The publication is a result of co-operation between the following partners: Jones Lang LaSalle, Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency, Grafton Recruitment, Association of Business Service Leaders in Poland and Ernst & Young.
The objective with the Report was to help understand current trends in this sector in Poland. The Report presents details in the following areas of interest to the BPO/ SSC companies: labour market (most notably for R&D centres), incentives and grants for the sector as well as the real estate market. Corporations considering Poland as a potential destination are able to make comparisons between Poland and western European economies.
Some of the key highlights from the Report are set out below:
• Poland becomes increasingly global destination for a BPO/SSC sector due to a blend of critical factors including cultural and geographical proximity to Western Europe; high quality labour pool with a high level of education and foreign language capabilities (English, German, French amongst other); low risk profile including EU data protection and cost advantages through a combination of labour market, real estate and government/ EU incentives.
• Increasingly advanced research, analysis and consultancy processes are being relocated to Poland, which strategically support decision making processes. This gives rise to a new sub-market called Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO);
• Two organisations were founded in 2009 in Poland with the aim of supporting the growth of the outsourcing sector in Poland. These are: Association of Business Service Leaders and Outsourcing Institute;
• State aid for BPO/ SSC/ R&D companies is available in Poland from a number of sources including EU Structural Funds and the Polish central government. Maximum level of support ranges between 30% and 50% of either investment costs of two-year employment costs, depending upon location within the country;
• The Polish labour market is well equipped to meet the BPO/ SSC/ R&D companies’ requirements. As opposed to BPO centres which principally focus on language competences of staff, knowledge-driven R&D centres seek predominantly specific technical skills. Average monthly gross remunerations in R&D centres amount in Poland PLN 4,200 for QA engineers, PLN 6,400 for software developers and PLN 9,500 for projects managers;
• 2010 is the best time to secure modern, high-spec and flexible office space at reasonable rents. The real estate market is characterized by availability of turn-key solutions from € 11-12/ m2/ month.