How to advice entrepreneurs?
A great opportunity for Poland

Professional counseling, also called outsourcing, is the key to the success of every company. A cliché? Maybe. Still, many entrepreneurs do have problems with the changing legal conditions in our country. The members of the conference organized by the Roadshow Poland persuaded the guests that it is the trust in counselors' expertise that can guarantee effectiveness. The watchword of the meeting was: "Poland - as European service hub". What an adequate choice! The service sector in Poland is dynamically growing even if we compare it to the one of the Old Union counties.

Facing a great opportunity

"Poland is facing a great opportunity with the high level of our working staff and low labor costs," notices Jarosław Pawłowski (a Member of the Board at Philip Morris). He points out that Krakow's magic is so attractive much that more than 1 000 applications from Spain were sent for the only 2 office vacancies. -"The level of guaranteed salaries was the one of the Polish market." - he adds. Many companies tend to move their agencies to the towns which can ensure the constant inflow of graduates from technical, law economic and medical schools and colleges. This is what makes Krakow so interesting for the foreign capital.

Business is information.

Internal telecommunication services of a company, which can also provide for a fast data-transfer to any place worldwide, are the key factor of successful business cooperation. Correctly designed phone-network can considerably facilitate each working day. The well-communicated staff can easily get in touch with one another and so they do not get irritated at themselves and the others. A well-created web also means lower operating costs. Such was the message from Marcin Galwas (from Ericsson).

The subject themes that the conference was devoted to, that is the latest technologies, management methods and real estates, matched the interior decoration of the Hotel Stary. All of the quests agreed on the perfect choice of this venue. Krakow attracts not only as the academic center, but also as a wonderful place where time seems to slow down its pace. Practice teaches that the time needed for implementation of conclusions from such meetings as the one discussed here is approximately six months. As the conference was held on December 1st, it is in June 2007 when we shall see its measurable effects.

We asked Andrzej Hutniczak, the Director of the Capgemini and a co-organizer of the conference, for his comments: "We expect that the meeting shall facilitate creation of a forum of people interested in the further development of their own companies and the region of Lesser Poland. Conferences like the one we are talking about now provide a great opportunity to exchange information and share experiences. Outsourcing itself is a job based a well checked operational methods and methods of reaching the others. Lesser Poland, Krakow especially, has a unique potential in this field. I do hope that today's meeting shall make it easy for us - entrepreneurs - to co-operate, and that the co-operation shall bring new workplaces.

Marcin Kaszuba, and ex-Deputy Minister of Economy.
* How do you assess the Polish economic and personal potential in the light of today's meeting?
"Poland has got a great opportunity to make progress. Surely enough, our technological-intellectual resources are important but I think that our greatest advantage is the low production costs accompanied by the high level of the services we provide. The situation is not going to last forever. We shall lose our bargaining card with the further expansion of the European Union. Our location in the central Europe shall remain unchanged, of course, but the investors can look for cheaper work-force. Then, the flow of the foreign capital shall change its direction. Conferences devoted to counseling, management and administration give chances to present our technological skills, service abilities and intellectual capacity. However, we still have a lot to do - with our legislature, to give at least one example. We should do our best to take the chance now.".

Source: Gazeta Krakowska