The situation in the shared and business services sector seems to be quite good despite the pandemic.
The business centres continued operating without any significant restrictions to their productivity, with more than a quarter of companies even increasing their productivity.
At the same time, the sector, the third largest in Slovakia, managed to hire new employees, increasing their number by 5.5 percent compared to 2020. In addition, more than one half of companies plan to continue with recruitments.
The business centres admitted that most of their employees did not return to the office during the summer, when the pandemic situation was better. They expect that the hybrid work model, combining work from home and work from the office, will be applied in the future.
This stems from a survey carried among members of Business Service Center Forum (BSCF), running under the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Slovakia, between January 1 and August 31, 2021.
“The sector offers stability, technology trends, attractive forms of employment contracts and a career in an international work environment,” said Gabriel Galgóci, president of BSCF and AmCham in Slovakia. “Since the adaptability of the business services sector to new market conditions is much quicker than the existing legislation, we’d welcome more flexibility for hybrid work models so that Slovakia can continue to progress and stand up to its global competition.”
The survey also showed that only 18 percent of companies asked for some kind of state assistance during the pandemic. These were mostly firms that also have production plants in Slovakia. Yet, the sector faces some challenges.
How do the centres look?
