Outsoucing&More #59 July-August 2021

Created by Pro Progressio

www.outsourcingandmore.eu No. 4 (59) | July–August 2021 ISSN 2083-8867 PRICE EUR 6 (INCL. 8% VAT)

DRONES IN BUSINESS: RISK OR BRISK? HOW THEY HELP US AND HOW TO DEFEND AGAINST THEIR PRESENCE Interview with Robert Fintak, CEO of Terra Hexen | page 48 BUSINESS:

BUSINESS:

BUSINESS:

Outsourcing Stars have been revealed! |page 8

5 key elements of successful contact centre processes outsourcing |page 24

Which Polish cities are attracting the strongest investor interest? |page 28

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INTRODUCTION

Created by Pro Progressio

Editor-in-chief Dymitr Doktór dymitr.doktor@proprogressio.pl Managing editor Katarzyna Czylok-Dąbrowska katarzyna.czylok@proprogressio.pl DTP Iwona Nowakowska Advertising reklama@proprogressio.pl Published by Pro Progressio spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością spółka komandytowa

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Print Drukarnia Jantar Legal support Chudzik i Wspólnicy An electronic version of the Magazine see the website www.outsourcingandmore.eu Circulation 3,000 copies Place and date of issue Warsaw, 30.07.2021 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.

Dear Readers, July and August, despite the holiday season, is also a period full of business activities. On the Outsourcing&More websites, we have collected dozens of interesting articles and publications that, as usual, focus on the areas of business, investments and HR. This time on our cover you will find Robert Fintak – President of the Management Board of Terra Hexen. We are talking about drones in business. Fintak talks about how drones help us, but also how to defend ourselves against them.

I also invite you to a very interesting interview, which was given to us by Violetta Małek – Managing Partner and Co-founder of Gekko AdvisoryNOW. Violetta Małek – a dynamic and energetic manager with extensive experience, for several years has been developing a consulting boutique supporting the development of both the SME sector and large corporations. She tells us who a business leader is, what is the history of the creation of Gekko AdvisoryNOW and what is the recipe for success.

In the city section, an article about the City of Elbląg appeared on the Outsourcing&More pages for the first time. The city of Elbląg is becoming more and more open to business, including the BPO/SSC and IT sectors, and on the Outsourcing&More pages, in this and in subsequent editions, we will discover the investment potential of this city even deeper.

Almost hundred of Outsourcing&More pages at your disposal!

You are very welcome to this edition of our magazine.

Dymitr Doktór, Editor in Chief

Authors: Dorota Chudzik • Konrad Matuszewski • Konrad Werner • Piotr Jaśkiewicz • Marcin Łukasik • Mikołaj Tarnawa • Artur Winnicki • Mateusz Barczyk • Violetta Małek • Robert Fintak • Monika Vilkelyte • Renata Marciniak • Anna Tymoshenko • Joanna Zaręba • Marta Kowalczyk-Rompała • Piotr Wajgielt

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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INDEX

6 8 16 18 22 24 26 28 32 34 38 42 48 4

BUSINESS NEWS Outsourcing Stars have been revealed!

The first non-virtual gathering of the mo­­­­dern business services sector in 2021 took place on the premises of Elektro­wnia Powiśle on June 24 in Warsaw. It was Outsourcing Stars Gala.

Safe ways to reduce CIT taxation On 1 May 2021, the group of entities subject to corporate income tax expanded.

Activities of Shared Services Centres for Financial Institutions Regulatory Aspects.

Prevention of money laundering Obligations imposed on business service providers.

5 key elements of successful contact centre processes outsourcing Customer service outsourcing has existed in Poland since the end of ‘90s.

Office revisited? Make the most of the lockdown experience The more we contain the epidemic, the more we feel pressed to return to the office setting, to re-establish the relationships with other people, exchange information and ideas.

Which Polish cities are attracting the strongest investor interest?

What are Polish citie's scores in the ranking for investment?

Your Customer First!

Armatis this year unveiled new brand identity redesigned around its signature tagline ‘Your Customer First’ – a true leitmotif for our 9,000 employees worldwide.

We design and create space, where you work and live well Interview with Artur Winnicki, CEO, Reesco Group.

Your privacy, your way – in futuristic, enclosed lounge chair The A11 is the first step by Hushoffice beyond its line of acoustic booths.

Take life into your own hands and... win!

An interview with Violetta Małek, Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Gekko advisoryNOW.

MAIN INTERVIEW Drones in business: risk or brisk? How they help us and how to defend against their presence Interview with Robert Fintak, CEO of Terra Hexen.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

52 54 56 60 64 66 70 74 76 80 82 86 88 Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

INVESTMENTS NEWS

Snapshot of Lithuania’s GBS & ICT: staying resilient in 2021 Even amidst the pandemic turmoil, Lithuania kept its head up.

A few words about doing business in Catalonia Interview with Renata Marciniak, PhD, President of the Catalan-Polish Chamber of Support for Small and Medium Enterprises.

Elbląg – the place to live, work, grow your business, and make your dreams come true Elbląg is the second largest urban center in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in terms of its population size and the number of students.

The New Heart of Łódź City goals: continue attracting investors, grow but avoid spillovers, cope with unfavorable demographic trends, and carry on bringing impressive improvements in the city center.

Częstochowa is modernizing for residents and tourists The picture of Częstochowa is changing and these are not superficial and temporary changes.

Water, greenery, quality of life Work-life balance in Bydgoszcz.

Access to the qualified workforce and favourable investment offers That is why Poznań attracts companies from the IT industry.

Patronage classes in Kielce – success in practice How is cooperation assessed by teachers, entrepreneurs and, above all, by students?

HR NEWS We are aware that we will not change the world, but we do intend to improve at least a little part of it through by our actions The pandemic has changed our lives and influenced their every aspect.

The gender pay gap is not a myth – how to fight it?

The fact that women earn less than men in the same positions is the fault of stereotypes and institutional discrimination. How to change it?

Can anyone become a CFO? Nowadays, CFO is the key position in every company. They know numbers but they also understand business and the industry.

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BUSINESS NEWS

AVAYA SOLUTIONS AND PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS PROVIDE IMPROVED CUSTOMER AND EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE engagement in a hyper-personalized way that ensures the provision of excellent user experiences as well as the achievement of companies' business goals.

Avaya OneCloud CCaaS combined with predictive analytics therefore enable companies manage their operations on an entirely new level, which include:

Avaya, a global leader in solutions to support and simplify communications and collaboration, with the help of data analytics, improves processes in contact center, thus makes the user experience seamless and enjoyable.

Becoming the most important component of user experience management, data analytics helps contact center employees to anticipate customer behaviors and needs, enable personalized engagement at the micro level, preemptively resolving of issues and maximizes business results. Reacting in the best possible

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• Personalized and relevant self-service options across touchpoints • Proactive engagement in sales, retention existing and acquisition of new users • Targeted advertising • Delivering customers queries contact to way, i.e. proactively offering the next best the right person within an organization action, are the biggest benefits of quality • Proposal of next best action or offer via predictive analytics which rely on absolute preferred media mastering of available data.

• Proactive problem resolution, advice, updates, information and offers.

The latest contact center solutions introduced by Avaya are crucial instrumental in Finally, predictive analytics and Avaya con­­­ enabling predictive analytics to reach their tact center solutions empower employees full potential. Avaya provides crucial infor- to proactively direct customers towards mation to predictive analytics systems desired journeys. This way, companies that include customer behaviors such reduce customer effort and avoid poor as what touchpoints they use, how they expe­­­­­riences, while simultaneously making move between touchpoints, what services a profit by maximizing sales, increasing they leverage and more. Using predictive retention and improving acquisition with analytics, Avaya orchestrates customer each interaction.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

100 TRENDS DEFINING THE DIRECTION OF THE CEE ECONOMY CEE outperformed other EU countries in 2020 in terms of economics, hopefully returning to a strong income convergence to Western Europe in 2021, according to the report presented by Skanska and SpotData. The report presents 100 most important economic trends in the CEE region at the threshold of 2021 opportunities and risks.

KEY CONLCUSIONS FROM THE REPORT: 1. Most countries in the CEE region managed to avoid deep recessions and performed better than EU-average in economic terms. Long-term costs of the COVID-19 pandemic will be lower in CEE than the global average.

2. One of the most important structural shifts ongoing in the CEE is an increase in demand for high-skilled workers.

The share of office jobs is growing not

only in services but also in industry – there is a gradual shift from manual work to white-collar work.

3. Knowledge intensive services, and par­­­­ ticularly business services, are the fastest growing segment of CEE eco­­nomies. CEE has become one of the important global hubs for business services centres, which increasingly concentrate on the technology sectors.

4. Investor activity on the office market in CEE declined in 2020, but 2021 should bring back growth. The expected growth in remote and hybrid work will make investors seek higher-quality, core, well-performing assets and locations.

5. CEE has reduced emissions, but climate policy is still the biggest challenge for the region. All of the countries in the re-­­­­ gion manage to cut CO2 emissions per capita while growing their economies.

GLOBAL BUSINESS COMPLEXITY INDEX 2021: BRINGING CLARITY TO THE COMPLEXITIES OF GOING BUSINESS ACROSS BORDERS Managing cross-border operations, or expanding into new jurisdictions, can pose many challenges for businesses.

Our report brings clarity to the complexities of corporate compliance, wherever you operate.

The Global Business Complexity Index from TMF Group provides an authoritative overview of the complexity of establishing and operating businesses around the world.

The report analyses the key trends affec­ ting three business areas – accounting and tax, global entity management and HR and payroll.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Download the report to discover: • Which jurisdictions rank as the most complex – or simple – based on their business environments.

• Where and how businesses are being pushed toward responsible governance and increased transparency.

• How digitalisation has advanced to remove traditional processes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Why the drive toward international alignment can clash with local complexities.

Download your complimentary copy now:

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BUSINESS

OUTSOURCING STARS HAVE BEEN REVEALED! The first non-virtual gathering of the mo­­­­dern business services sector in 2021 took place on the premises of Elektro­ wnia Powiśle on June 24 in Warsaw.

It was on this day that Pro Progressio – an organization supporting the growth and deve­lopment of the BSS industry – held the eighth edition of its Outsourcing Stars Gala. As always, the gala was an op­­­­portunity for the industry to reflect on the past year and acted as the grand finale of the Outsourcing Stars competition, where companies representing eleven

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different ares of the modern business services realm are distinguished among their peers. The awards go to outstanding entities which grew their operations the quickest. Outsourcing Stars is where we also praise the fastest-developing city serving as a hub for national and international BPO, SSC, R&D, and IT centers.

consulting companies, as well as representatives of a number of city halls. The Gala was held under the Honorary Patronage of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, and the Patrons, Partners, and Sponsors of this unique event included: White Star Real Estate, Invest in Pomerania, Cushman & Wakefield, City of Poznań, Nowy Styl, SoftServe, Torus, wielkareklama.pl, Riposta, The Outsourcing Stars Gala gathered 250 Deutscher Outsourcing Verband, GSA UK, participants representing Polish and inter- IAOP, IT Ukraine Association, MultiCowork, national outsourcing companies, GBS, SSC, and the Scandinavian-Polish Chamber and IT operational centers, advisory and of Commerce.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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BUSINESS

THIS YEAR'S OUTSOURCING STARS WINNERS INCLUDE:

BPO – Frista

SSC – 3M GBC

Call Contact Centre – Armatis

IT Software Development – Infopulse

Accounting, HR, Payroll – Grant Thornton 10

RPA – Digital Workforce Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

City – Trójmiasto

Real Estate Agency – CBRE

Developer – Skanska

HR Permanent Recruitment – HAYS

HR Employee Leasing – LeasingTeam

IT Contracting – ASTEK

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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BUSINESS

Innovative Business Solution – Zonifero

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Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Pro Progressio MANAGER OF THE YEAR AWARD went to ADAM PUSTELNIK, Deputy Mayor of the City of Łódź. Pustelnik was recognized for his contributions in developing the BSS sector in the city of Łódź, support for entrepreneurs, and a clear vision for the growth of the modern business services industry in his city. – The way Adam cares

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

for investors already present in Łódź, as well as the energy he exudes when acquiring new business for the city, is an example to follow for most government officials and local government in Poland – said Wiktor Doktór, Head of Pro Progressio, when presenting Adam Pustelnik with a diploma recogni­ zing his efforts.

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BUSINESS

The Outsourcing Stars Gala was preceded advice on the matter. Assumptions and by a full-day international conference – challenges that may be brought by The BSS Forum. the ‘Polish Deal’ program implemented by the Polish government were among ‘Back to Business’ was the event’s theme the issues discussed. this year and it accompanied fifteen different webinar sessions. The conference Under the active moderation of Monika organized by Pro Progressio gathered 410 Smulewicz (Grant Thornton), the panel participants from ten different countries. included Dr. Maciej Chakowski (C&C Forty-five speakers from North America, Chakowski & Ciszek), Grzegorz Szysz (Grant South America, Africa, and Europe deli­ Thornton), and Małgorzata Samborska vered their presentations.

(Grant Thornton).

In this year's edition of The BSS Forum the organizers focused on a wide range of topics addressed to the international community. The event had three parallel parts, with five substantive presentations delivered in each of them.

The HR part saw Zyta Machnicka (Lightness), Greg Albrecht (Albrecht & Partners), Magdalena Kopenhagen (Kopenhagen Academy), Wojciech Strózik (Learn2Lead), Amani Rabei (ITIDA), Andreas Flodstrom (Betroot), Constantine Vasuk (IT Ukraine Association), Mikołaj Makowski (Devire), Ireneusz Bilski (Amway Business Service Center Europe), Iwona Grochowska (NAIS), Izabella Krzywosądzka-Pajdak (Carlsberg Shared Services), Klaudia Martelus (Tate & Lyle), and Michał Lisawa (Baker McKenzie) address the attendees. Issues highlighted by the speakers concerned new developments in labor law, remote work, incentive programs, the future of IT services and IT contracting, as well as personal development and employee loyalty.

The ‘Business’ part of the Forum concerned hybrid sales and saw Wojciech Herra, an outstanding sales coach, share his

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The third important thread during this years’ Forum was the location aspect for BSS centers and the work environment. Szymon Kogut discussed the best European locations for BPO and SSC ope­­­­­­­rational centers during this part.

Krzysztof Misiak (Cushaman & Wakefield), Piotr Boulangé (MultiCowork), Katarzyna Augustyn (Chillispaces), and Grzegorz Kmieciński (Corees) engaged in an in-­­ ­depth discussion on offices, serviced off­­­­­­­­i ces, and coworking. This section also featured mixed-use facilities, an up-andThe BSS Forum is an event that addresses coming trend in the world of commercial topics concerning operations of GBS/ real estate. Anna Celichowska (Virako), SSC centers.

Dariusz Domański (White Star), Marcin Piątkowski (Torus), and Tomasz Czuba The HSBC center in Krakow, being of (JLL) addressed it during their captithe most dynamic GBS centers in Poland, vating talks. was a fantastic case study ripe for further examination. It was analyzed by Bartosz Two interesting discussion panels closed Brak, Ewa Baranowska, and Philippe de the event. First concerned the creaBrouwer. A lecture by Michał Bielawski tion of an investment offer by Polish (Adaptive SAG) and Marcin Janiszewski cities, moderated by Andrew Wrobel (Elekta Business Services) raised a number (Emerging Europe) and involved Adam of fascinating points about the GBS Pustelnik (City of Łódź Office), Katarzyna centers’ development and identified Sobocińska (City of Poznań Office), and the main factors changing this industry, Wojciech Tyborowski (Invest in Pome­ and perfectly complemented the subject rania). The second issue, presented matter at hand.

by Cristina Stamboli (Romania), Dr. Akos Mates-Lanyi (Hungary), and Radim Pro Progressio put a strong emphasis on Kotlaba (The Czech Republic) of NOERR the internationality of proceedings during law office, concerned the business condiThe BSS Forum this year. Experts from tions across the CEE region.

North America, South America, and Africa talked about nearshoring and offshoring The BSS Forum and the Outsourcing Stars of US business projects. Panelists included Gala will return next year. Meanwhile, Pro Debi Hamill (IAOP), Jason Heil (Redial Progressio has announced changes to its BPO), Mauricio Velasquez (Velasquez media channels – the OutsourcingPortal & Company), Peter Ryan (Ryan Stra- and the Outsourcing&More magazine. tegic Advisory), and Rod Jones (Rod More on these exciting developments Jones Consulting). will be shared shortly!

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Management Board of Pro Progressio would like to thank all Sponsors and Partners of The BSS Forum: Back to the Business & Outsourcing Stars Gala

ORGANIZATOR/

PARTNER STRATEGICZNY/

PATRON HONOROWY/

ORGANIZER

STRATEGIC PARTNER

HONORARY PATRONAGE

ZŁOTY SPONSOR/ GOLD SPONSOR

PARTNER PARTNER

SPONSORZY/ SPONSORS

IPOSTA

PATRONI/ PATRONS

OUTSOURCING VERBAND GERMAN OUTSOURCING ASSOCIATION

PATRONI MEDIALNI/ MEDIA PATRONAGE

OUTSOURCING JOURNAL SHARED KNOWLEDGE FOR D-A-CH & GLOBAL MARKETS

SPONSOR MIEJSKI/ CITY SPONSOR

BUSINESS

SAFE WAYS TO REDUCE CIT TAXATION On 1 May 2021, the group of entities subject to corporate income tax expanded. The number of entities subject to the "regime" was increased by limited partnerships and some other partnerships.

In the case of some companies, it is pos­­­ sible to reduce the tax burden by implementing the tax instruments provided for in the CIT Act. The most recognisable ones are a special investment fund, tax relief for research and development acti­ vities and IP Box.

SPECIAL INVESTMENT FUND Despite positive announcements of the "Estonian CIT" by the Ministry of Finance, its final format does not look promising. Several inaccuracies, such as hidden profits taxation, effectively discourage adopting this form of tax optimisation. Many companies have decided to wait for the tax authorities' interpretation to understand the Estonian CIT's intricacies better.

However, not all solutions proposed from 2021 have turned out to be unfavourable. An attractive solution is a special investment fund that allows to classify the transferred funds as tax costs. Unfortunately, this solution is intended only

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for spółki z o.o. [limited liability companies] and spółki akcyjne [joint stock companies]. It consists in transferring funds from the previous year's profit to a bank account separated within the supplementary capital. Such transfer allows the monies to be recognised as tax-deductible costs. The condition for the deduction is the transfer of funds for the purchase or production of a fixed asset included in group 3–8 of the Classification of Fixed Assets. It is a broad group of fixed assets that allows the investment fund to be used for machinery, computers or vehicles. However, it will not be possible to spend these funds on cars used by a shareholder or partner in the company.

Also, a company wishing to apply this form of cost credit must meet the conditions for the Estonian CIT. In particular, its revenue should not exceed PLN 100 million; most of it should originate from sources other than receivables, interest and copyrights, and

the company must employ three people and not draw up financial statements per the IAS principles.

The legislator has also regulated the spen­­­­ding of the accumulated funds. The col­­­ lected monies should be spent in the year following the year of the write-off at the latest. However, this deadline can be extended by two more years if we inform the tax authorities about it.

The indicated solution brings about a double benefit. Namely, it allows dedu­­ cting a large investment in fixed assets at a time, avoiding long-term depreciation, and reduces the tax basis in the deduction year.

R&D CREDIT Another form of tax reduction is research and development credit. Unlike the spe­­­ cial investment fund, all CIT payers can use this solution. The essential condition for applying this tax relief is research or development activity.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

R&D activities, according to tax autho­ rities, mean creative activities involving scientific research or development, undertaken on a systematic basis to increase knowledge resources and use the same to develop new applications.

Research activity is an activity that includes basic research or applied research. Basic research is understood as empirical or theoretical work to gain new knowledge about the foundations of phenomena and observable facts without focus on any direct commercial application. In turn, applied research is work to acquire new knowledge and skills, develop new products, processes or services or introduce significant improvements to them.

topography right. A qualified right is also a protection right for a patent for a medici­nal product or a plant protection product, a registration right for a medicinal or veterinary product if it has marketing authorisation, and a copyright to a com­­­ puter program.

However, in order to take advantage of the reduced rate, gaining profit from a qualified intellectual property right is not enough. For this purpose, records must be kept, considering the revenues and costs related to the given right.

Also, it should be noted that the income

IP BOX

It is a highly advantageous form of taxation, allowing for savings in CIT and the reduction of tax liabilities under the eligible right held. By comparison, the standard rate without applying the "tax credit" is 9% or 19%.

THREATS A qualified right is a patent, a utility model A frequent problem in the implementaprotection right, an industrial design tion of tax instruments, i.e. the research registration right or an integrated circuit and development relief and IP Box, is

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

The most effective solution to this problem is to apply for an individual interpretation. That will allow for confirmation whether the conducted activity meets the requirements and will ensure the protection of the right to use the tax relief in the event of a possible inspection. Also, it is worthwhile for the records required by law to be verified by experienced specialists.

An attractive solution is a special investment fund that allows to classify the transferred funds as tax costs. Unfortunately, this solution is intended only for spółki z o.o. [limited liability companies] and spółki akcyjne [joint stock companies].

On the other hand, if we are considering development works, these are activities involving the acquisition, combination, shaping and use of currently available knowledge and skills, but excluding activities involving routine and periodic eligible to the 5% rate must be multiplied changes introduced to them, even if such by the Nexus coefficient, only the product changes are of improvement nature. of the income and the coefficient is the basis for applying the 5% CIT rate.

When reading the presented definitions, it may seem that the relief applies only The Nexus coefficient is calculated ac­­­­cor­­­­ to large entities from the technology or ding to the formula laid down in the Act. pharmaceutical industry. Nothing could It concerns the costs incurred by the combe more wrong. Following the rich base pany for research and development of individual interpretations, it should be activities. The Act provides for four cost stated that there are no restrictions as to options. The first one is direct costs; they regard expenses related to the research the business profile. and development activity carried out The R&D tax credit allows for "double" within the scope of a specific eligible recognition of expenses incurred right. The second is the cost of acquiring on research and development activities research and development results in as tax-deductible costs. Thus, increasing the field of eligible right. The final two the tax-deductible costs will reduce concern the acquisition of results and the company's tax liability without incur- the acquisition of the eligible right itself from affiliated entities. ring them twice.

Another form of tax reduction is ap­­­­­ply­­­ing a preferential 5% tax rate on income from an eligible right. As in the case of the R&D tax relief, there are no restrictions on the manner of conducting business.

the lack of an objective approach to whether the conducted activity fulfils the conditions of research and development activity.

SUMMARY The presented relief allows for significant tax savings and are an interesting alternative to the Estonian CIT, which in its current shape is not a favourable solution. Bearing in mind that currently, all forms of tax optimisation are effectively obstructed by the tax authorities, taxpayers should focus on using safe solutions offered by the legislator.

Authors:

Dorota Chudzik, tax advisor | general manager, in Law firm "Chudzik i Wspólnicy Radcowie Prawni" sp.p., www.chudzik.pl

Konrad Matuszewski, legal and tax consultant, in Law firm "Chudzik i Wspólnicy Radcowie Prawni" sp.p., www.chudzik.pl

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BUSINESS

ACTIVITIES OF SHARED SERVICES CENTRES FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS – REGULATORY ASPECTS

Many shared services centres in Poland operate within capital groups, which include various types of financial institutions subject to strict regulations and supervision. What specific regulatory issues should be then taken into account when establishing and managing such centres?

LEGAL FORM OF ACTIVITY

insurance activity, and only to the extent to which it conducts such an activity in its home country. In principle, the typical activities of a SSC (i.e. IT, accounting, HR, etc.) do not fall within the scope of business activities that a bank, insu­ rance company, investment firm or other similar regulated entity may provide to third parties (even from the same capital group), because the permissible scope of activities of such entities is usually, both in Poland and in other countries, strictly limited to certain types of financial and related services. When notifying supervisory authorities of the intention to commence operations in Poland through a branch, the foreign institution must indicate which of these services it intends to provide in Poland – and only to that extent will the branch be permitted to In most cases, however, a branch is not operate. The provision of, for example, the most appropriate form of operation IT services to other entities in the capital for a SSC. It must be borne in mind mainly group should generally not be included that a foreign entrepreneur may only in this scope of services. carry out business activities in a branch within the scope that it carries them out In conclusion, the most appropriate form abroad. Thus, if a foreign entrepreneur for a SSC operating in Poland and serving is, for example, a bank or an insurance a group of financial institutions seems company, it may open a branch in Poland to be a subsidiary established in Poland. only to conduct banking or, respectively, Opening a Polish branch for this purpose 1 will usually not be a good idea.

The term will be used in this article in This question should be asked already at the stage of choosing the legal form in which a shared service centre (SSC) will operate. In practice, there is often a temptation to set up a SSC as a branch of one of the existing financial institutions1 ope­rating within a group and based in an EU country, using the passporting mechanism provided for in EU law. It allows many types of financial institutions ope­rating in the EU to expand their activities into another EU country by establishing a branch there, with relatively little formality and cost, and no need to create a new entity, as the branch does not have a separate legal personality and is only a separated part of the parent institution’s activities.

a colloquial, broad sense.

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COMBINING FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES AND A SSC IN ONE ENTITY However, not every company operating in Poland is suitable for running a SSC. If a given financial group already has a subsidiary in Poland conducting regulated activities, the idea sometimes arises that the activities of a SSC could be carried out by this company. In the case of certain types of entities (e.g. banks or insurance companies), this is generally impossible because the scope of legally permissible activities of these entities is strictly defined and does not include typical activities performed by shared services centres.

However, some other types of regulated financial institutions (e.g. lending institutions) do not suffer from such restrictions and are not formally prevented from opera­ting as a SSC for their group in addition to their financial services activities.

However, even such a solution may prove to be highly problematic in practice. It must be remembered namely that lending institutions have the status of the so-called “obliged entities” in the meaning of AML/ CFT regulations. This means, in particular, that they are subject to a number of obligations relating to KYC (Know Your

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Where a SSC provides services to regulated entities from different countries, this may lead to significant complexity in the regulatory aspects of its activities.

Customer), i.e. identification and verification of the identity of the customer and its beneficial owner. It is debatable whether these obligations apply to the activities of obliged entities other than regulated activities (so, for example, to the activities of a shared services centre carried out by a lending institution), but unfortunately there is currently no clear basis for treating the non-regulated activities of obliged entities separately in terms of AML obligations and therefore these requirements should be deemed to apply to all relationships of obliged entities with customers.

This situation may put an additional and unnecessary burden on the shared service centre activities of the obliged entity.

Consequently, in most cases, the most appropriate solution will be to place the activities of the shared service centre in a separate company dedicated exclusively to these activities.

services to a group of financial institutions are the regulations on outsourcing which, in the case of financial institutions, can be quite rigorous. Significantly, when a SSC provides services to financial institutions that do not operate in Poland, the regulations in force in their home countries, and not the Polish ones, will be most important in this respect. This is an element that may undoubtedly complicate the activity of a Polish SSC, because when providing services simultaneously for regulated financial institutions from different countries, the Polish SSC will have to take into account in its activities the regulations on outsourcing in force in each of those countries.

Obviously, the greatest burden of com­­­ pliance with these regulations will be borne by the financial institutions using the services of a Polish company, but these regulations will also very often have an impact on the activiOUTSOURCING OF ACTIVITIES ties of the SSC itself, e.g. in the form

BY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS of the need to: (i) ensure an appropriate Another issue of fundamental impor- level of education, experience and qualifitance for the proper structuring and cations of the persons managing the SSC; lawful operation of a SSC providing (ii) have in place action plans ensuring

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

The most appropriate form for a SSC operating in Poland and serving a group of financial institutions seems to be a subsidiary established in Poland. Opening a Polish branch for this purpose will usually not be a good idea.

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BUSINESS

When notifying supervisory authorities of the intention to commence operations in Poland through a branch, the foreign institution must indicate which of these services it intends to provide in Poland – and only to that extent will the branch be permitted to operate.

When a SSC provides services to financial institutions that do not operate in Poland, the regulations in force in their home countries, and not the Polish ones, will be most im-portant in this respect. This is an element that may undoubtedly complicate the activity of a Polish SSC.

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continuous and uninterrupted operation of the business within the scope covered by the agreement between the SSC and a given financial institution; or (iii) ensure that it is possible to carry out audits at the SSC on the correctness of the performance of the agreement, both by the financial institution itself, for which the SSC provides services, and potentially by the supervisory authori­ ties of its home country. Where a SSC provides services to regulated entities from different countries, this may lead to significant complexity in the regulatory aspects of its activities. Polish re­­­­ gulations on outsourcing of activities by financial institutions may also apply when the services of a SSC are provided to institutions based in Poland and, to a certain extent, when they are provided to foreign institutions operating in Poland in the form of a branch.

It is also worth bearing in mind that legal restrictions on outsourcing do not apply only to financial institutions such as banks, insurance companies or investment firms, but also to certain entities providing regulated financial intermediation services.

For example, the outsourcing of certain activities by insurance brokers in Poland is subject to significant restrictions – they may outsource only those activities that require specialist knowledge, but other than specialist knowledge in the field of insurance and insurance intermediation. *** In summary, the activity of a SSC within a financial group is subject to various restrictions related to the regulated nature of the activity of entities in such a group.

Therefore, the creation and management of such centres must take into account numerous regulations, often originating in different legal systems. 

Author:

Konrad Werner, Attorney-at-law, Expert in Banking & Financial Regulations, Noerr

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

BUSINESS

PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING − OBLIGATIONS IMPOSED ON BUSINESS SERVICE PROVIDERS The operation of business services centres, especially those serving a single corporate group, is not typically associated with duties in the area of anti-money laundering or countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). However, if only the centre provides bookkeeping services or certain corporate services, it is sufficient for it to obtain the status of "obliged entity" which is subject to several AML regulatory obligations. Failure to comply with such requirements creates exposure to heavy financial penalties.

The April amendment to Polish AML regulations expands the range of situations when business services centres may be subject to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act (the so-called AML Act). In addition to the existing obligations to make disclosures in the Central Register of Beneficial Owners (CRBO), the list of activities that can only be performed after additional AML procedures have been put in place has been extended.

BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REGISTER The Central Register of Beneficial Owners is a publicly accessible database of companies' beneficial owners. The deadline to make initial disclosures in this register was 14 July 2020, and all new companies should make a filing within 7 business days of their registration with the National Court Register. Failure to make a filing creates exposure to a financial penalty of up to PLN 1 million.

Short deadline and high penalties for out-of-date data Although the vast majority of professionally managed companies have already made their disclosures to the CRBO, not all of them remember to update their data

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on time. Any change to the management board, personal details of a management board member (e.g., country of residence or surname), address, company name or details of the beneficial owner must be filed to CRBO within 7 business days.

The April amendment to the AML Act spe-­ cifies that a financial penalty of up to PLN 1 million also applies in the case of delays in updating data and filing incorrect data.

Companies that limit disclosure of senior executives to management board members may face charges of false (incomplete) disclosures if the company has non-director level individuals who manage the operation at the local level − often these individuals include the local general manager or chief financial officer. On the other hand, there are times when key operational decisions concerning a company are made The amended AML Act also makes it by individuals who are neither employed mandatory to disclose all nationalities by the company nor serve on its of beneficial owners. Until now, only one management board − but carry out their nationality could be filed. The new obli- functions within regional or global strucgation will come into force at the end tures. Failure to disclose such persons, of October and may create the need to if they perform duties appropriate to update data in the CRBO. senior executives of the company, will expose the company to financial penalSenior executives as beneficial owners ties, the person signing CRBO filing to Many shared services centres establish criminal liability, and the undisclosed beneficial owners based on the criterion beneficial owners − to personal finanof holding a 'senior executive position'. It is cial liability. worth noting two main difficulties asso­ ciated with such a filing: (ii) The filing of senior executives as beneficial owners requires gathering (i) Senior executives are often not just documentary evidence of the imposdirectors (management board members). sibility of identifying beneficial owners In many cases, directorship is held based on other criteria. We have noted by group officers not actively involved in from practice that this requirement is the day-to-day management of the entity often not met, which can expose those running the business services centre. signing the filing form to liability.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Banks, accountants, and lawyers will report irregularities As early as 31 October, regulations will come into force requiring "obliged entities" (banks, insurers, accountants, tax advisers, transactional lawyers, among others) to record discrepancies between the information they have established about a customer's beneficial owner and the data filed to CRBO. Once it is confirmed that the discrepancies are not the result of a mistake (e.g., personal changes have been filed to CRBO but are not yet visible in the National Court Register), the obliged entities will have to notify the discrepancies to the Minister of Finance. The notification may result in an enquiry being launched, and a note about this will be recorded in CRBO. Such note will be a public warning of the increased risk of concealment of beneficial owners, which may have reputational consequences.

• providing a registered office, business address, mailing address, or other related services to companies and certain other entities • preparation of tax returns (to be an obliged entity, an activity consisting in preparing tax returns, keeping tax books, giving advice, opinions or explanations on tax or customs legislation must be the core business activity of the entity) • accepting or making payments for goods in cash with a value of EUR 10,000 or more (rare in services centres).

the business relationship (including the purpose of individual transactions) and monitoring the customer's business relationship on an ongoing basis. The application of financial security measures must be documented and presented to the audit authorities in case of an inspection.

In addition, OEs must put in place an internal procedure for all AML processes. The institution should have a procedure in place for anonymous reporting of breaches, appoint an AML officer, and provide training for AML staff. Failure by an obliged entity to Obtaining the status of "obliged en­­­­ comply with its obligations exposes it tity" (OE) is automatically triggered to administrative penalties − financial by the performance of certain activities. (for natural persons − up to PLN 20.8 Obligations of obliged entities relate to million, for legal persons − up to EUR 5 several areas of activity. million or 10% of turnover), reputational (publication of information on breaches) OBLIGATIONS OF OBLIGED and personal (ban on holding positions, ENTITIES withdrawal of licences or permits, order to OEs are required to assess the risk of money cease certain types of activity). To prevent the obliged entities from laundering and terrorist financing, and coming to a conclusion that may be to document the risks identified, as well at odds with the information filed with as to apply to their clients (e.g., service Author: CRBO, it is advisable to prepare a profes- reci­­­pients) financial security measu­res sional documentation package demon- adequate to the risk assessment con­­ strating that beneficial ownership has ducted. Financial security measures been correctly determined. include identifying the customer and verifying its identity, identifying the customer's SERVICE CENTRE WITH beneficial owner, and taking reasonable Piotr Jaśkiewicz, RESPONSIBILITIES AS A BANK: steps to verify its identity and establish Counsel, SERVICES RESULTING IN "OBLIGED ownership and control structure, assessing Baker McKenzie

ENTITY" STATUS The carrying out of certain activities triggers the status of "obliged entity".

Some of these activities can be found in business services centres. For example, these include: • bookkeeping services

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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BUSINESS

5 KEY ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL CONTACT CENTRE PROCESSES OUTSOURCING Customer service outsourcing has existed in Poland since the end of ‘90s. In those early years the core of the outsourcing industry contracts comprised the key mean industries: telecommunications, banks, insurance companies and publishers.

Others either did not outsource at all or the scale of outsourcing was marginal and scattered across several isolated campaigns. Gradually, the idea of transferring not-essential processes outside of one's own company progressively spread to other industries along with more service providers and a growing awareness of potential benefits.

stages. Most contact centre companies have a minimum project scale that they are willing to take in. These differ of course depending on the company, but generally such limitation is needed due to the time and human resources commitment required to launch each new campaign.

Furthermore, in the case of outbound campaigns (sales, leads), almost all companies use automatic dialling systems.

In the last several years, I have noticed These are the most effective with 5,000a trend of growing popularity of out­­ -10,000 records in the database at their sourcing among industries that previo­ disposal, hence the minimum required usly withheld everything at their own scale is also dictated by technologi­premi­ses. So what should be checked cal limitations. when you company decides to outsource contact centre operations?

2. OUTSOURCER EVALUATION Once the outspring decision is taken, 1. PURPOSE OF OUTSOURCING the next step the selection of your partner.

Is the purpose to support for internal sales It is one of the most, if not the most diffior customer service departments? Is your cult element of the process. As in any company moving just one isolated process industry, it is sometimes difficult to or all customer service processes will be look behind a curtain of marketing to handed over to an external company? reveal a genuine image and capabilities In any case, it is important to start with of a selected company. a needs analysis. At what cost of customer acquisition or contact service, outsourcing The price of the service is only one of will be profitable for us and the partner? the criteria. It is very easy to start a coope­ It is worth estimating your own costs, ration that will end after a few weeks with including, in addition to the employee lost time, funds and without achieving costs, other related costs and overheads? the expected results. There are several key points that should be taken into account, In the case of very short marketing cam­­­ e.g. the experience of the management paigns, running the process internally may team, especially the middle level staff be more worthwhile, at least in the initial such as team leaders, because they are

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responsible for the implementation of quantitative and qualitative results.

The largest companies engage their specialized departments, even resort to hiring specialized external companies that prepare a due diligence analy­sis of a potential partner. If using them is not an option, it is really worth taking the time to meet two or three potential contact centres to see what their premises look like and what conditions our future employees will work under. For instance, staff turnover rate is an important point as it revels and ample amount of information about team's experience.

I suggest paying thorough care to the ana­­­­­­­lysis of internal documents such as procedures and e.g. cards for assessing the quality of calls, frequently referred to as coaching sheets. They prove the level of professionalism and structured customer service processes in the organization.

3. 2X „I”, OR INTEGRATION AND IMPLEMENTATION Another important and frequently neglected aspect is the integration of outsourcing services with internal company processes. Looking from a wider perspective, BPO is a part of our organization, which is merely placed in a different location. One of good practices is designation of the main person responsible

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

for cooperation with a partner, whose task is to monitor reports, recordings, supervise training when new products or procedures are implemented and act as a liaison for daily exchange of information between the outsourcer and internal company departments. Without such person, misunderstanding and dilution of responsibilities may lead to serious problems. This is particularly important in the initial period of cooperation.

4. REPORTING Once the cooperation has started, we reach another milestone in successful outsourcing implementation – communication and results reporting. Firstly, when outsourcing a project based on success remuneration, frequently no KPIs are reported. This may seem irrelevant as long as the stream of leads or sales is coming.

However, when things go astray, or even worse, the partner ends the cooperation by terminating the agreement due to too high costs at their and, reports help to dig down to the source of a problem.

Secondly, while most BPO companies offer extensive reporting capabilities, companies that order such a service often forget about providing feedback. Improving the quality of coope­ ration, means sending information back, for instance, whether our sales rep was not satisfied with the meeting arranged by call centre or some parts of the sale could be improved. The liaison person, mentioned in the previous point, comes particularly handy in such situations.

Both I, as well as my colleagues from

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

the industry, have several cases when your operations. When outsourcing, we learned about important. starting from the analysis of company's financial credibility may be a good idea.

Call recordings are an integral part of Technical facilities guaranteeing uninreporting processes and you should terrupted service provision are also vital, verify how quickly they are made acces- particularly for helplines and help desks. sible. This has paramount importance in It is worth verifying business continuity an event of any complaint, but it is also and contingency procedures, including extremely useful in a daily monitoring access to doubled and independent teleof the contact centre. Gone are the days communications and ISPs. Frequency when one had to wait for several hours of backups is another key element one before a file was available for download. should pay attention to. In the context Nowadays, it should be accessible imme- of GDPR, personal data security procediately or just minutes after the conver- dures are a must, and these should also sation. Live call barging is also possible. be verified.

Important and frequently neglected aspect is the integration of outsourcing services with internal company processes. Looking from a wider perspective, BPO is a part of our organization, which is merely placed in a different location.

One point worth mentioning, is that access to, e.g. all recordings or all effective and ineffective recordings (without call back, etc.) should be provided, so that a full picture of the situation could be obtained.

Sometimes, if possible, it is worthwhile to send off one of the employees to spend a few days with a partner. It is much easier to give quick feedback and suggestions directly, particularly in the first days of the cooperation. Basing on my own experience, I can say that such an approach significantly accelera­ ­tes the implementation process.

5. SECURITY It is a very wide notion and its scope de­­­­ pends on the complexity and nature of

Although it may not appear as such, contact centre services are complex and multifaceted services that are comprised or several variables, which have to work unison to be successful. If one element is missing, the cooperation with outsources may not bring expected results. 

Author:

Marcin Łukasik, Commercial Director CEE, Unicall

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BUSINESS

OFFICE REVISITED? MAKE THE MOST OF THE LOCKDOWN EXPERIENCE

The more we contain the epidemic, the more we feel pressed to return to the office setting, to re-establish the relationships with other people, exchange information and ideas. But after our understanding of work has changed in the new reality, is it possible to resume our duties and start functioning as if nothing happened?

The pandemic has forced us to change the way we work. This is nothing new – we’ve all heard it before, so we won’t be dwelling on it any longer. What I want to do is look forward and wonder what is about to change. What do we have to consider? What should we make allowances for?

TRANSFER TO THE VIRTUAL WORLD Before the pandemic we talked a lot about the multitude and diversity of tasks you perform at work and the related need to provide relevant space for these tasks in the office. Project work, brainstorming, ad hoc meetings with colleagues, meetings with third parties, focus work – to mention just a few. As regards operational work, not much changed when the pandemic broke out. Most tasks were simply moved to the online space – video call software or applications for managing a dispersed team became essential for the completion of work-related tasks. It’s good to note that a similar model was popular among sales reps before the pandemic, as it was directly related to the nature of their work.

And now it’s become even more popular, and what is more important, in many cases it proved successful.

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HYBRID MODEL – A GOLDEN MEAN 100% office work for a number of reasons During the pandemic, some tasks and processes were completed in a more effective way, but on the other hand, information exchange and a sense of belonging to the team or organisation clearly suffered.

Deepening sense of isolation, being out of touch with the team, plus the everpresent issues with information flow – all of these suggest that a search for intermediate models might be a good idea.

We need models that will create a space for us to use the skills, tools and frameworks developed and tested during the pandemic. But full-time return to the office as we knew it seems only too abstract. After all, we have come to realise we don’t have to waste more than one hour stuck in traffic jams (make that double – you still have to come back home after work), only to sit behind the desk to reply to all the e-mails. This can be done virtually anywhere, provided you have Internet access. Sometimes the best solutions is to find a golden mean – and it could be the abovementioned hybrid model.

Anyway, each organisation will have to decide on the shape and framework of their own hybrid model. You should bear in mind that certain professions require

(these could be technical, safety-related etc.). Plus, there are employees who simply prefer to work in the office for personal reasons. This is another thing we should consider when planning an office of tomorrow. In the end, it’s not about “whether or not we return to the office” – what we want to know is “what kind of office we return to.” Just as before the pandemic we tried to accommodate the offices to your working style, now we need to think of the activities envisaged in the office of tomorrow and see what we have to do to create a space that supports creativity, knowledge exchange and effective work. The analysis of trends already points to certain tendencies and directions that will continue to shape the layout and functions of the office of tomorrow.

COMMUNICATION HUB An office will definitely be a place designed for the integration of the company teams. It will be the centre and medium of the organisational culture – a place that supports the onboarding process for newly hired employees. This is because it will become a communication hub.

And it’s not only about communication among the employees who come to

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

the office on a specific day. The office will be a centre from which you can connect to any place, any partner, any employee in any location, to someone who happens to be working from home on a specific day, to a contractor, supplier etc. This will be possible thanks to a number of meeting rooms and individual offices with a video call system.

The latest publication by Nowy Styl – Workspace of tomorrow. Communication Hub – presents a vision of the office whose key function is communication. Communication Hub is an office of a company following the hybrid model – a place for meeting, exchanging ideas and building interpersonal relations. Formal AN OFFICE OF TOMORROW and informal information flows make it I have presented a vision, which used to possible to maintain business continuity be merely a dream of the distant future, at and improve the existing processes. least for most organisations, especially as regards their readiness for and awareness of such changes. Nowadays I can safely say WORK AS YOU LIKE IT Another consequence of the changes we that this is a vision of an office of tomorrow witnessed over the past year will be more – and it’s within reach. This is because flexibility as regards working hours and certain changes cannot be undone, while workspace. Since the team can perform others are actually most welcome. That’s their tasks effectively (sometimes even why it’s good to reflect on what our workbetter than before) while working from space should look like once we return after home, why make the employees return the period of mandatory remote work. We to the office full-time? If you grant your knew many of these solutions back before employees the freedom to choose the pandemic. Others were introduced where they want to work, if you decide while it lasted. Of course, there is still to trust them on this and provide them a long way to go, but it’s good to realise with the tools necessary to work in that many of the things we are currently the office or from home – you will be using may effectively support us in implefollowing the increasingly popular menting the hybrid work model. pattern of tomorrow. As you enable the staff to work from home, you will also You will find more inspirations and soluembrace desk sharing, where a number tions that can be adjusted to your office of employees share a single desk. And this of tomorrow in our publication titled is because you will see it’s a waste to see Workspace of tomorrow. Communication some of the desks standing empty most Hub – a reservoir of possibilities and ideas of the time. In order to create a comfortable we can use together to come up with your space for those who do come to the office, own office of tomorrow. you will come up with a variety of specific zones that support ad hoc consultations, Author: formal meetings or brainstorming.

Thanks to technological advancement, communication within dispersed teams will be much easier, too – everybody will be able to participate in the meeting and be treated as an equal – no matter where they are.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

You can download free copy of the report here:

Mikołaj Tarnawa, Senior Workplace Research & Analysis Consultant, Nowy Styl

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BUSINESS

WHICH POLISH CITIES ARE ATTRACTING THE STRONGEST INVESTOR INTEREST?

Warsaw, Wrocław, Poznań, Łódź, Tricity, Krakow and the newcomer Katowice have all been analysed in the third edition of Antal’s Business Environment Assessment Study, conducted in partnership with Cushman & Wakefield and Vastint, and under the patronage of PAIH (Polish Investment and Trade Agency) and the Pro Progressio Foundation.

The investment growth of Polish cities is largely determined by their employment potential, infrastructure, office availability and educational potential. What are their scores in the ranking for investment?

The reports are based on subjective opi­­ nions of decision-makers including CEOs, board members and department directors of companies present in Poland.

The study comprised an analysis of seven factors impacting the attractiveness of cities and driving investment. They are: infrastructure, office space, governmental support, educational potential, employment potential, business potential, and assessment of a city as a place to live.

POLAND MOVES UP THE RANKING Faced with the pandemic and the cur­­­­ rent global economic crisis, decision-­ -makers are increasingly asking themselves whether to invest in development and, if so, where to do so. Poland stands out with relatively low labour costs making it an attractive location for foreign investment.

– The growing interest in investment is also reflected in the portfolio of projects supported by PAIH. In 2020, PAIH handled close to 200 investment projects whose

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total value was almost 10 percent higher than a year earlier. Poland’s key strength as an investment location is well-educated employees who are open to innovation.

Other advantages of Poland include its strategic position on the map of Europe, positive investment climate and economic stability – comments Monika Grzelak from the PAIH Investment Centre. – We expect that the positive investment trend will carry into 2021 and that Poland will benefit from a new post-pandemic order – she adds.

THE POWER OF INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS – THE CAPITAL LEADS THE WAY

Warsaw is unique with its high quality of life, combined with modern transport infrastructure, a strong network of bicycle lanes and greenery all over the city. It is also Poland’s leading academic centre.

A majority of its inhabitants have a uni­versity degree, the capital has close to 220,000 students and produces more than 50,000 graduates every year. As a result, Warsaw residents boast foreign language – Poland continues its strong growth tra­­­ proficiencies, specialist expertise and jectory and attracts increasing levels of in­­­­­ strong work ethics. This provides invesvestor interest thanks to its transport, road, tors with access to high-skilled labour, rail, aviation and maritime infrastructure. and Warsaw with a competitive edge By way of example, a major advantage on the global labour market. of Tricity making it stand out against other urban areas in the country is its direct access – An important factor impacting the reputato the largest seaport in Poland. The strength tion of Warsaw is our consistent municipal of other locations such as Warsaw or Łódź, policy dedicated to Warsaw entrepreneurs the latter owing a great deal to its central and inhabitants. The capital is an open, geographical position on the country’s friendly and rapidly growing metropolis. map, lies in their transport infrastructure Thanks to its investment potential and – says Radosław Kostka, Acquisition central position in Europe, Warsaw has Manager, Vastint. for years been an undisputed regional leader

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Poland’s key strength as an investment location is well-educated employees who are open to innovation. Other advantages of Poland include its strategic position on the map of Europe, positive investment climate and economic stability.

A major advantage of Tricity making it stand out against other urban areas in the country is its direct access to the largest seaport in Poland. The strength of other locations such as Warsaw or Łódź, the latter owing a great deal to its central geographical position on the country’s map.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

for economic growth and office market maturity – comments Rafał Trzaskowski, Mayor of Warsaw. – 314,000 sq m of office space was added to the Warsaw office market in 2020. If forecasts materialize and projects in the pipeline come to fruition in 2021, Warsaw’s office stock will soon reach 6 million sq m – adds Trzaskowski.

employees. And as for Łódź, it has become a modern business location, which is a very positive change for the city. Its office stock has increased by more than 60% in the last five years, making Łódź the seventhlargest regional office market in Poland – comments Kacper Remiśko, Office Agency, Cushman & Wakefield.

THE POWER OF POLISH REAL ESTATE: AN ORIGINAL OFFICE AT A COMPETITIVE RENT

THE POWER OF HUMAN CAPITAL, OR TALENT AVAILABILITY

The strength of the labour market in each region is impacted by several factors, including both vocational and university education facilities (the number of universities and the quality of teaching), which are important to potential investors.

The number of students doing a particular program is a critical factor as they represent an educational potential understood as availability of future employees. By way of example, Wrocław boasts a large pool of engineering students: 27,891. Poznań leads the way in terms of students of finance: 18,500, while Warsaw has – Similarly to retail, the office sector was the largest number of IT professionals hard it by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. and more than 11,000 IT students.

Developers are, however, planning many interesting projects which will certainly – The investment potential of cities is enrich the city’s landscape and provide office strongly correlated with human capital users with a high quality work environment whose key components include speciali­­­­­­­that will be tailor-made to the changing z­­­ed professionals, students and graduates requirements of both employers and well-educated in their respective fields The following factors were included in the analysis of real estate attractiveness in each city: office availability, the quality of available office space, accessibility by public transport, the quality of additional services in a building or in its immediate vicinity, and office rental rates.

Depending on the type of investment, it is advisable to choose a city with the highest business relevant score. For some it will be a favourable rental rate, for others an origi­nal interior.

29

BUSINESS

Wrocław boasts a large pool of engineering students: 27,891. Poznań leads the way in terms of students of finance: 18,500, while Warsaw has the largest number of IT professionals and more than 11,000 IT students. of expertise. Large cities such as Krakow, Warsaw and Wrocław have for years been attracting talented students from all over Poland and abroad with their leading universities, a comprehensive array of available programs and excellent career prospects on their rapidly growing labour markets.

Unfortunately, their educational potential is decreasing, among other things, due to population decline, which is calling for investments towards building an innovative economy – says Artur Skiba, CEO, Antal.

HIGH-SKILLED WORKFORCE IS KEY TO URBAN GROWTH Employment potential illustrates availability of skilled workforce in each city. This factor should be considered if an investment foresees a requirement for a large number of engineers or linguists. According to the report, Warsaw took the top spot for specialist workforce as it offers a large pool of employees with diverse skills.

Other leading cities include Wrocław and Poznań, which have significantly risen up the ranking over the last two years.

Foundation. – In Poznań, business development is driven by the high quality of life in the city. According to data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS), the average gross salary of Poznań inhabitants is growing at a rapid pace. Despite the challenging times and the pandemic, the city has lost none of its investment appeal. Poznań has a wide choice of modern offices and offers stable rental rates. These are definitely major advantages which are likely to attract new investors and encourage those present here to stay on in the city – adds Doktór. ***

ABOUT THE STUDY

Warsaw is Polish leading academic centre. A majority of its inhabitants have a university degree, the capital has close to 220,000 students and produces more than 50,000 graduates every year. As a result, Warsaw residents boast foreign language proficiencies, specialist expertise and strong work ethics.

The Business Environment Assessment Study was carried out in Q4 2020, using the CAWI method, on a sample of exe­­­ cutives of 809 companies in Poland. This series of reports, covering Poland’s major cities, provides an overview of the business environment in which companies operate. The reports give an in-depth look at the Polish market from the perspective of companies and lists key business growth trends. A yearly report presents informa– With its high quality universities, tion on the salaries of professionals and including the second-best technical univer- managers on the Polish market. The full sity in Poland, Wrocław takes the crown as report is available at: en.antal.pl/insights/ the leading Polish city for access to specia­ report/warsaw-investment-potential-beas. lists in engineering and IT who have strong analytical, financial and language skills Author: (almost 100% of Wrocław-based students have a command of English) – says Wiktor Doktór, President of the Pro Progressio

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Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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BUSINESS CASE STUDY

YOUR CUSTOMER FIRST! Armatis, as one of the pioneers and leaders of the customer relations sector, this year unveiled new brand identity redesigned around its signature tagline ‘Your Customer First’ – a true leitmotif for our 9,000 employees worldwide.

“Your Customer First” is the result of a reflection process into Armatis group’s positioning and values, which are resolutely focused on ambition to always satisfy the needs of our partners and their customers. This sentence is a promise we make to our Partners: we will continue to do everything we can to listen, understand and better advise their customers.

Over the last few years, we have significantly expanded our services, integrating new technologies as well as new destinations and multilingualism to be as close as possible to our customers' clients.

well-informed, connected, autonomous and omnichannel, customers and consumers look for the medium that suits them best in order to obtain information or solutions. In order to get the best out of an experience, people expect to be given a choice: 64% of customers used a new assistance channel in 2020 and 73% plan to continue along the same path (Zendesk, Customer Experience Trends Report, 2021).

Hence, each customer journey must be approached strategically and ultimately generate synergies between online and Our knowhow acquired over the last few offline. The first key step is to identify years has allowed us to develop a sharp the customer relationship’s attachment and relevant sector based approach. points generated by so-called tradiOrganizing teams by sector of activity tional contacts (telephone and faceenables us to bring together the best -to-face). The second step is to carry out experts who are highly aware of the deve­ a more in-depth study in order to map lopments and characteristics of a given the subjects/typologies leading to contact market, and thus able to engage in a regu- on all channels (including existing digital latory-compliant, knowledgeable and channels) in order to identify irritants, sustainable relationship with clients. opportunities and satisfactions. Such mapping aims to highlight customer YOUR CUSTOMER’S behavior and enable alignment of feedEXPERIENCE FIRST back with business procedures and/or Interactions are no longer limited to actions, and ultimately to understand the physical world. Digital technology which digital or traditional contact points plays more than a supporting role; are decisive. these days it’s center stage. With diversification of channels, multiplication In the context of developing a physical of contact points and complexification strategy, collection from or return to a shop of customer journeys, the question arises of an article ordered online, for example, as to which channel to prioritise at each generates numerous contacts connected step of the customer journey. Increasingly with in-store problems (missing article,

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shop error, refusal to take the article back, etc.). Mapping the journey enabled revision of the procedures and configuration of contact management in the CRM. In the space of 4 months, the total volume of telephone contacts fell by 6% and the NPS score increased by 5 points.

CUSTOMER JOURNEY AND THE ADVISOR JOURNEY Digitising interactions and conversations are also an assertion of the advisor’s im­­­­ portance as a key factor in a successful customer experience. Mapping the jour­­ ney and contact mediums and typologies also provides an opportunity to develop new channels such as hybrid chat, in order to automate so-called “low-stake” interactions. Hybrid chatbots enable automation through their analyses and ability to respond to known simple requests. Advisors can concentrate on higher-value questions and exchanges. This technology provides customers with instantaneity and efficacy while enabling advisors to concentrate on their core expertise.

In 6 months, deployment of a Hybrid Chat­­bot led to an 18% reduction in simple requests for orders to be followed up or articles to be returned handled by advisors.

The bot itself was given a 4.5/5 satisfaction score by customers (POC Study by Armatis).

Finally, it’s essential to correlate the cus­­­ tomer journey with the advisor journey, by making tools available along with

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

continuing training programs in order to facilitate all employees’ interactions with customers. Implementation of an effective customer and advisor focus system making use of Speech Analytics technology provides semantic and emotional analyses of voices and writings. There are several benefits in this solution: increased customer knowledge in order to gain in

MEASURING THE REAL VALUE OF THE BRAND’S OFFER OR SERVICE

It’s an ongoing process, driven by new technological and operational advances that help reduce interactions resulting from avoidable irritants and provide a permanent vision enabling adaptation and improvement. Indicators have become references: NPS, CSAT, CES, etc.

How do you measure efforts with regard to customer experience successfully?

When we know that, in 60% of cases, customers feel that they make more effort than companies do in order to solve their problems (IPSOS Study).

Must we only concentrate on the measurement method itself? One of the keys is what the company or brand does to improve CX. It enables provision of the best possible Mapping the jour­­ney and contact mediums and typologies also provides customer experience based on concrete an opportunity to develop new channels such as hybrid chat, in order to automate data “direct from the source”, and not just based on what teams think is best so-called “low-stake” interactions. Hybrid chatbots enable automation through for customers. A search that enables provitheir analyses and ability to respond to known simple requests. sion of a tailor-made customer experience which gives customers the opportunity to measure the real value of the brand’s offer relational and business efficacy, better In order to assess customers’ experi- or service. comprehension of customers’ expectations ences and develop a full picture of what Find out more: www.armatis.com/en and intentions, and the ability to design key they actually go through, it’s necessary Author: customer-centric performance indicators. to collect data from a range of sources 83% of companies making use of Speech (structured and unstructured data, solicAnalytics solutions obtain a positive ROI ited and unsolicited data), using direct in less than a year (Opusresearch Study). and implicit methods to do so.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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WE DESIGN AND CREATE SPACE, WHERE YOU WORK AND LIVE WELL Interview with Artur Winnicki, CEO, Reesco Group.

Outsourcing&More: There is a lot of talk about the pandemic changing work styles and office space. How have the expectations of tenants and owners of buildings changed in relation to fit-out companies in the area of office design?

Artur Winnicki, CEO, Reesco Group: I’ll start with a pinch of scepticism as I wouldn’t expect any revolution in the way office space is designed. I’ve experienced what the pandemic is about and suffered its consequences over the last several months. However, can they have any direct impact on changes in office designing? In my opinion – no, and certainly not in a significant way.

Changes in offices that we have seen in Poland over the last six years are the result of the work of experts from the early 1990s. In 1989 Franklin Becker and Fritz Steele began studies on a new way of working and their results were published in 1995 in the book Workplace

by Design. An important publication: The new office by Frank Duffy, preceded by many years of research and analyses, should be mentioned here as well. It was in the 1990s when the foundations for the design changes implemented in 2010–2020 were laid.

In my opinion, perversely, the pandemic may change the philosophy of designing home space but not office space. It will

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In my opinion, perversely, the pandemic may change the philosophy of designing home space but not office space. It will however change proportions, ratios and speed up certain processes.

Project for Omni Office in The Warsaw Hub.

however change proportions, ratios and speed up certain processes. Flexi­ ­ble space, hot desks, a greater number of conference rooms and individual work rooms, functional zones, chillout zones – these are some of the elements that are a response to the long-term changing needs of the new generation of employees who are dynamic and work in the so-called “agile” teams. In the years 2010–2020, there was a lot of talk about the process of changing the proportion between the working time at home and in the office, and about the hybrid model.

The pandemic has sped up its implementation significantly, but this is nothing new.

for practical reasons. However, it’s not in our nature really. On the other hand, our children function in virtual space from an early age; it’s going to intensify even more in the era of distance learning.

We can predict that 20 years from now the working system as we know it will not be here, thus the design philosophy will change significantly. Office space will exist but people will learn to work better in a virtual environment and that will be the norm.

The fact is that if the phenomenon that occurred in 2020/2021 is repeated, it may result in a shift towards completely virtual work, depending of course on the type Working in this model has been talked of tasks and responsibilities. It seems, about for a long time and corporate however, that only global phenomena giants have presented it in their futuris­ which pose threats greater than ­tic visions, e.g. a short film from 2009: the damage caused by totally remote Microsoft's Concept – Future vision 2020. work can force us to implement such soluLet’s note that for us, representatives tions on a large scale. I’m optimistic and of the generations currently working believe that the new reality I will expeon the labour market, intensive use rience in my lifetime will not differ that of new technologies and virtual solu- much from the one that had surrounded tions has sort of become a necessity us before 2020.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

How does the Reesco Group respond to these needs? How do you build your competitive advantages on the Office market?

Reesco was established as a construction company offering interior design services. Our team including project managers, engineers and cost estimators focused on space primarily in terms of its proper execution and reduction of technical risk to minimum. We have specialised in finding and offering the most pragmatic technical solutions when the product, in the form of a concept or design, was presented to us and we were to make it.

We observed market changes and trends and wanted to respond to the needs of customers more broadly, so we have expanded our area of activities. Iliard architectural studio with over 40 designers on board joined the Reesco Group thanks to which we’ve expanded our competences in the area of designing buildings as well as office, hotel and PRS space. With Iliard’s design quality and Reesco’s execution quality, we’ve created a comprehensive Design and Build service. Iliard

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The workplace-related trends are very similar in most European countries. Particular markets differ in their approach to the process of shaping office space in practical terms. First of all, you can see differences in the direct customer profile, in the process of building relations with the customer and in how the communication and cooperation are handled.

Project for Omni Office in The Warsaw Hub.

studio is responsible, among other things, for the architectural design of AFI V.Offices office building in Krakow, which was awarded the highest-ever BREEAM certificate rating in Continental Europe.

With the rating of 98.87%, the building is ranked the second in the BREEAM certification globally in its category, after Bloomberg in London.

the highest standards of designing hotel and office space in the world. As a result of this move, Reesco, previously a company with a strong technical and engineering focus in its activities, has become a company that looks at space more holistically, also from a work/life perspective. We design and create space, where you work and live well, in a comprehensive way.

This shows that we’ve acquired a key player on the design services market Much has been said about offices in with many years of experience and the post-COVID context. And what

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Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

sustainability in the construction industry and fit-out is no longer a distinguishing feature but a mandatory element.

Mirosław Czarnik from GPP was the first to speak up about energy consumption in buildings. His office building was awarded the first BREEAM Outstanding certificate in continental Europe. Each year, developers construct better and better buildings. I believe that the idea of a circular economy will be of great importance.

Skilful use of existing already built-in materials and not the constant production of new materials will be important.

The same applies to office furniture which very often, when depreciated, does not offer any value for companies and a lot of furniture could be refurbished or given to the people who need it. In 2012, we established the “I Want To Help” foundation which gives building materials and office equipment, originally intended for disposal but still working and useful, to the people who need them. We know how many people, families and institutions could still be helped and how many of them seek such help.

These changes are already happening and the pandemic may actually accele­ rate them. There is a growing emphasis on the economic aspect of creating energy-efficient buildings. Educating people how additional bigger spending on the implementation of energy-saving solutions affects the optimisation of energy consumption costs is an important issue. Investors will look for partners who know how to properly invest in ecology.

other trends will shape the Office market in the years to come?

As I’ve mentioned before the work environment in the future will be determined by the upbringing of our children.

However, virtualisation is not the only trend in which the youngest generation is growing up. The awareness of ecology and environmental stewardship is growing – we are more and more aware that our planet will hold us to account for this fully, year by year. In the face of climate change, the focus on elements such as

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

the communication and cooperation are handled. This interaction between the service provider and the tenant is largely determined by the cultural background in a particular market. There are also different customs related to the outsourcing of fit-out services. In some countries design and execution companies work directly for the tenant and in other countries the owner of the building outsour­ ces the works to be done for the tenant as the end user. Our membership in Studio Alliance ensures access to new ideas and trends, but also to working methods on individual markets. We share our expertise and together we create innovative design and fit-out services tailored to the international European market.

In spring, the market was infor­­­med about major changes at Reesco. The Group became more present on the commer­cial real estate market by creating Reesco Retail and in the hotel sector due to the acquisition of Iliard and the esta­ blish­ment of Reesco Hos­pitality. This happened in rather turbulent times with the real estate market facing the effects of the pandemic. Is this a good time for any changes?

Reesco was established in 2010, exactly one and a half years after the global economic crisis when the real estate market was still struggling with its consequen­ ces. A period of recession is usually a good time to form your business provided that it is built on a long-term strategy and run consistently. Thanks to this we are able to catch up with or even be a few steps ahead of the competition and work for success with a view to the next economic growth.

In 2018 we acquired an investment fund.

The next steps include the planned expansion of our activities by opening or acquiring companies in particular industries. This way we consistently implement our strategy of becoming more and more specialised. The pandemic has accelera­ ted changes on the commercial real estate market which started much earlier, and as Reesco we were ready for them. COVID-19 has sped up certain processes and property owners and managers will face the challenge: what is the future of the present office, commercial and hotel formula?

The era of transformation is coming and we believe that we can contribute a lot by transforming buildings and space.

Reesco is a co-founder and member of Studio Alliance, a group of experts on the workplace sector in Europe. It has 12 members from the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Turkey, the Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Romania and Poland.

Do the trends in work environment planning and designing in particular countries differ or do we already have one international European market?

The workplace-related trends are very similar in most European countries. Particular markets differ in their approach to the process of shaping office space in practical terms. First of all, you can see differences in the direct customer profile, in the process of building relations with the customer and in how Thank you for the interview.

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This lounge chair is intended not just for modern offices but also as a complementary element for hotel lobbies, airports, co-working spaces, reception areas, waiting rooms, conference spaces, and chill-out zones.

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Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

YOUR PRIVACY, YOUR WAY

– IN FUTURISTIC, ENCLOSED LOUNGE CHAIR The A11 is the first step by Hushoffice beyond its line of acoustic booths. It is a modern, designer, futuristic, and functional lounge chair, available in a closed version (A11) and an open version (A11.open). It allows you to create your own private space to escape from the everyday hustle and bustle. At the same time, the A11 chair provides the comfort associated with luxury and a unique experience that will enrich your working day as well as offer some moments of relaxation. Thanks to its cylinder-like form, which encloses its users on almost all sides, it keeps you safe from the risk of direct contact with anyone else.

PRIVACY AS A NEW LUXURY The A11 lounge chair is a solution based on several equally important principles. Most of all, it gives the users the ability to effectively isolate themselves from their surroundings, to create their own space for work, informal video conferencing (or, simply, relaxation). Whether you are in the office or spend time elsewhere surrounded by others, privacy has a special value today. The development of technology negatively influences the availability of time just for yourself since we are constantly available online. The A11 chair will immediately bring back your sense of privacy.

The closed version of the A11 chair features a sliding front panel that covers the entire upper part of your body. When in the covered position, it also reduces the amount of light that reaches your eyes. Consequently, it allows for much deeper, faster recuperation when you want to relax. The A11 is also the only model on the market that allows for so-called power

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

naps without the discomfort of being watched by others. The darkened interior is also perfect for creating a "mini cinema room" to watch a video on a tablet or smartphone.

The overall design is chic and futuristic. The original, exclusive design is the creation of Przemysław "Mac" Stopa, the founder and the chief designer of Massive Design, an award-winning architectural studio whose specialty is office and public interiors design.

The leitmotif of the design work, which determines the futuristic shape of the chair, was the anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Today, spaceflights are no longer a vision of the future – they are the future, because "the future is happening now", so let's adapt our furniture and space as well. The design is enclosed in a cylindrical form that resembles a cocoon, with a comfortable seat inside that has visually separate elements (backrest, headrest, etc.). Chair users can also easily access the built-in USB port.

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PRIVACY IN AN AGE OF MOBILITY This lounge chair is intended not just for modern offices but also as a complementary element for hotel lobbies, airports, co-working spaces, reception areas, waiting rooms, conference spaces, and chill-out zones. The A11 is therefore a functional solution that fits the mobile nature of today's office and co-working spaces, providing an isolated zone which gives a sense of security.

The A11 lounge chair is more than just its advantages – more importantly, it is about the resultant unique experience. Inside the A11, you may feel like you are occupying a specially prepared, comfortable, and functional workstation – prepared for you with precision worthy of space travel. This is an entirely new quality enabling you to remain focused or relaxed at the workplace.

MODERN WORK MODE The A11 is a product that changes the previously accepted, archaic rules of work and encourages a modern, creative approach instead. It is a place in which you can take a nap during a break between projects, so you can resume work with fresh energy. With the A11 you can work in the middle of an airport or hotel lobby without worrying about anything or anyone around you. It is your individual space where you can feel safe and productive – a cylindrical form that surrounds you on almost every side. The A11 will become your favorite isolation, comfort, and calm-down center.

The A11 is the first Hushoffice brand design that does not extend the line of acoustic booths, but matches them perfectly.

The Hushoffice offer creates acoustically-friendly working "mobile" and functional offices. The new lounge chair naturally extends the capabilities of the current range of acoustic solutions.

TAKE NOT ONLY A CHAIR, BUT WHOLE OFFICE PHILOSOPHY – The A11 and A11.open are of course a great choice by its technical advantages and design distinguishing features. Its entire frame is made of plywood, interior is upholstered in high-quality Italian wool and has a four-arm, chrome-coated armchair foot. Design provides a seat, armrest, backrest, and headrest – all formed as modular elements, visually separate from each other. But what is most important for philosophy of arranging offices and workplaces, is that A11 has acoustic properties, naturally complementing other acoustic office solutions, e.g. acoustic booths. Postpandemic offices and places to group work should be as flexible, agile and “user friendly” as it can be, giving people ability to change the space design according to current needs. A11 give you this opportunity and supports this way of thinking, at the same time enrich your surrounding with unique design and functional solutions – says Mateusz Barczyk, senior Brand Manager at Hushoffice. Author:

Mateusz Barczyk, Senior Brand Manager, Hushoffice

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The A11 is a product that changes the previously accepted, archaic rules of work and encourages a modern, creative approach instead.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

The A11 lounge chair is a solution based on several equally important principles.

Most of all, it gives the users the ability to effectively isolate themselves from their surroundings, to create their own space for work, informal video conferencing (or, simply, relaxation).

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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Fot.: Tamara Pieńko.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

TAKE LIFE INTO YOUR OWN HANDS AND... WIN!

An interview with Violetta Małek, Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Gekko advisoryNOW Katarzyna Czylok-Dąbrowska, Editor at Pro Progressio: Violetta, please tell us what are the qualities that make a female business leader of today? Do you feel like one yourself?

Violetta Małek, Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Gekko advisoryNOW: Of course I do. Today great leaders - both female and male - engage team members in an unique way to achieve the team’s goal and vision. We know a number of characteristics that distinguish effective leaders and which, in various ways and combinations, contribute to their success. We find them to have a natural ability to inspire, build commitment, develop common and coherent objectives, match competences, consistently – but not blindly – pursue goals, respect and build on diversity, create cooperative team, make sure each of their team member grows as an individual, and finally, show an ability to continuously improve their own competences. However, there is one quality that characterizes only the best few – the ability to remain authentic. Authenticity makes people follow that leader because they want to, and not because they have to!

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Your experience spanning 20 years in enterprise management and business consulting is impressive and inspiring.

Before founding Gekko advisoryNOW, you were a director at KPMG, CEO of McCormick SSC EMEA, and a financial director at PwC, Avon Operations, Avon Cosmetics Poland, TNT Express Worldwide, and Abbott Laboratories in Poland and England before that.

I’m under the impression that your career path can be best described with the word ‘SUCCESS’, although there surely have been challenges and difficult moments along the way.

I can’t live without challenges. I go through life repeating the famous words uttered by Thomas Fuller – ‘All things are difficult before they are easy’. I have experienced 3 breakthrough moments in my life which have significantly influenced who I am today. It all started when, after my fourth year at the University of Lodz, I decided to take a gap year to improve my English and gain experience from a different culture, both privately and professionally. I left my boyfriend at the time (actually, almost my fiancé because he was planning to come visit me...

with an engagement ring, as it turned out later), I also left the company which paid my professional scholarship; and set off into the wide world – this was the first breakthrough moment of my adult life.

I felt the wind in my hair and the energy in my young wings. I knew the experience I was about to gain and the new competences I would build were going to enable me to follow an attractive path to achieve my adult goal – independence.

I was not afraid of ‘obstacles’, such as a fo­ reign land, an unknown country, no fami­ ly, no job; actually, seeing all these opportunities, I felt twice the energy to act.

In my new country I continued my education, started a family, and gained a profession. A young mother, a young wife, a young accountant, and a student – all in one! The dog, children, home, garden, university, and work defined my days.

They defined me. Each of these ‘words’ is the title of a separate task – a project I approached with great enthusiasm and energy. I remember the moment when being Polish instilled a feeling of immense pride and joy in me – after I resigned from the company where I learned my

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first accounting skills, they received over 200 job applications and decided to hire a Polish woman from the University of Lodz! Then I heard from my boss that he wants her to follow in my footsteps! When my successor was doing just that, I was setting new goals for myself and kept walking ‘towards the sun’, towards Poland.

this decision. I experienced traditional consulting and dreamed of advisors who would be my sparring partners. I did not I often face questions whether being want to pay for ‘elaborate studies’, but a woman in business has ever been a limi- more practical and value-building solutation. My answer is always the same tions. By creating Gekko advisoryNOW, – absolutely not! I see a world full of I planned to become such a sparring partopportunities, not obstacles or limitations. ner and offer my clients a modern consulting – one with a flexible approach to the client's needs and challenges – and give entrepreneurs an even larger choice I often face questions whether being a woman in business has ever been when it comes to obtaining external exa limitation. My answer is always the same – absolutely not! I see a world full pertise and support. Our values, such as trust, openness, and commitment to our of opportunities, not obstacles or limitations. However, if a more demanding, client's affairs allow us to offer the best impeding or restrictive situation does arise, I draw appropriate conclusions solutions tailored for our clients’ needs. from this experience for the future.

My approach to building strong business relationships, managing winning teams, and cultivating the title of a ‘trusted adviEconomic and political stability, attrac- However, if a more demanding, impeding sor’ results in cooperation with the mantiveness to investors, ‘favorable’ costs or restrictive situation does arise, I draw agement boards of the largest Polish of living, Poles’ impressive entrepre- appropriate conclusions from this expe- and international companies operating neurship, customer orientation, and rience for the future. It certainly is not in Poland and Europe. finally, an enormous hunger to succeed a reason for me to stop and it doesn’t in business all contributed to the second discourage me from moving forward. What does success mean to you? What breakthrough in my life – I returned to This is how I carried on growing and kept is your personal recipe for success? my home country! I saw myself not climbing the career ladder – from being This recipe is very simple – just be only as a young professional growing an accountant, through the position yourself! Listen to your intuition, search together with the dynamically devel- of a financial director, a board member, for your inner value and potential, discovoping country (my home country, at a business advisor in one of the world's er your own uniqueness, and stick to it no that), but also as a person who contri­ largest consulting companies, all the way matter how hard ‘others want to change butes to strengthening the position to making my dream come true and you’! My greatest achievement is BEING of companies operating globally from having my own consulting company, MYSELF! This means having my OWN goal their offices in Poland.

Gekko advisoryNOW. This was the third (not someone else's), my OWN mistakes, breakthrough moment of my life so far! my OWN potential, my OWN world, and The new chapter in my life meant new my OWN satisfaction! goals, new challenges, and the satisfac- Exactly! Not so long ago, in 2018, tion that resulted from achieving them. you established Gekko advisoryNOW Poland boasts many business organi­ It was the EMBA diploma at the Warsaw – a co n s u l t i n g co m p a ny, b u i l t zations established by women for University of Technology; a wonderful on the foundation of experience and the benefit of other women. Their goal relationship I built with my daughters; modernity. Please tell us how the idea is to support, inspire, motivate, edufinally, the kind of leader I have become for the company came about and how cate...To what extent are such support by managing large teams. I created teams did you build it? and motivation important for women that were focused on their diversity, that After a dozen or so years of serving planning their professional careers? unleashed enthusiasm and unlimited as s financial director and board member, Support, motivation, inspiration or energy. I applied great commitment in the time was right for me to implement teaching can all play a very important order to bring out the best in each team my long-term goal, which was managing role in the process of searching for one’s member, I developed and observed how a company, and preferably my own com- inner potential or value, which I mentheir work was becoming their passion, pany! It took me several years to make tioned earlier. However, there is a stage

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and how they achieved company, team, as well as their own, personal goals.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Fot.: Tamara Pieńko.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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in a woman’s life that’s often overlooked in the context of their professional development – childhood! This is an extremely important period when girls are taught their roles in society. Materials produced by the COSMOS for Girls Foundation state that ‘as many as a quarter of girls aged 7–9 do not believe it’s good to be a girl. And some of them think it's better to be a boy’.

This is when we, as parents, lead by example and demonstrate that career goals are genderless, as well as support our daugh-

an association of global business mentors.

I often come across deeply entrenched stereotypes that slow everything down and turn out to be very difficult to elimi­ nate. Actually, in many cases, women hold themselves down. They do not set out to achieve higher professional positions because they ‘do not feel sufficiently prepared’, they do not map out their professional goals because ‘they want to see how to balance family life with work’, or are even afraid of ‘taking

In February 2021, Gekko advisoryNOW Sp. z o.o. in Warsaw was distinguished by the European Business Institute in their ranking of effectively managed and trustworthy companies. Our plan for the upcoming two years is to continue our excellent sales results – we want to see an annual average increase of at least 25% – predominantly by expanding our product portfolio, through the implementation of our strategy of reaching new customer groups, and through alliances with global players.

ters to be themselves. To be proud of what they can do, to make their dreams come true, to have their own opinion, and to be authentic. I wholeheartedly support COSMOS for Girls Foundation with all my knowledge and experience in order to address challenges related to, among others, the way girls aged 6 to 13 perceive the world. The Foundation is a non-­ -profit organization established by women for the benefit of girls. This is done so that, in a dozen or so years, when they grow up they can enter their adult life with full awareness of their strengths and weaknesses and successfully build on their full potential.

As a business mentor, I support female students enrolled in a mentoring program ran by the University of Lodz; as well as experienced female experts from around the world on behalf of EVERWISE,

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responsibility for teams or a newly acquired business area’. Lack of self-confidence, lack of ability to set goals for themselves (both small and large) and the lack of satisfaction from professional achievements – which often has addictive qualities to itself – mean that we still have a low percentage of women in management boards in companies around the world (this number stands at only 17% according to Deloitte’s research from 2019).

observe or supplement my own achievements by appreciating other successful people. I am inspired by strong chara­ cters, and gender plays no role here.

There is one strong woman among my gurus that I want to mention today.

Over 100 years ago she ‘went against the grain’ and, with incredible consistency, led women (and men) of that time to places where not even imagi­ nation could reach. Despite her poor background, male domination in business, and an ongoing World War, she never doubted her talents and never abandoned her dreams! I am, of course, talking about COCO Chanel.

Violetta, what are your plans for the near future, for yourself, and for the company? Let's hope that we’re talking about a post-pandemic and ‘normal’ future...

The scent of a post-pandemic spring and a business life waking up from its sleep is already in the air! I’m very happy that this is happening because we’re all tired of on-line conversations and we miss real, proper meetings. A lot was happening in my company – we implemented projects dating back to 2020, which were frozen due to COVID-19, and we won tenders for new, fully remote projects! In February 2021, Gekko advisoryNOW Sp. z o.o. in Warsaw was distinguished by the European Business Institute in their ranking of effectively managed and trustworthy companies.

Our plan for the upcoming two years is to continue our excellent sales results – we want to see an annual average increase of at least 25% – predominantly by expanding our product portfolio, through the implementation of our strategy of reaching new customer groups, and through alliances with global players.

Are you inspired by other female leaders or successful women?

I grew up following only a handful gurus from the areas of business, economics, psychology, literature, and philosophy.

As a female leader and entrepreneur My company is me, so our plans are I created my own style that turned out completely aligned to be effective, admired, and imitated.

I love to expand my knowledge and read, Thank you for the conversation.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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Our Team consists of competent, best in class, former Big4 management consultants and passionate experienced analysts with finance & business background gained in various blue-chip companies. www. advisorynow.pl

MAIN INTERVIEW

DRONES IN BUSINESS: RISK OR BRISK? HOW THEY HELP US AND HOW TO DEFEND AGAINST THEIR PRESENCE Interview with Robert Fintak, CEO of Terra Hexen.

Katarzyna Czylok-Dąbrowska, Editor at Pro Progressio: The world of technology is more and more often merging with the world of business. One example of which is the presence of drones in various areas of business – those flying, floating and moving on the ground. Where are drones most commonly used at the moment?

Robert Fintak, CEO of Terra Hexen: Years ago, during a discussion at a conference on modern technologies, I made a statement that was immediately criticised by my fellow participants. It sounded like this: Drones, like the Internet, will turn our world upside down... Now I'm absolutely sure I was right.

Today, it is still a bit of a futures studies scenario to say that in a year's time there will be unmanned taxis flying over our heads or drones delivering packages.

But only a bit, because there are already places in the world where 5G technology pilot projects are carried out and autonomous construction machines are being

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

used and managed. And taking a closer look, a few months ago the Polish company Spartaqs made the world's first flight over the city very centre of the city (of Warsaw) to deliver medical samples to a hospital.

However, coming back to the key question. Wedding photos and videos taken using drones have entered the service convention and have become standard for several years. Currently, there is also a rapidly growing trend of using unmanned systems for inspection and supervision in the construction of motorways or expressways. Another growing service market is drone inspections of solar and wind farms. This comes as no surprise, because wherever we need to get high-resolution photos or real-time footage, drones are irreplaceable, much cheaper and safer than a specialist team that will climb a windmill that measures up to 120 m in height.

certification and special permission from the Civil Aviation Authority are required. Another example of the presence of unmanned vessels are dronoids moving on the ground, which have found applications in the inspection of long distances of gas pipes or in oil pipelines under construction.

Using the construction industry as an example, we can see that drones have made the human job significantly easier – what tasks can drones be used for in office or warehouse properties?

They are perfectly suited for making maps and inventories of the area of a given investment, making film and promotional footage As far as warehouses are concerned, I know of companies that already successfully provide roof coating quality analysis services on large warehouse areas, both in terms of damage, cracks, leaks and heat loss, etc. In addition, by installing a special scanner (lidar), it is possible to obtain graphic material from However, it should be remembered that the interior of the property and show it in order to fly a drone to heights above in 3D format to a client on the other side 120 m from the ground, appropriate of the world.

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MAIN INTERVIEW

A friend of mine, who works for one of the large corporations in an openplan office, told me that employee office races with small drones have become very popular as a form of relaxation during breaks from work.

Are any special permits, licenses or other permissions required to use drones in Poland? And are drones supposed to be registered – like cars?

There are several categories that affect the need for registration and licensing. These include the weight of the drone, whether it has a sensor (camera) capable of recording footage, photographs, personal data (GDPR) and where the operator intends to fly it. The regulations are quite simple and divided into open and special categories. Currently, when using a drone for non-commercial purposes, we are exempt from formalities such as passing a drone operator exam. We are only prohibited from flying out of sight, and in built-up areas, if the weight of the device exceeds 600 g, it is required to keep a dis-

However, I would suggest you to visit the website of the office responsible for regulations www.ulc.gov.pl where you can find all the detailed information.

Help is one thing, but espionage is another. Drones and other robots can be used to steal data, take illegal photos and other illegal activities. How large is the scale of such incidents in Poland and in the world and how to defend yourself against drones?

We have been monitoring the media for a year and have posted in three languages on www.antidrone24.com all the information found about attacks, accidents, incidents, criminal cases and crimes with the use of drones. In the beginning we had one two news items per week, today actually several per day. The scale cannot be determined because there are no such records yet, but the dyna­ mics of this phenomenon are alarmingly increasing. It is enough to realize that in Poland alone, well over 100,000 advanced UAVs have already been sold.

Here is a rapidly growing trend of using unmanned systems for inspection and supervision in the construction of motorways or expressways. Another growing service market is drone inspections of solar and wind farms. This comes as no surprise, because wherever we need to get high-resolution photos or realtime footage, drones are irreplaceable, much cheaper and safer than a specialist team that will climb a windmill that measures up to 120 m in height. tance of at least 30 m from people and vehicles and min. 100 m from buildings and large gatherings of people. Flying a drone weighing less than 600 g, we can fly freely in built-up areas, ensuring a safe horizontal distance from other aircraft, facilities, people and animals.

the APS company, but the average citizen is unlikely to mount radars and optical sensors on their roof. I believe, however, that by taking preventive measures, acting before something happens, our critical infrastructure already has, or will soon have, these safeguards in place.

In the media, we read or hear a lot about the use of drones in the e-commerce industry and using them, for example, to deliver purchased products to our door at home. Is this information so-called market research for the time being, or are we perhaps already closer to, rather than further away from, this type of business practice?

Just a month ago, Decathlon together with a Polish drone manufacturer tested the delivery of parcels to a specific location. The tests turned out to be successful. These types of solutions will emerge very quickly and are actually ready to be implemented. An obstacle is the regulation of such flights by the state. Financial analyses show that the use of drones for parcel delivery results in big savings for courier and e-commerce companies, so the question is not if, but when we will see many flying machines above our heads.

Finally, a question about drones from a more global point of view – what does Poland look like on the world map when it comes to the production or use of drones in business?

Poland has a very rich modelling tradition, so for over a decade our engineers and constructors have been creating, designing and transforming their visions into real models. We have over 15,000 certified drone operators. We were the first country to develop rules and regu­lations for drone use in 2012. We were also the first to develop a security standard for sensitive infrastructure exposed to unmanned aerial vehicles. Unfortunately, Chinese products are so cheap and yet so advanced that we have much more experience in using them for business than in producing our own proprietary models.

Which is not to say that Polish drones are not competitive on global markets, but this is more the case with military drones.

When it comes to defending against this type of activity, we do not have many tools. We must realise that these flying robots, navigated by an operator or flying autonomously thanks to a planned route, are extremely difficult to detect. They are largely made of plastic, emit minimal heat, are quiet, and fly out of sight Of course, regardless of the weight of for the human eye. Therefore, modern the drone, it is prohibited to fly over en­­­ radars and other sensors have serious difficlosed areas, nuclear facilities, military culties with detecting such flying objects. units and training grounds, as well as facilities such as power plants, heating Of course, there are already advanced plants, waterworks, sewage treatment systems, such as the Polish "Skyctrl" plants, special production facilities, etc. system, developed by engineers from Thank you for the interview.

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INVESTMENTS NEWS NOWY RYNEK’S BUILDING D IN POZNAN IS READY!

Another building of the Nowy Rynek complex in Poznan, developed

by Skanska, has received its occupancy permit. Phase D provides approx.

39,000 sqm of modern office space and will be the first investment in the region to apply for the WELL Core&Shell certi­ ficate. It is also the only place in Poznan with a pavement made of green concrete that cleans the air.

Nowy Rynek will create a new quarter of Poznan. Its total area, which includes five buildings with different functiona­ lities, will be 100,000 sqm. The project was designed not only with its users in mind, but is also supposed to bring added value to the city’s residents and visitors. Hence, it will include a market located inside the complex, which will be the project’s distinguishing feature. It will, therefore, not only be a workplace, but also a space conducive to relaxation and entertainment. The tenants and the local community will also have access to green islands, landscapes and vegetation.

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Phase D of the Nowy Rynek project is being built at the intersection of Wierzbięcice and Wujka streets and will combine office, service and commercial facilities. The office building uses many modern solutions to facilitate everyday tasks. This includes the proprietary Connected by Skanska operating system created for all office users. Using a dedicated mobile application, employees can, for example, access the building without the need to use traditional access cards. Nowy Rynek D will also be the first building of the complex with a ventilaThis is also confirmed by a survey com­­­­ tion and temperature control system missioned by the Skanska office unit, that uses chilled beams, which ensure which shows that about 86 percent greater thermal comfort, cleaner air and of Polish employees are working from quiet operation. the office more often these days, despite the pandemic, of which more than half do Building D, as the first in the Wielkopolska so every day. Only 15 percent of respon­ region, was built in accordance with dents consider remote work to be more the guidelines of the WELL Core&Shell effective. In the case of the hybrid certification, for which it will now be model, Poles – compared to respon­ applying. This certificate is awarded to dents from Romania, the Czech Republic office spaces that are good for the health and Hungary – will most likely work in and well-being of users. Comfort and the office. They admitted that they would safety come first here. Phase D will also like to spend about 2/3 of their working apply for the Building Without Barriers time there during the week. As we can certificate, which means that it is adapted see, offices are and will be still needed. to the needs of people with disabilities, seniors and families with children.

Nowy Rynek D has a unique, original The facility also meets the requirements façade, which shimmers with shades of the WELL Health-Safety Rating certiof green, turning into a rusty pink at fication system, ensuring safe return to the top. On the lower floors there are offices by implementing new sanitation glass windows, the purpose of which is and disinfection standards, for which it to detach the building from the ground. will soon apply. Skanska will also take In order to give the building lightness, care of the surrounding area. As part a variety of façades, including different of the Nowy Rynek complex, a green colors, were used, as well as a vertical concrete pavement that cleans the air will angles, which also provide shade. be built, with an area of nearly 4,000 sqm.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

HEINEKEN THE BIGGEST TENANT IN PODIUM PARK A HEINEKEN Global Shared Services has leased over 8,500 sq m in Podium Park A, office building in Kraków's Czyżyny district. The tenant was represented in the transaction by the advisory company Colliers. Its experts also support the client in the process of arranging and preparing the office in the new location.

already in Q2 2022, offers almost 18,700 sq m of modern office space and 1,195 sq m of retail space. The building provides 270 parking spaces, as well as 13 spaces with the possibility of charging electric cars.

The property is one of the most ecological and modern office buildings in Poland, which is confirmed by, among others,

by BREEAM certificate at the highest Podium Park A is the first of three build- possible level – Oustanding. Podium Park ings of the Podium Park office complex, A offers numerous facilities, including located at 43a Jana Pawła II Avenue infrastructure for cyclists with 120 parking in Kraków. It is owned and managed spots, lockers and showers. The building

by Globalworth, a leading office investor is also distinguished by a large amount of greenery - tenants have access to courtin Central and Eastern Europe. yards and terraces with rich vegetation The 11-storey building, to which HEINEKEN and relaxation zones, with a total area Global Shared Services will move into of nearly 4,000 sq m.

GORZÓW WIELKOPOLSKI IN MLP GROUP’S PROPERTY PORTFOLIO MLP Group – Green Industrial Developer – operating across the European warehouse property market (in Poland, Germany, Austria and Romania) has just purchased a 12-ha land plot at Spiżowa Street in Gorzów Wielkopolski. Located in the western part of the city, 900 m from the S3 road junction and 9 km away from the city centre, it will accommodate MLP Gorzów Wielkopolski, a modern logistics and distribution centre.

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On the 12-ha site MLP Group is planning to erect class A warehouse facilities with a total leasable area of about 52 thousand sqm. The logistics and warehousing complex has been designed to meet the BREEAM certification requirements, which will substantially reduce tenant service costs. In line with the Company’s strategy, MLP Gorzów Wielkopolski will feature a range of sustainable solutions. It will be focused primarily

on tenants operating in the e-commerce, logistics, distribution and light industrial manufacturing sectors. It will be the developer’s first project in the Pro­­­ vince of Zielona Góra.

Aligning its newly developed facilities with the latest trends in environmental sustainability has become an essential part of MLP Group’s strategy, which has consistently integrated eco-solutions into its industrial park projects. All new projects are obligatorily covered

by BREEAM certification, with glazing used in office spaces for enhanced daylighting and improved working comfort. In addition, the Group uses the Interact Industry system as an innovative platform for improved lighting management and monitoring, which helps reduce electricity consumption, improve warehouse safety, optimise space utilisation and bring down opera­ ting costs.

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INVESTMENTS

SNAPSHOT OF LITHUANIA’S GBS & ICT: STAYING RESILIENT IN 2021 Even amidst the pandemic turmoil, Lithuania kept its head up.

The country has been listed as #1 in Europe for pandemic recovery by Euromonitor, and we can’t underestimate the positive influence that the country’s burgeoning GBS sector had and will have on our economy.

Measuring the pulse of the industry, my colleagues from Invest Lithuania and I have compiled and published our newest annual Lithuania’s Global Services Report. To paint a comprehensive picture, we have collected data from 68% of all GBS & ICT centres that account for 74% of the total labour force in the sector.

In this article, I’d like to share the main findings with the readers of Outsourcing & More, who have been following our journey for the last couple of years.

NEW NAMES, NEW GAINS Unprecedented times did not hinder the increasing employment within the GBS sector. In fact, 2020 was the year when the industry hit and surpassed the 20K employee mark for the very first time.

Last year, Lithuania also welcomed new international names, bringing the total number of centres operating in the country to 85. Vilnius, Lithuania’s leading GBS hub, was joined by significant newcomers like Dexcom, EPAM, Rocket Software, Itransition, and MUFG.

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In addition, long-time community members like Intrum, Nasdaq and Norian announced expansion plans, aiming to add new operations and strengthen current functions within the market.

The accelerating development continues further into 2021, with Guidehouse and Alter Domus entering the scene.

continue to dominate the market, service portfolios have broadened extensively.

The share of centres performing between 5 and 7 functions jumped to 44% in 2020 compared to just 11% in 2019. New high value-added functions, such as AI development and R&D have been introduced in well-established centres. The community has also seen an increase in niche funcUS-headquartered companies have long tions like Non-IT Engineering, Supply been a large part of the Lithuanian GBS Chain, and Robotics. For instance, Cloud landscape, and currently, 4 in 10 Lithu- operations have increased by 17pp, Infraania-based centres are operated by US structure Development by 7pp, and Data companies. Meanwhile, the Nordic region Science by 6 percentage points. Overall, continues to hold its strong positions in 75% of GBS centres plan to add new functhe industry with impressive FDI attrac- tions or expand existing portfolios signi­ tion rates. Covering more than 30% ficantly in 2021-2022. of all centres, Nordics-based companies employ more than a half of the industry STABLE ATTRITION RATE workforce and play a vital role in AND WAGE GROWTH the overall GBS advancement in Lithuania. The attrition rate has stayed healthy throughout the year, even in unstable NEW BUSINESS OPERATIONS global conditions, falling from 14% to AND EXPANDING FUNCTIONS 13% in 2020. As many as 65% of compaBalance is the key to everything, and nies were quick to adapt to the COVID-19 Lithu­ania’s GBS players seem to follow this pandemic and reported no effect advice well. Although IT (27%), Customer on their attrition during year. Wage Service (26%), and F&A (14%) operations growth remained stable at 5.2%, but

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

You can download FREE copy of Lithuania GBS Report here:

still lower compared to last year’s initial prediction aimed at 5.9%. Nevertheless, the prognosis for the near future should not change drastically, as IT wages are set to increase by 0.2%, reaching 5.7% growth. Additionally, non-IT roles can expect a 5% boost. All things considered, the pandemic had varying effects on GBS & ITC companies, as 40% experienced slower wage growth, while the other 58% reported no change at all.

For example, Moody’s sets one of the greatest role models in the industry by enabling best-performing students to study at ISM University regardless of their financial means. These sponsorships open doors to higher education for hundreds of people and provide them with exclusive access to analytics and databases used by international business leaders.

industry survey marked that the number of CSR activities almost doubled in two years. Indeed, this signals that a well-­ -developed corporate culture has become a very high priority for organizations and employees in the sector.

I hope this article helped paint a clear picture of the current state of Lithuania’s welcoming GBS sector. To find out even more, I invite you to download your FREE copy of our GBS Report.

Cooperation with NGOs, diversity, inclusion programs, charity donations, and so­­­ FRUITFUL COOPERATION WITH cietal contributions are some of the Top NGOs, INCREASING SOCIAL CSR activities in Lithuania’s GBS sector RESPONSIBILITY AND DIVERSITY in 2021. In terms of diversity, Lithuania Author: When companies cooperate with edu­ stands 1st in Europe for the share of wo-­­­­­ cational institutions, both sides reap men in the overall workplace with 52%. the benefits. Such partnerships help Additionally, 48% of senior management students accelerate their careers, simul- roles are taken by women, and these taneously creating a lasting positive numbers are expected to rise in the future. image for business communities. Thus, CSR activities in education are practised It is excellent to see social responsibility widely in Lithuania as GBS centres are among the fastest growing practices keen to support top talents in the region. in Lithuania’s GBS enterprises. The GBS

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Monika Vilkelyte, Head of GBS & ICT Team, Invest Lithuania

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INVESTMENTS

A FEW WORDS ABOUT DOING BUSINESS IN CATALONIA Interview with Renata Marciniak, PhD, President of the Catalan-Polish Chamber of Support for Small and Medium Enterprises.

Katarzyna Czylok-Dąbrowska, Editor at Pro Progressio: Ms. President, let’s start from the beginning... what is the Catalan-Polish Chamber of Support for Small and Medium Enterprises, what stimulated its creation, and what are its goals?

Renata Marciniak, PhD, Presi­­­dent of the Catalan-Polish Chamber of Sup­ port for Small and Medium Enterprises: The Catalan-Polish Chamber of Support for Small and Medium Enterprises is a non-­­­­profit business association ope­ rating under the autonomous law of Catalonia. The Chamber was established in 2020 (just before the pandemic started) by a group of Catalan and Polish entrepreneurs who noticed the minimal presence and promotion of Polish small and medium-sized companies in

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Catalonia and vice versa. This negligible level of business relations and trade between Polish and Catalan companies, as well as the lack of knowledge about the legal, political, and social conditions of starting a business in Catalonia or Poland were the main drivers to create the Chamber as an organization that supports member companies, in their native tongues, in their expansion to the markets of Poland, Catalonia, and other Spanish regions.

to expand their knowledge regarding these issues through the implementation of various training and consulting programs. Another goal of ours is to provide support and promote scientific and technical cooperation between these regions and to represent and protect member companies’ interests in our geographical are of operation.

Catalonia is the best region in southern Europe to invest in 2020-2021, according to Financial Times. What are The Chamber also intends to encourage the strengths of this Spanish region entrepreneurs from these regions to that could encourage Polish investors actively develop bilateral trade and to invest in Catalonia? investment reltions, to support compaCatalonia, located in the northnies in accessing information – legal, -eastern of Spain, possesess a multitude commercial, and financial – necessary of strengths. Despite the economic crito conduct business in these areas, and sis in Spain, it remains among the most prosperous Spanish regions and has a per capita income – measured in purchasing power units – similar to that of Germany, Finland, and Belgium. Other strengths include a large market of potential buyers, next to no entry barriers, extensive infrastructure, attractive location, quali­ fied employees, a consumer lifestyle of Catalans, and a smoothly operating public transport network. Additionally, the Catalan economy is very open, exports play a significant role here, and the ‘Barcelona’ brand is recognized all over the world. Catalan capital boasts some incredible assets: Gaudi's genius and his architectural heritage, a fantastic art and culture scene (including music events and theaters), a multitude of museums and a rich edu­cational offer, restaurants, climate, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Speaking of Catalonia's assets, it’s worth to emphasize the joint initiatives undertaken by Catalan companies, business associations, and universities regarding monitoring, development, and promotion of manufacturing activities in Catalonia. What I’d like to add here is that the Catalan model for the development of science and research is among the best in the world, and Catalonia has numerous internatio­nally recognized research centers.

Despite the economic crisis in Spain, it remains among the most prosperous Spanish regions and has a per capita income – measured in purchasing power units – similar to that of Germany, Finland, and Belgium.

The Catalan economy is very open, exports play a significant role here, and the ‘Barcelona’ brand is recognized all over the world.

Another issue concerns meetings starting on time. It is frowned upon to be late, however do not be outraged when your Catalan partner starts the meeting with a several minutes’ delay. Business meetings quite often do not start on time here because the Catalans still have something important to do. Just wait patiently and when a Catalan apologizes for being late, simply reply with ‘no passa res’ (“that’s alright”) with a smile on your face.

Catalan business culture – what should a Polish entrepreneur know about it?

Does it really differ significantly from the Polish business culture?

Catalan business culture is similar to that of most EU countries, although there are certain different aspects to consider when doing business with the Catalans.

For instance, please bear in mind that Catalonian working hours are different than in Poland – people here work from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; most companies take a lunch break from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., which means that they are closed during those hours.

Learning a few words in Catalan (introducing yourself, welcomes, goodbyes) can go a long way, too. Catalans attach great importance to this. Just last week a Catalan businessman told me that they are very ‘romantic’ in this respect and a foreigner who knows even a tiny bit of Catalan instantly becomes their friend from the very first meeting. As for greetings, it came as no surprise (pre-COVID-19!) when a Catalan patted the a man they spoke to on the back and kissed the woman on both cheeks during the first formal meeting. Two kisses (on the right and on the left cheek) were obligatory, even when the woman was a complete stranger. I’m not sure if they will keep this small gesture after the pandemic.

Meal time in Catalonia is almost "holy" so please keep calm when you can’t get through to a Catalan company after 2 p.m.

It should also be kept in mind that the business culture, both in Catalonia and in other regions of Spain, is hierarchical; and only the top directors, the so-called ‘boss’ has

View of main Gaudi project, Sagrada Familia Temple in Barcelona, Catalonia.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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INVESTMENTS

Outlook from Sagrada Familia – city and offices.

the power to make decisions. It is frowned upon if a lot of time is devoted to a person who is not the ‘boss’ when business negotiations are conducted among a larger group. Here the principle ‘the boss is always right’ is often adhered to. Talking about football in business meetings is fine as long as you don’t mention that you are a Real Madrid supporter. It’s better not to mention Madrid at all, actually.

Another piece of advice would be not to start your meetings with business talk, in particular at the first business meeting.

A Catalan wants to get to know his business partner first, before starting to work with them. And the first question will be ‘qué tal?’ (“what's up?”). Even if not everything is fine, you should answer that everything is, indeed, alright and answer additional non-business questions.

Asking too many personal questions is not the way forward. That’s because in Catalonia nobody is interested in ‘who sleeps with whom, the most important thing is that they will get a good night’s sleep’ (smile).

When doing business with the Catalans, it is also worth remembering to thoroughly

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discuss the commercial terms and write them down. An oral contract in Catalonia is much more important than in Poland, while a written contract is very important for Polish companies. If we want to cooperate with the Catalans over the long term, we should ensure regular contact is established. Lack of communication or its sporadic nature, lack of explanations regarding ongoing commercial problems – these are some of the most common reasons for a breakdown in cooperation.

You should work to keep your relationship close, otherwise sales may drop.

And what type of Catalan companies are interested in Poland and investing in Poland?

These companies can be broken down into three groups. The first and largest group consists of companies that want to sell their products in Poland. We’re talking about industries such as food, automotive, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, chemical, and IT. The second group consists of companies looking for suppliers, although they are in the minority. Polish cosmetics, sweets, and meat products are quite popular. There is also an interest in agricultural machinery, as well as metal, and textile products.

An oral contract in Catalonia is much more important than in Poland, while a written contract is very important for Polish companies. If we want to cooperate with the Catalans over the long term, we should ensure regular contact is established.

Lack of communication or its sporadic nature, lack of explanations regarding ongoing commercial problems – these are some of the most common reasons for a breakdown in cooperation.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

The last group are Catalan investors.

We receive inquiries from the automotive, IT, and green technology industries. However, due to the pandemic and the post-pandemic uncertainty that ensued, companies have significantly reduced their investment plans and changed their long-term (strategic) planning to short-term (operational) planning.

This applies to both Catalan companies as well as those from other parts of Spain, which are strongly focused on their commercial activities.

Let's imagine a scenario where I am an owner of a small Polish techno­ logy company interested in entering the Spanish market. Where should I start? How can the Catalan-Polish Chamber support me?

If you want to enter the Spanish market, I suppose that you have already analyzed it in terms of both macro- and microeconomic factors that may affect your business. After completing this analysis, you need to choose the seat and form of business. In Spain, just as the case is in Poland, there are many forms of business to choose from: sole proprietorship, i.e. autónomo, civil partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company. These are also valid in Catalonia.

One of Chamber’s ambitons, in addition to acting as a bridge

The easiest and cheapest way to run a business in Spain or Catalonia is a sole proprietorship, i.e. autónomo, colloquially referred to as a self-employed person – it denotes a natural person performing economic activity (trade, industrial or professional) on a self-employed basis, consistently and for commercial purposes.

Such a person runs their business under their own name, although it is possible to operate under a chosen trade name.

between Polish and Catalan companies, is to advance scientific achievements and create opportunities for establishing scientific and research contacts between Polish and Catalan educational and research institutions. In order to achieve this we match Polish and Catalan universities looking for research partners or willing to be invited to research projects carried out by Catalan or Polish universities.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Once the form of business is chose you will need to register it. The registration process consists of several stages: 1) It is necessary to acquire a Foreigner’s Identification Number (NIE – Número de Identificación de Extranjero). 2) Obtain a social security number (Número de Seguridad Social). You will need to visit the Spanish equivalent of ZUS (Seguridad Social) and fill out the appropriate form in order to obtain this number. 3) After obtaining your social security number, you must register your business with the tax office

(Agencia Tributaria). When registering with the Agencia Tributaria, select your type of business activity (Epígrafes del Impuesto de Actividades Económicas).

4) The next step is registering your business in Seguridad Social in order to enter it into the sole proprietorships’ register.

Our Chamber supports Polish entrepre­ neurs in setting up and runing sole pro-­­­­­­­ prietorships (as well as other forms of business) in Catalonia. We also provide ac­­­­ counting services to companies in Polish and conduct comprehensive market ana­lyses (macro and micro), including com­ petition analysis.

You mentioned that the Chamber aims to promote scientific and research achievements among Polish and Spanish universities. On April 29, 2021, you signed a cooperation agreement with the Warsaw University of Technology Business School...

One of Chamber’s ambitons, in addition to acting as a bridge between Polish and Catalan companies, is to advance scientific achievements and create opportunities for establishing scientific and research contacts between Polish and Catalan educational and research institutions. In order to achieve this we match Polish and Catalan universities looking for research partners or willing to be invited to research projects carried out by Catalan or Polish universities. We find this fairly task easy because as a lecturer and researcher at two Catalan universities, I ‘live and breathe’ the academic world every day. For example, we managed to match the Warsaw University of Technology Business School with Fundació Universitaria de Bages, Universitat de Manresa (Catalonia). We also signed signed a cooperation agreement with them. These institutions are already implementing a joint research project.

We also assist in the search for universities willing to sign student exchange agreements under the Erasmus program and in finding internships for Polish students in Catalan companies, and vice versa.

So, as you can see, the Chamber's area of activity is quite wide. We have a lot planned and let’s keep our fingers crossed that we will manage to make it all happen.

Thank you for the conversation.

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INVESTMENTS

ELBLĄG

– THE PLACE TO LIVE, WORK, GROW YOUR BUSINESS, AND MAKE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE Elbląg is the second largest urban center in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in terms of its population size and the number of students.

The city acts as a strong sub-regional hub, covering the western part of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and the eastern part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.

Elbląg’s advantage lies in its close proxi­ mity to the Tri-City agglomeration and a fast link to Gdańsk. In terms of economy, Elbląg is distinguished by a strong high and intermediate technologies industry, together with accompanying non-manu­ facturing competencies (R&D). Elbląg is also a friendly place to live – an attractive downtown area, a vibrant food and restaurant scene, competitive apartment prices (compared to Tri-City), thriving cultural institutions, a clean environment, a whole variety of sports and recreation options, as well as the city’s immediate surroundings (the Vistula Lagoon and the Vistula Spit, the Elbląg Plateau) all contribute to Elbląg’s appeal.

Mr. Witold Wróblewski, a native of Elbląg, has been the city’s mayor for the past seven years. Under his stewardship Elbląg focuses on innovations and constant infrastructure adaptation in order to meet the needs of residents and investors alike. The quality of life and the quality of running a business improved significantly over the last decade, due in no small part to the expansion of the fiber optic network, road infrastructure modernization, introduction of state-of-the-art waste disposal and water treatment system and development of investment areas, as well as the creation of innovation implementation centers. This broadly defined

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revitalization improves the residents’ Elbląg, including over a hundred with quality of life but, crucially, it attracts foreign capital. Companies active in investors and tourists. the electromechanical, food, furniture, and modern IT services make up General Electric, Grupa Żywiec, Stokota, the core industries.

Siemens, FLSmidth MAAG Gear, Wójcik Fabryka Mebli are only a few of the glo- Growth of the modern business services bally recognized brands that chose to industry is high on Elbląg’s agenda. As invest in Elbląg. A number of infrastructure part of its ‘Factory’ Program, the Indusinvestments that carry a city-changing trial Development Agency picked Elbląg potential are underway. One of them is and four other locations from well the Vistula Spit Canal alongside the port over a hundred entrants – cities with development, which will contribute a similar potential – for the constructo “turning” Elbląg to face the sea a lot tion of a modern office building. This more than it does at present. A high-class will increase the number of BPO/ SSC/ office building intended for modern busi- IT companies operating in Elbląg signifi­ ness services is scheduled for construc- cantly, which in turn will directly transtion right on the river bank in the Elbląg late to a reduced outflow of young downtown area. This investment is carried people from the city, signify an upturn out in a cooperation between the City in the acquisition of new employee of Elbląg and the Industrial Development resources (including developers for IT Agency JSC. companies), increase interest and attract new investors within the outsourcing ELBLĄG – AN IMPORTANT sector, improve the city's image, and ECONOMIC CENTER positively impact on the urban space.

Right from its very early days Elbląg was an important economic, industrial, This is made even more pertinent by administrative, and military center. Highly the fact that Elbląg has absolutely developed heavy industry, with found- everything you could ask for in order ries and machine factories, shipyards, to live, work, grow your business, and steam locomotive and railcar factories, make your dreams come true. One played into establishing the city’s signi­ of its major advantages is its location, ficance. Currently, there are more than connecting two voivodeships – Pome­ thirteen thousand business entities in ranian and Warmian-Masurian.

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Photo: WawroPhotography.eu

One of its major advantages is its location, connecting two voivodeships – Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian.

It lies at the intersection of roads from the north to the south and from the east to the west of Poland (the S7 and the S22), and the local port acts as a convenient gateway linking the city with other countries located around the Baltic Sea.

The Special Economic Zone area is in­­ tended for manufacturing and service activities, including the advanced technology industry. The main benefit reaped by entrepreneurs conducting their business activities within the special economic zone is the income tax exemption. In Elbląg we are looking at an exemption that varies between 50% and 70% and lasts for up to 15 years, all depending on the company’s size. City Hall also offers local tax exemptions for investors creating new jobs – depending on the number of employees, investors may obtain an exemption from THE WARMIA AND MAZURY land and real estate tax for a period bet­­­­­ SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE ween 3 and 6 years. Exemptions offered The Warmia and Mazury Special Economic by the Special Economic Zone, as well Zone operates in the area and its contribu- as the additional real estate and land tax tion cannot be overlooked. All plots offered exemption, apply in equal measure to new by the city have access to electricity, water, investors and existing entrepreneurs who and sewage systems. are willing to grow.

It lies at the intersection of roads from the north to the south and from the east to the west of Poland (the S7 and the S22), and the local port acts as a convenient gateway linking the city with other countries located around the Baltic Sea. Another vital issue to bear in mind is Elbląg’s lively and active human capital, including secondary schools educating professionals and universities producing graduates with specialist knowledge. Investors can pick and choose from an expanding number of investment areas ready and waiting for them.

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City officials hope that direct access to the Baltic Sea will contribute to an even greater development of Elbląg – this is because the city genuinely flourished when it enjoyed a port city status, with unlimited access to the Baltic Sea.

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INVESTMENTS

A high-class office building intended for modern business services is scheduled for construction right on the river bank in the Elbląg downtown area. This investment is carried out in a cooperation between the City of Elbląg and the Industrial Development Agency JSC.

Photo: WawroPhotography.eu

AFTER PANDEMIC

The Elbląg port is the largest Polish port on the Vistula Lagoon intended for cargo shipping, as well as passenger and tourist vessels.

Its favorable location is conducive to potential economic relations and cooperation with the Kaliningrad Oblast, the Baltic states, and the Scandinavian countries.

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Past twelve months presented a plethora of difficulties and challenges, with many investments put on hold due to uncertain future. Business entities had to adapt to new ways of conducting their affairs and reaching customers, and a large proportion operated on the brink of economic collapse. City of Elbląg officials took steps to supplement the generally available aid packages by introducing their own measures – such as postponement of payment deadlines for perpetual usufruct fees, real estate tax reliefs for entrepreneurs, as well as rent reliefs for the lease of business premises and the lease of land ow­­­­­ned by the Municipality of Elbląg.

Local entrepreneurs whose cash flow deteriorated significantly became entitled to submit applications changing the repayment terms of their liabilities towards municipal companies during the period in question. A new delivery service with self pick-up and take-away options was launched for local restaurant proprietors, with an added benefit of free-of-charge registration and free promotion in social media or local press outlets. And most importantly all orders are commission-free – the cost is borne by the local government.

The COVID-19 pandemic meant that the local government had to adapt their operations to completely new conditions virtually overnight. This concerned in-person interactions, negotiations, meetings, and the operation of the City Hall itself; however, the efforts put into this endeavor brought about great results.

Despite many difficulties and to the extent possible, the City Hall was in normal operation and, crucially, Elbląg residents experienced no major inconveniences stemming from such changes. Some of the solutions introduced will remain in force even after the pandemic ends.

In particular, the aforementioned solutions concern digital platforms that faci­ litate interactions between Elbląg residents and the City Hall. They represent a step towards Smart City which, in itself, is a term that escapes a straightforward definition. Until recently, it was aimed at large cities and agglomerations that have adequate financial resources for its implementation. Smaller cities simply cannot afford some of its attributes, but Elbląg can certainly achieve the following features: • Efficiency – covering the use of infrastructure, resources, and technology;

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collaborative or shared economy is often referred to in this context.

• Resilience – to change, social, economic, and epidemiological crises.

• Adaptation – manifested by a readiness to embrace change and a constant search for new solutions and quick responses to emerging challenges.

• Innovation – a city-wide culture based on suitability assessment and potential implementation of new solutions as well as building a culture of participation and openness to civil tech and open data solutions.

The COVID-19 pandemic meant that the local government had to adapt their operations to completely new conditions virtually overnight. This concerned in-person interactions, negotiations, meetings, and the operation of the City Hall itself; however, the efforts put into this endeavor brought about great results.

Elbląg’s character will change significantly once the Vistula Spit Canal is completed.

It is a key project for the city and one which the residents eagerly anticipated for a long time. City officials hope that direct access to the Baltic Sea will contribute to an even greater development of Elbląg – this is because the city genuinely flourished Its favorable location is conducive to when it enjoyed a port city status, with potential economic relations and cooperaunlimited access to the Baltic Sea. tion with the Kaliningrad Oblast, the Baltic states, and the Scandinavian countries.

ELBLĄG PORT A border crossing point and a commodity Many port investments have already been exchange facilitate the development completed, with over PLN 100 million of trade, too. It boasts excellent technical put into infrastructure. This includes infrastructure, i.e. reinforced quays, open a terminal with a wharf, where between storage areas, sidings, and grain silos.

1 and 1.5 million tons of cargo per year Vessels can be repaired in the special can be loaded and unloaded. Thanks repair yard located in the port. to EU funds a modern border crossing point was opened. Greater passenger The ongoing works on the ‘Construction traffic, the growing popularity of sailing of a waterway connecting the Vistula on the Vistula Lagoon, and the increased Lagoon with the Bay of Gdańsk’ project handling capacity of the Elbląg port up to will eventually culminate in the creation 3 to 4 million tons per year are all contri­ of a navigation channel 1.3 kilometers buting factors in Elbląg’s quest to devel- long and 5 meters deep. Ultimately, it oping its logistics and tourism industries. is going to enable ships with a draft The Elbląg port is the largest Polish port of 4-4.5 meters, up to 100 meters in on the Vistula Lagoon intended for cargo length and up to 20 meters in width to shipping, as well as passenger and enter the Port of Elbląg. Construction tourist vessels. of the canal on the Vistula Spit is schedu­ ­led for completion in 2023. City of Elbląg Photo: WawroPhotography.eu participates in a wide array of projects that extend beyond the port itself, including expansion of the investment areas on offer in close proximity to The river and the port. Tourist facilities and attractions are also on the rise.

the very last weekend in June. Leading Polish music stars perform their greatest hits on stage, whilst numerous side events add to The on-stage performances. The ‘Elbląg Days’ always gathered thousands of revelers, both inha­ bitants and tourists alike. Unfortunately, this year the COVID-19 restrictions mean mass events cannot be held; therefore, a number of smaller events – including concerts – were organized instead. The first edition of HOLD FAST is set to be a gripping spectacle. This is an extraordinary sporting competition whereby competitors are required to cross a river using a tightrope stretched across it and thus show exceptional strength. RFC Polish Crossing Cup will also be held and caters for the popularity of off-road rallies. Several concerts are also planned, including the one by MADIS which combines electronic music with laser shows. Outdoor cinema shows will provide the proverbial icing on the cake.

Events forming part of Elbląg's ‘Summer in Shape’ will be held every week and more information will be available on the City of Elbląg’s Facebook profile. The extremely tasty Elbląg Bread Festival symbolizes the climax of all summer festivities. One of the largest fairs in Northern Poland, this is where one can taste regional cuisine and buy craft articles (handicrafts, folk art) from all corners of the country as well as Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany. A large number of side events – including dragon boat races, art shows, concerts and street theater performances, reenactment groups’ shows, fire dance, and many, many others – all make the fair worth attending. The Elbląg Bread Festival is taking place between 27 and 29 August.

Feel invited!

More information:

Promotion, Culture and Tourism Department, Promotion AND WHAT IS IN STORE and Entrepreneurship Unit City Hall of Elbląg FOR TOURISTS? And what exactly can tourists find in Stary Rynek 25 Street, Ratusz Staromiejski, IV floor, room 400, 82-300 Elbląg Elbląg? What’s in store for them this year?

Phone: +48 55 239 32 90, 55 239 33 17 The traditional event opening the sum-­­­­ e-mail: invest@umelblag.pl mer season is the ‘Elbląg Days’ held on www.inwestycje.elblag.eu

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INVESTMENTS

THE NEW HEART OF ŁÓDŹ Continue attracting investors, grow but avoid spillovers, cope with unfavorable demographic trends, and carry on bringing impressive improvements in the city center. These are the goals for the city of Łódź in the coming years. of Łódź, gave an interview in the Around the City in 8 Questions series organi­ ­zed by ULI Poland, where she pointed out that the municipal authorities' estimates (based on of various calculations, including cell phone data or water consumption) show that there are appro­ ximately 750,000 people living in Łódź at the moment, however this number could plunge to a low of 550,000 by 2050. It’s not all doom and gloom though as the city hall has managed to reverse the unfavorable migration tendency among its young residents. Until recently young people were leaving Łódź in favor of other cities – both in Poland and abroad. It’s different today.

– We achieved a positive net migration in the 18 to 28 age group and there are defiIn addition to the manufacturing and nitely more young people moving in rather logistics industries, Łódź prioritizes than leaving Łódź – says Zdanowska. the modern business services sector. BPO / R&D / SSC / GBS and IT centers already – The city center is viewed as an attractive employ over twenty six thousand people, residential location. The city hall puts a lot and according to estimates, about seven- of effort and resources into investments that teen hundred new jobs will be added over promote living, working, and spending time the coming months. downtown. The flagship project of the local government in Łódź – New Łódź Downtown Demography is one of the main factors (in Polish NCŁ) – was designed to attract influencing the shape of the 2030+ people to the revitalized city center. And strategy, which is currently being devel- it does its job! Both business and residents oped. Łódź has shrunk by more than now want to move there. We see a great 150,000 inhabitants over the last three demand for downtown apartments and we decades, and the forecasts are not opti- want to meet it. Therefore, we proceeded to mistic. Hanna Zdanowska, the mayor amend local zoning plans in order to enable Where do we – figuratively speaking – find Łódź today? It is a city finally making full use of its assets. Its central location, supported by great transportation links, makes it a popular choice among the logistics and manufacturing industries. Łódź itself and the region at large already boast Poland’s third largest warehouse market, and the activities of the local government are aimed at ensuring that this sector continues to grow. Companies can count on CIT or PIT exemptions and public aid for the implementation of new investments or jobs creation. In the case of large enterprises, such aid can go as high as 35% of eligible investment costs or two-year employment costs.

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a greater share of this type of development in areas where the office function was set to dominate up until then – emphasizes Hanna Zdanowska.

There are around eleven thousand apartments being built in Łódź right now.

The city hall also plans to build new council flats utilizing the public-private partnership formula. The tenants of old tenement houses are to receive apartments in new buildings, and the vacated real estate will be developed by investors.

– We started with 500-700 new apartments. The sheer number of applications from inte­rested companies was impressive’ – says the mayor of Łódź. – Modernization of historic workers' houses built by Izrael Poznański is yet another venture we want to implement in partnership with private capital.

Right after Manufaktura, this is going to be the largest project at Ogrodowa St., bringing together almost all the commercial functions known on the market. In March this year, the City of Łódź Office announced a tender for the revitalization of three famułas at Ogrodowa St. The three workers' houses have a total usable area of thirty thousand m2.

The project also includes plots of land where multi-storey car parks can be built. We antici­ pate that negotiations with our partners will conclude this year and then the renovation works will kick off – announces Zdanowska.

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Photo: www.lodz.pl.

New Łódź Downtown covers an area of approximately 100 ha, which was ‘reco­ ve­red’ by the city due to, among others, location of a railway line underground.

Originally, the plans assumed that the vast majority of this area would be earmarked for office development, but recent months changed these assumptions.

The current vacancy rate in Łódź office buildings stands at approx. 16%, which makes it the highest vacancy rate among the largest Polish cities. Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to such a high level by bringing in the remote or hybrid work model at the expense of on-site work. The city authorities, taking into account the current situation and trends, took another look at the purpose of the area covered by the NCŁ and decided that the balance between office and residential functions in the renovated heart of the city should change in favor of the latter.

Green areas and care for the natural environment are set to play an important part in the reurbanization and revitalization of the city center. Creation of parks and public squares, tree planting on streets and urban squares, as well as the development of an ecological public transport are of key significance. Urban means of transportation are gradually being upgraded to less emission-intensive ones, and the pro-ecological effect is strengthened by infrastructure, for e.g. the crosscity tunnel, dense public transportation network, availability of city bikes, and shared transport. Łódź is constantly

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investing in green areas. Only between 2018 and 2020 the city hall spent PLN 17m on the restoring the Sienkiewicz Park and the Moniuszko Park. By 2023, restoration works will be carried out in the Staro­ miejski Park (its cost is estimated at PLN 18m), the Helenów Park (PLN 6.2m) and the Legionów Park (PLN 4m), bringing the total spent to more than PLN 28m.

Łódź wants to grow, but wants to avoid the spillover effect; and in order to do that, it requires local zoning plans. So far, only 28% of the city area is covered by zoning plans; however, Hanna Zdanowska is quick to emphasize that this represents a significant improvement compared to the state of play just a decade ago when an area ten times smaller was covered.

New Łódź Downtown covers an area of approximately 100 ha, which was ‘recovered’ by the city due to, among others, location of a railway line underground. Originally, the plans assumed that the vast majority of this area would be earmarked for office development, but recent months changed these assumptions.

– Sustainable development of urbani­zed space requires the implementation of an entire package of long-term solutions.

Model city development strategies emphasize space transformation in accordance with environmental and ecological principles and increase the quality of life – says Dorota Wysokińska-Kuzdra, senior partner at Colliers, CEO at ULI Poland, and a member of the ULI Europe Execu­ tive Committee. – The New Łódź Downtown project is in line with these trends.

The railway line and the Łódź Fabryczna train station are located underground – this freed up a significant amount of space which will be developed by creating a new part of the city. This development may, in turn, position Łódź as one of the best-designed cities in Europe. It is important to note that Łódź engages in a whole variety of activities and plans with the local com­ munity in mind – she adds.

The three pillars of the spatial planning policy in the coming years are: developing plans for economic activity areas; creating protection plans covering the outer city zones, which are to prevent uncontrolled expansion; and continuing to supplement the metropolitan area with plans enabling the reurbanization and revitali­ zation of the city center. This article was prepared on the basis of an interview with Hanna Zdanowska, the mayor of Łódź, in the Around the City in 8 Questions series.

More information: Business Development and International Relations Bureau Piotrkowska 104a Street, 90-926 Lodz Phone: +48 42 638 59 39 Fax: +48 42 638 59 40 e-mail: boi@uml.lodz.pl

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INVESTMENTS

CZĘSTOCHOWA IS MODERNIZING

FOR RESIDENTS AND TOURISTS In recent years, many projects which are aimed at improving the quality of life of the city's inhabitants, but also increasing its attractiveness in the tourist context, have been implemented in Częstochowa. This year, three of them were nominated for the final of the National Modernization of the Year Competition. The picture of Częstochowa is changing and these are not superficial and temporary changes. Each of these investments have a different character and specificity but each of them is worth presenting.

Old Town Square, Częstochowa.

NEW-OLD TOWN SQUARE In the Middle Ages, the Old Town Square served as the market square of Old Częstochowa. The buildings of the market square were burned down during the Swedish Deluge. Tenement houses in the eastern and northern frontages have been preserved at the Town Square. From the 15th century to 1812, the town hall stood here, destroyed by a fire. According to the stories, Napoleon Bonaparte, who was going with his troops to Moscow, stayed overnight in the inn at the Old Town Square. In 2007, archaeological works began on the square. Their effect was the discovery of the city's well, the foundations of several buildings that no longer exist, probably the town's weight and the gallows. As a result of these discove­ ries, it was decided to preserve historical elements while bringing them closer to the inhabitants. This is how the project called: "Reconstruction and extension of the building of the Old Częstochowa Town Hall with land development" started.

The project consisted of revitalizing the space of the old town square, the first stage of which was the reconstruction and extension of the old town hall building in Częstochowa into a single-block structure with an underground part intended for renovation and an above-ground part

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with a facade and glass structure. As part of the works, the square area was built up with a fountain in the form of a water strip, stairs leading to the underground space with an amphitheatre character with seats finished with wood and planted with greenery, lighting, drainage of the area, installation of poles for balancing sculptures and elements of small architecture.

Along with the construction of the facility and elements of the square, the streets adjacent to the main part of the square, including Mirowska Street, Senatorska Street and the Old Town Square, were rebulit.

Old Town Square, Częstochowa.

CITY PROMENADE – A NEW SPACE IN THE HEART OF THE CITY At the end of last year, the first stage of the project was completed: Construction of the Green City Promenade in Częstochowa on the area between Wolności Avenue, Boya-Żeleńskiego Street, Skłodowskiej-Curie Street and Bohaterów Monte Casino Avenue. The area intended for construction is a post-industrial area, a former coal block site, unused until completion, with disorganized, neglected pioneering vegetation, and a significant amount of embankments, debris and waste from building materials.

The subject of the task was the comprehensive development and transformation of the existing, neglected area into a modern utility facility – a walking and recreation passage with equipment and installations necessary for its functioning. The main compositional element of the facility is the main avenue running from Wolności Avenue to Bohaterów Monte Casino Avenue, through the entire area covered by the report, connecting the entrance square with the central square. The entrance square from Wolności Avenue is the main entrance to the Promenade, designed through a sculptural composition – a kind of multiplied gate – taking the form of a pergola. With the help of architectural forms and dense greenery, it was possible to isolate the area of the Promenade from the vicinity and the impact of traffic, in particular from the side of Monte Cassino Avenue.

City Promenade, Częstochowa.

City Promenade, Częstochowa.

The main avenue of the Promenade leads to the central part of the area, on which an oval square has been designed as

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INVESTMENTS

Water Park, Częstochowa.

internal roads, parking lots, pavements and technical infrastructure were built.

The building was situated in such a part of the plot that its shape and location would allow leaving as large beach area as possible between the existing Summer Swimming Pool and the new Water Park facility. The swimming pool hall is distinguished by large glazing, thus creating good lighting conditions for the halls and attractive views of the surrounding area.

In the central zone of the swimming pool hall, there is a recreational basin with water attractions and smaller zones: wild and lazy river, artificial wave grotto, part with an artificial wave created by a ball, a zone with under and above water massages, air geysers, as well as a relaxation zone with couches and massage benches. Near the recreational basin, there are swimming pools with hydromassage and places to relax on deckchairs. There is also a separate space for a paddling pool for children. There are two "Anakonda" slides and one family slide in the facility.

On the first floor, there is a SPA zone, which includes wellness rooms: dry Finnish sauna, bio-sauna with salt, stone bath, Roman bath, caldarium, sauna of four elements, ice cave, infrared sauna, salt cave, cooling pool, brine pool, showers of "attractions and experiences". In addition, there is also a relaxation terrace with a playground and a dining area located on the mezzanine of the swimming pool hall. The construction of the Water Park allowed not only to create a relaxation and a multifunctional sports square with ensure full accessibility for people with recreation zone that has not been avai­ street workout equipment – for people disabilities. The entire implementation lable in the city so far, but also to increase of all ages. The entire square is surrounded assumed the maximum preservation the water table by 100%. by a slope in the form of a "green and use of the existing greenery, the areas Author: A. Tymoshenko ring", thus reducing the nuisance disturbed by the construction of technical Translation: M. Wytrzymała of the vicinity of the communication infrastructure and necessary works were artery. The square can also be used as covered with grass. a meeting place. For this purpose, it is equipped with arched, wooden seats, WATER PARK INSTEAD More information: and around the central square, there is OF THE USUAL SWIMMING POOL a roller-skating path. There are places The Summer Swimming Pool at Dekafor recreation for the elderly, who likes brystów Street was built in 1979, and it long walks, for young people who value included a swimming pool, paddling Investor Assistance Center Department active leisure in the open air and for chil- pool for children, a playground and of European Funds and Development dren. In addition, there is also a sepa- a cafe. The modernization involved City Hall of Częstochowa rate city beach with a grass surface, the construction of a sports and recrea- Waszyngtona 5 Street, equipped with deckchairs, for the relaxa- tion facility called "Water Park in Często- 42-217 Częstochowa Phone: +48 34 3707 212, +48 34 3707 213 tion of passers-by, Promenade users and chowa" in the area of the former summer e-mail: coi@czestochowa.um.gov.pl, guests visiting nearby facilities. The space swimming pool. As part of the task, fer@czestochowa.um.gov.pl has been designed in such a way as to a three-story building of the Water Park, www.czestochowa.pl

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INVESTMENTS

WATER, GREENERY, QUALITY OF LIFE – WORK-LIFE BALANCE IN BYDGOSZCZ

Bydgoszcz is a city of harmony and balance, perfectly combining industrial heritage with modern technologies, caring for nature and constantly investing to become an increasingly attractive place for residents, tourists and business people. It is sometimes called the Polish "little Amsterdam" because, like this European capital, it enchants with numerous watercourses, cascades, boulevards or an island on the river, and its inhabitants love bicycles and active lifestyle. It is a city full of greenery, remarkable monuments, with the largest city park in Poland and lots of family attractions, as well as a favorable climate for business development. This is where work-life balance is mentioned in all contexts.

Built on the urban planning assumptions of a garden city in the picturesque Brda valley, today it reaches the banks of the wide Vistula River. It is the river that has stimulated the dynamic economic and social development of Bydgoszcz for centuries, giving the City a unique character, building the identity of this place and giving its residents a specific sense of community. On the banks of the Brda River flowing through the centre of Bydgoszcz, you can get healthy relaxation and positive energy.

The heart of Bydgoszcz is its urban treasure – the Mill Island. Located just a few steps from the Old Market Square, surrounded by water, appreciated by Bydgoszcz residents and guests, a unique space of nature, recreation and culture. The picturesque atmosphere is created by the tenement houses of Bydgoszcz Venice, an impressive view of the three stone circles of Opera Nova, as well as a newly opened observation deck surrounded by fountains, located at the revitalized Rother's Mills.

Water, footbridges, well-kept greenery,

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beautiful monuments and modern buildings of the marina – all this together with a large crowd of residents and tourists, as well as open-air cultural and sports events here, create the unique atmosphere of the Bydgoszcz river island.

Nova, the so-called Glass Granaries or the building of the Bydgoszcz marina.

Along the river, more and more often the latest investments of developers are located, in the form of attractive office or residential real estate, and thanks to the City's investments in the reconstrucFrom the very beginning of the City, tion of the boulevards on the Brda or the riverside areas were the place of its the revitalization of the park on the Old intensive development. Currently, Bydgo- Bydgoszcz Canal, Bydgoszcz residents are szcz is one of the leaders in Poland in gaining new, captivating places for recreterms of revitalizing and restoring these ation and relaxation. areas to residents. The Bydgoszcz Water Junction, part of the international E70 THE "BOUTIQUE" ATMOSPHERE waterway, together with the Mill Island OF THE CITY are a significant distinguishing feature Bydgoszcz is one of the largest Polish of the City, and many monuments and cities, but life here goes on not only in symbols of Bydgoszcz have been built the area of central arteries and squares, over the centuries just by the water. but also in many smaller streets and alleys Today, in the mirror of the river, you can departing from them, which offer many see both historic buildings – the City's unusual places, more and more often hallmark granaries, the monumental awarded in industry rankings or compebuilding of the Polish Post Office or titions. It is here that you can find alternathe parish church, as well as modern tive cafes, small pubs with a local brewery, office buildings, hotels, apartment restaurants serving delicacies from buildings, sports and cultural facilities, around the world, Art Nouveau architecincluding the already mentioned Opera ture, soothing sounds of melodies flowing

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Brda River in the centre of Bydgoszcz.

Photo: Robert Sawicki.

from the windows of the Bydgoszcz music district, extraordinary museums and hydrotechnics related to the industrial history of the City, and even the Bydgoszcz fair full of regional products. Such places, and most of all the people you can meet here, create the unique atmosphere of Bydgoszcz. It is worth trying it for a moment and falling in love with this City in order to come back to it, and even become attached for a longer time.

BY A TWO-WHEELER THROUGH BYDGOSZCZ In the warmer months you can expe­ rience the “boutique” climate of the City discovering Bydgoszcz not only from the perspective of water, but also by bicycle. Take the riverside boulevard to a modern office in the City centre.

Follow a bicycle path through the forest to the companies of the Bydgoszcz Industrial and Technological Park. Ride along the City's arteries for an afternoon trip to the Polish fauna garden in Myślęcinek or to the Old Bydgoszcz Canal.

And at the weekend, slowly, for a small

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excursion outside the City, for example to the charming corners of the Lower Vistula Valley. As one would expect from "little Amsterdam", Bydgoszcz opens up many interesting opportunities for lovers of a healthy lifestyle and emission-free two wheels.

For example, the bicycle route that leads from the Old Market Square, through the charming Mill Island, park areas on the Old Bydgoszcz Canal, to the forest outskirts of the City, is worth recommending. First, we slowly traver­s e the charming Bydgoszcz Venice, full of footbridges and bridges, as well as post-industrial buildings that seem to emerge from the water. In the shade of branchy chestnut trees, we will reach a place where we will be welcomed by the Opera Nova building, and later by modernist forms of tenement houses and the Church of St. Trinity. Next, we will set off towards the Old Bydgoszcz Canal, which, together with the restored locks and hydrotechnical infrastructure, is a remarkable monument. From there,

According to the votes of Internet users, Bydgoszcz was among the top 10 European destinations for 2020. The competition is organised annually by the international European Best Destinations organisation based in Brussels, which aims to promote culture and tourism in Europe.

– If you like to think outside the box and discover real cities and real people and have real experiences, Bydgoszcz is for you – convince the organisers of the European Best Destinations competition.

Bydgoszcz invites you to visit or take virtual walks around the city:

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INVESTMENTS

Observation desk at the Rother’s Mills in Bydgoszcz. Photo: Robert Sawicki.

The heart of Bydgoszcz is its urban treasure – the Mill Island. Located just a few steps from the Old Market Square, surrounded by water, appreciated

by Bydgoszcz residents and guests, a unique space of nature, recreation and culture.

The picturesque atmosphere is created by the tenement houses of Bydgoszcz Venice, an impressive view of the three stone circles of Opera Nova, as well as a newly opened observation deck surrounded by fountains, located at the revitalized Rother's Mills.

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we will follow the path among the trees, many of which are monuments of nature, dating back to the times of Napoleon Bonaparte. By walking and cycling, we can reach a completely different part of the City and the Smukała dam, where an unusual monument has been set up nearby, on the banks of the Brda River.

It is a kayak with oars sticking out of it, commemorating the trips on the Brda River taken by Fr. Karol Wojtyła, later Pope John Paul II. After that, it is worth going further to Myślęcinek – the largest city park in Poland, where you can relax for a while at one of the lakes, in a zoo or botanical garden, on a beach in a wakepark or in the vast Różopole.

Several bicycle routes run through Bydgoszcz, allowing you to go to other places worth visiting in the region, such as the Koronowski Lagoon or Bory Tucholskie. Fans of difficult, sandy terrain and mountain bike tours will surely like the Bydgoszcz Forest rally. And those who wish to feast their eyes on beautiful architecture with history in the background, will set off on a bicycle journey back in time to palaces and manors in the nearby Ostromecko, Lubostroń or Skłudzewo.

WE VALUE A HEALTHY BALANCE Bydgoszcz with great commitment makes sure to be a City where work-life balance is a very important aspect. Its offer attracts a growing number of investors and tourists, and at the same time remains a friendly place for residents, with a rich cultural, sports, and entertainment offer. It has both the advantages of a large city, such as urban infrastructure, access to public services, the labor market and housing offer, as well as its individual, intimate character, natural values and attractive places for recreation and relaxation.

It is an already so much changed, but still changing City on the Brda River, where balance is of great value.

More information:

4C Unii Lubelskiej Street 85-059 Bydgoszcz Phone: +48 52 585 88 23 e-mail: barr@barr.pl www.barr.pl

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

PEOPLE FIRST - THEN PLACES

COMPREHENSIVE

transparent PROFESSIONAL This is how we operate

on the real estate market

www.corees.pl

We are eager to assist you in the process of selecting your office, both in major business centers, as well as in smaller cities. We advise on conducting leasing processes of office spaces: • Headquarters • Satellite offices • Consolidation offices • Temporary offices • Warehouse space

For 70% of your employees, as well as potential candidates, the location of the office is a crucial factor when applying for a position.

Do you recognize any inconveniences that your employees are faced with?

Do you want to know what alternatives you can choose from?

We will be glad to tell you more about ourselves.

NEGOTIATION • RENEGOTIATION • CONSOLIDATION • VALUATION

INVESTMENTS

ACCESS TO THE QUALIFIED WORKFORCE AND FAVOURABLE INVESTMENT OFFERS –THAT IS WHY POZNAŃ ATTRACTS COMPANIES FROM THE IT INDUSTRY

Poznań is a good location for running an IT business because of the access to the skilled workforce, rich education offer, and infrastructure.

This is confirmed by the report "IT Sector Investment Potential in Poznań", prepared by ManpowerGroup for the City of Poznań.

Poznań is one of the most important business centres on the map of Poland.

Both domestic and foreign companies, including those operating in the IT sector, eagerly locate their capital here. There are 120 business shared services centres in the capital of Greater Poland and 30 of them are related to the area of information and communications technologies. They employ over 8,000 employees.

Companies have here access to the highly qualified workforce and attractive office space offer, as well as City’s support at every step of the investment.

– In Poznań, we focus on modern technologies because we know how important they are for an innovative economy. The report prepared by ManpowerGroup confirms that the direction we have chosen is bringing positive results. IT employers in Poznań continue to develop, increase employment and implement new projects. I encourage you to read the report, which presents the climate of the IT market in Poznań, indicates its advantages and shows forecasts for the future – says Jacek Jaśkowiak, Mayor of the City of Poznań.

The document is based on a survey conducted among employers and employees of the Poznań IT sector.

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The collected data was compiled with only for the high education quality, but official national and local statistics, also for a wide range of study courses – and internal datasets of the company mentioned in the report. producing the report.

A good investment climate in Poznań is Almost 90% of the IT companies in Poznań also influenced with the support offered is planning to increase employment. by the City, which helps entrepreneurs even at the very first stage of the investDespite the pandemic, the demand for ment such as choosing the location the IT services continues to grow not for the future office. only on the Polish market but also on the European one. According to the report – We are in constant contact with em­­­­­ "IT Sector Investment Potential in Poz-­­­­ ployers from the IT industry and provide nań", due to the growing importance them with comprehensive support. In of all virtual activities, the IT industry is recent years, we have developed our one of those which have found space employer branding activities for Poznań for development even in times of epi- investors, and we also got involved in demic. Therefore, it is not surprising that as several sector events that took place in many as 87% of the surveyed IT employers Poznań. In cooperation with IT companies, in Poznań intend to increase employment we have already organised two editions within a year. of the conference for specialists Pozitive Technologies. The third edition will be One of the elements guaranteeing good held in November 2021. We are aware that conditions for business development is students of Poznań universities are appreaccess to the skilled employees. There ciated on the labour market, and the IT-reare 7 universities in the capital of Greater lated community is developing very well.

Poland, which educate over 12,000 We believe that thanks to the exchange students in the IT/ICT and engineering of experiences between business, univerand technology fields of study. – In terms sities and the local government, we can of educational offer, Poznań is a completely build the investment potential of Poznań unique city on the scale of the entire country. – says Katja Lożina, Head of the Investor As an academic centre, it is famous not Relations Department.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

RECRUITING CANDIDATES – SALARIES AND BENEFITS

opportunities for development of the IT industry, and the competences and According to the data presented in the expectations of employees. the report, IT companies located in Poznań use both external and internal For this purpose, ManpowerGroup con­ ways of recruitment. The vast majority ducted two studies. The first survey invol­­ (90%) of employers are looking for profes- ­ved 40 companies representing the local sionals through job advertisements, but IT sector. The second one involved 141 IT at the same time they run command professionals who were at different sta-­­­­­ programs in their organisations. Curio­ ges of their careers. The publication pro­­­­­usly, employees also consider these two vides readers with information on the cu­­­­rmethods to be the most effective ways ­­­­­rent situation, trends and attractiveness of recruiting, but they rate the command of the ICT sector in Poznań and the Poz­­­­systems much more effective (36.2%) than nań agglomeration. job advertisements (27%).

The next step after a successful recruitment is usually signing the job contract.

With a choice of form of employment, most employees would choose to work on the basis of a B2B contract (74%) or em­­­­­ ploy­­­­­ment contract (62%). In order to meet these expectations, companies remain flexible by offering an employment contract (92%) or B2B contract (82%).

The most desirable benefit among Poz-­­­­­ nań IT professionals, especially in times of the COVID-19 pandemic is the possibility of working remotely – 93% of res­­­ pondents indicate it as attractive. Other ones on the list are: flexible working hours (89%) and the possibility of taking part in external training sessions (60%). For obvious reasons, such benefits as trips and infrastructure closed because of lock­­­­down are no longer important.

Investor Relations Department City of Poznań Za Bramką 1 Street, 61-842 Poznan Phone: +48 61 878 54 28 e-mail: inwestor@um.poznan.pl www.poznan.pl/invest

Number of potential IT employees posessing technical skills.

Source: declarative values by LinkedIn users.

C/C++

3 106

Scala

HTML

4 332

Sybase

JavaScript

5 466

Swift

Linux

3 874

PostgreSQL

1 608

Security Analyst / Consultant / Engineer

2 389

SQL Server

31

Unix

Despite the difficulties which many entities experienced in the spring of 2020, the upward trend observed in earnings in the IT industry is continuing. Moreover, the competition has been intensified on some levels of experience (especially higher ones). Depending on the position, salaries fluctuate from 4,500 PLN (Junior Manual Tester) up to 19,000 PLN (Senior Java Developer).

More information:

448

171 72 229

Python

3 687 1 205

Network Administrator

286

Spring SQL

7 286

SAP Consultant

216

Java

4 035

Scrum Master

749

CSS

4 970

System Administrator

496 221

C# / .NET

2 455 / 1 298

Oracle

1 275

Database Administrator

PHP

2 935

Helpdesk

Hibernate

941

Windows Server 1 281 MySQL

Project Manager

845 3 733

Product Manager 1 994

3 130

Jboss

265

Ruby on rails

276

We encourage you to read the detailed analysis of the IT industry in Poznań.

The report "IT Sector Investment Potential in Poznań" is free of charge and available both in Polish and English languages.

Its full version can be downloaded here: poznan.pl/invest. It is worth mentioning that the other important aim of the report is presenting the results of research based on verifying the potential and

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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INVESTMENTS

PATRONAGE CLASSES IN KIELCE – SUCCESS IN PRACTICE Practical learning is the most effective way to prepare human resources responding to the needs of the modern economy. This idea caught on very well in Kielce and, in the last years, local secondary schools have been successfully developing cooperation with companies and universities by creating patronage classes. How is cooperation assessed by teachers, entrepreneurs and, above all, by students?

Patronage classes are very popular main­­­­­ly in technical and vocational education.

For secondary school students, the educational offer seems very attractive if they can benefit from practical knowledge of employees who solve various problems in the enterprise on a daily basis.

This is even more evident as some companies declare that they are open to employ students of the patronage classes

after graduation. During the school year, companies engage in internships for students, organize practical workshops or study visits. The investment takes several years, but during this time an employer has the opportunity to prepare candidates for work in such a way that they can start functioning smoothly at a new workplace.

It is also a chance to observe students during their studies, to polish their talents, and in the longer term – to extract those people from the group who will work best in the company. So everyone benefits – entrepreneurs, students and teachers, who have the opportunity to observe the latest solutions and consult with practitioners.

SWEET FUTURE Technical Secondary School No. 3 at the Food Industry School Complex in Kielce, as a result of creating a patron class, deepens students’ interests and promotes vocational education. Coope­ ration with the Kalinka Confectionery started in 2017. Students when in care of the employer develop professionally, learn about technological innovations and, above all, achieve high results in competitions, e.g. first place in the national competition called Dycha in 2019.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNICAL SKILLS Among the technical schools which have distinguishing offer of patronage education is the Electrical School Complex in Kielce. According to the school specialization, there are 2 classes for electrician

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Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

technician and energetic technician.

59 students benefit from the support of Przedsiębiorstwo Elektrycznych Robót Specjalistycznych ENERTEL S.A. and Stokota Sp. z o.o. Students from supported classes are first to be referred to internships in companies, they also partici­ pate in trips to workplaces and in classes conducted by experienced workers. What’s more, companies support the school by providing teaching materials, and prepare material prizes for the most talented graduates. In a similar way, another class is supported by Infover S.A. one of the largest software suppliers on the Kielce market, which has been the class patron since 2019. Teachers and employees of companies confirm that thanks to their efforts, students learn about the real working conditions in the profession, they also have better access to the latest technical solutions used in a given industry. Patronage agreements were concluded for the entire four-year education cycle, and companies declare that after completing their education, the best graduates will find employment with them.

IT School Complex prepared a similar offer for their students. In cooperation with companies, classes with the following specializations were prepared: Renewable Energy Sources technician, programmer technician, ICT technician and IT technician. The education of future programmers engaged well-known not only in Kielce IT companies: Altar and Transition Technologies. On the other hand, Axel Media and Eko Energia funded a scholar­ ship for the best interns. 10 students also took part in dual training in practical subjects at Eko Energia and I-Tel Kielce.

“HIGH-CLASS” PROFESSIONS New classes and patron groups also operate at the CK Technik Vocational Training Center. CK Technik is an institution opened in September 2020, whose task is to provide practical training for both young people and adults. In a short time, CK Technik, in cooperation with the Complex of Mechanical Schools in Kielce, established coope­ ration with the following companies: BMW, ZK Motors, KH Kipper and Mercedes-Benz Nobile Motors. They represent the automotive sector, and in particular the specialist car industry,

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

which is developing very well in Kielce.

CK Technik students will be the only ones in Poland to learn the profession of a car mechanic on the latest Mercedes-Benz engines, because the Kielce dealer of this brand, Nobile Motors, equipped the workshop and donated three new engines for student needs. From September 2021, another class will be launched under the patronage of the WWTECH from Kielce. The company has declared that it will provide technological support during classes, donate free tools and materials for working on CNC machine tools, and create special apprenticeship and internship programs for students.

For secondary school students, the educational offer seems very attractive if they can benefit from practical knowledge of employees who solve various problems in the enterprise on a daily basis.

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INVESTMENTS

Patronage classes are available other Kielce high schools, e.g. the original program “Media i ja” was offered to students of the Piotr Ściegienny High School No. 5. Students learn practical skills, take part in journalistic workshops.

HIGH SCHOOLS IN KIELCE – COOPERATION WITH THE BEST Not only companies are involved in educating secondary school students.

In the Juliusz Słowacki High School No. 6 in Kielce there are classes under the patronage of the District Bar Council in Kielce, the District Court in Kielce and the Jagiellonian University. Since 2005, the high school has been cooperating with the children’s hospital in Kielce (Świętokrzyskie Center of Paediatrics). As part of this offer, students of the second class with a medical profile take part in six-month practical classes in the hospital under the supervision of a teacher.

For those young people who dream of being a doctor or a nurse, participation in classes is a confrontation of their own ideas with practice. So it is a priceless lesson, and for more than 16 years 900 graduates of the secondary school have already benefited from it.

educational program “Program your fu­­­­ ture”, the company’s employees conduct additional programming classes at school. They are held in 2nd and 3rd classes.

The company opens its branch in Kielce for the best participants of the classes who can take part in summer internships.

many high schools and technical schools, including the Stefan Żeromski High School No. 1, successfully carry out acti­ vities with the Kielce University of Technology, Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, the Military University of Technology in Warsaw and other academic centers. In the future, it will certainly bring Patronage classes are available other benefits in the form of well-prepared staff, Kiel­­­­­ce high schools, e.g. the original pro­­­ graduates of technical schools and high gram “Media i ja” was offered to students schools in Kielce. of the Piotr Ściegienny High School No. 5.

Students learn practical skills, take part in journalistic workshops, and find out how to do modern promotion and adver- More information: tising in traditional and social media. It is possible thanks to the cooperation with the Department of Journalism and Social Communication of the Jan Kochanowski Investor Assistance Centre University in Kielce and the involvement Kielce City Hall: of local media, including Radio Kielce.

Strycharska 6 Street,

The contact of secondary schools with In addition, over 130 students have access universities and enterprises brings a lot to the offer of the IT company Transition of satisfaction to teachers, academics Technologies. As part of the nationwide and company employees. That is why

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25-659 Kielce Phone: +48 41 36 76 571, 41 36 76 557 e-mail: coi@um.kielce.pl www.invest.kielce.pl/en www.mapa.invest.kielce.pl/en

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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www.proprogressio.pl Do you have any questions? info@proprogressio.pl

HR NEWS

POLISH EMPLOYERS EXPECT SOME PAYROLL GAINS DURING THE COMING QUARTER, BUT TALENT SHORTAGES ESCALATE Polish employers report encouraging signs for job seekers in the coming quarter. With 11% of employers expecting to increase payrolls, 2% forecasting a decrease, and 84% anticipating no change, the resulting Net Employment Outlook is +9%. Once the data is adjusted to allow for seasonal variation, the Outlook stands at +7%.

Hiring plans remain relatively stable in comparison with the second quarter of 2021 and are 14 percentage points stronger when compared with this time one year ago.

In a comparison with the prior quarter, Finance & Business Services sector employers report a decline of 4 percentage points. Meanwhile, hiring sentiment improves by 11 percentage points in the Restaurants & Hotels sector. Elsewhere, hiring prospects remain relatively stable or are unchanged.

hiring plans, increasing by 4 and 3 per­­­ centage points, respectively. However, East, North, and South employers report a decline of 1 percentage point.

Hiring prospects improve in all the six regions when compared with this time one year ago. The most notable increa­­ ­ses of 23 and 17 percentage points Employers in six of the seven industry are reported in the North-West and sectors report stronger hiring intentions the Central, respectively, while the Out­­­ when compared with this time one year look for the North is 14 percentage ago. Restaurants & Hotels sector Outlook points stronger. increases by a considerable margin Some job gains are anticipated in all of 41 percentage points, while improve- An increase in payrolls is forecast for all of the four organization size catego- ments of 20 points are reported both 26 Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) ries during the upcoming quarter. in the Construction and the Manufac- region countries during the third quarter of 2021. The strongest regional hiring The strongest hiring pace is expected turing sector.

by Medium employers who report a Net plans are reported in Greece (+15%), Employment Outlook of +11%, while However, hiring plans weaken in Ireland (15%), Croatia (+14%). MeanOutlooks of +10% and +6% are reported one sector, by 1 percentage point in while, hiring prospects are weakest in

by Large – and Small-size employers, the Finance & Business Services sector.

South Africa (+1%), the Czech Republic respectively. (+4%), and Spain (+4%). In a quarWorkforce gains are forecast in five ter-over-quarter comparison, hiring Employers in six of the seven industry of the six regions during the third plans strengthen in 22 countries, while sectors expect to grow payrolls during quarter of 2021. The strongest hiring weakening in two. Hiring sentiment the forthcoming quarter. The strongest pace is expected in the South-West, strengthens in all 26 countries when labor market is anticipated by Construc- where the Net Employment Outlook is compared with this time one year ago. tion sector employers with a Net Employ- +13%. In the North-West employers report ment Outlook of +15%. Manufacturing a hopeful optimistic Outlook of +12%, and The ManpowerGroup report is available sector employers also forecast a steady conservative payroll gains are anticipated free of charge to the public and can be hiring pace, reporting an Outlook of in the East with an Outlook of +7%. Else- downloaded from www.manpower+13%, while the Restaurants & Hotels where, employers in the South forecast group.pl. Results for all 43 countries Outlook stands at +10%. Limited job a flat labor market, reporting an Outlook can be viewed in the new interactive gains are expected in the Other produc- of 0%.

Manpower Employment Outlook Survey tion, with an Outlook of +4%. However, Explorer tool at http://manpowergroup.

Finance & Business Services sector In a comparison with the prior quarter, com/meos. The next survey will be employers expect to trim payrolls, employers in the North-West and released on September 7, 2021, and will reporting an Outlook of – 1%. the South-West report slightly stronger report hiring expectations for Q4 2021.

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Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

ALEKSANDRA JANUSZ W COREES POLSKA – COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE Aleksandra Janusz joined Warsaw's branch of Corees Polska - Commercial Real Estate, where she took the position of Director, Industrial&Logistic. She will be responsible for creating and developing the Industrtial & Logistic department, as well as for supporting new and existing customers in the processes of searching for space and warehouse solutions.

Aleksandra Janusz is an expirienced manager with the real estate market since year 2006. She is specialize in customer commercialization of office projects. services for the warehouse and logistics After many years of practice in the office sector on the Polish market. market, she moved to the preparation and commercialization of logisShe have gained experience working tics parks all over Poland at Panattoni for international consulting compa- Development Europe, and then she was nies, dealing with both the representa- responsible as an Asset Manager for relation of corporate and local tenants in tions with tenants and the functioning the process of acquiring office space, of the existing logistics parks at Savills and the commercialization strategy and Investment Management.

TALENT SHORTAGE |THE LATEST MANPOWERGROUP SURVEY In the latest survey, ManpowerGroup takes a closer look at the problem of talent shortage, which, as it turned out, has significantly grown in comparison to previous years. As per data included in the report ‘Talent shortage’, even 81% of Polish companies are struggling with acquiring candidates who have desirable skills for a particular position. The number has increased by 11 percentage points when com­­­pared to 2019, and it is 30 points higher than in 2018.

Hiring proper candidates is the biggest challenge for small (10 – 49 workers) and big companies (more than 250 workers).

The problem to fill vacancies indicate 87% and 86% of them, respectively. The problem affects also 81% of medium-sized companies. Talent shortage concerns micro-companies (up to 9 workers) the least, although within this group, the percentage of employers who report difficulties in acquiring workers is also high, and it is 67%.

According to companies’ declarations, the biggest shortage of workers is in logistics area. It is also difficult to find manufacturing/production workers, IT/data workers, administration/office support and front office/customer facing workers.

As a result of a global health threat, the biggest since the II World War skills revolution has started. What competences have become more important? An answer to this question is in our report ‘Talent shortage’ that you can find on our website www. manpowergroup.pl in the section Labour Market Reports. Our survey covers also a topic of employers’ plans when it comes to home office continuing. The results are surprising and provide you with a valuable source of business knowledge. We invite you to read all conclusions of our survey.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

WE ARE AWARE THAT WE WILL NOT CHANGE THE WORLD, BUT WE DO INTEND TO IMPROVE AT LEAST A LITTLE PART OF IT THROUGH BY OUR ACTIONS The pandemic has changed our lives and influenced their every aspect. We certainly live in interesting times, and experts suggest that we might never be able to get fully back to "normal", as things used to be before 2020. Tired of prolonged stress, a sense of financial insecurity, and worries about our friends’ and family’s health and sometimes lives – we are simply fed up with the pressure.

In difficult times, it's even more important to support each other, even if we feel weak and tired ourselves – helping others brings a sense of meaning to our lives, gives us a feeling of being in control, and enhances our confidence by giving us goals we can strive to achieve. This has been proved to be an efficient way to increase the level of our well-being.

By helping others, we help ourselves too.

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colleagues with a handmade moneybox, but there will be time for this when we finally defeat COVID-19. For now, emails and graphics replaced our poster action and the online fundraiser turned out to be even more successful than the live one.

the newcomers often have the opportunity to meet only their manager and a small group of coworkers from their team. We provide them with the possibility to feel a part of the bigger picture – the entire Lionbridge.

While many donors cooperating with the shelter have withdrawn or reduced their support, Lionbridge employees have raised more money than in any Lionbridge treats CSR (corporate social of the previous years. We provided responsibility) very seriously. We are enough food to see the shelter's inhabi­ aware that we will not change the world, tants through the winter. but we do intend to improve at least a little part of it through by our actions. Our plans to promote reading among Our organization's success depends our fellow citizens also had to be altered. on the efficiency of the work of virtual In our office, we used to organize book teams, and it has been so for a long time exchanges and campaigns to support now. Social distancing is no issue for our the local library. Those cannot take place employees when it comes to supporting now due to COVID-19 restrictions, so the ones in need. We are doing it online we created the Lions' Nook reading and discussion club. Our bookworms meet now, that’s the only difference. on MS Teams to talk about their favorite Our annual autumn initiative, fund- books and recommend interesting titles raising for Animal Shelter in Józefów, is to each other. There is an additional the best example. I admit it would be benefit to this initiative, which is the integreat to meet again in the office to pack gration of our employees. It's crucial the gifts together or visit the desks of our during the social distancing period, when

We already started preparations for our next initiative, cooperation with KPH (Campaign Against Homophobia), to which we have offered our support in localization of their published materials.

Helping is a collective effort, so there are project managers, linguists, engineers, and DTP specialists involved. We hope for a lasting and fruitful cooperation.

As an organization, Lionbridge cares for developing and supporting diversity in all its forms. We would like to be an example of how to build great, efficient teams from diverse elements.

Of course, we can’t wait for the pandemic to be over so we are able to meet our colleagues at the office again and draw even more employees towards our CSR initiatives. It would be much easier to gather, brainstorm, meet new people, and engage them in our plans.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO REVISIT? For example, the Green Roof initiative which, despite its name, is all about our office terraces. Since 2019, we plant and sow the flowers and herbs there. We try to focus on two main objectives – on the one hand, we try to keep as many bee-friendly plants, e.g., meadow flowers, and on the other, we provide our employees with a constant access to fresh herbs, such as lavender, salvia, thyme, rosemary, mint, oregano, or lemon balm, which can enrich their meals or be drunk as herbal tea.

I often use a mixture of lemon balm and mint. I can also recommend a more exotic mix – tea with salvia leaves.

I consider this a success that despite our employees moving to the home of­­­­­fi ce model of work, our gardens are still flourishing, and although this year's winter was quite rough for the plants, we can still enjoy the contact with nature.

Our gardens are not only a food source for the bees, but they also provide shelter to several species of bumblebees, numerous grasshoppers, as well as spiders – including the picturesque and extremely colorful species Argiope bruennichi. This pretty, but also quite large, eight-legged inhabitant of our terrace was removed from the list of endangered species only in 2011. I am glad that we can grant it a home, although

personally, I approach it with caution and results. In 2019, we organized a bake-off respect when working in the garden since contest – the cake and cookie baking the female of this spider is 2.5 cm long! competition combined with a fundraiser. For a few hours, the main office We also miss organizing cooking compe- kitchen turned into a pastry shop, and titions. Our employees love delicacies, the table was bending under the weight and not only to taste them, but also of pastries, which looked great and bake, fry, and cook – with impressive tasted even better. The funds gathered

Lionbridge organises annual autumn initiative, fundraising for Animal Shelter in Józefów

In 2019, Lionbridge organized a bake-off contest – the cake and cookie baking competition combined with a fundraiser. For a few hours, the main office kitchen turned into a pastry shop, and the table was bending under the weight of pastries, which looked great and tasted even better. The funds gathered were donated to support a treatment of a sick boy.

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

Since 2019, we Lionbridge plants and sows the flowers and herbs there. They try to focus on two main objectives – on the one hand, they try to keep as many bee-friendly plants, e.g., meadow flowers, and on the other, the company provides employees with a constant access to fresh herbs, such as lavender, salvia, thyme, rosemary, mint, oregano, or lemon balm, which can enrich their meals or be drunk as herbal tea.

were donated to support a treatment of a sick boy. I must confess that this is my favorite form of fundraising. Unfortunately, with my exceptional lack of baking skills, all I could do was taste the sweets prepared by the chefs and make a donation for a good cause.

Luckily for me, I did not have to wait too long for the opportunity to show off my culinary talent, since the next initiative was already starting. This time, it was the Cultural Awareness Days, during which our colleagues presented the culture and traditions of their countries. Lionbridge is a multinational organization and has offices all around the globe, but in order to meet a person from a faraway country, we don't need to open the office communicator or go on a business trip. It's enough to go to the office kitchen for a cup of coffee and have a chat with a coworker from China, Greece, or Brazil. But… getting back to the CSR initiative – as we know, each country has its unique set of traditions, kitchen included. Each speaker, but also many of the invited guests, have prepared their national specialties. I have made the Polish hunter's stew (bigos) by the old recipe. In the finale, both speakers and

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guests had the opportunity to win one of the handmade sacks prepared by our CSR team. Of course, we plan to repeat this initiative, however, until we are back to the office, we will have to limit our activities to online presentations and won't be able to taste the delicacies prepared by our colleagues.

are doing their renovations exactly when we need to focus on an important task, but...

Such initiatives not only let us develop empathy and do good, but they also allow us to change our perspective on the world around us. Are we really in such bad situations ourselves? Surely, our partners working from home are taking our favorite spots on the couch, kids and pets are desperately trying to participate in our video calls, while those mean neighbors

Author:

There are people around us: elderly, lonely, often also poor. For such people, their dream Christmas present could be just a new sweater or even a bottle of shower gel. Seniors who would love to see kids The busiest period for the CSR team running around their place, but no one is autumn and winter when we run visits them anymore. What is worse – they a number of initiatives supporting are often technologically excluded. Some the poor or the excluded. Of course, find it impossible to navigate the Internet we take part in the Noble Package, but system of the COVID-19 vaccine registrawe do not limit ourselves to this one. tion or even use Zoom or Skype to be able A good example of such an initiative is to meet their families and friends online. the Elderly Letter to Santa, organized I believe that we must not forget about by one of our colleagues when Lionbridge them in our future CSR plans. employees became Santa Clause, proving to the seniors that this white bearded guy That’s why we keep going! does exist after all.

Joanna Zaręba, PM Team Leader, Lionbridge

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

IPOSTA riposta.pl

INVESTMENTS

THE GENDER PAY GAP IS NOT A MYTH – HOW TO FIGHT IT? According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2020, published by the World Economic Forum, the world needs 257 years to achieve economic gender equality and patch up the so-called pay gap. The fact that women earn less than men in the same positions is the fault of stereotypes and institutional discrimination. How to change it?

To earn as much as a man in a year, a Polish woman would have to work until the 3rd of March the following year. However, the wage gap is not only about lower salary, but also lower pension and fewer women in managerial positions. As of today, only 6% of listed companies are led by a woman (Deloitte, 2019). Not only do more women live in Poland, but they are also statistically better educated than men.

How come they are at such disadvantage?

WHEN WE CONSIDER THE ADJUSTED PAY GAP, THINGS ARE NOT SO BRIGHT The adjusted pay gap is the percentage difference in earnings between a man and a woman working in the same or a comparable position. It takes into account the level of education, age, seniority, sector, size of the company and the economic success of the company. In Poland it is around 17%, while the EU average is up to 5%.

WHY DO THE MEDIA AND REPORTS THE REASONS OF INEQUALITY GIVE DIFFERENT NUMBERS? The Labor Code clearly enforces equal In one source we read the wage gap in Poland is one of the lowest in Europe, ano­­­­ther says it is 3 times higher than the European average. Both figures are true! So where does this difference come from?

It is based on the distinction between the adjusted and the unadjusted pay gap.

treatment on employers regardless of gender, and yet there is a pay gap, and Poland is the only country in the EU where women can retire earlier than men (hence the shorter work time). Where does it come from?

The issue are the established, traditional gender roles and the division of household responsibilities. In the eyes of many Poles (both men and women), the most important role of a woman is taking care of the home and family. For this reason, as many as 1/3 of women are economically inactive for caring reasons (for comparison, this applies to only 4.2% of men). Another 1/3 of fit for work women are employed part-time. Tending to children, seniors or In Poland, the unadjusted pay gap sick relatives is often referred to as unpaid amounts to approx. 7%, which is one work. It is what stops as many as 40% of the best results in the European Union of inactive women who would like to go to work. with an average of 15%.

The unadjusted pay gap is the percentage difference between the average remune­ ration of all professionally active women and men – this indicator does not take into account the fact that men work longer than women on average (longer retirement pension, no need to take sick leave due to pregnancy and childbirth, less use of parental leave).

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The pandemic will only aggravate this situation – we work mainly from home, with children demanding their parents' attention. Many of them had to decide who would stay at home and take over most of the duties, at the same time giving up their professional career. Since women earn less, when it is necessary to take care of children at the expense of professional promotion, not only from a social but also an economic point of view, the answer is simple. It's a vicious circle.

Withholding promotions and raises is sometimes known as the "maternity pe­­­­­nalty." Men are more attractive to employers: there is no risk of getting pregnant, and only 0.8% of them take paternity leave. It is worth noting that, as in the case of unequal retirement age, this situation also discriminates against men who would like to devote more time to their family.

There is no instant solution to these problems. However, we can take small steps towards better.

WAYS TO REDUCE THE GENDER PAY GAP We have no influence on the institutional support for paternity leave or the retirement age, but there are matters that, as entrepreneurs and employers, we can take care of ourselves.

Fighting stereotypes, diversity, inclusion and women empowerment should

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

not be alien to any Polish entrepreneur. When a pay gap "comes to light" in the company, very often women feel less motivated to work. Non-judgemental and transparent criteria for assessing female and male candidates shall be the basis of every recruitment process.

We cannot always do "blind auditions" like musicians, but let's make every effort to ensure that our beliefs do not obscure the competences of the employee. Flexi­ ­ble working arrangements and allowing the employee to take care of household duties regardless of gender can be a form of reducing inequalities.

As of today, only 6% of listed companies are led by a woman (Deloitte, 2019). Not only do more women live in Poland, but they are also statistically better educated than men. How come they are at such disadvantage?

Programs supporting entrepreneur­­­­ship and professional resourcefulness of women, such as workshops on building negotiating assertiveness or business mentoring (e.g. Women Leadership in Business Foundation), are no less important.

In many European countries, e.g. in Austria and Belgium, there is an obligation to report wage differences. Unfortunately, according to a survey conducted by the Employers of Poland, 70% of Polish employers believe that the labor market is not yet ready for open wages.

IS THERE A PAY GAP IN MY COMPANY? From the website of the Ministry of Family and Social Policy, formerly the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy, you can download the "Equal pay" app, i.e. the pay gap calculator, for free. The tool enables enterprises and public admi­ nistration to estimate the adjusted wage gap while maintaining the anonymity of employees. Through everyday activities and choices, as employers and HR specia­ lists, we can accelerate this long process of closing the gender pay gap by at least a few days.

In Poland, the unadjusted pay gap amounts to approx. 7%, which is one of the best results in the European Union with an average of 15%.

Author:

Marta Kowalczyk-Rompała CEO, HUB HR

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

CAN ANYONE BECOME A CFO? Nowadays, CFO is the key position in every company. They know numbers but they also understand business and the industry. CEOs are increasingly recruited among from the ranks of CFOs. In order to become a CFO, it might be a smart move to start one’s career in finance, in the accounting department, in controlling or as an intern in consulting companies from the so-called ‘Big Four’, which cooperate with many economic universities in Poland.

A person who looks beyond the scope of their duties can become a CFO. They are not only focused on finance operations. They have an interest in the business in which they acts as a CFO, the industry in which their business operates. They are proactive, they do not wait for others to decide what to do; they put forward solutions to be implemented for the benefit of the company and convince others their ideas are worth everyone’s while. someone who inspires the team and helps them understand the way in which A CFO must know finance inside out and the company works. have the requisite knowledge – gained at university as well as years of work expe- Today, CFO is one of, if not the most rien­ce. It is worth having one of the in­­­dus- important role within every company. It’s try certificates, such as ACCA, CFA, CIMA, the CFO, hand in hand with the CEO, who which confirm financial knowledge and manages the organization and the busihelp in the proper interpretation and ness. CFO is every CEO’s right hand person, reading of the numbers. A good CFO is not often holding the position of a VP. Future only a financier but also a good manager. CEOs are increasingly recruited from They’re someone who is charismatic, among the ranks of CFOs.

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Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

Until just a few years ago, the most common career path to reach the CEO position was a promotion from the Commercial Director position; i.e. the one who knew the product and knew how to best sell it.

There’s a visible shift today – it’s the CFOs who know the product, its sales, as well as the rest of the company and its processes are becoming CEOs. Those CFOs who later become CEOs most often know the industry within which they are promoted. If someone was a CFO in a manufacturing company, they would sooner become a CEO there rather than in a service-based company.

Recruitment processes for CFO positions that we engage in are not guided by uni­­­­ form rules. There are those where only two or three meetings are enough between the candidate and the company decision-makers; followed by negotiations regarding technical terms of employment and the clarification of contract provisions.

We also engage in recruitments where employers need to meet a minimum of five candidates – and someti­mes a c ro s s s e ve r a l mee­­­­t ings. This is when the recruitment process can extend up to six months.

There are ins­­­tan­­­­ces where a com­­­­ pany looking for a CFO points us in the di­­rection of another company where they would like to hire a potential candidate from; alternatively, they tell us what industry should such a candidate have the most experience in.

CFO is a job where earnings are high – of course, that depends on the company scale, industry

Outsourcing&More | July–August 2021

in which it operates, and the number of people employed. A CFO position is usually established at companies employing a minimum of 50 people. At smaller companies, a chief accountant,

clue as to what's going to happen. Quite often, without having the complete picture of the situation and the possible consequences, a CFO has to make a decision that will bring about a certain result.

A CFO must know finance inside out and have the requisite knowledge – gained at university as well as years of work experien­ce. It is worth having one of the industry certificates, such as ACCA, CFA, CIMA, which confirm financial knowledge and help in the proper interpretation and reading of the numbers.

A good CFO is not only a financier but also a good manager.

a financial manager or a controller should • interpersonal skills – this is the key generally be enough. At companies with competence for every senior manager today. Unless you can communicate with approx. 50 employees, a CFO earns up to PLN 25k gross. Organizations conducting employees, have the ability to speak to business on a larger scale and employing them, have the necessary skills to motia large number of employees, thus vate them, know how to pull the team creating a higher level of responsibility, together – success won’t come knocking may move their salaries to the region on your door. Today, when most people of PLN 100k gross per month. work remotely, soft skills come to the fore in managing a team and, conseNowadays, financiers looking for jobs quently, the entire company. do not focus primarily on salaries. Some are looking for companies with a stable CAN ANYONE BECOME A CFO? business and a quiet work environment, In my opinion, anyone with a unique where they will perform their jobs they combination of four features can become with the utmost commitment and dili- a CFO. First of all: they know finance. gence. Others are looking for challenges, Second: they know the business and jobs requiring them to make decisions the industry in which they will work. Third, – for e.g. whether to move forward with as I already mentioned, soft skills are key. a particular investment? Or regarding And fourth, I’d add experience. a new product launch?

You may become a CFO in your 30s but Decision-making responsibility and exer- also as late as around 50 years of age; cising real influence over the business – there are no rules here. Recruiting future this is what the CFOs of today are most CFOs, and perhaps future CEOs, is someoften looking for. thing I enjoy doing. I get to meet mature people who already have several, or someIf I had to name three key competences times several dozen, years of experience on the labor market under their belt. They for CFOs in 2021, I would list these: • decision-making – skills related to are determined, precise, they know what reaching a decision on: what’s going they want. And even if they don’t, we to benefit the company and what isn’t; can easily and quite quickly manage to plus the speed in which such a decision set expectations and proceed to move in is made. When you’re a CFO, you can't that direction. afford to procrastinate. Often ‘done’ is Author: better than ‘perfect’.

• courage – related to decision-making; particularly today, in the post-pandemic world, where it became obvious that there are a lot of situations where we don’t know what’s going to happen.

Piotr Wajgielt, We’ll opt for solution A and have no idea Head of Wyser’s what’s going to follow. We'll change it Finance & and go for option B and still have no Accounting

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