KRAKOW THE LAND OF CARROTS Finding the right one to answer the key questions Krakow is recognised as one of the top locations for the Business Services Sector (BSS) in Europe with 40 000 people working in centres in Krakow and with headcount growing at 25% per annum. HAYS in cooperation with ASPIRE have launched a survey* to find out more about this phenomenon as well as to measure the potential and decide what actions might be taken to assure the stable growth of the local talent pool. There are a plethora of valuable initiatives that have been introduced on a strategic level to increase the supply of competencies for the future demand. However, actions for immediate result need to be introduced to assure that business environment in Krakow will continue to thrive. One of them is a stable supply of required talents from external sources including other regions or from abroad. Exploring the right markets to find the right talent Using the recruitment channels that work Preparing an irresistible job offer for potential employees Assuring the right level of talent retention Having the right answers allows for implementing the optimised HR solutions for each of the organisations as well as for the whole sector. In order to find the right answers one needs to ask the right questions and draw conclusions from the opinions and experiences provided. As a result we have an exceptional opportunity to learn the perspective of local employees (also those who have relocated to the city) but also benchmark key factors against the total population. The participants of the survey represent different seniority levels. The majority of them have worked in at least 2 BSS organisations, either in Poland or abroad, and have over 2 years of experience in the sector. Moreover, the senior respondents (Directors, Managers) have on average 4 years of experience working in other sectors. Learning the perspective of such a diverse talent pool with a strong market overview seems to be particularly important. Seniority Level Years worked (in total) Years worked (in BSS) Number of BSS companies one worked for Junior Specialist 2 2 2 Specialist 3 2 2 Senior Specialist 6 4 2 Team Leader 10 7 3 Manager 10 6 3 Director 16 12 3 Table 1: Seniority levels and the work experience of the surveyed respondents (median values) *HAYS Poland & ASPIRE Survey Krakow the Land of Carrots, April 2015 Therefore, Hays has surveyed 2805 employees of BS Sector in Poland out of which 705 are currently working and living in Krakow.
NEWCOMERS, PROCESS & POSITION PERSPECTIVE PERSPECTIVE OF NEWCOMERS 21 % of the survey participants relocated to Krakow from other Polish regions. The list of the markets includes those located in the nearby area (Katowice, Częstochowa, Rzeszów) but also other top BSS markets in Poland. What is interesting, a big group of those who relocated to Krakow from the biggest Polish cities comes from Warsaw (18%). 14% of the survey participants relocated to Krakow from abroad. Analyses show that the main group of foreigners is represented by Ukrainians (14 %) Italians (12%) and Romanians (10%). It is worth mentioning that the list of countries of origin includes also talents from Serbia and Afghanistan. These findings raise a question on what actions can be implemented to further grow and attract the talent pool from countries that are already strongly represented in Krakow but also on how to explore the potential of the minor groups. Why have they relocated to Krakow? Many other possible job opportunities International environment Possibility to communicate in English Friendly atmosphere Spirit of the city My family and/or friends live in Krakow Historical & cultural centre the risk taken when making a decision to relocate to Krakow is minimised. What have particularly attracted them to the job? Opportunity to use my skills Training and development Remuneration package International work environment International opportunities Ability to progress quickly Corporate brand Opinion among my friends Entrepreneurial culture Fun / social interaction Social responsibility 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Chart 2 Attraction factors Employment perspective Moved witin Poland Moved from abroad The findings show that the key factors that attract talents to a certain position in BSS are the opportunities to utilise and further advance professional competencies. For Poles, particularly attractive is a prospect of training and development (47%), while foreigners appreciate a position matching their set of competencies (48%). City brand Good transport infrastructure Proximity to my home town Supportive community Moved witin Poland Moved from abroad How were they recruited to work in Krakow? Job portal A recommendation by a friend A recruitment agency 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Chart 1. Attraction factors Krakow city perspective Chart 1. shows the perspective on the city of those who have relocated to work and live in Krakow. The findings indicate that the key aspect attracting the foreigners is an existing international environment (49%). It seems that the growing number of foreigners in Krakow simply works as a magnet for others. As for Polish nationals who moved from other regions the key attraction factor (57%) is a labour market that gives many job opportunities. Consequently, An internal promotion A job advert on the company s page Social media A job advert in mass media A job advert on the company s intranet A job fair A university career centre 0% 5% 10%1 5% 20% 25% 30% 35% Chart 3 Attraction channels and media Moved witin Poland Moved from abroad
Majority of Polish nationals who relocated to Krakow for a job found it via a job portal (31%), while the key recruitment method for the most foreigners was a recommendation (22%). That shows a particular need to develop international recommendation programmes as well as city ambassadors when sourcing globally. Moreover, social media should not be underestimated when sourcing foreigners as popularity of this channel is particularly high (16%). PROCESS PERSPECTIVE The survey group is diversified also in terms of the supported process. Respondents perform a whole range of services typical of BSS*. We have analysed the results in three major groups Customer Service (CS), IT, Finance & Accountancy (F&A) to verify the key factors that attract specialists to a certain organisation (tangible / non tangible) as well as impact aspects such as motivation and engagement. What does motivate them? Financial rewards Learning and development opportunities Solving problems Feeling valued and appreciated Varied and interesting work Making a positive contribution Being a part of a motivated team Achievement Finance & Accounting Helping others IT Feeling empowered Customer Service 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Chart 4. List of motivational factors process perspective Financial rewards as well as learning and development opportunities are the key motivational factors, regardless of the represented process (over 50% for all groups). Others differ slightly depending on work specifics. For example, challenges and problem solving opportunities seem to be a very important factor for those who represent IT (43%) and F&A (41%) processes, while the 3rd most important factor for the CS group is a feeling they are valued and appreciated (37%). They are also more target driven and focused on achievement (22%). What should be offered? Possibility to work at home Private healthcare Flexible work hours Sports card Education allowance for studies or external trainings Possibility to earn a bonus International travel Company pension Company car for private use Level of holiday allowance Additional life insurance Free or subsidised meals at work Subsidised transport to work Chart 5. List of benefits process perspective Interesting differences among groups can be observed when analysing the list of benefits. The key aspects for the IT experts are opportunities for a flexible employment (flexible working hours - 48%, possibility to work from home - 44%). On the other hand, specialists from CS and F&A as a top benefit selected private healthcare (F&A - 45%, CS - 42%). Moreover, F&A experts value more the educational allowance (41%), while the CS group prefers opportunities for international travel (41%). Who should lead them? Knowledgable / Expert Able to motivate Fair Inspiring Decisive Supportive Creative Organised Humble 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Chart 6. The qualities of a leader process perspective Finance & Accounting IT Customer Service
When selecting the qualities of a leader all the groups seem to agree on the top 3 features. A leader should be an expert in a selected field / area, as well as able to motivate and support the employees. Looking at the differences we can observe that it is particularly important for F&A specialists to work with a knowledgeable leader (58%), whereas the CS respondents have a stronger need to be motivated (48%). IT experts higher than the rest assess the ability to organise workflow (38%). The qualities of leader are perceived through the work specifics and key challenges the respondents face. * The list of processes included: Accounts Payable / Accounts Receivable (AP / AR) General Ledger (GL) / Reporting Tax / Controlling / Audit Customer Service Supply Chain Procurement HR Services / Payroll IT Helpdesk / IT Administration Banking & Financial Services, eg. AML, KYC, Fund Accounting Marketing Data Management Software Development / Research & Development POSITION PERSPECTIVE Seniority level might influence the way one perceives the work environment as well as the factors that motivate her or him to a professional change. Therefore, additional comparison has been conducted, analysing key factors based on a level within the BSS organisation. The respondents were divided into 3 main groups Specialists (including Juniors), Team Leaders and Managers (including Directors). What does motivate them? Financial rewards Learning and development opportunities Solving problems eeling valued and appreciated Varied and teresting work Making a positive contribution Being a part of a motivated team Achievement Helping others Feeling empowered Chart 7. List of motivational factors position perspective Specialists Team Leaders Senior Management 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Interestingly, the key motivational factors are similar for all the groups. However, the respondents on the Specialist level, many of whom are just starting their careers, value more the learning and development opportunities (60%) than the financial reward (57%). Moreover, Senior Managers appreciate strongly the element of being a part of a motivated team (26%), which leads directly to other important satisfaction factor for them achievement (22%) What should be offered? Possibility to work at home Private healthcare Flexible work hours Education allowance for studies or external trainings Possibility to earn a bonus International travel Sports card Company pension Company car for private use Level of holiday allowance Additional life insurance Free or subsidised meals at work Subsidised transport to work Chart 8. List of benefits position perspective Specialists Team Leaders Senior Management 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Interesting conclusions can be made when analysing the list of preferred benefits. Respondents on a Specialist level selected educational allowance (43%) as the top one. At the same time, Team Leaders and Managers appreciate most the opportunity to spend additional time at home. (factor possibility to work from home, selected by 43% Team Leaders and Senior Managers). The second preferred option for Specialists is the possibility to work flexible hours (41%), whereas both Team Leaders and Managers chose the possibility to earn an extra bonus (41% - both groups). Who should lead them? Knowledgable / Expert Able to motivate Supportive Organised Inspiring Fair Decisive Gives frequent feedback Has integrity Creative Dedicated to the company s mission Humble 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Chart 9. The qualities of a leader position perspective Specialists Team Leaders Senior Management Chart 9. shows a very interesting comparison on how the person of a Leader is being perceived on different level of Seniority. Particularly interesting is combining the perspective of a Specialist with the one of Senior Management. Top qualities of a Leader, according to the Specialists are: being knowledgeable / expert (49%), able to motivate (40%) and organise workflow (39%). The Senior Management perspective differs significantly, according to this group the list of top qualities should include: ability to motivate (54%), being decisive (40%) and inspiring (40%). That can lead to a conclusion that once one develops professionally and gains enough expertise and experience, the need for knowledge and guidance diminishes, but she or he still strives for inspiration to develop further. However, regardless of the seniority level, one never ceases to desire being motivated. Please note: the list of the factors presented above does not differ significantly when verifying responses on national as well as local (Krakow) level. Therefore, the results were presented for the whole population.
KEY FACTORS Our results are divided according to work experience in the sector as presented in Chart 1. ATTRACTING TALENTS We wanted to find the anwers to the following questions: What motivates these people and what is the most important factor for their job satisfaction? What are their preferred non-salary benefits? What is their perfect work environment? How mobile are they and what would motivate them to relocate? City Perspective: Many other possible job opportunities International environment Possibility to communicate in English Friendly atmosphere Educational offer Job Satisfaction The first part of the survey reflected the importance of various factors on job satisfaction. Respondents could rate each factor as extremely important, very important, moderately important, slightly important and not important at all. The results are presented in Chart 2, showing the percentage of respondents who rated the factors either as extremely or very important. The most important factor was the possibility to fully use one s skills, which is not surprising at all, given the fact that Spirit all the respondents of had the a higher city education degree. The second highest rated answer was the opportunity to learn new skills, followed by salary levels. Employment Perspective: Opportunity to use my skills Training and development Although remuneration came third, it still scored highly, with 87.5% of those surveyed rating it extremely or very important. It is also important to note that the percentage of people rating these factors as not important at all was extremely low, only exceptionally rising over 0.5%. When we look at these factors from a work experience perspective, we can note that more senior employees have rated the relationships with co-workers and direct Remuneration package supervisors significantly higher than their colleagues with less work experience. This might point to the fact that the longer you work the more valuable you hold your work relationships. International work environment International opportunities On the other hand, more junior employees value promotion opportunities higher, which again should come as no surprise given that they are at the beginning or in the middle of their career. This tendency is especially evident among the middle group (2-5 years experience), who rate this factor higher than their colleagues. This signifies the time during their career when it is time to make some changes and employees are expecting their employers to provide them with opportunities for promotion. If these do not occur, their satisfaction level will probably drop significantly and they might even start looking for alternative employment. Therefore, employers ought to pay careful attention to this group when designing career paths. Preferred Non-Salary Benefits Non-salary benefits are a very popular motivational tool available for managers in SSC/BPO organisations. The scope of benefits offered by organisations is currently very broad, which is why it is very helpful to see what type
Agata Piątek Regional Manager Hays Talent Solutions Thinking of setting up or developing a Service Centre in CEE? With almost 20 years experience of the CEE market, we know only too well the ever increasing importance of the Business Services sector across the region and the difficulties organisations such as yours may be facing in recruiting and retaining the best talent. That s why we have a specialist Business Services division that can offer you a tailored service designed to fill all your industry specific roles, streamline your processes and provide you with a quick and cost-effective solution. Just as we have done for over 120 SSC/ BPO Clients in the region. Our expertise helps you make informed decisions Our global scale and in-depth local knowledge, the research methodology we use together with our extensive candidate networks all combine to help you achieve your hiring objectives. As our partner, you can also expect a number of added benefits, including market insight and benchmarking data from our specialism salary guides enabling you to make informed decisions. A bit more about us Hays is a leading global professional recruiting group, the expert at placing qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide into permanent, temporary and interim positions. With 8,237 staff across 33 countries, we placed around 57,000 people into permanent jobs and around 212,000 into temporary assignments. To find out more about how we can help your organisation, contact our Regional Manager Agata Piątek M: +48 609 600 569 E: piatek@hays.pl
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