11,000 employees work in the business services industry in Iași
Transformation into the Business Services Industry is the theme of the event organized in Iași by the Association of Business Service Leaders in Romania (ABSL).
The success of the companies in the industry is closely related to the transformation on all relevant levels – human resources, automation, digital transformation, organizational culture. Companies grow and succeed when the company’s vision and needs are aligned with those of its employees, when they have the ability to innovate and easily adapt to change.
Within the event, the discussion topics were: trends in HR, the ability of organizations to cope with change, training as a method of increasing the commitment and loyalty of employees or flexible workspaces, adapted to both the needs of companies and to those of the employees.
Iasi is one of the most attractive cities in the business services industry in Romania, along with Bucharest, Cluj and Timișoara. The workforce from here and the fact that Iași is one of the largest university centers in the country has allowed the attracting of new investors and implicitly the development of this industry. This has led to increased competitiveness in the labor market, but also to the availability of candidates with a preponderance of training in the IT and financial field.
Iasi was 11th in the top of counties, compared to the number of employees with 103,489 (employees). The call-center domain, which is just one of the services of the industry, occupies the 7th place at the local level, with a number of 2,773 employees, and the second place in the country, after Bucharest.
The most important types of services in the Business Services industry in Iași are: IT, project management, finance and accounting, HR, procurement and customer operations. Over 11,000 people work in the business services industry in Iasi. All large companies (over 15 in number) in the field of business process outsourcing (BPO) and SSC (shared services center) have opened branches in Iasi. “In Iasi, the outsourcing industry is very competitive, companies increase their activity, but new start-ups also appear. Over the last year, the local business services industry has created over 1,000 new jobs. At the local level, the jobs available in BPO companies can double in the next three years ”, said Cătălin Constantin, HR Manager at SCC.
The companies in the field of Business Service registered in Iași a continuous development, constantly increasing the teams. Favourites candidates are, in most cases, fresh graduates of higher education or higher education in progress. In this case, companies choose to invest in employees through intensive specialization programs.
“From the perspective of the skills sought, the language skills are very important, but also the certifications in the financial accounting or project management field, which the candidates have obtained from specialized authorities (FIMA, CIA, ACCA, CFA, PMP), remain very important. . The wage level for customer service positions starts from RON 3,300 gross and is supplemented with foreign language bonuses and various benefits packages ”, said Marian Pătrașcu, Head of Sales and Talent Acquisition – APT Resources & Services.
According to ABSL estimates, the most important organization, which represents the business services sector and brings together the most important companies in the field, the industry offers jobs for about 125,000 employees, representing approx.1.5% of the active population of Romania.
“Romania is in the first place in the category of mature business services markets, with over 265 companies, a motivated workforce, well prepared, very good foreign language speaker, cost-competitive and culturally close to European values. These are the reasons why the potential of the business services industry is so significant. ABSL supports the development of the sector by carrying out these regional events in cities with potential. We want to encourage the local community and make the voices of the specialists in these cities heard, ”explains Cătălin Iorgulescu, ABSL vice president.
According to a study conducted by the Association, together with KPMG, it is estimated that the business services industry generated revenues of about 4 billion euros, in 2017.
Regarding payroll, the study analyzes seven processes / types of industry positions, as follows: Project / Process Management, Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Customer Services, Procurement and Procurement Services, Software Development (IT) and Top Management .
In the next 5 years, in Romania, it is estimated that the industry can exceed 200 thousand employees
In 2018, 33% of employees offer Customer Management services, 25% IT services and 23% Accounting and Finance.
According to the same study, the average age of the workforce is between 26 and 35 years, with women representing 61% of the employees in the industry.
According to the survey, on average, an employee stays in the company between 1 and 5 years. Most people working in the industry have at least a university degree, and 24% are masters or doctoral graduates.
Right now, the most sought after people are people who combine foreign language skills with other skills required by the industry.
37 of the respondent companies have accumulated more than 1200 foreign employees. They were hired based on language criteria (68%), implementation of new processes (35%), technical skills or complex experience (24%).