Yannick Coulange, managing director, PageGroup Poland, talks to the BPCC’s Michael Dembinski about how recruitment and executive search has changed as a result of the pandemic – which changes are temporary, and which will become permanent.

Sue Hill, principal of The British School Warsaw, talks to Michael Dembinski about taking up her new post in the middle of a pandemic, and about the importance of an international education

This year has been unique in every aspect of business, including the situation seen in the labour market. Changes that have occurred have posed new challenges for many companies struggling to keep their heads above water; they have also changed how professionals perceive their future.

For most organisations in Poland, the last nine months have been a period of great uncertainty, continuous analyses, development of future scenarios, and reformulation of the way they think and operate. Leaders and managers – albeit seemingly less visible and hidden behind computer screens – are now stepping into the spotlight on a much larger arena. Each decision they make, each word they utter and each action they take is instantly evaluated by their employees, business partners, friends or strangers – in the offline and online realm alike. Will leadership skills in the ‘new normal’ have to differ from those that were desirable in the pre-Covid-19 environment?

Social isolation related to the coronavirus pandemic, and fears for their own and their loved ones’ health cause many people to fall into the trap of negative emotions. In this difficult time, it is extremely important to support employees.

This has been an extremely difficult year for entrepreneurs, business leaders and entire national economies. Since Covid-19 was recognised as a pandemic by the WHO on 11 March 11, there have been 65 million cases of infection across 190 countries, and over 1.5 million deaths.

Can you terminate an employment contract online? Coronavirus has been our new reality for eight months now, and many of us have largely transitioned to remote working. It seems that many aspects of the work we do, as well as our HR tasks, do not necessarily have to be done on-site with physical participation from both parties. But what about firing employees?

The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated the development of new technologies and is contributing to the digitalisation of the labour market. Firms should pay particular attention to protection of their employees' personal data, especially information which is collected electronically.

Covid-19 has changed everything. It has forced changes in labour relationships. A number of firms have realised that they should examine the benefits offered to their employees since some of them are no longer necessary in order to carry out the duties resulting from their employment contracts.

With the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 has brought employers enormous challenges. In the first months of the pandemic, adapting to the need to reorganise work was the most urgent of these. Increasing use of remote work hasn’t released employers from their other obligations under the Labour Code, obligations that include counteracting mobbing and respecting the principle of equal treatment in employment.

The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly affected the labour market. Employers in most European countries are facing the same problems: a decline in turnover, liquidity issues, interrupted supply chains, production problems, ensuring safe conditions at work or remote working for large groups of workers, and the absence of employees due to isolation or quarantine.

The coronavirus pandemic persists. More and more people are getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 every day. What actions should be taken by the employer if one of the employees contracts the disease?

As we reignite our businesses, there’s one thing our people will remember about the last few weeks and months: how we treated them. We may have had to cut their pay and asked them to work remotely. Some may have had to exit the business completely.

Leadership coaching has a great influence on the main areas of leaders’ lives, often simultaneously. It is a holistic process which concentrates on a leaders’ transformation and strives for their authenticity and self-realisation. Leaders undergo a transformational change to discover and realise their potential and effectively apply it in the organisational context. Their transformation is visible on a behavioural level as a consequence of their internal deep change that contributes to the organisation performance.

Are you a home company, posting your worker abroad? Or you are a host company, benefiting from expats’ work?

This is the story of how a specialist rail transportation company became one of Poland’s top employers, built by an award-winning team of ‘the strongest people’.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, remote work has become widespread. Statutory measures made available to employers allow them to ask employees to work outside their usual workplace.

Mix Group is a developer from Kraków with over 20 years of experience in the real estate market. Its long-term strategy is to introduce activities in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Kinnarps, Kozmiński University, Polski Instytut Środowiska Pracy (the Polish institute of the working environment) and Pro Progressio, published a report on a collective survey on home office conditions and challenges while practising social distancing during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, from March to June 2020.

Healthy future at any age, which took place online on 12 November 2020 was an exceptional meeting of international representatives of science and academia, business, regulators and investors, focusing on the development of healthy longevity agenda in our region and beyond.