Mobilization campaign - about the experiences of Bydgoszcz in the pandemic era

It is impossible to look for a place in Poland or even Europe that is not affected by the negative effects of the coronavirus epidemic. The situation of recent months has cast a shadow not only in the sphere of public health, but also seriously affected other socio-economic elements, both on a macro and micro level. What experience has Bydgoszcz gained in its current confrontation with the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic? What actions for business and in cooperation with business has the City been able to initiate in a crisis? Finally, how did the Bydgoszcz BPO/SSC market react to the pandemic?

NOT ONLY HELP, BUT ALSO COOPERATION

In March, at the very beginning of the epidemiological emergency in Poland, the Mayor of Bydgoszcz announced the so-called Bydgoszcz assistance package for entrepreneurs who, as a result of the epidemic, have been affected by restrictions running their businesses in services and trade. The purpose of the municipal package of concessions, exemptions and postponement of payment dates was primarily to reduce the negative effects of the crisis in which entrepreneurs in Bydgoszcz found themselves, as well as to support those who needed quick help to survive this difficult and unexpected time. As part of the package, they could take advantage of, for example, reliefs in payments for property tax, rental of municipal premises or land. In turn, in May, at the stage of gradual defrosting of the economy, the Mayor of Bydgoszcz introduced additional preferential fees for the operation of summer gardens in Bydgoszcz gastronomic premises in the 2020 season. Another element of support from the City were also activities promoting local businesses, such as posting on the City portal a list of Bydgoszcz gastronomic establishments offering take-away and delivery dishes, as well as grocery stores and bakeries where one could make the necessary purchases by phone or online with home delivery.

Cooperation of the City with local business for the persons most at risk during the epidemic also proved to be a good practice. In cooperation with entrepreneurs, Bydgoszcz has launched a free shopping service for seniors, which older and disabled people have started to use. Thanks to business partners – the Media System company, which took care of setting up of a special helpline for seniors and Deligoo, which developed a dedicated application for volunteers – the service has become simple and secure. Blinkee has also joined the program by lending their electric scooters for free to volunteers delivering the purchases. In addition, the City actively joined the activities to support medical staff and protect employees of services exposed to contact with the infected. One million PLN from the crisis management reserves was allocated for the current safety measures, and chosen municipal facilities were allocated to medical and quarantine facilities. The City also lent the area for creating a special pickup point for "Drive & Go-Thru" tests.

THE NEW SUPPORT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Bydgoszcz Regional Development Agency (BARR) – a dedicated municipal company that has been dealing with investor support and entrepreneurship support in Bydgoszcz for several years – has also come out with new initiatives for local businesses.

Spring is always an extremely intense period at BARR. It is trips to trade fairs and economic conferences, meetings with investors, organisation of industry events, B2B meetings or numerous trainings for entrepreneurs. Direct contact with people has been the basis of our activities to support local business. Due to the pandemic, this year has been a time to gather experience and intensively search for new solutions or working methods. All the time we knew, however, how important our mission is, especially in this crisis situation, and how important it will be now to support local entrepreneurship and communication with local business – says Edyta Wiwatowska, President of the Management Board of BARR.

In the first days after the introduction of various restrictions affecting the economy throughout the country, BARR launched a special tab on its website with current and arranged information useful for local entrepreneurs. This offered a quick go-to place to check what changes in the law were introduced, as well as what support instruments were made available in this situation, both at the national, local, and regional level. The process of transferring the entire BARR training activity online was also smooth. BARR Business School in online version, including completely new trainings devoted to the Anti-Crisis Shield and the Financial Shield, met with positive response and great interest from entrepreneurs from the region and people starting their own business. In relation to the situation on the local market, BARR's offer also includes numerous training offers for those who lost their jobs as a result of the crisis or were in danger of losing their jobs.

It is with these people in mind that BARR has also undertaken another, completely new initiative – the #JestPraca (ThereIsWork) campaign.

With the beginning of the epidemic development in Poland, in some enterprises in the region we have observed a reduction in employment, while from others we have received signals about an increase in demand for some of their products or services, therefore new job offers appeared on the local market – shares Edyta Wiwatowska.

In order to help both jobseekers and entrepreneurs struggling with the intensification of their activities and shortage of employees, at the beginning of April BARR created a special #JestPraca tab on its website, which contained information obtained from local employers about ongoing recruitments.

Companies responded very quickly. Already within the first few days, the site was filled with job offers for nearly 200 people on over 50 different positions – comments the President of BARR and adds – We can see that the #JestPraca tab is frequently visited and there are still new job offers in Bydgoszcz companies. Therefore, we hope that as a result, our activity will improve the situation of people directly affected by the economic effects of the epidemic and at least partially help in relieving the huge challenges that the entire business sector has faced.

IN VIRTUAL CONTACT WITH INVESTORS

BARR's activity in the field of communication with investors has also moved to the virtual space.

We try to be in constant contact with local entrepreneurs, create opportunities and space to exchange experiences, communicate needs and problems, share knowledge – emphasizes Edyta Wiwatowska.

An example of such conversations on current topics, and also an opportunity to exchange good practices, was a virtual meeting with investors operating on the Bydgoszcz market of modern business services "Business continuity during the epidemic – Bydgoszcz best practice round table call", organised at the end of April by BARR in cooperation with the Association of Business Service Leaders (ABSL). The teleconference was attended by representatives of companies from the BSS sector in Bydgoszcz (including: Cybercom, Sii, Livingston, PZU, Meelogic, Ivy Technology), as well as ABSL experts and BARR employees. Among the challenges and good practices that were discussed during the meeting, the most common were the topics of organising remote work in companies, communication with employees, frequency and risk monitoring tools, or ensuring work safety at company headquarters, where it is not possible to start working from home completely, e.g. because of the provision of maintenance services.

Due to the specific character of companies from the BPO/SSC sector in Bydgoszcz, especially in the IT industry, and numerous experiences related to remote support for international projects, in most cases it was quick to introduce working from home programmes – although this required providing appropriate equipment and technical support to employees. Also, initially frequent virtual morning meetings with employees after a few weeks were no longer necessary to ensure a good level of work efficiency. However, the challenge remained to maintain adequate motivation and commitment of the teams, as well as a sense of security in terms of continuity of employment. In this regard, in several cases, for example, a video meeting for all employees with the company's president were found helpful. These increased the employees' awareness of the level of company security or further forecasts for the functioning of the entire organisation. The positive aspect was the increased level of satisfaction of some clients who in this difficult situation appreciated the ability of Bydgoszcz companies to provide services and projects without interruptions (including maintenance services). The prospect of returning to the "new normality" after a longer period of remote work, including, first of all, ensuring the safety of employees in the workplace remained another challenge. In this regard, companies using the space in modern office buildings in Bydgoszcz also appreciate the security introduced in these buildings, which further helps employers provide the required comfort in the workplace.

The first experiences showed us that this type of virtual meetings are an opportunity for local companies to exchange experiences, ideas and good practices in the industry to cope with a crisis situation or to get additional knowledge or advice from expert organisations. The situation is constantly changing, which is why we intend to continue initiating such video conferences also in the future – declares BARR.

Bydgoszcz has repeatedly received the title of a business-friendly city in various plebiscites and this status is also a commitment for us – it seems even greater in this difficult time for economy. We are also aware that further economic consequences of the current situation are yet to come and further challenges for business and the City will appear. In crisis, however, constant mobilization of forces is important and that is why we gather experiences and continue working! – summarises Edyta Wiwatowska.

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