Amidst the constantly evolving challenges, the Czech business services sector stands out by combining digital transformation with a people-first approach that prioritizes diversity and inclusion.

PEOPLE & TALENT MANAGEMENT:

Focus on attracting and retaining talent, with innovative HR strategies and employee engagement practices.

ESG TOWARDS RESILIENCE:

Emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, highlighting sustainability and corporate responsibility.

TRAINING & EDUCATION:

Importance of continuous learning and development for employees to stay relevant in a rapidly changing industry.

REAL ESTATE & OFFICE MARKET:

Trends in workplace design and location, balancing remote work and in-office collaboration.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION & CYBERSECURITY:

Continued advancement in digital technologies and a strong focus on maintaining robust cybersecurity measures.

When we take a closer look at individual cities, we see that Prague and Brno are the best-rated, especially in terms of quality of public transportation. Regarding the city’s image for investors, Prague receives the highest rating, also in terms of the accessibility of the city concerning transportation infrastructure, such as airport or train. Meanwhile, Brno excels in the availability of modern office spaces. Other cities, such as Ostrava, Plzen or Liberec received the highest number for availability of talent pool incl. qualified staff.

The primary focus for Czech centres, both in the upcoming year 2024 and as they look towards the end of 2026, revolves significantly around recruiting and retaining staff in key positions and with critical skills. In the more extended term, as we approach 2026, there’s an elevated emphasis on the somewhat more critical and high-priority tasks of effectively managing costs and creating new value. Equally important and with high priority remains maintaining the well-being and resilience of employees, which even become higher priority than last year.

82%

of centres consider recruiting and retaining staff in key positions as high or critical priority for the year

1.

Recruiting and retaining staff in key positions and with critical skills.

2.

Managing costs, creating new value (value creating strategies)

3.

Maintaining the well-being and resilience of employees

4.

Promoting customer-centricity

5.

Digitization investments

The activities on the top of the 2024 agenda of the Czech centres prioritise the Digital Transformation but aim also to increase Value and Strengthen Foundations. The most important for the year 2024 is to accelerate digital transformation and reduce operation cost through greater process automation. However, the biggest change is in the deploy/improve cybersecurity capabilities +16% compared to the year 2023.

Based on the surveyed companies, we observe a rise in support for South America and APAC this year. Nevertheless, it’s noteworthy that Western Europe continues to be the most heavily supported region.

This Fusion Leader work group ran a survey across multiple business services centres to find out more about foreigners living in Czechia and who work in the sector.

Project group: Štepán Böswart (Knorr-Bremse), Beata Hriňová (Johnson & Johnson), Karolina Charouzková (Siemens), Nicolas Pottier (ADP), Hana Michelová (Infosys), Helena Tabakovová as a Coach.

Centres continue to expand their knowledge-based activities steadily. At the partner level, predominant services include Finance and Accounting, IT services, as well as Research and Development. Notably, a substantial proportion of Customer Operations also falls within the partner level. At the developing stage, focus is on services like Data Analytics and Document Management.

In Czech business service centres, technology and innovation thrive as robots and automation contribute to 6% of the workforce. With a collective strength of 10,500 FTEs, the sector averages around 53 FTEs per centre, showcasing a commitment to cutting-edge efficiency.

In 2023, IT services, especially in cybersecurity and information security, are on the rise, aligning with Czech business service priorities. On the flip side, customer operations and remote sales in marketing show a slowdown this year. However, it’s essential to recognize that these trends are subject to variation based on companies that take part in the ABSL Survey 2023.