Outsourcing&More #52 May-June 2020

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No. 3 (52) | May–June 2020 ISSN 2083-8867 PRICE EUR 6 (INCL. 8% VAT)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY-ON...?!

Location strategy perspectives on the COVID-19 crisis

by Elias van Herwaarden | page 18 BUSINESS:

INVESTMENTS:

CAREER & DEVELOPMENT:

We have a CRISIS! And how can you comprehend it? |page 42

Logistics – the next frontier for Lithuanian GBS |page 62

Is the home to become the new office? |page 94

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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 NOTE: new editorial address ul. Dziekońskiego 1 00-728 Warszawa www.proprogressio.pl

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

Circulation 3,000 copies All rights reserved.

No copying, reproduction or photocopying allowed without written consent of the publisher.

The views expressed in this publication as well as the content of the adverts are not necessarily those of the editor.

Dear Readers, Usually, the May edition of Outsourcing&More describes a series of business events that are carried out in the first half of the year. This time, due to the lack of conferences and congresses in the traditional model, a number of events have moved to the Internet and thus the reality of knowledge exchange in Poland, Europe and the world has changed.

2020 will undoubtedly be a big challenge for a number of industries, including the outsourcing and modern business services sector. Nevertheless, the market has not stopped, and the innovation of many entities allows you to look optimistically for the coming years and months. An example is the Timate solution, which we are interviewing Sebastian Młodziński about.

We decided to modify the SSC Lions section a bit and from this release Outsourcing&More the content presented in this section will not only apply to shared service centers, but also to career paths and managerial competences of people holding key positions in Shared Services Centers.

I specially invite you to read the article, which is currently on time. Keep calm and carry-on…?! – a great story by Elias van Herwaarden from Location Perspectives.

Enjoy reading, Dymitr Doktór Editor in Chief

Partners

Authors: Iga Marcinkowska • Joanna Wojnarowska • Weronika Roesler • Ewa Lewandowska • David Palmer • Elias van Herwaarden • Sebastian Młodziński • Wiktor Doktór • Stephan Fricke • Roland Pac • Marcin Rzepecki • Artur Skiba • Monika Rajska­-Wolińska • Anna Romańska • Izabela Krajewska • Marcin Uske • Dalia Liesytė • Bibiana Kołodziejczyk • Anna Mielczarek • Anna Chmurawa-Rębisz • Karina Chowaniak • Jakub Zieliński

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

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INDEX

6 8 10 14 18 26 30 33 34 38 42 50 52 4

BUSINESS NEWS Opportunity for debt relief. Amendment of the Bankruptcy Law The Act of 30 August 2019 introduced a number of changes, including the liberalization of the processes of debt relief for natural persons.

Making co-working work In recent years, there has been increasing demand from corporations for flexible space and remote work.

The evolution of digitalisation, technology, and employee skills in Professional Services Professional Services is changing rapidly.

HOT STORY Keep Calm and Carry-on...?!

Location strategy perspectives on the COVID-19 crisis by Elias van Herwaarden.

Polish technology takes care of safety at work Interview with Sebastian Młodziński, CEO of TIMATE.

Business support, or a few words about business environment institutions.

Outsourcing Destination Guide Poland 2020 published

First people, then data. 5th anniversary of SoftServe in Poland SoftServe, one of the biggest technological companies in the world, bets on Poland.

From start-ups to advanced multifunctional Shared Services Centres We invite you to meet Roland Pac, the Director of Strategic Projects at COTY SSC.

We have a CRISIS! And how can you comprehend it?

In the midst of this economic disaster, we have asked three different organisations (the City of Poznań, Antal and Colliers International) to comment on crisis management.

When the world stops. Employee communications in times of crisis When the world around us seems to stop, cohesive and transparent communication is needed more than ever.

Next Generation of the Finance Function Finance of the future has an evolving role, broader than we have seen before; with new expectations, interactions, and priorities, which help drive business profitability and growth for the organization.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

56 58 62 64 66 68 72 74 78 84 85 86 90 94 Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

INVESTMENTS NEWS Responsible together, today and tomorrow The outbreak of the coronavirus has caught everyone by surprise, forcing us to reorganise the way we live and work, and creating numerous organisational and other challenges for business.

Logistics – the next frontier for Lithuanian GBS “Location, location, location” is not just a catchy term used by realtors, or a key criteria to consider when setting up a new GBS centre.

Monopolis, Spirit of Lodz Monopolis is a unique project developed in the center of Lodz which combines offices, services and culture along with a wide range of restaurants.

In fashion for centuries Łódź – the Polish capital of the textile industry where modern textile and fashion sectors combine innovation with long-standing tradition.

Aid package for business in Kielce To meet entrepreneurs for whom this unstable situation is extremely difficult, the City of Kielce has prepared the so-called assistance package.

How is it done in Częstochowa?

Częstochowa has, once again, been recognized for the innovation of the BETTER JOB NOW.

BPO/SSC market in Bydgoszcz

Poznań benefits from electric transportation Poznań counts on electromobility and collective transport that will make the City quiet, clean and resident and tourist friendly.

HR NEWS

Recruitment ad

Our strategy is centred on the people Interview with Anna Chmurawa-Rębisz, Human Resources Manager Gi Group & Grafton Recruitment.

Study results: Impact of Coronavirus on Polish Companies How are employers coping with the current situation? What losses will business suffer?

Is the home to become the new office?

JLL publishes the results of its When home is the new office report, in which the company analyses opinions of Polish employees on remote work.

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BUSINESS NEWS BNP PARIBAS REAL ESTATE POLAND WITH A FIRST AID KIT INCLUDING A PROTECTIVE COATING FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland promotes innovative real estate solutions for its clients. In response to the current needs of the real estate sector, the company, in cooperation with its partner, has prepared a special offer aimed at protecting buildings and their usable areas.

For several weeks now the most important topic in public space has been the coronavirus pandemic. Its effects include not only anxiety about the future, but also changes in beha­ viour. The government is introducing further regulations aimed at reducing the dynamics of the spread of the virus in the population. The restrictions entail changes in the way citizens as well as companies function. Their needs are addressed by BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland, which has prepared comprehensive solutions for commercial properties, named the first-aid kit for real estate.

BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland’s first aid kit includes, among others, titanium protective coatings, which are a modern method of disintegrating pathogenic

microbiological organisms, previously used almost exclusively in hospitals and food production plants.

TITANsolid is a versatile product based on titanium dioxide (a naturally occurring raw material used and registered as a food additive in the EU under the symbol E171). The coating can be applied to many surfaces, ranging from specific areas to be covered for permanent protection such as desks, furniture, grips, to office spaces such as walls, ceilings or glazing. Thanks to this solution we obtain a permanent, long-lasting possibility to eliminate patho­genic microorganisms from the air in the entire office space.

Thanks to the cooperation with Lumichem, BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland has become an exclusive partner of this solution, promoting it in the commercial office property markets in Warsaw, Kraków, Katowice and Tri-City. Furthermore, under the agreement, the company gained priority in providing its clients with the described solution in the buildings it manages or rents.

DIGITAL WORKFORCE LAUNCHES ‘ELEMENTS OF RPA’ – A FREE AUTOMATION ONLINE CRASH COURSE

Digital Workforce, the world's leading pure-play Intelligent Automation services company, has launched a free online crash course. The ‘Elements of RPA’ course has been designed to give an overview of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and its use cases, as well as guide people to identify valuable skills for their future. The goal of this online training is to help individuals find new opportunities for professional growth and business innovation.

In addition to launching the ‘Elements of RPA’ course, the company has opened all existing online trainings to indivi­ duals. Through these actions it hopes to support people with finding new ways of working at a challenging time.

For more details please visit DWF Academy website.

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT The UN-body draws attention to ICT-related development issues being tackled by the UN, such as the growing digital divide laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic.

UNCTAD, which spearheads discussions on e-commerce, the digital economy and policy, has taken the helm of the United Nations’ inter-agency mechanism for advancing information and communications technologies (ICT) policy cohe­ rence and programme coordination.

UNCTAD took the leadership of the United Nations Group on the Information Society (UNGIS) from joint leaders, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), on 15 April for a year.

UNGIS is a collaboration mechanism for 30 UN entities and other international agencies seeking to contribute to the objectives of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and

ADAPTIVE SOLUTIONS & ADVISORY GROUP JOIN FORCES WITH DIGITAL TEAMMATES! Adaptive SAG, the BSS leader announced a strategic partnership with Digital Teammates, the top process robotics, to support BSS organizations stay compe­ titive and secure through their workforce and process digitalization journey.

Together, the companies will offer Customers unique managed and rent digital workforce, as well as comprehensive, integrated, end-to-end optimization, automation, and analytics services.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

draw attention to science, digital and technology-related development issues being tackled by the UN. Established in 2006, the group is committed to partnerships that leverage ICTs for sustainable development. It is also taking on commitments related to the call for a Decade of Action to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ahead of the forum, the UNCTAD eWeek event, an online iteration of its now compressed eCommerce Week, slated for 27 April to 1 May, will examine issues of high relevance to the mandate of UNGIS. It will feature 15 webinars on the develop­ ment opportunities and challenges associated with the evolving digital economy.

The coronavirus crisis has accelerated the uptake of digital solutions, tools, The start of the Decade of Action coin- and services, speeding up the global cides with dialogues connected to this transition towards a digital economy. year’s commemoration of the UN’s 75th However, it has also exposed the wide anniversary, which identified the impact chasm between the hyper-connected and of digital technologies as one of the issues the less connected, revealing just how that “require effective cooperation across far behind many are on digital uptake. borders, sectors, and generations.” This eWeek will tackle this and other pressing year’s WSIS Forum scheduled for August opportunities and challenges linked to will review the achievements made in the digitalization of our economies and addressing issues associated with ICTs societies. over the past 15 years.

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BUSINESS

OPPORTUNITY FOR DEBT RELIEF. AMENDMENT OF THE BANKRUPTCY LAW The Act of 30 August 2019, amending the Bankruptcy Law and certain other acts, introduced a number of changes, including the liberalization of the processes of debt relief for natural persons.

The possibility of remission of obligations of consumers and entrepreneurs who are natural persons has been unified. The act also provides for the possibility of debt relief for the bankrupt by establishing a creditor repayment plan, for the remission of liabili­ ties without establishing a creditor repayment plan and conditional remission of liabilities without establishing a creditor repayment plan.

Debt relief proceedings may be commenced within thirty days from the announcement of the decision on closing the insolvency proceedings. A respective application may be filed by the bankrupt who is a natural person. The court shall determine to what extent and within what period the bankrupt shall be obliged to pay the claims, included in the list of claims, which have not been satisfied in the course of the bankruptcy proceedings.

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

The court shall also determine what part of the bankrupt's liabilities shall be remitted after the creditors repayment plan has been implemented. Above all, however, the court shall assess how the state of insolvency or a significant increase of its level has arisen - whether the bankrupt has led to this deliberately, intentionally, as a result of gross negligence, or in an unintentional manner.

instituted against the bankrupt regarding to obligations corresponding to those claims which had arisen before the bank- of a bankrupt implementing the repayruptcy was declared. ment plan.

FULL VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE Remission of obligations without a formu- Bankrupt's failure to submit a timely lating creditor repayment plan is possible report on their property and professional ONLY IN PAPER EDITION OF OUTSOURCING&MORE where the personal situation of the bank- situation and providing false information clearly indicates that they are perma- therein (in particular, concealing income MAGAZINE OR ON THErupt PRO PROGRESSIO WEBSITE. nently unable to make any payments earned and assets acquired), committing Prior to 24 March 2020, if the bankrupt caused the state of insolvency or a signifi­ cant increase of its level culpably or through gross negligence, their application to establish a creditor repayment plan and to remit the remainder of the liabilities would always be rejected. Currently, the court will only dismiss such an application, if the bankrupt has deliberately led to the state of insolvency or a substantial increase of the debt level. The intentional nature of the bankrupt's actions or gross negligence, on the other hand, shall result in an extension of the period for which the creditor repayment plan will be established. When deciding on the period to repay creditors, the court shall also take into account activities of the bankrupt in the execution of that plan.

During the creditor repayment plan implementing period, the bankrupt shall be prohibited to perform legal actions which could impair their ability to implement the repayment plan. Only in case of a reasonable excuse may the court give its consent to such action or approve it retrospectively. Additionally, by the end of April each year, the bankrupt shall submit to the court a report on the execution of the creditor repayment plan for the previous calendar year. What is important, as a rule, during the period of execution of the creditors' repayment plan, no enforcement proceedings can be

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

under a creditor repayment plan. It should be noted that the legislator has not made this type of debt relief conditional upon the insolvency or an increase of its level being caused by intentional actions or gross negligence. The only reason for debt remission without a repayment plan is the debtor's lasting situation of permanent inability to pay their creditors. The permanent inability within the meaning of that provision covers such debtor's personal situation which does not promise to improve. It does not, however, include temporary difficulties, even if they have persisted for a long time. An application for remission of debts without a credi­tor repayment plan shall be dismissed by the court, if the bankrupt is found to have intentionally caused the insolvency or a significant increase of debt.

any act that deteriorates the bankrupt's property situation without the prior or retrospective consent of the court, concealing the assets, a and legally binding acknowledgement that the bankrupt has committed an act to the detriment of creditors, shall result in the court cancelling the decision on conditional remission of liabilities without creditor repayment plan. The court may withhold from the cancellation only if the bankrupt's default is of an insignificant nature or due to reasonable grounds of equity or humanitarian grounds.

To sum up the presented options of debt relief for natural persons being and not being a sole trader, it should be noted that the introduced changes primarily aim to serve the bankrupts. The interests of the creditor and the chances to In a situation where the bankrupt is satisfy their claims seem to be set aside unable to make any repayments under Yet, the liberalisation of the bankruptcy the creditor repayment plan, and such law in respect of debt recovery for insolinability is not of a permanent nature, it vent natural persons may bring about is possible to use the institution of condi- an increased interest in these processes tional remission without a creditor repay- in practice. ment plan. In such a case, the obligations of the bankrupt shall be definitively Author: remitted after a period of five years from the date on which the order for conditional debt relief without a repayment plan becomes final, unless the bankIga Marcinkowska, rupt or one of their creditors submits associate in the Law Firm “Chudzik an application for a repayment plan i Wspólnicy Radcowie within that period. During that 5-year Prawni” sp.p. period, the bankrupt shall be subject www.chudzik.pl

9

BUSINESS

MAKING CO-WORKING WORK

In recent years, there has been increasing demand from corporations for flexible space and remote work. This, along with the growing popularity of flexible forms of employment and the rise in ambitious start-ups with limited financial resources looking for just the right business model, has resulted in the dynamic development of co-working spaces. As well as a desk, co-working spaces also offer a wide range of services, ranging from reception services, correspondence and cleaning services to training and virtual accounting, or they might even offer a virtual office.

WHAT IS CO-WORKING AND PRINCIPLES OF CO-WORKING SPACES The meaning of co-working has evolved, and from being only the use of an office or other working environment and its equipment by people who are self-employed or working for different employers, it has also become a field for the exchange of ideas and knowledge. Today, it is cooperation and skill sharing that is the foundation of co-working, which may seem strange given that people in this system usually work on individual assignments and are not connected by professional relationships.

German city sociologist, Janet Merkel, who specializes in the relationship and interdependence between creativity and urban space, described co-working much more broadly than an office, namely as a cultural model that promotes five values: community, collaboration, openness, diversity, and sustainability1. Therefore, the main 1

Janet Merkel, Coworking in the city, www.ephemerajournal.org volume 15(1): 121–139

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features of co-working that make this WHO IS THE USE OF THE COform of work so unique are informal WORKING SPACE AND THE ART cooperation, exchange of ideas and OF WORKSPACE PLANNING experiences, as well as mutual support A co-working office should be a space for those who use a common workspace that is suitable for many different users and, consequently, a sense of community. or user groups. On the one hand, for those who will spend 8 hours a day in it, but also In Janet Merkel’s opinion, the physical for those who decide to visit it irreguspace of the shared office alone is not larly – several times a week and at different enough to establish social relations to times of the day. This is true for employees a sufficient extent to establish coope­ of the creative industry and advertising ration. She points out the special role agencies as well as for representatives of the landlord, whose task it is to initiate of banks and consulting companies, freeand maintain interaction between indi- lancers and guests of each of the aforevidual users, as well as to plan and design mentioned industry representatives. Thus, the workspace accordingly. It should not there is no single target group of users (or be forgotten that every member of this even two or three groups), which means shared community is bound by a kind that planning such a practical, multifuncof co-working savoir-vivre, which is tional and flexible workspace is not easy, revealed, for example, by silencing and it is likely that no universal projects phones, taking care of cleanliness, as or concepts exist. well as controlled and unobtrusive networking, without which productive The need to meet the different needs functioning in the common space would of many, often completely unrelated, not be possible. users at the same time requires the creation of a coherent space within which

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

zones dedicated to the various professional activities and working styles will be separated. In addition to the basic “hot-desk” zone, co-working users also need more private closed offices, as well as conference rooms or quiet and secluded areas for telephone calls. Relaxation, catering and event zones are also extremely important, which not only affect the comfort of work but above all create the conditions that will motivate users to make contacts, have conversations and initiate business situations in an unobtrusive way that is still full of energy.

A very important element of the co-­­­ -working space is also the creation of numerous and, at the same time, secure places to store confidential data, documentation and correspondence, which are an inseparable element of every type of activity at every level of professional activity, and ensuring their proper protection as a priority for every user.

The threats resulting from COVID-19 are another challenge that the designers of coworking space will soon have to

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

face, introducing new solutions, e.g. those that will allow to keep a distance during the epidemic and at the same time not disturb the interaction between users, so important for this model of work.

SPACING.PL OR HOW TO FOLLOW THE TENANT

A co-working office should be a space that is suitable for many different users or user groups. On the one hand, for those who will spend 8 hours a day in it, but also for those who decide to visit it irregularly – several times a week and at different times of the day.

Since the most important thing in co-­­ -­working is ease and speed of access as well as functionality, and numerous studies and market analyses show that the biggest competitor for shared offices is the home of their potential users, Hagay Albo and Eitan Singer founded the Spacing platform in 2017, which is similar to the gastronomic site Pyszne.pl or the hotel site Booking.pl. The Spacing platform compares co-working spaces and offices, and contains all the data needed to easily find the ideal co-working environment, tailored to the needs and style of work of particular employees.

Since 2018, Spacing.pl has also been available in Poland, and it is interesting to note that our market was the third one in which the founders of the portal decided to launch a local platform.

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BUSINESS

The coworking industry may be, in the short term, one of the sectors most affected by effects of the pandemic, among others, due to certain restrictions introduced by the governing bodies of particular countries including restrictions on movement, restrictions on assembly or other recommendations in the field of the so called social distancing.

The main task of co-working office opera­ tors is, for example, to briefly define their own target group and demonstrate the available functions and services of the offered space, including the benefits of participating in co-working, such as exchange of ideas and experiences and the spontaneous establishment of business relations. It is also important to constantly observe this living organism which is a shared space for work and to adjust its arrangement and services avai­ lable within it to the needs and expectations of its users.

CO-WORKING VS COVID-19 What impact shall the current socio-economic situation connected with outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and touching many regions of the world have on the operators of the co-working spaces?

The coworking industry may be, in the short term, one of the sectors most affected by effects of the pandemic, among others, due to certain restrictions

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introduced by the governing bodies of particular countries including restrictions on movement, restrictions on assembly or other recommendations in the field of the so called social distancing.

In our view, in the long run, coworking operators may gain, due to the fact that often their clients are smaller companies, start-ups whose crisis may lead to financial difficulties, as a result of which they will give up the use of long-term commitments such as long-term lease agreements in favour of flexible space. In addition, ironically, the hope for co-working is that many companies are now forced to introduce the so-called home office for a wide scale. In spite of appearances, this experience can be helpful to co-working and make employers realize that there is no reason for their (co-)employees to lose time to travel to the company’s headquarters, spend 8 hours in it and be under constant control ensuring the efficiency of their work. Home office is often a step that precedes the introduction of the model or the possibility of remote work, which can be performed by (co-) employees in the co-working center closest to their home.

The current situation may also force to think about the need to maintain the headquarters of companies that generate huge fixed costs, and which are currently empty, while (co-)employees continue their work using the latest technologies to communicate with each other from anywhere on earth.

Getting used to the remote work model, combined with the broadly understood recession and the need to cut costs will, in our opinion, lead to an increase in the popularity of co-working spaces.

In addition, co-working operators offer many types of services, some of which will not fall victim to the crisis or even their popularity will increase, such as virtual office services and IT services.

The epidemic will also definitely pose new challenges for designers of common areas, who, being aware of the restrictions that such a threat poses, will try to create offices with such functions and so safe for health that no virus will interrupt their work.

It is difficult to assess the effects of the impending economic crisis on co-working, but in the long run it can have a positive impact on the development of this trend, which is an excellent alternative to remote work done at home, as well as for companies wanting to reduce costs by resigning from renting large office spaces. Authors: The article was prepared by the lawyers from the Real Estate & Construction team at Baker McKenzie, who have been working closely with the co-working industry for many years.

Joanna Wojnarowska, Partner, Baker McKenzie

Weronika Roesler, Senior associate, Baker McKenzie

Ewa Lewandowska, Associate, Baker McKenzie

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Prepare your team and workspace to safely and efficiently resume office operations. Our experts will guide you through the entire process of office re-entry, in compliance with guidelines which will ensure the health and wellness of your people.

Contact us warsaw.office@eu.jll.com jll.pl | officefinder.pl

We will advise you on how to deliver the necessary adjustments to your space, technologies and behaviours in order to strengthen safety protocols and maintain the productivity of your organization.

BUSINESS

THE EVOLUTION OF DIGITALISATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND EMPLOYEE SKILLS IN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Professional Services is changing rapidly: with new data analytic capabilities, automation taking over many finance and audit tasks, machine learning augmenting decision-making, and blockchain promising to streamline bookkeeping.

The widening skillsets of accountants, lawyers and other consultants in the Professional Services sector will need to evolve with the arrival of complex technologies and the needs of employers and their clients.

clearly apparent as we enter the 2020’s.

A skills transformation is now happening and will continue over the next decade as professionals need to continuously reinvent themselves and re-learn. Furthermore, the realisation that no one individual can solve complex business An awareness that consultants and profes- problems alone is driving increased sionals must be “future ready” to remain connectivity between professionals as relevant is emerging as the need to learn, collaboration to deliver complex, techadapt and apply with the fast changing nology based solutions increasingly digitalisation of business processes is becomes a critical success factor.

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The ICAEW Technology Faculty makes the following points in their recent paper ‘Big data and analytics: the impact on the accountancy profession’: • The trend of big data is being propelled by enormous growth in computing power, new sources of data and the infrastructure to enable innovative knowledge creation.

• Applying analytics to big data creates many opportunities for businesses to gain greater insight, predict future

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

outcomes and automate non-routine tasks. It also provides opportunities for the accountancy profession to deliver greater value and to help businesses transform their decision-making in many different areas.

• We need to ensure the use of big data and analytics is appropriate and subject to robust challenge, especially where predictive models are being relied upon. We also need new thinking about the ethics, governance and regulation of big data, to ensure sufficient transparency and to encourage confidence in its use.

• Businesses require greater skills in data and statistics in specialist data disciplines, across a wide range of business functions that are using big data, and among accountants.1

for most of our needs. However, we cannot longer rely on spreadsheet software as our primary analytical tool as corporates increasingly require ‘big data’ solutions.

Technology is therefore driving an explosion in learning requirements for professional firms to increase the scope, scale and frequency of their learning and development programmes. Also, the rise of the ‘gig economy’ means freelance professionals must seek out learning solutions for themselves, which is providing a uplift in opportunity in the professional education sector, as the demand for high quality technology and skills professional development solutions increases.

BPP have reviewed data from 160+ research reports to inform our view It is clear that many of us will need to of digitalisation and the future of work change the way we work and what we in the professional services sector. We know, broaden our skills capacity and be identified the following skills needs better at synthesising technology solu- for accountants: tions seamlessly in our workflows. Addi- 1. Data analytics for accountants, tionally, we need to develop our tech- 2. The digitalisation of audit, nology literacy and language so we are 3. The impact of digitalisation on adviable to articulate our technology develop sory professionals, communication tools to better interact 4. The digitalisation of tax and law. with technology professionals in order that technology adapts to our specific How are Professional Services emplo­­ needs to deliver specific, client solutions. yers equipping their employees with For many of us, this represents a change, these skills? as technology is either provided, or we use off the shelf technology solutions DATA ANALYTICS ICAEW, Big data and analytics: the impact on the accountancy profession, https://www. icaew.com/learning-and-development/aca/acaemployers/the-future-professional/technologyand-the-aca/big-data-and-data-analytics

1

What happened?

DESCRIPTIVE ANALYTICS

of data the capabilities of the accountant will need to keep pace.

Gartner has a useful method of articulating data analytics, explained in the chart below. Each stage of analytical insight relates to the accounting profession: • Descriptive: describing the state of accounts or the items in an audit.

• Diagnostic: drawing inferences from financial data, explaining why certain transactions or events took place.

• Predictive: using financial data to extra­ polate future events and help businesses predict developments.

• Prescriptive: advising the business on actions they should take, based on the available financial information.

As data and analytics advances, acco­­ untants are able to automate many of the descriptive and diagnostic tasks, which frees them to think about the pre­­­ dictive and prescriptive tasks.

THE DIGITALISATION OF AUDIT Automation is changing audit rapidly: because many audit processes are good candidates for automation, the audit professional is spending an increasing amount of time thinking about the outputs and inputs of an audit, rather than doing the mundane cataloguing and calculation.

In time, audits will cease to be about sam­­­ pling data. Instead, auditors will be able FOR ACCOUNTANTS to review every transaction in real-time, Accounting is, fundamentally, a data- aided by advances in machine learning and driven business. As technology enables blockchain. Auditors will need an underthe faster and more accurate analysis standing of these technologies.

Why did it happen?

DIAGNOSTIC ANALYTICS

What will happen?

PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS

How can we make it happen?

PRESCRIPTIVE ANALYTICS

ht foresig

optymalization

VALUE

insight

i infor-

ht

hindsig

mation

DIFFICULTY

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BUSINESS

BUILD

Developing skills internally perhaps through an early talent programme that builds a “talent pipeline” or a company-wide programme of training.

BUY

Buying skills by hiring new staff who are already equipped with those capabilities.

BORROW

Borrowiing skills by outsourcing tasks to third parties.

Machine learning is an effective method of applying pattern-recognition to overwhelmingly large datasets and identifying outliers. This means that audits can be complete, vetting every transaction, and a machine learning algorithm can identify the outliers – outliers than can then be investigated by a human auditor.

Blockchain, by its very nature, creates an immutable chain of digitally verifiable transactions. This means that the process of checking and verifying transactions speeds up radically, saving the auditor time and work: a verification process that might formerly have taken weeks could, with blockchain, take hours.

As more and more elements of the audit process are automated, the skills of the auditor will need to change in two ways: 1. Auditors will need to be able to work alongside this new technology, which means auditors must be familiar with machine learning, blockchain, robotic process automation (RPA) and new analytic methods.

2. Auditors will have more time to think about the implications of the results of their audit, and more time to invest in communicating those findings to the business. Auditors will therefore need greater communication skills and soft skills.

These changes also affect all finance professionals who will need to anticipate the audit requirements, and mirror these sets to ensure integrity and transparency of digital transactions.

BOT

Automating the task, thereby using a bot’s skills instead of a human’s skills.

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THE IMPACT OF DIGITALISATION ON ADVISORY PROFESSIONALS As businesses change, so do the skills required by their advisors. Digital technology leads to new business models, and as companies adapt their consul­ tants must adapt too, acquiring expertise in the way digitalisation and new technology transforms business.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Sheffield Haworth conducted a survey of consultants and identified the ‘skills of 2030’ as a mix of digital technical skills and soft skills: • New technology, • Cyber security, • Innovation, • Self-promotion, • Cultural adaptation, • Empathy.

There is a common argument that Artificial Intelligence will replace the role of junior consultants, leaving consultancies with an ever-aging workforce and harming succession planning. Another possibility is that junior consultants will focus instead on optimising and managing the flow of data in Artificial Intelligence systems.

Technology is therefore driving an explosion in learning requirements for professional firms to increase the scope, scale and frequency of their learning and development programmes. Also, the rise of the ‘gig economy’ means freelance professionals must seek out learning solutions for themselves, which is providing a uplift in opportunity in the professional education sector, as the demand for high quality technology and skills professional development solutions increases.

THE DIGITALISATION OF TAX Making tax digital: as tax becomes increasingly digital, tax professionals will need to be able to understand and make use of digital technologies to perform effectively.

data, which requires tax professionals to acquire increasing amounts of data-oriented skills. The ability to understand and exploit new technology and data analysis tools was, however, third highest on a list of skills deficiencies according to recent At the most basic level, digital tax ACCA research. means filing tax returns and financial data electronically.

Digitalisation of reporting, new technology, and the increasing volume As tax becomes more digitally mature, of available data makes tax reporting the elements of the tax assessment in real-time possible... and it means tax process that are facilitated by technology professionals need the skill to analyse increase: governments could, perhaps, and report on data in real-time. Large use bank statements or cross-check data parts of the tax function involve repeatsubmitted with other filings. Govern- able tasks that are being automated, ments may eventually assess tax without and therefore those working in the tax the need for manually submitted forms function need to know the principles from taxpayers. of robotic process automation, machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence.

As tax assessment moves along this journey from basic electronic data How are Professional Services emplo­ submission to more advanced tax yers equipping their employees with assessment, tax professionals need to be these skills? equipped with the skills to operate in this Employers can address skills gaps in increasingly digital environment. their organisations by ‘building’ that skill, ‘buying’ it in, ‘borrowing’ it from There’s growing emphasis on improving third parties, or automating the task and the speed, integrity, and availability of tax thereby ‘botting’ it.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

At BPP, we collect and analyse data from job adverts to give us an idea of the roles – and skills – employers are searching for. This data also tells us which groups of employers are investing particularly heavily in ‘buying’ certain capabilities.

We are seeing that many professional firms across Europe are actively advertising for data, analyst, and software-related roles. In some firms, specialist teams are being created to support the digitalisation and technology effort across the firm. Instead of hiring, many smaller firms are, instead, focusing on upskilling and retraining existing staff or in adding new dimensions to traditional roles, which arguably means those companies with greater resources to invest in training and technology, will accelerate their competitive advantage over the coming decade.

So, what does this mean to companies and freelance professionals?

The clear message to employers is to begin “future ready” skills and technology planning now as this will be a key source of commercial advantage in the next decade, and be aware that many companies have already begun this process.

Freelance professionals are advised to identify areas to upskill and bear in mind we will be increasingly rated and matched by algorithms as digital recruiters, such as LinkedIn, are also harness digitisation. The ability to learn and evidence the possession of new skillsets will be paramount in the coming decade to attract potential employers and clients. Author:

David Palmer, BPP Professional Development

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HOT STORY

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

KEEP CALM

AND CARRY-ON…?!

Location strategy perspectives on the COVID-19 crisis

by Elias van Herwaarden.

By the time this article hits the press a plethora of new data on the COVID-19 crisis will have emerged to change our understanding of this unprecedented phenomenon. For sure, at least half a dozen surveys of GBS and SSC leaders will have been conducted, while Big consultancies and opinion makers will undoubtedly have held an extensive series of webinars on how companies should react to the current situation.

But let’s take a step back from the infodemic. What could the COVID-19 crisis really mean for Central Europe’s Business Services Sector? Is this the beginning of the end, or a pivot for how the sector operates? Let’s reflect on the future of Business Services, as we all might wake-up in a world very different from the one we were accustomed to through November 2019.

A PERFECT STORM COMING? Firstly, let’s accept that the COVID-19 crisis – as fierce and dreadful as it is – can be seen as but another disruptor impacting business. Or as some would have it: another trigger for change.

Industry 4.0, climate change and sustainability, attritional trade wars and calls for diversity have been on many execu­ tive’s mind for at least the last three years. That aside, business models have been challenged for more than a decade now. And with them Business Services

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

delivery and operating models. To whip But a number of things became clear up the winds of change a little more, by mid-April: companies have increasingly in-sourced • A handful of science-fiction disciples and visionaries aside (think Bill Gates previously outsourced processes. in his now legendary 2015 TED talk Countless Business Services Centers (BSCs) and the 2004 report by the US National revealed themselves as engines for innoIntelligence Council), no one imagined vation while facing these challenges. that a hazard of this magnitude would Walking the tightrope between corporate ever strike. demands for increased cost efficiencies • From Goldman Sachs to the IMF, from and improving service excellence spurred the European Central Bank to the Bank creative solutions and successes. But not of Japan, many leading authorities foreall BSCs had this option. Some corporacast that the world is heading (some say: tions have rigidly framed their shared has already entered) for an economic services operations, very much running downturn that will make the 2007–12 them by the principles one would apply to economic recession pale in comparison. outsourcing transactional services.

• The lockdowns, though admittedly the better countermeasure to keep COVID-19 has hit both the agile and the virus from raging on its deadly the rigid in similar fashion, combining journey, are having major economic impacts. with pre-existing disruptors to create a perfect storm. Or did it?

• Not all industries and sectors are equally impacted.

WHAT IS THIS CRISIS • Where some politicians see this as REALLY ABOUT? a reason for more isolationism, corpoPandemonium. Probably the right word to rations view this as a trigger to accele­ describe the state of the world in the first rate automation and to re-assess their few months of 2020. This is understandglobal supply lines – be it for products able as information on the virus and its or for services. spread has been opaque at best and has sowed discord across the world. Where But the essence of how COVID-19 has some central governments quickly locked directly affected Business Services can down a city with more than 10 million be distilled down to the fact that people inhabitants, others cast the virus as are unable to come to work. And this nothing more than a “little flu”. on an unprecedented and global scale.

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HOT STORY

BCP AT WORK – A VIEW FROM THE TRENCHES On April 6th, Deloitte’s Shailesh Narwaiye shared all-revealing insight on the experience of Indian BSCs during the first 30 days under COVID19. Focusing on WFH, he notes that many myths were broken, including: • Work from home is not possible for many BSCs. • Even BSCs with secure networks, good cyber security and strong data privacy, will not allow people from work from home.

• Video conferences are far less effective as compared to face-to-face meetings.

• VR and remote tools are only used on a need basis as they might not be very effective.

• Individuals need active and permanent supervision in order to maintain delivery quality.

• Larger office spaces are needed to continue to attract and retain employees.

• Outcome can’t be defined properly for remote working.

• Generally working hours and efficiency are less during the WFH situation.

• Innovation is significantly less in the work-from-home situation.

really help each other. The latter could even mean getting the groceries for a colleague’s grandmother if she lives closer to you than to her grandchild. Certainly, greater emphasis on customer centricity has led BSCs to promote development of people skills over the last 2–3 years. Still, many center managers and leads will find the current crisis pushing the limits of their empathy skills.

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BCPs AND THOSE THAT WERE NOT As a reaction to the crisis, BCP measu­res have been activated, full force. Yet few if any BCPs were designed to deal with the magnitude of the current crisis.

Most plans center on the most critical of processes, seeking to preserve business continuity for a few days – or weeks, at best – through remote work or by shifting work to other centers in the corporate footprint. The global scale and duration of the crisis has stress-tested these plans beyond breaking point.

Countless Business Services Centers (BSCs) revealed themselves as engines for innovation while facing these challenges.

Walking the tightrope between corporate demands for increased cost efficiencies and improving service excellence spurred creative solutions and successes

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But does remote work really work? Business Services associations from Central Europe to India report that many of their members have switched to having staff work from home (WFH). But not all centers have found it easy to make a quick transition. Reality suggests that it takes a significant amount of resources (and budget). Larger companies and their BSCs seem best placed to accommodate the new demands. Others face multiple challenges, including, as a mid-March SSON survey noted: • Connectivity and security environment not sufficiently equipped to accommodate remote work.

• Clients not permitting off-premises work.

• Adjusting SLAs. • Gaps in service delivery/processing capability.

• Postponement of planned migrations to BSCs Panic and general hysteria affecting productivity and causing staff to take unnecessary measures.

Then there is the people-shepherding factor. Managing staff remotely requires clearer communication and more intensive follow-up with teams and individuals. It also calls for more empathy. As one global shared service leader stated: I call on my people more often than ever before. Not just on the team leads, but on all of them. We need to show compassion and

Of course, BSCs are not immune to the wider ramifications of the COVID-19 outbreak, most notably those affecting the core businesses they serve, and thirdparty clients. But one can argue that the sole direct new challenge for BSCs to overcome is to adapt to and organize for more resources to work remotely.

INDIRECT IMPACTS The maelstrom of lockdowns and their economic consequences indirectly impact Business Services in many ways.

They cause restless nights for many center leads across the globe.

Front-line operations, facing their own staff shortages, are seeking to push more work to their Business Services partners on an ad-hoc basis. With most BSC resources already stretched to the max, BSC leaders once again find themselves in a tight spot.

Then there are centers that report supply chain challenges to fitting out temporary offices and to securing laptops.

Global recruitment freezes and company-wide cost cuttings also impact BSCs. John Deere in Poznan, for one, enacted a company-wide hiring freeze while corporate management reviewed business expenses during the pandemic.

The BSC gained highest level corporate support to apply an “intelligent recruitment freeze”. This means that it can still recruit for critical positions. Others continue their hiring and onboarding.

ABSL Czech Republic, for instance, reported that by the end of March only 8% of ABSL members stopped recruiting and onboarding activities as a result of the crisis.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

While recruitment has not stopped, it is proceeding at a slower pace than pre-crisis and certainly with more reliance on the use of video-interviewing.

But that may not always be a viable solution. Malecki Executive Search reports that remote/virtual recruitment of senior positions continues to be more than complicated. Yet this is largely explained by the nature of high-end recruiting.

As a rule, it is generally less severely impacted by direct freezes.

INDUSTRIES UNEVENLY HIT UNCTAD identified that the world’s top 5,000 multinationals (basically those that account for the bulk of global foreign direct investment) revised their end of March 2020 average earnings estimates by minus 30%. The early March average downward revision was just 6%.

Sector

Expect more indirect impacts to come though. A PwC global survey revealed that 86% of finance directors expect to implement cost reduction measures.

70% report that their company is planning to defer cancel planned investments, with facilities and/or general capital spending most targeted for deferrals or cancellations. The reactions vary from one industry to another and will affect BSCs accordingly.

OUTLOOKS Central Europe’s Business Services sector overall proved resilient during the 2007-12 global recession. Looking forward, sector experts Phil Fersht and Roman Lubaczewski are cautious but share a positive view that it should not be significantly different under the current circumstances.

Still, through mid-April an internet search would alert any reader that the world and BSCs are in for a major paradigm change.

But let’s look at some facts.

Sector surveys through end-of March seem to challenge the notion that Business Services will undergo a sudden and radical shift as result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Arguably, for the sector as a whole, it is more about “accelerated evolution”, if not business as usual.

Yet outlooks are fluid. Yogi Berra (former catcher for the New York Yankees) once said: It’s tough to make predictions, especially for the future. Health experts maintain that additional COVID-19 waves could arise once the initial lockdowns are relaxed. It is critical for BSCs to prepare accordingly.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Average earnings revision

by March 23rd (%)

Healthcare

-2

Telecommunications services

-4

Technology

-7

Consumer non-cyclicals

-8

Utilities

-9

Basic materials

-20

Industrials

-20

Consumer cyclicals

-24

Hotels, restaurants & leisure

-41

Automobiles & autoparts

-47

Airlines

-116

Energy

-208

Source: UNCTAD, Investment Trends Monitor Nr. 35, March 2020.

OUTLOOKS FOR BUSINESS SERVICES – CROSS-SECTION OF RECENT SURVEYS Mercer – focusing on Polish SSCs and BPOs • 42% of Polish BSC leaders do not expect a negative impact on the business • 52% of Polish BSC leaders do not expect their organization to modify its goals SSON – Surveying on SSO and GBS leaders globally: • 59% expects no long-term impact. They will deal with the current implications and then revert to business as usual • 37% will accelerate automation initiatives to reduce dependency on physical locations/humans • 52% expect GBS/SSO models to become increasingly digitized Sources: Mercer - Arrangements and Resources in Poland, March 2020, SSON - COVID-19: Tip of the Iceberg for Tectonic Shifts in Shared Services Delivery Models, March 2020.

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HOT STORY

Peter Moller, leader of Deloitte’s European Shared Services and Business Process Outsourcing Advisory Team, states: Outsourcing service providers have quickly taken many lessons from the current crisis. They could well-be ahead of many other BSCs in deploying new solutions to BCP and service delivery.

Given their vast technological infrastructures and command, I see a significant opportunity for them to confirm their role in this industry going forward. His deep interactions with BSCs, indicate that notwithstanding that automation has been much spoken about for at least 5 years now, many BSCs are still far from “lights-out” operations. There is a continued reliance on humans for processing transactions. This leads to continued vulnerability. To a possible second wave of COVID-19, or other global pandemic.

WORKPLACE AND REAL ESTATE OUTLOOKS COVID-19 will impact the way BSCs use their real estate. Here are some views shared by from Colliers International’s Sebastian Bedekier: • There will be a scarcity of capital resulting in an aversion to invest in floorspace or to sign long term leases, at least for the first few months after the crisis.

• Flexible workspace operators like Regus or Business Link are poised to increase market share as they can offer terms as short as month to month.

• Increased WFH will lead companies to consider decreasing office space. However, this could easily reverse as the war-for-talent returns. Also, let’s not forget people are social beings and that offices are places for social interaction.

• The last few years were about BSCs increasing open space and collaborative areas. Going forward they may start increasing square meters per desk, re-introducing partitions and having more closed offices .

• Location-wise, BSCs may increasingly set-up (part of ) their operations in secondary or tertiary markets to diversify concentration risk.

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NEARSHORING WAVE AHEAD? Hopefuls across Central Europe and in adjacent Business Services destinations (for example countries like Egypt, Portugal, Spain and Ukraine) have concluded that companies will move far-shore operations closer to home. Some New York-based business leaders recently questioned – with all the working from home and accelerated adoption of AI/RPA – whether their companies will still need a delivery center in Krakow or India.

“Couldn’t it all be re-shored back to New York?” – the question went.

LOCATION NO LONGER RELEVANT? In a recent InvestLithuania podcast, Marius Ivanauskas – Head of Global Services at Telia Group – made the point that most companies were wrong to assume that certain functions, especially customer-facing ones, could not be delivered remotely while keeping customer satisfaction. He asserts that the current situation is proof that location matters less.

And that remote work can work at large scale, if there is a correct company foundation and aptitude for that.

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

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HOT STORY

MULTI-SITE STRATEGIES ALREADY IN VOGUE Outsourcing service providers and IT companies definitely lead when it comes to having multiple-site/multiple-country delivery structures. But so do many captive BSCs. Though they more frequently opt for multiple sites within one country:

Company

Locations

AB Inbev

Kharkiv, Prague

ABB

Brno, Krakow, Prague

Amazon

Iasi, Bratislava, Prague

Atlas Copco

Brno, Prague

AXA Assistance

Ostrava, Prague

Barclays

Prague, Vilnius

BP

Budapest, Szeged

BT

Budapest, Debrecen

Canon

Ostrava, Prague

Citibank

Olsztyn, Warsaw

Coca-Cola

Warsaw, Sofia, Varna

Credit Suisse

Warsaw, Wroclaw

Deutsche Telekom

Bratislava, Brno

DHL Express

Ostrava, Prague

Fujitsu

Greater Katowice, Lodz, Prague

Google

Prague, Warsaw, Wroclaw

HSBC

Krakow, Prague

Ista

Bucharest, Gliwice, Katowice, Opole

Johnson Controls

Bratislava, Usti nad Labem

KBC

Brno, Varna

Lufthansa

Brno, Krakow, Sofia

McKinsey

Poznan, Prague, Wroclaw

Nordea Bank

Gdynia, Lodz, Warsaw

Roche

Budapest, Poznan, Warsaw

State Street Bank

Krakow, Tri-City

Illustrative listing, based on industry associations and investment promotion agency reports.

24

Again, time to take a step back.

The bulk of far-shored operations relates to very transactional processes. Given far-shore wage costs and the nature of the work sent to the likes of India and the Philippines, how realistic is it to expect a one-to-one transfer-back?

Experts state that nearshore wage costs and employee career aspirations would prohibit a massive one-to-one re-shoring of highly transactional jobs.

Their line of thinking also refutes the idea of massive reshoring from Central Europe to Western-Europe, or to North America for that matter. GBS and SSC leaders glo­bally tend to agree: the SSON survey found that only 3% of executives expected to re-shore activities as a reaction to the current crisis.

By contrast, 58% see pushing the accelerator on AI and RPA as the more probable response. And that is most likely to happen in those BSCs or “Centers of Excellence” that have gained experience and developed these capabilities already.

This means that the eventual change will be more about re-reshoring work and processes than about re-shoring jobs.

But it is right to question the speed at which BSCs at large could sustain a massive transition from manual to automated processes. Here again, some industries and centers are ready. But not all, nor might many of them be able to

The mid to long term winners will be those destinations that are able to foster strong links with the Business Services community – both in terms of their existing BSCs and companies looking for new BSC locations.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

obtain the budgets and resources to do so at short notice as companies strive to first address the impact of the crisis to their core business. Such a transition will require the mobilization of significant IT resources, which are already scarce, and intense collaboration between transition experts and the people currently executing the work. A task that is, as Romek Lubaczewski notes: A very collaborative effort. You cannot do that with people sitting at home.

WHERE’S NEXT? The interesting question is which locations could most benefit from what’s ahead for the business services sector?

Location strategists will rephrase that question into “What type of locations?”.

These consultants maintain that process characteristics determine the search area for any site selection process.

• Countries formerly perceived as higher risk (take Egypt and Ukraine) may now be viewed as falling into the same risk categories as Central European BSC destinations, paving the way for more competition between cities, regions and countries.

• Locations that provide access to a ready supply of STEM skills, and that offer an ecosystem where companies and education institutions easily coope­ rate to secure that supply, will come out strongest from the current crisis.

FULL VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE ONLY IN PAPER EDITION OF OUTSOURCING&MORE With thatPROGRESSIO in mind, Central Europe seems WEBSITE. MAGAZINE OR ON THE PRO FUTURE BUSINESS MODELS There is little doubt that the concept of supply chain de-risking will increasingly roll over from corporate production to middle-offices and BSCs. Leading companies have long implemented such tactics. A quick review of major corporations’ BSCs across Central Europe shows that many of them have opted for a multi-site structure. The key drivers behind such tactics historically related to avoiding concentration risk, maximum center size, capitalizing on locally built-up expertise and war-for-talent considerations. Without doubt, the global “standstill” caused by COVID-19 will encourage more companies to opt for a diversified BSC structure with operations spread geographically. Expect to see those that already have one to start reassessing their sourcing risks and to revisit past shoring decisions for their business services operations.

But risk and geographical diversification aside, there might be little new on the horizon. The modern best practice of adopting layered, multi-site and hybrid structures, is slated to remain the business model going forward.

As eter Moller puts it: For several years now shared services organizations have been trying to move to a more digital model. One where transaction processing is fully automated and the customer experience passes the “Amazon test“ – i.e. services can be accessed and experienced any place, any time on any device. This current crisis has shown us that the closer organizations are to this model – the better they have been able to weather the lockdown environment. Going forward I expect organizations to redouble their efforts to implement digital shared services to create this resilience and agility.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

to be facing an array of scenarios, with the outcome probably being a combination of them: • Countries and cities with mature business services ecosystems will see their BSCs scaling value-adding activities at an accelerated pace, with some centers assuming more governance over remotely located and more transactional processes.

• Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities will see an increased inflow of predominantly more transactional, labor-intensive work insofar as those processes cannot be automated, and/or have specific language requirements.

• Large-size, single centers will be split, within cities, across cities within country, and possibly even across countries.

The mid to long term winners will be those destinations that are able to foster strong links with the Business Services community – both in terms of their existing BSCs and companies looking for new BSC locations. Across Central Europe today, more than 300 people working for economic development agencies and business services associations are already tasked to that.

Any other conclusion than that the region is well-placed to be resilient for business services seems unjustified. BSCs across the region, and the ecosystem that supports them, should just keep calm and carry on.

Author:

ELIAS VAN HERWAARDEN draws on 30 years location strategy experience. During the last 20 years he conducted over 140 site selection engagements for BSCs, globally.

He recently established Locationperspectives, an independent location strategy consultancy that assists companies in building and restructuring their business internationally.

For further inquiries on this article or on BSC location strategy: elias@locationperspectives.com.

All quotes have been validated with the individuals they are attributed to. Referredto survey results are based on website- available information from: ABSL (Poland, Czech Republic, and Romania), Invest in Poznan, InvestLithuania, PwC, SSON, The Economist and UNCTAD.

25

BUSINESS

POLISH TECHNOLOGY TAKES CARE OF SAFETY AT WORK

Interview with Sebastian Młodziński, CEO of TIMATE. Wiktor Doktór, Pro Progressio: Moni­ toring the health and safety of workers in large workplaces, factories and logistics parks – but also in the service industry – is a challenge known to and faced by companies for many years. Various technological solutions have been developed over time to support occupational health and safety processes. TIMATE was launched a few months ago. What was the basis of the solution you created?

Sebastian Młodziński, CEO of TIMATE: We noticed a niche in the market of working time monitoring tools. Everyone knew when an employee arrived at and left work but no one could tell what the employee was doing at work. We decided to find out – that was our guiding idea. Over time, the system began to develop and evolved from a tool that only measured working time to a solution that strongly supports safety. How? With a TIMATE card, we know if an employee has fallen or fainted. What is more, in the event of an emergency, the employee can also alert his or her supervisor and call for help using the SOS button. In addition, our system reminds the employee to wear a helmet, go for a break as well as supporting evacuation. It is a multidimensional solution which also collects, aggregates and analyses work-related data, hence provides employers with a wealth of information in the form of convenient indicators.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

What does all of it involve? What does an employee need to do and what are the duties of the administrator of this solution?

The task of the employee is only to carry the card, which is very important for the functioning of the whole system.

Why? Because when the employee does not have the card, the system does not see him or her moving. And a person who is not moving is considered, for example, to have fainted, is lying somewhere and his or her life is in danger. Therefore, from our perspective, it is so important for the employees to carry the card at all times. In order to implement the system, the employer uses the infrastructure that already exists in the company (e.g. a low-voltage network cable or 230V power supply from the camera system) connecting our control panels, which must be located at a maximum distance of 30 metres from one another. We also configure them together with the customer. After that, the system is ready to work. Next, it is necessary to define the employees i.e. to describe what their work involves – whether it is predominantly physical or mental work. Once an emplo­yee or groups of employees are defined, the customer analyses these indicators and adjusts them to the reality of the enterprise. This way an employee model the employer wants to strive for is created. Once it is complete, the employer

can compare individuals and locations with each other. It happens automatically – just a few clicks and the admini­ strator can find out how the employees work, where they are, if everyone is safe and – in case of evacuation – if everyone has left the building etc. There are many such functions.

Occupational health and safety on the one hand and a number of different functions on the other. What else can you achieve using your technology?

The coronavirus epidemic enabled new areas of application for our system to be noticed. TIMATE locates employees so that the employer can deploy them within the company in a smart way keeping safe distances. It is possible to make sure that people do not gather in certain rooms and areas. Moreover, if employees approach one another less than two metres away, their cards will signal this.

We have also added a thermometer option to our card i.e. a sensor that allows body temperature to be measured remotely. Employees can do this on their own but of course, they have to provide their consent in advance. Importantly, we do not collect sensitive data in any of our modules – we do not collect fingerprints, our system has no GPS, we do not track employees, etc. – and it is an absolute

27

BUSINESS

C3 SMART ID CARD – powered with solar energy or a battery, it can function as the employee ID card.

C2 SMART ID CARD – thanks to the reinforced silicone case, it is resistant to falls, hits and industrial working conditions.

28

priority for us but, in the case of the thermometer, we changed our approach. This was forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this situation, public welfare is paramount and we count on the employees to agree to such measurements. If the thermometer indicates a temperature above 37 degrees Celsius, the cardholder also gets a signal that they should perhaps seek medical attention. It is a matter of personal safety and the safety of other colleagues.

Our system also provides many other functions which optimise work in the company. Using the TIMATE card, the employer can send employees tasks and ‘sees’ when and at what time they were completed. Thanks to the system, the employer can also find and secure dangerous places such as those where falls often occur. It also enables the work of individual employees to be analysed and conclusions to be drawn. In my opinion, data analysis is one of the most important modules of our system – the data itself is worth nothing if we do not analyse it and analysing data helps the entrepreneur to optimise employment. The system shows the efficiency and performance of employees and, consequently, possible savings. The card is a tool that saves a lot of money and allows the best employees to be rewarded.

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

It would seem that this solution serves to ‘monitor’ work. How do company authorities and trade unions view such solutions?

We have been asked if the system does not interfere with the privacy of employees many times. I must reassure everyone – we do not collect any biometric data. The exception to this is the current emergency situation, where the employer checks the temperature of employees for the benefit of the public’s welfare. Under normal circumstances, however, TIMATE does not collect any sensitive data.

C1 SMART SENSOR – the sensor attached to the personal protective equipment.

IoT GATEWAY the main unit generates the MESH radio network connected with the cloud via Ethernet GPRS (data transmission over GSM).

And what about multilocation? Due to the fact that many companies have more than one production site is it possible to monitor the safety of employees in many different locations?

Of course. The system can be opera­ ted in different locations. No additional configuration is needed. What is more, we integrate our system with those that already exist in the company. Using the API module we communicate with the software which is implemented at the customer's site. In our business model, you do not pay for the infrastructure but the subscription per employee. We provide the infrastructure and the customer pays only for the use of the system – without any investment costs.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

The issue of toilets sometimes raises doubts among users, too. Again, I need to emphasise that we do not install control units in the toilets; we do not follow employees to that extent as that is not the purpose of the system. TIMATE does not show the location in centimetres as that is not what this is about. Safety is of the utmost importance. Where does a person feeling unwell go? Usually to the toilet to wash his or her face. It turns out that the bathroom is not only an intimate place but also one where an employee can faint or fall. If they have our card with them, it is possible to help them quickly. It is just a compromise in that the individual is giving up some part of his/her privacy to be safe at work.

Some people also ask us if the card emits radiation. Our card emits several hundred times less radiation than a mobile phone and is completely unnoticeable to the human body.

During large regional operations, overtime often occurs and the company has to pay for work exceeding standard time. TIMATE will be the perfect solution in such a case as our card shows working time to the minute. We can see if the employee has spent 8 hours and 7 minutes or 8 hours and 45 minutes at work and will be paid extra for exactly that time. It sometimes happens in SSC/ BPO centres that overtime is not accounted for accurately mainly due to the fact that working time is not measured precisely. Companies pay “rounded” overtime, even though the employee stayed at the premises of the company for less than 60 minutes.

Apart from very accurate settlement of working time, our system provides two-way communication with the em­­­ ployee. The card can be used to provide information about tasks, communicate the most important company messages, and notify about workshops and meetings. I think that such a functionality can also be very useful in this type of companies. The SSC/BPO environment is indeed different from the production environment but TIMATE perfectly supports both these business platforms.

Do similar solutions function in the world or is it rather Polish technological thought that is pioneering here?

TIMATE is a system invented by Poles from A to Z; it is also produced in Poland.

We were granted a patent in the United States and have also filed patent applications in other countries around the world.

No one else but us offers such a solution.

There are companies which have been trying to build similar applications using functionalities from different systems but there is no other tool that has so many features and is so affordable. We are pio­ neers in this field and it is safe to say that our system is revolutionary. What is more, companies have been looking for such a solution, which is why the interest in TIMATE is so enormous today.

Are only production and logistics companies a group of potential customers of the services offered by TIMATE? Can, for example, large Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Shared Services Centres (SSC) also benefit from it?

Entry/exit cards, which usually only inform about the start and end of work, are most often used in BPO/SSC centres.

Great emphasis is placed in such companies on appropriate cost optimisation, control of work performance quality and continuous improvement of processes. Thank you for the interview.

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BUSINESS

BUSINESS SUPPORT, OR A FEW WORDS ABOUT BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTIONS Almost every industry soon after its creation is surrounded by a number of organisations that want to support to some extent, not only individual entities but entire sectors of the economy. In this way, over the years, associations, unions and clubs have been created which – through the coordination of a number of different activities – influence the growing recognition of individual industries, their representatives and the values they bring to the development of nationwide and, sometimes, international business.

It is thanks to associations, unions and business clubs that business events are organised, market research is carried out, reports are published and know­ ledge exchange and networking between companies are supported every year.

The activity of trade organisations has been present in the sector of outsourcing and modern business services for over 20 years now. For nearly a quarter of a century BPOs and SSCs – starting with simple forms of communication to a full portfolio of services and benefits today – have set an example to other industries as to how one can support each other well and interestingly and take care of continuous development of the best business practices.

For almost in every country in the world, the outsourcing industry has its representatives in the form of business environment organisations. The biggest global players include SSON (Shared Services and Outsourcing Network) and IAOP (International Association of Outsourcing Professionals). These two organisations have hundreds of thousands of individual members and thousands of corporate members.

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They have extensive administration the UAE and Malaysia. The courses and and carry out a number of measures to training sessions organised by the IAOP understand and fully analyse the activities are carried out both online and offline. of the BSS sector.

For many years, the IAOP has also been For example, as part of its processes, IAOP publishing PULSE Magazine – a magaruns a number of activities, including zine which contains the most important the organisation of business events, information from the life of member an education centre, a certification organisations and companies. Also noteprogramme for managers, the publishing worthy is the IAOP award programme. of a magazine, an award and distinction This programme is very extensive and programme, the organisation of webinars divided into categories such as: and a series of other initiatives.

• Global Excellence in Outsourcing, • Global Outsourcing 100, Within the framework of educational • Global Impact Sourcing Award, projects for managers, the IAOP runs • Impact Sourcing Champions Index, a course called the Certified Outsour­ • Leadership Hall of Fame. cing Professional (COP) Master Class.

The course is an intensive learning The IAOP award programmes are among experience on the state-of-the-art, the most extensive in the world. You can end-to-end process for outsourcing read more about the activities of the IAOP suc­­cess, providing in-depth coverage on its website – www.iaop.org. of the Outsourcing Professional Body of Knowledge (OPBOK®) and its 10 stan­ dard categories, including business strategy, communicating outsourcing as a business practice, contracts and negotiation, managing transition and gover­ nance. It has been presented to organi­ zations world-wide, including in places like Russia, Colombia, the Netherlands,

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

both on the purchase and supply side and • Lobbying Governments to understand the combine them to achieve optimal busi- needs of the industry and to stimulate change. ness value.

We also offer special programmes to help We are committed to increasing the reach companies increase their presence and and positive reputation of the global stra- market share. tegic sourcing industry through: When describing the activities of DOV, it • Maintaining world-class standards and is worth quoting the words of Stephan offering accreditation to Global Strategic Fricke, President of the Association: Sourcing Standard.

Our primary task is to actively support and • Consultation to help organisations adapt influence the market segment in which we to best practices. operate. In our case, where we represent • Attracting and improving professio­ not only service providers but, above all, ­nal skills. the purchasing parties in Germany, our work • Disseminating thought leadership as is somewhat different from that of other well as anticipating and analysing trends international outsourcing associations. through various content formats: website, Kerry Hallard, President of GSA UK, newsletters, best practice guides.

On one hand, we place a great emphasis describes the activities of her organ- • Combining and promoting trade profes- on improving the conditions of concluding isation as follows: Global Sourcing sionals through a series of events: confer- contracts (on the buyer’s side) as well as Association is a trade association and ences, seminars, webinars. shared services (on the customer’s side). a professional body of the outsourcing • Recognising and rewarding industry Aspects such as internationalisation, and sourcing sector. We represent the busi- best practice through annual award supplier management and strategies are ness needs and interests of organisations, programmes. very important for the German market.

Trade organisations also operate in slightly smaller areas. Good examples are GSA UK (Global Sourcing Association) and DOV (Deutscher Outsourcing Verband). Both of these organisations are active in Europe. While the GSA focuses on the whole of Europe and also coope­ rates with global organisations, DOV’s activities focus mainly on the DACH region – namely Germany, Austria and Switzerland. What both organisations have in common is their openness to contacts with the international sourcing environment and a number of initiatives undertaken in cooperation with outsourcing organisations from Europe and other continents.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

31

BUSINESS

For almost in every country in the world, the outsourcing industry has its representatives in the form of business environment organisations.

The biggest global players include SSON (Shared Services and Outsourcing Network) and IAOP (International Association of Outsourcing Professionals).

These two organisations have hundreds of thousands of individual members and thousands of corporate members.

On the other hand, our strong relationships with international trade associations, clusters and government agencies allow us to gather market information and assess local conditions and opportunities for cooperation with external service providers and investment in local shared services operations.

Our platforms and initiatives such as the Outsourcing Journal, RPA Journal, a series of Sourcing Destination Guides, catalogues and mailing services – for example, the EUBIS Online catalogue as well as annual international conferences – help us actively support partnerships in our markets and beyond.

Pro Progressio is an example of a national organisation of the modern business services sector in Poland. Pro Pro­gressio combines several functions; from non-commercial activities carried out by the Pro Progressio Foundation, through a catalogue of media services, to the activities of the Pro Progressio Club.

Over the years, Pro Progressio has built and developed the following initiatives: • OutsourcingPortal – a website for everyday trade-related communication.

• Outsourcing&More – a Polish-English bimonthly magazine which is currently the only regularly published bilingual magazine in Europe, available both in print and in electronic form.

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• BSS Tour – a series of free business events aimed at sharing best practices in the trade.

• BSS Forum – an annual international conference on challenges and trends in modern business services.

• BSSIndex – an Internet platform which shows the launch of new BSS operating centres in Polish cities.

• Focus On Reports – a series of free reports describing the locations of BSSs in Poland. Focus On Reports are prepared in cooperation with the Polish Investment and Trade Agency and Investor Assistance Centres as well as with Regional Development Agencies.

• Outsourcing Stars – a Competition and official Gala to recognise the fastest-growing BSS organisations in Poland.

• KONEKTOR – an online system designed to connect companies that have a shortage or surplus of staff with similar professional competences and skills.

• Pro Progressio Club – a project that allows club members to use the Out­­­­sourcingPortal and Outsourcing& More, to have access to information and participate in nationwide and international BSS events.

terms – in nationwide and international business events.

Apart from Pro Progressio, there are also two other BPO/SSC sector associations in Poland i.e., ASPIRE and ABSL. Both of them implement a number of initiatives aimed at developing, exchanging knowledge and taking care of the image of the modern business services industry.

Undoubtedly, the activities of associations, unions and business clubs effectively impact the image and development of the modern services sector. Can these organisations work for the benefit not only of economic operators but also of individuals? Definitely yes, but that is a different story.

Author:

Wiktor Doktór, CEO, Pro Progressio

By creating the Pro Progressio Club, Pro Progressio has built a specific ecosystem and environment for companies dealing with various business services. Being a member of the club supports, on one hand, organisations in terms of image and, on the other, has a positive impact on the support of sales and pre-sales processes for organisations providing services in the outsourcing model. One of the priorities that Pro Progressio sets itself is to build relationships between club members. Networking within the club is one of Pro Progressio’s core activities, which during the events is additionally supported by the proprietary Event Tiger networking system.

An unquestionable advantage for club members is also weekly access to current industry knowledge from the country and the world, the possibility of running their own press office on the OutsourcingPortal platform as well as participation – free of charge or on specially negotiated

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

OUTSOURCING DESTINATION GUIDE POLAND 2020 PUBLISHED The concept of creating more independence from one business location and increasing flexibility for business operations via hiring external domain experts or locating own business support centers outside its organization’s home city, state, country or even continent has been proven to be very successful and has become almost a necessity in order to achieve business targets and increase or maintain competitiveness.

Fueled by enormous political and economical changes in the late 20 th century in Europe, many countries in Central and Eastern Europe used the chance for creating knowledge and skill driven business support and technology services sectors – the IT and business process outsourcing and shared services industries.

initiative with our long-term local partner association, the Pro Progressio Foundation, created the 2020 Outsourcing Destination Guide Poland.

The guide is part of our series of location guides and allows insights into the Polish outsourcing and shared services sector via market overview, case studies and business insights reports and also provides contacts to local investment support organizations and businesses.

We offer the guide PDF version for free download as well as printed version on our and other leading industry events.

You can download the guide here:

The one location that has build an exceptional position for its outsourcing and shared service sector is Poland.

The industry is not only exemplary in the region, and in Europe but also recog- Or if you are a member of the German nized on other continents, like North- Outsourcing Association with a login to America and India. the associations website www.outsour­ cing-verband.org, the guide is also availIt therefore provides very good opportu- able in the download section. nities for economies in other countries to gain access to skilled experts and domain We would like to thank our co-operation knowledge in areas such as banking and partner, the Pro Progressio Foundation, finance processes, information tech- and our publication partners CBRE Group, nology, human resources, procurement, LL.M. Chudzik & Partners Law Firm and logistics and more.

TTEC Solutions, as well as all authors and contributors for their efforts and support Wiktor Doktor, President of the Pro Pro­­­ in making this guide a useful source gressio Foundation gives a short overview of information for clients, consultants of the guide’s content in his podcast here: and investors. Author:

To learn more about the current conditions and evaluate the opportunities for your organizations, we have, in a joint

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Stephan Fricke, Deustcher Outsourcing Verband

33

BUSINESS ADVERTORIAL

FIRST PEOPLE, THEN DATA

5TH ANNIVERSARY OF SOFTSERVE IN POLAND SoftServe, one of the biggest technological companies in the world, bets on Poland.

This is where it develops its activity within the field of Big Data and DevOps, and hires data analysis and migration specialists.

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

From left – Paweł Łopatka, Managing Director of SoftServe Poland, Oleksiy Merkulov, Vice President, Client Success, Paweł Panowicz, Director of Projects Realisation.

35

BUSINESS ADVERTORIAL

They have been active on the Polish market since 2014, when their first office in Wrocław was established. They now hire about 400 employees in five locations – apart from Wrocław also in Gliwice, Białystok, Warsaw and Poznań.

Their team consists of programmers, architects, IT testers, business analysts or project managers.

– In our everyday work, we use latest technologies. We modify and optimize the way in which enterprises all over the world conduct their business activity. We have experts in the field of Big Data, IoT, Machine Learning, DevOps, Cloud, e-commerce or UX – says Paweł Łopatka, Managing Director at SoftServe Poland.

For the companies, the development of their staff is what matters most.

They consider the opportunity to act with the use of the latest technologies in ambitious and demanding projects as the greatest benefit for their staff.

For SoftServe, 2019 was the year of dyna­ mic growth. The company won the title of the fastest developing technological enterprise in Poland, awarded by the Pro Progressio Foundation within the framework of the Outsourcing Stars competition. What is more, a few months ago the Wrocław branch of the company moved to a modern CU Office building at Jaworska Street.

– SoftServe team grew so much that it was necessary to rent bigger space. It is a perfect summary of our presence for slightly longer

SoftServe Białystok team.

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

than 5 years on the Polish market. We bet on people, building the team of experienced experts and visionaries and the awareness that such individuals want to work with us, constitutes for us great motivation for further action – says Agnieszka B. Dąbrowska, Director of the SoftServe Poland Wrocław branch.

– We are lucky to work in the industry which is constantly developing and can manage quite well also in the era of crisis.

The demand for modern IT services is a fact all the time – explains Paweł Łopatka.

LEADER IN THE FIELD OF BIG DATA SoftServe is an international company with its seats in Lviv in Ukraine and Austin in Texas. But Poland is the country where the company wants to develop the field of Big Data, extending its team mainly with data analysis and migration specialists.

Why is this field of modern technologies developing the fastest? Applying Big Data, IoT or Machine Learning in order to use the data in an appropriate way provides companies all over the world with tangible financial benefits and builds their competitive advantage. It thus should not be a surprise that on a global scale, already 53% of enterprises are using Big Data and 80% of them confirm important advantages resulting from undertaking such steps. Business bets on data analysis, which makes Big Data market grow (by 18% in 2018) and it can soon be worth as much as 77 million dollars.

Data is the source of knowledge which can be useful in commercial activities or protect against loss. It is nowadays used by many different entities, in particular the financial sector, but also medicine, media or manufacturing industry.

– One of the most interesting projects we worked on concerned a huge open pit mining. Special sensors have been installed in the wheels of the trucks that transported the raw materials on the pre­­­ mi­ses of the mine, indicating the location of the vehicle and measuring, among other things, the speed and tyre pressure. When a truck was approaching an obstacle, e.g. a larger stone, these parameters changed.

This information was collected in the cloud

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

and analysed on an ongoing basis. If there was a change in similar parameters for several trucks in a given place, we knew that there was an obstacle on their route that needed to be removed. In this way, we were able to prevent accidents and breakdowns, avoiding work stoppages and, consequently, huge financial losses – explains Adam Wiszniewski, Big Data Technical Leader at SoftServe.

the use of the latest technologies in ambitious and demanding projects as the greatest benefit for their staff.

SoftServe also offers very precise career paths.

– We have developed a special sys­­­tem based on a career map. Each of the em­­­ ployees is literally able to “click through” their career development path on this map, check the criteria necessary to get NEW MARKETS AND NEW CLIENTS promoted, the date of the upcoming staff Among the clients of the company there evaluation as well as find the materials are international corporations and enter- necessary to prepare for this evaluation prises, mainly from Silicon Valley and – says Agnieszka B. Dąbrowska, Director Europe. New technologies emerging of the SoftServe Poland Wrocław branch. on the market create the demand for new competencies and tools, espe- So called Centres of Excellence also funccially in traditional banking. It opens tion within the organization, concenthe door for cooperation opportunities trating experts in a given domain, e.g. Big for such companies as SoftServe with Data or Data Science. The task of those the FinTech branch. who contact them is to support both the client as well as their colleagues – We cooperate with financial centres from other teams, mainly within initial and banks all over Europe. Especially project stages. for them we create for example the solutions supporting risk management and – We analyse clients’ needs, develop solumaking it possible to maximize profit. tion prototypes and forward to the staff We want them to be scalable and easy to responsible for implementing the solution. implement within the future management We also constantly support them with our scheme within the organization – says knowledge – explains Adam Wiszniewski, Paweł Łopatka, Managing Director at Big Data Technical Leader at SoftServe SoftServe Poland.

Poland. – I work in a dynamic environment, often changing the project, client In 2019 the company decided also to or domain, which stimulates the developdevelop in Southeastern Asia, opening ment of my career. This dynamic makes to the clients from Singapore, Malaysia me able to share my experience and know­ or Indonesia. ledge with a bigger number of companies – he adds.

– We are gradually opening to new markets, mainly in Asia, as in these countries we The company is also proud of its internal notice huge business potential. We are educational projects, implemented aware of the fact that the diversity of this within the framework of so called Soft­ region – both economic as well as cultural – Serve University, the opportunity to work is considerable. But we wish to benefit from from different locations all over the world it. As an organization we are in possession or its unique, non-corporate atmosphere. of the knowledge and solutions which on one hand satisfy the needs of highly SoftServe is the official technological developed countries, but on the other may partner among others of Amazon Web support technological transformation Services or Google Cloud Platform. of countries with growing economy – Paweł Łopatka explains.

More information about the company: softserveinc.com.

NOT ONLY BUSINESS, BUT ALSO CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT For the companies, the development of their staff is what matters most. They consider the opportunity to act with

Author:

37

SSC

FROM START-UPS TO ADVANCED MULTIFUNCTIONAL SHARED SERVICES CENTRES

Word of admission: SSC Lions is a Pro Progressio’s project supporting communication and development of Shared Service Centres (SSC). On Outsourcing&More magazine pages we present business cases as well as profiles of Shared Service Centers experienced leaders, outstanding personalities and experts from institutions associated with SSC.

SSC Lions tells you almost everything about the best business practises, project management and emplo­yer branding. In this edition of SSC Lions we invite you to meet Roland Pac, the Director of Strategic Projects at COTY SSC.

SSC LIONS

The profile of Roland Pac, Director where he was also responsible for finanof Strategic Projects at COTY SSC. cial services in AP, AR, P2P, the treasury and payroll. The IAG Group is comWhen, as an esteemed finance and con- prised of British Airlines, Iberia, Air trolling manager in the banking sec- Lingus and many others, while finantor, he was asked to create a financial cial and operational services for these Shared Services Centre for The Royal entities are provided from Krakow and Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS), Roland Chennai, India.

Pac did not expect this area to become his passion and his biggest professio­ This international structure of the SSC, nal challenge. with a BPO in India, made it possible to gain practical experience in unifyThe many years of experience gained ing and improving SSC/BPO processwhile working for the Commerzbank es, which will also work well at SSC AG and ING N.V. groups made the han- COTY – where Roland currently works. dling of financial processes for partners and internal clients from all over Europe Process standardisation and investments and the USA the basis for the success in IT enable SSC employees working in of Warsaw's global financial centre. Over different regions of the world to speak time, more and more advanced analyt- one language and work together to unify ical tasks and the handling of increas- and automate the processes. This is not ingly more complex financial processes only about finance but also about operawere delivered to Warsaw in the end-to- tions, procurement, compliance and risk. end dimension.

Answering another question from Out­ Answering a question from Outsour­ sourcing&More about advice in this cing&More, Roland replies: I am con­­ area, Roland stated that it was worth vinced that the competences and experi­ taking up this cross-cultural and often ence of a ‘financial officer’ help in working time-consuming challenge as it conon projects in a Shared Services Centre. tributed to increasing productivity and was a response to various unexpected The key to success has always been events. An example is the tragic floodthe careful selection and further train- ing that hit Chennai and the RBS SSC ing of managers and employees recruit- in that city. Thanks to process stan-­ ed from other shared services centres, dardisation and the appropriate IT consulting companies and the finan- infrastructure, the Warsaw-based Shared Services Centre took over cial sector. the functions and services of the floodRoland always says he is not afraid ed centre in India in just one day. and looks for the best people in his field as only with such people he could In 2017, Roland undertook the task of create a financial modelling team creating a Shared Services Centre for in Warsaw – or the so-called ‘Libor a German company (Frosta AG) in BydTeam’ – which analyses the fluctuations goszcz. It was an absolute start-up with of stock indices; not only in Asia but the ambition of creating a financial, HR for internal customers of corporations. and T&E (Travel and Expenses) centre.

All of this is based on SLAs worked out with business partners and the prop- Bydgoszcz is a very good place for out­­­er selection of KPIs for employees and ­­­­sourcing investments as it is highstaff. It was only a matter of time before ly cost-competitive. Apart from that, the multifunctionality of the Shared Ser- the city is seeking investors and vices Centre became the basis for fur- the Bydgoszcz Regional Development ther development.

Agency has shown extraordinary energy and commitment by supporting outWhen RBS changed its global strategy to sourcing projects. It was a very valuable a ‘UK-focused bank’, Roland moved to period in Roland's managerial develKrakow to join the Management Board opment as he led the German-Polish of IAG (International Airlines Group), SSC team, located in Bydgoszcz and

Bremerhaven, with all cultural and cost-related differences. It was of great importance to transfer know-how and the documentation of the transferred processes – which were only intended to be located in Bydgoszcz for a very short term.

When he took over the management of the SSC of American company COTY, a world leader in the cosme­ tics industry, Roland stated that – contrary to some beliefs – Shared Services specialists did not have to come from the industry of the given corporation and, based on his example, described himself as ‘Sector Agnostic Mana­ ger SSC’.

Today, as Director of Strategic Projects FULL VERSION OF THIS INTERVIEW IS AVAILABLE for the COTY Group, Roland highlights the importance of automation and artiONLY IN PAPER EDITION OF OUTSOURCING&MORE ficial intelligence for this sector. COTY has initiated many projects in this area MAGAZINE OR ON THE PRO PROGRESSIO WEBSITE. for the coming years.

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The editorial board of Outsourcing &More also asked Roland Pac to address the business situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the negative effects experienced in the SSC/BPO sector. We also asked him about his forecast for the mo­dern business services sector in Poland.

Roland Pac commented: It is diffi­ cult today to clearly define the future in this respect. Certainly, the success of the Polish shared services sector is the almost instantaneous switchover to the remote operation mode in the han­ dling of both internal and external cus­ tomers. It is estimated that about 70% of SSC employees work in this way today; in fact, most of them have already had previous experience in this field as they have been given an opportunity to work from home once or twice a month or, in some cases, a week. This has also been supported by the earlier development of safety regulations and a labour law enabling the provision of remote services.

Many centres in Asia, for example, India or Indonesia, cannot do this by only hav­ ing desktop computers in their offices and often lack a sufficient Internet connec­ tion and the essential infrastructure in the places where employees live.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

The success of the Polish shared services sector is the almost instantaneous switchover to the remote operation mode in the handling of both internal and external customers. It is estimated that about 70% of SSC employees work in this way today.

However, the need to revise operation­ al models that involve taking process­ es beyond national borders is becoming increasingly apparent in some countries and corporations. This will be support­ ed by progressive automation and arti­ ficial intelligence, which will strengthen the trend of bringing some processes back to parent companies.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

On the other hand, the cost and budget pressure – which is a feature of reces­ sion in all countries – will certainly argue in favour of further development of shared services centres although often in a changed operational model.

Union, the Schengen area and has a con­ venient geographical and communication location – has a chance of maintaining and even strengthening this sector. It is a sector that has already established itself in the world and, which is very important in this situation, is at an advanced stage Eastern Europe – and especially Poland, of development and has been developing which is a member of the European for many years.

41

BUSINESS

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

WE HAVE A CRISIS!

AND HOW CAN YOU COMPREHEND IT? The years 2008–2009 witnessed the last-known global crisis. Back then, it mainly affected the financial world and the economy of many countries quite quickly ‘came round’ so to speak. Twelve years after that business collapse, another wave of an unexpected downturn is affecting the world in almost all areas of the economy. Paradoxically, it has not been caused by poor managerial decisions – the reason this time was not bad management, artificially lowering the value of money or slump on stock exchanges; now it is a virus that has pulled the brake. This time, the coronavirus – a medical phenomenon which Earth inhabi­ tants have dealt with more than once so far – has spread all over the world at a rapid pace and has been referred to as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic, which started in China, quickly crossed the country’s borders and invaded other countries in Asia, Europe and the remaining continents. By April 2020, it had already taken a deadly toll around the world, forcing many countries to take radical decisions to restrict

the movement of their populations and thus close cities, regions and even national borders.

These restrictions have translated into an almost total stoppage of many industries, including hotels, tourism, catering, events and many others.

Governments have been forced to launch business support programmes and companies have stopped the flow of money being exchanged between them. Enterprises have been faced with the need to reduce their costs but also to change the model of managing their work, human resources and various other processes.

In the midst of this economic disaster, we have asked three different organisations to comment on crisis management. We are interested in the approach of a city, a recruitment agency and a representative of the world of office real properties, which have been temporarily empty and useless during the work-from-home solution enforced upon almost everyone.

Our question were answered by:

Marcin Rzepecki, Deputy Director of the Crisis Management and Security Department of the City of Poznań

Artur Skiba, CEO of Antal

Monika Rajska-Wolińska, Managing Partner at Colliers International in Poland

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BUSINESS

THERE IS OFTEN CHAOS AND PANIC AT THE BEGINNING OF ANY CRISIS. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS. WHAT NEGATIVE EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC HAVE ALREADY BEEN FELT? WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED? Marcin Rzepecki, Deputy Director of the Crisis Management and Security Department of the City of Poznań: Negative effects have impacted most cities in Poland. Panic and ‘fake news’ on the Internet have led, in particular, to the irrational and excessive purchase of food and hygiene produc ts.

The possibility of introducing restrictions on the movement of the population and obstacles similar to those during martial law in 1981 were serious concerns of the people contacting the Crisis Management Centre.

epidemic will have on Antal. New recruitment processes in some organisations have been temporarily halted but all current projects are continuing and new, attractive offers are also appearing.

This unusual period is a big challenge for both the management board and Antal employees. We are operating very quickly and flexibly. We are able to adapt our activities to changing businesses and customer challenges thus are noticing an opportunity to develop online services and focus on new projects.

For this reason, we are currently developing and implementing technologically Artur Skiba, CEO of Antal: The present advanced recruitment processes and time is very intense for us. It is difficult to services that address the current needs determine what effects the coronavirus and expectations of both our customers and candidates.

companies, including our clients. We did very well – we had nearly 300 people who switched to working from home (‘home office’) in one day. However, not only technological preparation is necessary for effective work from home but also mental preparation. Flexible working hours are part of our company culture, which we have been practising for many years. This has helped us a lot in this situation.

FULL VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE ONLY IN PAPER EDITION OF OUTSOURCING&MORE MAGAZINE OR ON THE PRO PROGRESSIO WEBSITE.

For companies, the last few days have been a challenging period of time and a redefinition of their businesses.

Those who do not react to change and continue to manage their organisations as they did before the crisis will have to close the company or suspend their activities straightaway. Employers need to switch to new thinking and take nonstandard actions and seize any opportunity that arises.

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The employees of the company are fully motivated and disciplined. Everyone gives 100% effort. After these two weeks, we have cooled down a bit and got used to full-scale remote work.

We have regular video-conferences, organise workshops and webinars for our customers, and our employees have For companies, the last few days have access to weekly online training sessions been a challenging period of time and and presentations regarding the current a redefinition of their businesses. Those market situation. who do not react to change and continue to manage their organisations as they However, our business is largely based did before the crisis will have to close on building long-term relation­­­ships the company or suspend their activities which require face-to-face contact. In straightaway. Employers need to switch the current situation, it is practically to new thinking and take non-standard impossible so it was a big challenge actions and seize any opportunity for us to move meetings with our that arises. Adapting the functioning clients to a remote level. There are, obviof the company to the market environ- ously, areas where working from home ment will not only limit or postpone does not work, for example in the case the negative effects of the current situ- of project managers who have to be ation but will also enable the process regularly present on construction sites. of change to build a better market posiBut the real test for all of us is yet to tion to be used. come i.e. the economic slowdown that Monika Rajska-Wolińska, Managing is already affecting all sectors. We try Partner at Colliers International in to strongly support our clients – espePoland: During the first two weeks after cially since the current situation is also the outbreak of the epidemic in Poland, uncertain for many of them. Everyone slight chaos was observable, which was is watching the market with concern; naturally related to the fact that we were most of the transactions planned dealing with a new situation. We were for the coming months have been put worried about the health and safety on ice. However, everyone hopes that of ourselves and our loved ones. It was by June the epidemic will have been a big challenge to switch to remote contained and everything will be back working – not only for us but for most in full swing from the beginning of July.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN STEPS TO CONTROL AND MANAGE THIS DIFFICULT REALITY. WHAT HAVE YOU ALREADY DONE? Marcin Rzepecki, Deputy Director of the Crisis Management and Secu-­­­ rity Department of the City of Poznań: The Mayor’s daily conferences and ongoing information re garding the acti­v ities undertaken by the city authorities allow Poznań’s residents to remain calm and help them to cope better with the difficulties associated with the epidemic. The continuation of the local government administration’s operations has been ensured through the uninterrupted work of the Poznań City Hall and Municipal Organisational Units. The ‘Shopping for Seniors’ service has been launched to support the most vulnerable people living in Poznań – the elderly and those with disabilities (free-of-charge provision of basic everyday products and medicines – more information can be found here:

The authorities have also taken on, among other things, the task of coordinating aid to the J. Strusia Hospital:

Artur Skiba, CEO of Antal: The current situation related to the economic slowdown is a big test for managers regarding the effectiveness and potential of the whole team as well as the performance of individual employees. A strong

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

leader must be committed and flexible in relation to the changing reality. It is a person who can adapt the strategy and technology to the current needs of the environment and use the process of change to build a strong relationship with customers and employees.

She should be able to get the best from each employee and use their potential in response to new challenges.

For employees, on the other hand, this is a chance to see how well they are able to work remotely, whether they can switch off stimuli and are ready to actually perform their duties efficiently anywhere in the future.

At Antal, we invest in our employees, focus on their development and enable our personnel policy to be implemented in a safe, yet effective, way. Online work has now become a necessity but such a flexible form of cooperation has already been positively assessed and desired by our employees and business partners. For this reason, in 2018 we created the REX recruitment platform based on a model in which a selected recruitment project is made available to a group of freelance recruiters, which allows the scale of operations to be increased and reduces the costs of the recruitment process.

The Mayor’s daily conferences and ongoing information regarding the activities undertaken by the city authorities allow Poznań’s residents to remain calm and help them to cope better with the difficulties associated with the epidemic. and the application of modern technologies in recruitment, including online onboarding.

Monika Rajska-Wolińska, Managing Partner at Colliers International in Poland: We are preparing various scenarios for the future. We need to be ready to adapt our business to changing conditions. What we are already seeing is that under the influence of the pandemic, the real estate market will change in terms of digitisation even faster than we expected. We, therefore, see a need to develop our services in new technologies.

What is more, during the pandemic we try to talk to the candidates as often as possible about the current situation on the labour market, reassure them about the future of a given position in a specific organisation and show We also notice the necessity to engage them the new opportunities offered even more strongly in discussions by the market. between our clients – building owners and tenants. We now have a particuAntal recruiters also provide support larly complicated situation in the retail by helping to connect organisations market – shopping centres have been which have a surplus of – or tempo- closed and shops cannot sell and each rarily – unused resources with employers party, understandably, defends its own who may need such employees interests. We are trying to be mediators for the time being. In addition, in this situation and to support dialogue our consultants advise customers between the parties as all of them are on the development of remote workers going through a difficult period.

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BUSINESS

THE FOUNDATION OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT IS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SO-CALLED ‘CRISIS MANAGEMENT TEAM’. ACCORDING TO WHAT CRITERIA DID YOU APPOINT SUCH A TEAM? Marcin Rzepecki, Deputy Director of the Crisis Management and Secu­rity Department of the City of Poznań: The Crisis Management Act does not specify the composition of the Crisis Management Team.

The Mayor of Poznań, depending on the scale and nature of a threat, invites permanent members to team meetings but may also invite specia­ lists in various fields. Currently, the top management of the City of Poznań meets with several people, while the remaining participants take part in the team’s sessions using various audiovisual means.

developments and adapting the organisation to the difficult conditions we all find ourselves in.

The established group is examining emotions within the organisation and identifies threats that may adversely affect the company’s operations and customers’ attitudes. Antal’s managers are in constant contact with customers, keeping them informed of the developments and helping them with any problems. The vigilance of the team allows further actions to be planned, traps to be anticipated, the response plan to be optimised and, above all, the right decisions to be made quickly. The people in charge of crisis management in the organisation should remember that speed is the second most important word during the time of a pandemic.

as before and applying the worked-out business continuity plan.

Although this approach may, at first glance, seem difficult or contradictory to recommendations, in such situations a daily routine gives many people a sense of security and stability. If there is an opportunity that is worth celebrating, such as someone’s anniversary or professional success – for example, a new customer, project or contract – we should seize it. In difficult and uncertain times, people need a little joy and support.

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Artur Skiba, CEO of Antal: We are aware of the seriousness of the situation, the risks associated with the spread of the coronavirus and we are keeping an eye on the situation. We have a team which consists of board members and managers from individual departments. The team is constantly analysing

At Antal, we also strive to offer care and assistance to our employees while, as far as possible, running the business

Monika Rajska-Wolińska, Managing Partner at Colliers International in Poland: Due to our organisational structure, partners have become a natural crisis management team. We have been in constant contact with each other on a daily basis since we switched to remote working.

We are constantly discussing the situation, preparing scenarios and reacting to these extremely dynamic changes.

UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE STILL MANY UNEXPECTED RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SPREAD OF THE EPIDEMIC. WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT TASKS FACING YOUR CRISIS MANAGEMENT TEAM AT THE MOMENT? Marcin Rzepecki, Deputy Director of the Crisis Management and Secu­ rity Department of the City of Poznań: At this stage of the pandemic, tasks related to the response phase are carried out then followed by reconstruction.

In the response phase, actions should be taken to implement the specific actions of municipality and administrative district authorities i.e. preparation for possible presidential elections, the continuation of the school year, working out administrative procedures in case of introducing treatment or quarantine for City Hall or Municipal Organisation Unit officials or employees. On the other hand, the reconstruction phase will involve preparing the normal operation of all municipal units and restoring the stock of personal protective equipment.

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Artur Skiba, CEO of Antal: As in other corporations, Antal’s board and managers are on alert. On the one hand, we have a sense of threat and, on the other hand, a huge responsibility for the people and business – in that order. Business, by its nature, can react quickly and is flexible.

Even if we could not imagine this situation a month ago, we have to adjust to it today. We are in constant contact with employees, customers, partners and subcontractors.

Every person who manages the crisis in a company – regardless of the industry – must be aware of the fact that, in the current situation, employees need full support, including mental support in order to feel that the company is behind them. At Antal, in these difficult business times, we invest in our employees

and help shape their careers as well as support managers in coping with challenges related to team management.

Monika Rajska-Wolińska, Managing Partner at Colliers International in Poland: We are analysing all of our expenses in great detail. We are eliminating the ones that are not essential.

Employees are most important to us and we will do everything we can to survive this difficult time without making any redundancies. I have to take this opportunity to say that I receive a lot of support from my staff. There is a great deal of understanding – employees take the initiative themselves and propose various solutions that could help us get through this difficult situation. I am touched by their attitude and I think that such a team gives the company great strength.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

TO WHAT EXTENT IS PROPER AND EFFICIENT COMMUNICATION IMPORTANT IN SUCH A SITUATION? Marcin Rzepecki, Deputy Director of the Crisis Management and Secu­rity Department of the City of Poznań: The flow of internal information between services, units and the administration is extremely important in the process of eliminating threats.

At the same time, reliable and up-to-date information addressed to the residents can prevent rumours and panic from spreading. The City of Poznań distributes the most important information to residents through a dedicated tab on the City’s website among others. Guidebooks for foreigners have also been prepared.

Artur Skiba, CEO of Antal: Active and transparent communication is particularly important in the current situation. It is impossible to pretend that nothing is happening and the effects of the pandemic do not affect the company and business. Stakeholders expect information on changes in the functioning of the organisation, activities affecting customers, employees as well as risk-neutralisation activities. Any change in the circumstances affecting the operations of the company should be commented on in real-time. It is crucial that individual groups of recipients feel that the company is in dialogue with them and treats them as partners. Developing reactive messages, even before questions from the company’s environment appear, is a step that will allow for well-prepared crisis communication.

Monika Rajska-Wolińska, Managing Partner at Colliers International in Poland: Efficient and open communication is an absolute basis in crisis situations and is fundamental for the functioning of every company. It is very important to maintain a sense of security and stability in the team and, for this, you need the managers to be honest and show empathy. Employees see what is going on around them so trying to exaggerate the situation or conceal certain facts is not a good solution. If the company is expecting problems in the face of a crisis, the staff should be informed accordingly to avoid gossip and possible panic, which is always destructive.

A particularly responsible task rests on the shoulders of the board, who should be permanently visible and present in communication.

This gives employees a sense of security but also motivates them to work. In this difficult time, they need to see that their leaders are present and in control. We must not forget about soft communication, which is particularly significant for our mental comfort. Loose conversations are very important to maintain a sense of community and good relations in teams.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

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BUSINESS

IS TECHNOLOGY AN ALLY OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT? Marcin Rzepecki, Deputy Director of the Crisis Management and Secu­ rity Department of the City of Poznań: In the current situation, it is impossible to imagine any action without technical and technological support. We make use of various forms of communication with the inhabitants of the city.

The information is published, among others, on a specially launched website www.poznan.pl/koronawirus and on social media from Monday to Friday around 1 p.m. Mayor Jacek Jaśkowiak also provides the most essential information live via Facebook. Residents can also use our hotline, where consultants answer their questions about the functioning of the office or how to deal with issues that are currently important to them.

Artur Skiba, CEO of Antal: Definitely, yes.

New tools have become an ally of companies so, at Antal, we can operate smoothly in the world of technology. The current situation requires a number of rapid opera­tional measures such as adapting and making the appropriate technological solutions and training available – also for managers, with the use of state-ofthe-art means of communication. Such actions will improve crisis management, which will result in more flexible and efficient operations of whole teams.

facts as well as without conjecture or untested information.

It is worth remembering that in crisis situations, focusing on your own channels of communication is not enough as discussions are also taking place outside them. Therefore, it is worth following what is published on thematic working groups related to a given organisation, in other services, at external publishers, etc. (and explain, help and dispel doubts – and just be present there as well).

Tools for media monitoring such as Depending on the specificity of the com­­­­ Press Service, Google Alerts, Newspoint pany, internal communication can be and Brand24 make it easier to identify all supported in many ways. If the company information concerning us. Each of them has important or ‘difficult’ information has a slightly different functional range to pass on to the employee, it is best which can be adapted to our needs. to decide on a conversation as there is always a lot of space for own inter- Monika Rajska-Wolińska, Managing pretation in written messages. During Partner at Colliers International in a conversation, we can use intonation, Poland: It is hard to imagine a company timbre of voice etc. This paves the way without technology today. In the situation for dialogue. For this purpose, it is worth- we are facing right now, it is absolutely while using technological solutions that essential for survival. That is why at Colliers facilitate effective conversation. One we have always attached great imporof them is Microsoft Teams – a tool that tance to keeping up to date with technooffers all of the necessary functionalities logical novelties and implementing them successively in our operations. Last year, (video conferences, project work chat). we appointed people who are involved in One-sided passing of information should, the search and implementation of innoin turn, be provided on the basis of writing vations and new technologies in our e-mails or posting tasks to be perfor- company. We also support our clients in med in a project management applica- doing the same. One of the numerous tion. A written word is permanent and demonstrations of our activity in this the employee can return to it. Any ques- area is the ‘Colliers Proptech Accelerator’ tions or ambiguities may be subsequently programme, in which we engage start-ups clarified during a talk or further corres­ from all over the world to cooperate. pondence. The organisation of work is also facilitated by free instant messaging Coronavirus has changed our reality platforms, such as Slack. It is a good idea and it will stay with us for a long time, to make friends with Todoist, Trello or so we need to prepare long-term soluAsana – the so-called task managers, tions. We are just introducing an appliwhich are clear and easy to use. cation, both in our office and offer it to our clients, which enables reservation In crisis situations, communication with of desks and conference rooms, finding customers and candidates via social colleagues in the office, accessing a virtual media such as LinkedIn, Facebook and reception desk, etc. I think that such appliTwitter also plays an important role. Such cations are our future, not even distant. communication should be balanced, transparent, concrete and based on Thank you for answears.

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Last year, Colliers appointed people who are involved in the search and implementation of innovations and new technologies in the company.

Collliers also support their customers in doing the same.

One of the numerous demonstrations of activity in this area is the ‘Colliers Proptech Accelerator’ programme, in which they engage start-ups from all over the world to cooperate.

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

BUSINESS

WHEN THE WORLD STOPS. EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS IN TIMES OF CRISIS

These are uncertain times. The emergence and spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, reignites the discussion about what we say to our employees when times are tough. When the world around us seems to stop, cohesive and transparent communication is needed more than ever.

You are always adapting in a crisis, so you may be trying to recover a reputation, making sure your employees are safe, or ensuring business continuity for your clients. Before any of that can be secured, you have to start by putting yourself in your employees’ shoes.

What’s the benefit? They say if you want to help others, you start with

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yourself. Directing our energy outside of the organisation to important clients or partners is natural in situations like these; however, more and more, we’re seeing the significance of effective communication to internal stakeholders above all others. Employees that feel taken care of not only make for happy customers – they help a business survive.

Tried and tested fundamentals in any crises: react quickly, be open and honest, keep the message clear. You have to build trust and demonstrate that those in charge are capable of handling the situation. Essentially we’re saying, “don’t worry, you’re in good hands.” These basic premi­ses help minimize damage to the brand, ensure your employees feel safe, and keep business going as best as possible.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

But we live in a world where every employee is also an ambassador with a handheld megaphone. Thanks to social media, their voice is loud and trusted. Their opi­­ nions influence the way your brand is seen at a moment where emotions are high and critique is sharp. How you acknowledge and address your employees’ needs during this time will determine how much they advocate for you. If you’re telling them, “you’re in good hands, we’ve got this,” then it’s in your best interest to think about what “this” is. For this, you need to prepare with a few fundamental steps.

First, put the right team in place. When bringing together your crisis management team, remember that the role of communications lead shouldn’t just fall on the CEO or manager by default.

This individual may not be the voice saying the words, but they will work behind the scenes to ensure the right tone is being struck, questions are being answered, and feedback is gathered.

They take responsibility for when things are sent out and in what way. If you have the option, find employee representatives that can participate in selected processes and make them responsible for disseminating the communication.

Second, plan for flexibility. This is where previous commitment to communication with your employees will bear fruit. As you talk to your employees, they will respond and you should be prepared to listen.

Whether you conduct company-wide surveys, talk to individuals by the coffee machine, or consult with representatives and mid-level management, you need to know how what you’re saying is being received and more importantly, what they want to know more about. Your communications lead should create a framework to gather this data as efficiently as possible, and ensure it is being regularly updated and revisited.

In the final and most vital stage of preparation, consider your worker’s anxieties and how to ease them. Employees worry about who is handling the situation, how safe they are at work, what decisions are

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

being made without their input, and This ties into the sensitive dilemma whether they will have a future to look of the future. They may ask: how safe forward to. is my job? Following a recent study by a local recruitment agency, which Studies on crisis communication glob- asked employees about their fears and ally have shown that employees routinely needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, describe how important hearing the voice 85% of respondents did not feel of a leader is to them. This might be live, concerned that they might lose their on social media, internal communications, jobs. However, the survey found that or emails. If you’re sending out guidelines over the course of three days, employee for how to behave at the office, sign off fear regarding job security increased with your own name. If you’re thanking each day. them for their patience and support, consider doing it in video form so they Let’s not be naive – we can’t give everycan hear your voice. one all the answers. Regular and clear communications shows your emploAside from ensuring the content of our yees that not only are you making decicommunication is informative, specific, sions competently and with their best and reassuring, we have to make sure it is interests at heart, you’re inviting them visible. An omni-channel approach gives on the journey with you. By recognizing you the best chance of reaching everyone their needs, you can establish a level who needs to be reached. Among others, of trust that better equips both parties use social media, email, phone, physical to approach potentially difficult convermeetings (currently with appropriate sations with a partnership mindset. distance) or internal tools and intranets.

Over time, questions like these will be Be frequent and consistent, especially asked more and more often. Our fundain the beginning. It may seem like mentals tell us that honesty and openemployees want all the answers at once, ness can be powerful allies here. It’s our but waiting until that’s the case can role to come up with the answers and cause more uncertainty than bite-sized take care of our people when they feel updates. In any crisis, communication at their most vulnerable. plans change within a daily cycle, more than weekly or monthly. That being said, We will not always get it right. Crisis it’s important to remember that as time communication is often a game of trial goes on, so-termed “oversharing” may be and error and organisations cannot fear counterproductive. When communicating mistakes. Empathy and vigilance are every other day, trying to align multiple crucial skills in our new toolbox, to think messages may create unnecessary disor- first and foremost about the people ganisation – finding the right balance will who show up at our offices every single depend on the situation, industry, and day. When the world stops, we must the organisation’s culture. think and act like people, not only as institutions. As they’re not involved in the process, certain decisions may seem arbitrary Author: to them. Difficult announcements that go unexplained build resentment and distrust, which affects how loyal they will feel towards your business. Their performance may suffer or they may even leave. Communications can combat Anna Romańska, this by guiding employees through deciEmployer Branding Partner, Transcom sion-making processes and inviting them to understand the rationale.

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BUSINESS

NEXT GENERATION OF THE FINANCE FUNCTION Finance of the future has an evolving role, broader than we have seen before; with new expectations, interactions, and priorities, which help drive business profitability and growth for the organization.

The role of Chief Financial Officer conti­ nues to expand. CEOs expect that their CFOs will take the initiative to apply financial data analytics to explore new products, markets, and channels to achieve profitable growth which is the greatest strategic value a CFO can provide.

Finance teams seek to increase their participation in decision support processes while improving their capabilities and reducing efforts required for transaction processing. This is possible thanks to continuous improvement, as well as the automation, new systems and tools. Technology disruption is not CFOs’ key future priorities will include new. However, the speed is now faster, the strengthening of the alignment and the solutions on the market are between financial planning and corporate becoming more accessible and more strategy, managing and measuring value affordable. Moreover, organizations contribution and performance at their have already tested this technology using organization, as well as improving fore- pilots/proof of concept projects and have casting accuracy and the speed of insights. moved to full implementations.

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This transformation changes finance’s size, structure, and its delivery model.

Finance, as we know it today, will be radically different in only a few years.

Organizations will experience growth opportunities as a result of automation executing tactical work, which in turn will free up employees to focus on developing different skill sets that enable business. In a rapidly changing environment, finance organizations must continually assess the nature of the work to be done, and how this translates to the skill sets of their workforce, that is based on four

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

fundamental roles: Predictive Analyst, of the role increases with every new direction for the business; has the ability Strategist, Business Partner and Leader regulatory change. to navigate ambiguity and influence of Change. a potential shift in the business model, • Innovation and Investment Strategist – takes an “outside-in” approach handles interactions between different Taking these finance fundamental roles to develop insights from trend business groups and communicates into consideration, KPMG has designed information effectively. This is a critical signals and identifies changes in a new finance organization with roles customer and competitor beha­viour. role in driving value and overall busibuilt from these capabilities.

This allows the strategist to design ness performance. possible business implications trans- • Financial Data Modeller/ Scientist lated into financial figures and executes complex financial models The NextGen CFO Team comprises: projections. and advises the business on the finan• Financial and Regulatory Accoun­­ tant – the role of the ‘New Accountant’ • Business or Financial Planning Analyst cial and business impacts of different goes beyond simple bookkeeping, prepares predictive analytics and realscenarios. For this role, STEM/ D&A ­­back­­­­which becomes more efficient thanks time impactful insights on business ground is necessary. to automated solutions. This fiscal situations, cost and price, supported • Business Solutions Architect – Finanwith scenario analysis and predictive cial Automation Expert has high and regulatory specialist is tasked with ensuring compliance with regumodelling. The analyst has extensive RQ – Robotic Intelligence, experience lations and focuses on delivering core business knowledge and profound in managing a digital workforce, and reporting to the business with in-depth technical finance expertise. overall knowledge of the systems finance and accounting background. • Finance Business Partner has a strong landscape; is able to identify required The accountant’s main responsibility understanding of external markets process changes and implement new is to present the realistic financial situbusiness solutions incorporating releto examine and leverage threats ation of a company. The importance vant technologies. and opportunities into the strategic

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

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BUSINESS

Financial and Regulatory Accoutant Innovation and Investment Strategist

Business Solutions Architect

CFO

Intelligent Automation Financial Data Modeler / Scientist

Business Planning Analyst Finance Business Partner

• Last but not least, we also have our digital colleague – Intelligent Automation Bot as different finance processes will be automated, leveraging various levels of smart automation.

Digital talent does not mean merely replacing human employees with automation. It is about upskilling talent to assist the workforce of the future, with automation augmenting the more advanced work that humans do. Changes like these free up financial resources to devote more energy and time to strengthening business planning, performance reporting and analytical capabilities that generate value for the business. Increased collaboration between finance and business is required to integrate functional expertise.

CFOs recognize the key skills of the future, ranking business risk assessments, stakeholder support, capital investment/cost and price analyses as critical financial capabilities. What is interesting, assessing business risk seems to also be the biggest gap in today’s finance organization.

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For non-financial capabilities, predictive analytics will be in greatest demand – leveraging robotics in transactional processing, data-driven decision making, communication, and strategic planning.

This is the time to focus on future skills and address potential gaps. During the World Economic Forum in Davos, it was estimated that in 2020, on average, more than a third of the desired core skill sets for the majority of occupations will be comprised of skills that are not yet considered crucial to the job today.

Finance will need to adapt to become performance-centric and technology-enabled, causing a shift in the skillsets required of the finance workforce.

With these capabilities, the CFO em­­­­ braces the role to proactively lead enterprise performance. The right tools, skills and abilities will enable the CFO to spearhead significant organizational changes and meet the changing demands of finance.

How can this be achieved?

• Understand the business and finance disruptors for your organization, and its impact on business strategy.

• Define the desired role for finance.

• Develop a roadmap to facilitate the transition.

• Close gaps in data quality/integrity, skills and talent, and process integration.

• Expand adoption of automation and emerging technology.

• Create an analytics-based culture, promote insight-driven performance and business partnership.

Author:

Izabela Krajewska, Manager, Management Consulting, KPMG in Poland

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

INVESTMENTS NEWS CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD ANNOUNCES CREATION OF RECOVERY READINESS TASK FORCE TO PREPARE BUSINESSES FOR POST-COVID-19 RECOVERY Today, we are announcing the formation of the Recovery Readiness Task Force (RRTF) to lead the development of best practices, products and partnerships to prepare clients for post-COVID-19 recovery. The virus will dictate when we can all eventually safely return to places of work and commerce, but the time to prepare is now, and our firm is well positioned to lead the way.

Soon, the RRTF will be releasing a toolkit with step-by-step protocols for tenants and landlords to use as they begin planning the transition back to the workplace.

This effort will build on best practices from Cushman & Wakefield’s experience in China, where we are already moving 10,000 companies and nearly a million workers back into more than 1,000 buildings through our joint venture with Vanke Service.

Led by Cushman & Wakefield Global President John Forrester and comprised of experts from around the globe, the task force will include:

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• Bruce Mosler, Chairman, Global Broke­­ rage, will lead the development of strategic public and private sector partnerships to align operating practices with public policy.

• Despina Katsikakis, Head of Occupier Business Performance, will provide thought leadership on the future of work, while driving workplace strategies from the firm’s Experience Per SFTM tool that contains more than 2.7 million data points on the experience of remote workers pre-COVID-19.

• Edward Law, Head of Operations, Vanke Service Cushman & Wakefield, will provide recovery best practices from China’s largest property and facili­ ties management provider with more than 20,000 employees and 800 MSF under management.

• Paul Bedborough, Chief Executive, C&W Services, will focus on COVID-19 related commercial maintenance and cleaning best practices from the firm’s 14,000-employee, self-performed facili­ ties services business.

• Jeroen Lokerse, Head of Netherlands, will deliver build-out innovation from C&W Design & Build, the firm’s team of leading office architects and designers.

• Adam Stanley, Chief Digital Officer and Chief Information Officer, will focus on data-driven best practices, along with the firm’s broad base of innovation partners for technology and virtual business operations.

• Jason Tolliver, Head of New Commerce Research, will bring a unique perspective of retail and industrial real estate research to provide thought leadership to both landlords and tenants in the rapidly evolving retail and e-commerce sectors.

• Kevin Thorpe, Chief Economist, will continue to produce thought leadership on COVID-19 impacts to the global and U.S. economy, capital markets, finance, leasing fundamentals, property and project management and factors that affect supply-demand.

In addition, the RRTF will be focused on developing new products and solutions to help commercial landlords and tenants manage social distancing, including the exciting new design concept “Six Feet Office.” This design concept consists of elements that include a visually displayed unique foot traffic routing for each office to ensure employees maintain the recommended six feet apart for social distancing. Additional features include tangible products like clear shields between workstations and a set of simple and workable agreements and rules of conduct that place employee health and safety at the forefront of office culture. For more information, visit www.sixfeetoffice.com.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

PRO PROGRESSIO CHOOSES CITYSPACE BEETHOVENA support the development and communication of members of the Pro Progressio Club. Serviced offices are the answer to the office needs of many organizations, smaller, medium and large ones. Flexible space, the ability to use conference rooms, telephone booths, a kitchenette are just a few of the many options that we have now. We would like to thank CitySpace – In December 2019, we started the eighth for welcoming us in their spaces, espeyear of Pro Progressio's business activi­ cially since they allowed us to stay in our ties, it is also the ninth publishing year beloved Warsaw Mokotów district – Wiktor of “Outsourcing&More” Magazine and Doktór added. the tenth year of running OutsourcingPortal. Over the past decade, a lot has Pro Progressio deals with the developchanged, both in our work and in the entire ment of entrepreneurship in Poland, industry of modern business services – with particular emphasis on the business said Wiktor Doktór, President of Pro Pro­­ services that includes Business Process gressio. – We enter the next decade with Outsourcing (BPO), Shared Service a new office. Analysing our own needs and Centers (SSC), Research and Development what developers of office buildings and Centers (R&D), Call and Contact Center. serviced offices have in their offer, we have CitySpace remains one of the members found that our space in the city will be in of this organosation.

Beethoven's CitySpace. From April 2020, it is here that on daily basis Pro Progressio – As a flexible office space operator, we will analyse the sector of modern busi- always support the development of dynaness services, monitor the market and mic companies and organizations, and Pro Pro Progressio, an business organization supporting entrepreneurship and shared services sector (BPO / SSC) in Poland, has moved to CitySpace Beethovena office at Moje Miejsce, mix-used project by Echo Investment. The new headquarters of Pro Progressio has been operating since April 1.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Progressio is definitely one of them – says Jarosław Bator, managing director at CitySpace. – More and more companies decide for the formula ‘space as a service’, which means leasing the office space with all necessary amenities. This give them flexibility, opportunity to focus on their core business, as well as reduce the volume of administrative work – he adds.

CitySpace is a Polish operator of flexible serviced offices. Currently, the operator rents workstations in ten locations in five Polish cities - Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Katowice and Kraków. In all offices, City­ Space ensures the best air parameters, perfect silencing and lighting of rooms, advanced IT systems, the safest servers and full service, while ensuring tenants' comfort and finishing quality.

Last year, CitySpace increased its managed area by 70% and launched over 800 additional workplaces. In 2020, the company plans to launch or expand another offices, including in Łódź and Wrocław.

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INVESTMENTS

Nearly 1,500 people replanted 11 hectares of the Kashubian forest.

Alchemia office centre, Torus’ flagship project.

ECOlogical pack, a welcome gift given during plasticOVER campaign.

RESPONSIBLE TOGETHER, TODAY AND TOMORROW The outbreak of the coronavirus has caught everyone by surprise, forcing us to reorganise the way we live and work, and creating numerous organisational and other challenges for business. This difficult time period demands increased sensitivity, responsibility, solidarity, commitment and dedication from individuals, local communities and entities (companies and institutions) alike.

At Torus, we have been striving to follow these principles in our daily work, having undertaken a number of socially responsible activities over the years.

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Apiary on the roof of the Argon building.

Local communities across Poland have been participating in initiatives to help overburdened hospitals and their staff, sewing face masks and overalls, delivering food and 3D-printing protective visors and goggles. Many people help in whatever ways they can, for instance grocery shopping for the elderly, or dropping by the hospital in the evenings with a guitar, to entertain doctors and patients.

The business community, large companies and small ones, has also joined in.

On 20 March, Torus owner Małgorzata Dobrowolska, along with the company management board, decided to donate PLN 110,000 for the purchase of two ventilators for the local health authorities, who had been calling out for support.

The machines are expected to be put to use at the Pomeranian Centre for Infectious Diseases and Tuberculosis in Gdańsk within a few weeks.

– We are all aware of the challenges facing the world today, as individuals and local communities. Today, responsibility and solidarity are becoming more important than ever. This is true for the business community as well, which is why we have decided to support one of our local hospitals – Małgo­ rzata Dobrowolska, Torus owner, said.

It is not the first time we have done some­­thing like this for the community. While the core business of Torus is delivering office space, we also take part in numerous initiatives for the wellbeing of people and the local community. This multidimensional responsibility and partnership are the pillars of the Torus development strategy, which we call MORE THAN SPACE. Here are some of the projects and campaigns we have carried out in the last few years.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

• Every Torus building is certified under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the U.S. rating system for energy efficient buildings. Our flagship project that was finished last year, the Alchemia office centre, has obtained the highest rating – Platinum, attaining one of the highest scores in Poland.

For our tenants and their employees, LEED is a guarantee of a healthy, friendly work environment and low office maintenance costs. LEED is also a guaran­ ­tee of decreased negative effects on our environment.

• In 2019, during two Saturdays in October, we brought nearly 1,500 people – employees of various companies and institutions across Tricity – to replant 11 hectares of the Kashubian forest that had been brutally destroyed by the extreme storms in 2017. We planted some 110,000 saplings of birch, larch, pine and other species – over twice the projected amount. Our call to action was met with tremendous acceptance and engagement within the business community and by individual people alike. We have even published a children’s book together with the Adamada publishing house designed to teach kids about the importance of our local forests. The second edition of our Ready to Plant campaign was originally scheduled for the beginning of April but, given the current situation, had to be postponed until October.

• In 2019 we also kicked-off our plastic­ OVER campaign, encouraging our tenant community to give up using plastic and introduce environmentally friendly practices in their workplace. To set a good example, we made some changes in our own office, reducing the use of plastic

Honey from an apiary on the roof of the Argon building.

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INVESTMENTS

Torus Triathlon In Da House.

bottles in favour of water coolers and glassware. We then moved on to educate and support others. One such example is our ECOlogical pack, consisting of a glass water bottle, lunchbox and tote bag, a welcome gift that we hand out to the employees of our newest tenants.

2012 we have managed to donate nearly 300 litres of blood that has helped a lot of people. Given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we are unable to organise mobile blood drives near Alchemia and so we ask all donors to visit the regional blood centre directly.

• Torus Triathlon In Da House is a competition for the business community held entirely indoors, in the winter. It has become our best-known sports event, held annually within Alchemia’s sports facilities since 2014, where we also raise money for a charitable cause.

The most recent, sixth edition was held on 28 February and gathered 41 corporate relay teams and over a dozen individual triathletes. We donated nearly • In 2018, we set up an apiary on the roof PLN 70,000 raised from entry fees for of the Argon building to help combat RaceRunning Trójmiasto, a charity that the diminishing population of bees supports the rehabilitation of people around the world. Currently there are with disabilities. some 500,000 bees working inside five hives, producing honey that we often Author: gift to our tenants. Some of our resident companies have also joined in and set up their own hives.

• In August 2019 we became the strategic and main sponsor of the Wybrzeże Gdańsk men’s handball team. This marks a new stage in our three-year working relationship with the club. In addition, we have been supporting amateur and professional triathletes, young fencers (from the Atena school sports club) and women’s beach volleyball teams (Torus AZS UW BV Team).

• We continue to support the blood donation centre in Gdańsk by organising mobile blood donations near our buildings, beginning with Arkońska Business Park and later moving to Alchemia. Since

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Marcin Uske, PR Manager, Torus

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

INVESTMENTS

LOGISTICS

– THE NEXT FRONTIER FOR LITHUANIAN GBS “Location, location, location” is not just a catchy term used by realtors, or a key criteria to consider when setting up a new GBS centre.

It’s also the decisive factor when it comes to Transport and Logistics.

Positioned between three sizeable markets – Western Europe, the Nordics and the CIS – Lithuania boasts a Transport and Logistics sector that accounts for a larger percent of GDP (12%) than any other EU nation. As global companies look to centralize and streamline their Transport Management functions, a new cluster is emerging in Lithu­ania that is built on the foundation of engineering talent and accumulated logistics know-how the country possesses – Global Business Services centres focused on Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

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THE LOGISTICS OF SUCCESS If we look at the Transport and Logistics sector as a whole, it is one of the definite drivers of the Lithuanian economy.

In 2018, the industry showed 15% YoY growth, passing almost €10.7 billion in revenue. Today, over 7,500 companies are active in the Lithuanian Transport and Logistics sector, including global names like DSV, DHL, DB Schenker and DPD. There are also local giants like Girteka Logistics, which is likely to become the first European company to own 10,000 trucks.

The Baltic country is also well connected by every means possible – land, sea and air. Lithuania is the leader in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for quality of roads, according to the Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum. With four international airports for cargo and a well-developed Road Feeder Services infrastructure, Lithuania serves as a convenient stop for the freight forwarding business. And, in addition to high-volume land and air connectivity, Lithuania has Klaipėda – the northernmost warm-water port on the Baltic Sea.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

In 2019, it handled more than 46 million tons of cargo, making it the leading port by turnover in the Baltics.

team is responsible for the design and commissioning of automatic control systems for mechatronics equipment at customer sites. In addition, LithuLOGISTICS MEETS GBS: FROM anian specialists carry out detailed AUTOMATION TO DIGITALIZATION research on the qualitative characterisWhile a traditional GBS centre might focus tics of the newly designed systems. As on centralizing back-office processes in Michael Baul, Head of Engineering at fields like Finance and HR, a new trend Dematic Northern Europe, put it: Dematic of putting all Transport Management very quickly identified Lithuania as a valufunctions under one roof is emerging. able source of educated engineers with a very positive work ethic and a motivaA prime example of this strive for effi- tion to succeed. ciency is Norway's Yara – one of the world's largest providers of fertilizers and crop In the decade that Dematic has been nutrition solutions. In 2019, they opened operating in Kaunas, it has cooperated their GBS centre in Vilnius, and it is set closely with both Kaunas University to become a crucial operational Supply of Technology and Vilnius Gediminas Chain node in their European delivery Technical University, with most of their network. The importance of the centre to hires being graduates of one of these the company is emphasized in its mission leading engineering schools. And they statement to handle every single ship- are not an outlier, as 69% of GBS centres ment and order Yara has in Europe. – This in Lithuania declare cooperating with is a huge responsibility, but we are confident local universities and colleges, as shown that our latest addition to the Yara family in Lithuania's business services report will be fit for the task – Pablo Barrera Lopez, 2019 produced by Invest Lithuania.

Executive Vice President in Yara Interna- The net gain of such close co-operation tional, commented on the decision at is evident, with the emergence of a talent the beginning of 2019. 18 months on, and pool utilized to deliver more sophisticated Yara has build a team of more than 230 and high-end functions, the field of Logisspecialists and now provides services tics and Supply Chain being no exception. in 16 languages.

Austrian TGW Logistics Group, a leading DISRUPTIVE SOLUTIONS systems provider of highly automated, MADE IN LITHUANIA flexible solutions supporting distribution Lithuania is not only a place where orders and fulfillment for leading retailers and and shipments are handled – genuinely global brands in e-commerce, apparel, disruptive logistics solutions are devel- general merchandise and grocery, is oped here as well. One of these disrup- another major player that chose Kaunas tors is Carggo, a company aiming to for their engineering operations in 2017. revolutionize the US trucking market. According to TGW Northern Europe CEO With a development office in Vilnius, this Andy Smith, the initial objective of this company provides a digital freight fulfill- centre was to contribute to the compament platform that is fair, efficient and ny's projects in Northern Europe. But now designed to make it easier for logistics the company sees even more potential providers and carriers to experience long- and new opportunities for it to contribute lasting growth in this new digital era. to projects across Europe, North America and China. It appears this automation The country's engineers are also involved giant will be tasking its Kaunas team with in producing state-of-the-art logistics many more complex tasks in the future. and supply chain automation solutions.

Kaunas, for example, is home not only Automation of a different kind is at to the region's largest technical univer- the heart of the Klaipėda operations sity but also to the engineering centre of Greencarrier Group, one of the largest of Dematic, a global leader in innovative privately owned Transport compasupply chain automation technologies, nies in the Nordics. Having established software and services. Their Kaunas-based their centre in 2013 to provide Finance

34% of GBS centres employing robots.

69%

of GBS centres in Lithuania declare cooperating with local universities and colleges. and Logistics Operations services to the company group, Greencarrier has announced that they will be starting to develop their own Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions in 2020.

And although this is a first for Klaipėda, RPA solutions are widespread in Lithuanian GBS centres, with 34% of centres employing robots.

FULL VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE ONLY IN PAPER EDITION OF OUTSOURCING&MORE summary, while "Location, location, MAGAZINE OR ON THE PRO PROGRESSIO Inlocation" WEBSITE. is a clear asset for Lithuania

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

in terms of both Logistics and GBS, this dynamic Baltic country has plenty more to offer besides its geography. It already boasts a number of success stories in the area where Logistics, Automation and Digital Services meet. And with almost 7,000 logistics specialists currently being trained by the education system and net positive migration (a reversal of the last decade's trend), Lithuania has the right talent pool to serve the needs of a rapidly expanding market. Author:

Dalia Liesytė, Investment Advisor | Business Services & ICT, Invest Lithuania

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INVESTMENTS

MONOPOLIS, SPIRIT OF LODZ

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Monopolis is a unique project developed in the center of Lodz which combines offices, services and culture along with a wide range of restaurants. Its most important element is the revitalization of the historic plant buildings of Monopol Wódczany (the Vodka Monopoly Plant) from 1902.

The historic buildings were renovated and changed into a luxurious place to work and spend free time. The top-class offices will be located in the main building of the former bottling building, as well as in two new towers.

The first building stage, the renovation of the historic buildings, has been finished. Office spaces are now open for the companies and the theatre “Scena Monopolis” has been inaugurated for its guests. This year Monopolis will open the green passage with restaurants, café, winebar, kids club, art gallery and museum dedicated to the history of this place. In the next phase two towers will be built.

Monopolis will offer around 29,900 sq. m. of modern office spaces and over 5,000 sq. m. of retail area. It’s one of the biggest revitalization project in Lodz.

Rafał Grzelewski, Grupa 5 Architekci is the author of this project.

Exhibitions and vernissages, concerts and screenings of films, photoshoots and fashion shows. Even before the re-­­­­ vitalization, this third biggest factory complex – after the plants owned by Karol Scheibler and Izrael Poznański – invited many outstanding artists and was the place of important cultural events.

This is where Ryszard Horowitz had a photo session for the Virako Calendar 2014 and an exhibition of his works.

Two years later, Arkadiusz Branicki was our guest, with a vernissage of another Virako Calendar – Tribute to Ballet.

In MONOPOLIS, we could also see photographs by a world-renowned artist, Brian Griffin, who presented his works as part of the 13th Photofestival. Besides, in the former Polmos plant, the shooting of such films as “Obywatel” by Jerzy Stuhr and “Miasto 44” by Jan Komasa took place.

In cooperation with Charlie Cinema, we

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

organized a series of summer outdoor film screenings, KINOPOLIS. Monika Brodka i Krzysztof Zalewski gave concerts here, as part of the Red Bull Tour Bus. There was also a concert by the youngest Polish finalist of the Chopin contest, Zuzanna Pietrzak, which was listened to by hundreds of inhabitants from Łódź.

GREEN PASSAGE WITH A RANGE OF FLAVOURS Monopolis is a new place to meet with your friends and relax. Green passage with many restaurants was made to spend free time in the nice surroundings. Guests will find a wide offer here. “Piekarnia Lodz” will jolly their clients into buying a delicious bread and sweets. In their offer there will also be an interesting breakfast option and desserts.

flavors! Restaurant is run by a marriages, a Polish woman and Italian guy.

“Sendai Sushi” is a concept which was created by a man who really fell in love with Japanese cuisine and culture.

The owner is the main cook and sushi master of the restaurants. Meals are always fresh and delicious.

MIPIM AWARDS, A UNIQUE NOMINATION

Monopolis has been nominated to MIPIM Awards, in the category “multifunctional project”. It is an exceptional distinction for this newly created complex. MIPIM Awards, is the most prestigious competition in the real estate industry, held every year in Cannes. For sure it is the most recognized, world competition, which gathers the whole industry – from deve­ Café “Mono Café” is the newest project lopers, architects, advisory agencies, to of a couple of influencers form Lodz. banks and investment funds.

Their numerous travels, especially to Italy, inspired them to create this unique The competition started in 1991. Jury concept. In their café, guest will drink consists judges from all over the world, a delicious cup of Italian coffee “Illy” but this year there are people from France, also a cup of tea. Breakfasts and desserts Dubai, Singapore, Italy, or Great Britain.

228 investments were reported in this year are also available in their offer. edition. Monopolis conquers with projects “Arteria” is another restaurant which from Singapore, Montreal and Bangkok. offer not only amazing food but also a unique art pieces which you can admire Author: in the inside of the restaurant. “Arteria” will also offer an original products from around the world, in its shop.

“Trattoria Italiana” is a well-known in Lodz restaurant, which offers a high quality and delicious Italian cuisine. Seafood, pasta and wonderful desserts are the real Italian

Bibiana Kołodziejczyk, PR & Event Junior Manager, Virako

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INVESTMENTS

IN FASHION FOR CENTURIES Woven artificial grass, self-cleaning materials, fabrics protecting against fire or viruses, a perfect bra... what do all these concepts have in common? Łódź – the Polish capital of the textile industry where modern textile and fashion sectors combine innovation with long-standing tradition.

In the south of Scotland, in the town of Dumfries, the players of a team called Queen of the South, who have been in existence since 1919, play on a pitch produced by a Łódź-based company by the name of Dywilan. Why did they choose a product from Łódź, a city located more than 2,000 km away?

Perhaps because the woven grass made

by Dywilan drains water better than other artificial surfaces, which is not without signi­­­fi­­­cance in rainy Scotland?

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Perhaps the aesthetic and environmental issues decided or, perhaps, the durability of such turf? Probably all of these elements make the artificial and hybrid surfaces are sent out from Łódź to Scotland, the Nether­lands and all of Poland, not only to stadiums or courts but also to gardens, terraces, roofs and balconies.

Dywilan, established in the 19th century, today is a modern undertaking known mainly for its machine-woven wool

carpets. A decade ago, a decision was made to start a new and innovative activity. In cooperation with the European Research Centre for Artificial Turf in Ghent and a Belgian manufacturer of weaving machines, the production of artificial turf using new technology began. – Since then, we have prided ourselves on being the first manufacturer of woven artificial grass for training pitches, tennis courts and golf courses as well as mats for hybrid surfaces, we read on the company's website.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Corin, a company which produces lingerie and was established in the Łódź agglo­ meration, has also outdone its industry.

The company's ambition has always been to create the perfect bra. The 'Perfect Bra' programme was launched not only for comfort but above all for women's health. That is why engineers from the Technical University of Łódź and doctors from the Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital Research Institute in Łódź were invited to cooperate. Thanks to financial support from EU funds, multistage tests were carried out, among others with the usage temperature-sensitive thermal imaging cameras. The results were analysed by engineers and doctors.

Professor Marek Zadrożny, a breast specialist and oncologist, confirmed the thesis that choosing the right size and shape of a bra allows to prevent possible complications such as lymph circulation disorders, inflammation, swelling to be prevented. The researches result in bra models, presented by Corin at international fairs and exported to many countries around the world, are created.

Other nanoparticles, when exposed to associated with Łódź. Various events light, are able to accelerate the decom- hosted or organised by the city have position of polluants by removing stains. helped to build such an image.

More than one hundred patents have been developed by the Institute of Security Technologies MORATEX, who have been operating on the research market for over 60 years. The Institute provides the equipment for the police and the army, such as bulletproof vests, helmets and shields, rescue cushions and haemostatic dressings.

Other Łódź-based textile company – Texpol specialises in something completely different i.e. the most delicate fabrics.

The company enriches its products with bamboo and seaweed. Bamboo fibres have hypoallergenic, antibacterial, antifungal and hygroscopic properties; in turn, seaweed accelerates the healing of damaged skin structures and soothes skin irritation. It is a perfect combination for the delicate skin of children.

The modern textile industry needs qualified staff – such as the graduOwing to the cooperation between ates of the Technical University of Łódź. business and science, modern textile The Technical University runs a unique industry solutions – which can be used in in Poland course called Textile and Fashion Industry, covering innovative

medicine, construction or defences – are born in Łódź. Coordinated by the Textile Research Institute in Łódź, the Nanomitex programme has resulted in the creation of extraordinary textile materials, among others, tthrough the use of the encapsulation technology. What does this technology involve? Małgorzata Cieślak, PhD Eng., leading the project, explained it this way in an interview with the Science in Poland service of the Polish Press Agency: The microcapsules contain the active substance which is released in a controlled manner. Materials enriched with such capsules may have thermoregulatory pro­perties. The substance in the microcapsule absorbs the thermal energy, so you can regulate the thermal comfort of clothes – even up to 37 degrees Celsius.

textile technologies used in the production of clothing and medical materials, composites, textiles dedicated to the army as well as textronic materials. Moreover, the Technical University of Łódź educates students, among other things, in the following courses: Pattern Designing, Material Engineering, Education of Technology and Information Engineering, Textile Engineering, and Science of Commodities.

The Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź offers the following courses: Pattern Designing and Textile and Clothing. Future employees of the textile industry are also trained at numerous technical and vocational schools.

Łódź is undoubtedly the Polish textile The Nanomitex project has also developed capital. Is it also the capital of fashion? flexible coatings to protect against fire Although it is not the only city with such or materials that are a barrier to viruses. aspirations but the name is increasingly

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

One of them is the finals of the Polish edition of the prestigious modelling competition THE LOOK OF THE YEAR, which was the beginning of great careers of fashion icons, such as Cindy Crawford, Gisele Bundchen or Kasia Smutniak. The local government puts a lot of energy into events promoting beginner designers and brands. The Łódź Young Fashion Festival, organised since 2017, is a few-day event with fashion shows lasts for a few days with fashion shows, workshops and accompanying events (including the Złota Nitka competition addressed to both professional and beginner designers). The Central Museum of Textiles hosts the Brand Supports Brand show or the Polish Fashion Forum Modopolis, which gathers designers, producers and experts in Łódź. There are also many other fashion, modelling and related events for which Łódź is a hospitable venue.

There is also something else in Łódź – an unique atmosphere of this textile city.

Two hundred years have passed since the decision that shaped the character

of this place was made. In 1820, Łódź was incorporated into the group of industrial settlements with the role of a weaving and clothmaking centre. Two centuries later, the modern textile and fashion industries are eager to draw on this tradition. In 2014, the symbol of this symbiosis – the former weaving and spinning mill of Franciszek Ramisch, and today the OFF Piotrkowska centre with studios of architects and fashion designers, restaurants and clubs – was named one of the seven new wonders of Poland by the National Geographic Traveler. 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

AID PACKAGE FOR BUSINESS IN KIELCE The crisis situation we have been facing in Poland since March has led local governments to take the necessary steps to minimize the effects of this exceptional condition. The most important task, as always is to protect the health and life of residents, as well as to ensure safety and stability. To meet entrepreneurs for whom this unstable situation is extremely difficult, the City of Kielce has prepared the so-called assistance package.

AID PACKAGE FOR ENTREPRENEURS

and additional information were made of the next three months, pay a rent in available in one place on the website the amount of 10% of the current if their – In connection with the introduction of the Kielce City Hall. business is of the field of commerce, of the state of the epidemic in our country, seasonal commerce, service, parking lots, the City of Kielce has prepared an assis- In accordance to the Act on maintaining industrial – storage, sports and recreatance package for entrepreneurs in order cleanliness and order in municipalities, tion. The burden on entrepreneurs in this to limit the effects of the crisis in which it is possible to submit a declaration on respect decreased by 90%. the local business finds itself. The support the amount of municipal waste managewas directed primarily to companies that ment fee, in which entrepreneurs can In Kielce, it was also possible to postwere forced to temporarily suspend activi­ reduce or temporarily "reset" the amount pone the payment date for perpetual ties or those that significantly limited of municipal waste management fees usufruct fees for entrepreneurs whose their activities – informs Bogdan Wenta, incurred. Entrepreneurs can send a new, real estate is used for business purposes Mayor of Kielce. next declaration taking into account (after changing the statutory provisions). the amount of waste generated on a given Entrepreneurs who were affected by property, electronically via the ePUAP plat- For entrepreneurs – tenants of commercial the consequences of the epidemic could, form and in writing via the postal operator. premises that belong to Munici­pal Board for the duration of the epidemic, apply Due to the closure of the Kielce City Hall of Buildings in Kielce, provi­ding services for such reliefs as: postponing the dates for direct customer service, the summary and activities in the industries listed in of payment of local taxes (property tax of declaration was also made possible the Regulation of the Minister of Health and means of transport), spreading by placing it in a special container located of 20 March 2020 on the announcement the payment of local taxes into install- near the entrance to the office. of the state of epidemic in the Republic ments, or canceling interest on these of Poland and others who due to amounts. To get the above relief, Further amenities were also introduced in the prevailing situation were forced to the entrepreneur submitted an indi- the area of urban land lease. From April 1, limit their activities, a rent rate of 1 PLN vidual application with relevant docu- 2020, entrepreneurs who are leaseholders per rented premises, regardless of its size, ments, and all the necessary templates of land of the City of Kielce, for a period for the month of April 2020. At the same

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Bogdan Wenta, Mayor of Kielce, during Kielce MSPO 2019 Fairs.

implementing them in Kielce. These innovative entrepreneurs are building the technological potential of the city and are just taking their first steps in the business world.

Now, in the face of the epidemic they need The package for entrepreneurs from our help in a special way – says Bogdan Kielce has been regularly adapted Wenta, Mayor of Kielce and adds: – As and supplemented with system solu- part of the developed proposal, for entretions introduced by the government preneurs who were forced to significantly since the date of the announcement reduce or cease their activities, including of the epidemic status. rent reduction. time, the payment dates for the next two months were postponed, i.e. May and June 2020. Discounts granted at the request of the entity concerned.

In order to reduce the rent, tenant should submit an application to the Director of the Kielce Technology Park and indicate in it the amount of loss of income.

The application should be accompanied by monthly financial statements for the months of February and March and an application for de minimis assistance, as well as information on the amount of de minimis assistance received in the previous three years.

AID PACKAGE FOR TENANTS OF THE KIELCE TECHNOLOGY PARK

The discount granted depends on the decrease in income. The entreIn Kielce, the assistance package was preneurs who in March this year can also expanded for entrepreneurs who count on a 95% discount they achieved located their activity in the Kielce Tech- revenues by 76% less (or above) than nology Park. a month earlier.

In addition, in May and June 2020, tenants may request to defer the payment of rent. In addition, tenants of premises in the Complex of Technology Incubators, settled in a flat-rate system, who meet the conditions for reducing rent, have acquired the right to reduce the main – Many of the entrepreneurs supported are The range of discounts is presented in tenance fee in April by 30% of the rate young people with fantastic business ideas, the table below. specified in the rules of recruitment and operation and in the lease agreement.

Percentage decrease in revenue The interest rate reduction for rents in March 2020 compared to due to a decrease in income At the same time, all tenants of commerFebruary 2020 cial premises located in buildings managed by the Kielce Technology Park 0–39 0% in Kielce, who signed contracts before 40–50 50% March 1, 2020, refrained from valorizing rent based on the annual consumer price 51–75 75% index for 2020, without having to submit 76 and more 95% separate applications.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

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INVESTMENTS

Kielce Technology Park, OULU hall.

– Deciding on this type of support, I deeply hope that we help our entrepreneurs to a small extent. Most tenants are young companies that require special treatment.

It is with them in mind that the Kielce Technology Park was created and it is for them that we try to make our offer more attractive every day – emphasizes Justyna Lichosik, director of the Kielce Technology Park.

commander of the Municipal Guard in Kielce. Masks for hospitals were sewn, among others, from dressmakers – dressmakers of the Kielce Dance Theater.

Municipal institutions – Kielce Technology Park (KPT) and the Institute of Design in Kielce have also joined the sewing of masks. KPT has joined forces with a local company sewing regional clothing, THE HELP and for the needs of mask production has At the initiative of the Mayor of Kielce, made the Fashion Design Center space Bogdan Wenta and the City Guard in available. At the Embassy of Design, Kielce – the guards joined the charity masks have been sewn for health services campaign initiated in social media KIELCE from our region since the beginning NECK FOR MEDICANTS, answering: YOU of the epidemic.

SEW WE DELIVER. The nationwide campaign #STAYHOME – Already in March, the city guards deliver­ from the outbreak of the epidemic is ­­ed masks from the place where they were implemented by the City Guard, whose sewn and delivered them to Kielce hospi- employees, in March, announced tals. After entering the hospital, there a message through a megaphone while was a sound signal from the Municipal driving on the streets of Kielce. Similar Guard car so that the person respon- actions were carried out by officers sible for the masks knew that he was to of the Kielce police as part of additional collect them – says Renata Gruszczyńska, patrols financed by the City of Kielce. 

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More information:

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

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

INVESTMENTS

HOW IS IT DONE IN CZĘSTOCHOWA? Częstochowa has, once again, been recognized for the innovation of the BETTER JOB NOW. We found ourselves among the finalists of the Innovative Local Government competition. This type of award in the era of the rapid development of technology indicates the importance of using all modern solutions. The goal is – or at least should be – to improve our quality of life.

PEOPLE ARE THE GREATEST VALUE Play program dedicated to entrepre- are the most popular in the country OF THE CITY neurs. The second level means projects like mechatronics or IT specialist, also Częstochowa has long been proud that people are the greatest investment incentive of the city. The BETTER JOB NOW program was created in the city, aimed at increasing the quality of work – in the context of its performance and employee remuneration. The program has three directions of activities: Fair Play, Center for Better Workplaces and initiatives to improve the qualifications of people who want to have a better job and focus on developing their professional competences.

that were made to help improve the quali­ fications of people seeking a better job and focusing on their development.

One of such projects is the “Academy of Competence Development”. The third level is the Center for Better Workplaces operating since May 2017, which also includes the website of the same name.

The website is a platform that connects secondary schools, entrepreneurs and residents who want to change or find a job. It is a website that is a local job offer bank, career office and platform associating employers and potential employees, As part of the Fair Play program, the act with particular emphasis on graduates regarding property tax exemptions was and students of technical and vocational modified as part of the de minimis schools in Częstochowa. state aid program for creating new jobs for employers. At the moment, socially In Częstochowa, students of technical responsible employers who care about and vocational schools today have employees can use it. When issuing the oppor-tunity to study in classes the decision, the city will also verify profiled to meet the needs of the labour the employer's behaviour over the last 12 market. For this reason, most activimonths regarding dismissals and admis- ties related to technical and vocational sions of employees to seal the system schools are involved – in addition to of granting concessions and that the Fair the Education Department of the City Play principle will be respected in both Hall – also the Department of European the employer-employee and employ- Funds and Development, more specifi­ er-City Hall relationships. The Better Job cally the Investor Assistance Center, Now program functions on three levels. which also serves as the Center for Better The first is, already mentioned, the Fair Workplaces. Besides the fields which

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tailors, upholsterers, carpenters and crane technicians are coming back to favours.The novelty is – created as part of the Professional Cooperation 2 project – a glass technology technician created to meet the needs of existing glass factories here. From the 2019/2020 school year, a mechatronic innovation was created in one of the school teams, and the closest watchmaking school is located in Vienna.

There are twelve technical and vocational schools in Częstochowa today, whose governing body is the local government.

All technical schools in Częstochowa and, additionally, the State High School of Fine Arts cooperate closely with the Department of European Funds and the Development of the City Hall, specifi­ cally with the Investor Assistance Center, due to the need for professional promotion and assistance in enabling contacts with employers present on the market.

It is the Development Department that has knowledge of external investments planned in the city and therefore participates in the creation of new teaching profiles also as part of EU projects and coordinates paid internships and apprenticeships.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Arrival of the Show Truck Inter Cars at Hala Sportowa Częstochowa means the beginning of technical and vocational schools fairs "ZAWODOWIEC" for four years now.

BETTER JOB NOW IN THE BASIS OF URBAN INNOVATIONS Innovation is a change in the way of thinking and perception of local government resources. Częstochowa was among the noble finalists of the "Innovative Local Government" competition. This is the latest project of the PAP Local Government Service that emerges and rewards the most innovative local governments.

Its goal is to promote creative, innovative self-governments and inspire others to implement similar solutions or to find new development opportunities to take actions for innovation.

Descriptions of implemented projects and projects were evaluated, and the main evaluation criterion in the competition was an innovation on a national scale and the results of the solutions used.

On February 26, 2020, during the award ceremony in the INNOVATIVE SELF-GOVERNMENT competition, the innovative program "PFR for Cities" was launched at the headquarters of the Ministry of Development. Its main goal is to support the development of Polish smart cities of the future. Solutions that create, so-called, smart cities are to improve the quality of life, facilitate the settlement of everyday affairs of their inhabitants and support cities in the effective management of all infrastructure.

PFR for Cities is addressed to city representatives, based on three pillars – education, consulting and financing. The aim of the activities carried out by the Polish Development Fund is to disseminate knowledge about the development of smart cities, increase the number of implementations of innovative solutions in Polish local governments and facilitate access to financing this type of investment. The program consists of three main sections:

• Academy of Cities of the Future – an in­­novative, intensive (and free of charge) educational program, of which the next edition is addressed to representatives of Polish medium-sized cities (between 50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants); • Financial and non-financial ways of supporting the implementation of innovative solutions in cities.

Author: A. Mielczarek Translation: M. Wytrzymała

The goal of all activities carried out More information: by the Polish Development Fund under the "PFR for Cities" program is:

• dissemination of knowledge about the development of smart cities (in the country and abroad); • increasing the number of implementations of innovative solutions in Polish • Urban Innovation Database – inspiring examples of the best Polish and foreign local governments; solutions facilitating everyday life in • facilitating access to finance this type the city; of investment.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

As a result, knowledge of modern technologies and access to information about the city, development plans and the needs of residents give a new development impulse, increase the quality of public services and thus strengthen the Polish economy.

Investor Assistance Center Department of European Funds and Development City Hall of Częstochowa Waszyngtona 5 Street, 42-217 Częstochowa Phone: +48 34 3707 212, +48 34 3707 213 e-mail: coi@czestochowa.um.gov.pl, fer@czestochowa.um.gov.pl www.czestochowa.pl

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INVESTMENTS ADVERTORIAL

BPO/SSC MARKET IN BYDGOSZCZ FEATURES OF BYDGOSZCZ City specialization: IT services

Success stories of BPO, SSC, IT, R&D centres

Cost competitiveness

Fast-developing office market

Economic strategy

Attractive destination for commuters from the region

Support for investors

Competitive level of labour market pressure

The city offers a stable environment with skilled human resources. It also creates a good climate for investments, business development and entrepreneurship. In addition, very good academic center, competitive costs of employment in combination with low attrition rates make it attractive compared to other, bigger BPO cities in Poland. We have built our European business around talented individuals and business-friendly culture of Bydgoszcz, placing key management staff in this location. It is a great place to do business.

Waldemar Jasiński, Senior Director, Trade Operations Europe; Livingston International

BPO/SSC SECTOR 70% to

30%

Share of foreign centres in the employment structure

11 000

Employment structure in the sector % share in employment

F&A 10% Contact Centre 10% ITO 80%

Number of employees in sector

74

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

MODERN OFFICE CENTRES 108 650 m² 61 500 m² 20 750 m²

Office space Planned office space Office space under construction

25

S10

S5

80

3 6

2

5

8 1

80

7

4 S10

S5

MAIN OFFICE CENTRES 1 Arkada Business Park 2 Biznes Park Kraszewskiego 3 H+ City 4 IDEA Przestrzeń Biznesu

5 Preludium 6 Immobile K3 7 Optimum Park 8 Scan Park Business Center

Current investment offers database: investin.bydgoszcz.eu

Bydgoszcz is without doubt one of the most attractive business centres in the region. The city is dynamically developing and offers an access to graduates of the higher educational institutions, as well as qualified specialists. It’s well-connected with Warsaw and Lodz, where Cybercom Poland Sp. z o.o. has two other headquarters. All of this led to the fact that in 2016 our company (with invaluable support of BARR in the form of providing all the information essential for opening a new branch) decided to launch its activity on the Bydgoszcz market.

The BARR’s help allowed us to quickly focus on realization of innovative projects in the field of automotive, telecom R&D, digitalization and IoT – which basically means all the things which make up the core of our operations.

Tomasz Woropaj, Business Unit Leader; Cybercom Poland Sp. z o.o.

Choosing Bydgoszcz as a location for the Customer Interaction Solutions, ivy Technology (earlier iQor) focused on principal assets of the City: the dynamic character which attracts experts, excellent academic facilities, access to talented staff, good cooperation with selfgovernment and local secondary schools. Providing electronics repair services for global clients and developing customer support in 14 different languages to customers worldwide, it is extremely important for us that the environment which we operate in reflects the global character of our work, which at the same time guarantees access to technical knowledge, excellent transport and technical infrastructure. All of this is available in Bydgoszcz.

Jakub Tomczewski, EC & CIS Site Manager; ivy Technology

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

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INVESTMENTS ADVERTORIAL

Total population

350 178 | 1 mln within the radius of 50 km Bydgoszcz successfully implements the concept of “a city open to outsourcing.”

Local government activities, local IT specialization, availability of office space, as well as support for investment processes contribute to the development of companies.

Local specialization in the delivery of IT services is visible in the profile of Atos. From January 1, 2019, the office in Bydgoszcz is the company’s headquarters. It is the largest of the Atos Poland Global Services locations list. Currently, over 3,500 employees work in Bydgoszcz. We employ almost 400 foreigners from all over the world in Bydgoszcz. Atos Poland Global Services develops research and development activities through the Atos + Google partnership, IoT projects and a wide range of automation activities. It is the center for the main team developing the flagship Atos private cloud solution - Digital Private Cloud. OpenStack and ServiceNow are another technology areas in which our organization is a global leader and trendsetter. All of the above enrich the Atos digital portfolio developed in Bydgoszcz. Atos customers following the trend of digitization appreciate the competence and potential of the Polish location. The dynamic development of Atos company is also based on the increasingly desirable qualifications of the entire region. Cooperation with the local institution of education resulted in the creation of Atos partner classes in electronic technical high school and II high school as well as in the partnership with Kazimierz Wielki University and the University of Science and Technology in Bydgoszcz.

Head of GDC IDM Poland, Board Member of Atos Poland Global Services Sp. z o.o.

EDUCATION Bydgoszcz

10

Region Number of universities in total

21

28 813

Number of students in total

59 081

8 528

Number of graduates in total

17 066

STUDENTS Bydgoszcz

Region

2 951

Number of IT students

3 378

Number of F&A students

11 934

1 080

Number of language students

2 695

4 150

GRATUATES Bydgoszcz More information:

538 1 070

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

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313

Region Number of IT graduates

Number of F&A graduates

Number of language graduates

747 3 749 722

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Comprehensive support for shared services & business process management

Business Architecture and Process Design

Support Functions and Shared Services Strategies

Process Transformation and Optimisation

contact: www.adaptivesag.com, contact@adaptivesag.com

Change Management and Communication

INVESTMENTS WINNER OF 2020

OUTSOURCING STARS

The new Gamma Moderus carry Poznań passengers on many routes.

Photo: City of Poznań.

New electric bus Sfrom Solaris, the global-known company from Poznań. Photo: City of Poznań.

POZNAŃ BENEFITS FROM ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION Poznań counts on electromobility and collective transport that will make the City quiet, clean and resident and tourist friendly. In the next two years, the capital of the Wielkopolska Region will undergo a true e-mobility revolution.

At the end of 2019 the first electric buses appeared in the streets of Poznań, running for instance along the City’s longest bus route. Last year, modern trams Moderus Gamma were made available to Poznań residents, too.

These and other comprehensive activities in the field of public transport must be implemented with the plan. Therefore, works on the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan for Poznań started simultaneously. It will be a comprehensive document, meant to be completed till November 2020, addressing all issues related to transport and movement within the City and indicating directions for their further development.

The Plan’s main objective is to improve the accessibility of urban areas and ensure a high-quality sustainable transport within the City. Representatives of various social groups will participate

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

in its preparation, which will facilitate experience exchange and know­ ledge sharing.

– We want Poznań urban transport, which at present counts among the best in Poland, to become in a few years, taking into account the new EU perspective, the very best one. We know there is a lot of work ahead of us, but we have a concrete plan and goal. We aim at the best urban transport in Poland – Mariusz Wiśniewski, the Deputy Mayor of Poznań, assures.

ELECTRIC BUSES ALREADY RUNNING IN THE STREETS The first steps towards urban transport transformation have already been taken. MPK Poznań (Poznań Urban Transport Company) has assigned modern electric buses bought at the turn of the year 2019/2020 to bus lines crossing the city centre.

A few weeks ago, bids for the next tender for the delivery of 37 electric buses were opened. Only one company participated – Solaris Bus & Coach, the global­­known company from Poznań agglome­ ration. At present, the submitted documentation is being verified. The contract is for 31 standard, 12-meter-long electric buses and 6 articulated ones, that is 18-meter long. If everything goes according to the plan, the new Solaris vehicles will appear in the streets of Poznań in the autumn next year.

Poznań has gradually invested in a new fleet for several years already. Since 2014, over half billion zlotys have been allocated for this purpose which has allowed the City to obtain 88 buses (including the 21 electric ones already contracted) and 90 trams (half of them are the stateof-the-art Moderus Gamma vehicles).

Hence Poznań public transport vehicles

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INVESTMENTS

are considered to be among the most modern in Poland. Their departures can be monitored in real time via applications that collect data from the City which are then made available to Poznań residents.

make the city centre much more resident and tourist friendly.

MPK Poznań will receive financing for the entire action entitled “Electrification of selected bus lines in Poznań” as part of the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment 2014–2020, Priority Axis VI “Development of low emission urban public transport”, Measure 6.1 “Development of urban collective public transport”.

A comfortable transfer to public transport will be ensured by the P&R parking system currently extended. At present, Poznań has two such car parks, another one is under construction at the intersection of Warszawska and Św. Michała Streets and two more will be completed till the end of 2020: at the Poznań Strzeszyn railway station and near Starołęka Roundabout. Plans include also car park construction at interchange nodes – in Górczyn, at the Grunwaldzka node and at the Poznań Podolany railway station.

Analyses will be carried out to assess whether it is possible to build parking spaces near other railway stations, for instance Poznań East.

Poznań public transport vehicles are considered to be among the most modern in Poland. Their departures can be monitored in real time via applications that collect data from the City which are then made available to Poznań residents.

At the moment, the City’s largest public transport investment project is the construction of the tram route to These investments in a new fleet prove Naramowice. Subsequent investments that the City of Poznań takes care are planned as well: construction of Tram of public transport and constantly focuses to Naramowice Stage II and tram routes on its development. This is also in line to Kopernika housing estate, housing with measures to reduce CO2 emissions estates in the southern part of the Dębiec to the atmosphere.

District, Poznań East, the so-called West Gate and Marcelin. Modern services sector CITY BUS CHARGING STATIONS employees look forward to the last one The Jan III Sobieski bus station, where in particular, as their offices are located electric buses are charged, will have an in the Business Garden Poznań office additional two-position pantograph complex in the Marcelin area. charger mounted as part of the next activity currently implemented. Similarly, A new tram route with a terminus is also the Poznań Garbary station will gain one constructed along Unii Lubelskiej St. where more pantograph charger for two buses. plans provide for large housing estates.

Apart from new projects, the City takes At the Kacza bus depot, 18 two-posi- care of the existing transport infrastruction stationary plug-in chargers and one ture. Each year about PLN 26–30 million two position pantograph charger are is allocated to renovations. supposed to be installed. In addition, three mobile vehicle chargers have been These activities are expected to result ordered for this depot. There is also a new in an increased attractiveness of public location that will hold chargers, namely transport and its dominance over cars. the Górczyn bus station – two pantograph It depends on other aspects as well, such chargers for two vehicles each will be as punctuality of public transport and its mounted there. availability to residents of the metropolis.

TRAM LINE EXTENSIONS Transport in Poznań city centre will change to a great extent as a result of a new tram line along Ratajczaka St. This line and the change of the traffic system in the area of Wolności Sq. and 27 Grudnia, Gwarna and Mielżyńskiego Streets will

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Soon there will be more electric buses in the streets of Poznan. Photo: City of Poznań.

POZNAŃ CITY HALL TESTS ELECTRIC CARS Poznań is preparing to meet the requirements of the Act on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels adopted by the Polish parliament. According to its provisions, as of 1 January 2022 electric cars must account for 10 percent of all vehicles used by the City Hall. As of 2025, this share should reach 30 percent.

Therefore, in February 2020 the City Hall and municipal units tested three car models provided by Volkswagen Samochody Dostawcze (Volkswagen vans), the brand located in Poznań. The three models selected for the tests were: Volkswagen e-Crafter, Volkswagen Caddy CNG and – at a later date – Volkswagen ABT e-Transporter. They will be used by the Mayor of Poznań and employees of Poznań City Hall, municipal police, City

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Road Authority (ZDM) and Urban Transport Authority (ZTM).

The tests count among measurable effects of the Letter of Intent signed in October 2019 by representatives of the City of Poznań, the company Volkswagen Poznań and the Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Logistics and Warehousing (ILiM). The document emphasizes the necessity and willingness to exchange experiences between the public sector and the world of science and business.

– We are happy that only three months after signing the letter of intent together we put it into practice – Jens Ocksen, the President of the Management Board of Volkswagen Poznań Sp. z o.o., says.

– And we are twice as happy that the City of Poznań will test cars manufactured in the Wielkopolska Region.

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INVESTMENTS

The new trams are comfortable and have an extraordinary design. Photo: City of Poznań.

Volkswagen Poznań has already established a similar cooperation with Żabka company (Polish convenience shops), which is also based in Poznań. Deliveries to Żabka network stores located in Poznań have been performed using new electric cars.

investor ensures that the charging service must be made available until 31 December 2020.

So taking into account 62 points under construction by the City Road Authority as well as 39 points that already exist or are planned to be built until 31 December CHARGERS FOR RESIDENTS 2020 by other entities, we are left with The Act on Electromobility and Alterna- the question of construction and tive Fuels stipulates that the minimum location of public charging stations number of charging points installed for the remaining 109 charging points, at public charging stations located in which will be answered in the near future.

Poznań till 31 December 2020 should be 210.

From 16 March to 6 April 202 there were an internet consultation regarding Therefore, and also taking into account this project, carried out by the Office for instance the provisions of the Deve­­ of Project Coordination and Urban lop­ment Strategy for the City of Poznań Regene­ration with the support of the 2020+ addressing the support of elec- City Road Authority. Poznań residents tromobility development, an interdis- sent their propositions and remarks via ciplinary Team for the development e-mail and via an electronic questionnaire of the network of charging points on the website zdm.poznan.pl. installed at public charging stations was appointed. The Team worked out the manner in which land for public More information: charging stations along public roads will be leased under terms and conditions defined by the City.

In 2019, the City Road Authority (ZDM) announced proceedings for the lease of land for 62 charging points. The contract with the selected charging station

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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

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

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hours back to business.

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HR NEWS KELLY SERVICES PRESENTS ITS NEW LOGO

We have been waiting for this day for a long time... We are proud to present to you Kelly Services new logo today! A clear signal of further development, professionalism and creativity.

The new logo has become simpler and more readable. We have dropped the word "Services" from the design. This change gives the logo a more sleek and consultative style. Kelly have also energized a color by moving to a more vibrant shade of green. This change allows for greater flexibility and a bold new look for growing organization.

What has changed?

The last logo refreshment in Kelly's glo-­­­­ bal structures took place over 30 years ago. We know that constantly adapt to the new realities of business is crucial, so with Kelly’s constant development, company has decided to refresh the symbol.

Kelly is made up of people with big smiles on their faces, ready to talk, support and advise. All our consultants take care of building trust and cooperation. Every day we tirelessly strive to serve both our Clients and Candidates with the highest quality service.

KRZYSZTOF MISIAK APPOINTED HEAD OF CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD POLAND

NEW FACES HAVE JOINED TO ADAPTIVE GROUP TEAM Below short snapshot presenting 4 new Beata Kaźmierczak, Program Manager / team members who joined the company Senior Consultant Adaptive SAG – over during the winter-spring period: 14 years of overall business experience comprising 3 years as Sourcing Specialist Aleksandra Marchewka, Project Manager in Biowin, 7 years as Sourcing Specialist / Consultant at ADAPTIVE Solutions & in Infosys, 1 year as Sourcing Lead in Advisory Group – over 7,5 years of expe- Infosys and 2,5 years as Indirect Sourcing rience at Infosys BPM Poland comprising Specialist in Emerson. Gradu­ate of engiover 2 years as Assistant Manager/ Tran- neer and master of science at Lodz Universition Manager, over 1 year as Team Lead, sity of Technology, faculty of Process and 5 months as Master Data Analyst, 1 year as Environmental Engineering, specialiTransition Coordinator and over 2,5 year zation in Environmental Engineering. as Business Analyst. Graduate of Lodz She also finished postgradu­ate studies University, with master’s degree Faculty at Lodz University of Technology, faculty of Economy, specialization in Statistic and of Organization and Management, Demography. She is fluent in English and specialization in Production Management basic Italian speaker. and Logistics. Fluent in English & Italian.

Katarzyna Wojdyła, Program Manager / Senior Consultant Adaptive SAG – over 15 years of relevant business experience covering over 6 years of experience in different BPO centres: 2,5 years as Transition Manager, 1,5 years as RPA / IA Manager at Norian, 4 years at OpusCapita comprising 2,5 years as Transition Lead, 1,5 year as NS Operations Manager.

She has over 8 years of experience in different SSC centres. She graduated with Master’s degree in International Relations and Affairs & MBA. She is fluent in English and Norwegian, basic German.

84

Adam Stanowski, Consultant Adaptive SAG – over 5 years of relevant business experience comprising 3 years at Infosys BPO Poland, over 2 years at Lumileds Poland SA in roles OtC Controller Spain and Brasil, VBA and SAP Script develo­per.

Graduate of University of Lodz, with master’s degree in Spanish Philology.

He has spent one year in Spain as a student participating in Erasmus program. Fluent English and Spanish speaker. He was tutor of English and Spanish and teacher of Spanish.

Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has appointed Krzysztof Misiak as Head of Poland to succeed Charles Taylor who leaves the firm after 30 years.

Krzysztof Misiak, Head of the firm’s Office Agency in Poland, has worked for Cushman & Wakefield for 13 years. He was appointed Head of Regional Cities in the Office Agency team in 2012 and successfully launched the Cushman & Wakefield brand in Poland’s core regional markets.

In 2018, he became Head of Office Agency in Poland. One of the best-known professionals in the Polish commercial real estate market, he has acted on close to 300 leases for more than 500,000 sq m.

As Head of Cushman & Wakefield Poland, Misiak will be responsible for the management of all business lines in Poland, while continuing to directly lead the firm’s Office Agency, with a focus on strengthening Cushman & Wakefield’s position in the Polish commercial real estate market.

Misiak succeeds Taylor who managed the Polish office of Cushman & Wakefield from 2013. Prior to his move to Poland, Taylor was based in the UK and also acted as Head of Cushman & Wakefield Hungary.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

RECRUITMENT AD if you are interested in this role please send your cv at:

a.falkowska@kellyservices.pl

AP ACCOUNTANT WITH GERMAN, ITALIAN OR FRENCH (Warsaw; salary: PLN 6,500–8,500 gross / month)

Role: • Responsibility for full-cycle Accounts Payable processing including examining, verifying and reconciling a variety of transactions, • Daily invoices and credit notes processing, verification of incoming PO/GR and non-PO/GR invoices, • Processing payment runs including manual and urgent payments Vendors accounts reconciliation, • Handling Vendor Master Data processes, • Applying quality check across all aspects of AP processes to ensure consistency in policy application and customer service provided, • Providing internal and external audit support, • Working closely with the SSC Finance Head to meet performance targets (KPI’s), work plans, and mitigate, identified risk areas, • Maintaining/archiving supporting documents, reports and files, • Daily cooperation with finance departments, GL/AR/Controlling teams, as required.

Requirements: • • • • • • • • • •

2 years of similar work experience in a multinational environment/SSC/BPO, Degree in accounting or finance, or related field, Fluency in German / Italian / French (min B2 level), Good knowledge of English, Good knowledge of general accounting procedures, Good understanding of local GAAP, IAS, Good understanding of tax regulations (CIT, VAT), Good knowledge of Excel, Ability to work under time pressure, analytical skills, detail oriented, SAP knowledge would be a plus.

We offer: • • • • • •

Possibility of up to 10% of annual salary, Multinational environment, Medical Care, Sport card, Life insurance, English language lessons.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

OUR STRATEGY IS CENTRED ON THE PEOPLE

Interview with Anna Chmurawa-Rębisz, Human Resources Manager Gi Group & Grafton Recruitment.

Outsourcing&More: Gi Group is a big international organisation operating in almost 60 countries worldwide.

Comprehensive HR solutions for the corporate sector are a significant asset distinguishing you on the market. What does it mean in practice? And what are the areas of your operations in Poland?

Anna Chmurawa-Rębisz, Human Resources Manager Gi Group & Grafton Recruitment: Indeed, the Gi Group gene­ rates EUR 2.5 billion a year which makes it one of 20 top recruitment organisations worldwide. Given the portfolio of servi­ ces we offer on the Polish market, how­ ever, I would be hard pressed to admit we only operate in the field of recruitment.

Nowadays, clients expect diversification, flexibility, and assistance in determining the direction for developing the HR poli­ cy in their organisations. Together with its subsidiaries Gi Group (Temp & Perm), Grafton Recruitment, Wyser, QiBit, and TACK&TMI, the Gi Group offers a full scope of HR services. Our offer is characterised by complexity, years of experience, origi­ nal tools, and databases that guarantee

86

a quick reaction to the individual needs of our clients. We regularly publish industry wage reports and operate as investment consultants. We do all this because it is our conviction that a modern recruitment company should be able to satisfy any need of its clients with respect to HR management. Recruitment is only the first step.

Last year was dominated by a debate on the “revolution” that millennials started on the labour market. How do you reach millennials? Are traditional recruitment methods still valid? What communication channels do you select?

We strive to be authentic and focus on open dialogue. We are looking for candidates who wish to have a real impact on their work and grow professionally with us. During the recruitment process, we have an honest discussion about the expectations of both parties, we look for common denominators and present development opportunities. It is a prio­ rity for our managers in the field of team

management to foster the success of our employees. The exchange of information and the enforcement of the employee’s career development plan are guaranteed by an increased frequency of meetings between employees and their superiors.

Working with millennials means clearly set tasks, ongoing talent training, and building relationships. There are a lot of job offers out there on the market today, so the relationship between the employee on one hand and the manager and organisation on the other has a decisive influence on how long the employee decides to continue on their career path with us.

In our methods of searching for talents we follow trends, we change our tactics and adapt both our external and internal employer branding to the rushing world that is stock full of information. However, we do not modify our strategy. It is irrevo­ cably centred on the people, that is primarily on the candidates, both those recommended to our clients and those applying for a job with us. We find that

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

Recruitment will be more automated in 10 years. I can see room for numerous improvements with respect to internal human resources management, information circulation, and streamlining in the field of personnel and payroll services. On the other hand, I cannot imagine using artificial intelligence in analysing candidate profiles because soft skills play a significant role there.

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traditional methods, such as ordinary interviews or meetings, are still effective, but increasingly often we turn to the social media for help. We have been investing in digital marketing for many years now, testing innovations that candidates expect. We do not forget about CSR campaigns either: we take part in charity runs every year and help those less fortunate during the holiday season. Given the number of comments in the social media in that respect and the time the millennials spend online, it seems to me that this particular issue is not generation-dependent but we still try to let them know we do get involved socially.

be empathetic, and take decisions quickly. They also need to know the industry in which our clients operate. For example, you cannot be an efficient recruiter of programmers if you are not familiar with the specificity of the IT industry.

We live in an age of change. Roboti­ sation and artificial intelligence have a great impact on organisations, professions, the roles played by employees, leaders and the management…

What business trainings do organi­ sations and their employees use the most?

The trainings we offer primarily focus on soft skills that are independent Gi Group stresses its “use of innovative of the robotization or artificial intelligence solutions dedicated to clients and em- trends. Trainings for managers devoted to ployees alike.” Can you remember any strengthening soft skills and competen­ particularly atypical and innovative re- ces connected with HR management are cruitment campaign that you conduc­ highly popular. The same goes for trainted at a special request of your client? ings in customer relationship manageWe offer our clients solutions that ment or improving training skills. We also are tailored to their needs. We have our expanded our offer by tests of natural talstandards and always try to meet the ex- ents, behavioural styles, and emotional pectations of our clients and candidates. intelligence analysis.

We have been pursuing the Mobile Office project (CV BUS) for several years now As a summary let us move forward because it helps us reach candidates in a bit. What do you think recruitment remote localities. We can conduct inter- will look like 10 years from now? views directly at the candidate’s place Recruitment will be more automatof residence. We support our clients ed in 10 years. The robotization of rein selecting candidates through our cruitment processes already exists today Assessment Center and Development at the level of ATS or ERP systems and Center. We also offer consulting services chatbots. I can see room for numerous and “Project Foreigner” trainings, focusing improvements with respect to internal on the specificity of hiring talents from human resources management, inforoutside Poland. mation circulation, and streamlining in the field of personnel and payroll services.

We would imagine that a recruiter­­ On the other hand, I cannot imagine using needs a whole range of different artificial intelligence in analysing candiskills. What competences and features date profiles because soft skills play a sigI would need to have if I wanted to be- nificant role there. In my opinion, techcome a recruiter today? nology will never replace human beings A recruitment consultant is characte­ in the recruitment process because it is rised by highly developed communica- unable to perform a fully correct analytion skills, the ability to listen and establish sis independently. However, I expect it to contact easily, by flexibility and empathy. contribute to a significant increase in effiBut, first and foremost, future recruiters ciency in terms of candidate assessment must derive joy from contacts with others. and the daily work of HR departments.

They should communicate at the highest level, think critically, connect the dots, Thank you for the interview.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

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Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

STUDY RESULTS IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS ON POLISH COMPANIES Presidents of various companies have no doubts – the coronavirus will negatively affect their business. This is acknowledged by 69% of the respondents in a recent study by Devire recruitment and outsourcing company. How are employers coping with the current situation? What losses will business suffer?

We are all witnessing a rapidly changing situation due to the coronavirus. The con­­­ sequences can already be felt in the transport, tourism and events sectors. Transport got the first blow – initially international transport, then national. Business connected to events and culture has practically come to a standstill – concerts, sports events, performances, fairs and conferences have been cancelled. A large part of the retail and catering sector has also been significantly affected, mainly due to the closure of shopping centres.

In industries where it is possible, em­­­­ ployers are massively introducing remote working and are transferring processes to dedicated online platforms. In this study, business managers make predictions on the potential consequences of the coronavirus for their business.

The analysis includes business response to the situation caused by the coronavirus, including: • the current work model, • barriers that prevent the introduction of remote working, • long-term consequences for business.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

MAIN CONCLUSIONS

DID YOUR COMPANY PREVIOUSLY OFFER REMOTE WORKING POSSIBILITIES?

POLAND (UN)PREPARED FOR REMOTE WORKING One in three companies in Poland has not implemented remote working or has only done it partially. In 13% it was not possible at all, and 22% proposed such a solution only for selected employees.

Why don't some companies introduce remote working? What barriers are they encountering?

According to a survey conducted among 2,500 company representatives in March this year by Devire recruitment and outsourcing company, so far only 21% of employers have offered full remote working possibilities. Nearly half of the companies worked remotely only partially.

According to Michał Młynarczyk, Presi­­­­dent of Devire and member of the Management Board of the Polish HR Forum: – Until now, remote working has been a ‘luxury good’, available in a few industries such as IT, consulting or business services. Most employers who in the past had not been open to such a solution had to quickly change their approach not only by implementing new tools, but by completely switching to working from home.

49% yes, but only partially

27% no

21% yes

3% I don’t know

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

AFTER THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVENTATIVE MEASURES IN POLAND AGAINST THE SPREAD OF THE CORONAVIRUS, HAS YOUR COMPANY INTRODUCED REMOTE WORKING?

65%

22%

13%

Coronavirus has forced technolo­ gical progress Nearly 7 out of 10 companies that had not facilitated remote working in the past decided to do so after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (as declared by 67% of the entrepreneurs in the survey).

Thus, Devire data show that the number of companies that switched to remote working has tripled.

yes

partially

no

Among the industries best suited to the current situation are: Real estate, IT and Telecommunications. Here, nearly 9 out of 10 companies declare that they have facilitated remote working for their employees.

WHY DON’T COMPANIES INTRODUCE REMOTE WORKING? MAIN BARRIERS

83%

the nature of the duties performed makes it impossible to facilitate remote working

30%

not enough electronic equipment (e.g. laptops) for all employees

10%

other

lack of a secure VPN connection accessible to employees outside the company

8%

lack of implemented remote working regulations

8%

Why don't companies introduce remote working? Main barriers

HOW MAY THE CURRENT CORONAVIRUS SITUATION IMPACT YOUR COMPANY? PLEASE SELECT 3 ANSWERS AT MOST

48%

reduced demand for a product / service

45%

reduced employment

44%

liquidity problems

40%

threat to fulfilment of commitments/ contracts

28%

loss of business partners

14%

reduced margin

13%

change in shopping habits

8%

I don’t know other (high work costs, cancellation of trade events, suspended business activity)

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2%

The worst situation is in the following sectors: Trade, Public Administration, Transport, Forwarding and Logistics, as well as Automotive and Aviation, where it is clearly impossible in many cases to work from home.

The main barrier that prevents companies from introducing remote working is the nature of work duties – 83%. What is more, a special law introduced by the Polish government regulates the obligations of the employer and employee regarding remote working. Among them is the need to provide appropriate equipment for the employee, but according to the study as many as one in three companies did not have enough electronic equipment (e.g. laptops) for all employees.

– Previously, in many companies decisions to invest in mobile equipment were cost-based.

A laptop is on average 20% more expensive than a desktop computer, which means a saving of PLN 500 for the company. This, in turn, made it impossible for companies to later switch to remote working – stresses Michał Młynarczyk from Devire.

The third most frequently indicated barrier is decisions of the management board, who do not believe that remote working can function efficiently. This was indicated by 10% of the respondents under “Other” answers.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

IMPACT OF THE CORONAVIRUS ON THE CONDITION OF BUSINESSES

the respondents. A reduction in employment also seems inevitable – as admitted by nearly half of the company managers, Most employers are convinced that i.e. 45%. The sectors most affected the current situation will negatively by redundancies will be manufacturing affect the condition of their companies. and aviation (80% of employers expect Only 5% of employers see an opportu- to reduce their employment figures) and nity for their company – this is the group trade and catering (59% of employers that declared that the current situation also do not exclude the possibility will have a positive impact on their busi- of redundancies). ness. The most pessimistic are employers from the Łódź Voivodeship. After Warsaw, The lowest level of threat of redundancies Łódź is the place with the highest number concerns the construction and real estate of COVID-19 cases. After Łódź comes sectors – 27% of employers indicate that Greater Poland, which was one of the first the situation caused by the coronavirus regions in Poland to feel the conse- may result in a reduction in employment quences of the pandemic. Third place figures – as well as IT and telecommuniwas taken ex aequo by Silesian and Maso- cations (29%). vian Voivodeship.

– The stable situation in the IT sector is WHAT LOSSES WILL not surprising, because companies need BUSINESS SUFFER? equipment, tools and solutions for remote According to the respondents, the situ-­­­­ work. Whereas both the construction ation caused by the coronavirus may and real estate sectors are in decline and last from 1–3 months – as declared by new investments are held back and post67% of them. Companies mostly expect poned. Despite this, employers do not plan a reduction in demand for a product to make redundancies for the time being. or service – according to 48% of This is due to the fact that companies that

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

are in the middle of project implementation phase still may complete the projects and avoid major delays once the situation has stabilised. Unfortunately, if the coronavirus persists, the construction industry will also suffer severe consequences – explains Michał Młynarczyk from Devire.

Real threats also include liquidity problems (44% of companies) and an inability to fulfil commitments or contracts (40%). *** The study was conducted using the CAWI method in March 2020 based on 2,500 respondents. Study participants: 38% managers, 20% directors and CEOs, 33% specialists, 9% other positions. Author:

Karina Chowaniak, Communications Manager, Devire

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IS THE HOME TO BECOME THE NEW OFFICE? JLL publishes the results of its "When home is the new office" report, in which the company analyses opinions of Polish employees on remote work.

The home office – a subject which has been widely discussed for a long time and which employees perceive as one of their most important perks of their job. But how do they evaluate remote work when it is a necessity rather than a matter of choice? The opinions are even more interesting because, as indicated by JLL’s When home is the new office report – for many people, working from a sofa, bed or kitchen is a completely new situation. 42% of survey partici­ pants either did not use the home office mode at all, or only worked from home one day per month. Whatever our attitude towards remote working might be, however, our employers are already beginning to plan the process of returning to the office. In fact, the move back may prove to be more challenging than implementing the biggest global home office test in history.

IN ITS REPORT, JLL ANALYSES SEVERAL AREAS, INCLUDING: • Motivation and cooperation For many people, especially those living alone, the home office entails forced isolation. The lack of daily face-to-face contact with their colleagues, an inability to hold spontaneous conversations, a lack of an opportunity to ask a short question in an open space or grab a quick coffee can be frustrating in the long run. Moreover, nearly 80% of respondents to our survey clearly stated that they have a strong sense of belonging to their organization when working from the office. In contrast, only 44% of respondents have that same sense of belonging when working from home. A similar percentage (81%) also indicated that working in an office space with other people positively influences their level of motivation. Knowing how

You can download the “When home is the new office”report here:

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important human relations are in ensuring effective work, we must (speaking of both leaders and employees) continue to nurture these interactions. Therefore, it is even more important to provide the team with a place for everyday interactions, conducted online of course.

And it is not only about business tele or videoconferencing, but also about lunches, celebrating successes or working out together. In addition, the data from JLL indicates that in the office 90% and 75% of the respondents positively rated cooperation with colleagues and clients, respectively. Whereas working remotely it dropped to 41% and 47%, respectively.

• Digital transformation The majority of JLL's respondents indicated that they are now reaching for technological solutions that they had not previously used. The home office has therefore become not only a strong impulse to influence the pace of technological transformation of companies but has also made many employees more open to innovation. This is great news for the IT industry, especially since in almost 100% of cases, the respondents also declared that they want to use these new solutions in the future. These applications range from enabling videoconferencing for hundreds of guests to electronic document circulation platforms, and allow us to work from virtually anywhere. The question, however, is how the remote working model affects our mental and physical condition.

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

AND HOW TO PLAN THE RETURN?

• Ergonomics The area of everyday work ergonomics has become even more important for a signi­ ficant number of office workers. What we previously took for granted, i.e. armchairs that “co-operate” with our backs have had to be replaced with kitchen chairs.

Ergonomics is one of the points where the office wins in the race with the home office model. And it is not just about adjustable desks, but also the variety of spaces we can use during the working day. For this reason, 86% of respon­ dents indicated that the office environment is good for their well-being. That is why it is worth remembering to take regular breaks, do stretching exercises, or go for a short “walk” on the balcony or in the garden. Breaks are also a priority for people who have to divide their day up between work and children.

• Family life, and hobbies Those of us who live alone can feel the unpleasant effects of isolation, while parents can say that they now interact rather too much with their children.

However, it turns out that most of us are now more satisfied with our family life.

The level of satisfaction in this area has almost tripled, even taking into account the fact that people with children face more noise daily, which – needless to say – hinders work. Moreover, twice as

Outsourcing&More | May–June 2020

many employees now admit that they have more time for their hobbies. This could be down to not having to commute to work. By spending the whole day at home, we can better plan our schedule.

In addition, as many as 85% of respon­ dents claimed to be satisfied with the quality of their meals by working remotely – by comparison, in the office, it was only half.

DOES THAT MEAN THAT THE HOME OFFICE AND THE OFFICE PERFECTLY COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER? Sounds like a cliché, but employee feedback proves that the two models are complementary. Therefore, perhaps, once the current situation calms down, many employers will take a more sympathetic look at the home office. But will the division of work between the home office and office work become a new standard?

This is certainly one of the trends in the transformation of the workplace that is worth looking at. However, those who initially saw the demise of traditional office spaces on the horizon have definitely hurried. Employees very much miss the office environment and normal contact with their colleagues. It is possible, however, that after returning to normality, we will expect greater freedom in choosing the workplace.

Currently, many employers are already starting to prepare a strategy that will gradually allow us to get back to our work desks. However, before offices reopen for employees, companies must ensure that the risks are minimized and that employees feel as safe as possible. How? By reorganizing the layout of the office so that it allows for maintaining an appropriate physical distance between employees, preparing and effectively communicating new rules of using the office space, and also by carrying out analyses of the state of installations in the building. Certainly, the implementation of such a strategy does not mean that we will all return to the office at the same time. On the one hand, companies must follow the recommendations of authorities and relevant institutions, and on the other, we must give ourselves time to acquire new habits and ways of doing things in these times of a new “normality”.

So it seems that apart from the new procedures and changes in office organi­zation, effective communication will be of crucial importance. Employees need to be sure that the employer has carefully thought through the whole return process, and everything is done for their welfare.

Undoubtedly, the number of areas that need to be taken care of may at first seem overwhelming, especially if the company does not have a team of specialists with expertise in workplace issues.

Here, it can be particularly helpful to work with external experts who will be able to analyze a building’s key systems, the readiness of the office to welcome employees back as well as the readiness of the employees themselves to return, and rules that will help them to work efficiently and safely in the office. 

Author:

Jakub Zieliński, Team Leader, Workplace Advisory, JLL

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