Łódź is among the prio rity areas for the Office because it encour ages companies and investors to increase their business footprint in Łódź. Adam Brzostowski, Director of the Office: Research conducted by the Office allows us to confidently forecast that the number of employees in the BSS sector will exceed 31,000 FTEs. This means we’re dealing with a mature market. Employment level, the presence of global brands, and the increasing complexity of business pro cesses transferred to Łódź all contribute to put us among the modern business ser vices leaders in Poland and the CEE region. The scale and growing complexity of business processes ran from Łódź are clear indicators that the BSS sector is growing. This, in turn, calls for the Youth in Łódź program to be implemented truly comprehensively. The multidimen sional cooperation of the City of Łódź Office and local universities, such as the University of Łódź or the Łódź Uni versity of Technology, as well as leading employers – Infosys, Accenture, Nordea, Fujitsu or B|S|H to name but a few – ena bles each participant to derive true added value from the program. Youth in Łódź consists of apprenticeships, paid intern ships, scholarships, free training, com pany open days, and the "Get a taste of studying in Łódź" project. The multitude of activities means that the program’s net can be cast far and wide to catch as many young and promising talents as possible and provide them with the top develop ment conditions they deserve.

INVESTMENTS 62 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The "Youth in Łódź" scholarship program attracts and values young talents

The "Youth in Łódź" [PL: "Młodzi w Łodzi"] program is a unique initiative aimed at supporting young people in developing their careers in the city of Łódź. Running for over a decade, it is unmatched on the national level and brings together local government, universities, and private sector employers. By acting together they paint a positive picture of Łódź – a great place for young talents as they embark on their professional journey.

Experts from partner companies turn into professors and deliver lectures, which helps connect the academic real and the world of business tangibly. Paired with summer internships, it gives students an unparalleled opportunity to learn and understand businesses inside out. More information Business Development and International Relations Bureau Piotrkowska 104a Street, 90-926 Lodz Phone: +48 42 638 59 39, Fax: +48 42 638 59 40, e-mail: boi@uml.lodz.pl www.lodz.pl, Linkedin: Invest in Lodz internships, it gives students an unparal leled opportunity to learn and understand businesses inside out. And if eight out of ten interns later upgrade their summer internships into full-time employment then it’s a mutually beneficial solution.

63Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The City of Łódź Office also offers a dedicated scholarship program granted by the Mayor of Łódź. Aimed at cre ating top conditions for its’ recipients commencing studies at Łódź universi ties, this project is intended for all can didates – including those from outside the voivodeship. The project also acts as a founding block for further initiatives developed by companies, which thus secure access to the most ambitious and talented students from all over Poland. So far, the city of Łódź has supported over 300 students to the tune of almost PLN 3.5Them!Youth in Łódź scholarship pro gram gained nationwide recognition and was chosen as the best Local Government Scholarship Program, as well as awarded the ‘Good Scholarship’ prize. Awards and recognition always put a smile on the face of the entire team involved in running the project and make us even more deter mined to invite all interested parties to join Youth in Łódź – a program provi ding genuine support in acquiring and valuing young talents. Find out more at www.mlodziwlodzi.pl 

Terms and conditions for the financial support outlined above are established by individual Founders in consultation with Youth in Łódź organizers. Scholar ships are awarded to the best and most proactive students enrolled in majors that attract the greatest interest from employers. In the short term, a selected student may become a brand ambassa dor at the university; and then move on to become a trusted employee in the long term. Companies very often recognize the employer branding dimension of this initiative, while building out their future talent pipeline.

The central and most prestigious initiative within the Youth in Łódź pro gram is a one-of-a-kind scholarship scheme. It's worth taking another look at some numbers first. More than 70 com panies have participated in the 14 edi tions of the project thus far, which trans lated to the award of over 800 scholar ships. That's almost 60 recipients each year! Companies and institutions get involved in a variety of ways, which include: scholarships, student residence subsidies, and extracurricular course reimbursement (e.g. language courses).

Photo: Radosław Kaźmierczak / Katowice City Hall.

The whole green world in one place? At WUF11 it was possible!

Katowice for 5 days, from 26th to 30th June 2022, became the most important city in the world by hosting the most significant event dedicated to the politics, transformation and development of cities – the World Urban Forum (WUF11). All those who put their whole heart into the quality of urban life gathered in one place. This year's 11th edition of the Forum was guided by the slogan: Changing our cities for a better future. The Forum is held every two years, and for the first time took place in Central and Eastern Europe (so far it has been held in Vancouver, Kuala Lumpur and Abu Dhabi, among others). UN-Habitat, the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy and the city of Katowice were responsible for organizing the meeting under the aegis of the United Nations. Participants repre senting governments, regions, cities, NGOs and financial institutions descended on the capital of Upper Silesia: over 10,000 people from 174 countries participated and more than 6,000 people joined online. The event was carried out in an open format, so everyone could participate in panels of interest to them. Participants, who decided to come to Katowice could see that WUF11 is not only panels and discussions of world leaders, but also a series of events aimed at the local com munity. Thanks to this formula, the inter national participants of the Forum had a chance to meet with residents of Kato wice and other cities of the Metropolis GZM. During the event, 11 thematic zones were launched in the center of the city, where numerous attractions – and nearly 150 events – were organized.

INVESTMENTS 64 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Photo: Jeremi Astaszow / Katowice City Hall.

65Focus on Business | September–October 2022

It is still surprising for many people that Katowice is one of the greenest cities in Poland, and Katowice's Three Ponds Valley and Kosciuszko Park are favorite recreation spots for residents and tourists. The attraction that enjoyed the most interest was the Urban EXPO exhibition space, in which 89 exhibitors from 43 countries from all regions of the world, including the US, Germany, France, Mexico, South Korea, Indonesia, Kenya and Thailand, set up their stands on 8,000 sqm. Half of the exhibitors were from outside Europe. This was not an ordinary confe rence. Its aim was to promote specific solutions based on 17 sustainable deve lopment goals, which are the basis of life-friendly cities. The discussion was focused on a wide range of urban topics: how to build cities, how to effectively manage them using modern technology and innovation, and how to respond to emerging crises. Much space was devoted to the green future of cities. We are all aware that nowadays environmental awareness plays an increasingly impor tant role in life, and therefore the event itself also focused on the spirit of zero waste. This year's Katowice edition will be remembered for a long time in the his tory of the MICE industry, both in terms of its international character, attrac ting people from the farthest corners of the world, as well as the modern and pro-ecological solutions applied during the organization of the event itself. Pro-environmental accents could be seen at every step. The facility where the main events took place was fully powered by renewable energy sources, all plants were watered with treated condensate from air conditioners, and some plants such as trees were donated to forest nurseries. Materials that were prepared for the arrangement of the WUF11 space were recycled or given away for further use. Some of the materials were used to prepare for future events or were con verted into reusable bags. The use of plas tic in any form was banned throughout the event, and as a result, dishes served in the food court were served on biode gradable materials. Keeping the organization of the World Urban Forum in Katowice in the pro-environmental spirit is an expres sion of the city's consistently imple mented policy. Green cities are not just cities with lots of greenery. These are cities where their inhabitants live well, and they are helped by the symbiotic segments of urban infrastructure and services that function with them. These are also cities where the environment and climate are concerned. In green cities, the local government also cares about other factors that indirectly affect people's living comfort and the climate. Katowice has been following the green trail for several years, enriching the space with new projects and investments. The city's inner center is much greener today than it was a few years ago, and the city is preparing to green more areas

Photo: Radosław Kaźmierczak / Katowice City Hall.

common goal – to continuously improve the quality of life in the city.

Photo: Jeremi Astaszow / Katowice City Hall. Photo: Katowice City Hall. Katowice is the first city in Poland to fulfil the obligations of the Electromobility Act, Allhavepublicforchargingwherestationsindividualandtransportationbeenlaunched.activitieshaveone

INVESTMENTS 66 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

More information Investors Assistance Department Katowice City Hall www.invest.katowice.eu and revitalize existing ones. Revitaliza tion projects and the construction of new parks are close to be completed. In order to give shape to the ideas of greening the city, the Green Budget was created, whose mission is to realize the ideas of residents in the field of ecology, broadly defined and environmental protection. When talking about sustainable development, the theme of green urban spaces must not be overlooked. It is still surprising for many people that Katowice is one of the greenest cities in Poland, and Katowice's Three Ponds Valley and Kosciuszko Park are favorite recreation spots for residents and tourists. Active recreation in Katowice's forests and parks is facilitated by a network of walking and bicycle routes running through the most interesting recreational areas of the city. Over 50% of the city's green areas (which are forests, parks, ponds) are obliging. The network of bicycle routes resulting from the Katowice City's bicycle policy is constantly being developed. The City by bike system operating in the city offers 124 bicycle stations with 1,002 bicy cles, more than 185 km of bicycle paths, 85 km of which are beautiful landscaped paths in green areas. Networks of electric scooters and kick scooters are also well developed. After all, Katowice is the first city in Poland to fulfil the obligations of the Electromobility Act, where charging stations for individual and public trans portation have been launched. All activi ties have one common goal – to continu ously improve the quality of life in the city.

The city's efforts to increase care for green areas and improve the quality of life of its residents have been reflected in the awards and distinctions Katowice has received recently. Katowice took 2nd place in the Schuman Foundation's "Europolis" ranking, presenting the most environmen tally friendly Polish cities, and 2nd place in the "Electromobility Cities Ranking", pre pared by Polityka Insight in cooperation with the Electric Vehicles Promotion Foun dation, and the title of Social Responsibi lity Symbol 2021. To sum up, an event of international scale and concern for the environment and living in harmony with the nature have a common denominator. Giving Katowice the role of host for the World Urban Forum is a sign that Katowice, in terms of heri tage, modern business, cultural and social life, as well as pro-environmental beha vior and promotion of greenery in urban centers, has strong reasons to be proud at an international level.

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Kraków, Katowice, Lublin, Łódź, Wrocław, Warszawa Asa team of real property lease experts, we’ve been active in the market since 2003, offering virtual offices, coworking spaces and serviced offices We provide flexible office spaces and the services necessary to begin and continue doing business.

Our services WHO WE ARE? We create spaces and we love it! Coworking Coworking frees your business, as you don’t have to rent an office at all, while you still have guaranteed access to professional technical and social amenities The difference is that you work ata shared space, using a dedicated desk for as long as you need to. Virtual office Is a business address in the city center important to you? Are you constantly on the go, travela lot and need assistance in collecting your parcels and letters? Or perhaps your business isa start-up operating from home and you don’t want your home address to be visible on the web? Virtual office is the perfect solution!

FOCUS ON Business : What invest ments are in the circle of Trust Invest ment's interests and why Kielce occupy a special place on the map of these projects?Patryk Barucha, Trust Invest ment: Trust Investment has been opera ting on the real estate market for over five years, focusing mainly on three types of projects: residential, commercial and mixed-use. We are currently active in five Polish cities, i.e. Kielce, Radom, Katowice, Gliwice and Częstochowa, and in 2023 we intend to expand into two more markets. We carry out most of the investments in Kielce. This destination is the closest to us because of its location. Kielce is an inter esting market, we see further develop ment opportunities here and we are pleased that administrative procedures are carried out here efficiently and rela tively quickly.

The investment has met with positive reception and interest, both in terms of office and residential space.

Modern office buildings on the horizon

Yes, it is one of the best locations in Kielce. It is adjacent to the main commu nication junction, the largest shopping centre in the region, the largest office park in Kielce and universities. We want to build 3 skyscrapers on the plot, at least 17 storeys each. We want to combine service, Trust Investment wants to build 3 skyscrapers at the Solidarności Alley, at least 17 storeys each. They want to combine service, residential and office functions, i.e. a typical mixed-use function.

Interview with Patryk Barucha, CEO of Trust Investment – a developer carrying out a number of construction investments in Southern Poland.

What is being built in Kielce?

Recently, Trust Investment has acqu ired an attractive plot of land at Solidarności Alley in Kielce. What are the plans for this property?

INVESTMENTS 68 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Patryk Barucha believes that the office market in cities such as Kielce will continue to develop. residential and office functions, i.e. a typi cal mixed-use function. At this stage, we can say that the investment has met with positive reception and interest, both in terms of office and residential space. We are open to new tenants and clients who are interested in Kielce. What is the real estate market in Kielce like today? How do you evalu ate the supply and demand for office real estate? So far, mainly residential real estate has been developed in Kielce. On the other hand, we agree with our business part ners responsible for the commerciali zation of office space that there is room for category A office buildings in Kielce. The supply is basically close to zero, which has so far made it difficult for companies from the BPO sector to make a decision to develop. Our investment has the potential to become a kind of catalyst. We count on the interest of the local mar ket in this segment. How, in your opinion, will the office real estate market develop in the next 10 years in the context of the turmoil related to the war and, above all, the pandemic? I believe that the office market in cities such as Kielce will continue to develop. The pandemic has tempora rily slowed down the demand for office space, but everything is back to normal as before the lockdown period. War is a difficult topic because it may result in an increased demand for office space, considering the fact that companies are leaving Ukraine. Poland seems to be the best place to relocate companies. On the other hand, we observe fluctua tions in the prices of goods and services, which may have negative consequences for the office and construction sectors. More information Investor Assistance Centre | Kielce City Hall Strycharska 6 Street, 25-659 Kielce Phone: +48 41 36 76 571, 41 36 76 557, e-mail: coi@um.kielce.pl www.invest.kielce.pl/en, www.mapa.invest.kielce.pl/en What do companies looking for modern space expect? How to meet their requirements? Most of all, they need modern space today. Companies do not want to wait for two years for someone to build a suitable facility for them. We also need developers specialized in this field who will build office space in Kielce. From my obser vations and conversations with part ners specialized in leasing office space, it appears that tenants are interested in Kielce, but they are looking for offices of the appropriate class, e.g. A. They are also looking for lower costs and good staff –here I see opportunities for Kielce. Are developers rightly afraid of investing in offices? How can you minimize the investment risk related to the con struction of office buildings? First of all, developers need a well -prepared infrastructure, reducing invest ment risk adequate to bearing such risk in cities such as Kraków or Łódź. To illus trate this idea, let's take an example: we risk less when building an office space in Kraków, even though the return on investment is lower than if we were to build an office building in Kielce. It seems, however, that the City of Kielce has the tools to attract potential investors and reduce the investment risk. This is, for example, the Resolution of the City Council passed at the beginning of this year in Kielce, exempting newly built office spaces from real estate tax for a period of 3 years. Thank you for the interview. 69Focus on Business | September–October 2022

The Scandinavian entrepreneurial spirit was brought to Poznań by two IT companies from Finland: BestCoders and Tietoevry. The first one combines Polish specialists with the needs of the Finnish market for IT services and consultancy. BestCoders offers a wide range of highend ICT projects. Tietoevry, on the other hand, will open one of its European 5G technology development centres in Poznań. It is a leading technology com pany with a global reach. It employs experts specialising in cloud, data and software solutions. Up to 400 emplo yees specialising in internet networks and telecommunications in the broadest sense will find employment in the capi tal of TheWielkopolska.Poznaństart-up community has also gained a new player. We are talking about the Ukrainian company Sigma Software Labs, which is based on

INVESTMENTS 70 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Haleon has opened its first office in Poznań. It was established as a result of the spin-off of the consumer healthcare products segment from the pharmaceutical company GSK. The Haleon Hub in Poznań is a global centre that supports processes and services worldwide on a daily basis. In Poznań, it employs more than 400 specialists from the areas of IT, finance, HR and purchasing.

Poznań’s half-year summary

The Summer season has sealed the first half of 2022. It is also the perfect time to take a breath and summarize. In Poznań, there were many reasons to be proud, and the pace of work is not slowing down. The investment strengths of the capital of Wielkopolska and a strong team have once again provided a series of achieve ments worth taking note of! NEW INVESTORS Since the beginning of the year, Poznań has welcomed several new investors. In particular, the IT industry, which is a source of pride for the City, has grown in strength. SIS (Strategic Industry Solu tions), headquartered in the US city of Duluth, joined the ranks of companies operating in Poznań. The new office has become home to the Kyiv branch, which decided to move to its western neighbour. In Poznań, it will support all SIS operations.SISisdedicated to providing solu tions for the project and service indus tries, helping to manage all stages of the supply and service lifecycle. The com pany provides complete project mana gement, project accounting, business analysis and CRM software. It bases its operations on Microsoft Dynamics 365, as a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner. Through its comprehensive 365.academy project, SIS offers a paid internship pro gramme from which it later selects its staff.

The past six months were an extremely intense and productive period for Poznań. The market downturn and reduced activities as a result of the pandemic didn’t slow down the City's development. The effects of the activities are visible both in the number of new investments and their quality.

We chose Poznań as the location for our 5G development centre. The capital of Wielkopolska has many highly qualified employees – not only programmers but also specialists in the field of telecommunications. The strengths of the city are also the interesting and varied educational offerings of the universities of Poznań and the office facilities that enable us to create a dynamic centre for new technologies. We hope this potential will allow us to develop advanced 5G projects for our customers around the world.

FURTHER SUCCESSES IN POZNAŃ

Name of the investor: Tietoevry Country of origin: Finland Sector: IT Number of workplaces: 48 Occupied space in m2: 8 Location in the city: Regus Andersia Centre (office 106)

71Focus on Business | September–October 2022

During the MIPIM fair, the investment offer of the City of Poznań is presented. Currently there are 14 plots for sale and 1 plot which can be rented or leased. the synergy of product business and IT services. Its focus is mainly on pre-seed and early-stage investments. Sigma Soft ware Labs is an active partici pant in the Ukrainian and international start-up community. It also has its partners in the Polish market, where it will now develop new and ambitious ideas by sharing its experience.

FROM CANNES TO POZNAŃ A summary of Poznań's successes is impossible without the annual investors' feast – the international property fair MIPIM. Organised for years in Cannes, it is an opportunity for cities to present themselves at their best. During the event, the investment offer of the City of Poznań is presented. Currently there are 14 plots for sale and 1 plot which can be rented or leased. The city's properties are located both in the centre and in the more remote areas of the city. They include very large plots, e.g. in the Franowo area, as well as smaller locations. The majority of the properties are intended for housing and services, but there is also plenty of land for warehouses, production facili ties and car Meanwhile,parks.in June, ITCorner 2022 Members' Congress, of which Poznań was both partner and host, took place. This important event for the IT industry brought together many experts to parti cipate in panel discussions and lectures. The main subject was the issue of the 'tur bulence-resilient company'. On 24 November, Poznań will host the fourth edition of the Pozitive Tech nologies conference. The event is organi sed in a hybrid formula by the City of Poznań in cooperation with IT compa nies. It focuses on various thematic tracks in the IT industry, including data, DevOps tools and technologies or cyber security, during which experts will lead debates, presentations and lectures.

The development has not bypassed Poz nań's existing investors either. ROCKWOOL Global Business Services, the Poznań centre belonging to the ROCKWOOL Group, has expanded its existing acti vities with new operational and techno logical functions such as engineering and purchasing or research and development. As the world's leading producer of rock wool, ROCKWOOL has decided to con tinue its growth with a particular focus on the growth of the Poznań office. It is here that the European 'centre of excel lence' will be Anotherestablished.successstory belongs to a new employer on the Poznań mar ket. Haleon has opened its first office in Poznań. It was established as a result of the spin-off of the consumer healthcare products segment from the pharmaceu tical company GSK. The Haleon Hub in Poznań is a global centre that supports processes and services worldwide on a daily basis. It employs more than 400 specialists from the areas of IT, finance, HR and purchasing.

New investment in the city

Michał Mariański Telecom Manager at Tietoevry

www.poznan.pl/investAttentionwasalso paid to the Inves tor Relations Department team. During the jubilee gala of the Top Woman in Real Estate competition, the girls from the BOI were awarded in the Best Team category, which is for teams managed by women who have stood out in the past year in the sector and who are providing ser vices for real estate investors. A strong female team has always been one of its strengths, and now it has been further recognised nationally. – We are very pleased that the Inves tor Relations Department was awarded the title of the Best Team. Working in such a unique and ambitious team built of women provides new inspirations every day. Together we are not afraid to take up even the most difficult challenges. This is a great distinction. I believe that we will manage to repeat this success also in the following years – says head of the department Katja Lõžina. Another award was also given to the leaders of the Investor Relations Department themselves: the Head, Katja Lõžina, and Deputy Head, Katarzyna Sobocińska. They were awarded the title of Business Tigers by Pro Progressio. These are people who have significantly influenced the development of the BSS sector, participated in business and CSR activities and represented organi sations that have actively developed in the last year. WHY POZNAŃ? For the third time, the Investor Relations Department also succeeded in realising a unique promotional project for the city, the folder MOVE TO IMPROVE. The twen ty-four pages report contains the answer to the most important question: "Why Poznań?". It is a collection of data about the investment potential of the city and all the assets that make it so attractive. There is always a lot to do in Poz nań. The first half of the year has only rekindled the ambition for further suc cesses and the drive to develop the City, which is achieving further successes every day. Expect to hear from us again soon!

During the jubilee gala of the Top Woman in Real Estate competition, the girls from the BOI were awarded in the Best Team category, which is for teams managed by women who have stood out in the past year in the sector and who are providing services for real estate investors.

The capital of Wielkopolska was awarded the title of Business-Friendly City of the Year in terms of local government support. The award was given during the annual Future of Emerging Europe Summit and Awards 2022 gala organised by Emerging Europe.

POZNAŃ BUSINESS TIGERS

The hard work in Poznań does not remain hidden. This is evidenced by the numerous awards that have been granted both to the City and the Inves tor Relations Department for their con tribution to its development. In the inde pendent fDi Intelligence ranking "Euro pean Cities and Regions of the Future 2022/2023", the capital of Wielkopol ska was ranked 5th in the general classi fication of medium-sized cities. Poznań also appeared in the top ten in catego ries such as: business friendliness; stra tegy for attracting foreign direct invest ment; economic potential; overall classifi cation. This year's ranking is particularly pleasing, as it confirms last year's excel lent business performance. Another distinction for Poznań has been awarded internationally. The capi tal of Wielkopolska was awarded the title of Business-Friendly City of the Year in terms of its local government sup port. The award itself was given during the annual Future of Emerging Europe Summit and Awards 2022 gala organised by Emerging Europe in Brussels. More information Investor Relations Department | City of Poznań Za Bramką 1 Street, 61-842 Poznan Phone: +48 61 878 54 28, e-mail: inwestor@um.poznan.pl

 INVESTMENTS 72 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

74 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Michał Piasek is an expert with more than 14 years of comprehensive business experience in real estate, renew able energy and raising capital for com panies, including start-ups. He specialises in transaction execution, financial model ling, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), strategic and investment advisory at both national and international level. He started his career in the UK con sultancy market – working at PwC UK and Grant Thornton UK, among others. Subsequently, for several years he held executive positions at the investment fund Henley Investment Management (in London) and the real estate company Globalworth (in Warsaw), where he was responsible, among others, for the exe cution of multi-million real estate acqui sition and sale transactions. His transac tional track record includes the acquisi tion of Lumen & Skylight, Warsaw Trade Tower and Rondo Business Park. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certificate – one of the most prestigious in the financial industry, awarded by the US-based CFA Institute –as well as the Chartered Accountant (CA) certificate. In addition to his business activities, he has been involved in edu cation – giving lectures and training on financial modelling in real estate to stu dents at the Warsaw School of Economics. – I am excited to be joining a com pany whose business approach is very close to my heart and focuses on giving clients an integrated service, tailored to their individual needs. My many years of experience gained in the UK and Polish markets, but also my activities in vari ous sectors, have given me a broad per spective of clients’ needs and a wealth of knowledge on how to meet them, pro viding the best conditions for continued growth – says Michał Piasek, Associate Director in Corporate Finance & Living Services, Colliers.

Source: Colliers

HR NEWS

MICHAŁ PIASEK TAKING UP THE POSITION OF ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR IN THE CORPORATE FINANCE & LIVING SERVICES TEAM IN COLLIERS

Michał Piasek has joined Colliers as an expert, taking up the position of Asso ciate Director in the Corporate Finance & Living Services team. His responsibilities will include supporting the division in all areas of its activities, starting with a wide range of advisory services, through trans actional business, support in company acquisitions (M&A), going public, and capital raising, including for the deve lopment of business operations.

The Antal 2022 Payroll Report was prepared on the basis of the payroll ana lysis carried out by 8,657 specialists and managers participating in Antal's recruit ment processes in the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022. The report is available here: Source: Antal potential candidates – those experienced as well as students, all of them focused on development with ACCA Qualification. What does the VCF offer to virtual exhibitors (employers)? • face-to-face connection with futureready ACCA talents via chat, • potential employees’ resumés are avail able prior to the event, • employer’s brand and vacancies will have on-going exposure on ACCA Careers (jobs.accaglobal.com), the free global employability site for account ancy and finance professionals. Participation in the fair is free of charge. Source: ACCA EU CAREERS

In October employers planning to develop their team of finance and account ing professionals will have opportunity to meet the best finance and accounting talents in EU. According to the 11th edition of the Antal Salary Report, the average monthly salary in sales and marketing amounted to PLN 13,804 gross, which means an increase by 29% compared to last year. The most sought-after employees are recording unprecedented increases. Sales are sensitive to the market si tuation – and the current turmoil, the war in Ukraine and economic challenges translate into an increasing risk of chan ging jobs. Potential candidates evaluate this risk, translating it into expectations that are much higher than before.

The Fair is a perfect opportunity to access

AVERAGE SALARY IN SALES AND MARKETING INCREASED BY ALMOST 30%. WHICH SPECIALISTS ARE MOST IN DEMAND?

VIRTUAL

Professionals and managers are particularly interested in increasing the level of the base salary to be com parable to the previous total salary. On the other hand, employers prefer to hire one very good candidate than two with less success. Therefore, there is a signifi cant diversification of wages. In recent years, the development of e-commerce has greatly accelerated. Due to the rapid advancement of online sales during the pandemic, companies urgently needed to adapt all online sales processes to a changing lifestyle. It required a huge amount of work, modification of sys tems, implementation of innovations that had been put aside for the time being and became a priority overnight. They needed, and will need specialists who easily navigate in the digital world and understand its dependencies. The success of online sales depends on the work of many people with different competences. Therefore, next to e-commerce specialists, digital mana ger and traffic manager responsible for monitoring website traffic, there is a growing demand for SEM and SEO specialists. Their task is to properly configure the store in web browsers to ensure good visibility, high position and an influx of organic traffic. The position of a social media specialist is gaining importance, i.e. a person who informs, inter alia, in an additional communica tion channel about the store's offer. It is in social networking sites that the need to purchase a specific product is more and more often created.

On the 26th of October there will be organized ACCA EU Virtual Careers Fair (deadline for confirming employ er’s participation is by 23rd September).

ACCA

75Focus on Business | September–October 2022

FAIR – 26 OCTOBER 2022

Please bring us closer to the areas that you have placed particular emphasis on in the study. Who were its partici pants, what were the questions? First and foremost, we conducted the study in cooperation with a sur vey company, which helped us to reach and reliably interview more than 1,000 people from Gen Z, in all provinces of our country. It is important to note that the survey involved respondents aged 18-26, both men and women (49% of respondents were women, 51% men), and people from both large agglomera tions, and small towns and villages.

CAREER&DEVELOPMENT 76 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Who are the Zoomers, what do they expect from employers and what kind of changes will they bring in the labour market?

It is worth mentioning here that in our survey we focused on the Polish market – the respondents came from all regions of our country, which gives us a better perspective of their needs on the labour market and allows us to bet ter understand them locally.

Katarzyna Piotrowska, Cpl Poland: Generation Z is the generation entering the job market, which has already been changing it for several years. It is around 3.5 mil Poles!, who have a significant influence on how our job market is going to look like. Gen Z are such a large group that it is their needs as employees that will come to the fore, consequently they are reluctant to adapt to Generation X or Y – it is the older generations that will have to become more flexible towards them. Not so long ago, it was said that Gen Z were the lucky ones, those who got everything from fate without any effort – because they did not experience hyperinflation or wars and grew up in an open, integrated world. Meanwhile, this generation has recently collided not only with a pandemic that has shaken up the labour market, but also with the unexpected outbreak of war right on our border. There has been a lot of global research aimed at Gen Z, but through my prism of working with Zoomers on a daily basis, I wanted to get to know them even more – here at home, locally – in Poland. I was curious if and how their perception of the labour market has changed due to the world around them. What they expect from their employers, how to reach them and how to keep them.

Interview with Katarzyna Piotrowska, Country Manager Cpl Poland, about the results of the survey focusing on generation Z representatives.

Generation Z – is there a revolution ahead in the labour market?

Wiktor Doktór, Pro Progressio: Generation Z is largely the youngest employees who have only recently entered the labour market. Where did the idea for the research and report focusing specifically on them come from?

77Focus on Business | September–October 2022

We also asked about issues such as the preferred form of employment, the size of the organisation or expected benefits. Respondents also answered what a full-time job means to them, how long they plan to work for one company, and what their plans are for the future. Finally, we asked about the current eco nomic situation and its impact on their openness to new professional challenges. What – apart from the fact that they do not know the world without Internet –do we know about the Zoomers? What kind of employees they are? Above all, they are not motivated to work by money to the extent that pre vious generations were. The Zetas want to earn well, but only to pursue their hobbies and interests. This generation is unlikely to invest in building a house now, as they are not so attached to one place where they would like to live all their lives. They are much more open to travelling and working in other coun tries, or from other corners of the world, to learning about other cultures. I think they are much more adventurous than previous generations. As we all know, Gen Z are the first generation to know the online world from birth. They live simultaneously in the virtual and in the real world. And these two worlds clearly intersect in their behaviour at work. Therefore, at work they expect to be 'liked' for their actions, to receive quick feedback, to meet here and now. The digital generation expects quick responses because this is how the online world, they know best, works.

Gen Z is very open yet direct in their interpersonal interactions. Which can sometimes come as a surprise to older generations who are used to estab lished conventions or rules. As employees, many of us asso ciate Zoomers as frequent job chang ers. Therefore, we were surprised by the results in response to the question "How long do you want to work for one company?", whereas many as 30% of respondents said more than five years. This shows that the current situation, related to the war in Ukraine or the pan demic, has had an impact on the beha viour of the younger generation and their approach to work.

Successful recruitment should be quick, with concrete feedback, regard less of the outcome of the whole pro cess. The latter is something we have been learning in our market for years, and still not all of us are doing it well. It is much easier to give good informa tion to a candidate, rather than an infor mation that says someone dropped out of the process and why that happened.

Not so long ago, it was said that Gen Z were the lucky ones, those who got everything from fate without any effort –because they did not experience hyperinflation or wars and grew up in an open, integrated world. Meanwhile, this generation has recently collided not only with a pandemic that has shaken up the labour market, but also with the unexpected outbreak of war right on our border.

So what features make the work envi ronment attractive to them? What are they looking for in the labour market? What should the effective recruitment of such employees look like? Candidates from generation Z eva luate us – employers – from the stage of reading an offer/job advertisement.

Interestingly, almost 90% of respondents answered that they already have their first work experience behind them. This tells us how quickly young people are now starting work. They don't wait until their 3rd or 4th year of univer sity, but often look for a part-time or even full-time job already in their 1st or 2nd year, or even a summer job during high school.

The questions concerned both the beginning of the recruitment pro cess – we wanted to know how to reach these candidates, what channels they use to look for a job, but also what expecta tions Gen Z have of the recruitment pro cess itself and what will influence their acceptance of a job offer. Looking at the current labour market in Poland, this knowledge will allow us to tailor the recruitment process on the emplo yers' side to the needs of candidates from this generation and, as a result, hire the best talent on the market.

The results of the survey clearly show that building a stable, secure envi ronment in the workplace, a partner relationship with the boss, a clear career path – in line with their interests and good financial conditions, will make them want to work longer in one com pany. At the same time, they will fear losing this job or changing it in the near future. As many as 70% of respondents to our survey admitted that they feel uncertainty about the labour market in the face of rising inflation and the eco nomic crisis (37% answered `rather yes`, 33% answered `definitely yes`).

The most important things for them are the specified scope of responsibili ties and the disclosure of the salary level already in the ad. Gen Z will choose a job that is fairly in line with their interests. They will then check out the employ ers during the recruitment interview –whether the atmosphere in the company suits them, whether the future supervi sor is someone they definitely want to work with.

CAREER&DEVELOPMENT 78 Focus on Business | September–October 2022

Candidates from generation Z evaluate us – employers – from the stage of reading an offer/job advertisement. The most important things for them are the specified scope of responsibilities and the disclosure of the salary level already in the ad.

Personally, I am glad that this generation will demand this from us, as it will posi tively influence the quality of the recruit ment Anprocesses.important aspect for deciding whether to accept an offer will still be salary, but also the form of work – remember that this generation requires flexibility and more freedom. And this is where the pandemic has made our task easier because, as it turns out, we can work remotely in different industries, in different positions, which was previously unacceptable for many companies. More than 63% of respondents to our survey answered that they have a clear career path defined and know what they want to do in their profes sional life. And this means that we are dealing with very specific and at the same time conscious people. And here a very important element in working with Gen Z is a plan for their career in the organi sation. A plan that is at the same time in line with their expectations. We, as employers, need to become more flexible in regard to what we offer to Gen Z employees. I am referring to the benefits that we offer and that we often highlight in job offers or on our 'Career' pages. For the Zoomers, medical care or popular cards for sports facili ties are already a standard rather than a benefit. They want to choose and freely change benefits at least once a year. Therefore, a rigid benefits package that is top-down selected for the entire organi sation may prove unattractive to them, no matter how hard we try. Should the managers of the Genera tion Z employees change their management methods? Do they need new competences, e.g. to manage teams composed of representatives of older generations joined by Zetas?

One thing is for sure, it is the boss from Gen X or Y who will have to be flexi ble and adapt to Zoomers. Let's not expect it to be the other way around. And con sidering how many employees from this generation are entering the job market, it is worth preparing for it now. Change is not needed, only adap tation to new realities. Empathy will now be a key competence for a leader to communicate and work effectively in a team with several generations working together. It is important for managers to be open to understanding and to the per spective of the other side.

79Focus on Business | September–October

Gen Z will choose a job that is fairly in line with their interests. 2022

Remember that Gen Z want to be heard. It is worth asking them for their opi nion or feedback, as they have a strong need to share their insights. Therefore, ready-made solutions telling a Gen Z how to do something may turn out to be com pletely wrong. This generation is will ing to listen to us in order to find out what effect we want to achieve, but they want to find the solution themselves in order to achieve the desired goal. There fore, let them implement their own ideas, as the proposed solution may not only surprise us, but also improve exis ting processes.

How do you think Generation Z will affect the changes in the labour mar ket? What is the future of both Zetas and the companies employing them? Gen Z are sure to make a clear dis tinction between work and their private life. The so-called "rat race" familiar to us from previous generations is not for them, and the concept of work-life balance takes on great significance and is put into practice. For them, work is to be confined to specific hours and is itself a means to an end, which is the realisa tion of passions and interests in the pri vate sphere of life. Although Gen Z prioritizes individu ality and freedom of self-expression, they like to feel a part of a group with which they identify. Therefore, the fit between the person and the company culture will play a key role in the employee's choice and attachment to the organisation. One could say that Generation Z employees will have a real impact on the functio ning of the companies they work for, they will create them together with the mana gement, thus sharing the employer's mission and values. They will now be the ones to create the approach to, for example, environmental protection or diversity. Consistency between employees' views and the employers' approach to top socio-cultural issues is the immedi ate future in companies, which will bene fit from being open to the new generation. Flexible and open working envi ronments will work in almost every orga nisation. Companies allowing hybrid, remote working, from different corners of the world, will recruit the best specialists on the market. At the same time, a sense of stability will remain important – more than 75% of people surveyed indicated that they prefer an employment contract as a form of employment, so providing stability to their employees in unstable times will prove to be the key to success. Thank you for the interview. Cpl Poland “Zoomers at work” report will premiere on September 29 2022 in Bydgoszcz during the conference "HR Forum on the Brda River" [PL: "Forum HR nad Brdą"] organized by Pro Progressio.

PEOPLE FIRST - THEN PLACES