Intelligent investing

Poland's potential to attract investments in the global service sector remains better than average. According to the AT Kearney Global Services Location Index, the country is ranked eighteenth among the 50 countries evaluated.

Among the advantages listed by the management-consulting firm, Poland's stable political and economic situation, its low rate of inflation as well as the low costs of telecommunication and IT services all burnish its credentials as a service location. The list of problems in the country, however, includes the poor condition of road infrastructure and rising labor costs, as well as the structure of its labor market.

"One chance for further dynamic growth in Poland lies in taking decisive action aiming at the improvement of the attractiveness of the labor market and the business environment, since he who doesn't move forward, moves backwards," says Aleksander Kwiatkowski, president of AT Kearney Polska. He specifically mentioned problems with replenishing the labor force.

"Despite the fact that we have a demographic boom in the market, the qualifications of new workers do not necessarily enable them to replace those who retire or leave for abroad," says Kwiatkowski. He believes that Poland's situation can only be improved when a solid education system aimed at the current demands from the market is introduced.

AT Kearney's experts say Poland's position is also still weak in the area of command of foreign languages, and Kwiatkowski emphasizes that this is a major consideration for companies looking to hire people for their call and services centers.

"If [Poland] doesn't introduce changes, it will fall in the ranking," Kwiatkowski sums up.