Digitization pays off, bringing new business opportunities even during a pandemic, says ABSL Czech

The ongoing pandemic has shown that far more tasks can be solved remotely than previously common. More than half of enterprise service centers are opening up new development opportunities in the current situation. They are launching new services, expanding to new regions, and taking part of the burden from their sister centers in Asia, which failed to transfer their employees to work from home and had to temporarily stop traffic. All this was made possible by earlier massive investments in technology and digitization. This results from a recent survey of the ABSL association, which associates business service providers in the Czech Republic.

“The ongoing pandemic has shown that any unusual situation and crisis will be better overcome by those industries and companies that have focused on digital transformation in the past. As a result, the business services industry is expanding its scope even now, during a pandemic, ”says Jonathan Appleton, director of ABSL.

New services, new regions
Czech business service centers are busy at the moment. The ABSL survey showed that 56% of them open up new opportunities. More than a tenth of the centers (12%) take over the processes from their sister organizations in Asia, where the infrastructure did not allow all people to be transferred to work from home and had to be temporarily depressed; These include IT support for home workers, data consolidation, digitization projects and the introduction of robotic automation. It is with these services that Czech centers allow many world companies to operate smoothly even now, during a pandemic.

Recruitment for referrals and withdrawals
Given new volumes of work and growth, centers must continue to recruit. According to the ABSL survey, most of the new employees are currently recruiting on recommendations, but cancellation of dismissal by employees is also common. “With the advent of the pandemic, many employers in our industry have noted the interest of employees who have been redeemed at the notice to withdraw their notice and remain in the company, worried about the uncertainty that the present time brings. This option is generally welcomed by employers, ”says Jonathan Appleton, adding that 12% of centers have similar experience.

Stabilizing element of the Czech economy
It is expected that not only the Czech economy, but the world economy will shake after the end of the pandemic. Unemployment will rise across the disciplines and large losses will occur. Business services should not be subject to similar scenarios as they represent one of the broadest options for applying the knowledge economy, a trend that is least vulnerable to economic crises compared to manufacturing industries.

“I am sure that the development of our industry in the future can significantly contribute to the stabilization of the Czech economy, which before the crisis contributed to Czech GDP by 6% and gave work to almost 120 000 people. I believe that the importance of our industry for the Czech economy will continue to grow, ”concludes Jonathan Appleton positively.