During the 6th ABSL Annual Conference – “Romania at the Forefront of Innovation. Entering the Gates of Tomorrow”, organised by the Association of Business Service Leaders in Romania (ABSL), on 9th October 2018, was launched the Business Services annual report, which represents a synopsis of the sector’s trends.
According to the ABSL’s estimates, the leading organisation representing the business services sector, which brings together the most important companies in the industry, the sector offers jobs for about 125.000 employees, representing 1.5% of the Romania’s active population.
Also, it is estimated that in 2017, the outsourcing industry has generated incomes of approximate 4 billion euro, according to the study realized by ABSL and KPMG.
Romania ranks first on the mature outsourcing markets, counting 265 companies, according to a study realized by Cushman and Wakefield Romania
Romania ranks first on the mature outsourcing markets category, counting over 265 companies, a motivated and well-trained workforce, with many foreign languages speakers, being cost competitive, and having similar values to the European countries. These are the arguments for which the industry’s potential is 300 thousands employees.
Most of the companies which activates on the local market are from France, Germany, Romania and U.S., the most attractive cities for them being Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi and Timisoara.
Outsourcing companies’ clients are mainly activating in the following sectors: banking, insurance and financial services, technology and telecommunications, professional business services and industrial & fast-moving consumer goods.
The report also shows that the most ambitious plans for growing belong to the companies with over 500 employees. Those aims to expand both through diversification of services and by attracting new customers.
Most of the clients are from the European area, and the most common services provided by the industry are: Finance and Accounting, IT, Clients Operations, Human Resources and Acquisitions. For the Finance-Accounting services, the main activities are linked to the managing of the suppliers and clients, and for the IT services – User Support and Maintenance for dedicated apps. On client management services, the most common activities are linked to Helpdesk and Sales & Account Management Support, for the Human Resources and Administration services, Reporting and Salaries, and for the Acquisitions – Operational Acquisitions.
It is estimated that the industry in Romania can exceed 220 thousand employees in the next 5 years
In 2018, 33% of the companies offer Clients Management services, 25% offer IT Services, and 23% offer Accounting and Finances.
According to the same study, the median age of the workforce is between 26 and 35 years old, women representing 61% of the employees in the industry.
The survey also states that an employee spends between 1 and 5 years in a company. Most of the people who work in the industry have at least a bachelor’s degree, and 24% have a master’s degree diploma or a doctorate.
At the moment, top skills required on the market is language proficiency, German language being one of them, IT related skills and also an appropriate mix of language and technical compentences.
37 of the respondent companies have over 1200 foreign employees. They have been employed based on languages criteria (68%), implementation of new processes (35%), technical skills or complex experience (24%).
Romania – an appropriate destination for the outsourcing investors
96% of the study participants consider that Romania is a favorable place for investments and would recommend it to other potential investors.At the same time, 70% of survey respondents consider that the frequently political changes create difficulties for the business activity of companies in this field. When ranking the criteria for choosing their main business location,the availability of modern office spaces, the city’s infrastructure and image, obtained high scores, compared tocooperation with local authorities that scored very low. The competition in the outsourcing market has been assessed by the participants as a very strong one; on a scale of 1 to 10, the average being 9.1. The study was conducted in August, on a sample of 50 member companies and non-ABSL members.
ABSL 6th Annual Conference: “Romania at the forefront of innovation”
Today is taking place the 6th edition of the biggest annual event in the business services industry. At the conference, named this year Romania at the Forefront of Innovation, speakers and specialist will discuss themes like trends of the outsourcing industry, advantages that Romania should focus on in the next years to attract investors and projects, and also the abilities and competencies of the future.
Also, many sessions from the event will present subjects like: digitization and automation of the industry, cybersecurity and the most innovative solutions in the industry.
Most of the business services companies are expanding through integration of digitization in their business models, in their endeavour to stay relevant and efficient in the domain they activate. Taking advantage of the technological development and highlighting the human contribution, Romanian