The dynamic pace of development in Poland’s modern business services market will likely take longer to return. This is as per the Hays’ Wage Report for the Business Services Sector (BSS), which reveals that though 83% of firms in the sector plan to recruit in 2024, this is 8 percentage points less than last year. Many still anticipate difficulties due to the challenge of acquiring and retaining employees with expert knowledge and highly specialized skills, which are most valuable in an ever-professionalizing Polish BSS sector.
Last year’s recruitment in the BSS sector was less than in 2021-2022. But Hays experts note this slowdown is understandable in the context of the unprecedented recruitment uptick during the post-pandemic period. Nonetheless, the Polish BSS sector remains strong with no signs of deteriorating. Despite businesses scrutinizing their strategies amidst ongoing losses, 2024 could offer new opportunities.
“The development of the modern business services sector will less often involve the establishment of new centers, but rather the expansion of units already operating in the Polish market. They will be expanding their range of processed tasks or taking over key tasks from other centers. Poland is perceived by investors as a reliable special task partner. With a rich portfolio of projects and an available educated and linguistically talented workforce, our market continues to strengthen its reputation as an attractive location for highly specialized services,” comments Aleksandra Tyszkiewicz, CEE Executive Director – Enterprise Solutions at Hays.
All the same, the BSS sector recruitment will be less than last year, and companies continue to expect challenges. As Hays’ 2024 Wage Report indicates, this year will be a time of further development, although the growth rate will not be as impressive as in the post-pandemic period. While 83% of industry firms still plan to recruit, this is 8 percentage points lower than last year.
Most employers (56%) expect recruitment to present challenges. Interestingly, a record 32% of surveyed firms are unable to definitively state whether or not recruitment in the BSS sector will be associated with difficulties.
Employers in the business services sector, thus, face uncertainty. They carefully monitor economic and geopolitical developments, basing their HR decisions on the latest forecasts. Many expect to conduct recruitment in 2024, though the ultimate scale of their labor-market activity or the challenges related to securing necessary skills in organizations are challenging to estimate.
The Polish BSS market is undergoing professionalization, with complex business processes expected to be the main investments coming into the country over the coming months. Intense development is also expected in IT security, an area where the number of cybersecurity processes is continually growing due to a trend towards strengthening system security and the sensitive data processed by service centers.
High inflation has led to salary increases for business service center employees. Last year, 86% of employers surveyed by Hays recorded wage growth, usually not exceeding 10%. Plans for 2024 are slightly less ambitious, with 84% of firms planning salary increases. According to Hays, increases are expected to be less frequent and more moderate, due largely to firms paying closer attention to costs while seeking to enhance work efficiency and productivity.
The Hays Wage Report for the modern business services sector features wage levels for 40 positions, supplemented by expert conclusions and comments and the results of a labor market study conducted at the end of 2023.
