Moving on up: Banking on talent in Poland
In a well-attended session at June’s Global Expansion Summit, in London, Fiona Murchie, managing editor of Relocate Global, interviewed Scott Newman, senior vice-president of State Street Bank, about how the US-based financial services provider had identified Poland as a new market and set up operations there from scratch.
Read more coverage from Relocate Global of the Global Expansion Summit 2017:
- GXP Summit: Acquiring talent in the US
- GXP Summit: When should startups expand overseas?
- Global tech firms ‘actively planning’ expansion into UK
- Global mobility: operating in the post-Brexit marketplace
- How a currency transfer startup grew into a fintech giant
- Global mobility and immigration facing perfect storm: GXP Summit
- Bridging the skills gap: Talent SW@Ps at Arup
Managing talent in a growing businessDuring the first stages of its expansion, State Street focused on creating the momentum for skills and service development. Now, thanks to its success, it focuses on skills retention.The company’s growth and progress up the value chain are creating jobs that will make it attractive as an employer.“Poland and central Europe have seen an explosion in the growth of the financial service sector,” explained Scott Newman. “Just in Kraków, the number of people employed has increased from 7,000 to 60,000 in less than a decade.“All the large multinationals are there. So for us, engaging with people who are ambitious for their careers is really important.“We are putting lots of energy into differentiating ourselves and providing the right conditions for people to stay and build their careers with us. This includes the type of skilled and technical roles we can offer – for example, in corporate functions and risk analysis.“Offering these higher-value roles means people are more likely to stay with us, and it is vital for us to remain competitive in the local labour market.“As we’ve grown, so has the company’s demand for management roles. This has also helped us develop clear career paths, which is another strong incentive.”Creating global teamsMaintaining the focus on people, Scott Newman offered delegates top tips for expanding into new territories and moving up the service and talent value chains.“Make sure you get your core management functions in place first – HR, finance, payroll,” he advised.“Then, consider where you source your subject matter experts from – home, headquarters or another country – and train them. Maybe send them abroad to the company’s other offices for them to see how things are done, and to help them integrate into company culture and feel part of a worldwide team.”The outlookLooking ahead to the next ten years, Scott Newman concluded the conversation by commenting on the likely impact of both Poland’s new political leadership, which is understood to be more inward looking than previous ones, and the UK’s decision to leave the EU.“We recognise we are a US bank operating in Poland and the risks that come with that,” he said. “However, while there is change in political regimes in both countries, Poland is not seen as a high-risk location.”On Brexit, Mr Newman noted how, within weeks, many central EU countries’ governments were knocking on the doors of UK-based banks. They were concerned about the continuation of passporting rights for financial services providers. State Street believes it is well positioned for what Brexit may bring as the bank has both a strong continental and UK presence.Whatever happens, for State Street Bank in Poland and its growing band of highly skilled employees, it looks to be business as usual.
Fiona Murchie, Relocate Global’s managing editor, was moderator and chairperson of the Global Sourcing, Logistics and Mobility sessions at the Global Expansion (GXP) Summit in London.
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