Outsourcing&More 40 May-June 2018

www.outsourcingportal.eu No. 3 (40) | May – June 2018 ISSN 2083-8867 PRICE EUR 6 (INCL. 8% VAT)

BUSINESS

Processes, KPIs and SLAs in Shared Services Centers page 12 INVESTMENTS

The Romanian IT&C talent pool is facing new challenges page 58

European BSS destinations: Lithuania page 36

CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

Failed recruiting projects – how can agencies help? page 70

L E T ’ S M E E T AT

T h e B S S To u r S zcze c i n

THEME

Organizer:

Polish-German Outsourcinig Forum

DAT E

VENUE

May 24th, 2018

Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic

www.bsstour.com/szczecin

INTRODUCTION

Editor-in-chief Dymitr Doktór dymitr.doktor@proprogressio.pl Managing Editor Kamila Czyżyk kamila.czyzyk@proprogressio.pl DTP Iwona Nowakowska Advertising reklama@outsourcingandmore.pl Published by PRO PROGRESSIO Editorial address ul. Sobieskiego 104/29 00-764 Warszawa www.proprogressio.pl

P: +48 22 213 02 45 F: +48 22 213 02 49 editor@proprogressio.pl www.outsourcingandmore.pl Print Drukarnia Jantar Legal support Chudzik i Wspólnicy An electronic version of the Magazine see the website www.outsourcingandmore.pl Selected photos come from shutterstock.com website.

Circulation 3,000 copies 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.

Partners

AUTHORS Agnieszka Krzyżaniak • Anna Godlewska • Jakub Bejnarowicz • Sebastian Rączkowski • Tom Quigley • Marcin Łukasik • Anna Mielczarek • Loredana Niculae • Yuliya Kozlenko • Karolina Korzeniewska • Małgorzata Dragan • Monika Reszko • Andżelika Zarudzka • Rafał Olejniczak • Anna Marciniak • Łukasz Kobiec • Laisvis Makulis

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

@DymitrDoktor

Dear Readers, As every year, the end of first and the beginning of the second quarter of the year is the period of activities focused on education in BSS sector. In Poland, Europe but also other countries many conferences, seminars and summits are organized, where the delegates discuss and analyse the most relevant and important business trends. Outsourcing&More partners to many events and thanks to these activities we have an opportunity to present on our pages the most important conclusions from the business talks of industry experts. In current edition I’d like to draw your attention to summary of The BSS Tour in Krakow, ITO&BPO Germany Forum and HR Genius Congress.

Outsourcing&More focuses more and more on the best business practises and we are very happy to share news and interviews with people who are in the top league of BSS industry.

On our pages you will find the interview with Rafał Olejniczak, the Managing Director of 3M Global Business Centre from Wroclaw (Poland). Mr. Olejniczak has been recently listed on the shortlist of PEX Awards as the only manager representing Europe. In the interview Rafał focuses on process excellence and so called revised SLAs. The SLAs and KPIs are covered also in other publications in current edition of Outsourcing&More. They are being described also by Ms. Andzelika Zarudzka – the Managing Director of Elopak SSC, who shares her experience in the SSC Lions section.

The main article of Outsourcing&More is dedicated to Lithuania. In Outsourcing&More we have initiated the process of focusing on European BSS destinations and Lithuania is a great example of successful BPO and SSC locations in the CEE region. Our speaker is Laisvis Makulis – the Head of Business Services Team at Invest Lithuania Agency. Besides Lithuania we also present you the wide range of articles coming from Polish cities and also Ukraine and Romania.

I’m sure you will find many interesting articles in current edition of Outsourcing&More and I hope to meet you at the business events which are planned for the next weeks. You will find our magazine at least at Polish-German Outsourcing Forum in Szczecin and at BVB Cup in Gdansk.

Dymitr Doktór, Chief Editor

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INDEX

BUSINESS

6

Krakow’s inspirations with indicators

18

Process Excellence in GBS Centres

An interview with Rafał Olejniczak, General Manager at 3M.

32

Think like a Financial Director — managing business risk

According to 2017 Global risk oversight report up to 60% of organisations from different industries face increasing challenges, which can significantly impact the strategic success of their endeavours. In this case the crucial role for the market position of a business is played by appropriate management of risk, which more often rests on the shoulders of Financial Directors.

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ITO&BPO talks in Berlin For the fifth time, on April 12th, 2018 in Berlin, the German Outsourcing Association (Deutscher Outsourcing Verband) has organized the ITO&BPO Germany Forum. The conference is permanently inscribed in the European calendar of events dedicated to outsourcing and modern business services.

INVESTMENTS

34

Investment news

12

Processes, KPIs and SLAs in Shared Services Center

This time we have invited Andżelika Zarudzka, the Head of SSC Elopak.

During our discussion, among other management challenges, we talk about KPIs and SLAs.

24

Stop obsessing over keywords and focus on good quality content!

Tom Quigley helps to determine better keywords for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

36

European destinations: Lithuania

Interview with Laisvis Makulis, Head of Business Services Team, Invest Lithuania.

28

New Entrepreneur Obligations in Light of the Amended Act on the National Court Register

16

Not metered processes cannot be improved (Part 1.)

Phone, webpage form, live chat, social network or in-site visit – in the era of fastidious customer, it is the customer who decides which communication channel he or she wants to use to contact with your company.

4

The Act of 26 January 2018 on the amendment of the Act on the National Court Register and several other acts imposed new obligations on entities engaged in an economic activity.

The provisions of the amended act applied as of 15 March 2018.

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40

Serviced office – flexibility and quality under one roof

10th Anniversary of the establishment of Kielce Technology Park

Arranging the right office space for a new project team is challenge which keeps many office managers from the outsourcing industry awake at night.

Today, after 10 years of functioning, Kielce Technology Park is a recognizable brand.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

INDEX

44

Green Expo 2024 will bloom in Łódź

Nearly 100 factory owners’ palaces and villas, most of them revitalized, embellish the city centre, and gardens so beautiful and great rush may soon come true thanks to Horticultural Expo 2024, which is to be held in Łódź.

58

The Romanian IT&C talent pool is facing new challenges

Romania is one of the most preferred countries when it comes to outsourcing, mainly because of the impressive development of the IT&C industry in the past ten years. This industry includes more than 110,000 employees according to the latest market analysis, and the predictions are also promising.

However, there are some concerns about the labor market.

60

Gdynia – people and places – the city character really matters

48

Częstochowa, discover it anew!

The organization of the visual identity of the city of Częstochowa coincided with the preparations for the upcoming celebration of the 800th anniversary of the written history of Częstochowa.

64

A few words about the Rzeszów Intelligent Transportation System

Innovation District IT Park: From consuming to creating infrastructure in Lviv

66

Szczecin open to innovations

The power of specialisation – strong IT drives the BPO/SSC sector in Bydgoszcz

68

HR news

70

Failed recruiting projects – how can agencies help?

Financial losses, project delays, dropping efficiency and low team morale are just some of the negative consequences resulting from failed recruiting projects.

What solutions to the problem can agencies provide? How should the terms of cooperation be determined?

It’s the only city in the world I know, where the centre of the city goes directly into the sea. Only here I can see this openness, this gesture of the city going into the sea – Jeremie Hoffmann, Ph.D., Tel Aviv University.

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

Szczecin debuted on the blockchain map of Poland! On the 27th of March 2018 in Szczecin-based Technopark Pomerania took place the first Szczecin Blockchain Meetup. It was organized by promoters of the blockchain technology in the Western Pomerania and enthusiasts of innovation – Paweł Sławacki and Tomasz Fidecki, and supported by the city of Szczecin.

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Feedback – a manager’s be or not to be How to give feedback and do not fear that someone is felt offended? When is the right time and how to find time for a serious conversation? How to give criticism and at the same time do not judge a person? How to separate emotions from facts?

78

Who is the internal auditor position for?

80

Scandinavian approach to HR Interview with Anna Marciniak, HR & Administration Director in Skanska Property Poland.

On the map of the Polish modern business services sector, Bydgoszcz is one of the main locations, consistently building an image of a city open to outsourcing and an important IT centre.

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Poznań stand at the MIPIM fair MIPIM 2018 is the largest international real estate event.

At the same time, it is one of the most important places where the City of Poznań promotes its investment offer.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

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Recruitment Ad 5

BUSINESS

Krakow’s inspirations with indicators The second edition of The BSS Tour – a series of business conferences organized by Pro Progressio – has been launched. After the success of the events in 2017, Pro Progressio and Partners have planned a cycle of conferences that will be run in Polish cities between April and November 2018.

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

BUSINESS

The interior of Nowy Styl Group Inspiration Center enabled separation of comfortable zones for guests.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

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BUSINESS

The first event, The BSS Tour Krakow, was devoted to the subject of KPI and SLA in BSS operations centres. This part of the Forum consisted of three main themes – an introduction lecture by Piotr Rutkowski, a discussion panel led

by Violetta Małek and brainstorming session with the participation of all Forum’s participants.

The second important topic discussed during the conference was the position and role of Krakow on the Polish map of BSS locations.

This panel was led by Aleksandra Stelmach-Gr yszka from PwC. The active discussion was full of great comments and exchange of business experiences between Sebastian Osuch (Grupa Nowy Styl), Artur Skiba (Antal), Marcin Piątkowski ( To r u s ) , Iwona Chojnowska-Haponik (PAIH), K r z y s z t o f Pi m p i c k i ( 4 R e s u l t s ) , Andżelika Zarudzka (Elopak SSC), Marta Kunikowska (Rhenus Logistics), Tomasz Horacek (State Street Bank) and Mateusz Strzelecki (Walter Herz).

The Forum took place in the Office Inspiration Center of the Nowy Styl Group and it hosted nearly 120 people. Participants had the opportunity to use the lecture hall, networking zones and workshops run by 4Results. The event was covered by the honorary patronage of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency. In the group of Partners and Sponsors there were the Nowy Styl Group, Antal, Positive Productivity and Walter Herz.

Violetta Małek (Gekko advisoryNOW) led discussion panel: "KPI/SLA in Operating Centers". From left: Krzysztof Pimpicki (4Results), Marta Kunikowska (Rhenus Logistics), Tomasz Horacek (State Street Bank), Andżelika Zarudzka (Elopak).

O!Game Workshop participants had the oportunity to learn in practise about processes that improve work environmet.

In the final conclusions, which were reported by the participants, there was repeatedly a comment indicating that the subject of KPI and SLA, despite their daily presence in the operational work of many enterprises, is still in focus, both from the theoretical and practical side. Organizing the topic by Piotr Rutkowski from SourceOne Advisory turned out to be very valuable for many participants who came to Krakow from Lublin, Kielce, Warsaw, Rzeszów, Częstochowa, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Łódź and other cities.• The next BSS Tour will take place already in June in Katowice, and its main theme is "Advanced technology in business."

Piotr Rutkowski’s lecture about KPI and SLA gathered applause from guests.

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

BUSINESS

Panel "Cracow vs. other BSS localizations in Poland”. From left: Sebastian Osuch (Nowy Styl Group), Mateusz Strzelecki (Walter Herz), Marcin Piątkowski (Torus), Iwona Chojnowska-Haponik (PAIH), Artur Skiba (Antal) and Aleksandra Stelmach-Gryszka from PwC.

Interviews with experts have become a permament part of The BSS Tour conferences.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

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BUSINESS

ITO&BPO talks in Berlin For the fifth time, on April 12th, 2018 in Berlin, the German Outsourcing Association (Deutscher Outsourcing Verband) has organized the ITO&BPO Germany Forum. The conference is permanently inscribed in the European calendar of events dedicated to outsourcing and modern business services.

This year’s edition, however, had a slightly different dimension than all previous ones, as it lasted not one but two days. Such a formula was possible thanks to the expansion of the event with a topic focused on robotization and artificial intelligence. The second day of the Forum was called RPA&AI and gathered experts in the field of business process automation.

Discussion panel about IT services in Armenia.

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ITO&BPO Germany Forum is a conference gathering both recipients of outsourcing services, as well as their suppliers not only from the DACH region, but also more widely – from many countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland. Conference participants had the opportunity to get familiar with the BSS market in Germany, offers from Armenia, Bulgaria and Poland, as well as presentations concerning the geolocation of operational centers, as well as the factors that guide German entrepreneurs when selecting outsourcing service providers.

Among the experts who acted as speakers there were, among others, Stephan Fricke (President of Deutscher Outsourcing Verband), Elias van Herwaarden (EMEA Service Leader, Deloitte), Jan Orzechowski (President, j-labs), Wiktor Doktór (President, Pro Progressio), Josefine Dutschmann (Senior Manager Business Services, GTAI), Tom Olavi Bangemann (Senior VP Business Transformation, The Hackett Group).

Another Forum is planned for the next year. Below and on the next page you can find some photos from the ITO&BPO Germany Forum 2018.

Wiktor Doktór, the CEO of Pro Progressio, was talking about Polish BPO and ITO market.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

BUSINESS

The Polish delegation in Berlin: Michał Bielawski (Adaptive SAG), Daniel Kubatta (CERI), Zuzanna Krech (Cushman & Wakefield).

Stephan Fricke, CEO of Deutscher Outsourcing Verband and Deutscher Process Automation Verband said: In its 5th edition, the ITO&BPO Germany Forum has evolved to a stable source of new information, best practices and international networking for anyone involved in sourcing – providing or advising in IT and business processes in Germany and Europe. This year’s forum was focusing on several key areas, such as provider management, people and talent. Due to the increasing interest and importance of sourcing from foreign markets we wanted to highlight information and contacts on destinations for ITO/BPO/ SSC services, why we introduced three official country partners, including Poland with our long term local partner Pro Progressio. Also new was the connection with the first RPA&AI Germany Forum by the German Process Automation Association, with which we started to provide information, contacts and best practices on process automation, specifically for the German market. We are already working on the organisation of our next year conference on which we will introduce a new program structure, focusing even more on practical knowledge from buyer side as well as an extended scope where we dedicate more time to aspects of sourcing for large corporations.•

The forum fostered networking.

Experts during their lectures. Alfred Aue (left) and Elias van Herwaarden (right).

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

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SSC

SSC PROCESSES,KPIs AND SLAs IN SHARED SERVICES CENTERS

Word of admission: SSC Lions is a new project run

by Pro Progressio and focused on the communication support provided to Shared Service Centres.

On ­Outsourcing&More Magazines’ pages we will present business cases and interviews with leaders of Shared Services Centres, industry experts and consultants.

Our interlocutors will provide the answers to the questions related to best business practises, project manage­ ment and employer branding.

Here we present another edition of SSC Lions – a section of Outsourcing&More where interviews with outstanding managers of Shared Service Centres industry are being published.

This time we have invited Andżelika Zarudzka, the Head of SSC Elopak. During our discussion, among other management challenges, we talk about KPIs and SLAs.

SSC LIONS

Outsourcing&More: Elopak, whose shared services centre is managed by you, has been in Poland for some time now. When did you arrive in our country and why did you choose Warsaw as the location for your SSC? Andżelika Zarudzka: Elopak decided to open its SSC in the se­ cond half of 2015; it took almost a year to organize and open the office, and finally we moved to our target location in September 2016.

Warsaw was chosen for various reasons. First of all, our Polish sales unit has been located near Warsaw for over 20 years. Further-

rently, we are focusing on the trans- as evidenced by the very low level fer and development of accounting of turnover in the SSC. and financial processes.

One of the areas you deal with However, it is worth noting that at SSC Elopak includes KPIs and our team is involved not only SLAs. How do you define thein the migration of processes to Po- se areas in order to make them land, but also in the preparation of use to the organization and of the local unit for the implemen- what are the processes of impletation of the new system as well menting KPIs and SLAs? as the organization of training The SLA scheme between the SSC and support during the transition and local units has been agreed and period. Thanks to this, our employ- defined in a transparent and simees have been able to specialise in ple manner, so that each party is SAP implementation, and some aware of the scope of their obligaof them have become “Super-users” tions and terms of employment. and trainers, which improves their Our SLAs define basic information such as: Who, Where, When, What, but with the assumption that REASON TO BELIEVE THAT it is a partnership.

I HAVE A THE QUALITY OF OUR WORKING CONDITIONS AND THE PEACE OF MIND WE STRIVE TO PASS ON TO OUR EMPLOYEES DURING THE TRANSITION PHASE, WHICH INCLUDES MOVING THE PROCESSES AND CHANGING THE COMPANY’S BUSINESS MODEL, ARE APPRECIATED, AS EVIDENCED BY THE VERY LOW LEVEL OF TURNOVER IN THE SSC. more, Warsaw has excellent local transport links, a good network of international air connections, access to high quality office space at a wide price range, and is a city that attracts thousands of ambitious and educated people to the labor market every year.

At what stage of development is your Centre and what are the main processes supported?

Our Centre is at the stage of continuous development and migration of further processes from Western Europe and Scandinavia.

In 2015, Elopak started the transformation of the business mo­ del and the change of the old ERP system to SAP S/4 Hana as part of an internal project entitled StepUp. The Shared Services Centre is an integral part of Step-Up, which means that the scope and map of migration is closely related to the SAP implementation planned for the coming years. Cur-

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I made sure that the SLAs did not only focus on the obligations and requirements of the SSC, but also contained mutually beneficial terms and conditions of partnership, because the effect and results of the work performed by the SSC largely depend on the data we receive from our business units.

My job is to position our shared service centre as an integral part of the entire company. That is why I strongly promoted the partnership approach when creating SLAs competences and is part of their and KPIs. professional career development.

At the same time, we are develop- KPIs are an integral part ing our IT team, including the Sup- of the SLA, which is why we have port Centre and SAP competences. set up the following KPIs for each process: Input KPI, i.e. quality and Elopak is a Norwegian compa- time of data delivery to the SSC; ny which has always focused and Output KPI, i.e. the quality on quality, both in the devel- of services provided by the SSC. opment of our ecological products and in the high level I must point out that our SLAs and of business processes, and thus KPIs are living organisms, because on the quality and working con- the scope of duties is being extendditions of each employee. As a re- ed with the transfer of new pro­ sult, our migrations are planned cesses to Warsaw. a few months ahead, and the migration process itself is carried In addition, for the internal needs out in accordance with the phased of our centre, in addition to management methodology. I have the SLAs, I implemented addi­­a reason to believe that the quali- tional KPIs to monitor the effi­ty of our working conditions and ciency of the processes and imthe peace of mind we strive prove our daily work. My intento pass on to our employees during tion is to increase the efficiency the transition phase, which in- of work by 10% during the first year cludes moving the processes and of each “go-live”, therefore interchanging the company’s busi- nally we monitor the work at every ness model, are appreciated, stage, and then draw conclusions

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

SSC LIONS

and present improvements for implementation, which gives us the expected increase in efficiency at the level of the entire process.

If we were to try to prioritize the KPIs, which of them are the most important to Elopak?

Currently, we are focusing on the implementation of the new ERP system in pilot units, so for us KPIs have a key role to play in the analysis of system and process gaps. Moreover, we are concentrating on screening those processes that have a direct impact on production and logistics in order to support our core business as effectively as possible. In order to obtain better data for interpretation, we refer to the KPIs from before the “go-live” and compare current results to indicate where new system solutions, which were supposed to bring efficiency gains, extend the duration of activities in some processes for various reasons, for example: the system is not adjusted to the requirements of the company, a lack of appropriate training of employees, or resistance to change.

not only at analysing the results, but also when the process needs to be improved, we define who, how and when the change will be managed.

If you were to give an advice to managers who are facing the challenge of defining, building and then managing performance indicators, what would you advise first?

It all depends on the situation in a given company. I would certainly measure the current situation and focus first on the indicators relating to the quality of the services/ products provided and the company’s strategic and opera­tional objectives, with results below the expected level.

In the case of an accounting and financial SSC, it may include late payments, the number of complaints from suppliers and external customers, and high costs affecting internal customers – most often related to a staffing problem in

the SSC: excessive staff turnover and overtime. However, this is a negative view of KPIs. For me, KPIs are meant to present our effectiveness and the benefits that companies can achieve by concentrating their services in such a developing center of the business services sector as Poland. To this end, I implement the KPIs that show how our young and ambitious teams of specialists are improving their day-today processes by taking a creative, off-the-shelf and thought-provoking approach to their tasks, and thinking “outside the box”.

An accountant in our team is a person who can write a macro and see easy-to-implement solutions facilitating the work of our colleagues from local units. Then I begin a KPI analysis of the already streamlined processes and consider whether we should focus on implementing more expensive RPA solutions on the basis of specific business indicators.

Thank you very much. •

On the basis of the KPIs, we are able to quickly get to the heart of the problem and streamline processes on the SSC side, and support local units for which SAP is something completely new. If I were to give a concrete example of the KPI that we are now looking at, then it would have to be the percentage of automated transactions where the SSC should only have a control and supervisory role.

And what does the process of controlling the implementation of KPIs look like?

The SSC is responsible for the process of KPI controlling. Using appropriately adapted control tools, our team prepares an efficiency analysis at the level of each process, and then the results are analyzed and discussed at monthly business meetings with our internal partners. These meetings are aimed

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

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BUSINESS

Not metered processes cannot be improved …

(Part 1.)

Phone, webpage form, live chat, social network or in-site visit – in the era of fastidious customer, it is the customer who decides which communication channel he or she wants to use to contact with your company. In addition, the Customer expects that everything will happen fast, ably and seamlessly. And that’s not always as easy as it sounds – especially when there are thousands of customer service interactions per month.

According to the Deloitte’s research, as much as 73% of customers claim that a respect for their time is one of the most important factor when rating customer service level. In a meantime – seven of eight messages received from the Customers are left for more than 72 hours without any response.

are talking about, an internal customer service department or a large contact center, which we entrusted to our clients and their service.

Here the Customer Service Automation tools come with help, which not only integrate multiple communication channels into one consistent system, but also make the customer service employees Thank you for using our services, you are have greater possibilities of personali45th in the queue – probably everyone zing communication. of us has heard this automatic prompt combined with music, which (after However, a good system is not only easier no more than five minutes) starts to be communication, but also automation, annoying and – later – it doesn’t want which allows many repetitive activities to get out of your head. to happen without human participation.

There are dozens of indicators, but if I were to give the 4 most important from my point of view, those would certainly be: First Contact Resolution, Service Level, Abandonment Rate, Average Handle Time.

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It is not hard to be surprised that customers decide to look for information about the offer or for help in multiple channels. If the matter is not urgent, instead of waiting with the earpiece at your ear, it is much more convenient to send an e-mail. If the company allows you to contact by chat on the website or via the Messenger, we will be happy to use these options, especially when additional information about the offer is needed. One thing is certain. It is difficult to deal with multiple communication channels, regardless of whether we

Automation has become the driving force behind sales and customer service processes. Contact Center service providers compete to improve and accelerate as many steps as possible, regardless of whether your customer service team will count 5 or 105 people. It’s no wonder that Frost & Sullivan predicts that in the coming years at least 60% of enterprises will automate customer interactions, and about 50% of them will fully integrate communication channels.

All this is to meet the growing expectations related to a high level of customer

service. A customer who is more and more looking for individual treatment, fast order fulfilment or quick responses to his/her questions, regardless of whether it’s a pre-sale or post-sale stage.

At a time when the construction of consistent, qualitative customer service begins to stay in mind of C-level people harder and harder, and Customer Experience is not only included in the strategies of the companies they manage, but is supposed to determine their competitive advantage, it is worth to look not only at tools, but also how we can use them for measuring and improving the effectiveness of our organization.

SO WHAT’S WORTH MEASURING…

There are many existing approaches for monitoring the effectiveness and performance of a contact center.

On one hand, we have those that are closely related to the work of our consultants - speed and availability of service, quality and customer satisfaction after contact with the company. On the other hand – financial indicators and those related to the performance and effectiveness of the entire organization.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

BUSINESS

However, before we start monitoring the appropriate parameters, it is worth considering what data do we really need to get from them and how we can optimally use it to strengthen the functioning of our service team.

or e-mail channel. When they call the hotline they expect that the contact will be much faster than the one, after sending an email. How do we count Service Level? The Service Level indicator shows the percentage of received calls, requests or messages within a set time, Currently, two approaches of determi- and for example SLV = 80 means receiving ning key KPIs can be noticed. The first 80% of calls within, e.g. 20 seconds or less. one assumes that as a person managing the customer service center, you know An indicator that is worth keeping under the goal you are aiming for and have control, especially in the case of incoa plan on how to translate this goal into ming calls is the Abandonment Rate, indicators from which you will later settle which means abandoning the call before your people. And here we can talk about it is diverted to the consultant, because elements such as the speed of reaction it reflects the efficiency of our hotline. to the request or the time of handling it. What can affect the growth of this indicator? Most often, it is a too long waiting However, more and more often, we can time for a connection, e.g. no available observe the second, extreme model consultant or a complicated IVR path. in which the customer service team has Sounds familiar? For sure everyone only one goal: customer satisfaction and at least once had the opportunity building the best Customer Experience, to wait longer for the consultant to reregardless of how the team will achieve ­turn to the conversation, because he/she this goal. had to find out someone else to support our case. It also happens that we lose Let’s take a look at the first approach. patience and disconnect when we are There are dozens of indicators, but switched between subsequent departif I were to give the 4 most important ments again and again. from my point of view, those would certainly be: First Contact Resolution, So how to count the abandonments?

Service Level, Abandonment Rate, The Abandonment Rate indicator is Average Handle Time. For people who the ratio of connections abandoned have never had to deal with contact by the customer compared to those center systems, a small explanation will offered by the system via ACD certainly be useful.

(Automated Call Distribution). When the client has to wait for the connection First Contact Resolution (FCR) is so long that he/she can almost memorize one of the most important indicators the tune, it means that the indicator is in customer service. It describes very high and it is worth doing somethe number or percentage of cases thing about it. Because when the waiting fully settled during the first call or chat time is longer, the customer satisfaction contact with a consultant. Without from contact with the company decrea need to another’s department support ases proportionally. Drastically. or re-contact the service desk. It shows us the ability to communicate and When the customer’s call finally reaches handle inquiries by our team of consult- our consultant, it’s worth looking ants, which is why the main elements at what his average talk time (Average that significantly influence its result are: Handle Time (AHT)) looks like. It is preparation of a consultant for work, his/ verified by counting the time of all her competences, granted permissions, consultant conversations and dividing but also a number of people in the online the number by the number of conversaservice department available to start the conversation with a client at a given moment.

tions. What’s important, the conversation time also includes the time of handling the customer’s request after the conversation, so the parameter shows us whether our employees can quickly and without hindrance solve customer problems or not.

Monitoring of work efficiency using the above indicators has a simple goal: to optimize costs and increase revenue, regardless of the size of the organization. Where to start? When we want to optimize the customer service process, it is worth to measure each part of the process and try to systematically shorten it. But that’s not the end.

We observe not only what the number of served interactions looks like, time for the wrap-up (the time after the end of interaction with the client) or the time of handling the given request. Assuming that the more we measure, the better we can manage the service process – there can be a lot of parameters. But we cannot forget about the most important issue.

It often happens that the managers of the service department build complex motivational models, but forget about proper goals delegation. They do not inform directly, not only what the final goal they want to achieve by making changes, but also the team that directly handles the service, does not receive an information on how to reach the new target.

Łukasz Kobiec, Partner Networks Director, Unified Factory SA

Frost & Sullivan predicts that in the coming years at least 60% of enterprises will automate customer interactions, and about 50% of them will fully integrate communication channels.

Sometimes it’s worth meeting the team and informing not only about the increase of requirements for the achievement of goals, but also why it is happening. A well-informed team guarantees not only high quality of work, but, thanks to that, we are sure that the quality of customer service will also be maintained at the highest level. •

Part two of the publication you will find in the next edition of Outsourcing&More.

The next indicator, which should be set for each communication channel, is Service Level. Why? Because every channel not only has its own rules, but also customers have different expectations in the case of a telephone, chat

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Initially, the plan was to hire 500 staff over 5 years and provide services to EMEA based 3M units. Today, only 3 years after the company was founded, we have nearly 650 people on board.

BUSINESS

PROCESS EXCELLENCE IN GBS CENTRES An interview with Rafał Olejniczak, General Manager at 3M.

Wiktor Doktór: Rafał, I need to start with congratulations. You are the only one European who was shortlisted to PEX awards. Congratulations! Was it hard to go so high when it comes to process excellence?

Rafał Olejniczak: Thank you very much! PEX awards mean not only immense satisfaction and distinction but also a positive assessment of the direction we have chosen for our activity. The essential thing about development is seeking new spaces, formulas, and methods. My motto is “don’t believe in business as usual”. This approach pays dividends. What I personally find most satisfying is that the results of PEX audit show our centre to be so high-ranking as against whole Europe. All the more so if you bear in mind that the competition was enormous – SSC’s from the entire EMEA region, a few thousand centres, were included in the ranking.

Was it difficult? We’re continually taking up challenges. We like them. From day one, we assumed that the 3M shared services centre under development would be a global paragon. We put our trust in people who were capable of building a professional and well-motivated team. The fact that we attracted best talent, knowledge, and experience made

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

it possible for us to create a signature operating model, which today is catering to the needs of 94 3M units located in EMEA countries. Process Excellence is the basis of this model as well as a force driving us to attain better and better results. The consistent execution of our strategy and the rational use of the tools, methodologies, and initiatives that we had resulted in creating a perfect environment for development. And it took little time to make it happen.

I had a pleasure to visit your GBS Centre in Wroclaw. I must say it is very well organized and from the perspective of process management can be named as “state of the art”. Can you shortly present the story of growth of 3M GBS in Poland?

I’m happy that you had an opportunity to get the feel of our company and see the way we work in real life. Our adventure began in 2015 when the concern decided that it would set up its first Shared Services Centre in Wrocław. Initially, the plan was to hire 500 staff over 5 years and provide services to EMEA based 3M units.

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BUSINESS

Every organisation’s heart is its operational model. The way its elements are designed makes the whole solution unique.

Today, only 3 years after the company was founded, we have nearly 650 people on board. What’s more, our extended portfolio of services makes us stand out from others. A classic SSC has 4 or 5 service groups, while we offer business support in the areas of finance, accounts, intercompany, procurement, data management, human resources, customer service, digital marketing, process automation, and IT. We have 10 service groups altogether, divided into advanced units.

And we keep growing. What’s more, we don’t only provide our clients with support on an operational level, as we deliver strategic solutions too.

we have twice become distinguished as one of the country’s top employers, according to the Great Place to Work® ranking.

Also, we did well in the Best Shared Service Team category of Top 5 Business Services Centres of the EMEA Region poll, a prestigious international competition organised by The Shared Services & Outsourcing Network (SSON).

The Polish 3M GSC Poland also received a nomination in the Business Excellence category for the ABSL Diamonds award, granted to enterprises present in the market for up to four years by the Association of Business Service Leaders in Poland.

I can imagine, managing of the processes, especially in GBS structures is quite complicated activity. How do your process management teams work and co-operate to improve your business operations?

Every organisation’s heart is its operating model. The way its elements are designed makes the whole solution unique. What did we focus on?

Firstly, the key thing was to develop and describe particular roles and positions within the model, so that it was possible to effectively implement transition processes, support quality, and manage change in an efficient manner. By applying our model, we determined key competencies necessary for its effective implementation – ones that were the basis for staff selection. It was extremely important to us to have the best of the best.

We carried out recruitment on a global scale to bring in professionals from all over the world, currently we employ employees from 16 different countries.

As I already mentioned, our success is based in the first place on the people and their competencies. We carried out our first recruitment in May 2015. Back then, we mainly hired finance, data management, procurement, and HR specialists.

In 2016, over 300 staff joined us to support business units located in Germany, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland, France, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

We hired another 130 people in 2017.

This rapid growth of the organisation made it possible to verify the efficiency of our internal process methodology.

One can see now that it has proven to be a very good one. The organisation took To be the best, you need to contivery little time to become stable aga- nually better yourself. As far as our apin after each development phase. Over proach goes, streamlining any element the 3 years of our operation in Poland, of the process automatically means

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an opportunity for our people to develop. We believe that the opportunity to continuously develop competencies, also in new areas, is an absolute priority. Speaking metaphorically, the more you drive, the better driver you become.

To give you an example, just as we started, we employed a Transition Manager who’d already worked within the 3M structure, one experienced in the area of production. That allowed us to combine SSC related knowledge and production organisation, which resulted in the development of a one-of-a-kind transition methodology.

What are the positive impacts?

As a shared services centre, we strengthened our position in the Business Transformation strategy of the global 3M structure. Our vision won the USA board round. The new organisation met with a very positive reaction, and three months later, we had an opportunity to test it in battle during the first and most difficult migration of a business unit whose workforce at that time amounted to 6,500. It was a tremendous challenge, and it meant huge responsibility, but it was completed successfully. What’s more, with each consecutive transition, we developed our model by adding new areas and dedicated structures.

Secondly, we always look at things from the angle of the entire organisation.

Process management must be handled horizontally. SSC’s all too often focus on their operations, while the view of the whole organisation, which also means the client’s interest, recede into the background. When optimising our internal processes, we treat the organisation as a common system where all elements are correlated. We attached great importance to “end to end” processes from the word go. We were looking for inspiration and learning how to translate it into our specificity, as well as how to take advantage of our processes to help with process optimisation globally. Our operating model has now been successfully implemented at our centres in Costa Rica and the Philippines. Currently, we’re working on model 2.0, but I might tell you about it some other time.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

BUSINESS

KPIs, SLAs are the key areas the SSC, GBS and CoE centres need to work on daily basis. How do the definition, prioritization and management of the above looks like in your centre?

Let me begin with the definition of SLA. We’ve observed that businesses often misinterpret this term. What SLA is to us is first and foremost a responsibility for the appropriate and comprehensive yardstick based measurement of actions performed in a certain area of operation.

What does it look like in practice? Most importantly, we understand that the source of effectiveness is the optimisation of the whole process – both where you have impact on it (and this is SLA as we see it) and in places where the process is carried out within the structures of the unit that receives the service (and this is where we’ve introduced a new term – “reversed SLA”). For instance, as head of a company, I know that we need to pay our clients on time. But the process we’re carrying out is a complex one.

It involves work at shared services centres, production facilities, or logistics centres and countries where they are located. The way the centre operates and the way the other entities work both have an impact on KPI (SLA + rSLA).

And cooperation is essential here. We measure all our internal processes but also have a wide view of actions undertaken in the external environment. We monitor the process in a comprehensive manner, thanks to which we can see more – we can recommend common streamlining methods and solutions to key problems.

For this purpose, we have developed a signature solution. It’s named “optimisation mind map” and, combined with a solution, it enables us to collect all indicators in real time (Digital Metric Boards). As a result, we create a graphical network of relations between processes on the “end to end” level showing common places at the SSC and outside that require optimisation.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

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BUSINESS

This knowledge allows us to build interdisciplinary teams working on a solution both at ours and the client’s. In this way, we obtain full operational transparency and a possibility of reacting in real time, which lets us become a partner also on the strategic level. Moreover, we together improve effectiveness, KPI level, and the visibility and quality of our service in the business environment of the whole 3M concern.

After my visit to your centre I still have in my mind something what you described as “Reversed SLAs” – can you explain what is it and why you use them in your centre?

Reversed SLA is a tool that perfectly illustrates our horizontal approach to process management. As I already mentioned, shared services centres are not usually responsible for processes A to Z. But we have made it our advantage. We have created a system of indicators that allows us to monitor the effectiveness of the elements of the process carried out on the part of the client. It means that already today we’re capable of looking into everything that’s happening outside our centre and considerably impacting the operation of the unit provided with the service.

In this way, we go beyond our organisation to see more and have control over the whole “end to end” process.

We monitor the client’s activities on an ongoing basis and we can assume the role of a pro-active advisor – the more we see, the quicker and more effectively we can react. This allows us to ensure a sense of security and full comfort, particularly to units that have undergone transition. Operation in the Reversed SLA environment has created new possibilities of working towards our mutual benefit, which is beneficial for 3M customer.

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

BUSINESS

Let’s move to a little bit other subject – robotics and automation. We heard a lot of stories in 2017 how important is optimization of processes by using various robots, bots or other tools.

Most of the global stories are still (unfortunately) in the area of theory and best wishes. What is your view on robotization of processes and do you already have successful implementations in that area?

To me, robotisation is an advanced field that is moving in the direction of artificial intelligence. Beyond doubt, it’s an extremely interesting area in terms of development. At our organisation, we’re following a four-stage automation development plan.

The first two stages are Desktop Customisation and Process Automation. Automation lets us free employees’ time of repetitive and painstaking activities and use it to deliver ambitious projects that involve self-development. Then, we combine automation with digitisation and thus build a basis of the third stage, i.e. Predictive Analytics. As far as this stage goes, we want to develop bots which are capable of analysing data sets and extract information in order to define patterns and predict future events and trends.

In our operation, we want to apply prediction models and analyses to identify potential threats and opportunities the company is facing. The fourth stage consists in reaching the level of artificial intelligence. It’s here where autonomous robots are already in use, capable of making decisions on their own based on continual learning and logical reasoning. I’m certain that we’ll achieve much more in this field in the coming years.

However, when developing this area, we aren’t losing sight of our most important goals. Talent development is always our priority. The second element, in terms of importance, is improving productivity, i.e. determining what we can do more effectively and on a larger scale and how much time it would take. The third factor is technology development.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

This is why we’re trying to incorporate innovations in our day-to-day work. We conduct training sessions and in-company workshops where we teach employees how to use different solutions to make their work constantly develop and increase in effectiveness.

Shared services centres must be an integral part of companies’ global strategies. They must operate on the basis of synergy, as it’s the only way you can become effective on a global scale.

And most importantly, you need to listen to the client’s voice.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed for the next steps on the field of automation of processes. I also have one additional question here. What is your opinion about benchmarking of your work and achievements when it comes to process excellence of the operations activities?

Do you think SSC, GBS or CoE centres are open for benchmarks? Should it be done?

Benchmarking, being inspired by the best, and sharing knowledge are some of the most important factors to every kind of development. These are significant values on which we’re building our organisational culture. We also travel a lot; we take part in conferences, bilateral exchanges, and study visits. We consider it to be of great value. For example, one of the global leaders in the field of automation who has seven shared services centres worldwide inspired us at one PEX conference. It took them seven years to attain value realisation of 40%.

In addition, this example confirmed us in our belief that it’s worth investing in “end to end” operation and automation, as well as assuming strategic and analytical roles. We are keen to share our know-how and experiences too. We’re particularly active supporting Wrocław’s SSC sector. We often accept the city authorities’ invitations to organise study visits from new investors. In such meetings, we show our achievements and share our most important observations. We treat such meetings as a source of mutual inspiration and exchange of good practices. Also, we value healthy competition and treat it as an additional stimulus to develop.

Thank you for your time and all above answers. For the end a question about Polish market – what in your opinion is missing, when it comes to the BPO/ SSC/GBS industry. Is there anything you’d suggest other managers to do or to avoid?

The biggest challenges faced by the whole sector of modern business services are primarily the ability to go beyond the boundaries of one’s centre, in mental terms and process-wise, as well as the ability to build cooperation with clients that’s based on partnership, transparency, and trust. Shared services centres must be an integral part of companies’ global strategies. They must operate on the basis of synergy, as it’s the only way you can become effective on a global scale. And most importantly, you need to listen to the client’s voice.

If the client gives you ambitious goals, you need to think about how to attain them. It’s our most important mission, one that we’ll successfully complete only if we become oriented towards constant improvement of the way we operate.

What tips could I give to others?

Let’s act on the A to Z basis, let’s look at how the best do things, let’s always follow our ideas, and let’s translate the “Think Big” motto into reality. •

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BUSINESS

Stop obsessing over keywords and focus on good quality content!

I recently delivered a workshop to business leaders from Poland, Bulgaria and Ukraine in London. Afterwards, one of the attendees approached me for help with their website; which was not scoring highly in the Google rankings. She asked me to help determine better keywords for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

Whilst the delegate wasn’t wrong in her assessment, the fact is that she was looking at her website through the wrong lens, a trait I’ve seen from many businesses both in the UK and in Europe when it comes to trying to attain organic reach on the web.

Whilst keywords and phrases are, and always will be, an important element in attaining organic search audiences, you need to be mindful that it’s just one chapter in a larger Playbook; keywords in isolation will not help you leap onto the first page of Google Search Rankings.

Why? Because they no longer carry the same weighting as they did 20 years ago.

The early approaches to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) was based on the premise that relevance-based search engines crawled websites looking for keywords and phrases that people typed into their computer when they searched the internet. Around that time, marketers and ‘SEO experts’ tried to cheat the system by cramming as many keywords and phrases into their content to catapult their websites to the top of the rankings. This actually worked, but the resulting content was often grammatically poor and of low-value; consumers became increasingly disillusioned by the low-quality content they found, and a few search engines fell by the wayside. It was Google who stepped up.

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Historically, Google made very infrequent changes to its algorithm, meaning those who managed to ‘cheat’ via the methods above, could stay at the top of page one for weeks and sometimes months. Nowadays, however, Google makes over 600 changes to its algorithm every year, with almost all of them going unannounced. In recent times, however, three have been particularly game-changing: Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird.

THIN CONTENT A "thin" page on a website contains little or no value to someone who is reading it. If a number of pages on your site contain minimal information then the Panda algorithmmight evaluate your website as being of low value, and therefore demote you. This is the most common occurrence, especially amongst start-ups.

DUPLICATE CONTENT If your website has a large amount of content that has been copied from other sources on the intranet, or if you have multiple pages that features roughly the same content, the algorithm will penalise you. This is typical of small-mid size organisations with little or no dedicated marketing resource.

HIGH VOLUME, LOW-QUALITY CONTENT In the past, many SEOs have given advice to site owners saying that it was important to write blogs or produce fresh content every day. But, if that content is not high-quality content, you could actually be making it easier for Google to penalise you in its page rankings.

This is indicative of many organisations who are timepressured or resource constrained.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

BUSINESS

HUMMINGBIRD (2013) The purpose of Hummingbird was for Google to better understand a user’s query by improving its’ interpretation of the language the user used when keying in the question (e.g. understanding that ‘the best places to eat in downtown Warsaw’ might mean ‘the most popular restaurants…’.)

PENGUIN (2012)

This was actually named after the employee who created it (Navneet Panda). Its purpose was to try to show high-quality sites higher in search results and demote sites that may be of lower quality. Panda paid particular attention to:

PANDA (2011)

Penguin was created to identify those sites that have ‘cheated’ by creating ‘unnatural’ backlinks in order to gain an advantage in the Google results.

A link is similar to positive advocacy for your site (e.g. If a well-respected – highly visited – site links to your site, then this is perceived as a recommendation for your site.

If a small, unknown site links to you then this advocacy is not going to count for as much as had it originated from a more authoritative site – but a cumulative number of these can still make a difference to page rankings. That’s why SEOs historically would try to get as many links as they could from any possible source.

By now you will have worked out that Google’s main goal is to provide accurate, trustworthy and reliable information to people who are searching for something specific.

If you can create high-value content that answers such questions (or helps users arrive at an answer), then your website is more likely to rank higher than one that focuses purely on a few keywords or phrases.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

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BUSINESS

Success in achieving this is, of course, predicated on knowing your customer!

To acquire and keep an audience through organic search you need to: •

Analyse search data to understand the topics your customers care about relating to your proposition, and learn the ways they search for them.

•

Tell the stories your customers want to read, and in your marketing content use the words and phrases they use themselves in their searches.

•

Make it easy for them to share these stories (articles, blogs, white p a p e r s, i n fo g r a p h i c s e t c. ) on the web. Besides the obvious credits you will get from Google through sharing links back to your webpage, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) claim that 13% of all sales is driven by friends and colleagues sharing content.

DOES YOUR WEBSITE PASS THE PANDA TEST?

Here are some of the questions (made available publicly by a Google employee called Amit Singhal) that Panda seeks to answer in its website evaluation. It can be a useful checklist in helping you create high-quality content.

• • •

• •

• • • • •

Tom Quigley, Owner & Chief Marketing Officer of QUIGLEYMEDIA. Director of Outsourcing for EMERGING EUROPE

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These are some of the reasons why I always recommend planning marketing strategies starting with the customer first and then reverse-engineering the acquisition process via platforms and then the company’s value proposition; to be clear, how much you know about your customer up front is the variable to successful acquisition, whether you are going down the online route or other channels.•

• • • • •

Would you trust the information presented in this article?

Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?

Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?

Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?

Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?

Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?

Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?

How much quality control is done on content?

Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?

Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?

Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?

Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?

Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?

Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?

Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?

Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

BUSINESS

New Entrepreneur Obligations in Light of the Amended Act on the National Court Register The Act of 26 January 2018 on the amendment of the Act on the National Court Register and several other acts imposed new obligations on entities engaged in an economic activity. The provisions of the amended act applied as of 15 March 2018. The amendments result from the obligation to implement the Directive 2017/1132/UE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on certain aspects of the company law regarding the provisions on the system of interconnection of registers (Journal of Laws UE.L.2017.169.46), and their purpose is primarily to strengthen the security and confidence of trade.

THE LIABILITY OF PARTNERS FOR NOT APPOINTING THE BOARD

One of the main changes introduced by the legislature is the liability of the persons who are obliged to appoint the body authorized to represent the company (the board) should the court conclude that there was negligence in this area. It should be noted that the introduced regulation applies primarily to partners but it can also relate to the members of other bodies, such as a supervisory board, audit committee or foundation council.

The registry court will be able to discipline partners if a legal person does not have any body authorized to represent it or if the appointed board is incomplete which affects its operation. In this situation, the court may allow partners a specific time frame to evidence that the company board has been appointed or that its makeup

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One of the main changes introduced by the legislature is the liability of the persons who are obliged to appoint the body authorized to represent the company (the board) should the court conclude that there was negligence in this area.

has been completed.

If partners fail to meet the obligation, the court is eligible to penalize them. This fine may be reissued should partners continue to neglect this obligation. The court may impose a one-time fine not exceeding ten thousand zloty unless the fine has been imposed twice without effect.

The total amount of imposed fines, however, cannot exceed the amount of a million zloty.

It should be emphasized that according to the legislature’s assumptions, the new provisions allowing for penalizing partners are aimed primarily at mobilization.

Therefore, if partners meet the obligation to evidence that the company has a body authorized for its representation, the unpaid fine is redeemed.

THE OBLIGATION TO SUBMIT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO THE REGISTRATION FILES

Another obligation imposed by the amended act refers to the documents submitted to the register of entrepreneurs. It is closely related to the regulation on holding partners liable for incomplete boards. The new regulations have introduced the obligation for certain categories of persons

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

BUSINESS

It should be emphasized that according to the legislature’s assumptions, the new provisions allowing for penalizing partners are aimed primarily at mobilization.

to submit the information about an address for service to ensure effective service of judicial documents to the members of the body authorized to represent the company. Aside from the acceptance letter, the application to enter the persons representing a company, liquidators and proxies should include the information about their service addresses. If the service addresses of the category of persons listed above is outside the European Union’s territory, such persons must indicate their service agent in the territory of Poland.

The obligation to submit suitable documents to the registration files has also been imposed on capital companies entered into the National Court Register. In this case, the application for entry should include a list with the names, surnames and service addresses of the members of the bodies or the persons authorized to appoint the board — typically, the partners. If a partner is a legal person, the document attached to the application for entry should include the names, surnames and service addresses of the members of the body representing such a person.

In the case of the entities that have already been entered into the National Court Register, the transitional provisions of the act specify the time frame for the submission of the aforementioned documents to the registration files. This obligation should be met with the first application submitted to the registry

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

court, regardless of the content of this application. However, this cannot exceed the period of 18 months since the date when the amending act started applying. Past this date, the registry court will be eligible to initiate a compulsory proceeding against the company.

The entities whose application for entry was not processed by 15 March 2018 will be called by the registry court to complete their application by submitting the aforementioned documents.

THE OBLIGATION TO SUBMIT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IN THE ELECTRONIC FORM

An important revision which was regulated by the discussed act is also the introduction of the obligation to prepare a financial statement and other reports (including a report on the activity of companies) exclusively in electronic form.

This regulation applies to all entities which are obliged to draft such documents. The aim is not only to streamline the process of examining applications by generating a statement submission record, but also to reduce the time needed to process other issues. An electronic submission of a statement must be signed with a secure electronic signature or a signature confirmed with a trusted ePUAP profile by at least one person authorized to represent the entity. The documents prepared in an electronic form can be submitted via a new website launched by the Ministry of Justice

(the so-called Repository of Financial Documents), which allows for financial documents to be reported free of charge. However, for documents in the electronic form to be reported, it is required that the board members set up an account at the eKRS website and obtain a secure electronic signature or a trusted ePUAP profile.

By introducing new regulations on the forms of reports, the legislature included one exception regarding financial statements for the year 2017. In the transitional period of the new provisions’ application, i.e. from 15 March 2018 until 30 September 2018, it is allowed to submit financial documents for the year 2017 in the form of a scan of a financial statement prepared as a hard copy, signed with a secure electronic signature or a signature confirmed with a trusted ePUAP profile by at least one person authorized to represent the entity. The scan of the documents can be submitted via a computerized system provided by the Ministry of Justice. Hence, despite the possibility to submit the financial statement for the year 2017 in the form of a scan, in order to file it effectively to the registry court, it is still required to have a secure electronic signature or a signature confirmed with a trusted ePUAP profile as well as an account on the website maintained by the Ministry of Justice. •

Agnieszka Krzyżaniak, Legal Counsel in the Law Firm "Chudzik i Wspólnicy Radcowie Prawni" sp.p. www.chudzik.pl.

Anna Godlewska, Legal Assistant in the Law Firm "Chudzik i Wspólnicy Radcowie Prawni" sp.p. www.chudzik.pl.

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BUSINESS

Serviced office – flexibility and quality under one roof Arranging the right office space for a new project team is challenge which keeps many office managers from the outsourcing industry awake at night. The fast changing needs of the business require reflex and making decisions which involve personnel changes.

How to deal with a situation where extra workstations are needed right now or where it is clear from the very start that the project will be completed in less than a few years’ time.

Flexible open space, just like a serviced office, is available instantly.

A team of a few to a few dozen members can start their work the next day after signing the contract.

Sometimes a team must be expanded.

At other times keeping it is no longer reasonable or cost-effective. This results in changing demand for office space, the acquisition of which in a traditional way is time-consuming and usually involves long-term commitment.

How to deal with a situation where extra workstations are needed right now or where it is clear from the very start that the project will be completed in less Sebastian than a few years’ time.

Rączkowski, Managing Director, CitySpace You will not find the solution in the ofwww.cityspace.pl ferings of developers, who have a very

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conservative approach to renting office space in their properties. For them, the dream customer is a stable tenant, who will sign a long-term contract for as big space as possible, and will then arrange their office on their own… and spend the next few years there. Such approach is in stark contrast with the needs of businesses, which are growing fast and expecting, above all, flexibility.

For small and medium enterprises, the response to such demand is simple and has been known for years. On the Polish market there are serviced office operators which provide businesses with fully equipped offices located in the best office buildings across the country. Until recently, their offer had been addressed only to the SME sector with high aspirations or to global corporations which had made their first steps in Poland.

This solution is tailored to the needs of small teams (from a few to a dozen or so members), for which work comfort

is far more important than the price to pay for high-quality office, a prestigious address and worry-free office service.

The serviced option has become available to large organisations quite recently.

Flexible open space, as a supplement to the serviced office offerings, emerged on the market for the very first time about a year and a half ago. The operators developed a flexible product optimised in terms of costs, which are key in the outsourcing industry. Going beyond private offices and offering open space workstations to potential customers allowed for reducing the price while retaining all the benefits of the serviced office.

Flexible open space, just like a serviced office, is available instantly. A team of a few to a few dozen members can start their work the next day after signing the contract. What is important, rather than being detailed and complicated,

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

BUSINESS

The serviced option has become available to large organisations quite recently.

Flexible open space, as a supplement to the serviced office offerings, emerged on the market for the very first time about a year and a half ago.

it is a simple contract for providing office space for exclusive use. Such legal framework provides more flexibility and is not a burden to the customer’s balance sheet. The term of the contract is tailored to the given company’s needs.

The most common are 12-month contracts, with the possibility to renew based on the needs of the given organisation.

In addition to fully equipped workstations, open space users have at their disposal everything that an office could not make without. Top-notch IT architecture, office equipment, and telecommunications devices are integral elements of the offered service.

The operator also assumes all the obligations related to day-to-day functioning of the office: provides reception service, correspondence handling, kitchen supplies and cleaning. This enables an organisation to focus on its core business. Without costly infrastructure investments, long-term commitment, and unnecessary overheads.•

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

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BUSINESS

Think like a Financial Director — managing business risk According to 2017 Global risk oversight report up to 60% of organisations from different industries face increasing challenges, which can significantly impact the strategic success of their endeavours. In this case the crucial role for the market position of a business is played by appropriate management of risk, which more often rests on the shoulders of Financial Directors.

WHO IS A FINANCIAL DIRECTOR?

Jakub Bejnarowicz, Associate Director, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants

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The function of a Financial Director has evolved throughout the last years. Today, its role consists not only in broadly understood finances, but also in creating the directions of business development and making decisions that are crucial in terms of the organisation’s future. A good Financial Director should know and understand the idea behind all key functions within the operation of the company: sales, logistics, marketing, HR, and, finally, IT. Practically, s/he has to be ready to manage multiple processes, including risk management.

The process approach in that area is significant — it consists of an ongoing analysis of the environment, verification of assumptions and creation of simulation of possible business models, and avoiding or reducing possible business risks on the basis of these models.

Currently, there are numerous methodologies of risk management, among which Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is considered the most comprehensive one. The basic elements of ERM are assessment of significant risks and implementation of appropriate reactions

to threats, which include, among others, reduction or limitation of risks with internal control procedures or other preventive actions.

GLOBAL MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES TO THE RESCUE

It is worth referring to the field close to the risk management — management accounting, also known as managerial accounting. Why? The area supports making decisions that are crucial for the functioning of our organisations.

Its main objective is to collect, analyse and provide information, on the basis of which the management of the company might make rational decisions, taking into account the possible risks and their consequences. Therefore, entrepreneurs are ready to face more undesirable random events. So little, and yet so much, as today information management means a chance to gain a competitive advantage.

BUSINESS

The field is based on universal, commonly available Global Management Accounting Principles, which were created by two renowned certified financiers organisations: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). The principles help organisations — small and medium, public and private ones — gain value from the increasing number of available pieces of information. Making right decision has never been such an important and challenging task as it is today, facing technological progress and development of artificial intelligence.

A good Financial Director should know and understand the idea behind all key functions within the operation of the company: sales, logistics, marketing, HR, and, finally, IT.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

CYBERSECURITY AT GUNPOINT

Nowadays, risk management gains a new dimension. The aforesaid technological progress brings along a challenge connected with cyberattacks. In order to implement an appropriate preventive plan, organisations have to understand the possible risk. According to Cybersecurity tool: Cybersecurity risk, response and remediation strategies CIMA report, the risk is generated mainly by three factors: malware, applications and hacking attacks. In result, a company may lose its data, financial resources and experience difficulties in functioning of websites and applications. The reputation of the enterprise may also be harmed. In addition, it might face legal consequences, not to mention the fact that clients may switch to competitive service providers on a massive scale.

The CIMA report states that in order to achieve the goals regarding security and minimising the risk of an attack, organisations should use security mechanisms that are to protect the IT resources, detect malicious activities and react effectively to such activities to minimise their effect on the company’s interests. A system should be controlled, depending on the type of software, keeping in mind the division into availability, confidentiality, and data integrity and processing. However, protection against the attacks is only one of the elements of cybersecurity policy of an organisation. An appropriate report system is necessary, which will show business partners the company is protected against such situations. As the authors of the statement believe, the basic criteria of such reporting consist of availability of IT systems, confidentiality defined as information protection against unauthorised access, data consistency, which stands for preventing modification or destruction of the data, as well as processing consistency, which means protection against misuse, modification or shutdown of systems. •

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INVESTMENTS

INVESTMENT NEWS Europejski to be managed

by Colliers International

Warsaw studio WWAA along with the Grand Theatre – National Opera’s stage designer Boris Kudlička and architects of APA Wojciechowski. Restaurant sections were designed by architects of Lazaro Rosa Violan.

Source: Colliers International

VASTINT revitalises the historical area at Garbary Street in Poznań Colliers International, a leading commercial real estate advisory company, will provide property management services to Europejski multifunctional project in Warsaw – former Hotel Europejski.

The historic building at Krakowskie Przedmieście, in addition to the most luxurious hotel in Poland, will also house high class office, retail and service space.

Europejski is one of the most characteristic buildings on the map of Warsaw. It will reopen its doors to guests from the entire world in the first half of 2018. The five-star Raffles Europejski Warsaw will operate inside the building, becoming the third European hotel of the famous Raffles Hotels & Resorts chain. There will be 106 rooms on offer, including over 40 luxury apartments, situated over three storeys.

Seven thousand square metres of A+ class office space is spread over the two top storeys of the 19th‑century building.

This section stands out with its modern architecture and carefully designed greenery of its spacious patio. Each office module can be arranged as an individual office or open space. Moreover, nearly three thousand square metres of luxury retail and service space is dedicated to boutiques and restaurants.

Europejski was built in the middle of the 19th century, designed by Henryk Marconi, a prominent Warsaw architect.

Its reconstruction and extension were planned by Sud Architectes. Interiors were entrusted to the renowned

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The investment plans of the present owner will newly define the functions and the shape of the historical city quarter.

Vastint Poland forms part of the Vastint Group, an international organisation which has operated in the European real estate market for more than 25 years. The project at Garbary street will be the third project developed by Vastint in Poznań. Presently, the developer is constructing the second phase of the office complex called Business Garden at Kolorowa street and is planning a residential project Porotowo at Starołęka.

Cushman & Wakefield to commercialise Fabryczna Office Park

Vastint Poland recently purchased the old Slaughterhouse area (Rzeźnia Miejska) of almost 5.5 hectares in Poznań.

The developer is planning to transform the historical city quarter into a multi-use area where places of work, apartments and generally accessible public space will be located, while maintaining the post-industrial style of the former plant.

The anticipated area of the future buildings amounts to approximately 70,000 m2.

The property is located in the northern part of central Poznań within the area delimited by the following streets: Garbary, Grochowe Łąki and Północna. The meat factory was opened in 1900 and it was then one of the most modern plants of this kind in Europe. The plant was modernised after World War II, but in 1990s the production was transferred outside the borders of the city. Since then the buildings comprising the plant have not been used.

Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed an exclusive agent for the commercialisation of Fabryczna Office Park under a cooperation agreement signed with the INTER-BUD Group.

Fabryczna Office Park is a complex of three modern office buildings in downtown Krakow. It enjoys easy access to public transportation, including trams and buses, in Pokoju Avenue, and a fast commuter rail service which is currently in the pipeline. Fabryczna City also comprises revitalised buildings with numerous retail and service outlets available to office tenants of the complex. The residential part will feature apartments for sale and compact starter flats for lease.

Each ten-storey office building will be delivered with a two-level underground car park. Fabryczna Office Park will offer more than 42,000 sq m of leasable office space and 844 parking spaces.

Construction of the first building and of the underground levels of the other two began in June 2017. The complex will see its first tenants move in in the first quarter of 2019. The owner and the general contractor of the project, which was designed by IMB Asymetria, is the INTER-BUD Group.

The history of the INTER-BUD Group dates back to 1989 when the firm was set up as a renovation and construction business.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

INVESTMENTS

INTER-BUD delivers comprehensive construction services in several areas: own residential projects (from land acquisition, right through to property designing, construction, sale and management), general contractor, renovation and construction services, maintenance and installation services (including electrical, telecommunication, central heating, ventilation, water and sewage, and gas systems), and road works.

A new investment management company formed in Germany

Garbe and Nixdorf Holding (GuN Holding) have formed a new investment management company, Garbe Institutional Capital GmbH (GAIN Capital). Anton Tjoonk, former fund manager of European Residential at Bouwfonds is the new Head of Residential Real Estate Investment as from the beginning of May and Michiel Dubois, former managing director of Residential at Bouwfonds will become the new managing director of GAIN Capital on 1st June.

GAIN Capital will be active as investment managers in all property market sectors excluding industrial and logistics property.

In the initial phase, the focus will be on residential investment.

The existing platform of Garbe Industrial Real Estate as a fully integrated manager and developer of industrial and logistics property, and Garbe Immobilien-Projekte as a developer of residential and office property, remains unchanged.

Source: Garbe

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

JLL summarizes the situation on the Warsaw Office Market at the end of Q1 2018 After the excellent results recorded in 2017, Warsaw's office market continued performing well in Q1 2018. Vacancy rates are decreasing while demand stands at 202,000 sq m. 770,000 sq m of office space is under construction. There is also a growing demand for flexible space, and state-of-the-art technological solutions.

Advisory firm JLL summarizes the situation on the Warsaw office market at the end of Q1 2018.

The growing maturity of the capital office market is accompanied by the evolving needs and interests of tenants. Currently two major trends are attracting the attention of both landlords and occupiers: the increasing role of property technology and the rise of the flexible working environment.

The amount of new supply coming to the market in Q1 2018 was rather moderate: two buildings were completed – Graffit and Europejski – which provided the Warsaw office market with 23,700 sq m of office space. This is in line with the expected contraction of the pipeline in 2018 and the correction between supply and demand.

The lower completions volume and the robust demand during the first quarter resulted in a drop in the vacancy rate in Warsaw to 10.8%. This decrease is most evident in central Warsaw, where 7.3% of space is empty (1.8 pp drop q-o-q).

The vacancy rate in non-central Warsaw remained stable at 13.1% at the end of Q1.

Prime headline rents remained stable in Q1 2018. In central Warsaw rents are currently quoted at €17 to €23 / sq m / month, while prime assets located in the best non-central areas lease for €11 to €15 / sq m / month. JLL does not envisage major changes in the rates on the Warsaw lease market any time soon. However, Warsaw has reached the bottom of the rental cycle and some rental pressures may grow along with an increase in labor and constructions costs.

Source: JLL

Record first quarter 2018 on the Real Estate Market in Poland As a result of large portfolio transactions, the first quarter of 2018 on the Polish real estate investment market closed with a record investment volume of ca. EUR 2.05 bn, according to Savills. Taking into account the number and volume of ongoing transactions, we may expect another very

good year on the investment market.

The acquisition of EUR 1 bn retail portfolio of M1, Auchan, Power Park and Praktiker centres by Chariot Top Group, comprising PIMCO, Oaktree and Redefine, and the first part of the resale of a selected part of this portfolio to EPP (starting with four M1 shopping centres for EUR 358.7 million) are with no doubt the transactions that contributed the most to the record volume in Q1’18. The largest single-asset transaction in Q1’18 was the acquisition of Galeria Katowicka, a prime shopping centre located in Katowice, estimated for nearly EUR 300 million.

In the first quarter of 2018, office transactions accounted for only 6% of total investment volume. However, the number and volume of ongoing transactions and properties offered for sale will result in a much higher activity in this sector over the next few months.

Industrial sector is still on the target list of buyers. In Q1’18 three assets in this sector changed the owner: Prologis Park Sochaczew (acquired by Ares), Ideal Idea IV (Segro) and Good Point II (Hillwood).

We expect more industrial transactions including portfolio sales and large singleasset acquisitions in the nearest future.

Savills reports that increased investor activity on the real estate market in Poland has been leading to further yield compression.

For leading shopping centres in Warsaw and in major regional cities, prime yields amount to 5.00-5.25%. Prime office yields in Warsaw may break the level of 5.00% while on major regional markets prime yields range from ca. 6.00% (Cracow and Wroclaw) to 6.50-7.25% in other leading regional markets. Prime yields in industrial sector amount to 6.50-7.00% for multi-let or smaller BTS assets and are significantly sharper in the case of assets let for at least 10 years to such global giants as Amazon.

Source: Savills

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INVESTMENTS

European BSS destinations: Lithuania Interview with Laisvis Makulis, Head of Business Services Team, Invest Lithuania.

a business here. In the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings, we already rank higher than Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany, as well as neighbouring investment destinations like Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

Combined with this streamlined business environment is a large pool of highly-qualified talent. Our main GBS hubs have a constant pipeline of highly educated professionals, enabling both new and existing companies to grow sustainably and efficiently.

Finally, compared to competitor locations, our cost levels are typically 10-30% lower for both labour and real estate.

This gives businesses based here one of the best quality-to-cost ratios in the entire CEE region.

Wiktor Doktór, CEO, Pro Progressio: The success story of BSS investments in Lithuania started over a decade ago. How many BSS operation centres are located in Lithuania today and why did Lithuania considered BSS industry to be potentially a good investor to your Country?

Laisvis Makulis: Lithuania’s foray into the industry started back in 2009 when the first big movers like Barclays and Western Union opened their Global Business Services (GBS) Centres in Vilnius. Fast-forward to today, and we see a mature and dynamic market comprising 70 GBS centres that employ over 15,000 professionals. And the numbers Looking at the big picture, are growing as we speak!

GBS investments positively impact the country’s busi2017 was a record year for Invest Lithu- ness climate in many ways. ania, with 39 FDI projects adding over In particular, they bring 5,000 new jobs. More than half of these knowledge and competenjobs will be created by investments cies that enrich our young in the GBS sector. Lithuania’s GBS and ambitious talents, and community welcomed big global names this in turn puts pressure on local compalike Booking.com, Telia, World Courier, nies to innovate and develop to stay competitive. Therefore, the government Centric, NKT and many others. views FDI as a huge asset to the economy, Over the last decade, Lithuania has and is constantly cooperating with busisteadily improved its business environ- nesses to make Lithuania one of the ment, making it easier to set up and run most attractive locations for these kinds of operations.

When we think about locating BSS Centre in Lithuania we mainly think about Vilnius, but this is not the only one location prepared for establishing global business operation centres.

Indeed, Vilnius is already an established location in the CEE region for GBS projects and is often shortlisted by international companies. But Lithuania is much more than just its capital.

Kaunas, the country’s second largest city (and the 4th largest in the Baltics), is attracting more and more attention

The government views FDI as a huge asset to the economy, and is constantly cooperating with businesses to make Lithuania one of the most attractive locations for these kinds of operations.

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from international companies. In terms of numbers, GBS centres in Vilnius employ around 13,000 professionals, while in Kaunas the headcount is already over 2,000 and this number is growing fast. In 2017 alone, the Kaunas GBS community welcomed

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

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INVESTMENTS

Robotics has really taken off in Lithuania’s GBS industry, as over 80% of the centres have already started their RPA journey.

In addition to typical processes such as IT (71% of centres provide this service), F&A (61%), Customer operations (49%), and HR (37%), functions like procurement, engineering, big data analytics, and robotics are becoming commonplace as well.

Lithuania has historically had very close ties with the USA, and any American company coming to Lithuania always receives special attention and support. Otn the other hand, Scandinavian companies find Lithuania a very appealing place for their business centres.

And that’s not only due to the geographical proximity and strong Nordic language such companies as Dutch Centric and skills, but also due to similar working Geophy, NKT (a multibillion Danish cable cultures that make knowledge transfer producer), OAG (a UK-based aviation smoother and faster. data analytics company), and AL-KO Tech (a German supplier to the largest brands Let’s take a look on more details in the automotive industry). I believe this concerning the business activities is just the start for Kaunas, which has all of existing operation centres in Lithuthe right ingredients to follow Vilnius’ ania – which services are mainly provided footsteps in becoming an established here? Is it IT, finance, call contact centre GBS location. or something else?

Kaunas is conveniently close to the capital Vilnius. It is less than an hour by car or a train, making it easy for top talent from Vilnius to commute to Kaunas.

Moreover, Kaunas has an international airport with direct connections to major European hubs. Good connectivity aside, Kaunas is home to one of the most advanced technical universi ties in the region – Kaunas University of Technology, which counts the likes of Siemens, Hitachi, and NASA among its partners.

Investors from which countries choose Lithuania. Are those Americans who expand their business all over the World or perhaps majority of investments come from Nordics due to nearshoring presence?

The Nordic region dominates the GBS industry in Lithuania, with Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish companies making up almost half of the centres and employing over 40% of the total workforce in the sector.

However, in terms of individual countries, the United leads in both Manufacturing and Global Business Services projects.

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Around one quarter of all SSC/ GBS centres in Lithuania are owned by US companies.

The vast majority of centres in Lithuania are multifunctional, providing a diverse package of services. In addition to typical processes such as IT (71% of centres provide this service), F&A (61%), Customer operations (49%), and HR (37%), functions like procurement, engineering, big data analytics, and robotics are becoming commonplace as well.

Robotics has really taken off in Lithuania’s GBS industry, as over 80% of the centres have already started their RPA journey.

For example, Danske Bank has its Robotics Centre of Excellence in Vilnius and at the moment over 100 robots have been deployed in the group. Western Union, which also develops robotics solutions in its centre in Lithuania, received the RPA Implementation of the Year award at the annual CEE Shared Services and Outsourcing awards in Warsaw.

Fintech is another sector that is booming in Lithuania. Just last year, 35 new companies started operations in Lithuania, bringing the total number of Fintech companies to 117. GBS centres

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

INVESTMENTS

also tap into this cutting-edge talent pool by employing tech-savvy talent to develop mobile payments solutions, redesign customer interface platforms, and create other digital solutions.

And how about languages? What languages are being used and supported from existing BSS centres?

Lithuanians are indeed multilingual, with half of the population speaking at least two foreign languages. English is the primary language used in the GBS industry, and with nearly 100% fluency among young professionals it has become an everyday language rather than an exception. Additionally, German and French are also quite commonly used since these languages are widely taught, even at primary school level, and are quite popular with young people.

Lastly, with all the investment from the Nordics, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish are taugth at scale by many universities and private schools. Another trend we see is companies in the GBS industry providing language training, which constantly increases the number of talents speaking Nordic languages.

and most importantly, retain talent. This is due to the low market saturation and competition for talent in the Vilnius-Kaunas hub.

Availability of talent pool is the most important indicator when it comes to find the place for establishing new BSS centre.

But the important thing is also the availability of modern office spaces. How does the Lithuanian’s office market look like?

The real estate market is swiftly adapting to the increasing demand from companies that need to house large teams in one location. In recent years, total office stock has increased by more than 15% in Vilnius and 25% in Kaunas.

As of Q1 2018, the stock of modern office space in Vilnius was more than 600,000 sqm, and almost 200,000 sqm in Kaunas. And construction is not slowing down in either city. It is expected that by the end of 2019, approximately 130,000 sqm of new offices will be commissioned in Vilnius and approximately 50,000 sqm in Kaunas. Developers feel strong demand for modern business centres in both cities and are responding well: more than 90% of constructed stock is class A.

On average, centres provide services in 5 foreign languages, while some (Western Union comes to mind) have teams that speak 40 languages, making their reach truly global.

The current average vacancy rate in Vilnius is relatively low, at around 5%, while in Kaunas it is up to 7%. And the demand for new offices is growing from GBS organisations already established in Lithuania. For example, recent We asked about languages. Let’s focus expansions in office space have been now on the talent pool. Can you share undertaken by Danske Bank (12,000 sqm), with us the numbers of students, gra- Western Union (11,000 sqm), Swedbank duates of Lithuanian’s Universities?

(8,000 sqm), and Festo (6,000 sqm).

Obviously, a company cannot tap into the talent pool of the whole co- The average monthly rent for A class untry, so we should talk about specific office space varies from 13-16 EUR/ areas. In Lithuania’s case it would be sqm, and for B class from 9-13 EUR/sqm the Vilnius-Kaunas hub, which has mo- in Vilnius. In Kaunas, rents are around 15% re than 1.4 million inhabitants and over lower. You can rent A class office space for 100,000 students enrolled in univer- one month from 10-13 EUR/sqm and B sities and colleges. The size of this talent class from 7-10 EUR/sqm. pool is comparable to locations such as Budapest, Prague, Krakow, and Lisbon. Thank you for your time and all above answers. For the end if you could just In addition to this high concentration in one sentence say why BSS inveof talent, it is important to note that stors should focus on Lithuania – what companies, including those that don’t would it be? have an easily recognizable brand, find it A country where more happens easy to enter the market, ramp up quickly, with less. •

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

K29 Business centre in Vilnius, Lithuania.

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INVESTMENTS

10 Anniversary of the establishment of Kielce Technology Park th

Everything started with a dream of creating a place in Kielce that would encourage the development of entrepreneurship. Today, after 10 years of functioning, Kielce Technology Park is a recognizable brand. This prestigious site, located at no 6 Olszewskiego Street attracts many creative people.

Today KTP is “bursting at the seams”. New entrepreneurs have to sign on the waiting list.

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

INVESTMENTS

New investment in the city RISK INVOLVED IN A PROJECT Over eighty thousand square feet of land, with nearly thirty-two thousand square feet of usable floor space including two Technological Incubators, five halls, four competence centers plus nearly twenty hectares of a development area including 11 ha of tailor-made investment areas – equipped and well-communicated with another 7.5 ha of land in preparation from the resources of the Regional Operational Program of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship for the years 2014-2020 – this is a part of what KTP has achieved over the course of 10 years.

Szymon Mazurkiewicz, the head of KTP, admitted that a decade ago a risk of failure involved in this venture was very high.

– There was no proven model that could have been taken from another location and brought to Kielce that would have guaranteed success.

Each and every technology parks needs to be ‘tailored to’ the needs of a local community and region. There are no solutions that can be completely copied from others – notices the head of KTP. – First technology parks were established in the last century, in the 40s, and in Poland in the 90s. Later, thanks to the European Union funding, more interest has been shown in using the funding to build sites for economic activity.

Kielce decided to seize the opportunity and use the EU funding. However, at first the capital of Świętokrzyskie region needed to find a model, the best solution that could be implemented. – We have been visiting places around the world. Scandinavia, USA, Asia made the biggest impression on us, however, we did not only pay attention to projects that were successful. We focused more on the enterprises that failed and asked why they failed – says Szymon Mazurkiewicz. – Thanks to many study tours it was possible to develop the best model of institution supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in Kielce.

VOTE OF CONFIDENCE In the beginning Kielce Technology Incubator was created – an institution that was to respond to the needs of young people and academics and support their start-up activity. – I remember the time when we shared our initial idea with

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

the public and did not meet with a warm reception. People did not feel the need for this type of activity, however, as the time passed we started gaining more and more supporters from scientific and business fields. They helped us enormously.

This is when the decision was made that Kielce will not only have the incubator but a whole technology park – highlights the head of KTP. According to him, without the support form the city government, it would not be possible to continue with the project. – We received a vote of confidence. We could work in perfect conditions that enabled creative work – says the head of KTP and adds that academics from Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce (back then University of Humanities and Sciences in Kielce – editorial note) and Kielce University of Technology.

MILLIONS TO BUILD THE BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM The first project that received EU funding was worth eighty six million zlotys. Orange Inc and Technological Center were build with this money. – First years of our activity had shown that we had fulfilled the local business needs. Three years had passed and the need for infrastructure and professionalization of services grew. That is why, we decided to further develop the infrastructur e and in effect, create a so called scale effect – which is an accumulation of firms in a one particular area. A real business ecosystem was created – comments Szymon Mazurkiewicz and adds that the most important year for them was 2012. European Commission evaluation of the enterprise was very positive and granted another twenty million euros that was used to create another incubator – Skye Inc. What is more, the Technology Center was developed and some money was invested in the so called Competence Centers that today support the functioning of all the companies in KTP. Centers like 3D Print Center, Fashion Design, CNC, ICT and Energy Science Center are professional and refined facilities. Energy Science Center is one of a kind place in this region that has been visited by forty thousand people since its opening in November 2015.

Name of the investor: Marbach Polska LLC Country of origin: Germany Number of workplaces: 67 Sector: production (paper industry)

Company’s residence in the city: – production and warehouse hall with social and office space Occupied surface: 1,580 m2 Time needed for attracting the investor: company reinvesting in Kielce

Investing in the Kielce Technology Park (KTP) has significantly helped to expand our business activity to the whole country.

Before, the plant in Kielce was intended for the execution of orders mainly for one recipient from Kielce. Modernisation of the plant and a new place in KTP supported the development of the facility.

The target number of employment for 2020 was planned for 60 people, which was achieved at the beginning of 2018.

Current employment amounts to 67 people. At the same time, new admissions are planned. The convenient location and good infrastructure of the plant allowed expanding the business, attracting new clients and shortening the time of reaching customers.

Pavol Kunstar, Managing Director Marbach Polska

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INVESTMENTS

Over eighty thousand square feet of land, with nearly thirtytwo thousand square feet of usable floor space including two Technological Incubators, five halls, four competence centers plus nearly twenty hectares of a development area.

The Park has also gained new development plots where new factories are created. That brings new workplaces and newest technologies. B and C zones will be ready to be sold in the first quarter of 2018. At this point utilities and independent geological works are conducted on the site. – Every day we receive letters from entrepreneurs who are interested in the purchase of the development areas.

The Lines of Business interested vary from service centers, through sales and production.

Among these companies there are the ones that come out of the incubators and would like to continue their development in KTP – adds Szymon Mazurkiewicz.

Investor Assistance Centre Kielce City Hall: Strycharska 6 St., 25-659 Kielce p: +48 41 36 76 571, 41 36 76 557 coi@um.kielce.pl www.invest.kielce pl/en www.mapa.invest. kielce.pl/en

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THE BIGGEST SUCCESS According to Szymon Mazurkiewicz, the biggest success of the last ten years is gaining the trust of the companies. Today KTP is “bursting at the seams”. New entrepreneurs have to sign on the waiting list.

– Companies appreciate us not only for the quality of the infrastructure we have but also for the synergy effects that are created in the Park. They appreciate the possibility of cooperation with other entities and for services we offer every day. We have created a trend of functioning in KTP in the City. KTP is a very prestigious address today – emphasizes the head of KTP. FROM KTP TO TECHNOPOLIS The development conception of KTP is consistent with the idea of Technopolis – modern, multi-functional business district.

– We look at the Park as a multi-functional area of economic activity where not only business-related sites are created. Kindergartens,

sport facilities, service outlets and even apartments can be found here. All of them are supposed to make living in this area pleasant.

We wish for our entrepreneurs to have all the necessary services within the arm’s reach – says the head of KTP. The first to be built is California Inc. – the biggest technology incubator in East-Central Europe. The investment is worth PLN eighty-six million. The funding will be provided by the European Union.

The new building of fourteen thousand square feet will be ready in 2021. Among its advantages are uniqueness and multi-functionality. The building will also be ecological and build with the use of the newest technology in architecture, construction and property management. Besides modern office spaces there will also be rooms to enable establishing business relations like conference rooms, mentoring rooms and coworking space, as well as laboratory and social facilities. The last floor will become a sports and recreation area. There are also plans to build a logistics incubator.

THE FUTURE...

– In the nearest future we would like to make students aware of our existence and activity and through that encourage them to start their own business. We will co-operate with academics to incorporate entrepreneurship science into core curriculum. Commercialization of knowledge is one of the keys to the fast economic development and to the improvement of market competitiveness – says Szymon Mazurkiewicz.

The head of KTP also thinks that there is a need to consider the change of the shareholding structure. The Park could become a commercial law company.

The future is also bound to expanding the offer – developing a complex of technology incubators buildings, future headquarters and a place for start-up companies. A huge emphasis will also be put on the development of investment areas.

– Our companies are entering next phases of their development. They want to build their own factories. We need to help them – he notices. He adds that the institution will be going towards professionalization of business-related services which will meet the most advanced needs of entrepreneurs. – We would like to be more involved in the processes relating to the internationalization of companies – to help the companies enter foreign markets – lists Mazurkiewicz.

POST SCRIPTUM Currently there are over two hundred companies that function in KTP. Building of the infrastructure cost PLN eighty-six millon, and it’s extension another PLN one hundred, twenty-six million. The total amount of funding the entrepreneurs have received in the course of 10 years through the KTP projects is around PLN sixteen million. The number of new workplaces in the companies located in the Park from the beginning of its existance is estimated to be around one thousand, twelve hundred. Almost three thousand, five hundred people have used the services offered by the Competence Centers. •

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INVESTMENTS

Green Expo 2024 will bloom in Łódź I want my Lodz to grow, to have palaces so grand and gardens so beautiful, I want great rush, great trade, great money...

Referring to the famous quote from “The Promised Land” by Władysław Reymont, we can say we have almost reached this vision. Nearly 100 factory owners’ palaces and villas, most of them revitalized, embellish the city centre, and gardens so beautiful and great rush may soon come true thanks to Horticultural Expo 2024, which is to be held in Łódź.

In connection with the organisation of Expo 2024 a Central City Park will be established in the centre of Łódź, comprising extended The 3rd May Park and Baden-Powell Park and the area adjacent to the Clinical and Didactic Centre of the Medical University of Lodz.

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Photo: www.lodz.pl

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INVESTMENTS

New investment in the city

EFFORTS TO HOST A WORLD EXPO

REMEMBER THE GARDENS...

On 21st March this year we received great news from Australia, where the General Meeting of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) granted the City of Łódź the right to organise Horticultural Expo 2024. The Exhibition will be held under the banner of “Nature of the City”, expressing a wish to realize the idea of a friendly place, one good to live in and to work in a pleasant environment, meant also for leisure, fun and recreation.

The Exposition will be not only about revitalization, but also about shaping the urban landscape and utilizing the potential of urban greenery.

Five representatives of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) visited Łódź to get a closer look at the city applying for the organisation of Horticultural Expo 2024.

Last year Łódź competed for hosting EXPO 2022, related to revitalization of cities, but was pipped at the post

by Buenos Aires. As Hanna Zdanowska, the Mayor of Łódź, had promised the city residents a world exhibition, the city authorities decided not to give up the fight. Especially as Expo 2022 and the so-called Green Expo have much in common, and Poland and Łódź find their identity in revitalization, which, wherever we go in the world, is perceived as an universal tool to improve the quality of life. EXPO 2024 will not only show the results of broadly defined revitalization activities, including the “Green Łódź”, but will also become their inherent part.

Green Expo fits in the idea of broadly defined revitalization, as the last one is also about ecology, low emission transport, smart city solutions or use of advanced technologies in everyday life of the residents of Łódź and the Region, which, by the way, must prepare for greeting an immense number of tourists and guests from all over the world. Preliminary estimates show that as many as over 4 million visitors may come to Horticultural Expo 2024.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

During their stay the AIPH representatives examined the premises of the forthcoming Exhibition and a transport hub at the New Centre of Łódź. Once a positive assessment had been given, in March AIPH elected Łódź, with a final decision on location to be made during a meeting held by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in June, when this choice will be definitively approved. Łódź’s bid for Horticultural Expo 2024 was supported by the Marshal of the Łódź Region, Witold Stępień, and by local higher education institutions. Provosts of the University of Lodz, Lodz University of Technology and the Medical University of Lodz assured that they would actively join in the promotion of the city and the organisation of Expo 2024 and enrich the planned Exhibition with their knowledge and resources. The City prepares the application in cooperation with Greenery Development Agency and the Polish Nurserymen Association. Łódź was also visited by Niek Roozen, a famous landscape architec t, who designed “Amsterdam Gardens”, Shanghai Central Park for the World EXPO, the Dutch Garden at the Łazienki Park in Warsaw and many more. Students had an opportunity to listen to Niek Roozen’s lecture, where he emphasized that urban greenery not only made a city more beautiful and aesthetic, but it also had to be viewed in terms of economics, improvement of the quality of life and organisation of space for a local community. In connection with the endeavours to host Horticultural Expo, Łódź

Name of the investor: Whirpool Corporation Country of origin: USA Number of workplaces: 284 Sector: Financial Shared Services for EMEA region Company’s residence in the city: Nowa Fabryczna building Occupied surface: over 5,000 m2

Whirlpool decided to invest in Poland and specifically in Lodz for many different reasons.

First of all, Poland is at the center of the EMEA strategy, both in terms of market position and industrial footprint. Second, Poland economy and GDP is growing at higher rate than most of the other European countries and Polish government is facilitating foreign investors. Also, Poland is absolute number 1 in Europe and among the top 5 countries worldwide in terms of Shared Services sector, thus offering highly qualified and experience workforce and developed infrastructures.

Last but not least, Lodz has experienced tremendous growth in the SSC sector in the last few years, positioning itself among the top locations in Poland and one of the 4 delivery centers to be centralized was already located in Lodz and Whirlpool decided to leverage on the existing team.

Andrea Marciandi, Director, Whirpool EMEA Service Center Division in Łódź

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INVESTMENTS

GOOD TO KNOW:

authorities are thinking about designing a garden at the New Centre of Łódź, which would serve various urban relations and create a unique “temperature of the City”. Because according to Niek Roozen, greenery placed at a new urban centre adopts new functions.

Investor Service and International Cooperation Bureau Piotrkowska 104a Str 90-926 Lodz p.: +48 42 638 59 39 fax: +48 42 638 59 40 e-mail: boi@uml.lodz.pl

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Horticultural EXPO 2024 continues the mission of EXPO 2022 – there can be no revitalization without greenery and therefore the Exhibition’s main premises cover the area of 75 ha, including two parks. EXPO will enable to extend these parks and turn them into green lungs of the downtown area for good.

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Smart and sustainable EXPO – the Exhibition marvelously follows smart city trends and trends towards high quality of life in cities, with sustainable transport, green cities, leisure activities culture and resident-friendly cities in mind.

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EXPO means even 100 MM euro investments on the premises of the Exhibition and in its vicinity. During the 5 months of the Exhibition Łódź can expect about 4 million visitors.

THE GRAIN IS CAST

In front of Łódź there are now 5 years of laborious work, as many investments in urban greenery are required to accompany the area revitalization process in order to make Łódź a city of a high quality of life, and the effects of the world exhibition Expo 2024 will remain with Łódź residents for long.

In connection with the organisation of Expo 2024 a Central City Park will be established in the centre of Łódź, comprising extended The 3rd May Park and Baden-Powell Park and the area adjacent to the Clinical and Didactic Centre of the Medical University of Lodz. Other local green squares will host pavilions and theme gardens which will serve Łódź residents for many years to come.

Among reasons making the Exhibition an attractive enterprise we can name popularization of pro-ecological approach to urban development and economic promotion of Łódź. EXPO will also provide an opportunity to present the idea of urban gardening as an efficient mechanism of policy making for sustainable development and to use scientific research achievements for the purposes of shaping urban space. The City currently awaits a joint arrangement regarding support of the organisation of the world event by Polish government, which is a necessary condition of approval by the Bureau International des Expositions in Paris, which is supposed to be granted in June this year. •

Preliminary estimates show that as many as over 4 million visitors may come to Horticultural Expo 2024.

Photo: www.lodz.pl

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

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CZĘSTOCHOWA DISCOVER IT ANEW! The organization of the visual identity of the city of Częstochowa coincided with the preparations for the upcoming celebration of the 800th anniversary of the written history of Częstochowa.

As of this year, there is a new logo used for tourist, cultural and economic promotion, which is associated with the departure from the slogan “Jasne, że Częstochowa” (“Sure, that it is Częstochowa”). The next step is the proposal to change the city’s coat of arms to the traditional one, which was created in the 14th century. The great anniversary of the city’s written history will fall in 2020. The first mention of Częstochowa comes from 1220, in the document by the bishop of Cracow, Iwo Odrowąż.

In the course of conceptual works associated with the preparation of the new city logo, it turned out that the very name “Częstochowa” generates a lot of interesting meanings and contexts, which are well suited for the use in the promotion of the city brand.

The logo includes no direct references to the city’s coat of arms, which will soon be subject to heraldic correction and used for making the other graphic signs identifying the City Hall and its subordinate units. The logo contains colors from the city flag (white, yellow and blue), which is visible in colorful executions as the end of the letter Ę. The diacritical mark itself, the so-called little-tail, which reminds an indicator pointed upwards, symbolizing the growth and development in a positive way. In turn, the phrase “chowa” (“hides”) cut from the top is the starting point for the associative game and the entire promotional campaign of the city.

In the course of conceptual works associated with the preparation of the new city logo, it turned out that the very name “Częstochowa” generates a lot of interesting meanings and contexts, which are well suited for the use in the promotion of the city brand. Experiences in using the current logo, as well as the advertising slogan “Jasne, że Częstochowa” (“Sure, that it is Częstochowa”) clearly indicate the necessity to use unusual and distinctive solutions. Hence, the idea that the logo design and the entire campaign promoting the city will be based on the semantic game and separation of the phrase into “często” (“often”) and “chowa” (“hides”).

A simple graphical operation consisting in hiding/cutting the second word builds the senses, according to which Częstochowa encourages inhabitants, tourists and pilgrims to discover on their own what is hidden in the campaign itself. City attractions are best seen with your own eye, which is why the part of the image campaign is based on the re-­ moval of various objects from traditional promotional photos.

The second part of the campaign focuses on the literal treatment of the phrase “często chowa” (“often hides”), where the subject and object are implicit (“The city often hides its treasures”), as well as its translation into foreign languages.

Częstochowa as an open city invites foreign guests to play with a literally

read name (in English – “often hides”).

Exoticism of some translations is a form of stimulus to explore Częstochowa monuments, sculptures and interesting places by tourists from the furthest parts of the world. The image campaign is aimed at strengthening the understanding of the logo itself as a sign that will replace any slogans. In conclusion, the idea of focusing the message was imposed by the wordplay resulting directly from the name.

Along with the change of the visual identification of the city, a new logo of Invest in Częstochowa appeared, as well. The city, while promoting its investment potential in 2014, used the logotype “Invest in Częstochowa”, but currently it was also changed to maintain the convention.

The "Invest in Częstochowa" brand was established because, together with the efforts to locate two Special Economic Zones in the city area: the Katowice Special Economic Zone and the Special Euro Economic Zone-Park Mielec, the city’s development direction has changed radically in three locations.

Started in June 2014, both zones started to operate and first tenders took place. From a tourist city area, Częstochowa again became the city focused on the development of business and industry, whose traditions in this place date back to the 19th century.

INVESTMENTS

New investment in the city Investor Service Center Department of European Funds and Development City Hall of Częstochowa Waszyngtona 5 St. 42-217 Częstochowa p: +48 34 3707 212 Investor Assistance Centre p: +48 34 3707 213 coi@czestochowa. um.gov.pl fer@czestochowa. um.gov.pl www.czestochowa.pl Anna Mielczarek

CZĘSTOCHOWA CHANGES ITS COAT OF ARMS

The traditional coat of arms of Częstochowa contains city walls with towers and gate common then, as well as symbols of Vladislaus II of Opole, who was the supreme prince of Częstochowa that time. He used the sign of the Piast eagle – as the prince of Opole and the lion – as the lord of Halich Ruthenia.

Currently, instead of the eagle, the coat of arms contains the raven considered as a Pauline symbol, but its history is a bit different. For the first time, the raven was officially approved in the city’s coat of arms in 1942, which was done by the authorities of the General Gouvernement. One of the reasons was probably the fact that the eagle was forbidden by the occupation authorities.

After the war, the symbols of the eagle and lion were used again for many years. However, in 1992, some councilors of Częstochowa reported the need to change the coat of arms, suggesting the return of the raven as a figure referring imprecisely to the presence of Paulines at Jasna Góra – in fact, the raven appeared in the Paulines’ emblem in the 17th and 18th centuries in Portugal.

There it was associated with the message of Saint Jerome and the legend of the raven-sinner, which brought the bread in the beak for Saint Paul. The project did not only meet the basic heraldic requirements regarding the number of colors or strictly urban attributes used in old seals, but in heraldry it is associated with the symbolism of evil and sin.

It was adopted by the Council. In 1992, the Heraldic Commission did not work (only in 1999), thus it was impossible to prevent the devastation of the momentum and the work of art, which should be understood as the coat of arms from the XIVth century, with the golden eagle of the Piast Dynasty.

The Mayor of Częstochowa, Krzysztof Matyjaszczyk, proposed to change the city’s coat of arms from the one approved by the authorities of the General Gouvernement of the raven, to the previous symbol of the eagle.

The change of the city’s coat of arms began with the design of the pattern compliant with the heraldic requirements, then it will be assessed by the Heraldic Commission, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, and the decision of the City Council of Częstochowa.

Name of the investor: Guardian Glass Country of origin: USA Number of workplaces: 150 new + 350 existing Sector: glass industry Company’s residence in the city: postindustrial area in Czestochowa.

Extension of the building will be placed in immediate proximity to current headquarters Current occupied building area: 60 000 sqm.

Time needed for attracting the investor: about 2 years

New production facility will be the biggest equity investment leaded from the basis in the history of Guardian Glass and it will strenghten our position as the leading manufacturer of highly efficient, safe and energy-efficient glass products for residential and commercial buildings in Europe.

Guardian is impressed with economic growth in Poland and convinced that Czestochowa is a great localization which will enable us to meet the needs of our clients. In connection with the construction of our new facility we received a huge support from the City Hall of Czestochowa, Katowice Special Economic Zone and the Polish Government.

Kevin Baird, Chairman, General Director Guardian Glass

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Innovation District IT Park: From consuming to creating infrastructure in Lviv Rapid business growth requires an adequate infrastructure development. Undoubtedly, business efficiency has a lot to do with employee’s comfort. Superb workspace facilities is a must for a dynamic business sector like IT. Prestige private living and temporary accommodation, entertainment, and shopping amenities go next, as well as education and childcare. The location able to meet high infrastructural requirements instantly attracts new business and talent today. Lviv as a city with a global outlook, will soon be able to offer a world class Innovation district to the entire tech community.

WHY INFRASTRUCTURE MATTERS

Consisting of 6 class A office buildings and 2 business centers, a hotel, a shopping mall, a university, a kindergarten and a large food court, IT Park becomes the first selfsufficient indigenous innovation center in the Western Ukraine.

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One of the most ambitious Lviv IT Cluster initiatives is local infrastructure improvement. “The city of Lviv has become a Ukrainian game changer, where IT sector pivoted from consuming city’s infrastructure to creating its own – Stepan Veselovsky, CEO at Lviv IT Cluster is speaking about the Innovation district IT Park, which is about to start construction works this summer. How does a city grow its “creative class” share and attract professionals significant for the modern economy? Aside from public fiscal and monetary policies, the infrastructure plays a role via supporting effective and efficient operations of the “creative class” activities. Providing R&D facilities for local and international tech companies and startups, Lviv becomes a robust business center in Eastern Europe”.

WORK AND LEISURE IN ONE PLACE

Lviv IT Cluster is not new to the real estate development business. The organization has successfully put into service IT House, a 10-story apartments building, built with the newest technologies for the comfortable living of IT specialists,

at the end of 2016. IT park is the next prodigious development project stretching forth 37 acres and designed to host up to 10,000 people. Confirmed IT Park’s location conveniently reachable from the Airport, Railway station, universities and the historic center.

Consisting of 6 class A office buildings and 2 business centers, a hotel, a shopping mall, a university, a kindergarten and a large food court, IT Park becomes the first self-sufficient indigenous innovation center in the Western Ukraine.

Resident companies will no longer need to include fitness facilities in the employee package – there will be a fitness center located next to the offices.

Employees of all surveyed companies have unanimously voted for that.

“We talk about a creative economy a lot lately. However, we don’t just want to talk about it – we want to build it. It’s very interesting for SoftServe to be involved in innovative projects like IT Park since there are not many similar Ukrainian projects. The project is a unique effort

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

INVESTMENTS

because it combines universities, businesses, developers, and the government under one umbrella. This effort is designed to turn the city into creative economy. I’m confident that IT Park will become a go-to place for entrepreneurs and startups and inspire them to generate innovative business ideas and projects” – Oleh Denys, Executive Vice President, SoftServe.

BUSINESS IS CALLING THE TUNE

According to IT research, 91% of Lviv tech companies’ CEOs are ready to relocate into more comfortable offices since they lack space for future office expansion or face amenities issues. The first and already signed (Letter of intent/letter of interest) IT Park’s tenants will be SoftServe, N-iX, GlobalLogic, Intelias, EPAM, Perfectial, Grid Dynamics, Seven, Sombra, WebCodium, EduNav who will jointly occupy more than 70,000 m2.

Entrepreneurial clustering emerged in Silicon Valley where the first innovation district and technology park was born in early 1950’s. Built around Stanford University campus, Stanford Research Park became a home for 150 prominent companies and evolved into "the epicenter of Silicon Valley".

IT Park in numbers SQ. M of office space

95 000 University campus and fitness center

1 SQ. M of hotel

5 700 SQ. M of kindergarden

2 000 SQ. M of retail and service zone

12 896

In the old world, Lviv possesses extraordinary business potential as digital and technology hub. The city has been highlighted in European cities and regions of the future rating 2018-2019 as one of the Top 10 cost-efficient mid-sized cities. Lviv IT Cluster through joint efforts of its 68 member companies helps the city to develop it’s potential.

IT PARK – THE EDUCATIONAL PLATFORM OF THE FUTURE

A designated area for University campus and technical labs is a part of the complex’s original project. Technical labs, libraries, as well as other public areas where students will be able to study and attend industry-specific workshops will be located on the premises of IT Park.

In collaboration with local universities, IT Park will provide young professionals opportunities to learn from scientists, IT experts and dip into innovative ideas.

The groundbreaking ceremony is planned for June 30th , 2018 in the course of IT Jazz conference, executive level business event organized by Lviv IT Cluster. •

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

Yuliya Kozlenko, PR Manager IT Cluster Lviv

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The power of specialisation – strong IT drives the BPO/ SSC sector in Bydgoszcz On the map of the Polish modern business services sector, Bydgoszcz is one of the main locations, consistently building an image of a city open to outsourcing and an important IT centre.

As part of the “Bydgoszcz open to outsourcing” campaign, BARR is constantly striving to promote the BPO/SSC sector and encourage more investors to choose Bydgoszcz for the implementation of the planned projects.

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Dynamically growing employment in the BPO/SSC sector exceeded 10.000 people, pointing more clearly to the City’s strong specialisation in the IT sector with its current 80% share in the market. The City attracted such companies as Nokia, Atos,

Mobica or SDL which are continuously developing their local branches.

The chosen direction into IT specialisation is reflected not only in subsequent investments or spectacular increase in employment in the sector, but also in global success of the companies operating within the City. One of the examples

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

INVESTMENTS

New investment in the city

is Nokia with its BMC (Broadcast Message Center) which was used by the US authorities to send the first SMS arrest warrant.

Also, specialised military IT solutions developed by a local company TELDAT found their application in servicing the next generation Patriot missile defence system. The Atos branch operating in Bydgoszcz provides IT services in such prestigious global projects as IT service for Olympic Games.

THE CITY’S OFFER IN LINE WITH THE EXPECTATIONS OF INVESTORS FROM THE BPO/SSC SECTOR

Strong IT specialisation, supported by successes on an international scale, is undoubtedly an element of the uniqueness of the investment offer of Bydgoszcz. At the same time, however, the City develops its potential in the area of financial and accounting services or remote customer service.

The growing importance of Byd­­ goszcz in the sector of modern business services in Poland is the result of activities undertaken by the City and the Bydgoszcz Regional Development Agency (BARR) established by its authorities, responsible for the economic promotion of Bydgoszcz and providing broadly understood support for investment processes in the City. As part of the “Bydgoszcz open to outsourcing” campaign, BARR is constantly striving to promote the BPO/SSC sector and encourage more investors to choose Bydgoszcz for the implementation of the planned projects.

including the model of outsourcing of some processes to locations in central and eastern Europe. The forum gathered dozens of British decision makers and leading process location and integration consultancy experts who shared their opinions and experiences regarding outsourcing in the region. The event was also an opportunity for individual meetings with potential investors, creating a chance to show them the assets and the potential of Bydgoszcz in the context of the construction of branches or provision of advanced services from this location. Such direct contacts allow us to listen to investors’ expectations and better recognise their needs and, thus, meet them with the best possible offer from the City or region.

THE POTENTIAL OF REINVESTMENT

The promotion of the BPO/SSC sector in Bydgoszcz is focused not only on attracting new investment projects, but also on supporting existing investors in developing the scope of services delivered to global markets from centres located in the City. For example, Byd­­ goszcz encourages manufacturing companies operating in the City to locate their shared service centres here as well.

Frosta, which has been successfully running its manufacturing activity in the City for many years and currently has one of the most modern production lines for food products in the world, is creating an international centre of financial services for the entire capital group in Bydgoszcz.

EDUCATION OF ENTREPRENEURS

BYDGOSZCZ WINS LONDON

The space that created an excellent opportunity was the investment forum “Sourcing in Emerging Europe” held at the end of March in London, where Bydgoszcz was one of the main partners. The project was designed for investors considering various models of optimisation of their operations,

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

Wishing to actively support such processes in the long term, BARR in cooperation with 4Synchronicity – an expert in the field of shared service centres implementation and optimisation, organised in April special business workshops on the concept of centralisation and standardisation of support areas (back office) in the capital group, creating

Name of the investor: Cognifide Country of origin: United Kingdom number of workplaces: 30 to the end of 2018 Sector: IT – software house Company’s residence in the city: Danhouse building, Towarowa 36 St. Occupied surface: 340 sqm.

Our new office in Bydgoszcz means that we are currently hiring top level specialists.

We plan to develop our team here to 30 people by the end of 2018. The team will focus on delivering enterprise-level projects for our customers. Our projects are varied but, as an example, we recently released a Polish language site on a pan-European platform for Ford, a global leader in the automotive sector. We are currently working with Ford to create similar marketing experiences across 25 European countries on the same platform.

In addition to project-related work, our specialists also contribute to the technological community, sharing their knowledge at conferences, workshops and meet ups and creating a wide range of open source tools that improve developers and IT specialists day to day work.

Marcin Stańczyk, Managing Director Cognifide

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the optimal shared service centres business model and effective management of migration of business processes.

A selected group of experts, as well as the formula of an open debate, allowed the participants to effectively identify both the key factors of success and the risk elements appearing during the implementation of such projects.

PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS FOR A CITY OPEN TO OUTSOURCING

Bydgoszcz Regional Development Agency Unii Lubelskiej 4C St. 85-059 Bydgoszcz p: +48 52 585 88 23 barr@barr.pl www.barr.pl

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Recognition received in the prestigious CEE Shared Services and Outsourcing Awards plebiscite, organised by the publishing house BiznesPolska and the European Shared Services Association confirm the properly implemented strategy of the City’s economic promotion and the partnership relation between Bydgoszcz and current as well as new investors. Two years ago, Bydgoszcz received the award for the best city in Poland in the “Emerging City of the Year” category, remaining

at the forefront of new locations for shared service centres also in the last edition of this ranking. In addition, as the city most friendly to investors, Bydgoszcz was also awarded in other international plebiscites, such as CIJ Awards and Eurobuild Awards.

It is worth noting that apart from the dynamic development of the modern business services sector and shaped specialisation in the IT industry, Byd­­ goszcz offers investors access to modern infrastructure that takes into account their expectations, and as the largest academic centre in the region, it also encourages high human capital potential. The development of the City shaped in this way allows to create favourable conditions for the further development of the local BPO/SSC sector and to come up with an attractive proposition for both new and already existing investors in the City. •

The promotion of the BPO/SSC sector in Bydgoszcz is focused not only on attracting new investment projects, but also on supporting existing investors in developing the scope of services delivered to global markets from centres located in the City.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

INVESTMENTS

Poznan participation in the MIPIM 2018 MIPIM 2018 is the largest international real estate event. At the same time, it is one of the most important places where the City of Poznań promotes its investment offer.

The MIPIM trade fair – visited by guests from over 100 countries – remains a priority event in terms of contacts with potential investors. Thanks to the City’s participation in international fairs, a few years ago the property of a former hospital at Szkolna Street found a buyer.

Investor Relations

Department City of Poznań Za Bramka 1 Street 61-842 Poznan P.: +48 61 878 54 28

inwestor@um.poznan.pl

www.poznan.pl

among the visitors of the City’s stand.

A totally new district will be created in the city center within the area that was formerly the property of the railway, constituting a green link between Wilda and Łazarz. The new urban concept assumes that the northern part of Wolne Tory will be dedicated to commercial and REAL ESTATE WITH GREATEST functional purposes, while the southern POTENTIAL – to housing. The proximity of the center, This year, the Poznań’s most interesting the Poznań Główny railway station and offer for investors was the area of Wolne the Poznań International Fair are Tory. It gained the greatest interest additional advantages of this area.

In addition to Wolne Tory, the City’s promoted plots intended for service and hotel development, multi-family housing, single-family housing, housing and commercial facilities, recreational areas and plots intended for industrial and logistic infrastructure. In total, there are as many as 42 investment offers.

At the Poznań stand, prepared in cooperation with the Wielkopolskie Centrum Wspierania Inwestycji (Wielkopolska Investment Support Center), areas belonging to Poznań Metropolitan Area were

Mayor of Poznan, Jacek Jaśkowiak, discussing with Mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitschko in the „Faces of Emerging Europe” panel discussion at MIPIM 2018.

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

INVESTMENTS

also promoted, i.e. real estate located commenced in 2017. This is approxiwithin the Poznań agglomeration. mately a 100% growth as compared to investments commenced in this cate– Poznań attracts investors from various gory in 2016. None of the years over the industries. Recently the office and hotel last decade could show the construction industry in Poznań experienced great of so many multi-family and single-family revival. Currently, we have over 100 sqm. residential buildings in Poznań. of modern office space under development.

There is still a lot of space for more projects ESTABLISHING BUSINESS – says Katja Lożina, Head of the Investor RELATIONSHIPS Relations Department, which organized The MIPIM fair bringing together all the most important people in the world the City’s participation in the fair. of investment and real estate provides POZNAŃ’S STRENGTHS FOR INVESTORS a great opportunity for talks with foreign Participation in MIPIM, however, aims partners. During the fair, City of Poznań at much more than merely presenting Mayor Jacek Jaśkowiak participated the City’s real estate offer. The Cannes Fair in a discussion panel on the challenges is a place where investors and developers from all over the world meet with each other. Our task is to convince them that Poznań offers the best conditions to run a business. We present the real estate offer, but also talk about what distinguishes us on the map of Europe, that is, the stable economic situation of the city, qualified staff, or great location – says Katja Lożina, Head of the Investor Relations Department of the City of Poznan.

The MIPIM Fair is a place where investors and developers from all over the world meet.

Poznań is an academic city. There are over 112 thousand students attending 25 universities. Each year almost 30 thousand graduates enter the local job market. In most part they have a very good command of foreign languages.

Another strong industry in Poznań is built

by IT specialists. According to the research of the Pro Progressio Foundation conducted on the occasion of the Outsourcing Stars competition, the greatest increase in the number of graduates was observed in IT-related majors. Such well-known brands as Franklin Templeton, GSK, McKinsey or Rockwool already have modern service centers in Poznań. New R&D Centers were also opened in Poznań

by TomTom or Nordcloud.

After two years of lower saturation of office and residential space, the real estate sector dynamically accelerated.

Over 100,000 sq m of modern office space remains under construction.

Projects such as Nowy Rynek (Skanska) or Poznań Business Garden (Vastint) are being created on investment fields strongly promoted by the City of Poznań at events such as the MIPIM trade fair.

Moreover, more and more apartments are being built in Poznań. Construction of 107 multi-family residential buildings

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

of Central and Eastern Europe. The Mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, also took part in the discussion. The subject of cooperation between Poznań and Kiev, attracting foreign investors, as well as creating attractive conditions for employees in the cities were also debated.

Mayor Jacek Jaśkowiak met also with representatives of real estate companies present in Poznań, including Skanska, Vastint, IMMOBEL or Echo Investment.

The presence at the MIPIM trade fair and the readiness to talk on neutral ground are viewed quite positively by investors.

In Cannes, representatives of the City had the opportunity to talk also to companies that are just considering entering the Poznań market.

New investment in the city

Name of the investor: Computacerner UK Ltd. Country of origin: Great Britain Number of workplaces: 200 Sector: IT – service desk, IT Infrastructure Management Company’s residence in the city: Głogowska 31/33 St. Occupied surface: 1,600 sqm.

We provide services to our clients in various languages ​​for many years. We are opening a new center in Poznan, because it is an ideal location that enables us providing services for both existing and future clients.

This investment is a response to the growing demand for our services as well as an opening up to the cooperation with new international entities operating on European markets. The new Poznan office will allow us to provide services at the highest level.

Poznan gives our company excellent opportunities to acquire new talents.

An important event during the MIPIM fair is the annual presentation of awards of the fDI European Cities and Regions of the Future for 2018/19. Among cities over 350,000 residents, Poznan ranked third in the category „Business-friendly” of the ranking prepared by the Financial Times – right behind Zürich.• Paul Anderson, Divisional Head, Group Manager Services

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THE ROMANIAN IT&C TALENT POOL IS FACING NEW CHALLENGES Romania is one of the most preferred countries when it comes to outsourcing, mainly because of the impressive development of the IT&C industry in the past ten years.

This industry includes more than 110,000 employees according to the latest market analysis, and the predictions are also promising. However, there are some concerns about the labor market.

It seems like there are fewer specialists available in the IT&C area, which makes the competition even more difficult. In this context, companies have to implement various strategies and to offer more benefits to their current employees in order to increase the overall retention rate.

THE CURRENT LABOR MARKET STATUS

According to a 2018 TrainYourBrain& Frames Barometer report, all industries face a shortage of talent lately, but this effect of the labor market is most visible in the IT&C field. From the 150 HR specialists that participated in the study, 72% said that recruiting new employees as well as keeping the current ones will be the most significant challenge in their departments this year.

an online announcement regarding a potential position, they would probably apply for it with less remorse than Baby Boomers would do.

That perspective raises some questions though: what could motivate young employees in the IT&C industry?

And what could companies do to increase their retention rates? To answer those questions, as well as others, NNC Services conducted a study at the end of 2017, a labor market research that included more than 500 employees in this field.

FOR MILLENNIALS STABILITY ISN’T A PRIORITY

For their study, NNC Services targeted the most important cities known for their development in the IT&C industry and distributed the questionnaire The same study revealed that to specialists with different levels the competition for IT&C professio­ of experience and ages. nals would increase this year because of the fast pace of this industry. The study identified that more than 90% If a few years ago only the experienced of the employees have a full-time job, employees were preferred for various and that’s because many companies positions, today we can see the strug- need people available all the time for gle even in finding entry-level spe- the projects they receive. Also, Romania’s cialists. The explanation comes from capital, Bucharest, remains the leader a sociological perspective: Millennials when it comes to the number of IT&C Loredana Niculae, CEO NNC Services or Generation Y are hard to convince employees, followed closely by Iasi, ClujRomania to be loyal to a company. If they saw Napoca and Timisoara.

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Given the fact that this industry experienced a tremendous evolution in the past decade, the study showed that almost 80% of the IT professionals are Millennials. For this generation, stability isn’t a priority. According to the results, the vast majority of Millennials spend in a company between one to three years, and that’s where companies get concerned. However, at the age of 40 people start to change their perspective on loyalty. The delimitation between the generations provided valuable results.

MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS IN THE IT&C INDUSTRY

One of the most motivating factors for all generations is the workplace flexibility. The majority of respondents believe that this aspect could influence their motivation. But there are also some differences between ages. Half of the respondents included in the Baby Boomers generation reported that the relationship with the management team is essential for their motivation.

On the other hand, for Millennials, another aspect matters more: the training programmes. Millennials look for companies that are ensuring training programmes so they could develop faster, but they are also disappointed by the small number of those who do that.

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INVESTMENTS

WHY ARE EMPLOYEES CHANGING THEIR JOBS?

Many aspects could influence the general motivation in the IT&C industry positively.

But this field still faces a low level of retention. According to the NNC study, there are three main reasons behind this migration:

Millennials look for companies that are ensuring training programmes so they could develop faster, but they are also disappointed by the small number of those who do that.

•

Financial benefits: according to the results, 88% of the IT employees would make a change if the salary was higher.

•

Professional development: when it comes to leaving a company, the professional development plays an essential role. Those training programmes seem to be both a motivational factor for staying in the current company and also a reason to leave it if the training offer is weak.

•

The new team: knowing that the new team will provide them advanced knowledge compared to the information they are receiving from the current team, determine people to consider moving. More than half of the employees would change their jobs because of this specific reason.

The market predictions point that Romania’s IT&C sector will increase by 2025 from the current 6% of the GDP to 12%.

Furthermore, the study identified that there is a correlation between the current position of the IT professionals and their desire to be involved in training programmes. The employees in positions such as Project Manager or IT Manager are more interested in development opportunities and training programmes.

Another essential motivational factor is the work environment and the general atmosphere in the company.

Almost 80% of the IT professionals believe that this variable is either important or very important, surpassing even the organizational culture or efforts recognition.

As the study continued to analyze the data, even more aspects that companies should be aware of became visible. Two other important motivational factors identified in the study are the team in which employees work and the development opportunities existing in the company.

The study identified some more factors essential for the employees’ motivation overall, such as remote work, project types or work stability. However, even if those requirements are filled in successfully by IT&C companies, the personnel migration remains a challenge for their HR departments.

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Other aspects such as the extra benefits, the employer project portfolio, as well as the company reputation could play a significant role in increasing the retention rate.

The Romanian IT&C labor market is changing very fast. If last year we were talking about the available workforce in the country, the 2018 challenge is finding new employees and keeping the current ones. The market predictions point that Romania’s IT&C sector will increase by 2025 from the current 6% of the GDP to 12%. The study showed that almost 80% Hence, the competition for hiring and retaining IT specialists will reach an even higher of the IT professionals level. However, companies have many solutions to improve their retention rates, are Millennials. starting with adapting to the young generation needs.•

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INVESTMENTS

GDYNIA – PEOPLE AND PLACES – THE CITY CHARACTER REALLY MATTERS It’s the only city in the world I know, where the centre of the city goes directly into the sea. Only here I can see this openness, this gesture of the city going into the sea – Jeremie Hoffmann, Ph.D., Tel Aviv University.

Photo: Wojciech Jakubowski

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INVESTMENTS

Gdynia is lucky with people, with their visionary, courageous, but also well thought out approach to project implementation. This was also true over 90 years ago when a decision to build a city and port was made. Gdynia was built from scratch by the best planners, architects, urban developers and engineers. It seems that the idea of ​​placemaking, still present today in investment planning, was perfectly understood by the builders of Gdynia. It is here that the most brilliant brains of the Republic of Poland, within an extremely short time, implemented bold visions and innovative solutions that have been serving as an inspiration and good example until today. Gdynia is perceived as the best place to live in Poland, owing to both harmonious layout of the city and its unique character – very desirable nowadays – by some referred to as genius loci. The above is confirmed not only by opinions of the city residents, but also by its top positions in various rankings and social diagnoses. To put it simply, Gdynia is a place where life, work and relax are good.

The philosophy of placemaking, a multi-dimensional approach to shaping space at the concept stage, is an accepted standard currently applied also to workplaces. An office means much more than just a place where professional duties are performed. The so-called soft factors, such as attractiveness of its surroundings, access to recreation areas and opportunities for leisure activities, are highly evaluated. In Gdynia it is possible to find all that of the highest quality.

The developments to be implemented in the city centre include a sixstorey office building of AB Inwestor – Square having ​​4,000 sqm. in size, with a scheduled completion date in 2020, and Officer with a floor area of ​​3,200 sqm.

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Gdynia has a modern, gradually developing infrastructure, indispensable for running a business in the services sector and making key investor decisions by international companies and corporations. A total office space in the city is currently around 200,000 sqm. The market of modern office buildings is focused in the Redłowo district and in the city centre (Śląska Street). Apart from the space for lessees, Xenon Business Park, Enter, Twin Office or Asseco Poland building, located along Śląska Street, offer equally modern but smaller space attractive for companies that are not interested in giant facilities.

The largest office centre in Redłowo is Łużycka Office Park, an A class building complex with a total usable area of ​​over 22,000 sqm., developed by Allcon.

Right next to it, Eurostyl completed last year the Tensor Z office building, which is part of the Tensor XYZ centre having an area of ​​approx. 20,000 sqm., marked by its functionality and a number of eco-friendly solutions. The complex has, among others, internal relaxation area for both office workers and people using the services offered by the office park.

What makes the Redłowo-based centres attractive is not only the comfort of work in perfectly designed interiors, but also very convenient access to public transport. Within a short distance there are bus stops, the station of Szybka Kolej Miejska (Fast Urban Railway) and a new stop of Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna (Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway), opened in December last year. Employees are also increasingly often using cycle paths developed by the city and facilities for cyclists offered by building administrators.

In just a few minutes you can reach the sea from there or take advantage of the offer of the Gdynia Sports Centre located nearby.

In the immediate future, another office building of the Sportowa Centrum complex will be opened in Sportowa Street, an extension of Łużycka Street. This will increase the total area of ​​ the building up

New investment in the city

Name of the investor: Nordea Bank AB Country of origin: Scandinavia Number of workplaces: 1,000 Sector: IT / banking Company’s residence in the city: Tensor Office Park Łużycka Office Park, Łużycka Plus Occupied surface: 16,000 sqm.

The Nordea brand for long has been associated with Gdynia. We are an integral part of the Nordea Group and provide operational support to Scandinavian bank divisions. We have decided to expand in Poland owing to access to a pool of specialists in the banking and IT sectors.

In Tricity we have focused on the IT segment where intense recruitment processes are now taking place. The IT industry potential is immense here, featured with great people and fantastic infrastructure. I think it would be a sin to miss an opportunity to develop here. The new Nordea’s space in Gdynia is something more than just an office – it’s also an example of the latest design trends.

We have put an emphasis on comfort of our employees, offering them attractive and flexible work environment with free WiFi.

Mikołaj Ługowski, Managing Director of Nordea Bank AB Division in Poland

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INVESTMENTS

Gdynia is the first city in Poland and this part of Europe to have received ISO 37120, a smart city certificate. Registered on the international platform www.dataforcities.org.

to 11,000 sqm. In addition to six floors of offices and a two-level underground car park, attractive facilities for cyclists are going to be provided, including a bicycle repair station, as well as a cloakroom and showers.

Owing to this investment, the property will get a completely new image. The C building, which is now under construction, has been designed in modernist style, and its modern shape with a light and clear façade brings a ship to mind. This makes reference to the architectural style typical of Gdynia, in particular to the kind of buildings found in the city centre – Marek Kluba, the CEO of Sportowa Centrum, adds.

NEW INVESTMENTS – COMFORT AND PRESTIGE OVERLOOKING THE SEA

Gdynia, as part of the Tricity agglomeration, is marked by the lowest office vacancy rate in Poland, i.e. 8.2%, which evidences high demand and need to implement new investment projects.

A number of office developments will be implemented, among others, in ​​the new Sea City district. The development of the Fishing Pier and redevelopment of disused shipyard sites are going to revolutionise Gdynia’s city centre.

The scale of the project is comparable to transformations the city and port had gone through when they were first built in the 1920s. Adding up to 33 hectares of attractive investment area, Gdynia’s waterfront is a space unmatched by anywhere else in Europe. It’s where the city meets the port, right next to its vibrant streets of a city with a population of a quarter of a million. Urban planners have estimated that over the next ten years or so the Waterfront Prestige Zone may attract up to 15 thousand new residents and provide jobs for eleven and a half thousand people.

It is where Marina Office of Polski Holding Nieruchomości SA is being developed. It will comprise a modern office complex consisting of three independent five-storey buildings, surrounded by an internal green patio, with a leasable area of ​​approx.

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27,000 sqm. The investment will be located in the vicinity of Gdańsk Bay with a view over the Kościuszko Square in Gdynia. In the vicinity of Marina Office, PHN is also developing a complex of luxury apartments called Yacht Park. Magdalena Kacprzak, the Director of the Investor Relations and PR Department at PHN SA, declares that the office complex will be completed by the turn of 2020 and 2021 and adds:

This is favoured by well educated staff, availability of modern services, convenient geographical location at the seaside and extensive infrastructure. The quality of investment services and increasingly successful efforts of the city and region – Gdynia is a great place to implement authorities are also of crucial importance projects due to its attractive location – Roger Andersson, the Managing – new PHN investments will be devel- Director of Vastint Poland, concludes. oped close to the very centre of Gdynia in a district called Sea City, which has In Orłowo, a fashionable business a chance to become the heart of the city elite district of Gdynia, AB Inwestor and also its best showcase. has just started its new investment Orłowo Unique – an office building Three years ago, in Gdynia’s Water- with a unique façade resembling linen front, Vastint Poland completed the first fabric, which is supposed to be a sort stage of the Gdynia Waterfront I project, of cinema screen with the possibility by putting into use Hotel Courtyard of displaying images. It is a perfect seat

by Marriott and an office building where for companies that want to be visible the headquarters of PKO Bank Hipoteczny and stand out, not only by a prestigis located. As part of Gdynia Waterfront ious location. A total of 600 sq m will be II, new office buildings, residential build- available in sizes ranging from 60 to 200 ings and hotels with a total area of 7 ​​ 5,000 sqm. within just a short walk to the pier sqm. are going to be developed. in Orłowo.

The newly designed buildings perfectly developments to be implemented match the modernist architecture The developments of Gdynia. The public, but simultane- to in the city centre include a six-storey be implemented ously cosy character of urban inte- in office thebuilding city centre of AB Inwestor – Square riors is marked by a human touch, include having ​​4,000 sqm. in size, with a six-storey creating good atmosphere and “life office a scheduled date buildingcompletion of AB in between buildings”. in 2020, and Officer with Inwestor – Square a floor area ​​3,200 sqm., having ​​ 4 ,000of sqm.

We are primarily focused on large in where six aoffice size, with sched-floors, completion datepremregional cities, where demand uled including service on the commercial real estate market in ises 2020, on and theOfficer ground floor, is growing. Tricity, besides Wrocław, w i t h aasf l owell o r aas r e atwo garage ​​3,200 sqm., storeys where will Poznań and Szczecin, is a local market of be established office floors, by where Vastint has decided to invest six the end ofser2019. vice and implement its projects. What has including the key impact on our interest in Gdynia premises The company on theowner, ground is investment potential of the city, which floor, Andrzej as well Boczek, as two a r a g e why s t ohe reys has ultimately resulted in the purchase g explains of building plots in Śródmieście. Currently, will established has be opted for Tricity is the fourth largest office market by the the location: end of 2019. in Poland, offering about 700,000 sqm. The company owner, of modern office space, of which approx. A n d r ze j B o c ze k , 25-30% is located in Gdynia. The city is explains why he one of the rapidly developing business h a s o p t e d f o r centres in Poland. An increase in supply the location: on the office buildings market is an indicator of growing popularity among entrepreneurs, particularly companies from the BPO, SSC, IT and R&D sectors, which consider opening new centres in Tricity.

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INVESTMENTS INWESTYCJE

Gdynia, as part of the Tricity agglomeration, is marked by the lowest office vacancy rate in Poland, i.e. 8.2%, which evidences high demand and need to implement new investment projects.

We feel a good business atmosphere in Gdynia. People are optimistic about each other and, in our opinion, they have more confidence in each other than they do in other cities. The location of Gdynia’s city centre in the immediate vicinity of the sea is an additional advantage.

It is worth emphasizing that the city’s development plans consistently take into account the global trend of striving for balance, also in space-related terms.

In the coming years, Gdynia will open

for its inhabitants the Central Park, an extraordinary place that will let them take a break, relax, go jogging or rollerblading, whatever they like. Discreet architecture will allow to put the greatest possible amount of green and water space to the forefront. It is supposed to be a park that will provide rest and high quality education, culture and recreation, but also support the city sports, the sea and forests within easy in taking care of ever cleaner air. reach, as well as prominent events such as the Open’er Festival, Polish Film WORK AND RELAXATION – LIFE WITH Festival, Red Bull Air Race, Gdynia Sailing PASSION – DIRECTION GDYNIA Days, Ladies’ Jazz Festival and Ironman A high level of construction activity 70.3. – Poland’s biggest triathlon race. both in the area of A and B+ ​​class office buildings, noticeable also for smaller Gdynia is also the first city in Poland investment projects, allows us to be opti- and this part of Europe to have received mistic about the future. Gdynia has many ISO 37120, a smart city certificate. Regisconvincing advantages which do matter tered on the international platform www. in a struggle for acquiring talented staff, dataforcities.org, the city can now be new companies and investments. It’s not compared against other global leaders only high salary and office originality such as London, Amsterdam or Dubai. that are aspects used in negotiations. It puts Gdynia on the map as an attracA friendly place and attractive oppor- tive and competitive city worldwide, both tunities to spend time after work and in economic and social terms, with very on days off are gaining importance. strong and sometimes excellent results In this respect, the comfort and quality across the board.• of life that Gdynia offers are really unique.

The attractive life in Gdynia is influenced by many factors: high level of safety, environmentally-friendly transport systems, clean air, unique modernist architecture,

Gdynia City Hall Investor Support Division ul. 10 Lutego 24 81-364 Gdynia Phone: +48 58 668 20 18 politykagospodarcza @gdynia.pl www.gdynia.pl

Photo: Wojciech Jakubowski

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INVESTMENTS

A few words about the Rzeszów Intelligent Transportation System “Construction of the Public Transport Integration System of the City of Rzeszów and the surrounding area” is one of the largest projects implemented in the capital of Podkarpacie over the past dozen years. The project was implemented in 2007 - 2015, and its total value came to PLN 415.1 million, including PLN 311.1 million of EU funding. It included the reconstruction and extension of the local transport system of the City of Rzeszów, purchase of modern and environmentally friendly buses, as well as the development and launch of the Rzeszów Intelligent Transportation System.

An additional facilitation is the introduction of an electronic payment method for the public transport buses – so-called Rzeszów City Card. Thanks to 29 fixed and 80 mobile ticket vending machines, vouchers or internet service, travelers can manage their e-ticket at any time of the day.

INVESTMENTS

In order to improve the functioning of public transport system in Rzeszów City – it was rebuilt together with the accompanying infrastructure.

As part of the project, the main arteries of the city were thoroughly expanded: Rejtana avenue, Dąbrows­ kiego street, Lubelska and Podkarpacka streets. An important road junction was extended from Wyzwolenia avenue to Warszawska street. The intersections on the county roads in Rzeszów and along the national road no. 4 along with the construction of bus sluices have been extended and rebuilt. Bus lanes in the city center have been introduced and the functionality of the public transport stops has been improved. As part of the task, 80 modern and eco-friendly Mercedes and Autosan buses were purchased, meeting the EEV emission standards (Enhanced Environmental friendly Vehicle).

RZESZÓW INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

The implementation of the task included the implementation of the Integrated System of Traffic Management and Public Transport as one coherent system that integrates the following subsystems in the city: • Area Traffic Control System, an element that has a key impact on improving mobility in Rzeszów.

It consists of the following elements: “Traffic light control system”, allowing to maintain traffic flow and minimize waiting time at intersections, “Public transport vehicle priority system”, first allocating the right to public transport, “Information system for drivers’, using variable message signs, which allows you to quickly inform about difficulties, changes in traffic organization or recommended detours. The strategic management system is a higher level tool for traffic management, traffic guidance, traffic information related to the traffic control environment and detection of incidents inside the system.

reconstruction of the road system, verification of control algorithms, etc.

• Passenger Information System (E-INFO) – a system with aim to efficiently provide the passengers of public transport with information. Information boards at bus stops display e.g. remaining time until the bus arrival on the gi­ven line.

• Electronic Charge Collection System (E-TICKET ), the elec tronic public transport ticket system, electronic card.

• Dynamic Vehicle Weighing System – the task of detecting in the group of vehicles, overloaded or overloaded cars/trucks and registrating information about detected offenses. The vehicle monitoring system consists of measuring points monitoring traffic (a set of sensors – weighing points) and a central system enabling access to data collected in a real time. The measuring station consists of sensors installed in the road surface (in each lane), induction loops, ANPR vehicle identification cameras, drivers and variable message signs.

• ICT Platform - created for the integration of SOSRD, SZTP, SDWP, E-info and E-ticket systems, which are part of the Integrated System of Traffic Management and Public Transport.

It is also worth mentioning that many improvements and facilities have been introduced in using public transport.

Travelers are provided with information boards at bus stops and inside city buses, as well as a dedicated application allowing them to plan their journey and control its course. An additional facilitation is the introduction of an electronic payment method for the public transport buses – so-called Rzeszów City Card.

Thanks to 29 fixed and 80 mobile ticket vending machines, vouchers or internet service, travelers can manage their e-ticket at any time of the day.

• Public Transport Management System, which enables the identification of vehicle locations, passenger counting, and control of passenger service quality standards by operators, which in turn allows responding to the current The City Authorities plan to implement needs of public transport in Rzeszów, further improvements and modifications among others in terms of timetable, of the Rzeszów Intelligent Transportation

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

The ecological buses.

System in the near future. It is mainly about the development of a dynamic information system for drivers and sectional measurement of travel time, extension of the priority system for public transport buses, extension of the existing

The implementation of the Rzeszów Intelligent Transportation System has increased the attractiveness of Rzeszów collective transport as a sustainable alternative to road transport. video monitoring system, construction of road traffic measurement stations.

It is also planned to launch an intelligent system that records passing through the junctions at red light (with registration and data analysis), as well as road traffic volume measurement stations and measurement of pollution of environmental parameters.

The implementation of the Rzeszów Intelligent Transportation System has increased the attractiveness of Rzeszów collective transport as a sustainable alternative to road transport. As a result of the applied solutions, the average travel time of the vehicles has been shortened whereas the speed of vehicles travel in the traffic corridors as well as the punctuality of the bus fleet increased.•

Rzeszów City Hall Investor Support Division 3 Maja 7 St. 35-030 Rzeszów Phone: +48 17 875 47 43 +48 17 875 47 65 boi@erzeszow.pl www.erzeszow.pl

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SZCZECIN OPEN TO INNOVATIONS Szczecin debuted on the blockchain map of Poland! On the 27th of March 2018 in Szczecin-based Technopark Pomerania took place the first Szczecin Blockchain Meetup. It was organized by promoters of the blockchain technology in the Western Pomerania and enthusiasts of innovation – Paweł Sławacki and Tomasz Fidecki, and supported by the city of Szczecin.

As they say: “Few people doubt that blockchain and DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) are techntologies of the future. We have been observing both areas for a long time and we are increasingly certain that they can really change the global economy on a large scale, simultaneously supporting development of numerous its areas.”

“While creating the first Szczecin Blockchain Meetup we were guided by the idea of exchanging knowledge among local companies and creating a society with which we will build the technological value of our region.”

Four speakers had made an appearance during the event. They presented what blockchain technology is, but also indicated potential areas of its application.

At the beginning, the use of smart contracts was presented from a practical point of view by Tomasz Fidecki, CEO of Szczecin-based IT company – APLY, who presented the virtual notary office dapp. The idea behind the meetup was to also transfer knowledge between Szczecin and nearby Berlin, therefore a very interesting presentation was given

by Joachim Lohkamp, CEO and founder of JOLOCOM and member of the management board of the German Blockchain Association.

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As an enthusiast of entrepreneurship and technology, he indicated how to use blockchain to generate one’s own digital identity using a tool created by him to facilitate sharing data in a safe way.

A similar speech on the technology was given by Jakub Zarembiński, CTO and co-founder of Tokenika, who has been accumulating his knowledge on the blockchain for several years. He spoke about how the technology is developing and how it may look in the fu­ture based on the EOS ecosystem.

The last speaker was a representative of the Central Information Technology Centre at the Ministry of Digitization – Piotr Płecha. Thanks to his presentation, participants of the conference learnt about the ministerial ideas how to use modern technologies and how our state plans to use this area in the future, considering potential possibilities of blockchains in terms of daily life of all citizens.

perience in the field of cryptography, security, data storage and processing, and general technology development.

Blockchain is certainly difficult to ignore as everyone talks about it. However, words are followed by actions – numerous corporations, financial institutions and governments have started investing in this technology. It has the following key features which show its potential and allow us to look at its practical application with optimism.

After the presentations, there was held a discussion panel in which not only the lecturers participated actively, but also numerous enthusiasts of the subject gathered in the audience further discussed the issues.

WHY DOES THE TECHNOLOGY AROUSE SO MUCH EMOTION?

Blockchain is nothing new; it did not appear suddenly. It stems from the accomplishments of technological solutions consisting of many years of ex-

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INVESTMENTS

Data decentralization. The blockchain has been designed as a distributed information ledger, so any changes introduced in the database are sent to all its users at the same time. Thanks to decentralization, hackers’ attacks would require taking over control of most nodes (computers connected to the network) which seems to be economically unprofitable.

Transparency. The so-called entrusted third party has been replaced with mathematics, thanks to which users can transfer value directly among themselves. A blockchain is the basis of trust.

Additionally, each node in the blockchain has access to the history of transactions in the network.

Safety. Owners of private keys have complete control over data. Thanks to the use of asymmetric cryptography, in which there is one rule for private and public keys. A public key can be generated from a private key, but never the other way around.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY

Possibilities of using blockchain technology in the business sector are endless.

The potential large demand for specialists in this field is already spoken about – they will be needed at the stage of building the infrastructure, its maintenance, through production of decentralized applications. It is worth building technological centres and developing unique competencies in a global scale.

This will allow companies providing software production services to develop and ensure their competitive advantage.

Currently, the leader on the blockchain map – due to the multitude of innovative companies developing their ideas – is Berlin.

Szczecin w ishes to take advantage of the proximity of our western neighbours as a real chance to enter into strategic and long-term cooperation. •

The blockchain has been designed as a distributed information ledger, so any changes introduced in the database are sent to all its users at the same time.

Szczecin City Hall Armii Krajowej 1 Sq. 70-456 Szczecin P.: (+48 91) 435 11 64 fax: (+48 91) 435 11 65 www.invest.szczecin.eu

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HR NEWS Savills is strengthening its regional office agency teams Real estate advisory firm Savills is strengthening its regional office agency teams and has appointed Rafał Oprocha as Head of Southern Poland. Agnieszka Kuehn has also joined his team dedicated to the Kraków office market as a senior consultant.

Cushman & Wakefield appoints Nathaniel Robinson as Global Chief Investment Officer & EVP of strategic planning Robinson promoted to play key role in shaping firm’s business strategy including allocation of investment capital across the company.

Cushman & Wakefield has named Nathaniel Robinson as Global Chief Investment Officer & EVP of Strategic Planning.

The promotion reflects Robinson’s strong background in helping build the firm’s strategic investment and M&A capabilities.

As Global Chief Investment Officer & EVP of Strategic Planning, Robinson will be responsible for shaping the firm’s broader business strategy and will allocate investment capital across the company. In this global role, Robinson will work closely with CEO Brett White, and will be based in Chicago.

Robinson brings over 15 years of strategic planning and investment experience to the firm. Before joining Cushman & Wakefield in 2016, Robinson was an Investment Partner at Virgo Capital, and prior to that, he worked in Morgan Stanley’s Global Technology Group where he advised leading software and internet companies on acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. Robinson is also a co-founder and former Chairman of PhillyCarShare, which was acquired by Enterprise Holdings.

Rafał has nearly 17 years’ experience in the commercial real estate market gained, among others, at Colliers Internationaland CBRE. He spent the last ten years at JLL as the Head of JLL Krakow Office.

Rafał advises both landlords on office projects by developing and implementing commercialisation strategies and tenants representing BPO, SCC and R&D sectors in particular. During his professional career he has advised on nearly 300,000 sq m of office transactions.

In his new role, Rafał Oprocha will be overseeing delivery of comprehensive advisory services to office tenants and landlords

by Savills Krakow and Wrocław offices, and will monitor the Katowice market for opportunities to open a new office there.

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

Managing Director appointed to lead Proptech Accelerator Colliers International Group Inc., a global leader in commercial real estate services, and Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, today announced that Ben Liao has joined as Managing Director of the Colliers Proptech Accelerator, Powered

by Techstars.

In this new role, Liao will work closely with Colliers and Techstars leadership on the Colliers Proptech Accelerator, a first-of-its-kind program that identifies and mentors startups around the globe who are developing industry-disrupting technologies in the property and real estate industry. Liao will focus on selecting companies from the already tremendous pool of applicants, partnering with Colliers to define the strategic direction and investment profile within the program, and creating and nurturing a strong network of mentors, sponsors, investors and corporate partners.

Liao comes to Techstars from Ritual, a venture-backed technology company, where he was a member of the senior leadership team, focusing on creating growth strategies across the U.S. and globally, and leading national partnerships focused on new market entry. Prior to that, Liao held management and leadership positions in organizations ranging from startups to large enterprises, with a focus on strategy, investing, business development and strategic partnerships.

Paweł Towiański joined Savills in Wrocław

Real estate advisory firm Savills has hired Paweł Towiański as a new consultant in its industrial team. He will be responsible for cooperation with clients looking for logistics and industrial properties in Wrocław and its vicinity.

Paweł Towiański has nearly 15 years’ professional experience in the FMCG sector. Prior to joining Savills he worked for Nestle Waters Polska, a global producer of bottled water. Previously, Paweł held managerial positions in sales departments at FoodCare, a leading FMCG company, and at Posti S.A., owning one of the oldest

tea brands in Poland. Savills new employee is a graduate of the School of Management and Banking in Poznań.

The Industrial Agency at Savills delivers comprehensive services for the logistics sector, including tenant representation in the leasing process, BTS (build-to-suit) projects, development land sale or acquisition and logistics consultancy.

Landlord representation team of Cushman & Wakefield’s office agency grows in strength Dawid Wątorski and Iwona Laskowska have enhanced the landlord representation team in the Office Agency of global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.

Dawid Wątorski joined Cushman & Wakefield as an Associate in its Office Agency in January 2018. He is responsible for advisory services for landlords of office buildings, as well as marketing, leasing and technical consultancy for developers, and lease negotiations with prospective tenants. Prior to his commitment to the commercial real estate market, Dawid worked in the banking sector for Citibank and HSBC. In 2012, he joined the landlord representation team in the office agency of Colliers International.

During his professional career he advised such clients as Yareal, Unibail-Rodamco,

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

H&M, Strabag Real Estate, Heitmann, Union Investment, IVG Development Poland, Triuva and Capital Park. Dawid graduated in Law and Administration from Warsaw University.

Since March 2018, Iwona Laskowska has been responsible for transaction services, business relations and liaising with clients in Warsaw, and supporting a team dedicated to Union Investment’s project. Iwona has many years of professional experience in the real estate industry gained at global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. She joined Cushman & Wakefield in 2011 and in July 2017 she was appointed to the position of a Junior Negotiator. Iwona is a graduate of the Educational Science Faculty of the Pedagogical University in Warsaw. In March 2016, she completed Real Estate Valuation at the Open University of Warsaw University.

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Failed recruiting projects – how can agencies help?

Financial losses, project delays, dropping efficiency and low team morale are just some of the negative consequences resulting from failed recruiting projects.

What solutions to the problem can agencies provide? How should the terms of cooperation be determined?

a financial hit to the amount of at least INCURRED COSTS ALGORITHM PLN 40,000. There is no doubt that Day zero comes when you let prevention is better than the cure, but an employee go. HR managers immedi- some events are impossible to predict ately start visualising various financial and plan for accordingly. figures and the incurred costs algorithm.

Will the organisation take a serious finan- CHALLENGES FACED BY THE AGENCY cial hit? We have paid the recruitment Some recruiting projects are very agency an amount of X, onboarding complex and therefore costly. That is costs Y, and the vacancy that we have especially true for roles requiring very to fill generates daily losses to the amount rare competencies or in cases when the of Z. Yet, finances are just part of the client has already thoroughly mapped issue. There are other kinds of losses that the market making it nearly impossible cannot be expressed in monetary terms. to find the right candidate. You may Low team morale, reputational damage consider taking advantage of the “success and growing employee turnover may fee”* mechanism which places all draw unwanted attention from company of the risk, i.e. the time and labour headquarters. The consequences will vary required to complete the project, from company to company, but let us use on the recruiting agency. Please bear an average example of an specialist-level in mind, however, that in such cases employee earning a PLN 5,000 gross the agency cannot guarantee that monthly salary who leaves the company a suitable alternative candidate will be just before their 3-month trial period is suggested if the market is narrow. The risk up. As a result, the company will take taken by the client and the organisation is

another important issue. Agency consultants have no control over what happens once the candidate is hired. There are countless factors that may contribute to their resigning or the company letting them go.

Sometimes the causes are trivial, while other times they are serious or personality-based. Examples include commute issues, team conflicts and a mismatch between the job offer and the actual responsibilities in the role. It sometimes turns out that the candidate’s actual competencies are much lower than what they claimed. In a word, the causes are endless. The biggest threat inherent in large-scale recruiting projects is the insufficient time and attention devoted to new employees during onboarding, which is a critical time for new hires. That is why Antal often takes part in planning this part of the project for its clients. Using our experience and impartial judgement, we ensure an optimal environment for dialogue.

Estimated costs of a failed recruiting project:

Salary PLN 5,000 = PLN 40,000 in costs Salary: PLN 25,000 = PLN 250,000 in costs

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* The fee is charged when the candidate is hired (does not include advance payments).

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THE CANDIDATE IS GONE. WHAT NOW?

Technically, there are two possible scenarios: either the employer lets the employee go, or the employee resigns. Regardless of who makes the decision, it is the company that takes the brunt of the impact. The employer may take advantage of the recruiter’s guarantee, but that depends on whether such provisions were

less if the client decides to hire one of the candidates. The guarantee may also involve: refunding recruiting fees, conducting another recruiting project or offering a discount. The guarantee will only apply within the period specified in the contract, usually ranging from 1 to 12 months in the SSC/BPO sector and depending on job grade and other conditions that may be negotiated. Timely payment is another important issue, for the guarantee will often be nullified if the client does not pay the agency’s fees in time.

Each company sets its own project characteristics, guidelines and needs resulting from the business environment that they operate in. Therefore, we cannot recommend a one-size-fits-all solution.

Bespoke processes work the best. included in the contract. Guarantees may include different forms of compensating for unsuccessful recruiting projects, and the agency may be obligated to repeat the recruiting process without charging any additional fees. Providing a list of candidates fitting the desired profile may also be a solution. In such cases the guarantee is fulfilled regard-

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WHAT TO CHOOSE: A NEW RECRUITMENT PROCESS OR A RECOMMENDATION?

The circumstances will determine what course of action is best. If you desperately need to fill the vacancy, then a new recruitment process will be the obvious choice. This will usually involve reconsidering the remaining candidates that were proposed as part of the completed process.

If none of them prove suitable, the entire process will be repeated. It sometimes happens, however, that the guarantee only involves providing recommendations that should meet the agreed-upon requirements.

Sometimes the vacancy can be filled using different means, be it internal promotion, a successful recommendation from other sources or a transformation of the vacant role. If the recruiting need has been filled by another party, then there is no need for the agency to become involved. In such cases,

the guarantee may involve conducting a different recruiting project of a similar scale and complexity. That, however, has to be discussed with the agency.

Refunds are a rarity in the recruiting business, mainly because such provisions make contracts more restrictive for both the client and the agency.

The consequences will vary from company to company, but let us use an average example of an specialist-level employee earning a PLN 5,000 gross monthly salary who leaves the company just before their 3-month trial period is up. As a result, the company will take a financial hit to the amount of at least PLN 40,000.

WHEN DOES THE GUARANTEE NOT APPLY?

The following exemptions are standard practice: bankruptcy or liquidation of the client company, elimination of the position, group layoffs or restructuring. The guarantee applies in all other cases, provided that it was included in the contract. It should be noted that, unlike other sectors, there are no clear-cut rules in the SSC/BPO industry. Bespoke products cannot be unified and many contracts do not include guarantees.

That is especially true for mass recruiting projects, and turnover is considered part and parcel of operational risk. When

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seeking candidates for short-lived jobs, recruiting expenses are minimised.

Furthermore, the guarantee is subject to negotiation and often is not included in the client’s corporate guidelines. There are some non-negotiable provisions resulting from policies set by corporate headquarters. For example, some companies have a rigid 30-day payment period and refuse to accept indefinite-term contracts. Such restrictions, however, seldom apply to guarantees which serve as a safeguard against the unexpected.

The ultimate goal is to prevent such incidents from happening in the future, as well as eliminate group resignations and layoffs. Working together on the analysis will allow to determine the company’s biggest weaknesses. The consultant takes an active role in the analysis in order to improve the process for each client. Based on my experience, I may say that each successful guarantee process may form the beginning of a relationship Such a multi-faceted view of the situation based on trust, as both organisations and allows the agency to improve each aspect people learn the most from their own of the recruiting and onboarding processes. mistakes. •

high-quality service, and the organisation might learn and draw conclusions from the experience. Antal’s observations show that such recommendations usually cover onboarding, choosing the candidate from the provided list and determining the desired hard and soft skill set in a given role. Recruiting consultants often receive feedback from the terminated/resigning employee.

ROUGH BEGINNINGS

Karolina Korzeniewska, Account Executive Europe, Antal SSC/BPO

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A candidate in exchange for a candidate, a candidate in exchange for money, a CV in exchange for a guarantee and other forms of compensating should not be offered until you get to the bottom of why the new hire was terminated or resigned. Only a full analysis of the situation will allow the recruiter to deliver

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN THE CURE

When the company decides to terminate the new hire, it is advisable to let the agency know ahead of time to give recruiters enough time to prepare a list of alternative candidates. Alas, you cannot know if a resignation is coming in advance and in such cases the new recruiting process will follow the standard schedule.

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Feedback – a manager’s be or not to be How to give feedback and do not fear that someone is felt offended? When is the right time and how to find time for a serious conversation? How to give criticism and at the same time do not judge a person? How to separate emotions from facts? Two thirds of managers feel uncomfortable in the relationship with their employees – these are the results of the Harris Poll Institute survey. How, therefore, are they supposed to give feedback?

This skill is actually considered as a one of the most effective techniques for building engagement, however It also turns out that the most underrated, or maybe just misunderstood?

END OF PERIODIC ASSESSMENTS

Periodic assessments – I say this openly – are destructive. Intentions, as always, are good, and then there is lack of purpose, preparation, not mentioning pleasure or efficiency. I have not met yet the situation that the assessed and evaluators would enthusiastically expect the moment when, in an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding, they will be able to review, once a year or for several months, the progress and plans for further development. I saw, however, hybrids of so-called periodic assessment systems, where employees were assessed every quarter by the supervisor and each time it meant filling out a four-page complaints about the employee.

Let us note that after a year of this practice no one in the company trusted either itself or others.

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If no one likes periodic evaluations, why are they still in use? Personally, I once refused a company to develop a periodic assessment system. Let us point out, at the same time, that such projects are extremely profitable. Considering how inefficient these systems are, it is also an absolute lack of legitimacy in the case of that company, what of course would had been revealed very quickly and could had been my last order for this company.

SO WHAT IN RETURN?

I can expose myself to many people now, but let us finally admit that only few managers embrace their positions because they have achieved a high level of understanding of business and human nature. Receiving a greater responsibility together with the position, it is as if from

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Periodic assessments – I say this openly – are destructive.

Intentions, as always, are good, andthen there islack of purpose, preparation, not mentioning pleasure or efficiency. the Kościeliska Valley they immediately stood on Orla Perć – without training, preparation, knowledge. This causes that most often and at the same time the easiest is to fall into the syndrome of power and sowing of fear, because such a model they also know from the school. Periodic assessments serve this purpose perfectly. However, where is the team spirit, trust, motivation and common celebration? After several unsuccessful management attempts based on not personal but only formal authority, the manager begins to realize that without people he/she will not do anything. In this case, another important function of periodic assessments is captured – when the manager gives a higher grade, for recognition in the eyes of an employee will be easier and maybe even he himself will be well assessed.

Some people need to fall off a horse many times to accept that they will not provide a rhythmic gallop by force. Such a team gallop gives a sense of confidence and trust. To achieve full of success, there is a need for intuition and reaching such a level when the rider feels like one with the horse. I will immediately point out, it is not about who is a horse and who is a rider, in mature bands these roles can be interchangeable.

The point is to understand that a sense of satisfaction, cooperation and shared

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responsibility only gives a relationship based on trust.

This is conditioned by a systematic, consciously conduc­ted conversation – this is it, the mysterious feedback.

THE SUPERIORITY OF FEEDBACK OVER THE ASSESSMENT

Most employees are preparing for an interview, hoping for a raise or promotion.

The truth is that managers cannot give the highest ratings, even if the employee deserves it – after all, what will they do next year? It is also not possible to give promotions and increases on an infinite end. This is another proof that periodic evaluations are business and HR fiction. Feedback allows to develop, achieve goals, ask for ideas of the employee, react on a regular basis, work with the attitude and attitude of the employee. First of all, it gives the manager great freedom and peace of mind, because thanks to this he engages his employees in everyday cooperation. It also minimizes the risk of excessive responsibility, loneliness, stress and frustration, i.e. a situation that I refer to as a "manager trap".

The problem is that the annual appraisal can be a bad chore, but only once, maybe twice a year. Feedback requires more frequent contacts and conversations. And yet it is difficult to find time even once a year. In the priority management, regular feedback is a list of these important, but non-urgent matters – simplifying, usually there is no time for what is really important. At the beginning, changing habits will require more time and energy, and for the effects it should be waited for a while. However, the work can be divided into stages and the small changes may bring joy from the first steps.

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3 STEPS TO FEEDBACK

1

TRAIN FOR NO REASON There is such a human affliction that when something works, why change it. In the life of the manager, it is manifested in the fact that as long as there is no fire, business is good. We cause fires because we like to extinguish them. Being a firefighter needs to became really tiring in order to have the willing to change something. Let’s assume, however, that being a firefighter was not your childhood dream, and you want to learn effective corrective conversations before it turns out that you will have to carry them out. Train without any reason, giving positive feedback. Praise, cheer, thank and congratulate your employees on their achievements and progress. In this way, you will get to know yourself, and in the moment of the necessary corrective conversation you will have less sense of guilt.

2

3

Monika Reszko, Communication Expert, Business Psychologicist.

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DO NOT EXAGGERATE For many years of my work, I observed managers who were incredibly tired when giving feedback.

Being aware of the importance of the process, they gave it too much importance that the very fact of the conversation caused strong stress in them that they sometimes forgot why they met with the employee. Therefore, if you feel that a topic needs feedback, calmly determine the goal you want to achieve with this conversation. What should be changed for an employee, for you, for a project, for a business? Answering this question will help you stay focused and concentrate during the conversation.

ASK, THEN KEEP SILENT Feedback, that I call “the developmental conversation”, is the moment when the amount of words you say unambiguously indicates to your interlocutor whether you have prepared yourself. The goal alone is not enough to involve the employee. The aim of feedback is that the worker reaches the expected result by itself. How to do it? Ask questions. Think with questions. Think what you’re asking about. Your preparation is a list of questions that will lead the interlocutor wherever you want. If for the most part of the conversation you talk and he remains silent, this is a moralizing lecture, not feedback. You set a goal and prepared questions, another exam faces you – how many minutes of silence can you hold? If you asked a question, wait for the answer. Hundreds of unsuccessful conversations that participants of my training have made resulted from the fact that after five seconds of the employee’s silence, they started answering their questions themselves.

You do not need to be an expert to guess that the thought process in the employee’s head in this way has been effectively stopped.

BONUS LESSON: SELF-EVALUATION

First of all, feedback is a pretty high-grade stuff. This is informal education and can be painful, because only few bosses teach it their employees and almost everyone has to go through this process on their own.

Therefore, after each even the smallest success during the conversation, praise and appreciate yourself. Then think about what was the challenge. List one thing you want to improve for the future, train and admire the results of your work.

IS IT WORTH TRYING?

Of course, you do not have to change anything. There is no obligation to force yourself to make a conversation, and not even mentioning the praise – you do not know how, do not praise. Periodic assessments allow regulating wages and positions in the company. However, the culture based on feedback shortens the distance between the boss and the employee, increases trust, and delegates responsibility which leads to independence and strengthens creativity. In projects that I implement, I constantly encourage to give up the evaluation style, in favor of one that will lead to a common goal. To change the tool to a method. At the beginning, it might be a bit painful. Employees will be surprised and at the beginning even distrustful. It is up to whether you want to make this effort. You can only get satisfaction, lower levels of stress, attachment of employees, and unexpectedly increase in profitability. •

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

Who is the internal auditor position for?

The internal auditor is a position in the internal department. This is an independent department, which constitutes the so called third line of defence in addition to the compliance and risk departments and performs the consulting and verifying functions.

The role of an internal auditor is operational facilitation of an organisation and bringing in an added value.

Therefore, the internal auditor deals with the evaluation and improvement of internal control and risk management processes in an organisation and can focus on one or more areas. This job requires the ability to see an organisation and its objectives in a wider perspective as well as a very good understanding of business, operational, financial and IT risks.

The internal auditor deals with the implementation of the audit plan and participation in audit projects, which, depending on their scope, have different time periods. The carrying out of an audit project often involves cooperation with representatives of particular departments, including, to a large extent, senior management. Having carried out an audit, the internal auditor prepares and presents a relevant report, which also includes the conclusions and recommended improvements for the business.

REQUIREMENTS FOR CANDIDATES

The career path in internal auditing can begin in external auditing, an internal audit department or any other department of an organisation.

Among the candidates most sought after in the market are those with at least 2-3 Małgorzata Dragan, Team Leader SSC/ years of audit experience, preferably BPO in HRK S.A. acquired in the structures of the largest

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consulting companies (the so called Big Four). Work for such large organisations allows the candidates to become familiar with international audit standards and methodology and cooperate with clients of all sizes and representing various industries. Thanks to such experiences, candidates know how to behave in the business environment and how to communicate in a professional manner with persons occupying high positions. Moreover, candidates working in external audit often have an opportunity to participate in internal audit or SOX projects, which allows them to make even better use of their skills for internal audit purposes.

language is also a prerequisite, in particular in large international companies.

In addition to hard skills and experience, a good internal auditor has specific personality features. Communicative, logically thinking, diplomatic persons and those capable of effectively planning their work time will take to internal audit like a duck to water.

SALARY

Earnings in the internal audit depend on the length of service, education as well as the size of the company and the type of industry. Specialists in the private sector can expect a base salary between PLN 8,000 and PLN 12,000 gross, while rates for managers leading a team range Apart from a university degree, a good from PLN 12,000 to PLN 18,000 gross. candidate should also have at least one specialist qualification. Currently, POSSIBILITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT the most desirable certificates in the Working as an internal auditor gives great market include: Certified Internal development opportunities. Persons Auditor (CIA), Certified Information who wish to develop in the internal audit Systems Auditor (CISA), Association department can be promoted to a manaof Chartered Certified Accountants gerial position, and with time to direc(ACCA) or Chartered Financial Analyst torship, which entails managing a larger (CFA), or an expert auditor authorisation. team or the whole department. Besides, gaining experience in internal audit Work in internal audit means coopera- allows not only to adopt a holistic view tion with persons from various depart- of an organisation, but also to become ments of an organisation, which often acquainted with the persons and funcinvolves the need for frequent business tions from various departments. That trips (thus, persons aspiring to work is why transfers from the internal audit in this department should be prepared department to financial controlling, risk for this). A fluent command of the English or compliance occur fairly frequently. •

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The role of an internal auditor is operational facilitation of an organisation and bringing in an added value.

Among the candidates most sought after in the market are those with at least 2-3 years of audit experience, preferably acquired in the structures of the largest consulting companies (the so called Big Four).

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2018

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Scandinavian approach to HR Interview with Anna Marciniak, HR & Administration Director in Skanska Property Poland.

Outsourcing&More: What can a person that plans to work in Skanska’s office unit expect / anticipate from the employer?

Skanska’s office unit in Poland has a team of over 120 people working together for the success of the company’s office investments located in the 7 biggest cities – Warsaw, Wroclaw, Krakow, Poznan, Lodz, Gdansk and Katowice.

Hence, we offer the possibility of developing in a flat organization. Due to the scope of our business in Poland and the fact that the Polish office unit is part of the Central and Eastern Europe structure (CEE that, also includes the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania) most of us tend to travel rather frequently.

Our headquarters and regional offices are developed according to the concept of Activity Based Working. We do not tell our employees how and where they should work. Each of us knows one’s own working style and knows where and in what form we can work most effectively. Our manager sits down with us as well and thus works together with us.

We all have the opportunity to meet one another during a common breakfast held in the office on a day-to-day basis – it helps us get to know people who are not engaged in completing our daily tasks.

As an employer, Skanska strongly supports the development of employees.

Global development programs – related to temporary relocations into either different locations or in co-operation with experts from various units

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of the group – is one of the aspects.

The second one is based on an individual approach towards self-improvement.

We listen to our employees and remain open to their ideas. We believe that investing in employees is not only a way to achieve the business objectives – this is also a way to achieve greater employee satisfaction and a great motivation to act in an environment in which one can use the personal strengths.

What position is in the greatest demand?

Skanska Group is currently implementing the assumptions of Business Plan 2020, which aims to align revenues from the real estate development operations (residential and office investments) with construction activities. By this time, the developer business will be nearly double its present size.

The team at Skanska’s office unit in Poland has strong competencies based on which we fulfill our business assumptions. Most of all, we focus on maintaining the current team. The core of our activities is the support from the leasing team, which leases office space built by us, and project teams that develop the office buildings. We are looking for people with engineering, architectural and sales competencies because our teams are built so that the experiences of people and their specializations seamlessly dovetail. We also want to become the workplace for experts in specific areas of the real estate market, such as engineering, sustainable development, and innovations.

What do the career path and recruitment processes look like?

We implement the Development Scheme where each employee can check what are the next steps in the structures of Skanska’s office unit, for employees’ respective positions.

It is possible to try one’s hand on the executive and expert path and develop additional competencies within the organization. We are inspired by the way a career path is designed for our colleagues from the USA and Scandinavia. Thanks to internal programs, such as the aforementioned Unlimited, we have the opportunity to try our hand at other structures of Skanska and allow our employees the possibility of a permanent transfer.

Katarzyna Zawodna is the best example of going through almost all the levels of our organization in Poland. In 2007, she started work as an assistant within the marketing and leasing department. Over the next few years, she worked in several different teams and, then became the manager of one of them. After this, she was appointed as regional director and became a member of the management team of Skanska’s office unit in Poland. Finally, she was appointed managing director in 2014.

From January 2016, she has been the head of Skanska’s office development unit in Central and Eastern Europe and manages teams in four countries. Katarzyna’s example shows the great opportunities that we can provide as an employer.

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

We are looking for people with engineering, architectural and sales competencies because our teams are built so that the experiences of people and their specializations seamlessly dovetail.

What did your career path look like?

In short, you can say that I went from a trainee to a director. I worked in three different companies. I have had the opportunity to work in the pharmaceutical and energy industry, and now I work in the commercial real estate industry. The change of employment always resulted from the trust that I gained by thoroughly fulfilling my day-to-day tasks. I was invited to work on subsequent ideas, perform new tasks and roles.

I was lucky because I worked with fantastic people and experts and thus was able to gain both professional knowledge and expertise as well as life knowledge.

I made some good decisions and gained something new from each job as well as learned from my mistakes. I always knew that the Customer Focus is something that I want to get involved with.

B2C in business or HR in B2B. It turned out to be the latter.

Thank you for the interview. •

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RECRUITMENT AD RECRUITER:

If you’re interested in this role please send your CV at: anna.kulawiak@antal.pl or karolina.korzeniewska@antal.pl

HEAD OF SHARED SERVICES CENTRE (Salary: 35 000 - 45 000 PLN / m gross)

Your will be responsible for: • • • • • • • • • • •

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Provide leadership and direction for SSC to ensure internal and external customers expectations are continuously met/exceeded Establish and maintain continuous communication between SSC and its internal/external customers and develop professional relationship with key stakeholders Efficiently manage the operations of SSC to ensure productivity and compliance with relevant laws and regulations Drive and support further development of SSC by providing relevant market insights, identifying new opportunities and assuring possibilities for further expansion Represent SSC on the local market and build positive brand inside and outside of the organization, promote a working environment stimulating engagement, performance and development Monitor performance and productivity metrics and act as an escalation point Ensure that SSC Code of Ethics, Work Regulations and company Values are adhered by acting as a role model in all those areas Promote open dialogue and collaborative work so that all opinions and best practices are represented in the development of innovative business solutions Ensure appropriate office space and facilities to secure adequate working environment for SSC staff, considering also legal H&S requirements related both to facility and personnel Establish business recovery and succession planning to secure required stability of services Operate as a multifunctional expert focusing on continuous process and system improvement

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

Your profile: • • • • •

• • • •

Experience working with international services At least 5-7 years of managerial experience on a senior level within a matrix, international organization University degree Fluency in Polish and English Excellent leadership skills and experience in managing cross-functional teams, including: driving employees engagement, performance and development, building and developing effective teams, motivating others, managing change and providing direction Experience in the SSC / BPO environment and very good understanding of the local market and industry High level of interpersonal skills, including listening, presentation, negotiation, and conflict resolution Proven planning and organizational skills and ability to manage multiple and changing priorities Exceptional decision making skills and result-oriented approach

We offer: • • • •

Stable job in new established and professional team Interesting path of career in an international organization Consistent scope of responsibilities Private health care, employees’ benefits

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L E T ’ S M E E T AT

T h e B S S To u r Ka tow i ce

THEME

Organizer:

Advanced technology in business

DAT E

VENUE

June 19th, 2018

Katowice

www.bsstour.com/katowice