It must be said: Tri-city overslept a\u00a0bit the shared service centers\u2019 arrival period in Poland. But it is now set to see accelerated growth of the sector, forecasted to reach 300 000 employees in Poland by 2020 and hundreds of thousands of square meters of modern office space available already, or under construction.<\/p>\n
This comes clearly across from the last Next Generation Shared Services Day arranged by SSC Heroes in Gdansk\u2019s panoramic Sky Club. The initiative is aimed at enhancing reputation of the shared services industry and informing managers about the sector\u2019s development in Central & Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n
\u2013 We are dedicated to look deep into the future of the shared services industry from various angles, thus touching the most important points of reference for leaders in the sector \u2013 says Thom Barnhardt, founder of CEE Business Media and a\u00a0range of other industry summits covering Central & Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n
This time nearly a\u00a0hundred participants gathered to talk about the most important trends influencing SSC sector in Tri City.<\/p>\n
Top corporate haven<\/strong><\/p>\n So what\u2019s the situation and what\u2019s to be expected in the next couple of years? As we speak, foundation stones are being laid under yet another new office building in Tri-City. Already 50 percent of the total office stock in Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot are A\u00a0or B+ class offices \u2013 and even more is on the drafting table. Just to name a\u00a0few ongoing projects: the growing hub in Oliwa (107 000 m2 of top office space under construction and 40 000 m2 planned), Gdynia (3 500 m2 under construction and 128 000 m2 planned) or Young City, located on the former Gdansk shipyard area (160 000 m2 under construction and 108 000 m2 planned). Data is provided by JLL.<\/p>\n Offices alone however, are not enough to attract investors and employees alike. Although there are still many misconceptions about SSC centers, the word has spread that the modern shared services industry is not simply call centers and back office anymore. Some companies are already heavily investing in front office operations and advanced processes. For that, they need more local talents.<\/p>\n Advanced processes arrive<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 For a\u00a0long time Krakow was one of the prime choices for investors, it was an optimal location \u2013 said Tomasz Bortlisz, director at Gdansk\u2019s newcomer Arrow Electronics. \u2013 But Gda\u0144sk attracted us by its talent pool and good cooperation with authorities, such as Invest in Pomerania.<\/p>\n Marcin Grzegory, deputy director at Invest in Pomerania, confirms that the region has managed to built a\u00a0global reputation. \u2013 So far it\u2019s been mainly American companies that are our leading investors employment-wise, but a\u00a0significant share of FDIs come also from nordic countries \u2013 said Grzegory. \u2013 And although there are not so many centers established by German companies, employment of German speakers in Pomerania is big, as centers of different origins want to service their German markets from here. The region is also under constant surveillance by Indian companies and started to attract interest from Japanese investors.<\/p>\n There is also no need to worry about longevity of these investments. Once the SSC growth slows down, Pomerania should benefit from the expansion of advanced Business Process Outsourcing and constantly developing Centers of Excellence.<\/p>\n