“We have a lot of funds coming from the European Union, and we are trying
to invest them the best that we can,” says Grzegorz Sierzputowski, PMP, IT
project manager, UPC Polska, Warsaw. “As a result, Poland right now is one big
construction site.”
Although the spate of construction projects creates short-term challenges
of delays and congestion, it promises to create long-term value, according to
Andrzej Pająk, PMP, senior consultant, Ernst & Young Business Advisory,
Katowice, Poland. “Roads and highways are for a country what the circulatory
system is for the body: If it is not efficient, it is almost impossible to achieve great
results,” Mr. Pająk says. “I strongly believe that planned infrastructure projects
will improve Polish competitiveness.”
THE POLISH ADVAN TAGE
The development of modern infrastructure has enticed foreign investments in
Poland, which in recent years has become a regional hotbed for financial services, manufacturing, distribution and business processing. Multinational companies such as Ikea, Volkswagen, General Motors, 3M and Procter & Gamble
have all constructed manufacturing facilities in Poland.
“Very often, companies decide to open their office or plant in Poland because
of our convenient geography,” says Mr. Pająk, who points to Poland’s strategic
location between Eastern and Western Europe, and its proximity to two of the
continent’s most influential markets: Germany and Russia.
Global companies are also attracted to Poland’s culture and workforce. “Our
engineers, for example, are cheaper than engineers from the United Kingdom
or Germany,” Mr. Starczynowski says. “Of course, they’re more expensive than
engineers from India or China, but our business culture is identical to Western
countries. That’s our advantage.”
Polish labor isn’t just affordable; it’s also skilled, which has fueled a flourish-
ing IT industry powered by Polish subsidiaries of companies like Microsoft, HP,
Google, IBM, Oracle and SAP. In fact, almost two-thirds of Polish IT profes-
We asked local practitioners: What skills should project
managers focus on to improve project success rates in Poland? Keystone Skills
“Understanding clients and sponsors—being able to walk
in their shoes—is very important, and that comes with
extraordinary communication skills. Project managers
are usually great in the technical aspects of their subject
matter, but when it comes to influencing stakeholders
and selling their solutions to a broader audience, they are
not as prepared. The most competitive projects require
not only talent and work, but personal engagement—the skill to inspire
the people working for you.”
—Blaze Goraj, PMP, portfolio manager of IT outsourcing programs, Central and Eastern Europe, HP Enterprise Services, a
PMI Global Executive Council member, Poznan
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SECTOR TO WATCH:
Defense
Political unrest in Eastern Europe could
mean new opportunities for project practitioners in Poland’s budding defense industry.
“We have a not-so-good situation behind
our east border with Ukraine right now,
so for sure in the future a huge amount
of money will be devoted to the defense
industry,” says Jaromir Mikołajczak, project
manager freelancer, Hitachi Zosen Inova AG,
Poznań, Poland.
In 2014, the Polish government unveiled
plans to increase defense spending from 1.95
percent of GDP to 2 percent by 2016. By
2022, Polish defense spending is expected
to reach US$28.1 billion, up from US$10.4
billion in 2014.
