SSC / BPO sector's trends

In 2022, representatives of the SSC and BPO sectors reported significant recruitment needs, and we predict that this trend will continue this year as well. Employers continue to focus on foreign language skills, with a particular emphasis on German and French. However, professionals fluent in other languages can also expect to find attractive job opportunities. Customer service, accounting, HR and payroll continue to be the top areas where employers report the greatest need for staff.

Employers are largely open to taking on young people at the start of their careers, training them and equipping them with the necessary skills. It is very common to develop an employee internally and to promote vertically or horizontally, which results in relatively fewer offers for more experienced people. As for positions requiring more experience, candidates with experience in financial and accounting processes - AP, AR, GL, financial reporting areas, actuarial or IT are valued. There are many organizations in Poland that focus on highly specialised processes in these areas and are looking for experienced accountants or programmers, and there is no shortage of them in our market.

In the past year, the large number of offers in the SSC/BPO sector led to frequent job changes. The large number of job offers encouraged the search for financially attractive opportunities, with greater flexibility in working hours. The past year has shown that the vast majority of employees (around 80%) would like to work remotely. Such offers were also the most popular. By opening up to remote working, employers have ensured that they have a greater ability to fill needed vacancies due to the lack of location restrictions.

Candidates looking for work in the SSC/BPO sector, who had access to a very large number of offers, even chose to participate in several recruitment processes at the same time. Salary was, of course, the deciding factor in choosing an offer, although benefits were also a very important part of the offer, such as the possibility of working remotely as mentioned above, greater flexibility in working hours, training and language courses. Foreign language allowances were also appreciated.

One of the key issues last year was the length and dynamics of the recruitment process. Given the large number of offers available, more informed employers have shortened and accelerated their recruitment processes to increase their chances of attracting the best talent from the market. The phenomenon of a large number of counteroffers was also noticeable in 2022, resulting in up to 30-35% of offers to work with a new employer being rejected.

Author: Olga Papiewska, Business Manager Permanent Placement in Manpower