Foreign employees make up to 9 per cent of staff in Polish shared services centres (SSCs). They are attracted by competitive opportunities in the labour market that is far from being filled and a vast number of vacancies for fluent language speakers. So taking their much-needed presence into account, do Polish employers provide them with benefits that make them want to relocate to Poland?

Benefits for ex-pats

For many foreigners, Poland is a benchmark employee market – a situation in which it is the worker who has the final say due to shortages of the workforce, especially this equipped with rare language skills. The majority of employers in Poland seem to understand it and to fight these deficits, mainly through offering benefits to newcomers deciding to relocate to Poland. Here are the most popular ones, according to the research by Monster Talent Sourcing Services:

• Language courses

These are by far the most widespread form of helping foreigners feel at home in a new company (41 per cent) – ex-pats are encouraged to learn Polish because even though one can easily conduct all business activity in English, outside the office or even during the coffee break it is far more convenient to speak in Polish. It makes your life easier, but also it is a new skill you can gain – if you ever wish to move out, you will always have this quite unique ability to communicate in Polish!

• Team-building activities

These include all sorts of outings, office celebrations as well as trips that help integrate all the employees together. Such activities are quite popular – in the survey, they are present in 35 per cent of Polish companies. Of course, if your company is not fond of organising such events, you can always initiate them yourself and suggest grabbing a beer after hours.

• Administrative support

Do you get a headache thinking about getting a residence or work permit? Did you think that visa is enough to start a new life in Poland? Some employers do realise that bureaucracy can be a nightmare, so they offer support in administrative matters, but they constitute only 31 per cent of all companies.

• Accommodation support

Another thing is having a roof over your head. 14 per cent of Polish employers know how vital it is and they provide help finding a flat or even let you use company apartments. The figure could be higher, however, as now such options are most frequently available to top managers and executives in general.

• Relocation package

Even less, since only 11 per cent of Polish employers provide their new employers with money to start afresh in Poland. You can always ask beforehand if such practice is in use in the company. Usually, it is a month's or more allowance to take some burden off your ex-pat shoulders.

• Family packages

The same amount of companies (11 per cent) provides their new foreign employees with family support packages, which may include various things, for instance finding a suitable school for ex-pat children, co-funding sports activities, nursery etc.

Are all employers supportive?

Sadly, but no, 27 per cent of the foreigners taking part in the survey for Monster revealed that they did not receive any special support whatsoever. Hopefully, the figure will improve, but as for now, you can always look for employers that do value their employees, both local and foreign ones and adjust to their specific needs to make the business run smoothly.