BPO/Shared Services Industry
- Low saturation of the market
- Strong service base
- Available labor with low attrition rates, proficient in foreign languages
- The right time zone to service European customers
Strong Service Base Glancing at Serbia's trade balance in the service industry draws to the conclusion that business, professional and technical services account for close to 20% of Serbia's exports in this domain. This indicates that the level of development and internationalization of the service sector in Serbia is rather high, establishing the prerequisites for swift and more dynamic development of shared services and BPO. On the investment side, total FDI in financial intermediation, which includes shared services, accounts for a very large and increasing share of total FDI inflow (66%, 2008), attesting to great potential for the entire tertiary sector when it comes to overall inward investment.
Available and Productive Labor Inward investment in shared services is still low, thus offering many opportunities for further development. The market is still fresh, as only a handful of companies have thus far capitalized on this opportunity. Recruitment of young graduates and undergraduates is simple given the high unemployment rate, especially among the under-30 population.
Educated People Proficient in Foreign Languages The workforce in Serbia is reliable, with a robust skills base, and a business culture stemming from strong cultural and business ties with the West. The country has a level of multilingualism - especially English language - almost without parallel in many other parts of Central and Eastern Europe. People are highly trained, productive, ready to work, and work hard. Moreover, various Government-sponsored programs are creating a qualified labor pool through training and development, thus ensuring a constant stream of work-ready staff.
Perfect Timing Serbia is located at the heart of CEE and shares the same time zone as most West European countries (GMT+1), thus offering obvious advantages when compared to off-shore regions like India.
