Summary points from 29 April ZOOM Roundtable for BSC Leaders in CEE

Summary Bullet Points:

• Cash Management and Working Capital: “We are urgently addressing the huge impact on cash-management. Our clients want installment payments, top-line revenues have dropped dramatically due to less travel.”
  
• Digitilisation: Urgent need to go 100% digital. “We especially have too much “paper” work with our HR internal processes, and 20% of our inbound invoices are paper. So we're urgently moving this all to digital.” “The same goes with meetings: going fully digital”
• Winners and Losers among SSCs/BPOs: While clearly the most-obviously impacted sectors such as Travel and Hospitality are struggling, BSCs “offer some resilience to global corporations, who have urgent appetite to optimize locations”. Those SSCs that have top-line growth or resilience (pharma, biotech, etc.) have sometimes double workload. “Covid is bringing new business demand.” Teleperformance in Krakow is shutting down as this BPO relied on just one client: EasyJet. “Lots of staff reductions across the board in lots of SSCs.”
  But another group of SSCs are growing (names mentioned included ABB and StateStreet).
• Near-shoring uptick:“BritishAir is moving some processes out of India to CEE.” Further comments that there is bigger push now for near-shoring, and that CEE locations have strong appeal vs. India. “De-globalisation is afoot; we may move staff back from India; Poland is considered a good option”.
• Learning new things: “Our teams and staff are desperate to learn about new digital tools, so we're increasing training in areas like MS Teams, “how to work from home”.
• HR/People:
  “There are moments of excitement in some ways with the new environment; but the isolation issues are kicking in.” “New Leadership styles may be needed – the pre-Covid leader may not be the same type of leader we need post-Covid.” ”We will make big investment in management training; and language training.” “We have become incredibly productive – we have to remind people to take breaks!, have a “virtual coffee”. “Our KPIs are really high.” “We've introduced quizzes and contests just for fun, and one prize is that the winner gets a 15-20 coffee with our top leader to discuss whatever he/she wants.” Automation in HR processes is more urgent.
• Staff-reductions: some of the SSCs reducing staff numbers are actively helping find work for them in other SSCs. “Bad staff can not hide, as performance now is so precisely defined and measured.”
• Offices and work-environment: Obviously the impact will be huge. Office owners are under immense pressure to renegotiate leases – and “most landlords are being flexible”. “We will be looking at offering sub-leases in our offices.” “Agile environment will be the new-norm, perhaps no desks for most people.”
• Back-to-work issues: “We've got a team working on imagining how the new office will be reconfigured”. “There will be legal issues to address.” “We will not force anyone to come back to the office too quickly – it will be gradual.” “Back to work will be slow, and not mandated.”