Outsourcing&More issue 34 May-June 2017

INTRODUCTION

Editor-in-chief Dymitr Doktór dymitr.doktor@proprogressio.pl Managing Editor Kamila Cyranowicz kamila.cyranowicz@proprogressio.pl DTP Dariusz Skuza Advertising reklama@outsourcingandmore.pl

Dear Readers, We are slowly getting closer to the end of second quarter of 2017. Last two months were full of great and inspiring business events organized in Cannes, Berlin, Lodz and Warsaw. We had a pleasure to visit all of them and here we bring a summary with extra photo galleries.

The global destinations for BPO/SSC centres are changing every year and as we have noticed, some of the companies who were so far analysing the best outsourcing destinations are nowadays slowing down with their expectations. Nevertheless, in Europe there are only few very experienced senior consultants who advice how and where to build captive or BPO operations centres. On the top of the list there is Elias Van Herwaarden, with whom we had a pleasure to run the interview. Elias, talks about current and future locations as well as shares his opinion about Brexit American offshoring approach and gives some free tips.

Besides Mr. Herwaarden we had also a chance to run the interview with Andrew Hallam, the General Secretary of the most important BPO regional association in Poland – ASPIRE. Those two interviews create a good picture of current development status of BSS industry.

Having in mind Outsourcing&More, besides outsourcing has “more” in title, we are also sharing a number of publications related to other business environment topics including shared service centres, HR, consulting, law or real estate. Within this edition you can find very interesting text concerning Dubai as the IT destination, as well as other publications coming from Ukraine, Lithuania, Romania or UK. We are also starting to focus more on SSCs and this is a good opportunity to share with you the article prepared by Adaptive SAG experts, who are the organization supporting optimization of work within European based operation centres.

May and June as every year are the field of many valuable business meetings and events. Together with Outsourcing&More Team, I hope to meet you at lease at one of them.

Enjoy the reading, Dymitr Doktór Chief Editor @DymitrDoktor

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AUTHORS Elias van Herwaarden • Andrew Hallam • Aleksandra Krawsz • Waldek Olbryk • Paweł Rychlik • Aleksandra Pytka • Marcin Łukasik • Krzysztof Pimpicki • Kazimierz Żurek • Małgorzata Gawrysiak • Małgorzata Panek-Kasińska • Anna Parysz • Viktoria Topol • Loredana Niculae • Maciej Wawrzyniak • Monika Cirocka • Anna Mielczarek • Monika Reszko • Kinga Bloch

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SERVICES 20TH ANNIVERSARY

LET’S CELEBRATE!

INDEX

BUSINESS

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Market News

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Kraków’s blueprint for global success Wiktor Doktór talks to Andrew Hallam, General Secretary of ASPIRE

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Multicultural Skills in Business Conference Łódź 2017 – Floor Management System ”People In, Ideas Out” Floor Management Flowscape system On 5th April nearly over 70 thought leaders gathered together at Łódzka Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego (ŁARR) for the second edition of the Łódź based conference ‘Multicultural Skills in Business’.

is the future of Activity Based Working.

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Do bots dream of electronic customers? The role of automation in contact centre industry

Automation is one of the big topics in the contemporary discussion about contact centre industry. It stands right beside “bid data”, “data protection” and “market centralisation” in the current discourse about its future.

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Positivity − the driving force of your organization? A simple way to permanently involve your employees

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MIPIM 2017 – The Real Estate elite on the French Coast

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Research shows that organisations achieve the best results maintaining a proportion of positive to negative team experience of 3:1. This in turn can be achieved by implementing transparency and appropriate team habits in the company.

Why fight for positive attitude?

Each one of you is correct, and each one of you is wrong

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ITO and BPO experts held debates in Berlin

On 6th April, The German Outsourcing Association (DOV-Deutscher Outsourcing Verband) organised the fourth edition of the conference the ITO&BPO Germany Forum.

Seeing different perspectives, getting them valid into a final solution you may get an exciting journey toward great teams working together to exceed the customer expectations, create an innovative solutions and have fun together.

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Are global centers ”language dependent”?

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Genesys – history of innovation

Interview with Mr Małgorzata Gawrysiak, the Country Sales Director in Genesys.

INVESTMENTS

­­­ here to go with W FSSCs operation centres?

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Investment News

Wiktor Doktór talks to Elias van Herwaarden, EMEA Service Leader in Deloitte.

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Dubai: the golden piece of cake for the Polish IT “Goodbye” language competence and “welcome” process knowledge and programming skills.

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According to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, sales forecast for ICT services in the UAE by 2019 is about to reach nearly $ 262 billion, and spending per capita is expected to exceed 2.000 Dh (2138 PLN) by 2018.

Forms of running business in Poland: spółka akcyjna [~joint stock company]

Pursuant to the act on business freedom, foreigners can run business in Poland in the form of spółka akcyjna [joint-stock company]. They can also join companies such and acquire their shares.

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

INDEX

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Eastern European Country Lublin – important powerhowith a Huge Business Potential use leading the way in the Polish experience industry While most would agree that Ukraine is still a rather turbulent area, and its economy definitely calls for more stability, there is no doubt that this country, located right in the middle of Europe, is a large emerging market with growing opportunities for expanding businesses.

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Time to explore Romanian cities as business destinations Romania has gained a lot of exposure in the international media since it has become one of the main global outsourcing destinations. The skilled workforce, cheap labor, and high productivity rate are its key drivers for attracting investments.

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Bydgoszcz Real Estate Market Revival

Interview with Maciej Wawrzyniak – Sales and Real Estate Management Executive in CDI Konsultanci Budowlani.

How to promote the region?

Attend the fair!

Participation of representatives of the cities and regions in various events, fairs and conferences is one of many effective ways of promoting the location as an attractive place to invest.

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Bydgoszcz – the City of sports, culture and business

This year, Bydgoszcz became one of the best destination finalists of the Tourism for Tomorrow competition organised by the World Tourism Board. The City was also the 5th on the list of best travel destinations in the “Travelers’ Choice 2017” report published by TripAdvisor travel portal.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

Szczecin – the conscious city

Szczecin is a city open to learning, entrepreneurship and investors. One invests here in research-and-development centres, IT infrastructure and innovative solutions.

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Łódź – the Centre of Events

The prominence and success of Lublin, celebrating its 700th anniversary this year, is evidenced by rapid development of the experience industry.

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Kielce ExpoCity – The city of exhibitions

Location in the middle of Poland, infrastructure that ensures an easy access to all large business centres in Poland and Europe and a broad offer of conference and exhibition space make Łódź a remarkably attractive place for business meetings.

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Częstochowa – a very busy city

Getting off the Warsaw-Cracow bypass, one of the main arteries of Poland, Częstochowa is one of the most comyou are welcomed by Kielce – city of monly recognized Polish cities, and one almost 200,000 people, offering you loads of the leaders in the city brand ranking. of ideas on how to interestingly spend your precious time.

CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

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In the city, there is a high awareness of business’ needs, regardless of the industry, and therefore city authorities put much emphasis on support with regard to each key business aspect.

This is one of the several stimuli for Opole being the organiser of numerous prestigious business-related events and a great supporter of initiators of such undertakings.

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Opole – Green Light for Business

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HR News

Passionate or frustrated? – how to improve your mood and gain more time

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Outstanding events and conference facilities in Poznań

Organisation of international business events is one of the priorities set out by the City of Poznań, for many years associated with fairs and innovative business.

Research shows that (not)having passion allows you to predict employees’ behaviour and engagement.

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Career paths in real estate industry Interview with King Bloch, Head of HR Poland, Cushman & Wakefield.

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Recruitment Ads 7

BUSINESS

MARKET NEWS Vienna Initiative: New Working Group on Capital Markets Union for CESEE region (LUXEMBOURG)

The Vienna Initiative has agreed to establish a Working Group on Capital Markets Union. This follows the European Union’s push to strengthen Capital Markets which will have a major impact on financing of investment and sustaining growth in the Central, Eastern and SouthEastern Europe region (CESEE).

Leadfeeder is a sales intelligence startup from Finland and one of the world’s top-rated Google Analytics technology partners.

Earlier this year Leadfeeder was invited to Google’s Headquarters at Mountain View, California to film the first co-marketing video together with Google Analytics’ team and plan other partnership possibilities with Google Analytics.

ENXOO has been awarded ”Rising Star Partner 2017” at Salesforce Kick-Off in Warsaw!

(POLAND)

Emlyon business school inaugurates its New Asia Campus (FRANCE)

Paris most likely to rival London as financial capital of Europe after Brexit, says GlobalData (GREAT BRITAIN/LONDON)

Paris would be the most ideal location for businesses leaving London following the imminent triggering of Article 50 and the UK’s subsequent exit from the single market. The French capital offers more advantages than its three major competitors, Dublin, Frankfurt and Amsterdam, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The company’s latest report states that Paris excels in a number of categories, offering a huge social attraction, Europe’s second busiest airport, and over four times the amount of available office space for immediate use than Amsterdam, Dublin and Frankfurt combined.

Google and Leadfeeder team up to show how marketing data can help sales teams (FINLAND)

Google Analytics and Leadfeeder strengthen their partnership by co-creating content to help sales teams worldwide.

The first video was released overnight on the Google Analytics YouTube channel.

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On Saturday 8th April 2017, emlyon business school inaugurated the Asia campus, Asia Europe Business School (AEBS),

Teleperformance Polska has received the title of Gazela Biznesu 2016 (POLAND)

in the presence of the Consul General of France in Shanghai, representatives of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, of the City of Lyon, of the municipality of Shanghai, of IBM, of the SEB Group and of the New FrancoChinese Institute.

Created in 2015 in partnership with Shanghai’s East China Normal University (ECNU), Asia Europe Business School combines the excellence of the ECNU in sciences and that of emlyon business school in entrepreneurial management and innovation.

This campus, with a total area of 5,000 m² will host from the September intake 500 international and Chinese students and more than 1,000 students by 2020.

Synergies between this establishment and the campuses of emlyon business school in France and in Morocco will develop learning paths on three continents.

On this occasion, emlyon business school signed a partnership agreement with the New Franco-Chinese Institute, becoming a founder member of this institution, intended to promote relations between Lyon and China. emlyon business school has also signed a partnership [agreement] with Baume & Mercier, a Swiss watchmaking company founded in 1830, sponsor of the inauguration of the Shanghai campus and actions supported by the emlyon business school Foundation.

Finally, IBM and emlyon business school have announced their desire to extend their partnership to China.

Teleperformance Poland has been ranked on 632 place among nearly 4,400 companies from Poland. Position in the ranking depends on the percentage growth in turnover achieved in the three years examined (2015 vs. 2013), which in our case was 180%!

Gazele Biznesu ranking, already for 17 years, promotes the most dynamically developing small and medium-sized enterprises, who have distinguished themselves the most against their competitors. In each edition of the ranking the company’s results are examined for the full three preceding years.

In the current edition the credit bureau Coface Poland, which is the author of the ranking, has verified the financial results achieved in 2013 – 2015 period. One of the key criteria was revenue growth from year to year.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS

Tieto partners with WalkMe to drive enhanced user and customer experience

DTZ Echinox will rebrand as Cushman & Wakefield Echinox

(SWEDEN)

(ROMANIA)

Tieto has entered into a new strategic partnership with WalkMe, enabling Tieto to resell the cloud-based WalkMe digital adoption platform and related consulting services to customers across the Nordic countries. The purpose is to help customers renew user experience, be more productive and reduce support and training related operational costs.

WalkMe, a San Francisco based company, provides a Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) that simplifies user experience and drives user action using insights, engagement and guidance capabilities. Today WalkMe’s platform is used by over 1,000 enterprise customers and thousands of SMBs from various industries and verticals, including more than 30% of Fortune 500 companies.

State Street Bank Poland celebrates 1 year anniversary of its Gdansk office opening

Cushman & Wakefield has signed an exclusive arrangement with DTZ Echinox as its affiliate in Romania.

The formal affiliate appointment follows the 2015 global merger of Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ. DTZ Echinox had been DTZ’s partner in Romania since 2002.

From today, DTZ Echinox will rebrand as Oneclick AG becomes a member of the IT Security Association Germany.

(POLAND)

It has been a year today since State Street opened its new office in Gdansk. The office, which was officially opened on March 22, 2016 by Jay Hooley, State Street CEO, and Scott Newman, Poland Branch Manager, has just accomplished a successful first year of operations in Tricity with unprecedented growth in the entire region.

Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Cushman & Wakefield Echinox provides a full range of services to investors, occupiers and owners across all sectors of the real estate market. Core capabilities include leasing and brokerage, property and facility management, capital markets, investment and asset management, valuation, research and project management.

CIMA & The Hackett Group run seminar in Budapest

(HUNGARY)

Within 12 months the office has grown from zero to 800 staff.

This has been achieved through a combination of staff relocation from Krakow, recruitment of graduates and professionals from the local market as well as the ability to attract individuals from across Poland and abroad. In total, State Street has enabled over 130 relocations from outside the region which is reflective of the attractive career opportunities available at State Street Bank and the life-style Tricity has to offer.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

On June 14th in Budapest CIMA and the The Hackett Group have a pleasure to invite you to participate in a special meeting dedicated to World-Class GBS organisations and Talent Management.

During this meeting you will have a chance to meet with Global Business Services and Shared Services expert: Tom Bangemann from The Hackett Group.

Tom will be speaking about ‘World class GBS performance, its key differentiators, latest insights, and importance of talent management. For more information contact Beata.Bednarska@aicpa-cima.com

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BUSINESS

Multicultural Skills in Business Conference Łódź 2017 – ”People In, Ideas Out”

On 5th April nearly over 70 thought leaders gathered together at Łódzka Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego (ŁARR) for the second edition of the Łódź based conference ‘Multicultural Skills in Business’.

This year’s conference entitled ‘People in, Ideas Out’ attempted to address a key issue facing all cities in Poland. That of the increased mobility of people and the need to attract/retain talent and use diversity to gain competitive advantage initiating new projects and business.

To take on such a wide ranging and far reaching subject, the conference involved three successive discussion sessions held in front of a live audience. The sessions focused on: ‘Higher Education’, ‘The Business Services Sector’ and ‘Domestic Łódź initiatives wishing to internationalise’. The discussion participants included Waldemar Olbryk, Wiktor Doktór, Richard Stephens, Michał Brzeziński, Grażyna Budzińska and Magda Cieślak.

In advance of the conference, all participants were briefed on the common goal. To use open discussion across industries, occupations and nationalities to generate ideas to locate Łódź as a desirable destination on the national and international mobility network of students, professionals and entrepreneurs.

The idea was to enable all the different participants involved to see the problems and solutions encountered from various other perspectives and to start making common plans.

Interesting conversations followed on everything from promoting work/life balance, encouraging multiculturalism in educational classes without overseas students, foreigners finding accommodation when relocating to Łódź, management tools available for diverse projects and the opportunities available for multiculturalism if Łódź wins Expo 2022.

After over three hours of stimulating discussion, with many new friendships formed, everyone once again went their separate ways back to their different sectors. For one afternoon teachers, foreign investors, local entrepreneurs and city authorities all met in the spirit of coming up with creative solutions for the benefit of Łódź, a city with a great history of multiculturalism and perhaps also a great future.

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Lodz Regional Development Agency office.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS Below: Conference speakers Wiktor Doktór (Pro Progressio) and Carlos Martins (Tate&Lyle).

Above: – Richard Stephens (Poland Today) and other panelists.

Right: Business talks and networking.

Right: Questions from the audience.

Above: Wiktor Doktór (Pro Progressio) talks about city attractiveness for international students and employees.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

Right: Conference delegates. Let’s talk about multicultural business environment.

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BUSINESS

MIPIM 2017 – The Real Estate elite on the French Coast

Above: MIPIM blue carpets in Cannes.

Cannes, just like every spring, becomes the European capital of the real estate industry. The same was true about this year. The sunny coast of the French Rivera was visited by the 24,000 delegates of the MIPIM conference.

Below: one of many street networking sessions in Cannes.

Above: Cannes harbour.

It is one of the major events in the real estate industry and it attracts the unwavering interest of developers, Real Estate agencies, cities, countries and international media.

Just like every year, Poland also had its distinguishing features, since it was strongly represented by the largest cities such as Warszawa, Wrocław, Kraków, Katowice, Poznań, Łódź and the Tricity. The cities presented their investment portfolio and encouraged investors to buy land, office and industrial facilities, as well as sharing information related to operating a business in their urban agglomerations. Most of the cities had the strong support of their Presidents or Vice Presidents, who were actively involved in discussions with potential investors. Presidents also participated in discussion panels, such as those organised

by Poland Today.

Left: Cannes Riviera.

Below: time for the voting, MIPIMs delegates choose the best projects.

The leading developers of office buildings in Poland, such as ECHO Investment, Ghelamco, HB Reavis, SKANSKA, or Vastint were also represented on the exhibition stands. One of the office projects presented at the fair won this year's MIPIM award – it was the Warsaw Spire by Ghelamco. It is a great honour and distinction, since it is the first project executed in Poland, that has ever won an award at the MIPIM fair.

A new element at the MIPIM in 2017 was the report “Poland – your place to invest”, which was presented at the Warsaw stand by representatives of all the Polish cities and the Managing Directors of CBRE, Daniel Bienias and JLL,Tomasz Trzósło.

The report reflects in a transparent manner the most significant information concerning the real estate investment climate in Poland for 2017.

Right: Dymitr Doktór, Outsourcing&More Chief Editor talks to the Riga City Hall representatives.

The MIPIM fair lasted four days and it was a period full of meetings, negotiations and contracts worth many billions of Euros. See our photo reportage of this event. •

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS

Above: Katarzyna Zawodna (SKANSKA) talks at the discussion panel.

Right: discussion panel about investments in Poland.

Right: Richard Stephens welcomes guests at Poland Today’s cocktail party.

Below: Tomasz Trzósło, JLL General Director in Poland talks at the discussion panel.

Above: Adam Pustelnik, Director of Lodz Investor Support Office presents the business attractiveness of his city.

Below and right: networking in Polish zone organized

by Poland Today.

Above: Daniel Bienias from CBRE comments the “Poland your place to invest” report.

Left: Jake Jephcott (Olivia Business Center) talks to Anna Młyniec (JLL) and Wiktor Doktór (Pro Progressio).

Below: Colliers International and City of Lodz together present the newest city report.

Above: business talks at the terrace next to Polish Zone.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

Right: RICS presents the report.

Left: coffee at ECHO Investment stand was delicious.

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BUSINESS

MIPIM 2017 – The Real Estate elite on the French Coast

Above: at CBRE was green as always.

Above: one of the projects from Dubai.

Above: HB Reavis was presenting its newest project Varso I & II.

Below: some of the city projects looked very futuristic.

Right: city of Lodz with existing and planned investment projects.

Left: ”water based” stations were also available for MIPIM delegates.

Below: yacht of Colliers International.

Right: international press available for all delegates.

Left: Cushman & Wakefield stand.

Below: meeting and relax zone.

Above: This year’s MIPIM Below: special award was given to networking the Beyazit State Library in cocktail after Istanbul.

MIPIMs final Gala.

Above: Ghelamco and Warsaw Spire with MIPIM award.

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Right: special thanks to sponsors and awards for the winners.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS

ITO and BPO experts held debates in Berlin On 6th April, The German Outsourcing Association (DOVDeutscher Outsourcing Verband) organised the fourth edition of the conference the ITO&BPO Germany Forum – one of the largest and most important events in the outsourcing calendar in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).

Each year, the forum attracts more and more participants.

On the one hand, there are German entrepreneurs interested in outsourcing services, and on the other, service providers from Europe and the rest of the world. This year, participants included a great number of delegates from Armenia, Austria, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, and also representatives from Portugal and the United Kingdom.

(Germany Trade & Invest), Reid Anderson (Trestle Group), Tom Bangemann (The Hackett Group), Ernst Vogtle (Stefanini) and Ivalo Slavov (BulPros), stressed that, for the German client, the most common solution used is the onshoring model. The second step is to use companies operating in the nearshoring model, and the offshoring model is used as last.

The emphasis was put on the growing significance of nearshoring, and therefore a clear signal was sent to the countries in the CEE region, that they would be potential business partners for German entrepreneurs.

During subsequent panels and presentations, the participants had the chance to learn about hybrid solutions that link the SSC world with BPO, and sample projects in the BPO, Each year, Poland makes every effort to be more visible ITO and RPA models. The RPA (Robotic Process Automation) at the forum in Berlin. Representatives of city halls (Lublin, was a recurrent topic in several speeches, which confirms its Łódź), companies (getsix, j-labs, Duni, CBRE) and business relevance to the outsourcing world and its clients. environment organisations (CIMA, ASPIRE, Pro Progressio) participated in this year's edition.

One of the conference speakers was Till Hahndorf, whom we interviewed in the March issue of Outsourcing&More.

The forum was opened by Stephan Fricke – the President of Till presented issues related to the certification and initial DOV and Hans-Peter Baur – the Deputy Director for Democracy, qualification of international service providers, who are Human Rights, Social Growth and Digital Space in the German interested in offering services to companies located in Germany.

Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.

This presentation was very popular among international participants.

This edition was focused on a broad range of issues related to outsourcing. The conference started with a discussion on The next forum edition will take place next year and taking the current situation in the German ITO, BPO and SSC market. into account the growing interest, it seems that the organisers The speakers, among whom were Josefine Dutschmann will be forced to look for a larger venue. •

Right: Stephan Fricke opens ITO&BPO Germany Forum in Berlin.

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS Left: conference opening.

Right: Stephan Fricke announces welcome speach of Hans-Peter Baur.

Below: discussion panel focused on the state of the German ITO/ BPO/SSC market.

Above: Olaf Röper presentation focused on IT Projects Management.

Left: Klaus Nötzold talks about communication model transformation.

Right: Hybrid organizations presentation run by Linde Group.

Left: the history of development of Linde Group SSC.

Right: Hybrid approach in Linde Group way.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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BUSINESS

­­­ here to go with W FSSCs operation centres?

Wiktor Doktór talks to Elias van Herwaarden, EMEA Service Leader in Deloitte.

Wiktor Doktor: The subject of worldwide locations for financial BPO/ SSC centres is a never-ending story, although within the last two decades there were some global changes. What were then and what are now the best locations for financial operations centres?

Elias van Herwaarden: I think we’ve seen major changes in how and where FSSCs locate. But let me first detail why that has happened. First of all, we’ve seen significant changes in the processes that are carried out by FSSCs. From purely transactional and limited voice in the early 90s, SSCs today increasingly deliver high-value adding, knowledge-based and language-sensitive services. The way they deliver them has changed as well.

”The cities that started hosting the first FSSCs at the turn of the century generally still provide “safe landing zones” for financial operations, especially if these operations would include more value adding processes."

I would stay clear from suggesting that there is such a thing as THE BEST location.

Too many company-specific factors impact a location decision: process characteristics, maturity of the shared services organisation, corporate appetite for risk, need for quick wins versus taking a mid-term perspective.

Still one thing is clear: the cities that started hosting the first FSSCs at the turn of the century generally still provide “safe landing zones” for financial operations, especially if these operations would include more value adding processes.

At least 20 names come to my mind easily.

Outsourcing of the more transactional (See listing at the end of the interview). processes is far more common today than it used to be. Many companies Do you think the current situation is have opted for a hybrid organisation, also the future one? What will be the combining both captive and BPO future BPO/SSC destinations? resources. Secondly, the concept of A gradual change has started shared services has become a proven already. The top-of-mind destinations one, so more companies have or are are characterised by an ever-increasing implementing them. On top of that, war-for-talent as more companies select many of the existing SSCs are widening these locations for their shared services the scope of the services they provide, or BPO. In some cities, say Kuala Lumpur, moving into HR, procurement, and Mumbai and Prague, labour-market even engineering. Thirdly, the “death- tensions are furthered as these cities of-distance” has allowed companies attract other corporate operations, like to locate their SSCs in lower-cost headquarters, that offer more attractive locations. career-paths and salary packages.

So, whereas in the early 90s companies had ample access to talent pools and

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located their SSCs on-shore, today’s SSCs are truly dotting the world map, and new destinations pop-up every day.

companies becoming very innovative as they seek to attract and retain talent and it’s not only about offering a compelling financial package to their employees.

The more successful FSSCs have taken talent development very seriously. But, the war-for-talent has enabled other destinations to emerge. Tier-2 and Tier-3 destinations are on the rise and I expect that trend to continue – even if But, that doesn’t mean that these and in the next few years the Tier-1 cities will other like-cities are “off-the-list”. I see continue to see SSC job growth.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS

Are BPOs different from captives in when it comes to location strategy?

Today they are somewhat different, but tomorrow they may be less so. Let me explain. The traditional BPO – at least in the area of finance processes – grew by providing mainly transactional outsourcing. It standardised operations and cut them into easily trainable segments, to the maximum. So all that was needed in terms of location was a destination with cheap and large talent Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

pools. In the 1990s such outsourcing started in India’s Tier-1 cities (e.g.

Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi Capital Region, Hyderabad, and Mumbai), but as the BPO providers’ business models and experience gained maturity, they expanded into Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities (e.g. Ahmedabad, Kochi, Pondicherry, …). Some like Genpact, who were a first mover into Cluj-Napoca, Lublin and Szczecin, replicated that strategy when they came to Europe, to be closer

to their customers. So, the point is that historically BPOs by the nature of their business would more easily locate “offthe-beaten-track”. Yet the BPO model has been under great pressure for some years now. This is pushing the service providers to offering higher flexibility and agility.

In parallel, continued demands for cost reductions force the BPO community to develop more profitable businesses, i.e. more value adding services. I expect that many of them are up for a real

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BUSINESS

”But I think that RPA, transformation of their business models. the increased need for They will increasingly be drawn towards customer centricity, cities with a more sophisticated “ecoend-to-end processing and agility, rather than system” in terms of shared services and President Trump, will will need to engage in a war-for talent be the real game- that they are not used to fighting. changer impacting US corporations’ shoring In 2017 the procedure of Brexit has and sourcing strategies.”

”A good location consultant will have deep insights into how companies have set-up and operate their FSSCs all while capitalising on location solutions across the world.”

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been started. London is one of the most important finance cities in Europe but a number of London based financial institutions use the nearshoring and/ or offshoring destinations for support in operations processes. Do you think Brexit will have an impact on faster or bigger growth of BPO/SSC centres in the CEE region?

I think Brexit, regardless of whether it will be “hard” or “soft” eventually, has triggered many financial institutions to rethink how they have organised their service delivery model. The larger ones already have at least one SSC in the CEE region. I expect them to widen the scope of services being delivered from these centres. Some may open-up additional sites. State Street is a good example of that. They started in Krakow and more recently opened a second site in Gdansk.

Those institutions that have only limited or no support centres in the CEE will be increasing their presence in the region.

So, growth in my view will be both faster and bigger. Yet other locations might benefit as well. Of course Asia-Pacific, but let’s not rule out countries like for instance Egypt and South Africa.

There is also another important question. What will happen to the American offshoring approach?

Trump’s politics wants to limit offshoring relations, but for American companies to be more efficient they somehow have to use BPO providers or open their own SSCs in Asia or CEE region. Do you think American offshoring practices may slow down or rather will they be kept on the same level as currently?

Ah, the true crystal-ball question! I just returned from the Site Selectors Guild Annual Conference in the US. The overall expectation is that President Trump’s plans will lead to increased corporate investment within the United States, both by US and by foreign companies.

Some of the corporate speakers at the event also stated that it is unlikely that foreign-based operations will be relocated back to the US, even if their products or services would be hit by a 30% import duty. So, I do not expect major changes to the level of captive offshoring. But corporate America definitely is concerned and we all know that in times of uncertainty more risk-sensitive investments tend to be avoided. So, the pace may indeed slow-down in terms of new SSCs being set-up outside of the US. My expectation is more negative when it comes to outsourcing. These arrangements are based on contracts that can be changed or that expire at relatively short term. The BPO community

definitely is more at risk if President Trump realises his intentions. But I think that RPA, the increased need for customer centricity, end-to-end processing and agility, rather than President Trump, will be the real game-changer impacting US corporations’ shoring and sourcing strategies. These trends, more than new trade and investment policies, could quite likely mean that on-shoring will become more prevalent for US companies.

If you could give any tips to American or Western European financial organizations who are considering opening SSCs or starting to use BPO companies, what would they be?

What locations should they consider and why?

First of all, take a fresh look at your finance processes and how value is added by human intervention throughout their value chains. Don’t hesitate to change them for improved quality, effectiveness and efficiency. Then design the service delivery/target operating model. That is the moment that you should start considering location options as what you design might not be practically feasible. Talking to an expert at this stage is highly recommended.

A good location consultant will have deep insights into how companies have set-up and operate their FSSCs all while capitalising on location solutions across Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS SHARE OF JOB CREATION

the world. The actual site selection can start once the service delivery/target operating model is agreed on. What I have learnt is that some companies actually keep more than one option in the running.

Note that it is all-important to achieve considerable stakeholder buy-in for that agreement. After that follows the typical identification of the location long-list and the well-structured elimination of options till the final city and building have been secured.

North America 7% Western Europe 8%

Latin America & Caribbean 11% Asia-Pacific 43%

What are the things that I see companies do wrong as they do their location selection? A lot, but let me list just a few points:

• They establish their search areas and long-lists based on desk research at best, but more often on commonly held, subjective views, thereby ignoring potentially better location solutions.

• They cramp their search into too short time frames (some of my clients actually take more time to look for their vacation destination than they take to seek a location for their FSSC).

• They rely on rather generic location evaluation criteria and use too few data-points to rate their location and sourcing options.

• They do not allow for proper field research. Location-related data is dynamic, and typically not available through publicly-available sources.

• They underestimate the need for stakeholder buy-in through the site selection process.

• They underestimate the need for building-up a new culture both in the SSC but also in the retained organisation. If opting for BPO, this cultural alignment is even moreso.

Then, what locations should companies consider and why? As explained above, companies should select locations that are in line with their FSSC process characteristics, maturity, risk appetite, experience in operating facilities internationally, need for future scalability and aimed-for go-live date of their SSC. For language-sensitive, knowledgebased, consultative processes, I would typically be thinking captive and looking near-shore and at Tier-1 and selected Tier-2 locations. For captive FSSCs, I would locate the more transactional, limited-English-only activities in far-shore Tier-1 locations.

They could also be outsourced and then it’s the outsourcer’s service capabilities that count. Where the BPO sources those capabilities from is its own business, though you may want to assure yourself that it’s on a robust basis. • Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

Emerging Europe 32%

Figure 1: Indicative share of 2010 – 2016 job creation in shared services

INDICATIVE NUMBER OF NEW SSCS/EXTENTIONS 40 30 20 10 0

2010

2011

2012

2013

Emerging Europe

Asia-Pacific

Latin America & Caribbean

North America

2014

2015

2016

Western Europe

Figure 2: Indicative number of new SSC projects / extension of existing SSCs

TOP SSC DESTINATIONS 2010 – 2016

Manila metro region San Jose metro region Vilnius Bangalore Budapest Dublin Krakow Wroclaw Tri-City Poznan Warsaw Bucharest Cluj-Napoca Galway Barcelona metro region Kuala Lumpur metro region

Hyderabad Lodz Pune Tallinn Delhi Capital Region Riga Sofia Buenos Aires Belfast Bogota Chongqing Cork Dalian Jaipur Katowice Medellin 21

BUSINESS

KRAKÓW’S BLUEPRINT FOR GLOBAL SUCCESS Wiktor Doktór talks to Andrew Hallam, General Secretary of ASPIRE

We wanted to create a community that could come together to support each other, share experience, learning and insight, identify common challenges and opportunities, and speak with one voice.

Wiktor Doktór: Andrew, you are running the biggest Business Services association in Kraków. How did it start, what led you to create such an organisation?

Andrew Hallam: Looking back, our main aim was to create an identity for an industry which at that time didn’t really have an identity, which was still very much in its infancy, not just in Poland but globally. We wanted to create a community that could come together to support each other, share experience, learning and insight, identify common challenges and opportunities, and speak with one voice. Our view was that an association, a formal network of businesses, would provide the necessary platform for cooperation, the glue to pull everyone together, a kind of gravitational knowledge hub.

We’re talking 10 years ago, when a handful of companies had located service centres in Kraków. At the time, I was running a platform called the Presidents’ Club, which networked heads of multinationals in the region, and what we began to see was that an increasing number of people that we were coming into contact with were not running companies that were manufacturing in Poland or focussed on the Polish market, but rather delivering business services from Poland. Today, we easily recognise this as the global services sector, but back then there was no such recognition.

It goes without saying that companies that are focussed on delivering their services elsewhere will have a different set of priorities and a different set of challenges than those delivering to the Polish market. They have different skill requirements, different infrastructure requirements, different requirements in terms of their interactions with government and institutions, and

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different needs in terms of promotion.

We built ASPIRE to identify and address these different needs to help companies in the market to succeed.

we are creating a young middle class, who are changing Kraków with their purchasing decisions and who provide a new foundation for Kraków to face forward into the future.

We called ourselves ASPIRE so that our very name would speak to the future.

We wanted to map who we are, not only for today, but also to understand what we can become.

ASPIRE has been the key driver behind the evolution of Kraków as a destination for global business services for the reasons I have already discussed. By coming together as a group of companies How can the city benefit by having we have accelerated the development such an association representing one of an ecosystem and a knowledge of the most dynamically growing base that supports the development of industries in Poland? the industry.

I think we need to distinguish between two ideas of the city: on the Our industry has given Kraków the one hand the city as a living organism, opportunity to tap into the global the place, and on the other hand, the city economy, to connect with the world and as the municipality, the government and continuously challenges us to upgrade its agencies. In Poland, these are often our local capability to be competitive in spoken about as if they are the same that global economy. The key lesson is that economic development is essentially thing. They are not. market driven.

I truly believe that the global services sector is positively transforming the Which brings us then to the city as the lives of people in Kraków, creating well municipality. So my view that follows paid and increasingly challenging jobs from what I just said is that the for young people, encouraging young municipality has a less prominent role people to see Kraków as a place of to play than business in economic opportunity, encouraging graduates development. This is a mistake I think to stay in Kraków and attracting talent we make in Poland, to somehow expect government to create the economy. from across Poland and abroad.

People create economies and they We are also making a huge contribution do so by seizing opportunity afforded to the local economy. Over 2 billion USD them by the market. per annum flows into the local economy through the activity of our industry. This We have a very positive relationship money makes a huge contribution to the with the municipality of Kraków, built on development of the local infrastructure, an understanding we have developed not just in terms of new office buildings, over time about the respective role of but also the development of the airport, business and the role of government, the viability of international-standard interdependent but distinct. hotels and restaurants, international schools and so on. Above all, this is ASPIRE is important in this, because money which is largely in the hands of we can be a strong partner to the young people, and it is my belief that our municipality, representing the industry industry’s biggest contribution is that with one voice and enabling the Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS

Photos Piotr Banasik Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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BUSINESS is the main purpose or goal of the conference?

We characterise the Annual Conferenceas “The World Class Business Event for Everyone”. We reach out to multiple audiences, our members, companies and organisations from outside Kraków, local stakeholders in politics and academia, students, everyone that wants to get a better understanding of what drives our industry and how we can continue to grow. Above all, the conference is Clearly the municipality and regional a meeting place, gathering people government have a very big role to play together with a common interest, and in terms of large infrastructure projects, that common interest is how to capture addressing environmental challenges, opportunity. We take as our inspiration quality of life, promotion and so on–the Kraków’s Market Square, which has more so as we continue to grow and fulfilled that function over centuries. develop. Today, we both understand that we need to develop and grow hand And what has changed during those in hand. seven editions of the conference?

In simple terms, its got bigger and And what are the benefits for compa- more ambitious every year: bigger topics, nies and their employees who are the bigger venue, bigger audience and a bigger number of world recognised members of ASPIRE? In broad terms, ASPIRE enables speakers. In 2013, we added “ASPIRE members to understand who we are and 4 ALL”, an evening event for the top talent what we can be. Practically, we achieve working in the industry, recognising this through a range of platforms which that they are the key driver behind bring people together. These include Kraków’s continuing success. In 2015, we special interest groups which network moved the conference to ICE, Kraków’s people across centres: leaders groups new state-of-the art conference centre. which reflect the diversity and depth of This enabled us to add a large exhibition the industry in areas such as Software, space to the conference and to cater Financial Services, Finance & Accounting to a much bigger audience. At the same and HR Services, and expert groups time, we also introduced “ASPIRE 4 Kids”, in areas such as Diversity & Inclusion, with lectures and workshops for children, Robotics, Knowledge Management, aimed at stimulating their interest in Data Protection and so on. These groups Science, Technology, Engineering and enable people to build relationships Maths. with their peers, to share experience, to benchmark and to collaborate.

This year, in fact, we have spun off “ASPIRE 4 Kids” so that it will become its own self“Meet the Centre Manager” is another standing event. This year, all three local platform. Monthly, one of our centres hosts all other members, sharing what they do globally, their journey in Kraków, their challenges and opportunities. municipality to have one point of contact with the industry. Crucially, by association, we as businesses have been able to establish an effective language to communicate with the municipality to the point where we are now developing a strong understanding of what can be our shared values and shared goals, recognising at the same time key differences in our responsibilities and mission.

I am of the strong opinion that a true strategy is not a three point, five year plan, but rather a state of preparedness – being ready, flexible, capable and willing to respond to changing demands.

political leaders (the Mayor of Kraków, the Marshal of Małopolska and the Voivode of Małopolska) have all agreed to be Patrons of the conference, and in terms of the programme, we have true business leaders, leading politicians, and world renowned academics addressing important world issues. In short, such is the standing of ASPIRE and our industry in Kraków we can now invite the world to come to us.

Coming to the end of our interview – what are the three main goals for ASPIRE for the next five years?

To determinedly carry on with what we are doing. This means to continue to grow, to innovate, to engage, to aspire. These things are in our DNA. In practical terms, we will continue to build out the organisation to cater to the growing demands of the network, and we will continue to reach out to a wider constituency of companies and organisations who can help us to develop as an industry and who can benefit from association with our industry.

With respect to your question, I am of the strong opinion that a true strategy is not a three point, five year plan, but rather a state of preparedness–being ready, flexible, capable and willing to respond to changing demands. We live in turbulent times. Our success locally is dependent on our ability to respond to the changing needs of the global economy that feeds us. Tapping into the intellectual resources of our own people is the key to achieving this. So we will continue to encourage people to join this important conversation.

Thank You very much. •

Additionally, we provide a range of information services, often in partnership with our associate members: for example, a monthly legal clinic, a monthly labour law update, a twice yearly salary survey, an office market report and an annual headcount tracker, which tracks the current headcount in the industry in Kraków and 12 month forecast. This forecast has above 99% accuracy.

And as I mentioned before we provide an important interface between the industry and local stakeholders. This is a key benefit to members in widening the circle of influence and understanding about our industry in the community.

You are organising your Annual Conference for the 7th time. What

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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BUSINESS

FLOOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Floor Management Flowscape system is the future of Activity Based Working.

CREATING AN AGILE OFFICE FOR PEOPLE

Designing an activity based working environment is only half of the journey towards an effective, dynamic and exciting workplace. Creating the environment for staff and visitors to enjoy using the space and to get the most from it requires additional tools to enhance the user experience. This is exactly what Floor Management System Flowscape provides.

An especially interesting DESIGNED TO ENHANCE USER feature is the panic button. Click it to EXPERIENCE instantly find the The provision of a variety of settings in closest available room. an open landscape can be a daunting Works beautifully when prospect to employees used to traditional a visitor shows up office planning. Choosing the kind of unannounced.

setting suitable for their current task, locating a colleague, finding a free desk... these are all challenges that take time, can be frustrating and can lead to reverting back to old habits.

Kinnarps brings to life Floor Management System Flowscape that displays information in an easy to use map for employees to find what and who they are looking for. It also works on mobile technology, such as iPhones and iPads, allowing planning to start long before you actually reach the office.

We have all experienced that feeling of stress when you arrive at a full car park and as one driver exits, the machine gives you a ticket, the barrier rises and you have to find the one empty space available. It can be similarly daunting as you arrive in an agile workspace and want to find a free desk to work at for an hour or Aleksandra Krawsz, Marketing & PR so. Floor Management System maps the Manager use of desks and settings, and signposts

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where free space is available, making Flowscape is designed to make the it quick and easy to find a space to suit user experience the best it can be and to reduce friction and frustration in an your needs. agile working environment. The improved Placing easy-to-install wireless sensors on efficiencies will be reaped for months desks, in rooms and in docking stations, to come. It consists of many modules, allows Floor Management System the map can be supplied with any of the Flowscape to monitor the use of the following feature packages: workspace ‘live’ and to record data over time. This brings benefits to staff and SPACE FINDER visitors using the space at any time during Finding and booking space that suits your the day and also has huge potential for current needs. facilities managers to monitor the use of resources and make adjustments over With a peek at the app in your hand, or time. It is both an experience enhancer any other device, you get information today and a planning tool for tomorrow. that enables you to find and book the space that suits your current needs.

Regardless if it is a soundproof single RESERVE AND RELAX The system can also link to meeting room booth, a conference room for six people booking services, with room panels or an available working desk in an area of clearly showing when a room is about your choice. to be occupied, is reserved and by whom.

The reservation system can be accessed The system both checks availability in your remotely, so finding an available room for room booking system and detects if any the quickly planned meeting can start on persons are present in the room. If a space the journey in. is booked but nobody checks in, the system automatically cancels the booking, By using the app, staff can also easily thereby making the room available again. find the colleague they are looking for.

The map will display individuals as they An especially interesting feature is the move around an office, making it easy panic button. Click it to instantly find the to locate them and quickly meet ad hoc closest available room. Works beautifully or planned time together. when a visitor shows up unannounced.

Or your colleague comes to your desk An additional benefit of Floor for a spontaneous brain storming. Or the Management System Flowscape is the biggest client is waiting in the reception ability to report equipment failures and you realize that you had forgotten via your phone, tablet or laptop within the to book a room. system. If a projector bulb blows, a light fails or a room seems to have no power, KEY FEATURES: it is reportable quickly and efficiently and • Instant overview of the whole work place can be repaired far more effectively.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS • Wayfinder including distance to selected space • Panic button for last minute bookings • Unused rooms are made available if a check in is not done • Technical specification about each desk, area or meeting room COLLEAGUE FINDER

Finding and contacting fellow co-workers.

With Colleague Finder the map truly comes alive. You will literally feel the pulse in the office seeing co-workers move around in real time. Colleague Finder enhances collaboration and decreases the time we spend racing around looking for each other.

The map gives you a complete overview of the office with status of colleagues and where they are. If you are unable to move over to a colleague you just send an instant message, e-mail or make a call, with one click on your smartphone.

The system is designed to be integrated with your current communication system, e.g. Lync and Skype for Business.

KEY FEATURES:

• Find out if colleagues are occupied • Instant message and quick callbutton • Quick overview of project group members • Integrated with Lync and Skype for Business • Invisible mode always accessible

• Estimated correction time is viewable for everybody • Helps improving the failure correction process EQUIPMENT FINDER

Locating vital office equipment.

Equipment Finder visualizes the location and status of important equipment.

Friction is reduced by a quick look in HOUSEKEEPER Reporting and visualizing information the map to detect a printer, coffee machine, fire extinguisher or vital about failing equipment. electronic equipment.

In open offices many people share the same equipment. But information when The Equipment finder makes it a lot easier something stops working is usually not to get acquainted with the office. This is distributed adequately. This creates especially appreciated for newly hired staff or visitors from another branch. unnecessary irritation and stress.

Together with the built-in wayfinder Housekeeper takes care of this. Whoever everybody is sure to feel welcome in discovers failing equipment can report your office. it with just a click and writing down what is wrong. No matter whether it´s Equipment Finder contains a sophia broken projector lamp, a printer with sticated search mode. This facilitates paper jam or plumbing problems in the finding for example the lost portable projector or the only A3 printer in restroom. the office.

Instantly the information not only reaches the responsible caretaker, but KEY FEATURES: everybody can see the icon for non- • All vital office equipment visualised in your map functioning equipment in the map. After that an estimated correction time will be • Equipment clickable to find detailed information posted and made public.

Personal integrity has the highest priority.

Everybody can at any time use invisible mode, if they so choose. Moreover, all data is saved anonymized and encrypted.

Reports can only be generated on aggregated level.

KEY FEATURES:

• Visualizing failing equipment and failure report • Simplified failure reporting • Failure reports are traceable in the system and managed by the responsible person

• Search mode for specific properties • Great for people new to the office

ROOM PANEL

On-site booking of conference rooms.

This is hardware with feelings. The backlit Room Panel sits outside each meeting room. With the interactive highresolution touchscreen, room booking on-site is made a lot easier. The screen

Left: The map gives you a complete overview of the office with status of colleagues and where they are.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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BUSINESS gives an overview of availability and then booking is just a click away.

Since the devil is in the details this is one of the thinnest panels on the market.

In addition it comes with an illuminated frame changing between red and green to illustrate availability; easy to spot from a great distance.

Below: By using the app, staff can also easily find the colleague they are looking for.

Below: Placing easy-to-install wireless sensors on desks, in rooms and in docking stations, allows Floor Management System Flowscape to monitor the use of the workspace ‘live’ and to record data over time.

of Activity-based working” published

With main tool which is map – a digital replica of the office – you hover feet above the ground and thanks to our positioning technology you will instantly see yourself together with meeting rooms, colleagues, printers and other important resources.

The map can be viewed from a wide range of devices: a large screen in the reception, smart phones, PCs, room panels, Outlook add-ins or any device with a web browser.

is determined to reduce office friction by using state of the art technology in service of employees and management who crave a flowing environment.

To learn more about Floor Management Flowscape and see the system in action at Kinnarps showrooms book a visit at info@kinnarps.pl •

It´s possible to have the interface layout of the panel made to reflect the company graphically, by e.g. exposing the company logo. The panels are an integrated component, making bookings instantly viewable for everybody.

KEY FEATURES:

• Quick booking interface • One of the thinnest panel on the market • Illuminated frame visible from a distance • Interface layout can expose company logo and colours • Frame available in three colors and in landscape or portrait mode • Standalone or connected to the full system FLOW MANAGER

The statistical dashboard.

In Flow manager, data from the different products of the system is harvested and analyzed. Flowmanager collects data about the flow of people and the usage of rooms and desks. This data has resulted in new ways of looking at how cooperation works in large organizations. This is actually the first tool on the market that will help you optimize interaction by analyzing movements in your office.

Floor Management System Flowscape makes the difficult easy to grasp. Take for example the heat maps: by using colors it illustrates to what extent different parts of the office are being used. Red for heavily trafficked and green for calm.

And with just a click in the user friendly interface you update all the graphs in real-time.

KEY FEATURES:

by Hays, Kinnaps and Skanska in • Heat map showing how your office is used 2017 show that activity based working is • Several matrices showing interaction the future. But we are concerned about in the organization the friction occurring when transitioning • Follow up your change to activity to ABW. You should not have to spend based seating through e.g. a desk time searching for space and colleagues change graph or tolerate hassle when booking • Booked and real utilization statistics a conference room. for both rooms and desks • Real-time data just a click away Floor Management System Flowscape FLOWSCAPE IN ACTION

Kinnarps’ Trend Reports from 2013 and 2015 as well as common “Don’t be afraid

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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BUSINESS

Each one of you is correct, and each one of you is wrong Dice as a symbolic model for something that needs to be worked out – a story by Waldek Olbryk.

Seeing different perspectives, getting them valid into a final solution you may get an exciting journey toward great teams working together to exceed the customer expectations, create an innovative solutions and have fun together.

Finally, they decided to go to the wise man of the village and ask him who was correct. The wise man said, “Each one of you is correct; and each one of you is wrong. Because each one of you had only touched a part of the elephant’s body.

Thus you only have a partial view of the animal. If you put your partial views together, you will get an idea of what an elephant looks like.” (this story originated in the Indian subcontinent from where it has widely diffused.)

Today, this story is still valid and gives a lot of inspiration as to the way we may see the reality. Is what we see the true or just perspective, is what we believe a fact of just an opinion. Listening is a wonderful exercise to learn and think how to act with inclusion of what we learned to propose the way forward.

Before I make an intro to my story on the dice let me briefly recall an ancient legend of the “6 blind men and the elephant”.

Once an elephant came to a small town.

People had read and heard of elephants but no one in the town had ever seen one. Thus, a huge crowd gathered around the elephant, and it was an occasion for great fun, especially for the children. Five blind men also lived in that town, and consequently, they also heard about the elephant. They had never seen an elephant before, and were eager to find out about elephant.

where all the people made room for them to touch the elephant.

Later on, they sat down and began to discuss their experiences. One blind man, who had touched the trunk of the elephant, said that the elephant must be like a thick tree branch. Another who touched the tail said the elephant probably looked like a snake or rope.

The third man, who touched the leg, said the shape of the elephant must be like a pillar. The fourth man, who touched the ear, said that the elephant must be like a huge fan; while the fifth, who touched the side, said it must be like a wall.

Then, someone suggested that they They sat for hours and argued, each could go and feel the elephant with their one was sure that his view was correct.

Waldek Olbryk, hands. They could then get an idea of Obviously, they were all correct from Key Accounts what an elephant looked like. The five their own point of view, but no one Director Skanska SA blind men went to the center of the town was quite willing to listen to the others.

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Now let’s think of a dice as a symbolic model for something that needs to be worked out. Its shape represents a mathematical wholeness. It is basic, reliable, stable, solid and… simple. Each side shows a different number of dots.

Each side represents a different result or, perhaps, a different perspective that could apply. However, when we roll the dice we only ever consider the side that lands face up. We forget about the other sides and the other perspectives that could be.

With this in mind, I challenged myself with Dice Dilemma concept. In this model, a dice represents a whole picture.

Now think about teams. Each team has someone closest to the dice with the rest of its members lined up in single file behind him/her and influenced­by their side. If one visualizes any issue, change directions, distances and perspectives and find other circumstances to­help­ you address the case. We could try to adapt the model to real life. It could be both a team perspective as well as own personal view when observing any project by yourself.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS With that being said and dice as a model the points could be numerous.

1. THE POINT IS THAT IS WORTH TO USE THE GREATNESS OF YOUR PEOPLE AND COLLABORATE TO MAKE THINGS BETTER TOGETHER

Sometimes we do have a need to speed up, or we believe we know better. Wean take an individual perspective and assume your side alone is right, but…

We can assume that others see things differently and common ground can only be found by exploring these differences.

Let’s look around the dice thorough the perspective of everyone involved.

clear understanding what is important for the customer. It is extremely important to get your customer perspective and rephrase it to agree. It is an awesome tool to create the starting point for discussion a pro-solution journey.

great people who I’ve the good fortune to meet. When we were working through them, our differences seemed to erode by the minute and this expertise of others resulted in the creation of something new…

3. THE POINT IS THAT IT IS WORTH TO BE OPERATIONALLY EFFICIENT AND COORDINATE THE INTERDEPENDENT TEAMS

I believe that being disturbed by others’ perspectives provides us with a great opportunity to learn. It’s completely up to us how much we choose to be affected and how much we learn. We’re all the witness to a world which gradually interconnects, both in our private and professional lives. It’s all about opportunities and the choices we make.

If you take everything into account at one time and use the helicopter view and visualize the whole. You may see the interesting things. For ex while agreeing the plan together you can optimize by integrating the activities that interact If everyone defines what she/he believes with each other. You may check what in and what brought them here (ex. the correlations between projects are education, background, experience, and kill those which are overlapping values) is a first step to understand why or even opposing to the mission / high and make a journey toward the trust level target. and team work. If next we share it with other people by looking at the dice, ask 4. IT IS ALSO ABOUT FUN AND PASSION the questions why we drive toward the The point is to have some fun while atmosphere where everyone may feel working and cooperating. Rolling dice safe to raise the question and contribute goes back to ancient times. Unlike the majority of customs which started as much as possible to common goal. in one location and then spread 2. THE POINT IS THAT WE NEED TO THINK to others, it appeared independently all over the world. This symbolic fact FROM CUSTOMER/ USER PERSPECTIVE Managing the perspectives is one of the showing universality and simplicity of great exercise when you want to propose the dice itself made me think of the the solution. Everyone can take an dice as a model for visualization of the individual perspective and assume your analysis of any project both by a team side alone is right or... You can assume as well as by one person. At a time, it that others see things differently and inspired me to look for the story of common ground can only be found by the dice in human history. It resulted exploring these differences. I propose with cartoon. Even though the idea of to look around the dice thorough the a cartoon was conceived” after hours”, perspective of everyone involved with it has been treated seriously by some

By exploiting this phenomena, openly and courageously, engaging with our contacts, we can synthesize multiple disciplines and enjoying the process as well. This is about a way to enlarge our world and create a richer ecosystem for ourselves. Furthermore, we must be aware that sometimes a chance meeting which starts with no specific aim can lead to creating something tangible. By being good at something, doing things with passion, we make better connections in reference groups. We strengthen our network. I believe that an open network is one of the most critical elements for opportunity in our lives… especially in today’s connected world built on trust.

I strongly believe that all of the above helps us to enjoy what we do while keeping a good balance between anxiety and boredom which in turn, provides us with a flow and better life. •

source : www.dicedilemma.com Pictute Copyright : Tomasz Tomaszewski ( TeTe)

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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BUSINESS

ARE GLOBAL CENTERS ”LANGUAGE DEPENDENT”?

“Goodbye” language competence and “welcome” process knowledge and programming skills.

Currently implemented Global Business Services (GBS) are complex business models which use various service delivery structures, including shared service centers and outsourcing solutions to provide not only transactional processes such as finance and accounting, but also more advanced and endto-end processes. Mature GBS can be an engine for deeper organizational changes that will benefit the whole company, without losing focus on cost reduction and process efficiency.

Contrary to standard outsourcing, it influences process improvements throughout the organization and supports the wider use of automation and robotics technologies.

Usually, the beginning of a GBS journey is not sophisticated.

In the first step, simple and transactional functions are transferred to “cheap” locations to reduce operating costs by using payroll arbitrage. These processes are migrated using the “Lift-drop-standardize” or “Lift and shift” approach, which means that activities are moved from the current location in an unchanged form. On the one hand, operations can be realized faster and potential risk of process disturbance is reduced. On the other, internal customers expect that service will be on the same level as before. Very often, one of the necessary conditions from the client perspective is to ensure that the service will be provided in the language of the recipient.

Additionally, segmentation of processes, i.e. the fact that the process responsibilities are divided into tasks carried out by the local market and the center often required joint coordination and local-language communication.

From the centers’ perspective, in most cases, it is not a problem to find an employee who speaks a commonly known foreign language such as English, German, French or Spanish. However, when we talk about niche languages like Scandinavian, Chinese or Hebrew, finding and hiring a suitable candidate can be a challenge. In previous years, KPMG carried out location studies for clients planning to set up a service center in Poland or another Central European country. KPMG uses the scoring model as an objectivized selection tool with the criteria and weights identified and agreed upon with a client. The second most important requirement for choosing a location (after remuneration), is the availability of candidates with the knowledge of foreign languages (weighting between 35% and 40% of the total criteria).

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As time goes by, more and more tasks will be fully automated, location strategies and language issues will become less important.

include: attracting qualified staff (2/3 of respondents) and providing the right path for growth and careers (nearly 60% of respondents). Issues that were crucial for the managers of service centers a few years ago, i.e. grant access to adequate language skills and provision of relevant training, are currently important only for 1/4 of the respondents.

What can we expect in the near future? It seems that the next stage has already begun and Robotics Process Automation (RPA) is being implemented in more business process areas with a perspective of changing the labor market in the next 5-10 years (a recent study by HfS Research institute and KPMG shows that 55% of North American companies are considering investing in reasonable robotics solutions).

As time goes by, more and more tasks will be fully automated, location strategies and language issues will become less important. To increase profitability, Shared Services and BPO centres will no longer be looking for geographic regions with unused potential (“new India”), but will do this by digitalization and automation. Undoubtedly, the business environment and the demand for physical work will change. Different skills will be expected – the companies will be looking for employees who can program and define According to KPMG’s Global Insights Pulse Survey (Q3 2016) technology requirements, instead of those who process the biggest challenges faced by Global Business Services transactions. • For mature and developed global centers, these tendencies are gradually changing. The GBS characteristic mainly covers: the functional integration between the carried out processes, changing focus from purely transactional activities to crossfunctional technological improvements. More complex processes require experts with specific knowledge and qualifications as well as lead to organizational transformation, from simple service provider to the center of competence / excellence. At the same time, complex and integrated processes are less language dependent or, if we want to be more precise, depend on communications in English. This tendency is especially visible in IT support centres and international companies where English is a corporate language.

Mature GBS can be an engine for deeper organizational changes that will benefit the whole company, without losing focus on cost reduction and process efficiency.

Very often, one of the necessary conditions from the client perspective is to ensure that the service will be provided in the language of the recipient.

BIGGEST GBS TALENT MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES

Attracting qualified talent

66% Defining career paths

58% Gaining credibility for GBS resources within retained organization

48% Attrition

35% Cultural and language skills challenges when dealing with the retained organization

27% Providing adequate and relevant training

26% Wage inflation

15% Onboarding

14% Source: KPMG Global Insights Pulse survey, 3Q 2016 Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

Paweł Rychlik, Senior Manager, Management Consulting KPMG in Poland

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Forms of running business in Poland: spółka akcyjna [~joint stock company] Pursuant to the act on business freedom, foreigners can run business in Poland in the form of spółka akcyjna [joint-stock company]. They can also join companies such and acquire their shares.

Joint-stock company can be established by one or more individuals with one exception: joint-stock company must not be established by limited liability company solely.

Joint-stock company is the most formalised of commercial companies, rather dedicated for bigger projects.

Running joint-stock company usually requires services of specialised accountants, tax advisers and lawyers.

The key feature which distinguishes joint-stock company from other commercial companies is the method to obtain capital – by issuing securities, and shares in particular. Shares in jointstock company can be traded at the Stock Exchange or outside the regulated market at the NewConnect alternative trading system.

some special powers to the founder (e.g. to independently appoint or dismiss a director or a member of the supervisory board).

The minimum amount of the share capital of joint-stock company must be at least PLN 100,000. It is divided into shares of equal nominal value which must not be less than 1 grosz.

Joint-stock company authorities comprise: a board of directors, a supervisory board and a shareholders’ meeting.

Joint-stock company is distinguished by clear separation of “ownership” Just like in spółka z ograniczoną functions performed by its shareholders odpowiedzialnością [limited liability from the management of company’s company], a partner in a joint-stock current operations. company (a shareholder) only risks the value of capital brought in but not their personal assets (as it happens in partnerships). Joint-stock company is a legal entity fully independent from its shareholders. It is a body corporate which can independently act in transactions and is responsible for its own obligations. Shareholders are not liable for company’s debts.

Aleksandra Pytka, legal trainee in the Law Firm „Chudzik i Wspólnicy Radcowie Prawni” sp.p.

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Joint-stock company can be established by one or more individuals with one exception: joint-stock company must not be established by limited liability company solely. Joint-stock company is established by signatories to its articles of association. It should be noted, that its founder does not have to become its shareholder. They can sign the company’s articles of association and not take up any shares in the company.

Even then, the articles can provide for

Joint-stock company is the most formalised of commercial companies, rather dedicated for bigger projects.

As a rule, directors in joint-stock company are appointed by the supervisory board, unless its articles of association provide to the contrary. A director represents the company in all judicial and non-judicial matters. The scope of representation cannot be restricted with a legal effect to third parties.

The supervisory board’s role in jointstock company is remarkably more important than in limited liability company. Its competencies laid down in the Code of Commercial Companies are broad. As a rule, the Supervisory Board continuously supervises company activities within all its branches and fields of operations. In particular, the supervisory board assesses board’s reports on company operations and its financial reports, and annually reports the assessment to the shareholders’ meeting. In order to fulfil its duties, the supervisory board can review all company documents, request reports and explanations from the board and review the company assets. The company articles of association can expand those entitlements.

Similarly to limited liability company, making some decisions in joint-stock company requires a shareholders’ resolution. They decide on approving financial reports and acknowledgement of fulfilment of duties by authorities’ members. However, a remarkable feature of the joint-stock company is limited influence of shareholders (minority shareholders in particular) upon decisions made in the company.

The registration process of joint-stock company is quite time consuming.

The first step to establish joint-stock company is execution of its articles of association which must be made in the form of a notarial deed. Compulsory elements of articles of association are enumerated in the Code of Commercial Companies. They include: the company Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS business name (it can be any but should include words ‘joint-stock company’), seat, scope of operations, amount of share capital and amount paid for the share capital before company registration, regulations on the shares (their number, nominal value, related privileges), names and surnames or business names of its founders. Shares in the company can be taken up immediately after the articles of association have been signed.

Only when all the shares have been taken up, joint-stock company is established.

After the company has been established but before it is registered by the court, its shareholders must pay all the contributions for the entire share capital (save for the situation when at least a part of the contributions is non-cash).

website. A registration fee applies which totals to PLN 600 (PLN 500 – registration with the National Court Registry, PLN 100 – publication in the Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy which is compulsory).

The company is reported to the National Court Registry by the board. It should be stressed that contrary to limited liability company, neither joint-stock company articles of association can be executed nor company can be registered online.

Summing up, running joint-stock company will require fulfilling numerous formalities and is strongly formalised.

It will also involve close cooperation with various specialists. On the other hand, an unquestionable advantage of this form

of a company is easiness to obtain and cumulate great capital and thus running large-scale business and gaining huge profits. When planning a big project which will require people with specialist knowledge and remarkable financial resources, joint-stock company is the form of business worth consideration.

Similarly to limited liability company, making some decisions in joint-stock company requires a partners’ resolution, i.e. a resolution by the shareholders’ meeting.

*Please note, that business name “Jointstock company” and other business names of the companies of polish law were translated only for the comfort of the reader. The rules of acting of these companies might be different from the companies having similar business names in other legal systems. •

Also the board of directors and the supervisory board must be appointed.

Only then can joint-stock company apply to the court to be registered in the Entrepreneurs’ Register of the National Court Registry. Such an application must be filed on official forms available from courts or the Ministry of Justice

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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Do bots dream of electronic customers? The role of automation in contact centre industry Automation is one of the big topics in the contemporary discussion about contact centre industry. It stands right beside “bid data”, “data protection” and “market centralisation” in the current discourse about its future. There are opinions that it will mean a gradual decline of live contact centre consultants who will be replaced by self-service processes and ultimately bots governed by artificial intelligence.

Nowadays, automation in operations support is ubiquitous but maybe due to this we have become so accustomed to it that we simply stopped noticing.

What is frequently omitted is the fact automation in call centres has always been extensive. It started in the ‘60s and although its role was as supportive one it, nonetheless, had significant implications on the industry. The pinnacle of the discourse is not the automation itself but the role it is going to play in future customer service. There are two major ones that can be identified.

one, which popularised the system and made the technology more readily available. Both were more than just technological gimmicks. They influenced the labour market because it meant that switchboard operators were no longer needed, and hence, it signified the advent of automation in the industry.

The third major call centre support breakthrough was the introduction of automatic call diallers in the ‘90s and the The first one is call centre operations technology called Computer Telephone support. It is the automation of processes Integration or CTI. Previously, operators inside the call centre, which helps to reduce the workload of both consultants and mangers and therefore, contribute to increased efficiency.

The second one is the automation working for a direct support of the customer. These are systems such as Interactive Voice Response (IVR) or voice recognition technology and while former is mostly invisible to the customer, they both contribute to the perception quality and efficiency of customer service.

To discuss the difference between the two, one needs to look back to the ‘60s and the introduction of Private Automated Branch Exchange (PABX) and direct dialling that allowed the caller to directly dial long-distance calls without the need of switchboard operator assistance. Further major step in the development of automation, was the introduction of Automatic Call Distribution systems commonly referred to as ACDs. The first one was implemented by Continental Airlines in Marcin Łukasik, 1973. Although technically, it was not Sales Manager, Unicall the first but it was the most significant

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Despite obvious advantages, it comes with its own threats and, although it’s not part of this discussion, it is worth mentioning the most renowned technological authorities, such as Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, speak against the development of AI.

had to manually dial each number using mostly a phone book or a list of names on a desk, wait for the client to respond, talk and then dial another number. Automatic diallers meant that each number could

be select by computer software, which saved time and money. Moreover, it allowed for more thorough quality control as migrating to computer assisted systems enabled for easier statistics tracking and reliable call recording systems. Further development of these were predictive dialling systems, which increased efficiency even further but also came with their drawbacks.

Nowadays, automation in operations support is ubiquitous but maybe due to this we have become so accustomed to it that we simply stopped noticing.

It is in dialling systems, data back-ups, reporting processes, call monitoring and several other aspects of call centre operations, which make it easier for them to perform day-to-day tasks. Therefore, it is not the automation itself but the automation in the self-service area that is the core of the discussion of where the customer service is heading.

Going back to the history again, the first self-service automation was introduced in the ‘70s by bank tellers to verify customer balances. It was the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and to this day it remains the only viable aspect of automation in this area. Unlike call centre operations support, it selfservice systems have several limitations.

The primary ones include reliability and shortcomings of computer scripting that, even in best cases, can make automation troublesome. This is the reason why customers dislike simple forms of automation such as complex IVR menus and would frequently look for the quickest option to reach a live agent.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS One of the techniques used to limit the number of live calls, and thus, the cost of customer service is to use a non-standard digit to connect to a consultant. Instead of “0” it may be “4” or any other digit for instance. The case shows that the companies are looking for a way to cut down their customer service costs within existing infrastructure. The infrastructure that is limited by the state of current AI or rather the lack of it, which precludes extensive use of automation in selfservice, both in telephone and internet channels. We witnessed it recently when Microsoft released its chatbot called Tay built to mimic and converse with Twitter users in real time. Tay could learn from and respond to users’ posts but it quickly became apparent that its creators did not take account of the vile aspects of internet. Impersonality of internet may frequently unleash the worst sides of human personality, which would not surface otherwise.

area of computer technology, automation will play a supportive role and will not contribute to the decline of live-consultant customer service. Even more than this – we witnessed a rather contrary trend.

Contact center business takes advantage of automation and thrives even in the difficult times as it was the case during the financial crisis of 2008. Automation allows

for more flexibility and cost efficiency and therefore, its development is a welcome phenomenon. If another technological breakthrough arrives, however, it will affect all aspects of our lives making the question in the title more than just mere science-fiction. Contact centres will only be of many areas affected by this new technological reality. •

Soon, the comments made by the bot were full of racists, sexist and xenophobic remarks and it had to be closed.

At current level of computer technology, as impressive as it may be, it is still too early to develop a reliable automated customer service. It can and it does already play a supportive role in the most repetitive tasks but I cannot imagine handling a dissatisfied customer case using an automated bot. There simply are too many possibilities, to many reactions and too many types of character to make it reliable. I am nearly certain that such customer would look for the quickest way to connect to a live consultant, which resembles the current state with the IVR self-service.

However, the situation may change with the advance of technology and the development of artificial neural networks.

Their design is based on the behaviour of biological brain axons and uses vast amounts of data collected by companies such as Google. Such systems can learn from user responses and generate new logical connections based on the expedience acquired through interactions with users. It brings us closer to creation of the true AI, which will enable more seamless experience in human-computer interactions. Despite obvious advantages, it comes with its own threats and, although it’s not part of this discussion, it is worth mentioning the most renowned technological authorities, such as Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, speak against the development of AI.

At current level of computer technology, as impressive as it may be, it is still too early to develop a reliable automated customer service.

What is certain however, is that automation was, is and will be present in the contact centre industry. Evidence from the past shows that, unless major technological breakthrough is achieved in this Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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BUSINESS

Positivity − the driving force of your organization?

A simple way to permanently involve your employees Research shows that organisations achieve the best results maintaining a proportion of positive to negative team experience of 3:1. This in turn can be achieved by implementing transparency and appropriate team habits in the company. Why fight for positive attitude?

The Shared Services Centre of a large, global company. The new director is surprised by the atmosphere in the organisation. Managers’ meetings run smoothly, in the atmosphere of creative engagement, and smile is often present on the faces of employees who are willing to share with recent improvements with their colleagues. The surprised director is happy, but has concerns about whether this positive energy translates into results or maybe − on the contrary. Meanwhile, his analysis of the KPIs shows that for many months the centre’s performance has been steadily rising, and productivity is at a record level! This is an example of an organisation in which “positivity” meets high productivity. How to repeat its success?

WHAT IS POSITIVITY?

Positivity is a series of good, pleasant experiences and emotions of employees and managers resulting from what they

participate in, what they encounter in their work on a daily basis. It is natural that in the workplace there are negative factors − they cannot be avoided, especially in demanding, challenging business contexts.

However, it is important to keep the right proportion of what is positive and negative.

Research by a psychologist at North Carolina University, Professor Barbara L. Fredrickson shows1 that only at least 3 times more positive experiences and emotions than negative ones provide a “thriving” approach to life, optimism, better cooperation with others. (See Box).

So if an employee exceeds this “turning point” of positivity, he/she starts behaving in a completely different way.

Why should you focus on the positive and strive to achieve this ratio? First of all, high positivity is not born only in response to success − it is the cause.

Our experience shows that organisations that shift to positivity are able to improve performance much faster and this change is long-lasting. Secondly, positivity opens people to change and makes them more creative. Thirdly, positivity makes that people in the work environment begin to want to do their best. They do not “plot”, do not simulate work, thinking proactively about what they can do to positively affect the atmosphere of work, customer experience and the results of their team.

organisations are too focused on defining and stimulating involvement by influencing employees’ wellbeing, self-esteem, or optimism. For example, on the one hand, adapting to the expectations of employees (special loyalty programs, benefits) or focusing on factors such as bonus schemes, motivational incentives, or creating an attractive workplace.

In this way they want to improve the well-being of the employees. However, very often, employees quickly get used to such benefits. This translates into their satisfaction from the workplace, but does not affect real commitment to work.

And then what influences the involvement of employees? For example, according to Professor Arnold B. Bakker from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam2, the involvement of employees depends on two types of own resources: self-esteem, optimism, positive self-esteem, and work-related resources such as social support, constructive feedback, autonomy, opportunity for development, diversity of tasks. As shown by Prof. Bakker, workrelated resources become particularly important when an employee confronts high demands (e.g. mental, emotional, quantitative). Such requirements are inherent in organisations such as modern business services centers.

POSITIVITY AND COMMITMENT Krzysztof Pimpicki, Partner in 4Results

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Kazimierz Żurek, Manager in 4Results

High positivity directly translates into commitment. However, some

In our opinion work-related resources are undervalued and a key component of Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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Our experience shows that organisations that shift to positivity are able to improve performance much faster and this change is long-lasting.

Box: A formula for permanent engagement

POSITIVITY = 3:1 NEGATIVITY

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

Table 1.

KEY FORCES

FEELINGS

new possibilities, new insights

hope, curiosity, inspirations

uniform approach to all, clear rules

responsibility, honesty, fairness

achievements, influence

satisfaction, release, sense of community

relationship, diversity

respect, reliability, gratitude

focus, personal development

performance, pride, serenity

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Positivity is a series involvement. Concern for the workingenof good, pleasant vironment and elimination of factors experiences and emotions of employees generating frustration are of key and managers resulting importance in providing positivity and... from what they eliminating negativity. participate in, what they encounter in their work TRANSPARENCY AND TEAMWORK on a daily basis.

An example might be Schneider Electric, which for several years has been tryingin a structured way to focus on productivity as well as positivity.

This is discussed, among others, by the Director of EMEAS HR Shared Services at Schneider Electric, Pierre-Yves Several dozen implementation projects Dauvergne, whose organisation has carried out by us over the past 5 years recently won ABLS Diamonds in “Vibrant show that lasting commitment is born Workplace” category: of successive elimination of negative experiences related to the work environ- “On the one hand, we develop performance ment, and the provision of positive management in the first place through experiences that increase the frequency the implementation of various methods of pleasant emotions. The key to this is and tools, such as Lean workshops, 5S the use of the natural power of proper method, SIM meetings, visualisation implementation of transparency and boards or Kaizen sessions. Secondly, however, we increased the energy and teamwork in the organisation. commitment of our employees − teams Transparency is about clarity in the work find time for additional activities such as environment, building a sense of honesty yoga sessions, well-being competitions through the use of “the same rules for (such as “no sugar challenge”) or all,” creating mechanisms by which we integration of employees through the know where we are as a team and where introduction of “team labels” for every we go, based on facts and figures and not team, whether placed on the desk or on opinions. friendly business cards.”

In turn, teamwork focuses on the systematic elimination of unnecessary and frustrating wastage in the work environment, processes, activities and tasks, by consistently working in teams to improve the work environment. In turn, transparency allows to quickly see the positive effects of such works, which immediately translates into an increase in positive experiences. These two forces − transparency and teamwork − release Read more about Positive Productivity here: www. the potential of employees in a steplike positiveproductivity.eu and lasting way.

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emotions in the everyday experiences of employees and managers (see Table 1).

The forces are driven by our structured approach called Positive Productivity, which leads step by step to building a sustainable culture of performance management and continuous improvement (more information at positive productivity.eu).

POSITIVITY AND PRODUCTIVITY

Practice teaches that during the Positive Productivity Program, we can efficiently and rapidly achieve the 3-times proportion of positive to negative experiences. Director Anna Pyzik, who heads the financial SSC at Schneider Electric, told us how this translates into concrete results:

“The Leanergy culture based on the Positive Productivity methodology gets the very best of employees by appreciating their individual effort and teamwork. The feeling that our efforts to improve the working environment have been noticed and appreciated greatly enhances the KEY FORCES OF POSITIVITY These forces activating the formation satisfaction, energy and optimism of of positive emotions translate into our employees − and, in real numbers, apparently translates into efficiency.” employee involvement.

Our experience shows that reinforcing positivity requires a proper sequence of the implementation of 10 key strengths that allow for the emergence or enhancement of the frequency of positive

Creating a culture in which positivity is inscribed permanently into the organisation may seem difficult, but in practice it is feasible. It can bring measurable business results in a relatively short time. •

Fredrickson B.L. (2009), Positivity, Three Rivers Press, Nowy Jork.

Bakker A.B., Albrecht S., Leiter M.P. (2011). Key questions regarding work engagement.

European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 20, 4–28. Google Scholar CrossRef.

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GENESYS – HISTORY OF INNOVATION Interview with Mr Małgorzata Gawrysiak, the Country Sales Director in Genesys

Outsourcing&More: In 2016 Genesys took over Interactive Intelligence (ININ) and by doing that further strengthened its position on the global map of providers of technological solutions for the Call Contact Center industry. What exactly did Genesys gain with this acquisition?

Małgorzata Gawrysiak: Interactive Intelligence products are to a large extent complementary to the solutions offered

by Genesys and as a result we now have one of the most versatile portfolios of technologies and services with regard to customer service and management of business processes available on the market. Our customers can choose from solutions available at any level of sophistication and customization and each of these solutions may be implemented within the on-premise, hybrid or cloud model. We are able to prepare an interesting offer for any company, regardless of its size and area of business activity. I encourage everyone to verify the validity of our declarations in direct contact!

Małgorzata Gawrysiak, Country Sales Director, Genesys

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For many years ININ was regarded as a very innovative company, which was also the case for Genesys. With this merger being a reality, are the product lines of both companies still going to be developed or are there any plans to discontinue certain solutions?

We have taken over Interactive Intelligence to expand our offer, not to eliminate the competition from the market. We are not planning on shutting down any product lines. Quite the opposite, Genesys is planning sizeable

investments both with regard to onpremise solutions and the cloud platform PureCloud.

As of now, we are offering three basic product lines. PureEngage, a solution based on Genesys Enterprise Edition is designed for companies with advanced business and technological needs with regard to customer service and management of business processes.

PureConnect, based on the Genesys BE and CIC systems, is available as a hosted or on-premise model and is addressed for medium enterprises seeking comprehensive Contact Center solutions. Finally, PureCloud is a cloud communication platform based on Amazon Web Services and is available as a subscription service.

If you were to rely on the many years of your experience, what would be your predictions for the years to come?

Which technologies will be developing the quickest and which are going to vanish from the market?

I would say that the future belongs to the companies that have implemented comprehensive systems for intelligent task management, optimization of business processes and dynamic allocation of human resources. Cost reduction and expediting processes are the main factors in increasing the company’s effectiveness and revenues.

Moreover, a solution of this type enables the company to eliminate the biggest problem of modern businesses – stovepipe structure, which means lack of communication and cooperation Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

BUSINESS between various departments in the comprehensive solutions that will multidimensional aspects (customer be available for both big and small contact points, channels and resources). players?

An effective customer service What are the advantages of such system should be fully scalable and a solution? Let’s imagine that we are fulfill the company’s needs regardless able to expedite a single process such of its size or the field of its business as debt collection, sale or complaints activity. Any solutions that do not meet handling by several minutes, hours this prerequisite will disappear from or even a few days. In the scale of the the market as they cannot guarantee entire company, thousands of expedited satisfactory return on investment. processes lead to a giant increase in As a matter of fact, a small innovative effectiveness! The minimum return on company can expand by several hundred investment with the implementation of percent within several years and because iWD is 15 – 25% per process. Now please of that its expectations regarding the express this in money terms and the functionality of the customer service possible profits. Impressive, isn’t it? platform will change completely. A good provider should meet those expectations On the other hand, solutions which instead of advising the customer lack flexibility, possibility of quick to purchase a different solution. development and – above all – quick implementation of changes will A state-of-the-art system does not hinder disappear from the market. System the company’s development – in contrary, flexibility and scalability must be the it supports growth and indicates the most important criterion in the selection direction of changes. Solutions that of a platform. Customer needs change address the needs of either small or very dynamically and IT systems need large companies support only certain to keep up with these changes or even processes and industries, and therefore anticipate them. This is possible only with are completely ineffective in the long run. open and versatile solutions.

„I would say that the future belongs to the companies that have implemented comprehensive systems for intelligent task management, optimization of business processes and dynamic allocation of human resources.”

A product for everyone or only for the chosen ones? For many years now we have seen large Contact Centers existing alongside small customer hotline teams consisting of several dozen employees. They usually use different platforms and solutions.

Is there a place on the market for

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

forms, would there be a common ground or is it rather a list of wishes from one side and a list of possibilities from the other?

There is never a separate list of wishes and expectations! Market leaders such as Genesys are not only addressing customer requests; our responsibility is to foresee market trends and design solutions according to those trends before the actual demand appears.

Innovative solutions anticipate customer expectations. This is the only way to remain the leader of the market race.

Maybe we could end this interview with some expert advice? What aspects should be considered by a company seeking solutions for centers such as Call Contact Center to ensure that the chosen platform will support its current and future operational needs?

The most important features of a valuable solutions are flexibility and functional versatility as well as the possibility to manage business process and tasks within the entire organization.

We should also look at the uniform programming language, which facilitates integration with the front- and back-office systems. However, the most important element in the process of selection is to check the references of a given provider. Does his list of customers include companies from our industry, whose business activity is similar to ours?

It is advised to ask about the possibility of a reference visit so as to see the system in action and talk to people who use it on a daily basis.

In this way we are bound to get more information than in the case of even the most exhaustive sales meeting with the seller’s representatives!

If we were to juxtapose the functions offered by modern Call Contact Center platforms and the customer expectations regarding those plat- Thank You very much. •

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INVESTMENTS

INVESTMENT NEWS Exceptional DNA of Bydgoszcz engineers from iQor (POLAND/BYDGOSZCZ)

WilsonHCG – a global talent solutions leader opened its’ office in Kraków. The company rents nearly 900 sqm in Orange Office Park. The Tenant was represented by Sharman Church.

The dynamic development of the American company iQor in Poland translates into its new investments. Last autumn, in Bydgoszcz, a technical support center was launched – an innovative solution combining a call center with electronic equipment repair service.

Customer Interaction Solutions is a center employing specialists responsible for telephone and email contact with customers. Thanks to the professional linguistic preparation of the staff, iQor guarantees contact and full technical support not only in English, but also in a dozen other languages: French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch or Spanish. Currently CIS operates in 11 European languages for 16 countries.

OPONEO.PL develops business in Bydgoszcz

(POLAND/BYDGOSZCZ)

Andrew Holness, The Prime Minister of Jamaica has recognised the huge potential the global market has for outsourcing.

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OPONEO.PL, the online tire sales leader, is in the process of expanding its headquarters, which, after completion of the construction project, will cover more than 6.7 thousand m² and will be able to accommodate over 450 new employees.

Within the framework of the project, a new open space for the call center is to be created. It will be able to accommodate a total of 280 people, who will deal with complex handling of Polish and foreign orders. Call center for foreign markets, currently serves customers in nine languages; German, Spanish, French, Italian, English, Dutch, Turkish, Czech and Slovak. OPONEO.PL Group sells its products on 13 different European markets; in Poland, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Great Britain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Turkey, The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Belgium.

OPONEO also has a modern logistic center, which covers a total of 25 thousand m² of space. Later this year, the Company intends to increase its warehouse’s space by leasing another 5,5 thousand m² from Panattoni Europe.

The logistics center, thanks to continuous optimization of processes, development of information systems and their integration, as well as the work of nearly 100 employees in the company’s warehouse, is able to send more than 35 thousand tyres a day

to individual customers. Next year, the company is planning the automation of product release processes.

Triuva extends cooperation with Colliers International (POLAND)

Colliers International has extended the management contract with Triuva Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH for another 2 years. Colliers will continue to manage the portfolio of 11 office properties with a total area of approximately 75,000 sqm. All buildings are located in Warsaw.

Colliers International has been managing Triuva’s properties in Warsaw since 2009. At present, the company’s portfolio consists of 11 office buildings: CH 25 (Chmielna 25), Royal Trakt Offices (al. Ujazdowskie 41), G9 formerly Victoria – (Giełdowa 9), Norway House (Lwowska 19), M10 (Miodowa 10), N21 (Nowogrodzka 21), Le Palais (Próżna 7/9), R34 (Rzymowskiego 34), Metron (al.

Niepodległości 69), Feniks (Żelazna 32), U10 (Ujazdowskie 10).

Kraków is the largest regional office market in Poland (POLAND)

According to international real estate advisor Savills, Kraków is the largest regional office market in Poland with modern office stock at 915,800 sq m at the end of 2016. The market is growing rapidly, since 2012 office space has increased by almost 70%. A record high 146,900 sq m was delivered to the market during 2016.

According to Savills, in 2017 modern office stock is expected to significantly exceed million sq m, with another almost 300,000 sq m in the pipeline for 2018 – 2019. The largest project in the city currently under construction are: O3 Business Campus II&III (38,200 sq m)

by Echo Investment, Enterprise Park E&F (26,400 sq m) by Avestus and High 5ive E&D (20,600 sq m) by Skanska.

Central London – European retail market leader for third year in a row

(GREAT BRITAIN/LONDON)

Central London remains the retail market leader in Europe, driven by Brits spending

more on the high street; more store openings taking place than in any other market, and double digit rental growth (48 per cent increase in 2016 year-on-year); according to a new report from global real estate advisors, Colliers International.

Skanska develops a new centre of Łódź

(POLAND/ŁÓDŹ)

Łódź has not witnessed such interest from business for a long time. Today, the city is the favorite to host Expo 2022.

Furthermore, it has the largest urban renewal project in Central Europe.

Skanska, now completing the construction of Nowa Fabryczna, its premiere office building in Nowe Centrum Łodzi, has also presented its newest project – Brama Miasta.

Łódź is currently experiencing its momentum. This is the place where Nowe Centrum Łodzi (NCŁ) is being developed.

The NCŁ investment, covering an area of up to 100 ha, will be a multifunctional project and will include the revitalization of the city centre. Apart from Nowa Fabryczna – the first office building in NCŁ – which is already nearly 100% leased, Skanska will also develop its newest Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

INVESTMENTS

project – Brama Miasta. The investment will be located opposite the biggest underground railway station in Poland – Łódź Fabryczna, which will ultimately become the largest rail hub in this part of Europe. It is just 70 minutes from Warsaw by train, approx. 20 minutes from Łódź Airport and in close proximity to the A1 and A2 highway intersection.

The two office buildings, with leasable office space totaling 40,000 sqm, will be able to accommodate up to 4,000 specialists. Both buildings will have 15 floors above ground. Thanks to its open square, urban cafeterias, publicly available WiFi connection, greenery and street furniture, the investment will become an excellent place to work outdoors, for less formal business meetings as well as the perfect location to host cultural events and initiatives, such as open-air cinema events.

JLL summarizes Q1 2017 on the Retail Market in Poland (POLAND)

For 2017 developers announce delivery to market of over 500,000 sq m of new retail space. This will include Galeria Północna in Warsaw.

The projects completed in the first quarter of 2017 included extensions of Auchan Hetmańska in Białystok (+5,800 sq m) and Galeria Wnętrz City Meble in Gdańsk (+6,000 sq m), as well as the delivery of Leroy Merlin in Bełchatów and Agata Meble in Rzeszów.

Prime shopping centre rents, which refer to shop units of 100 sq m earmarked for Festo grows Service Centre fashion & accessories and located in the in Kaunas best-performing assets in a given city, (LITHUANIA) remain, as always, highest in Warsaw (up to €130 / sq m / month). Levels of rents The global automation solutions giant across major cities range from €45 / sq m / Festo is to expand its Kaunas service centre. month to €60 / sq m / month.

The German company plans to employ Furthermore, in March Pradera announced an additional 300 finance, IT, document the acquisition of 25 retail parks with management, marketing and engineering a total leasable space of 538,000 sq m specialists over the next three years, thus located next to IKEA stores in eight doubling its Kaunas-based team.

European countries. Four assets are located in Poland: in Warsaw (Targówek and Janki), Katowice (Rawa) and Poznań (Franowo).

Skyscrapers will change The acquisition of 17 assets in Germany, the image of Warsaw France and Poland was concluded in April, (POLAND/WARSAW) while a transaction of a further eight retail parks in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the According to Walter Herz experts, Czech Republic and Switzerland is due the emerging office complexes in the to be finalized in August 2017.Prime yields downtown of Warsaw will provide the city for best-in-class shopping centres in Poland with a new skyline and attractive public remain stable at 5.0%, and prime retail space. parks are expected to trade at around 7.0%.

Most of the projects involving the construction of the tallest buildings in Future mind in Warsaw’s Warsaw are under construction. Nearly IO-1 office building all skyscrapers will be located near (POLAND) Rondo Daszyńskiego roundabout, the tallest building will be constructed in the vicinity of the Central Railway Station. Office towers will be built in, among others, Generation Park, Spark, Mennica Legacy, Varso, Spinnaker, Browary Warzawskie, The Warsaw Hub and Skyliner. The complexes, which usually involve several buildings are carried out in stages. According to Walter Herz experts, the skyscrapers will be built mostly in the final stages of the investments.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

Cushman & Wakefield has represented Future Mind in its 440 sq m lease in OI-1 in Warsaw’s Mokotów district. The owner of the office building is IMMOFINANZ. Founded in 2008, Future Mind specializes in building technological products designed chiefly for mobile platforms and the Internet of Things. Its clients include both innovative start-ups and multinational corporations undergoing

digital transformation programmes. Future Mind creates products from A to Z and provides carefully selected teams that complement clients’ competencies.

Throughout over nine years of its operation it has provided services for such brands as E&Y, Virgin Mobile, Poczta Polska, Morizon S.A., Empik and Euro RTV AGD.

CBRE’s Shopping Centre 4.0 Innovations in Shopping Centres report (POLAND)

A shopping centre has long ago ceased to be a place where we go merely to do our shopping. Due to the extensive range of entertainment and cultural offer, the shopping centre became an important hub of social life. All these elements are supposed to create an experience extending beyond just shopping and play a key role in shopping centres development strategy.

CBRE’s Shopping Centre 4.0 Innovations in Shopping Centres report displays which factors will contribute to dynamic changes on the retail market in the near future.

Walter Herz consulting company relocated its headquarters to the office building at 32 Prosta Street in Warsaw.

Energa has extended office lease in Gdańsk’s Olivia Business Centre (POLAND/GDANSK)

Energa Group has extended its 14,800 sq m office lease in Gdańsk’s Olivia Business Centre. The tenant was represented in the transaction by global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.

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INVESTMENTS

INVESTMENT NEWS Business Garden Wrocław awarded Leed-Platinum (POLAND)

Cushman & Wakefield has represented Capgemini in its lease of over 13,000 sq m in Wrocław’s Business Garden building. The owner of the complex is developer Vastint Poland.

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Commercialize Astrum Business Park (POLAND/WARSAW)

Vastint would like Global real estate to inform that services firm three buildings Cushman & comprising the Wakefield has first phase of the been appointed Business Garden as sole letting Wrocław were agent for Astrum awarded LEEDBusiness Park by Platinum. owner IRYDION The applied Sp. z o.o. Astrum architectural Business Park solutions and is an office complex comprising a six-floor building and three implemented four-floor buildings providing over 30,000 sq m. It also offers systems ensure a canteen, a car wash, an ATM, a bicycle parking facility and the high comfort nearly 800 underground and surface parking spaces. The complex of the working is located in Warsaw’s Włochy district, close to the Warsawenvironment Raków train station, near the S2 expressway and the junction and at the same of the city’s key thoroughfares: Jerozolimskie Avenue and time reduce the Łopuszańska Street. It is conveniently located and can be easily energy and water accessed by car and public transport. In June 2015, Astrum consumption.One Business Park received a BREEAM Interim Certificate with of the key criteria of a “Very Good” rating. an environmentallyfriendly High5ive’s energy attracts employers construction is the presence of a large percentage of green areas.

(POLAND/KRAKOW) Consequently, the space between the buildings was planned as an extensive garden with relaxation and work zones, where tenants may rest or practice outdoor sports. A lot of attention was Ocado Technology, an international company that provides also given to ensuring high energy efficiency. This was achieved amongst other things advanced IT services, will relocate to the with effective service systems (hHVAC, lighting) and efficient High5ive office complex developed by Skanska in the very heart façade. Further, to minimize use of water the water-saving fixtures of Kraków. The company has signed a lease agreement for nearly were installed. Finally, traffic is kept to a minimum thanks to easy 2,400 sqm of space. Experts from Colliers International advisory access to public transport and facilities for cyclists. firm advised the company on the lease transaction.

As a consequence of this transaction, specialists at Ocado will be working in one of the top-tier office locations in Poland. High5ive, Cushman & Wakefield symbolizing the five energies of Kraków, combined with a vibrant has been appointed property manager urban space will be the first thing travelers will see when arriving of the Prosta Tower Office building at Kraków Główny station. in Warsaw.

High5ive will ultimately host a community of 7,000 specialists (POLAND/WARSAW) in five buildings marked with symbols of energy: diversity, city, creation, happiness and innovation. Ocado Technology, Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate services firm, has been provider of innovative IT solutions for the world’s largest online appointed property manager of the Prosta Tower office building in supermarket Ocado, will launch its office in March 2018.

Warsaw. A special open-ended real estate fund managed by Credit Suisse Real Estate Investment Management Germany is the owner of the scheme. The property management agreement was signed in December 2016.

Prosta Tower is a 19-floor, Class A office building offering around 6,000 sq m of office space. It is located in the business district of Warsaw, near Daszyńskiego Roundabout. It was delivered in 2011. Prosta Tower features a very striking design. Its reinforced concrete latticework mounted on the glass façade imbues the interiors with a truly unique atmosphere. State-of-the-art technological solutions, access of daylight and tailor-made office fit-outs ensure a user-friendly and comfortable working environment. A five-level underground car park offers 75 parking spaces.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

No. 1 for business in Poland Over 1 million residents within 50 km 1’st place in The World Bank’s raport – Doing Business in Poland 2015 Eurobuild Awards 2015 – Most inwestor – friendly city CEE Shared Services and Outsourcing Awards 2016 – Emerging City of the Year Strong regional economic center, especially in plastic processing, telecommunications and BPO/ITO sector.

Located at the crossroads of national roads and railway routes International airport located within 3,5 km from the city center Moderate cost of work Over 32 000 students in the city and 60 000 in the region Almost 2 500 students and 500 graduates in IT and related fields The shortest time to obtain a building permit in Poland

Bydgoska Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego Sp. z o.o. ul. Unii Lubelskiej 4C, 85-059 Bydgoszcz www.barr.pl www.bydgoszcz.pl

Awards for Bydgoszcz

INVESTMENTS

DUBAI: THE GOLDEN PIECE OF CAKE FOR THE POLISH IT According to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, sales forecast for ICT services in the UAE by 2019 is about to reach nearly $ 262 billion, and spending per capita is expected to exceed 2.000 Dh (2138 PLN) by 2018.

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INVESTMENTS High income and the standard of living, along with increased drive to spend combined with growing consumer confidence, are the contributing factors to the continued growth of the dynamic, profitable and innovative ICT market in the UAE. This growth is strongly supported by the government sector, mainly through a number of ICT projects that involve large purchases of eGovernment services, IT equipment for education, or smart city building solutions. It is predicted that the sectors of the UAE economy that will drive the industry to the greatest extent will be health care, transportation, education, construction, and hydroelectric and power plants.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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INVESTMENTS THE GOLDEN PIECE OF CAKE

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNESCO in early 2016 more than 90% of the UAE citizens declared that they regularly use the Internet. Its use in Dubai, the largest and most developed agglomeration in the country, is likely to be even higher. “The lively multicultural Dubai offers more opportunities than challenges, and this fast-growing society has a clear need for innovation to keep pace with rapid growth,” said Volker Bischoff, GM and senior vice president Robert Bosch Middle East, who sees Dubai as a pioneer and trendsetter for the entire region of the Middle East.

Following the trend And indeed, over the past 15 years, of outsourcing in the Dubai, as one of the seven emirates of world, another zone was created in 2004, the UAE, is responsible for developing Dubai Outsource one of the most advanced IC T Zone (DOZ), sectors in the GCC. Information and which is currently communication technologies are also attracting technology the most important part of Dubai’s companies specializing in 2021 development plan (DubaiPlan 2021). outsourcing services. The DubaiPlan 2021 is based on a 15-year

considered vital to future growth in the sector.

Many already locally incorporated players who have decided to expand their activities in this market are optimistic.

“ICT in the UAE is more advanced than in other countries and it is a result of government projects,” says Andrew Horne, CEO of Xerox in Dubai. It is observed that databases, cloud solutions and cyber security are the main areas of growth, and Dubai has the potential to become the global data center.

What is more, in 2015 Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Dubai prince, oversaw the adoption of the Dubai Innovation Strategy (DIS).

This strategy includes 20 initiatives aimed at strengthening Dubai’s reputation as a center of innovation and entrepreneurship in ICT. Companies offering software and innovative solutions are built around the governmental involvement in ICT initiatives and smart cities projects. Efforts to increase efficiency at governmental level have become an integral part of the growth of the ICT sector.

perspective, which assumes carrying out numerous high-tech investments in partnership with a broad array of leading private sector companies. The emirate and the private sector are successfully Dubai Innovation Strategy, which falls striving to transform Dubai into a center within both DP2021 and the National of technological innovation in the Innovation Strategy for the United Arab Middle East, and the Dubai Smart City Emirates (NIS), will focus on 10 sectors, (DSC) project demonstrates these including renewable energy, transport, education and government services. great ambitions.

The strategy is to be implemented by However, the implementation of the the government in close cooperation Dubai Smart City project may not be with the private sector. This creates easy. The mobile market in the UAE is tremendous growth opportunities currently a duopoly, with two mobile for companies that choose to invest operators–Emirates Telecommunications in the development of their business Corporation (Etisalat) and Emirates in this market.

I ntegrated Telecommunications Company (du)–offering similar services THE BEGINNINGS OF ICT IN THE UNITED at comparable prices that are still ARAB EMIRATES relatively high in the region. Although The history of the ICT industry in the broadband penetration is growing UAE is, in fact, the history of the industry steadily, still a significant proportion in Dubai, which in turn is the history of of the population is connecting to the special economic zones in the UAE. Internet via telephones and other mobile devices. According to Nielsen, across the The targeted development of the Arab Emirates, smartphone penetration modern technology sector in the emirate has reached 78% and is the highest in began in October 1999, when TECOM Investments, a subsidiary of the statethe world. owned Dubai Holding, announced the While the information and communica- creation of a special Dubai Internet City tion technologies sector has grown (DIC) zone, the first zone solely dedicated rapidly in recent years due to the to the development of the ICT industry. undertakings of the government and At the very start of operations in January large enterprises, ensuring long-term 2000, DIC attracted 100 companies, and stable development of the sector since that time, the number of people in Over the past 15 years, Dubai, as requires significant innovation and the business area has grown even more one of the seven creativity locally, among middle and significantly. Following the trend of emirates of the UAE, small size companies. With this in mind, outsourcing in the world, another zone is responsible for both the government and the private was created in 2004, Dubai Outsource developing one of sector are working to encourage local Zone (DOZ), which is currently attracting the most advanced ICT sectors in the entrepreneurs and SMEs to introduce technology companies specializing in GCC. more innovative solutions that are outsourcing services.

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„According to Nielsen, across the Arab Emirates, smartphone penetration has reached 78% and is the highest in the world.”

“IT outsourcing is one of the trends that can be observed in Dubai, and participation in tenders for significant government projects in the public sector is becoming possible also for third parties,” noted Aaron White, general manager for Middle East and Pakistan at Hitachi Data Systems. This is a significant shift, as the public sector initially reluctantly allowed such practices.

In 2005, the Dubai government created another ICT zone, the Dubai Silicon Oasis, which in turn has attracted leading international players such as Fujitsu Japan, Western Digital Technologies, and Dubai 3W Networks, together with a significant number of startups.

OUTSOURCING – HOW IT IS DONE IN THE UAE

Due to competitive pay, growth in the quality of management collages, and improved literacy, the United Arab Emirates has successfully become the Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

INVESTMENTS

second largest market for outsourcing in the MENA region.

The United Arab Emirates was one of the first countries in the region that saw the importance and realized the potential growth of this market in the MENA region. As a result, a number of specialized zones have been set up with BPO infrastructure and a number of rules and regulations have been implemented to organize and monitor the progress of Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

these services. One such special zone is the earlier mentioned Dubai Outsource Zone (DOZ), established in 2004. As one of the first outsourcing zones in the region, it has contributed significantly to this industry’s development not only in the UAE, but also throughout the MENA region. DOZ is one of the places where companies offering business process outsourcing, HR outsourcing, IT outsourcing, and back office functions operate.

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INVESTMENTS According to general rules of the operation of special economic zones in the UAE, DOZ-based companies benefit from a wide range of facilities such as 100% ownership, tax exemptions, as well as a range of additional business support services.

a structure provides full freedom of operation and sales throughout the UAE and facilitates access to GCC countries.

Sponsors for their participation in the enterprise will charge an annual fee that is negotiable and depends on how influential is your sponsor and how big is the project you are Call centers that Due to the tremendous benefits of planning. All arrangements are required are a major part of outsourcing of non-core activities, in the form of a contract, which BPO services are many UAE companies and government regulate the arrangements and the becoming vital to the entities started looking for a trustworthy level of involvement of the sponsor in UAE business sector. partner in this area. For example, the undertaking. the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADEWA) plans to outsource 2. Choose well the zone if you want its entire administration. ADEWA has to run a business and keep 100% already signed an $ 81.74 million contract ownership with Injazat Data Systems, one of the region’s top outsourcing companies. It is Remember that the only way to start a 10-year outsourcing deal to manage all a business in the UAE without entering into a partnership with a local sponsor of ADWEA’s IT requirements. is to locate your business in one of the Call centers that are a major part of Special Economic Zones. This is not BPO services are becoming vital to a practical solution for businesses that the UAE business sector. Contract and have to be close to the consumer, such customer service activities in the banking, as restaurants or retail stores. Companies insurance, telecommunications and wishing to work with the government consumer goods sectors are increasingly also may need to acquire a local sponsor. outsourced to third parties.

It is also important to carefully analyze Employing an Clearly, the current Dubai market trend the conditions of the selected zones. For advisory firm to offer many opportunities to foreign startups and companies that make their register your UAE investors, but there are a few important first steps in the region, special zones business may be the best option. things to consider while planning offer three main benefits: expansion in this market.

• 100% ownership

• Quick start • Duty-free within the zone

HOT TIPS

1. Select the appropriate local sponsor, who is an Emirati 3. Choose a location that optimizes your reach, convenience, and costs There are many business opportunities available in Dubai as well as in other If you are planning to start a business UAE emirates. One of them is to set in a zone, you have to make a selection up a company or branch in a special based on distance, cost and location economic zone guaranteeing 100% criteria for your product, business model, ownership. However, there are situations and business requirements. in which you need to have locally incorporated business and acquire so- You must enter into a tenancy agreement called “Local sponsor”. with the zone manager. Basic facilities such as telecommunications, office The Emirati becomes a sleeping partner space and storage are usually available in owning min. 51% of shares. Such each zone under very varied conditions.

Funding is usually not available for startups, and operating in this market in every aspect requires much more resources compared to operating in other markets. Well-designed cost budget is the basis for planning development in every market, but in Dubai it takes on a completely different dimension.

4. Confirm the requirements and check the possibility of applying for a resident visa A visa that allows entrepreneurs and employees to reside in the United Arab Emirates is often necessary to run a business, and it certainly makes it a lot easier. This is not a complicated process in the case of small businesses, but it is important to prepare well for larger companies in order to minimize the costs and time required to complete the formalities.

5. Hire a consulting company that will guide you through the business setup process Employing an advisor y firm to register your UAE business may be the best option.

Such a company will guide you through the establishment process but may also actually register the company for you. It will also help you acquire the right sponsor, select the zone, organize an auditor or the appropriate legal and accounting firm.

Its expertise in dealing with local government bureaucracy and zone authorities will also help you in planning and determining startup costs.

In most cases, such a company will help you plan your development strategy from the scratch–taking into account all the legal and tax requirements of both the UAE and your home institutions, taking into account potential costs and identifying potential business barriers. •

BUSINESS SAVOIR-VIVRE TIPS • Bargaining is a part of the negotiation process. Remember this before you accept the first price or you are considering pricing a service. Don’t be pushy. Patience is the key. Time in the Arab countries is flexible and flows slower than in Europe. Deadlines are nothing but indicative dates and transactions can really take a while.

• The decisions are taken by several major people at the top of the company. Reaching them can take a lot of time and energy, require patience and determination, and involve a lot more resources than any other market you’ve been to.

Małgorzata PanekKasińska, CEO and Founder MK Business Link

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Anna Parysz, Business Development Manager MK Business Link

• Your business partner prefers to maintain the continuity of relationships and to have contact with the same people during the entire period of cooperation. Therefore, try to keep the same team responsible for the development of this market.

• Do not get upset when business meetings are constantly interrupted. It’s a way of life, not a sign of disrespect.

• Do not underestimate the importance of social gatherings, many business deals are initiated and concluded during such meetings.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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Eastern European Country with a Huge Business Potential While most would agree that Ukraine is still a rather turbulent area, and its economy definitely calls for more stability, there is no doubt that this country, located right in the middle of Europe, is a large emerging market with growing opportunities for expanding businesses. According to the survey, conducted by Forbes Ukraine the top best cities for doing business here are: Odesa, Kharkiv and Lviv (the rating did not cover the city of Kyiv as capital of Ukraine).

One of the key strategies of the city includes fostering technological development, which explains why IT industry is now on the boom here.

Lviv, or as it is often called Lemberg, is located just 50 km outside of Poland, which obviously makes it really close to the EU territorially, but there are cultural and economic bonds as well. One of the key strategies of the city includes fostering technological development, which explains why IT industry is now on the boom here. There about 200 IT companies operating in Lviv with almost 40% of which being foreign companies.

Apart from being the dynamic centre for small and medium businesses (financial sector, tourism, logistics, textile, food processing etc), Lviv hosts one of the biggest tech conferences in Eastern Europe – IT Arena. Launched in 2014 as a local event, IT Arena has grown exponentially in scale. In 2016 it gathered nearly 1800 participants, including developers, entrepreneurs, business Viktoria Topol, analysts, designers and startuppers from Lviv IT Cluster 12 countries and almost every region of

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Lviv hosts one of the biggest tech conferences in Eastern Europe – IT Arena. Launched in 2014 as a local event, IT Arena has grown exponentially in scale.

Ukraine to discuss the latest innovations and tech trends. Representatives of some of the world’s leading companies were included in the conference lineup: IBM, Philips, AlmazCapital, Twitter, Spotify, Uber, Microsoft etc.

This September, the conference will again gather hundreds of the world’s influencers and investors and is predicted to unite more than 2,000 participants from all over the world. Whether you are looking for new business opportunities, are seeking sponsors or have great ideas the world must learn about, this hidden gem of Eastern Europe might be the best place to visit. • Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

INVESTMENTS

Time to explore Romanian cities as business destinations Romania has gained a lot of exposure in the international media since it has become one of the main global outsourcing destinations. The skilled workforce, cheap labor, and high productivity rate are its key drivers for attracting investments.

Approximately 50% of the outsourcing companies (BPO, SSC, ITO and R&D) active in Romania are present in Bucharest.

From year to year, foreign companies expand their presence in multiple cities throughout the country, which only proves the fact that Romania has a favorable and welcoming environment for conducting business. It has advanced rapidly, and it has indeed become a mature location, especially on the IT market. Those who consider investing and are looking for the best business destination, must open up to the ecosystem of Romanian innovative hubs and position themselves as strong partners.

Dell, Microsoft, Oracle, Accenture, CGS, Genpact, Capgemini, and many others.

Besides, Bucharest’s universities sustain the demand for highly skilled employees and provide over 28,000 graduates per year. Investors can find here a large variety of skills, including IT and foreign languages proficiency, but also the highest salaries in Romania.

Bucharest’s office market is expected to exceed 3.2 million sqm and reach a market size similar to Budapest or Prague.

However, the office market also offers companies an excellent opportunity for growth. 2016 seems to have been the best year for the Romanian real estate market, especially Bucharest, where approximately 300,000 sqm of office LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE TOP 5 CITIES spaces were delivered. In the following THAT PROVE ROMANIA’S EXCELLENCE quarters, Bucharest’s office market is WHEN IT COMES TO BUSINESS While some investors are now creating expected to exceed 3.2 million sqm and clusters in other parts of the world, reach a market size similar to Budapest Romania becomes home to some of the or Prague. most powerful investors.

BUCHAREST, THE NO.1 OUTSOURCING DESTINATION

CLUJ-NAPOCA, A HUB FOR INNOVATION AND IT

Bucharest was the natural choice for creating our new European Innovation Hub. Being the capital city and a Tier-1 town, it is the primary choice for overseas investors. Its infrastructure easily facilitates access to other destinations through two international airports– Bucharest is only two hours away from countries such as Poland or Germany.

Another important business location on the Romanian map, Cluj-Napoca, has over 75% of companies established in this region belonging to the outsourcing industry. A sign of just how significant Cluj-Napoca has become, especially when it comes to technology, reflects in the existence of very active clusters, such as iTech Transilvania by Aries Transilvania or Cluj IT Cluster.

Approximately 50% of the outsourcing companies (BPO, SSC, ITO and R&D) active Loredana Niculae, Ceo NNC Services in Romania are present in Bucharest.

Romania Examples of such organizations include

Cluj-Napoca’s universities are the key driver for the city’s development, and the municipality collaborates with the biggest educational institutions, so their

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INVESTMENTS

graduates will successfully integrate on the labor market. Companies such as HP, Emerson, Microsoft, Bosch, and others are present here. What is more, ClujNapoca has the second largest office market in Romania, after Bucharest.

TIMIȘOARA, A STRATEGIC ITO, SSC AND BPO LOCATION

Timișoara was the best Romanian city for conducting business in 2016, according to Forbes, and has experienced a considerable economic growth in recent years due to foreign investments, namely in the IT field.

The city used to be the second largest IT hub in Romania before the accelerated expansion of Cluj. Furthermore, beyond ITO, Timișoara proved its potential for SSC and BPO. There are already some success stories, such as HP, S&T, WIPRO, Oracle, Bosch Communication Centre, Siemens IT Solutions & Services or Continental Automotive, which established their offices here. What is more, in 2016, Timișoara experienced the second largest volume of transactions in the office market after Bucharest (35,795 sqm), according to the real estate company Esop Consulting. Timișoara’s proximity to Western Europe certainly brings significant advantages, as we can also notice in the case of Cluj-Napoca.

from neighboring cities or large ones (Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Brașov, etc.), as well as from other countries (Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia and other European

„We find ourselves in the case where large cities are trying to draw multinational companies, offering them various promises and benefits.” countries). Besides the skilled workforce, investors also prefer Iași due to the cheap labor found here. The strong emphasis on education encourages companies to recruit their employees even before their graduation. Iași hosts companies with businesses mainly in the area of

ITO and SSC. A high number of foreign outsourcing companies have chosen to enter this market, such as Oracle, Accenture, Cegeka, Xerox, Amazon, and others. In 2016, the office market in Iași increased by 20,039 sqm, according to Esop Consulting, which represented the third highest volume of transactions in Romania.

Brașov has built a competitive advantage on several vital elements, such as the high availability of foreign language speakers, especially German, and well trained IT professionals.

COMPANIES ALSO CHOOSE TO OUTSOURCE TO TIER-2 AND TIER-3 CITIES

Smaller cities, such as Bacău, Craiova, Baia Mare or Arad are also steadily evolving. One of the reasons for which organizations also expand to other locations in Romania, besides the capital city, is because they can find a cheaper workforce. For example, the average net income in Bucharest is approximately 720 EUR, while in the rest of the cities it is significantly lower, and varies between 500-580 EUR, in the case of Brașov, Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, and Iași. In other cities, it even goes below 500 EUR.

BRAȘOV, THE COUNTRY’S CENTRAL EMERGING OUTSOURCING LOCATION

Precisely because of its central location, Brașov is now a favorable outsourcing destination and an alternative to Bucharest for companies already active in the capital city. It is one of the best developed Romanian cities regarding IT. Brașov has built a competitive advantage on several vital elements, such as the high availability of foreign language speakers, especially German, and well trained IT professionals. The development of the city is actively sustained through clusters which promote and support innovating industries, for example, Alt Brasov– Innovation and Technology Cluster.

Email marketing and trade fairs, in the top of the list for large IT businesses What are the tactics you use for the lead generation activity?

75%

email marketing

33.33% 58.33%

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

SEO tactics

50%

social media

25%

IAȘI–THE EASTERNMOST CITY OF U.E., EXCELLING IN RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

Iași is a city which also proves its potential as an attractive outsourcing location and a growing IT hub, rapidly catching up with other cities, despite its proximity to the Eastern border. This is not surprising since the city has prestigious university centers, which attract students

content marketing

41.66% 50% 66.6%

paid search & PPC organizing events online advertising fairs and conferences

(Fig. 1, Source: NNC Services)

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INVESTMENTS Among other reasons, enterprises prefer other cities can be due to their location (Timișoara conveniently offers access to Western Europe), or the existence of well-trained employees in certain areas (Cluj or Iași in IT, Brașov in foreign languages). However, the expansion of foreign companies in other Romanian destinations other than Bucharest has Less than a positive impact, which reflects in the decline of local unemployment or the 10 employees increase of the real estate market. Also, employees may even become more open to relocation.

We find ourselves in the case where large cities are trying to draw multinational companies, offering them various promises and benefits. However, soon we will enter a phase in which corporations will frequently extend their presence in smaller cities, maybe even in rural areas, following the trend noticed in other countries. Any of the above destinations are appropriate locations for Romania’s outsourcing market development. Those five, clustered together, suggest that Romania can compete globally for at least a decade.

11-49 employees

50-249 employees

Defining the strategy

of lead generation – an important goal for all companies How important is defining a strategy for lead generation to increase sales in your company?

01

50% | very important

50% | important

0% | indifferent

0% | not important

47.05% | very important

41.17% | important

11.76% | indifferent

0% | not important

58.33% | very important

25% | important

0% | indifferent

16.67% | not important

02

03

(Fig. 2, Source: NNC Services)

BUT HOW DO IT&C COMPANIES GROW AND ATTRACT CLIENTS IN ROMANIA?

In the past couple of months, NNC has been researching tech companies to learn more about stakeholders’ tactics who are essential to the companies’ development. A recently published study provided its own kind of confirmation that, over 70% of the IT&C companies present in Romania integrate lead generation activities in their business development strategies. In fact, those who do not conduct this kind of activities, attract their customers referentially or through networking, auctions or partnerships. Also, email marketing seems to be the preferred method of gaining leads for companies of all sizes, followed by content marketing, SEO tactics, social media, online advertising or organizing events.

As the findings suggest, already over 80% of companies, consider having a lead generation strategy is a top priority, shows the study. These companies also focus on gaining high-quality leads, as well as increasing the number of business opportunities. IT companies have as one of their main goals to reduce the costs of their lead generation efforts.

Most of the companies will be proactive and innovative in their growth – and will be moving their offices to different cities to open their development centers or will expand through mergers and acquisitions.

which work together so that Romanian cities will be seen as attractive business destinations. A raft of policy measures is being identified and debated, all seeking to help the economy to find its way to prosperity. For example, one of the recent actions undertaken by the government is through a program entitled ”Start-up Nation,” which will finance 10,000 new businesses from various sectors, including IT. This is encouraging, and the overall picture of the Romanian market is clear. In the future, we expect that the business industry will increase in size and complexity, making waves in the At the same time, we are witnessing the outsourcing market, and our cities will beginning of the collaboration between certainly become attractive destinations all the main players, private and public, for investors. •

IT companies have as one of their main goals to reduce the costs of their lead generation efforts.

5%

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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Bydgoszcz Real Estate Market Revival Interview with Maciej Wawrzyniak – Sales and Real Estate Management Executive in CDI Konsultanci Budowlani.

Outsourcing&More: Bydgoszcz is more and more frequently an object of interest of many investors, also those representing the sector of modern business services and outsourcing. In CDI Konsultanci Budowlani, you have decided to address the growing needs for office space in Bydgoszcz and are currently working on the project entitled Immobile K3. Could you say something more about that office building?

Maciej Wawrzyniak: Immobile K3 is a five-storey building with a gross leasable area of 8,800 m2. Almost 7,200 m2 of office space is located on the floors from first to fourth. Ground floor rooms with a total area of 1,600 m2 are intended for restaurants and sales and service premises. Two underground floors will accommodate 80 parking spaces. The works are moving forward fast; we are currently working on the ground level.

We plan to commission the building in the first quarter of 2018.

How would you describe the current office space market in Bydgoszcz and how does Immobile K3 fit into it?

Just a few years ago, the office space market in Bydgoszcz was mainly based on small investments, renovations of existing buildings, or build-to-suit (BTS) projects. Since the last year, we have been seeing a considerable local market revival, which is visible through the launch of new projects as well as higher interest among Leaseholders. Investors have noticed the unquestionable advantages of Bydgoszcz, such as the convenient location of the city, the availability of great professionals, and conditions conducive to business development. Immobile K3 will be able to satisfy the most demanding Leaseholders, while its location in the very heart of the city and the building itself will be a source of prestige.

We would not like Immobile K3 to go empty after business hours. Therefore, we plan to provide space for a restaurant, a lunch bar, and a cafe at the ground floor for both people working in our office building and other guests just wanting to have something exquisite to eat.

systems have already become a standard, which we provide in our investment as well. Designing Immobile K3, we tried to combine the aesthetics and uniqueness of the architectural solutions with meeting the most sophisticated needs of Leaseholders. We managed to create spaces with regular shapes, with a convenient column layout, and a floor area of ca. 1,800 m2, which will allow any possible arrangement and preparation of offices. In order to meet the expectations of the employees of our future leaseholders, we have chosen openable windows as well as balconies at some of the floors. Furthermore, the underground car park will include special spaces for those who commute to work by a bicycle, with a safe bicycle parking station, changing room, and showers. Additionally, there is a station of Bydgoski Rower Aglomeracyjny (a bicycle-sharing system in Bydgoszcz) located near the building.

As Immobile SA Group, you implement projects across the entire Poland. Those are various projects, but as far as we know, so far you have been constructing office buildings in Bydgoszcz only – is there a reason for that?

Immobile SA Group conducts its business through subsidiaries at numerous levels – from heavy industry, modular car park manufacture, trade, hotel industry, to property development.

Bydgoszcz is home to our company’s headquarters – this is where we live and work. Moreover, Bydgoszcz represents, not only in our opinion, a very promising market which is developing more and more strongly and whose potential has been previously left unrecognised. Interest from such sectors as BPO or IT is especially noticeable.

2018 will be particularly important for you, as Immobile K3 will be let to leaseholders. Do you already have any further construction plans involving office properties?

Concurrently with Immobile K3, we are working on Platanowy Park located at ul. Leśna in Bydgoszcz – a housing estate that is one-of-a-kind in the region. It is supposed to be the largest housing estate in the city. The first two buildings of Stage 0 were commissioned in 2016. In the second half of 2017, we are going to finish Stage 1 and start the next one immediately.

Leaseholders representing such industries as BPO, shared services centres, or IT appreciate large open spaces and various facilities provided in office buildings. What are you going to offer?

In Platanowy Park, we have also allocated some space for office As today’s office space market is becoming increasingly buildings with service premises at ground levels. We plan more competitive, you have got to seek solutions to distinguish to start working on the first office building within two years the space you are offering. Elevated floors, suspended from now. ceilings, cutting-edge structural cabling, power supply from two independent sources, and intelligent building management Thank you for your time. •

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Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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“Since the last year, we have been seeing a considerable local market revival, which is visible through the launch of new projects as well as higher interest among Leaseholders”

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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INVESTMENTS

How to promote the region? Attend the fair!

Participation of representatives of the cities and regions in various events, fairs and conferences is one of many effective ways of promoting the location as an attractive place to invest.

With this in mind, partners of Invest in Pomerania initiative took part in some of the most important real estate trade fairs – MIPIM, which takes place every year in Cannes, France.

Presenting Invest The idea of creating a stand under the in Pomerania brand brand name Invest in Pomerania was both in Cannes and other important trade a joint promotion of the Pomeranian fairs and conferences Voivodship and the opportunity to makes the region more present the most complete office, reand more recognizable sidential and investment areas available internationally.

offer. That is why representatives of Pomorskie Voivodeship Marshal’s Office and the cities of Gdynia, Gdańsk, Sopot and Pruszcz Gdański participated in them. At the stand there were also representatives of local developers with their both office and residential projects They all promoted the Pomeranian real estate market under Invest in Pomerania brand. The direct coverage from the event was broadcasted

by Rzeczpospolita TV, which conducted inter views with enterprises and representatives of local governments.

Invest in Pomerania Al. Grunwaldzka 472 D 80-309 Gdańsk +48 58 32 33 260 investinpomerania.pl Author: Monika Cirocka.

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During the four days of fairs in the Palais des Festivals there were nearly 2,600 exhibitors from around the world and more than 20,000 visitors, industry representatives, investors and specialists.

Several dozens of B2B meetings took place at Invest in Pomerania stand, some were also organized by Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry in France. Representatives of cities met with leading French travel and hotel companies, capital funds, developers, construction companies and potential investors. Guests of the stand include Immochan company, managing Auchan shopping centers and Belgian developer

Above: Invest in Pomerania stand at MIPIM.

Ghelamco, who won the main prize at the MIPIM Awards 2017 for the Warsaw Spire project. The purpose of the organized meetings was to create a field for cooperation in the real estate and investment sectors.

been designed to emphasize the region’s connection to the sea. The main motive was amber, combined with organic patterns, one of the leading trends of spatial design. The stands lighting and plant arrangements also resemble the Invest in Pomerania’s partners presented, color of amber. among others, plots in prestigious locations in the center of Gdynia, Presenting Invest in Pomerania brand Pomeranian Logistic Center in Gdansk, both in Cannes and other important housing and service areas in Sopot as trade fairs and conferences makes the well as Baltic Investment Zone, more region more and more recognizable than 23 ha of land in Pruszcz Gdański. internationally. The results of particiPartners of Invest in Pomerania Initiative pation in MIPIM 2017 are still to be were offering a total of more than seen but the effects of previous talks 150ha of investment areas. The stand of begun at foreign meetings, including the Pomeranian Voivodeship brought those at the Cannes fair, are already together self-government units and visible in the cities and in the entire local developers representatives. region. Thanks to the talks during the They promoted the largest real estate fairs in the previous years, companies investments in the Tri-City area, where such as ECE, Echo Investment – the many investors decide to locate their owner of the Tryton office building and new projects.

Multi Development, have invested in Tricity. These are the specific investments The exhibition stand of Pomerania and tangible effects of the earlier actions Voivodeship was over 60 m2 big. It has of Invest in Pomerania partners.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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Bydgoszcz – the City of sports, culture and business The dynamic development of the City of Bydgoszcz goes hand in hand with the realisation of revitalisation projects in the City. With the arrival of spring, the City Centre, the Mill Island and the Brda River waterfront fill with tourists and locals who actively spend the time in the urban space. This year, Bydgoszcz became one of the best destination finalists of the Tourism for Tomorrow competition organised by the World Tourism Board. The City was also the 5th on the list of best travel destinations in the “Travelers’ Choice 2017” report published by TripAdvisor travel portal. In case you don’t have any holiday or weekend plans yet, we invite you to see why it is worth to visit the City on the Brda River.

WATER, FILM AND MUSIC

Because of its very strong connection to the River, Bydgoszcz is also referred to as the Polish Amsterdam or the little Venice.

The heart of the City is the Mil Island where, from April to late autumn, a number of cultural events are hosted. This year, between 23rd and 25th June, we will host the jubilee 10th edition of the Set your Heading on Bydgoszcz – the event which attracts boaters from Poland and Europe. At the festival, everyone is going to find something for themselves and choose from a number of concerts (including concerts on the water), cultural events or sport competitions taking place on the Brda River.

Another important event that has been taking place in Bydgoszcz since 2010 is the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography – CAMERIMAGE. This year, on 3rd November, Bydgoszcz will again become the world capital of cinema with exhibitions, concerts, special shows, film premieres, workshops and seminars delivered by the top artists. So far, Bydgoszcz has been visited by such stars as Willem Defoe, Paweł Ederman, Terry Gilliam, Ed Harris, Jeremy Irons, Van Kilmer, David Lynch, John Malkovic or Keanu Reeves.

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Photos: Robrt Sawicki

Bydgoszcz also has a rich offer for music lovers. The Opera Nova opera house and the Pomeranian Philharmonic Hall organise many musical events throughout the year. The most important of these are:

• Bydgoszcz Opera Festival (April 29 – May 14), • Bydgoszcz Music Impressions (June 29 – July 4), • Bydgoszcz Music Festival (September), • Bydgoszcz Jazz Festival (October – November), • “Music at the Sources” Festival (November) • International Paderewski Piano Competition.

SPORT SUMMER IN BYDGOSZCZ

The beginning of summer will bring sport emotions to the City. In June, teams from Spain, Portugal, Serbia and Macedonia will play in Bydgoszcz ty as part of the European Under-21 Football Championship (June 17 – 23). July, on the other hand, is the time when the best European athletes under 23 will compete for medals.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

INVESTMENTS

700 participants. More conference spaces are offered by the Opera Nova Congress centre, “Łuczniczka” Sports and Entertainment Hall (seats for over 6.000 spectators), Artego Arena (approx. 1.500 spectators) and extensive hotel facilities.

The most famous fair event organised since many years in Bydgoszcz is WOD – KAN. Every year, nearly 400 exhibitors present their latest technology and solutions for the water, sewerage and environmental sectors.

Other important events are:

• • • • •

PKO Bydgoszcz Cycling Challe (May 20 – 21), Bydgoszcz Cycling Challenge (May 28), Enea Bydgoszcz Triathlon (July 8 – 9), Bydgoszcz Water (August 15), Poland 2016 Bydgoszcz-Borówno Triathlon (August 19 – 20), • Great Rowing Cup for Brda (September) • Bydgoszcz Half Marathon (October 22).

BUSINESS EVENTS

New projects are also being carried out in the City. Last year between 25th and 27th April, we hosted the 1st International Tool and Processing Industry fair – InnoForm, with more than 230 exhibitors from all over the world. The fair is organised by the Bydgoszcz Industrial Cluster – the largest Polish organisation that associates the representatives of the sector as well as for the logistics, production and storage industry, for the development of which the Agency is also responsible.

Every year, the Bydgoszcz Regional Development Agency organises conferences for the sector of modern business services as part of the “Bydgoszcz open for outsourcing” project. On 25th April, a conference organised as part of BSS Tour was held in the City. In autumn, we will hold an event dedicated to the logistics and storage industries.

Bydgoszcz is also an ideal venue for trade fairs, congresses and conferences. Perfect location, an international airport and good infrastructure allow for the realisation of any type of events in the City. Completed last year, the Bydgoszcz Exhibition Information on business events in Bydgoszcz can be found and Show Centre offers 16.000 m2 of area, including on the website of the Bydgoszcz Regional Development 11.000 m2 of usable exhibition area, 650 parking places and Agency www.barr.pl while a list of cultural and sports events conference halls of the highest standard able to accommodate is available at www.visitbydgoszcz.pl. Visit us in Bydgoszcz! • Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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

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INVESTMENTS

Lublin – important powerhouse leading the way in the Polish experience industry The prominence and success of Lublin, celebrating its 700th anniversary this year, is evidenced by rapid development of the experience industry. What has enabled the city to emerge as a leading business centre of creativity are aspirations, persistence in investing in conference infrastructure, support provided to hospitality industry as well as the city authorities being intentionally focused on culture and events. Lublin, being located on trade routes connecting not only the Western and Eastern Europe but also Scandinavian regions with the Balkans, has always been known as a convenient spot for trade meetings. Additionally, Lublin has always been a melting pot of races and cultures, which has resulted in the citizens being exceptionally creative.

photos: Marcin Tarowski Above: European Capital of Culture 2016.

THE WEALTH OF CULTURE

For several years, Lublin, with 350 thousand inhabitants, has been one of the most culturally vibrant cities in Europe – there are always top Polish events and festivals to look forward to.

As big efforts to position the city’s image as attractive weekend, nostalgic, and, in particular, business tourism centre are made, figures show that the number of international and Polish tourists visiting Wydział Strategii Lublin continues to grow.

i Obsługi Inwestorów Urzędu Miasta Lublin The position of Lublin as a cultural centre Plac Litewski 1, was particularly enhanced in 2016, when 20-080 Lublin the city participated in the competition tel.: +48 81 466 2500 fax: +48 81 466 2501 for the title of the ‘European Capital of e-mail: inwestorzy@ Culture 2016’. Citizens, representatives lublin.eu of cultural organisations and milieus were invest.lublin.eu deeply involved in preparing application

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documents. Tremendous efforts were made to have the city claim this prestigious title. Although Lublin ranked second behind Wrocław, citizens’ involvement as well as development strategy being mapped out resulted in several thousand events, festivals, activities and projects being undertaken and implemented every year by a few dozen cultural organisations, hundreds of dedicated and hard-working activists as well as representatives of cultural milieus and creative industries.

Apart from niche, specific festivals, Lublin is home to a whole range of excellent flagship and world-famous festivals and events throughout the year, most of which are organised in spring and summer. These include, for

instance Student Culture Days in May, unique Culture Night festival in June attracting very large crowds, Magicians’ Carnival in July when the city centre plays host to few days of magic, illusion and wizardry as well as incredible Inne Brzmienia Art’n’Music Festival inviting attendees to explore and enjoy indie music gigs. Summer period is crowned with annual Jagiellonian Fair in August which dates back to the Middle Ages.

At that time, the city centre plays host to few days of food, fresh local produce and a bustling market. Those who are not interested in the large festivals can still gently and easily navigate with smaller events, initiatives, exhibitions, plays, projections and projects organised by cultural centres, galleries, cinemas, and theatres.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

INVESTMENTS BEING OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Lublin is also a perfect spot for experience industry and business tourism. Apart from being a city of highly concentrated festival glory, Lublin also hosts a great number of business events. Given the improving quality of huge range of high spec meeting rooms and conference venues, Lublin caters for a considerable number of commercial events. A significant part of them is organised by Lublin City Hall in order to promote economic growth of the city and showcase industry sectors of key importance to Lublin’s development.

The first point on Lublin events calendar was prestigious ProProgressio Outsourcing Stars Gala organised in January and attended by representatives of the largest BPO companies in Poland.

In March, one of the largest IT conferences in Poland gathering young IT enthusiasts, CheckIT, was organised for the fourth time. In June, Polish – Eastern Conference, PUiG Lub-Invest will be organised.

It will host businessmen from MiddleEastern Europe and representatives of Polish local government bodies – Polish Secretary Seminar. In September, Lublin Economic Subzone will be celebrating its tenth anniversary with jubilee Business Gala at which winners of Economic Award of the Mayor of Lublin will be announced.

Municipal Government of the City of Lublin will also organise international conference, ‘Universities as City Makers’, aimed at networking universities and local government bodies from sixteen Lublin’s twin cities. In October, The City of Lublin and the Gazeta Wyborcza will organise Miasto.to, the largest conference on creativity, in which five years of the Creative project will be re-examined.

In November, Lublin will host scholars and NGOs’ representatives in the area of migration and internationalisation of higher education at international conference, ‘Integrating International Students’. The last major event in 2017 will be held in November – conference on the potential of medical tourism in Lublin.

Apart from these events, Lublin is home to a whole range of other excellent business meetings and events throughout the year, for instance thirty exhibition shows being held at Targi Lublin exhibition centre or actions taken by Lublin Science and Technology Park, cluster organisations as well as several business support institutions, e.g. Lublin Business Club and Polish Confederation Lewiatan.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND VENUES FOR THE EXPERIENCE INDUSTRY

Modern cities are not only homes to office buildings and production plants. What is more important, they serve as incubators Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

of new ideas, new products, modern culture and places where ideas and best practices can be shared. Efforts focused on creating conditions favourable for development of the experience industry as well as on improving access to the city from all around the world, enabled Lublin to offer modern meeting and event infrastructure of the highest quality: stadium, exhibition venues, live houses and auditoria as well as conference centres and hotels of different rating grades.

With three exhibition venues of total floor area of over ten thousand square metres, Targi Lublin meets the demand for large exhibition space in the city. The largest state-of-the-art conference rooms are housed in Lublin Conference Centre providing eleven conference rooms which can be adapted to accommodate 20 – 400 guests.

A one-thousand-seat auditorium and two one-hundred-seat rooms are Below: offered in the Centre for the Meeting of Alter Hotel.

Cultures. Lublin Science and Technology Park has an auditorium catering for up to 420 delegates, and two well-equipped live halls are available for hire in the Centre of Culture in Lublin. Large venues are also offered by universities, e.g. conference centres of Medical University of Lublin and University of Life Sciences.

There are also three state-of-the-art chained-brand cinemas.

Since the number of visitors coming to Lublin for leisure and business is rising, it also opens doors for business opportunities for investors and promises great investment potentials in the hospitality and tourism industry. In the last four years, hotel activity has been increasing with building several dozen new accommodations classified under different categories. These include hostels, apartment houses, little boutique hotels, inns, motels and large chained-brand three-, four-, and fivestar hotels. Lublin hotel sector offers over 1,500 rooms in twenty-nine hotel accommodations. Most of them (73%) are available for rent in three-star hotels.

More demanding visitors can choose from a range of four four-star hotels and one five-star hotel. Rooms offered in chained-brand hotels make up for 27% of all accommodations in the city.

On average, hotels and chained-brand hotels in Lublin accommodate fifty and 98 rooms respectively. The largest hotel in the city has 159 rooms. At the moment, Lublin is a hotbed for hotel construction, with five projects currently in the planning, under construction, or pre-opening phases. The outlook for delivery of five hundred new hotel rooms in the city looks therefore promising.

The Hampton by Hilton hotel and its

200 rooms as well as two facilities by Ibis are currently under construction with the works to be complete in 2018.

Visitors staying in the hotels in Lublin can also benefit from several hundred pubs, bistros and restaurants located in the heart of the city – in Śródmieście and the Old Town in particular. •

Above: The view from the sky.

In October, The City of Lublin and the Gazeta Wyborcza will organise Miasto.to, the largest conference on creativity, in which five years of the Creative project will be re-examined.

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INVESTMENTS

Kielce ExpoCity – The city of exhibitions Getting off the Warsaw-Cracow bypass, one of the main arteries of Poland, you are welcomed by Kielce – city of almost 200,000 people, offering you loads of ideas on how to interestingly spend your precious time. Friendly and open for those who have exceptional ideas and are looking for a place for them to grow.

CHOOSE KIELCE!

First things first – Targi Kielce (Kielce Trade Fairs). The second exhibition centre in Central and Eastern Europe, where the rhythm of passion connecting with business is strongly visible. Close behind Targi Kielce, Kielce Technology Park and Energy Science Center are tempting with their multiple attractions. Moving on, the heart of the city is getting closer.

City centre also shares an interesting offer for spending time between meetings – Kielce Cultural Center, Castle Hill with Institute of Design, museums, theatres, galleries, centres for cultural promotion.

The internet platform www.kielceexpocity.pl that is fully dedicated to KIELCE ExpoCity and consists of articles and information about upcoming events in Kielce was launched and is up and running.

The initiators of the KIELCE ExpoCity campaign, Kielce City Hall and Targi Kielce have decided to create a brand that will enable business and event tourists to easily find their destination and to see a potential for meetings. City’s institutions responsible for organising business, cultural and scientific events were involved in conducting this image campaign. The internet platform www. kielceexpocity.pl that is fully dedicated to KIELCE ExpoCity and consists of articles and information about upcoming events in Kielce was launched and is up and running. Under the crown of various figures one idea stands – KIELCE ExpoCity.

KIELCE EXPOCITY BRAND – CITY DEVELOPMENT CHANCE

Assistance Centre of the City Hall Several hundred exhibitions, trade fairs, of Kielce: performances, vernissages each year, Strycharska 6 St., involve over a million participants, both 25-659 Kielce from country and world. Our city, due p: +48 41 36 76 571, to the presence of such companies as 41 36 76 557 Targi Kielce, stands out from other regions. coi@um.kielce.pl Combined forces of the main institutions www.invest.kielce pl/en responsible for cultural and business life www.mapa.invest. can change the image of the city. Synergy kielce.pl/en – a good motto for Kielce.

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Region of Eastern Poland still represents In the most advanced exhibition pavilion an undiscovered land for the modern in Poland with the area of ​​5,355 sq. m., business services sector, while the city congresses and events for 4500 people of Kielce is increasingly considered as are possible to organise. In August 2013, an alternative location for companies new Congress Centre for more than of BSS sector in Poland. Growing 1,000 people was opened. Among the number of events’ participants that are exhibition organisers from Central and going to spend their money in local Eastern Europe, Kielce Fair Centre keeps hotels, restaurants, pubs and shops the second position in terms of a number is being a good investment in the of exhibitors and leased space, ahead of city development.

HUNGEXPO Budapest, Brno Trade Fairs or Kiev International Fairs.

TARGI KIELCE – ONE OF TWO LEADERS ON EXHIBITION & CONGRESS MARKET IN POLAND

City of Kielce stands out from other regions in Poland mainly through the activity of Targi Kielce. Expanding number of the exhibition events in the city and their growing importance on the market is visible. From an economic point of view, the influence of Targi Kielce on the development of the city is of great importance.

There are more than 70 events in Targi Kielce calendar–fairs, exhibitions and 700 conferences, i. a.: PLASTPOL – the most internationalised fairs in Poland, MSPO – internationally recognised, third (after London and Paris) industry fairs in Europe; AUTOSTRADA–POLSKA – International Fair of Road Construction Industry – the only such fairs in Europe; SACROEXPO – the biggest religious fairs in Europe and AGROTECH – the most popular agricultural fairs. Targi Kielce covers 90,000 sq. m. of exhibition area, including 36,000 sq. m. in 7 exhibition pavilions of modern infrastructure.

Targi Kielce is yearly visited by more than 221,000 visitors from nearly 60 countries, 7,000 companies and shares 215,000 sq. m. of rented exhibition space.

MICE & MEETINGS’ INDUSTRY IN KIELCE

There is a complete network of business links created around Targi Kielce, that forms a specific trade fair and congress ecosystem, which originated the Kielce Trade Fair Cluster. Members of the Cluster are hoteliers, restaurateurs, transport companies, event organisers, stand building companies, tourists, cultural institutions, marketing agencies, etc.

The exhibition industry was also chosen as one of the horizontal specializations of the Świętokrzyskie voivodship.

Targi Kielce offer is not limited to business exhibition meetings only. It also provides the possibility of arranging large conferences and congresses as well as intimate business meetings, e.g.: in the exceptionally arranged 57-meter viewing tower. In this regard, Kielce shares a great prospects in the MICE industry (meetingincentive-conferences-exhibitions).

Due to the numerous business events organised in the city and the increasing number of business guests, the fairrelated services sector in Kielce is growing, as well as the number of hotel facilities.

Currently there is 25 hotels running in the city and more is planned to open.

Among the emergent ones, there is Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

INVESTMENTS

a five-star Odyssey, that was included in the top 20 hotels list recommended by National Geographic in 2016. Out of the rest of the hotels, there is the Best Western Grand Hotel with its large conference facilities, located in the city center and the Binkowski Hotel near the ski slope, that are worth mentioning.

Slovakia–England (19.06.2017) and Poland–England (22.06.2017). It creates another great opportunity for international guests to come to Kielce.

Our city is well prepared for this big multinational event in terms of both– infrastructure and promotion. Local sport clubs involved in games at the highest levels of competition, such as VIVE Tauron Kielce, Korona Kielce and CULTURAL AND SPORT EVENTS Effector attract important events and TO CREATE CITY PRESTIGE Excellent sports facilities, hotel, wellness business environment related to the and gastronomy infrastructure as well professional sport. as the landscape values ​​have resulted in selecting Kielce as a host city of the Undoubtedly, another significant event UEFA European Youth Championship organized in Targi Kielce, that might not U21 Poland 2017. We will be seeing be a strictly business event, but definitely three football games at Kolporter Arena is worth recommending, is a festival in Kielce: Sweden–England (16.06.2017), ‘Memorial to Miles’– Music Letters to Miles Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

Region of Eastern Poland still represents an undiscovered land for the modern business services sector, while the city of Kielce is increasingly considered as an alternative location for companies of BSS sector in Poland.

Davis – Targi Kielce Jazz Festival. It is one of the most important international jazz events on the artistic map of Poland.

During the festival both traditional jazz and its various trends and variations that have appeared in this music over recent years are being introduced to the audience. The concerts are attended by giants of world and Polish jazz, but festival also gives the opportunity to present local music environment.

Targi Kielce Jazz Festival is one of the unique proposals that City of Kielce offers to tourists, including (or especially) the business ones. •

Expanding number of the exhibition events in the city and their growing importance on the market is visible.

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INVESTMENTS

Opole – Green Light for Business The city of Opole offers a particularly friendly environment for conducting and developing businesses. This is confirmed by it occupying top positions in numerous Polish and world rankings. In the city, there is a high awareness of business’ needs, regardless of the industry, and therefore city authorities put much emphasis on support with regard to each key business aspect. This is one of the several stimuli for Opole being the organiser of numerous prestigious business-related events and a great supporter of initiators of such undertakings.

The events are becoming more prominent in the calendar of business events in Poland.

engineers), owners of processing companies located in the region, farmers, logistic, marketing and technological service providers, as well as all those who are looking for inspiration to undertake new challenges and look for daring solutions.

This is because the Organisers’ objective is to integrate This is an incredible distinction for Opole which offers representatives of agricultural and food industries at every a particularly friendly environment for conducting and stage of production process. developing businesses. The unique opportunities which underlie the success of numerous companies operating This year conferences and workshops were accompanied by within the city are the result of several key factors. They discussions about smart industry 4.0. include: excellent infrastructure, highly educated inhabitants, a cohesive and attractive system of financial incentives for OTHER EVENTS CO-ORGANISED BY THE CITY OF OPOLE new investments, intense and close cooperation between OR IN WHICH IT ACTIVELY PARTICIPATES Opole universities and businesses. There is also another, very important feature: individual and comprehensive support for investment processes which is provided by the Investor Assistance Office at the Opole Municipal Office.

An example of Opole’s potential being noticed is, for instance, fDiMagazine (which belongs to Financial Times) labelling Opole as one of the cities with the best strategy for attracting foreign direct investments.

EXAMPLES OF EVENTS ORGANISED BY THE CITY OF OPOLE: GREEN LIGHT FOR BSS – OPOLE

Urząd Miasta Opola Biuro Obsługi Inwestorów tel: 77 54 11 379 tel/fax: 77 45 11 861 gospodarka@ um.opole.pl www.investinopole.pl

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In September 2017, the fifth conference devoted to development prospects for the business services sector is going to take place. Its objective is to attract companies from the BPO/ ITO and development industry which will provide office space to outsourcing companies. The event is aimed at showing the city’s potential in light of the innovative and flexible approach CEE SHARED SERVICES AND OUTSOURCING AWARDS 2017 of the local government and Opole universities to cooperation During the fifth European Services and Outsourcing Awards with business representatives. awards ceremony in Central and Eastern Europe which took place on 2 February 2017 in Warsaw, 25 greatest companies have been distinguished and the City of Opole won the “CEE FESTIVAL CONFERENCE AS A PART OF THE NATIONAL Shared Services and Outsourcing Award” in the “Emerging FESTIVAL OF POLISH SONG (NFPS) The conference is organised for representatives of the world City of the year – Poland” category. The award proved that of business and science during the NFPS. The event involves we are becoming the leader on the Polish map of shared the inviting guests who are national business leaders in business services! key industries for Opole, such as shared services or the food industry. Opole’s investment potential is presented during the ECONOMIC PROMOTION OF OPOLE DURING conference. The event attracts more and more people every THE ABSL CONFERENCE year, which is a measurable response to situation on the Opole The ABSL Conference is the most important meeting of the investment market. business services sector in Europe as well as a networking platform enabling exchange of knowledge addressed to several 6. NATIONAL FOOD INDUSTRY CONGRESS – EXHIBITION AND hundreds of high-level managers representing organisations CONGRESS CENTRE IN OPOLE from the Fortune 500 list and leading companies in technology The Congress was mainly dedicated to all managers of the and business services sectors. Members of the association largest processing companies (including factory directors, represent the industry with the highest employment rate in directors managing the production process, production Poland and the greatest year on year growth.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

INVESTMENTS

7TH ASPIRE ANNUAL CONFERENCE “THE DRAGON WAKES”

COOPERATION BUSINESS MIXER

The conference is held every year in Kraków. The topic of The event is addressed to entrepreneurs and institutions from the event is connected with outsourcing, business services the business environment which operate in our Province. and IT sectors, challenges and opportunities offered by the The event’s objective is to meet with and integrate the business subject industry. Last year the City of Opole was invited to the environment in our region. conference on behalf of Capita company.

The Cooperation Business Mixer programme is going HANNOVER MESSE 2017 to comprise two parts: Hannover Messe 2017 fair is the largest and the most important event of that kind for the industry sector. The fair is visited Networking/Mixer, which consists in active involvement of by over 200,000 visitors, including 70,000 foreigners. Over representatives of companies and institutions during several 5,000 exhibitors from several dozen countries present their 20-minute sessions, during which they will be able to present offers during the fair. their operations, products or services on several occasions.

4. AUTOMOTIVE CEE DAY 2017

PIAST CODE 2017 – OPOLE PROGRAMMING HACKATHON

The Automotive CEE Day commercial meeting is one of the most important B2B meetings of the automotive industry in Central and Eastern Europe, which has recorded a significant growth in Opole over the course of several past years. The twoday event took place at the Exhibition and Congress Centre, which allowed guests to enjoy excellent conditions and the ability to participate in the event. The main advantage of these meetings which was appreciated by participants of previous editions is the unique interactive platform for arranging B2B meetings between interested companies. This allows participants to independently shape their meetings schedule by precisely selecting partners for their conversations.

The event is a 24-hour programming marathon addressed to all programming enthusiasts as well as those who have a business idea. The hackathon is going to take place on 9 June 2017 at the Exhibition and Congress Centre in Opole. Teams composed of 3–4 people can participate in the marathon.

EXPO REAL MUNICH

The ITB Berlin fair is an incredibly important event for industry representatives and an attraction for thousands of visitors.

It involves presentations of 187 countries and an overview of all branches of tourism market.

Expo Real Fair is the most prestigious event for the real estate industry in Europe gathering all key industry representatives every year. The last year’s edition attracted 1,700 exhibitors, whose stands were visited by almost 40,000 representatives from around the world. The fair uses a strict registration system and it is intended solely for industry specialists. It is an excellent location for presenting your investment lands and establishing new business contacts. During the fair Opole wants to promote areas such as the “Plebiscytowa” investment area intended for a business centre.

BUSINESS GALA

ITB BERLIN

Opole at ITB Berlin tourism fair. We are presenting our broad tourism and cultural offer addressed to tourists who want to visit Opole and its neighbourhood. The theme of promotional activities regarding the capital of the region is Opole’s 800th anniversary.

HR AT BUSINESS AND IT SERVICE CENTRES

HR at business and IT service centres is the first such event in Poland. It is addressed to HR managers and key HR specialists in the industry. The goal of organisation of this nationwide conference is expanding knowledge, exchanging experience and integration of the circle of people connected with human resources management in the most dynamically developing economic sector at the time – SSC/BPO/ITO.

The Gala is organised by “Silesia” Chamber of Commerce.

The Gala is an economic and cultural event which is aimed at CONFERENCE FACILITIES establishing business relations and it is a forum for exchange EXHIBITION AND CONGRESS CENTRE IN OPOLE of thoughts, as well as a place for promotion of products and services. Its prestige, diversity and participation of reputable guests are the reason for the Business Gala finding its permanent spot in the economic events calendar in Opole and Silesia Province.

POLISH AND CHINESE CONFERENCE “ONE BELT, ONE ROAD”

On 25 April 2017, the Exhibition and Congress Centre in Opole is holding a conference which is a next step in the pursuit of the idea of building a close relationship with partners from China in the scope of joint scientific research as well as economic and local government undertakings. The event is a chance to meet representatives of science and business, local governments and members of the government of the Republic of Poland together with their partners from China to exchange opinions about the most important ongoing and future matters regarding the relationship between our countries. Numerous experts and specialists from the country and abroad who have been occupying with Polish and Chinese issues and entrepreneurs considering investing in the Chinese market are going to participate in the conference. The event is a continuation of the 1st International Symposium called “One Belt, One Road: Policy, Economy and Technology”. It was the first international symposium in Poland devoted to the New Silk Road.

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INVESTMENTS It is a modern, multifunctional facility equipped to host various events. The functional exhibition and conference area with mobile, soundproof walls and a rich infrastructure within the centre will meet the expectations of organisers of: fairs, congresses, conferences, trainings, exhibitions, concerts, fashion events and sport events.

The Centre has the following facilities at its disposal: an exhibition hall with a lounge, a cloakroom, an entresol, warehouse and gastronomic facilities, latest multimedia solutions, Wi-Fi, a system of mobile, soundproof walls which can be arranged in any way to shape indoor areas.

Guests can use a car park comprising 300 parking spaces for cars and a place for coaches or delivery vans. External areas with the area of 2,000 m2 can be used to organise outdoor events.

An example of Opole’s potential being noticed is, for instance, fDiMagazine (which belongs to Financial Times) labelling Opole as one of the cities with the best strategy for attracting foreign direct investments.

OPOLE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARK

Urząd Miasta Opola Biuro Obsługi Inwestorów tel: 77 54 11 379 tel/fax: 77 45 11 861 gospodarka@ um.opole.pl www.investinopole.pl

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Park Naukowo-Technologiczny w Opolu Sp. z o.o. is a business environment institution, i.e. a non-profit entity which provides extensive support with regard to conducting economic activity.

The company was established by way of a memorandum of association of 8 November 2012 by the President of the City of Opole. Opole municipal commune is the company’s shareholder holding 100% shares. The Opole Science and Technology Park is a place for collaboration between the worlds of science and business, and it creates an actual possibility to search for and implement new technological solutions bordering on both these worlds. It also creates favourable conditions for economic and scientific development of the city of Opole and the entire region by supporting already existing and newly created initiatives. The company is a platform for collaboration between business and scientific environments and it indirectly creates new workplaces for young people who have graduated from Opole universities. The creation of the Park allows proinnovative companies from Opole to gain access to specialised research laboratories, advanced ICT environment, high standard office space and any other infrastructure and services required for conducting economic activity to the benefit of local communities within the city and the region. •

Above: Maciej Wujec, Deputy Mayor of Opole City receives award for “Emerging City of the year – Poland”, during CEE Shared Services and Outsourcing Awards 2017.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

INVESTMENTS

Outstanding events and conference facilities in Poznań More than 21,000 people took part in the three largest conferences organised in Poznań last year. These three events were only a part of all business events organised in Poznań in 2016. There were 5,200 events during the whole year.

Organisation of international business events is one of the priorities set out by the City of Poznań, for many years associated with fairs and innovative business.

Poznań has as much as 350 facilities of a different type that can be adjusted to the needs of business meetings.

As far as the Poznań International Fair is concerned, it is necessary to present an exceptional place of MTP, which is the Earth Hall. It is an absolute pride of Poznań and a sensation not only on the national scale. A hall with outstanding acoustics, in which concerts and the most important conference events are organised, it can accommodate 2,000 people and combined with the neighbouring pavilions makes it possible to organise events even for 20,000 people. Its potential is completed with modern multimedia equipment. It is worth pointing out that in 2016 the first in the history of Poland session of the National Assembly outside Warsaw took place in the Earth Hall. That event reflects the importance and capabilities of the facility.

In the Earth Hall in 2014 ABSL conference also hosted the US Secretary of State at the time of Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright.

Presentation of these three events and the Earth Hall aimed to show the potential of the City of Poznań as a perfect place to organise various kinds of business events.

Above: Concordia Design

Poznań International Fair is one of the most recognisable places in Poznań. It is a place with history and tradition where since almost 100 years various trade fairs take place.

Poznań International Fair (MTP) is also the largest conference organisation area in Poland, called Poznań Congress Center.

Investor Relations Department City of Poznań 17 Kolegiacki square 61-841 Poznań p: +48 61 878 54 28, inwestor@um.poznan.pl www.poznan.pl

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Thanks to modern infrastructure, MTP managed to organise, among others, 28th European Conference on Operational Research in which 2,500 people took part. Another large event is the 24th World Congress of Political Science in which 2,600 people participated. The last, and at the same time the largest event was the 104th FDI Annual World Dental Congress for which 16,000 specialists arrived. Therefore, also thanks to this event last year Poznań was visited by people from more than 152 countries.

What else creates that image? Certainly the expanded base of venues where such events and business conferences can take place, reliable hotel infrastructure, many years of experience, as well as assistance of the Poznań Convention Bureau. It is the first contact for organisers of any kind of events. Poznań Convention Bureau is subject to Poznań Tourism Organisation and operates as a non–profit organisation. Its main task is the mediation in contacts with local units, among others in selection of the best place to organise the event. There is a lot to choose from, since Poznań has as much as 350 facilities of a different type that can be adjusted to the needs of business meetings.

Starting from the already mentioned Poznań Congress Centre, through representative halls of the Zamek Culture Centre (the Emperor’s Castle in Poznań) to the conference facilities of the INEA Stadion and Aquapark Malta Thermal Baths (Termy Maltańskie) – both intimate and large international event can be organised in those places.

In Poznań, places such as the awarded prestigious MP Power of Concordia Design, a 1,000-square-meter convention center, can be used to host meetings. In the revitalized Old Printing House, Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

INVESTMENTS where Concordia Design is located, there is also an incubator for creative companies and a restaurant with conference facilities.

Another interesting example of the revitalization of the historic building is the conference center located in the tenement house at Młyńska 12. In the interior of the renovated building located in the prestigious part of Poznan there is also an exclusive office space available. A positive trend, which is part of the city’s efforts to organize international business events, is the creation of new hotels with a large number of beds and modern conference facilities.

All the aforementioned information indicate that Poznań can run to the conference capital of Poland. If you add to that 57% increase of interest in business events in Poznań as compared to 2015 it’s clear that the outlook for the City of Poznań is excellent. •

Left: Concordia Design.

Above: Earth Hall.

Below: East Hall.

Photos: Maciej Kulesza

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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INVESTMENTS

Szczecin – the conscious city Szczecin is a city open to learning, entrepreneurship and investors. One invests here in research-and-development centres, IT infrastructure and innovative solutions. Various circles are also being engaged to engage in discussions on, among other things, how to efficiently pursue city’s smart strategy.

In Szczecin, nearly 43% of foreign capital is of German origin. Strategically important here are location and investment potential.

The big interest from Scandinavians in Szczecin and the region became an impetus for the City to create an international platform for Polish-Scandinavian cooperation. The Scandinavian Days meetings, held for four years, have become a solid point in the city’s calendar of events and have gained the status of a unique event across the whole country. During several days of interesting meetings and events which took place at the turn of April, the Scandinavian Days participants had the perfect opportunity to exchange experiences, share ideas and get to know their neighbours in the Baltic Sea area. The focal point of the event was a series of meetings devoted to business, economic, and scientific affairs. Each of the previous editions of The Scandinavian Days has touched on a different important topic in the chosen field of economic or social life.

Urząd Miasta Szczecin Plac Armii Krajowej 1 70-456 Szczecin P: (+48 91) 4351164 fax (+48 91) 4351165 www.invest.szczecin.eu

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institutions and business-environment institutions. Its perfect location, young and entrepreneurial residents, high level of foreign-language skills, and attractive real-estate market, make Szczecin very interesting place for investors from Scandinavia.

At present, in the city itself and its immediate vicinity, more than one hundred entities are operating whose capital comes from Scandinavia. The BPO sector is represented by companies such as BLStream, Dansk Supermarked, DGS Business Services, Tieto Poland, Coloplast Business Centre, Macrobond Financial Polska and NCDC.

The success of the Scandinavian Days and its growing popularity among business representatives, especially from German investors, led to the city’s decision to create a similar event with partners from across the western border. At the end of The slogan of this year’s edition of Scandinavian Days was last year in Szczecin, the first edition of the Polish-German “The Energy of Smart Cities”. During the accompanying business Cooperation Fair was held, which is a prelude to this year’s conference, specialists from Poland and Scandinavia discussed Polish-German Cooperation Days, which will take place in the issues related to smart city management, business cooperation autumn. with universities, intelligent urban transport, and the creation of public spaces. A complementary part of the conference The event is primarily aimed at promoting cross-border business was the Scandinavian Business Mix, a cooperation fair aimed cooperation, organising meetings, setting up long-term at entrepreneurs who are planning new investments, looking contacts and exchanging good practices between Polish and for business partners, or needing support from business German companies. In the meetings, Polish and German experts Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

INVESTMENTS will also participate who will present a number of solutions dedicated to both foreign investors and local companies.

The Polish-German Cooperation Days to be organised will also include speeches and lectures by representatives of local government and institutions acting for the support and promotion of the region, as well as foreign speakers. In Szczecin, nearly 43% of foreign capital is of German origin. Strategically important here are location and investment potential. The most well-known BPO companies are Arvato Polska, BrightOne, Consileon, Diebold Nixdorf, and Metro Services.

THE POTENTIAL OF SZCZECIN

Geographical location: • Berlin – 127 km • Copenhagen – 281 km • Baltic Sea – 100 km Excellent domestic and international connections:

For years Szczecin has been recognised as an actively developing At present, in the centre of BPO and modern technologies. Specialised, advanced, city itself and its software is developed here, often within projects for well- immediate vicinity, more than one known world brands: insulin injectors, simulators for Leopard hundred entities tanks, spherical tents used in large movie productions, advanced are operating whose solutions for the professional film and music markets, and capital comes from Emb3D technology, which allows you to place virtual reality Scandinavia. in real locations. Research-and-development activities are being carried out by a number of companies involved in the IT, medical and chemical industries, such as READ-GENE, DGS Poland, Avid Technology, Aply, Teonite, and Red Sky. R&D centres, including the ICT cluster in Western Pomerania and the “Green Chemistry” cluster, deal with the implementation and support of innovative activities.

In search of solutions facilitating the daily functioning and development of the city, Szczecin is successfully implementing other innovative ventures:

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Situated in the picturesque flood waters of the Oder and surrounded by landscape parks, Szczecin is a great place to relax.

For tourists are waiting here both monuments and buildings recognised as the world’s best architecture – The Szczecin Philharmonic, which has received numerous awards, including the European Union award in contemporary architecture – the Mies van der Rohe Award 2015 – and also the Breakthrough Dialogue Centre of the National Museum in Szczecin, which earned the World Building of the Year 2016 title at the World Architecture Festival. From 5-8 August, Szczecin will host the next edition of The Tall Ships Races 2017. The unique sailing atmosphere, the world’s biggest sailing ships, a diverse and attractive programme of events every time attracts around 2 million tourists to the event, which is a great opportunity to promote Szczecin and to spend free time. • Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

S3

S6

The S3 Expressway, connecting the north and south of Europe

The S6 expressway – under construction – the main artery of the coast

The A6 motorway A6

Ferry connection to Sweden

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Intelligent traffic lights Eco transport Intelligent lighting Monitoring and metering Passenger Information Dynamic System Telematics systems in public transport City cards City web portals City apps Smart Power grid Intelligent water network Photovoltaic farms System heating & cogeneration

In adopting such development priorities as new technologies and industry, the quality of life and clean environment, as well as a strong scientific centre and metropolitan area, the city is aiming to create a place friendly to universities, business, and, above all, to its residents. In February, a debate took place within round-table meetings of the second edition of the nationwide programme “The Conscious City” entitled “Szczecin. The City of the New Generation”. The meeting was an opportunity to summarise the accomplishments and plans for the implementation of smart cities.

Airport

A well-developed public-transport network

An extensive support and service programme for entrepreneurs and investors More than 400 thousand residents and approx.

700 thousand in the Metropolitan Area of Szczecin

The big interest from Scandinavians in Szczecin and the region became an impetus for the City to create an international platform for PolishScandinavian cooperation.

Over 77% of the population of working or pre-working age

High quality of education – the 13th High School the best in Poland

A strong academic centre – 5 public and 14 nonpublic higher-education institutions Average gross monthly remuneration in the corporate sector – PLN 4623.95

Unemployment rate – 4.7%

The value of foreign capital of enterprises – PLN 818.7 million

Office-space market – 160 thousand m2, approx.

40 thousand m2 under construction

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INVESTMENTS

Łódź – the Centre of Events Location in the middle of Poland, infrastructure that ensures an easy access to all large business centres in Poland and Europe and a broad offer of conference and exhibition space make Łódź a remarkably attractive place for business meetings.

Undoubtedly one of the most attractive and unique conference faicilities in Poland is the “EC1 Łódź – the City of Culture” complex, which constitutes an important part of the New Centre of Łódź.

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

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Taking advantage of its post-industrial assets, Łódź surprises us with bold revitalization and creative use of its unique architecture. Today historical factory buildings are combined to create modern complexes that serve, among others, as extraordinary conference facilities.

with professional technical resources.

The Machine Hall on EC1 premises is its largest and also the most impressive room which can accommodate about 1,000 people. For the needs of smaller events excellently equipped conference rooms and Poland’s most hight-tech planetarium are available.

Undoubtedly one of the most attractive and unique conference faicilities in Poland is the “EC1 Łódź–the City of Culture” complex, which constitutes an important part of the New Centre of Łódź. EC1 aims at being open for artists representing various fields of art and invites them to create individual works, but also to organise workshops and group events, providing them, of course,

Another example of a unique industrial conference space is andel’s by Vienna House Lodz, which combines historical building with modern architecture and inimitable style. The facility is located in a former weaving mill building on the premises of Manufaktura, the biggest shopping, service and entertainment centre. andel’s Conference Centre comprises 16 rooms that can

accommodate 1,500 people in total, over 2,500 m² event space and the biggest ballroom in Łódź, where over 800 people may gather.

The list of revitalised buildings that distinguish the City of Łódź among other conference centres is very long.

We can mention such as Art_Inkubator in Fabryka Sztuki, The European Institute, conference space in Ludwik Grohman’s Factory from 19th century at the Lodz Special Economic Zone complex.

Taking advantage of substantial event resources, in order to carry out the strategy of economic promotion and winning investors, Łódź organises or coorganises many promotional activities Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

INVESTMENTS

aimed at encouraging as many opinion leaders as possible to visit the city. This year shall witness two conferences aimed at promoting the real estate market in Łódź, prepared by the Investor Service and International Cooperation Bureau at the City of Lodz Office. Series of meetings with local entrepreneurs is continued, offering an opportunity to discuss, share views and experiences by business practitioners, local authorities and experts, but also to get in touch with potential international investors and business partners.

From 12 to 14 June 2017 for the second time Łódź will host one of the most important business events in the Central and Eastern Europe. Association of Business Service Leaders (ABSL)

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

organises here the 8th edition of its annual conference – the most important event of the modern business service sector, which is an opportunity for the branch representatives and stakeholders to share knowledge and experiences.

Discussions on the most important matters of one of the most resilient sectors of Polish economy will take place at EC1.

a unique dialog platform for business stakeholders, representatives of global and local politics, analysts and opinion leaders. This year’s discussions will be divided into three main themes: business changes, future of markets and new skills.

Above: “EC1 Łódź – the City of Culture” complex.

The Conference’s keynote, namely the change, matches the City of Łódź perfectly, as it would be hard to find another city in Poland that has changed The ABSL Conference attracts on average so much in recent years.

1,000 guests each year. These are top managers, representatives of regional Łódź is a perfect place to organise the and local authorities, analysts, opinion biggest events. It is not only marvelously leaders. Its programme comprises the well-communicated and can offer most important issues that set the unique, post-factory, industrial spaces, tone for global business and politics. but guarantees an extraordinary climate We should expect the same this year. for attractive time spending as well, The annual ABSL Conference provides also after official debates have finished. •

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INVESTMENTS

CZĘSTOCHOWA – A VERY BUSY CITY Częstochowa is one of the most commonly recognized Polish cities, and one of the leaders in the city brand ranking. This large and quickly developing industrial center is located at the heart of the country, right at its main arteries.

A particular place The city can boast not one, but two in the city strategy is Special Economic Zones, namely, the held by promotion of the city as Katowice Special Economic Zone and a developing the Euro Park Mielec. Since June 2014, economic center open as many as fourteen companies were to investors. granted permissions to operate within

the SEZs, and more letters of intent are being submitted. The interest in the areas is additionally raised by the construction of the A1 highway and the ring road encircling the city. The development opportunities offered by the SEZs are availed of mostly by small and middlesized enterprises, thus dispelling the myth of their availability only to business giants.

Council is famous for its resolutions exempting entrepreneurs from property tax, for some of them are pioneering solutions.

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Apart from the two SEZs, Częstochowa features tourist attractions and aninviting cultural, entertainment and recreation offer. The city and its surroundings give the opportunity for extreme experience, practicing elite sports, sport-based tourism, as well as for participation in music festivals, orchestra concerts or theater plays. Our offer allows discovering the advantages of big-city life without

experiencing the inconveniences typical of large urban agglomerations.

We have long worked to avoid being seen only as a tourist attraction. Despite the common opinion that most promotional activities are nowadays based on media communication, we do not forget about direct contact with our clients and partners.

Częstochowa presents its offer at numerous trade shows and conferences.

Our tourist attractions are shown at the most important national and European fairs. However, a particular place in the city strategy is held by promotion of

the city as a developing economic center open to investors. Our self-government is determined to maintain close contact with local business and make running it as easy as possible. The City Council is famous for its resolutions exempting entrepreneurs from property tax, for some of them are pioneering solutions.

For many years now, the Regional Development Agency in Częstochowa has organized monthly meetings of business representatives with the Mayor, called “Śniadania z Przedsiębiorcami” [Business Breakfast]. Such events offer the opportunity to learn from the source about the plans for local business, explain any issues, request help or advice, all during breakfast. If needed, the Mayor invites heads of relevant Civic Centre departments or directors of subordinate units. Such meetings also integrate the local business community.

In Częstochowa, we find it important to create an image of a modern city in both national and European fora. This is the sphere of the “Invest in Częstochowa”

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INVESTMENTS and are willing to develop programs combining the world of science with the world of business, for it is obvious that those two worlds are nowadays bound to coexist and penetrate each other. Today, in the times of high demand for educated human resources, separate existence of those two worlds is impossible!

was the form of the fair, as schools were presented together with their respective “business partners” and were not allowed to traditionally restrict their presentations only to handing out flyers. Pupils themselves had to promote their schools by showing their younger colleagues the practical aspects of education and the benefits resulting from specific skills.

Also worth noting are two events related to various areas of economy and their cooperation with the scholars and the self-government. The sector of modern services for business – the foundation of the development of the region, the city and the universities, is a BPO event, the More and more of this type of events are leading motif of which is the cooperation held in the city itself. This is thanks to the within the so-called Golden Triangle, i.e., growing number of modern conference Business – Science – Self-Government. facilities which are ever more attractive to visitors.

The “Polymers – Science – Industry” conference relates to an entirely different In terms of education, we must mention area of industry, but is based on the our two largest higher education same assumption. Such conferences are institutions which remain open much to the liking of the city authorities to cooperation with the city authorities who see such cooperation as an opportunity for development.

At the moment, educated human resources are the city’s priority. The labor market needs not only MAs or engineers, but also, or even most of all, technicians!

What is more, the qualifications of a technician are only the first step in the career path. In June, Częstochowa will host the 1st edition of International Work, Internship and Vocational Training Fair of the automotive industry organized by the Polish Chamber of Automotive Industry. There are reasons why it was Częstochowa that was selected to hold such a big event – friendly attitude of the city authorities, conference facilities, and the fact that the automotive industry is the fastest growing industry in the region and in the city, are sufficient reasons.

Cooperation with educational institutions does not only involve universities, for the city actively supports technical and vocational schools. It promotes partnership agreements between employers and schools, acquires considerable resources from the EU funds to invest in this area of education, so as to create educated and work ready human capital. This year, such initiatives have resulted in the first edition of the “Zawodowiec” Częstochowa Education Fair, visited by pupils from the areas which used to comprise the Voivodeship of Częstochowa. According to the organizers’ estimations, the fair was visited by approximately seven thousand people. This year’s innovation

Despite Częstochowa being a middlesized city, it is home to a number of NGOs. Many of them organize diverse events and conferences relative to the areas of their operation. It is thanks to the third sector organizations that the JuraExpo brand was created in Częstochowa. Its initial purpose was to promote the KrakowCzęstochowa Highland only in terms of sports and tourism, but the scope of its operation is still growing.

brand and a playground for all those involved in city promotion. The brand is frequently featured at diverse, at times quite original, events, such as sport competitions, mars rover competitions (the rover built by the students of the Częstochowa University of Technology is ranked among the top rovers worldwide), artistic events co-organized by the city, concerts, etc. The brand which promotes the economic aspects of the city is a frequent partner of conferences, trade shows and other business events, for instance, the Autoevent or the “Forum Nieruchomości” [Real Estate Forum], or even the Nordic Smart City in Stockholm.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

For many years now, the Regional Development Agency in Częstochowa has organized monthly meetings of business representatives with the Mayor, called ”Śniadania z Przedsiębiorcami” (Business Breakfast).

Investor Service Center Department of European Funds and Development City Hall of Częstochowa ul. Waszyngtona 5 42-217 Częstochowa phone +48 34 3707 212

Investor Assistance Centre phone +48 34 3707 213 Construction, lighting, clothing or foot- coi@czestochowa. um.gov.pl wear trade shows are events which do fer@czestochowa. not only promote the city, but also um.gov.pl present the opportunities for develop- www.czestochowa.pl ment in the region to representatives Author: Anna Mielczarek. of all lines of business. •

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

HR NEWS Dorota Kościelniak is the new head of the Wrocław office of Colliers International (POLAND)

with a focus on PR activities for the real estate market. Prior to joining Savills Jan worked as a director in FIRST Public Relations and Partner of Promotion, where he was responsible for such clients as: AVON, British Airways, Cushman & Wakefield, Ghelamco Poland, PolskiBus. com, Procter & Gamble and SEGRO. Dorota Kościelniak joined Colliers International as the Wrocław Regional Piotr Karpinski appointed Director. She will be responsible for the to the position of Senior development and strengthening the company’s position in the Wrocław region. Director, Head of Asset Services CEE Prior to joining Colliers International, Dorota held the position of the Partner and (POLAND) the Regional Market Director at Knight Frank, which she joined in 2002. She has gained experience working with tenants, developers as well as investment funds, supporting clients in many transactions on the Wrocław market. The biggest ones are: IBM (26,000 sqm), UPS (6,000 sqm), Netia (4,000 sqm), Lindorff SA (5,000 sqm), Fresenius Kabi (3,000 sqm), Selena FM CBRE has appointed Piotr Karpinski to the (3,000 sqm), Luxoft (3,000 sqm), Diehl new role of Senior Director, Head of Asset Controls (2,000 sqm) and Ryanair Services CEE. (2,000 sqm). Dorota is a licensed broker Piotr’s appointment supports the continued and a real estate manager. She is a member growth of the Asset Services business of the prestigious Royal Institution of across the CEE region. Piotr, joined CBRE Chartered Surveyors organisation. She is in 2013, and was co-responsible for the also a member of the Program Board of business development of the Asset Services the Wrocław Agglomeration Development – Retail Property Management team in Agency.

Poland. Now, he supervises the team of more than 150 professionals who manage New Communication a total portfolio size of more than 1 mln sq Manager joins Savills m GLA. (POLAND) Jan Zaworski has joined international real estate advisor Savills as Communication Expert. Jan will be responsible for the image of Savills brand, Savills’ experts positioning, as well as media relations.

Jan brings nearly 10-years of professional experience in the field of communication,

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will be located in the Warsaw branch and oversee the commercialisation of all HB Reavis’ Polish developments. In addition, he will lead a leasing team of 11 and manage the relations with existing and prospective clients.

Karol Wyka has worked for HB Reavis since 2013. Previously, his responsibilities have included the implementation of leasing strategies for individual buildings as well as managing negotiations with clients. He has successfully negotiated deals with many renowned companies that are now HB Reavis customers or soon to be, including Diebold Nixdorf (over 9,700 sq m) and KMD (6,200 sq m).

New Member of RICS – Agnieszka Milczarek (POLAND)

Yet another Colliers International property manager have become the member of the prestigious RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) organization which accredits professionals within the land, property and construction sectors.

The MRICS title has been obtained by Agnieszka Milczarek of the Property Management department.

Karol Wyka is new Country Leasing Director (POLAND)

HB Reavis has promoted Karol Wyka to its new Polish Country Leasing Director.

Taking on his new role in April 2017, he Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

Magdalena Ćmikiewicz joins the team as Asset Manager in Arcona Capital (POLAND)

Prague and Warsaw and thus as the only one on the CEE market able to provide clients with advisory services in hospitality investments, development and valuation with in-depth local know-how. The CEE hospitality team is headed by David Nath.

Kinga Bloch has been named HR Director for the Polish branch of Cushman & Wakefield (POLAND)

Arcona Capital, the real estate fund management company, has employed Magdalena Ćmikiewicz as a new asset manager.

Magdalena has extensive experience in real estate management, having been responsible over the last 15 years for the development and management of the RECE regional shopping centre portfolio in Poland. She has joined Arcona Capital following the recent successful acquisition of the RECE portfolio by the Euronext-listed Arcona Property Fund.

Magdalena joins Arcona Capital’s team of 25 professionals in real estate, fund and asset management working out of offices in Warsaw, Prague, Munich and Amsterdam.

Kinga Bloch has been named HR Director for the Polish branch of Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate services firm, beginning February 1.

Kinga Bloch has over 11 years of human resources experience, serving leadership roles in Telecommunication and IT industry. She joins Cushman & Wakefield from Atos, worldwide IT services provider where she worked for the past eight and a half years. As HR Director Poland Kinga contributed to the company’s fast development within both commercial and shared service activities in Poland. She was responsible for strategic and tactical HR, providing services for 15 countries as an HR Business Partner at a regional level. Kinga was also involved in a number of global HR and business cross-regional, transformation projects, holding various positions including Diversity Program Leader for the Region. From 2012 Atos Poland led by Kinga, was nominated four times in a row for Great Place to Work Award in the category of companies employing more than 500 people.

Maria Zielińska and Alena Vlachová joined the Cushman & Wakefield (POLAND/CZECH REPUBLIC)

Alena Vlachová and Maria Zielińska have reinforced the CEE Hospitality team at Cushman & Wakefield, which is based in

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

Passionate or frustrated?

– how to improve your mood and gain more time Research shows that (not)having passion allows you to predict employees’ behaviour and engagement. Be interested in your people, hire passionate persons – there will be fewer complaints and you will be surprised how much time you will gain. However, remember that there is a dark side of passion.

Harmonious people, who are passionate about something, even though their passion gives a lot of positive vibes and emotions, are able to control the time spent on doing it, and in addition, they remain in harmony with the rest of their life.

PROMISED IN PREVIOUS ISSUE ...

Business is about money. Employees are the most valuable asset of any business.

If they cannot develop themselves and feel the sense of impact, they will leave.

For an experienced manager, these sentences are characteristic cliché. My experience shows that a large group of executives complain about lack of time and low involvement of employees. So how to strengthen the involvement of both your team and yourself? How to stop wasting time resources? And where are the additional sources of energy? The answer is simple: stop at the activities you and your people like, that you consider important, and in which you engage your time and energy, also outside of work. There are many answers to questions about the causes of both success and failure.

HARMONY OR COMPENSATION – THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT THE PASSIONATE PEOPLE

Nowadays, when we are constantly encountering new methods and techniques of motivation, when it is not appropriate to admit that something didn’t work out, or simply we don’t Monika Reszko, know how to do something, it is worth Communication and internal relations looking at yourself and your employees expert, psychologist, more holistically, more humanly. executive coach. In previous episodes, I have already

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referred to Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan’s theory of auto-determination, whereby a man strives to fulfil three basic needs: autonomy, competence, and relationships with loved ones.

As grown-ups, we are extremely lucky to consciously choose the kind of activity that eases satisfying those needs. Some of these activities may be of particular importance, give an exceptional pleasure, and occupy more and more space in our experience. They come into the sense of identity, giving it additional qualities by which we define ourselves – the Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

People with a passion had a higher self-esteem than ones without any passion.

passionate ones talk about themselves: through while participating in a given activity. They may experience internal I am a triathlonist, I am a musician. compulsion to participate in activities I have among my friends many they consider important and which triathlonists, marathons and cycling fans. provide benefits. Passion like this controls I am of the opinion that sport is one of the human behaviour, takes up more and fastest methods not only for improving more space in his experience, and leads our mood, but also raising self-esteem to conflicts with other aspects of life. and self-appraisal. But in which moment Running, cycling, undeniably healthy the passion becomes an obsession? This for our body, changes into murderous question I asked myself while watching workouts, compulsive forms of diffusing the faces of tens of triathlonists during tension. The assumed pleasure changes one of the Polish edition of IronMan. into an obsessive aiming at perfection Some of them showed joy, authentic without any joy about the progress. fulfilment and pride. On the others, fatigue, doubt, absolute lack of contact ALL THIS SELF ESTEEM... with their own achievement. However, Taking actions by each of us related one particular man shocked me, he to satisfying our needs, depends on was looking only at the finish line, he how much we are aware of them, but pushed aside his daughter, who was also on our self-esteem. Already in the frankly impatient, leaping and clapping 1970s, psychologist Abraham K. Korman with a grin as she watched her father. pointed out that self-esteem of an I decided to explore the topic of passion. individual influences motivation and behavior at work. Persons with high level OBSESSION AND PERFECTIONISM of self-awareness and high self-esteem, striving for their own satisfaction, are – THE DARK SIDE OF PASSION Scientific literature on passion is quite more likely to seek and make changes in extensive. Robert Vallerand of the their working environment. Psychology University of Quebec in Montreal, author mentions about two human realities: of the dualistic passion model, claims that explicit – in other words conscious and it arises from the choice of activity, its implicit–unconscious, which are the value, and its internalisation in the sense trace of many experiences, mostly from of identity. The dualistic passion model childhood. assumes that there are two types of passion: harmonious and obsessive. Both Satisfaction in the early years of life’s types are different in terms of motivation, basic needs not only affects self-esteem, which prompts to engage in the activity, but also it determines all other human the sensations they experience, but needs. The discrepancies in explicit and also the consequences they bring. implicit self-esteem that is between what Harmonious people, who are passionate I say about myself, and what unconscious about something, even though their beliefs I have about myself affect not only passion gives a lot of positive vibes and behavior but also attitudes towards other emotions, are able to control the time people. Individuals with at the same time spent on doing it, and in addition, they high explicit and implicit self-esteem remain in harmony with the rest of their feel safe and everyday challenges do not life. They experience positive sensations cause instability and do not affect the and satisfaction, as opposed to those with self-image. On the other hand, people obsessive passion who can experience with high explicit self-esteem and negative emotions both during and after low implicit self-esteem show higher participation in a given activity. level of narcissism, but also higher level of prejudice and tendency to compensate Obsessive passion is motivated by the for unmet needs. result of the activity consciously and in controlled way internalized–I choose WHAT IS THE CONCLUSION a given activity as a result of the pressure I decided to check the issues regarding resulting from the association with the the impact of self-evaluation on the opportunities that a given activity can character of passion personally. Its bring, such as acceptance or self-esteem. high level certainly makes it easier People with obsessive passion cannot to accomplish plans and achieve goals. control the experiences they passed But what about people who, as a result of different experiences, did not develop self-confidence? To see if the passion is some sort of solution, I conducted a study on almost two hundred randomly selected people with different passions, such as: sports, music, automotive and on those who declared no particular interest or only minor hobbies. The results confirmed my hypothesis. First of all,

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

people with a passion had a higher selfesteem than ones without any passion.

Passionate people also occupied higher positions or run their own businesses. As many studies show, in case people strive to enhance their self-esteem, by trying to succeed in areas that are important to them, then having passion has an impact on having a higher self-esteem.

So if you have in your environment, or in your team people with harmonious passion, you can safely assume that they are aware of their values.

HOW TO USE THIS KNOWLEDGE?

In my unbridled optimism, I believed that joy and fulfillment was stronger than the need for compensation. This also was confirmed by the results of my study–the intensity of the harmonious passion turned out to be higher than the intensity of the obsessive passion.

Thus, in all studied groups of people, the assumption, that human behaviors are strongly determined by intrinsic motivation and the need to experience pleasure, was confirmed.

FOR THAT REASON:

• Grow, and if you do not have it, find your passion – being proud and relaxed will help you build relationships and engage people.

• Know your employees’ interests – showing interest will reinforce their motivation and curiosity, also sharing your passion will increase their creativity.

• Employ passionate people – they will complain less and thanks to that they will strengthen the morale of the team.

• Find the causes of fatigue of yourself and your staff – you are tired like Alfa Romeo with a worn out engine–you will not go far in this way.

MORE SLACK, MORE TIME

Abraham K. Korman, already mentioned that rigid social systems do not serve the development of high self-esteem. In the context of organizations, this means high level of control, rigid hierarchy, centralization and formal procedures. As a consequence of such characteristics of organizational culture, employees may feel incompetent and unnecessary in the organization. Probably there is no need to explain about which passion is closer to such control. In that case, build relaxed atmosphere and treat the people’s work individually. If, however, you belong to those who stubbornly claim that there is no time for personal approach and realization of passion, then remember that time can be the best excuse, but never true. Remember, it’s not about having more time, but about stopping wasting it. •

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

CAREER PATHS IN REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY Interview with Kinga Bloch, Head of HR Poland, Cushman & Wakefield.

Outsourcing&More: How many people does Cushman & Wakefield employ in Poland?

Kinga Bloch: We now have 360 employees in our offices in Warsaw and other major cities across Poland.

consultants and rise later on to senior consultant positions. When we are in need of more managers, experienced employees with a strong record may choose to pursue a managerial career.

Promotions to managerial positions are closely coordinated with our London What do you focus on in particular HR team, which is responsible for C&W’s during recruitment? Any specific operations in EMEA. Candidates from education or professional experience across the region are screened to assess of candidates? their skills through the Assessment The eight-hour We mainly look for people who are Center, which helps to check and confirm working day in an office five days a ambitious, resourceful, success-oriented, whether a candidate is ready to assume week is gradually enjoy direct contact with clients and a position with greater responsibility. going out of date. fully understand phenomena and Polish people are changes taking place both in the real Cushman & Wakefield offers development embracing these estate market and the wider economy. programs to support its employees changes quickly A successful candidate should also be in honing their skills throughout their and easily engage in interdisciplinary and able to work as part of a team and identify employment. These include programs multi-tasking work. with our corporate organizational culture. for consultants, future team leaders and managers, as well as programs to support Education and experience are both the development of people in executive very important, but are not critical positions. In addition to being given requirements. We generally look for opportunities to make progress and candidates with a background in improve their skills, our employees can business and economics, but we also hire build relations and share experiences engineers with a degree in science or with fellow employees from C&W’s technology, and humanities graduates. other EMEA offices. That’s why our staff Of course, professional experience in the appreciate such programs. real estate sector is definitely an asset.

How would you, a global real estate What opportunities of skills develop- services firm, rate skills of Polish ment can you offer your employees? people on the international labour What are they likely to expect when market? embarking on a career with Cushman Global corporations have been & Wakefield? contending with the ever shrinking pool Our employees can expect a transp- of available skilled labour for several arent career path in our company. years now. Constant competition for Starting out in assistant and junior talent is commonplace across all sectors positions, they can be promoted to with the underlying causes being various

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macro- and microeconomic factors, rapid technological advancement and social changes. The younger generation tend to go for jobs where they can pursue their interests. Nowadays, you can work and make a living without leaving your home. The eight-hour working day in an office five days a week is gradually going out of date. Polish people are embracing these changes quickly and easily engage in interdisciplinary and multi-tasking work. I think that skills of Polish people are highly regarded in the global labour market. The team of Cushman & Wakefield Poland is delivering ever-better performance from year to year and is greatly appreciated across EMEA. How did you become HR Manager of Cushman & Wakefield? What’s your greatest challenge in this job?

For eight years I had worked in the IT sector, which provided me with many interesting challenges. I had no intention of changing jobs, but when Cushman & Wakefield invited me to take part in the recruitment project and spelled out changes it expected to carry out, I decided to join it. Our greatest challenge now is to ensure our further dynamic growth in Poland by consolidating our market position across all the sectors.

We are focused both on recruiting the best talent on the market and on developing our existing resources to further boost our performance. We are also adapting our organizational culture to changing employee expectations so that it becomes our hallmark on the market of attractive employers. • Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

We generally look for candidates with a background in business and economics, but we also hire engineers with a degree in science or technology, and humanities graduates.

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

Recruitment Ads RECRUITER:

CONTACT: JUSTYNA SWARCEWICZ JUSTYNA.SWARCEWICZ@WYSER.PL

Senior Project Manager – Warsaw (180 000 – 200 000 PLN gross/year)

LOGO A COLORI IN QUADRICROMIA VERDE C 56 M 0 Y 100 K 0 GRIGIO C 15 M 0 Y 0 K 50

Requirements & Job description: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Bachelor/master degree – construction licensing qualifications is a must At least 5 years of professional experience within the construction industry (independent leading of real estate investments) Experience in realizing commercial projects (developer site or general contractor) Experience in obtaining administrative decisions Preparing overall designs and specifications, preparing cost calculation and managing budget Overseeing the safe and efficient execution of development projects Identify and address areas of concern regarding potential risk surrounding project, project logistical issues, budget, and scope Manage various aspects of real estate development from inception to construction completion Understand the project design requirements as determined by project specific guidelines, tenant leases, or other contractual commitments Experience in preparing and leading design competitions/tenders Supervising works during the warranty period Supervising and leading team work MS Project – proficient user Ability to work under time pressure and stress pressure Fluent English, both written and spoken is a must (negotiations with foreign companies)

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

CAREER & DEVELOPMENT RECRUITER:

CONTACT: MAŁGORZATA DRAGAN MALGORZATA.DRAGAN@HRK.PL

Tax Manager – Warsaw (9 000 – 12 000 PLN gross/month + benefits)

Responsibilities: • Preparation and issuing tax packs, report requests, tax returns and reconciliations mainly for Corporate Income Tax • Calculation of corporate tax liabilities – current and deferred tax • Supporting Tax Manager in monitoring and advising on the impact of legislative changes in various countries, and responding to queries from the business • Working closely with the Tax Manager and external advisors to ensure the group meets all direct and indirect tax compliance obligations, including the preparation/review of direct and indirect tax returns across EMEA • Accountant in terms of preparing documentation for tax audits under IFRS/US GAAP • Supervision and support of the employees of External Service Provider in the area of CIT

Requirements: • • • • • •

At least 2 years’ experience gained in the Corporate Income Tax area including CIT and deferred tax calculation Knowledge of International Tax Fluency in English language (both written and spoken) Experience of tax reporting under IFRS and/or UK GAAP will be an advantage Exposure to international tax and VAT will be an advantage Very good communication and organization skills

RECRUITER:

CONTACT: TEL. 22 11 200 11 REKRUTACJA@WALTERHERZ.COM

Office Leasing Consultant - Senior Consultant (~20 000 PLN gross/month with benefits)

Responsibilities: • • • • • • • •

actively seeking clients looking to lease offices representation of Tenants providing consultation, selecting real estate and solutions for the individual needs of the Client building long-term relationships with the clients supporting younger members of the team preparing marketing materials, financial statements and analyzes working on the proper implementation of contracts ongoing market analysis

Requirements: • • • • • • • • •

higher education (preferred economics with specialization in real estate) min. 4-year professional experience in commercial real estate or sales of professional services in the B2B sector experience supported by success in contract negotiations practical knowledge of the commercialization process good knowledge of the commercial real estate industry, including the office market will be an asset very good command of English self-discipline and good organization of working time communicability and openness to new challenges reliability in performance of duties and independence in action

Outsourcing&More | May – June 2017

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