Category: Uncategorized

During a conference in Olivia Business Centre, Bayer announced its plans for further development of Service Center Gdańsk and summed up 5 years of its business activity in Gdańsk. Markus Baltzer, CEO of Bayer CEE and Remigiusz Wojciechowski, director of Bayer Service Center Gdańsk emphasised that Tricity is one of the most popular locations for modern business services and at the same time pointed out that more and more advanced processes, competence centres and R&D centres are located here.

The director of Bayer Service Center Gdańsk (SGC) also pointed out that the company has further plans connected with improving the scope of operated processes. Currently, SGC employs about 400 workers, however originally it was expected that it would employ 200 workers, and serves Bayer’s departments from more than 20 countries of Central-Eastern and Central Europe, for example from Germany, Russia, Scandinavian and Balkan countries. Apart from accounting, specialist teams from the Centre in Gdańsk, localised from the very beginning of its business activity at Olivia Business Centre, are today also engaged in project management, graphic design or support in the scope of transparency.

– Within 5 years the number of jobs offered by business services sector has doubled both in Tricity and in Poland. Bayer Service Center Gdańsk has also developed dynamically – we have created several hundred jobs, invested more than 1.5 million zlotys in training and development of workers and 20 persons have learnt in our company how to manage a team or department. But we are not going to stop here. Till 2020, we plan to increase the number of workers to 500 people. Additionally, our team will be supporting key business processes from new areas, for example shopping, customer service, controlling or services for workers. Just like today, workers will have a chance to develop their careers without limitation – said Remigiusz Wojciechowski, director of Bayer Service Center Gdańsk.

In Gdańsk, Bayer company found everything that is needed for long-term development, that is highly qualified employees, support from public institutions and access to top-quality office space and transport infrastructure. Piotr Grzelak, Deputy Mayor of Gdańsk, who was present at the event, congratulated Bayer on its anniversary and emphasised that he is happy with every stage of company’s development in Olivia and Tricity.

– Bayer’s achievements are extremely important for us. Bayer is not only an investor which employs, but also the one which helps us tell the world that Gdańsk is a perfect place and hospitable environment for respected international brands and enterprises – said Piotr Grzelak.

– Bayer’s strategic aim is to centralise financial services and support of business, IT and project management in order to make processes flexible, improve efficiency and increase competitiveness, while maintaining the current, high level of quality. That is why, shared services centres are an essential element of company’s structure both in regional and global scale – said Marcus Baltzer, CEO of Bayer CEE, during the conference.

Tricity just like a magnet

Not only Bayer appreciated business potential of Pomerania region. According to ABSL report from 2016, Tricity is the second best location for modern business services in Poland. At this year’s CEE Shared Services and Outsourcing Awards ceremony, Tricity agglomeration got the title of the most dynamically developing centre, for example thanks to 10 investment projects carried out in 2016 with the participation of Invest in Pomerania.

– Investments in the sector of modern business services support the development of Tricity market. We are one of the most dynamically developing Polish agglomerations and Tricity is in a leading position in rankings concerning friendly places to live in Poland – emphasised Wojciech Tyborowski, director of Invest in Pomerania.

Tricity is a perfect place to live, what is confirmed by studies conducted by Social Diagnosis, according to which Gdynia and Gdańsk residents are the most satisfied with their place of living. This is also a good place for business development, especially in the face of rapid rise in the need for managing more and more complicated business processes. The development of shared services sector is the result of creating the most effective models of corporation’s functioning, within which using external resources causes the increase in effectiveness. Modern business services offer highly advanced processes based on knowledge and experience. Such processes are managed by about 120 Tricity centres of modern business services, which employ about 21000 workers. Predicted employment growth amounts to 20% per year, what will make it possible for Pomeranian centres to reach the result of 60000 workers till 2025.

Numerous incentives for business

Tricity is very well prepared for cooperation with investors in terms of office infrastructure. It offers nearly 633000 square metres of modern offices and another 150000 square metres is under construction. Such resources make it possible for new investors or companies already present in the market to open a new office within two to three months.

– We are proudly observing the development of Bayer company at Olivia Business Centre. For five years, the company has been creating economic and human potential of Gdańsk intensively and with involvement and at the same time makes an important contribution to the growth of market competitiveness of our whole region – said Maciej Grabski, CEO of Olivia Business Centre. – We wish its employees and co-workers indefatigable energy and further measurable successes. I deeply believe that the whole company will contribute to them.

The development of modern business services sector is fostered also by the cooperation of Pomeranian universities with investors who are present in the region. The specialised curricula emerge at universities and they respond to the needs of individual companies. Local students are distinguished also by great command of foreign languages, also those less famous like for example Scandinavian or Balkan.

The market of a valued employee

Growing specialisation, innovative technologies and advanced business processes change the labour market. In the years 2013-2016 employment in Tricity business services sector increased by 100%. Over the past few years, many corporations moved here and the range of companies with similar business profiles is getting bigger and bigger. That is why, companies fight to attract and keep employees. There is even stronger consensus concerning the fact that currently we are experiencing a so called “employee’s market”.

– Bayer offers SCG workers chances for development and career in international environment and improving qualifications by participating in projects and trainings. Our relations with them are based on mutual trust, that is why we offer, among other things, flexible working hours and remote work. We also employ final year students and university graduates. This a chance to start your career in a global company with recognised brand, training package, internships, access to the newest technologies and opportunities for career development thanks to participation in interesting projects – said Remigiusz Wojciechowski from Bayer SCG.

During the conference, Dorota Stawicka from Project Management Team, who started her career in SCG directly after her studies, talked about her career path in the company, opportunities for development, international cooperation and support offered by the organisation.

Companies, which are active in business services sector, are aware that remunerations and non-cash benefits are only one of many parameters which make their offer attractive for future employees. It turns out that employment security, friendly atmosphere at work and the company’s stable financial situation are almost equally important.

– Growing specialisation and modern business technologies change labour market. Companies are implementing newer and newer methods and tools which attract and keep employees. Looking for a job via social media has become popular and in many companies there is a programme, in which existing employees recommend candidates – said Agata Witczak, branch director and human resources director at Thomson Reuters in Gdynia.

Poland is the leader in European business services market

Poland is one of the most important locations for business services around the world. Investors, especially European ones, take into account relevant factors, for example employees’ level of education and their command of foreign languages, condition of infrastructure and legal security, availability of office space, as well as work culture, innovativeness and even relatively small time zone difference between central offices and services centre. Growing employment in so called competence centres and R&D centres, as well as the following data are indicative of a fast evolution of business services market in Poland: about 85% of centres serves today more complex processes than a year ago.

^{Sources of data:
Modern business services sector in Poland 2016, a report prepared by the Association of Business Service Leaders (ABSL) in cooperation with Baker & McKenzie, JLL and Randstad
Social Diagnosis 2015, Living conditions and quality of life of Polish people – Report, edited by Janusz Czapiński and Tomasz Panek
Invest in Pomerania data
Modern business services sector in Poland 2016, ABSL Report}

 

In the grand final, the defending champions, Omida, met the PwC team, which was “only” in sixth place after the regular season. After a fierce and even match, Omida’s players turned out to be better, winning 11:7, ending their perfect season in a big way. Three goals each in the final were scored by Paweł Friszkemut, Maciej Daniluk and Dmitry Kachnar, another two goals were added by the top scorer of the entire competition, Patryk Ziarko. As many as four goals, to which he added 3 assists, were scored by Carro Ramirez for the PwC team.

In the match for the third place, HK Finance turned out to be marginally better than Bayer, winning 7:5. Jakub Piotrowski and Bartosz Fila (both HK Finance) scored hat-tricks. Rafał Górski responded with two goals for Bayer.

The fair play award went to the Dream Team Indestructibles Energa, who in a very important match with HK Finance, which ended in a draw, resigned from a favourable decision of the referee, noticing an injured player of the opposing team. That’s the point, bravo! 🙂

The next season is coming soon! More information and registration: sport@oliviacentre.com

author: Pawel Pinker

 

From today, Lechia Gdańsk Foundation will have its headquarters in Olivia Business Centre. The foundation has joined other social organisations which reside in Olivia CONNECT, shortly after Marek Kamiński Foundation and Institute. In a meeting, which inaugurated foundation’s presence in Olivia’s CONNECT space, there took part, among other guests, Adam Mandziara, Lechia Gdańsk CEO, Janusz Biesiada, Lechia Gdańsk Foundation CEO, Tomasz Motyka, Executive Director of Lechia Gdańsk and Maciej Grabski, Olivia Business Centre CEO.

While greeting guests, Lechia Gdańsk and Olivia Business Centre traditionally swapped pennants and football shirts.

Lechia Gdańsk Foundation was established in May 2017 and is based on four pillars: brotherhood, help, education and sport. One of its goals is supporting the development of children and youth by promoting active and healthy lifestyle. The foundation is also engaged in improving the conditions and quality of life of people in difficult health and financial situation. It concentrates, for example, on social care, helping educational and care institutions, as well as activating associations and local communities.

– Olivia CONNECT created comfortable working conditions for Lechia Gdańsk Foundation. Headquarters in one of the most modern office centres in Gdańsk enables us to achieve our statutory objectives in a more effective way. We have our office in direct neighbourhood of many foundations and institutions, which are engaged in charity activities. Thanks to that, we will be able to establish cooperation, extend the spectrum of our activities and get engaged in new projects “round the corner” – says Janusz Biesiada, Lechia Gdańsk Foundation CEO.

Many non-governmental organisations have their headquarters in Olivia CONNECT, for example associations and foundations, as well as business support institutions. Among CONNECT’s residents there are infoShare Foundation, Marek Kamiński Foundation, Marek Kamiński Institute, Inspiring Examples Foundation, as well as Pomeranian Regional Chamber of Commerce, Pomeranian Association of Entrepreneurs Lewiatan, GUP Job Office, ICT Interizon Cluster and BPO Education Centre – Sopot University of Applied Sciences.

– We are proud that such prominent residents are joining us. We are doing our best, this is our main aim, to create for them optimal conditions to cooperate, develop, as well as to exchange knowledge and experiences. We want to motivate them to cooperate and implement projects, which are beneficial for the whole Pomerania region – highlights Agnieszka Zglinicka, SME Director at Olivia Business Centre. – For many years, Lechia has been actively participating in Tricity social life. Now, thanks to the foundation, it will have a chance to intensify actions, which aim to help people in need. I am convinced that both Olivia Business Centre and our business hub’s residents will actively engage in foundation’s projects.

Lechia Gdańsk
Foundation’s website

Olivia Business

Centre’s website

 

Together with the Lechia Gdańsk Foundation, we are helping children from towns affected by the August storm in Pomerania:) Thirty students of grades III-VII from schools in Silo and Pawłów met with Lechia Gdańsk footballers, visited the Energa Gdańsk Stadium and our Olivia business center.

We have another edition of our campaign to help the victims of storms in Pomerania “Together we can do more” – this time we are cooperating with our new resident, the Lechia Gdańsk Foundation. Together, we invited children from schools in Silo and Pawłów to Gdańsk. Thirty students from grades III-VII took part in the m.in on Thursday. in the training of Lechia’s players at the stadium at ul. Traugutta, met there not only with the players, but also with the coaching staff.

“This is an extremely exciting event for our pupils. Olivia Business Centre has been in touch with us from the very beginning, helping us in every situation we have signalled. Employees Recently, for example, the Centre’s companies have donated school starter kits. Now, the Lechia Gdańsk Foundation, which cooperates with Olivia, has proposed that children from the most affected families take part in a meeting with athletes – says Bernadeta Zimnicka, Director of the Municipal Education Complex in the Municipality of Chojnice. – I am very impressed by the openness of the Club and the Lechia Foundation, which invited our pupils to the training of the players and organized a visit to the Energa Gdańsk Stadium. There was a lot of joy. It’s a wonderful gesture. –Adds.

The children’s visit to the Energa Gdańsk Stadium was possible thanks to the cooperation of the Lechia Gdańsk Foundation with Arena Gdańsk Operator Sp. Ltd.

– The Lechia Gdańsk Foundation was established to provide help. Sometimes it is material support, other times it is financial. Sometimes, however, it is also necessary to focus on, it would seem, a smaller form of support, but in a very important aspect of life; In this case, the idea was to bring smiles to the faces of children who experienced the very unpleasant consequences of the August storms. Together with Olivia Business Centre, we wanted this time spent on the pitch with the footballers to charge these children with energy, encourage and inspire them. The joy on the faces of these young people makes me aware that what we do is of great value. – said Janusz Biesiada, President of the Lechia Gdańsk Foundation.

Thursday’s meeting with the White-Greens – the children were welcomed by m.in. Sebastian Mila, Milos Krasic and Dusan Kuciak – these were only some of the attractions. From Traugutt, the children went to the Energa stadium, where, under the care of a guide, they visited all the nooks and crannies of the facility where Lechia’s players play their home matches. Then the participants of the tour visited Olivia, where refreshments awaited them.

See the report on Lechia Gdańsk’s profile:)

– No change can be made without the direct involvement of specific people. At Olivia, we try to motivate the companies or organizations present in our company, but also the people who create them, to work together – summed up Monika Bogdanowicz from Olivia Business Centre, responsible m.in for CSR projects in Olivia. – We are committed to ideas and initiatives that go beyond business and serve m.in. supporting local communities. So far, m.in have joined in helping the victims in Pomerania. employees of Energi, Fujifilm and Staples. Now we are partnered by the Lechia Gdańsk Foundation. We believe that this first of our joint actions will give us all an impulse to build even closer relations –Adds.

Photo gallery on Lechia Gdańsk profile

 

Together with Lechia Gdańsk Foundation, we help children from towns, which were affected by August storm in Pomerania region:) Thirty pupils (from classes 1-7) from schools in Silno and Pawłowo met footballers from Lechia Gdańsk, visited Energa Gdańsk Stadium and our Olivia Business Centre.

There is another part of our aid campaign for people affected by storms in Pomerania region called “Together we can do more” – this time, we are cooperating with our new resident, Lechia Gdańsk Foundation. Together, we invited to Gdańsk children from schools in Silno and Pawłowo. On Thursday, thirty pupils from classes 1-7 participated, among othes, in training of footballers from Lechia club at Traugutta street. There, they met not only the footballers, but also coaching staff.

– It was a very emotional event for the children. From the very beginning, Olivia Business Centre has kept in touch with us and helped us in every signalised situation. Companies’ workers have given us recently, for example, school starters. Now, Lechia Gdańsk Foundation, which cooperates with Olivia, suggested that children from the most affected families take part in the meeting with sportsmen – says Bernadeta Zimnicka, Director of Municipal Educational Complex in Chojnice Borough. – I am hugely impressed by the openness of Lechia Club and Foundation, which invited our children to the training and organised their visit to Energa Gdańsk Stadium. Children had so much fun. It was an admirable gesture. – she added.

Children’s visit to Energa Gdańsk Stadium was possible thanks to the cooperation of Lechia Gdańsk Foundation and Arena Gdańsk Operator Sp. Ltd.

– Lechia Gdańsk Foundation was established to help others. Sometimes it is a material and sometimes financial support. At times, we need to focus on a form of support, which may seem minor, but is needed in a very essential aspect of life; in this case, it was all about bringing smiles to the faces of children, who experienced very distressing consequences of August storms. Together with Olivia Business Centre we wanted the time spent on the pitch with footballers to give children a lot of energy, cheer them up and inspire. Joy on the faces of these young people makes me realise that our actions have great value. – said Janusz Biesiada, Lechia Gdańsk Foundation CEO.

Thursday meeting with Lechia team – children were greeted, among other guests, by Sebastian Mila, Milos Krasic and Dusan Kuciak – was only a part of prepared attractions. From Traugutta street children went to Energa stadium, where, under the custody of a guide, they visited all recesses of the facility, where national matches are played by Lechia’s footballers. Next, participants visited Olivia, where snacks were waiting for them.

– No change can be introduced without a direct engagement of certain people. In Olivia, we try to motivate to joint activities not only companies and organisations residing here, but most of all people, who create them – summed up Monika Bogdanowicz from Olivia Business Centre, who is responsible, for example, for CSR projects in Olivia. –We get engaged in ideas and initiatives, which go beyond business and are designed to, for example, support local communities. So far, the workers of such companies as Energa, Fujifilm and Staples have decided to help affected people from Pomerania region. Now, Lechia Gdańsk Foundation has become our partner. We believe that our first joint action will give us momentum to build even closer relations – she added.

Photo gallery on the profile of Lechia Gdańsk

Gdańsk with the ISO 37120 certificate, awarded to cities with an exceptionally high quality of life.

How many new residents have arrived in Gdansk? How many bicycle paths are there in the city? How many kilometers is the public transport system? How many trees are planted per year? How many firefighters per 100,000? Residents? This and many other indicators were checked by external auditors from the Polish Register of Shipping, after which they awarded Gdańsk the ISO 37120 certificate; as one of the first cities in Poland!

During a press conference on Thursday, 21 September, Deputy Mayor of Gdansk Aleksandra Dulkiewicz stressed that Gdansk is the first city in Poland to receive the ISO 37120 certificate based on all basic indicators. She also pointed out that this standard makes it possible to compare, for example, the quality of life in Gdańsk and in other cities.

Deputy Director of the Economic Policy Department, Katarzyna Drozd-Wiśniewska pointed out that ISO 37120 certificate, the so-called “smart city”, First of all, it means that the city monitors the quality of life of its residents, the quality of urban services in the indicated several areas. “This helps build trust in the city,” she added.

The standard was published in 2014. by the International Organization for Standardization, in Poland, last year by the Polish Committee for Standardization under the title “Social Sustainability. Indicators of urban services and quality of life”. In order to obtain a certificate of compliance with the ISO 37120 standard, the values of 100 indicators of urban services (according to 17 thematic areas) must be provided, including 46 basic (mandatory) and 54 auxiliary (optional). Gdańsk provided values for as many as 87 indicators.

The thematic areas concern all major areas of the city’s functioning, m.in health, education, communication, environment, civic activity, energy. The certificate makes it possible to compare Gdańsk with other cities in the world that have this document, because they all calculate indicators based on the same guidelines. In terms of transport, the length of bicycle paths or the public transport system is given, for example.

^{Fig. Monika Bogdanowicz, Olivia Business Centre}

Drozd-Wiśniewska pointed out that in comparison with more than 40 other cities, Gdańsk ranks sixth in terms of the length of the public transport system with 236 km per 100,000 km. Residents. In terms of the number of trees planted per 100,000 per year. Gdańsk ranks 12th (over 1.5 thousand trees). In terms of per capita household water consumption, the city ranks 9th (104 liters per day) out of 45 cities.

The Lead Auditor of the Polish Register of Shipping S.A., Michał Gałecki, explained that “the standard tries to give cities a chance to compare themselves”. “Until today, there have been various methodologies for counting the city’s successes, e.g. in environmental protection, transport and other areas, and each of them has counted in such a way as to show its best effect” – he added.

Since the ISO 37120 standard was published relatively recently, there is no global entity that collects information on how many cities are interested in it. However, it is known that about 40 cities have taken up the challenge and published results authorized by external entities. Michał Gałecki informed m.in that there are 15 cities in Europe that have implemented the certificate, m.in London, Paris and Berlin.

In Gdansk, 13 (optional) indicators were not calculated, e.g. the indicator concerning the area of recreational, public and commercial areas per capita or the average number of hours of interruptions in water supply per household. “We will try to reach one hundred indicators and successively examine each of them” – declared Drozd-Wiśniewska.

Check the indicators of the ISO 37120 standard in Gdansk

See the presentation of the City of Gdansk

 

^{PAP/ PR/ Wirtualnemedia.pl/ gdansk.pl}

Gdańsk with ISO 37120 certificate, which is granted to the cities with exceptionally high quality of life.

How many new residents came to Gdańsk? How many cycling routes are there in the city? How many kilometres does the system of municipal transportation have? How many trees are planted annually? How many firemen fall for 100 thousand residents? This and many other indicators were checked by external auditors from the Polish Register of Shipping and then Gdańsk was granted ISO 37120 certificate; as one of the first cities in Poland!

Deputy President of Gdańsk – Aleksandra Dulkiewicz – during a press conference on Thursday, September 21, emphasised that Gdańsk is the first city in Poland, which was granted ISO 37120 certificate in accordance with all basic indicators. She also pointed out that this norm makes it possible to compare, for example, quality of life in Gdańsk and other cities.

Deputy Director of the Economic Policy Unit – Katarzyna Drozd-Wiśniewska – pointed out that ISO 37120 certificate, so called “smart city”, means primarily that the city monitors residents’ quality of life and the quality of urban services in several indicated areas. “It allows us to build confidence in the city” – she added.

The norm was published in 2014 by the International Organisation for Standardisation in Poland, last year it was issued by the Polish Committee for Standardisation under the title “Sustainable social development. Urban services indicators and the quality of life”. To be granted a certificate of compliance with ISO 37120 norm you need to give values of 100 of urban services indicators (according to 17 thematic areas), including 46 basic (mandatory) and 54 auxiliary (facultative). Gdańsk gave the values of as many as 87 indicators.

Thematic areas concern all major fields of city’s functioning, for example health, education, communication, environment, active citizenship, energy. The certificate gives the opportunity to compare Gdańsk with other awarded cities in the world because all of them calculate indicators on the basis of the same guidelines. In the scope of transport, you should indicate, for example, the length of cycling routes or the system of municipal transportation.

Drozd-Wiśniewska indicated that in comparison with more than 40 cities, Gdańsk occupies the sixth place in terms of the length of urban transport system, with its 236 kilometres per 100 thousand residents. In terms of the number of trees planted every year per 100 thousand inhabitants Gdańsk occupies 12th place (more than one and a half thousand trees). In terms of water consumption per person in a household, the city occupies the 9^th place (104 litres per day) out of 45 cities.

Lead Auditor of the Polish Register of Shipping – Michał Gałecki – explained that “the norm tries to make it possible for cities to compare themselves”. “Until today, different methodologies of counting successes of cities functioned, for example in the scope of environmental protection, transport and other areas. Every city counted them in such a way, to show that their result is the best” – he added.

Due to the fact that ISO 37120 norm was published relatively recently, there is no global unit, which would gather information on how many cities are interested in it. However, we know that about 40 cities took up this challenge and published the results authorised by external units. Michał Gałecki informed, for example, about the fact that in Europe there are 15 cities which implemented the certificate, like London, Paris and Berlin.

In Gdańsk, 13 indicators were not calculated (non-mandatory ones), for example an indicator concerning recreational, public and commercial areas per one resident or the average number of hours of breaks in water delivery per a household. “We will be trying to reach one hundred indicators and we will be studying them successively” – declared Drozd-Wiśniewska.

Check ISO 37120 norm’s indicators in Gdańsk

See the presentation of the City of Gdańsk

Olivia Business Centre patronises Gdańsk edition of European Mobility Week (Sustainable Development). This periodic initiative, which is held in September, promotes sustainable transport and ecological ways of moving around the city. The motto of this year’s edition is “Let’s share mobility”. The idea is very dear to Olivia – over the last few months Olivia Business Centre has developed many projects concerning ecology, promoting the change of habits connected with moving around the city, as well as improving the comfort of people who commute to the city centre.

Two wheels faster than four wheels?

The time needed to commute to work is one of the most important factors which influence the attractiveness of employer’s offer. An office in a well commuted place like city centre makes access not only shorter, but also faster, easier and cheaper.

More and more often we choose a… bike as a means of transport, especially taking into account the fact that in Gdańsk only there are currently 671 kilometres of cycling tracks. More and more people use this means of transport to commute to Olivia Business Centre, especially those who live in surrounding districts: Oliwa, Wrzeszcz, Zaspa, Przymorze, Jelitkowo or Morena.

– Cyclists benefit from a continually expanded infrastructure in the city centre. In Olivia Business Centre there are now more than 500 parking spots for cyclists, 5 big changing rooms with showers, separate lockers in changing rooms and repair stations for bikes. During European Mobility Week we want to serve healthy snacks to cyclists, for example fresh fruit – says Katarzyna Halicka from marketing department in Olivia Business Centre.

OBC supported also a cycling project called European Cycling Challenge, Spin kilometres for Gdańsk. Throughout the whole May, people who commute to Olivia by bike could help themselves with healthy snacks at a special Young City BioBazar stand or swiftly service their two-wheeled vehicle at mobile repair station.

It is nearer if you go by bus

According to the results of surveys carried out among Olivia’s workers, Ujeścisko in Gdańsk was a district, from which it was the most difficult to get directly to the business centre. That is why, very often the only choice left was a car… However, it is not the only option anymore because since May you can get to and from OBC by Olivia’s bus – comfortably, with Wi-Fi and without additional stops. The service covers two morning and two afternoon rides. Stops are located at Piotrkowska Street, near Łostowice-Świętokrzyska tram terminus (new) and opposite Hala Olivia. Monthly fee is only 10 zlotys. You can register via e-mail bus@oliviacentre.com.

Joint commuting by car

In June, Olivia implemented another workers-friendly solution, which helps integrate them – carpooling. Every person who decides to make a seat available in their car and commutes to work together with other centre’s workers has a chance to win, for example, free parking spots in Olivia. Workers have an access to a platform dedicated to this solution: cp.oliviacentre.com. Now, carpooling community has registered more than 70 driving routes.

Electric cars to hire and charge

From this year on, there has been a carsharing service in Olivia, that is a short-term car rental. The solution is addressed to business clients who occasionally use cars. It was introduced by Enspirion

1. z o.o. (ENERGA Group) together with Olivia Business Centre. All vehicles from the fleet are environment-friendly electric cars. It is worth mentioning that in Olivia Business Centre there are two charging points for electric cars.

Over the last few months, Olivia Business Centre has also invested in the construction of new junction in Grunwaldzka Street and development of extensive parking infrastructure. Information on current events in Olivia Business Centre can be found on www.oliviacentre.com and on Facebook: www.facebook.comoliviabusinesscentre

Today, work is a hot topic of analyses and a permanent source of interest of individuals, representatives of companies, business and media environments. The key point is to enable business environment to have permanent access to current knowledge on the newest solutions in HR sector, which may be useful for managers and staff which manages companies.

Thanks to Olivia Business Centre’s cooperation with HR Club, a periodic event organised by Marcelina Godlewska from ABSL (Association of Business Service Leaders) and Richard Piskorz (BNP Paribas), we will have an opportunity to participate in Tri-City in a meeting concerning the newest directions in the sector. It will be held on September 21^st in Olivia Sky Club (you need to register by contacting ABSL – http://absl.pl/pl/inicjatywy/kluby-absl/klub-hr/)

During the event there will be presented for example a report on applications in business, in HR sector, the newest technologies: artificial intelligence. The guests of HR Club will be, for example, the developers of Emplocity platform – Krzysztof Sobczak and Arkadiusz Talun.

Emplocity is an advanced solution, which integrates labour market on the level of workers and employers and significantly enhances competitiveness of the above-mentioned segments. By introducing the technique of inverted recruitment, it offers effective recruitment tools, creating an attractive alternative for old-fashioned HR techniques and being an innovation in the field of costly headhunting processes.

If we look at the process of job hunting from a worker’s perspective, we can see a picture of the large number of job offers, very often in the absence of possibility to use them in the place of residence or impossibility to fulfil some criteria (for example language ones). If we look at it from employer’s perspective, we can see a huge number of data for analysis, which is necessary to recruit a worker efficiently. Very often, this task effectively blocks HR departments and their effective support of business development. To be able to join real needs and possibilities of companies and workers, the solutions of the future are being designed. They are now available in Poland, for example, due to companies which invest in innovations in business.

You are kindly invited to read the interview with Krzysztof Sobczak, Emplocity CEO, who will be the guest of the periodic event organised by ABSL – HR Club.

How to find the right worker and new job more effectively thanks to new technologies?

Monika Bogdanowicz (Olivia Business Centre Communication): New technologies are more and more boldly pushing their way into our lives and areas, in which, until now, people played a dominant role. Growing demand for the process of effective headhunting – for companies and very often tedious searching for a proper place/position – by workers, make recruitment more and more difficult. That is why, we have higher expectations on both sides of this process. What is more, the newest technologies and Internet 4.0 are stepping in: artificial intelligence, automation and virtual reality. How and in which aspects can your project Emplocity.pl help companies and workers?

Krzysztof Sobczak (Emplocity CEO): The main reason to use our solution is time efficiency. Most people don’t have enough time to search for a job, especially when they are already working somewhere. Browsing job offers, applying and managing this process are very often a full-time activity. Our bot will do it for you. It will be anonymously presenting your candidacy to hundreds of employers.

Only when they express their interest in inviting you to recruitment process and – what is very important – when your expectations concerning the offer are met; for example benefits, remuneration, form of cooperation etc., the bot will ask you if you accept the invitation and want to share your personal details. Entire heavy lifting connected with communication and candidate’s job hunting is transferred to the bot, at the same time inverting the rules of recruitment process.

What is more, when it comes to companies, our system supports the most difficult steps of recruitment and selection of candidates and helps make right decisions without prejudices or cognitive errors. We analyse a huge amount of market information and data from diverse sources. Thanks to that we enable our clients to effectively conduct decisive processes connected with employment. We use the newest technological solutions to help employers automate recruitment process, influence the improvement of candidates’ satisfaction and increase the recruiters’ productivity. Our services make it possible to significantly reduce the time needed to recruit workers and are an alternative to a traditional offer of recruitment agencies.

A change in HR sector

MB.: Your company wants to revolutionise the whole headhunting process, mainly thanks to the use of artificial intelligence. How did you come up with the idea of such a business project and what exactly triggered its creation? What contributed to the next stages of its development?

KS: The idea resulted from our previous negative experiences. We realised that recruitment process is frustrating, ineffective and time-consuming for both parties. A candidate wastes a lot of time reading unrealistic job offers and participating in conversations with their authors. Browsing websites and offers is tedious and time-consuming. It feels like a nightmare for me. They all look the same, we don’t know what we are going to do, for how much and whether our application reaches an employer. We came to the conclusion that this is a task which a machine can do better than a human being.

MB.: Is the application designed exclusively for Polish market and only for HR sector? Who else can benefit from using it?

KS: Currently, we are concentrating on the Polish market, but of course in time we will take into account a global variant, considering the scalability of this solution. Both medium and big companies with HR departments can use it, but we also have an offer for smaller organisations, which also search for workers, however they don’t have people dedicated to recruitment. Such a peculiar, external and outsourced HR department is an invaluable support for them.

MB.: Do we know the effects of using the app by workers and what scale of operations/reaching people do you aim to achieve within the next months, year. How many companies and people will have been using Emplocity within 3 years?

KS.: Within three years we would like to become the third most important player in recruitment market along with Pracuj.pl, LinkedIn or GoldenLine. This is our plan. We need a real support of robots and artificial intelligence in recruitment processes.

MB.: How do companies and HR specialists react to the possibilities of solutions offered by your company? Do you manage to build trust for such ways of supporting their work? Which obstacles do you encounter while convincing people that the application has many advantages?

KS: Already now, we are receiving many enquiries from employers both via e-mail and phone. These are companies of different size and from different sectors, less or better known brands, but they have one thing in common – all of them have problems with reaching right candidates.

During meetings with them we often hear that solutions that are available in the market, such as recruitment websites or business social networks don’t actually work and an alternative is needed, which will enable to reach people who don’t have their accounts on Pracuj.pl, GoldenLine or LinkedIn. On Facebook there are about 10 million people in working age, whom we are able to reach thanks to our Emplobot, which functions in Messenger. That is why, there is a huge potential to act and HR specialists usually approach it with a lot of enthusiasm. It is worth mentioning that in the middle of the year we asked 300 representatives of HR sectors about their approach to new technologies, including artificial intelligence in recruitment. As many as 72% of surveyed people claim that nowadays you need to implement new technologies on the stage of reaching candidates and acquiring their applications. Additionally, only 5% of recruiters think that robots will deprive them of work. It shows that a vast majority treats it as a real support in these most time-consuming activities during recruitment process.

To sum up, companies come to us and talk to us eagerly about collaboration opportunities.

MB.: I hope that thanks to your company it will be possible to have a visible impact on changes, which will help people find great jobs and employers find the best workers.

KS.: Such an idea stands behind our everyday work on the development of this project!

^{Krzysztof Sobczak – CEO, co-founder of Emplocity. He is a co-founder of Emplocity and doggedly and faithfully manages the key aspects of its activity, believing in company’s mission. A few years ago, he resigned from originally chosen career path to develop in the direction, which really gives him satisfaction. After working hours, he is a dreamer, traveller, runner, populariser of ambitious initiatives – he finished the most difficult ultra-run in the world called Jungle Marathon (254 km) and raised 130 thousand zlotys for a good cause.}

^{Association of Business Service Leaders (ABSL) – is a leading organisation, which represents modern services for Polish business. It sets standards and directions of sector’s development, which is now the most dynamic branch of Polish economy and provides employment for nearly 250 thousand people, as well as registers growth on the level of 15-20% per year. ABSL focuses Shared Service Centres (SSC), Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO), Research & Development (R&D) and companies supporting sector’s development. ABSL initiates numerous actions which aim to promote Poland as an attractive country that is open for foreign investors.}

^{HR ABSL Club – the mission of HR Club is the integration of the sector within the scope of exchange of good HR practices, referring to legal barriers and stimulating the environment to actions, which will help companies and sectors develop and help Poland become the first choice of location for BPO/SSC operations and desirable workplace.}

 

Interview with Magdalena Bączyk Manager | Human Capital, Deloitte Advisory Sp. Ltd.

We live in a world of constant change and development, on an unprecedented scale, of the relationship between man and new technologies. The latter fill almost every element of our lives. Technological progress has reached an unprecedented pace. Artificial intelligence, mobile platforms, and social collaboration systems have revolutionized our lives, including work. People are good at adopting new technologies, but business is doing so to a much lesser extent.

According to a study by the consulting firm Deloitte, Organizations around the world are embracing technology to meet the growing demands of their employees, who are beginning to be treated as customers. In this respect, Polish HR systems remain… behind.

Although one of the most important priorities for companies in Poland is to attract the most talented employees, as many as 62 per cent of respondents believe that they are in the right place. of them admit that they are unprepared for it. The new era, often referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution or the term “Big Shift” we coin, means radical changes in business, the wider economy and society. In this pivotal era, top executives, both in business and HR, are under intense pressure to reinvent the principles of organization, recruitment, development, management, and engagement for the 21st century.

As part of the business breakfast organized by the American Chamber of Commerce Poland entitled “HR Trends 2017. Changing the rules in the digital era”, which took place on 11 September this year. in Olivia Sky Club, the above-mentioned report was presented to the Tri-City HR community.

We invite you to read the interview with Magdalena Bączyk, an expert from Delloitte, who presented during the above-mentioned meetings, main theses and results of the report.

Download the report (PDF, 39.5 MB) HR Trends 2017

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Monika Bogdanowicz (Communication Olivia Business Centre): The way the world’s most efficient companies do business today is radically different from what it was 10 years ago. Many companies, however, still operate according to models from 100 years ago. They are burdened by outdated practices, systems, and behaviors that are difficult to abandon. How does this situation affect the opportunities for change, and what is necessary for organizations to be ready to keep pace with the technological revolution?

Magdalena Bączyk, Manager | Human Capital, Deloitte Advisory Sp. Ltd.: The main observation from our survey this year HR Trends is that for the first time, CEOs and HR leaders are speaking in unison: The way we used to organize workplaces and understand what work is in general has changed. Organizations are moving away from rigid divisions into divisions and departments – we work in project teams composed of people with different competences, appointed for the time necessary to perform a specific task. Teams no longer communicate primarily by email – they use collaboration platforms such as Slack or Basecamp to do so. Not all team members are full-time employees – we have subcontractors, freelancers, crowdsourcing platforms. Finally, we have robots that take over some of the work previously done by humans. But it’s not teams or even robots that make it possible for us to talk about a revolution in the world of work.

The revolution is driven by a seemingly innocuous statement that resonated clearly in this year’s survey: we must treat employees as our customers. Therefore, we ask employees about their needs just as we study the needs of customers. On the basis of the information obtained, we adapt all processes, work organization and communication to individual employee segments, just as we adapt communication and offer to customer segments. Treating an employee as a customer is a trend that ranked 4th in terms of importance in this year’s survey. What is already a standard in marketing departments is slowly moving to HR departments.

MB.: So what are the main global trends in HR, and how do they compare to the conclusions drawn from the analysis of the Polish results of the report?

Magdalena Bączyk: Compared to global results, in Poland, the trend of building the organization of the future, which is number one on an international scale, turned out to be much less important, taking the fifth place among the priorities of HR leaders. It was overtaken by issues related to the career and education of employees as well as talent acquisition, which took first and second place in Poland, respectively. This may indicate that in Poland we have a more reactive approach to human capital management than in other countries, focusing mainly on the current difficulties related to the shortage of employees with the desired qualifications and competences. Such an attitude can be explained by the fact that in our region, significant talent shortages, affecting almost all industries and types and levels of positions, are a relatively new phenomenon if we take into account its scale. Nevertheless, the comparison of Polish and global results shows that, apart from the above-mentioned difference, the thinking of our leaders about the future of HR does not differ significantly from the views expressed by leaders from other countries.

This can be seen primarily in the results related to shaping the employee experience and the need to change the approach to performance management – Polish leaders are looking closely at these areas and taking action. 60% of the surveyed organizations in Poland declare that they have implemented some elements or a full strategy for building employee experience, and 61% are implementing changes in performance management systems, including a greater emphasis on strengthening employee strengths and coaching. In this respect, the level of advancement of Polish enterprises is the same, or even slightly higher, than the level of advancement of companies in global terms.

MB.: In the context of the technological revolution, and above all in connection with the development of machine intelligence and its impact on the work environment, it is worth asking about the level of awareness of leaders in terms of the importance of the U.S. place and role… companies of the future.

Magdalena Bączyk: 31% of this year’s survey respondents said that they are in the process of implementing artificial intelligence and robotics systems, and 34% are at the stage of pilot programs in selected areas. And 10% say they are already fully automated or have achieved a significant degree of automation. Interestingly, when asked about the effects of the implemented solutions, only 20% of respondents predict a decrease in the number of jobs. As many as 77% intend to transform their existing positions so that employees can take advantage of new technology solutions and focus more on typical human skills such as problem-solving and decision-making.

MB.: So we have optimistic information! People will be the best and irreplaceable in their main roles in business development.

Magdalena Bączyk: Yes, everything points to it.

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^{Magdalena Bączyk is a manager from the Human Capital Advisory team at Deloitte. He has over 7 years of experience in consulting in the field of human resources management. He specializes in the implementation of projects in the area of change management (both technological and organizational), transformation of HR functions, optimization of organizational structures, design and implementation of competency models, development of talent development programs, leadership development programs and design of management by objectives systems. She is a graduate of management at the University of Warsaw.}

^{The report “HR Trends 2017. Changing the rules in the digital era” is one of Deloitte’s most extensive research efforts on talent, leadership, and the challenges facing HR departments in the era of technological revolution.}