PaulSourcing: Ten Commandments for Doing Business with Poland

The PaulSourcing agency has prepared ten recommendations for doing business with Poland for Czech entrepreneurs interested in business relations with Poland. In 2020, it was supplemented with 4 current tips.

1. Market analysis and export strategy At the beginning of business activities in Poland, a Czech company should have basic information about the market situation and the competition in the given segment. It is important to correctly identify the target group of potential buyers/customers and mark the goals that the company wants to achieve on the Polish market in a certain time horizon.
2. Sufficient resources The success of a company on the foreign market is conditioned by a sufficient amount of both financial and human resources. It is necessary to take into account the allocation of employees who will focus on the Polish market, the eventual employment of new workers, as well as business trips to Poland, and possibly also the invitation of Polish partners to the Czech Republic to visit your company.
3. Contacting potential partners It is always better to contact the company by phone than only in writing. Polish companies rarely respond to unknown e-mails. Most companies in Poland are able to communicate in English. Of course, contact in the Polish language and with a Polish SIM card are an advantage. Furthermore, it is necessary to have quality promotional materials about your company, preferably in the Polish language. For the initial approach, you need to prepare a letter representing the company with an emphasis on the uniqueness of the product with which you want to establish yourself on the Polish market. This also applies to other materials such as catalogs, price lists, and others. Everything should be clear and professionally processed.
4. References In Poland, the emphasis is on the trustworthiness of business partners. Submit references about your company to potential Polish partners. Czechs are the most popular nation in Poland, as the only ones who exceeded the 50% threshold in preferences according to the survey. Invite your Polish partners to the Czech Republic.

Ten points for trading with Poland

1. Optimists Poles are great enthusiasts or even incorrigible optimists. While doing business in Poland, it is necessary to maintain sense and realism, but remember that determination promotes success.
2. Well-deserved praise pleases Poles are very fond of well-deserved praise and find it difficult to tolerate criticism. Don’t overdo it with compliments, Poles are sensitive to fakes.
3. Appropriately selected delegation Consider the number of representatives at the business meeting, too large a delegation can be perceived as coercion.
4. Basic knowledge of Polish history Poles are very sensitive to historical events, learn a few essential facts from the history of our neighbors. This will earn you the respect of your partner.
5. Invitation to lunch It is important who pays for lunch. Don’t insist too strongly that you pay. But in case you invited to the meeting, do not forget to offer such a solution.
6. Expression of interest Poles like to maintain informal relationships, often confirmed by alcohol consumption. Try not to be indifferent to such invitations. Family is a frequent topic of conversation. Show interest and you will gain your partner’s trust.
7. Punctuality is a must In Poland, special emphasis is placed on punctuality. Arriving on time is an expression of respect for your partner.
8. The important role of the community In larger investments, it is important to maintain relationships with the local community. The role of mediator is often assumed by municipalities, the church, volunteer fire brigades, etc. Poles like to accept gifts, but considering the sensitivity of the topic of corruption, they should not be expensive.
9. A few Polish words Poles are convinced that their language is very difficult and inaccessible to foreigners. Learning a few basic words will help you break the stereotype and improve relationships.
10. Church holidays Respect Polish church holidays, for many Poles they are a particularly important part of national identity.

Practical telephone numbers (emergency services, police, firemen, information lines, etc.)

Basic emergency/crisis phone numbers:

• 112 – emergency line for the entire EU
• 997 – Police (Policja)
• 998 – firefighters (Państwowa Straż Pożarna)
• 999 – ambulance service (Państwowe Ratownictwo Medyczne/Pogotowie)

Other numbers:

• 995 – Police Headquarters – Child Alert system (Komenda Główna Policji – Child Alert system)
• 19 115 – Municipal contact center for the capital Warsaw ( https://warszawa19115.pl/ )
• 981 – Towing service (Pogotowie drogowe)
• 986 – City Police (Straż Miejska)
• 987 – Crisis Management Center Infoline

Important web links and contacts

• President PR
• Government Office
• Diet
• Senate

Ministries:

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Ministry of Development, Labor and Technology
• Ministry of Infrastructure
• Ministry of Finance
• Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
• Ministry of Climate and Environment
• Ministry of National Defence
• Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy
• Ministry of National Education and Science
• Ministry of Health
• Department of Justice
• Ministry of Family and Social Policy
• Ministry of the Interior and Administration
• Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
• Ministry of Sports
• Ministry of Digitization
• Ministry of State Assets
• Central Bank
• Statistical Office
• State Tax Administration
• Polish Development Fund
• Czech-Polish Chamber of Commerce
• Polish Chamber of Commerce
• Polish Agency for Investment and Trade
• Polish Agency for Development and Entrepreneurship

General information portals:

• Polish Press Agency
• TVN24
• TVN24BiS
• Rzeczpospolita
• Wyborcza
• Newspaper
• Onet
• Polsat News
• TVPInfo
• WirtualnaPoland
• Interior

Business legal and financial portals:

• Business Insider
• Dziennik Gazeta Prawna
• Gazeta Podatkowa
• Information
• Money
• Pulse of Business
• Virtual Nowy Przemysl
• Tax portal
• Financial portal

Poland, officially the Republic of Poland (Polska, Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a Central European country bordering Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, and Lithuania and Russia (Kaliningrad Region) to the north. From the north, Poland has access to the Baltic Sea with 770 km of coastline. The surface of the country is mostly flat, mountains make up most of the southern border. The political constitution of Poland is a parliamentary republic. The head of state is the directly elected president, the head of government is the prime minister, who relies on the confidence gained in the parliament.

Membership in the European Union and strong transatlantic ties are decisive for Poland’s foreign policy. In addition, Poland is a member country of all major international organizations. Poland is a high-income economy (21st country in the world by nominal GDP). Services are the dominant sector with a share of approximately 58% of GDP. For 2021, Poland reported strong GDP growth of 5.3%. It was thus possible to erase the losses from 2020, when GDP fell by 2.5% in connection with the covid-19 pandemic.

The Polish economy reached its pre-pandemic level in the second quarter of 2021. Poland manages to maintain a low unemployment rate, which is the second lowest in the EU. The amount of public debt was at the level of 55.5% of GDP at the end of 2021. The volume of mutual trade between the Czech Republic and Poland reached a record value of CZK 70billion in 2021, with a deficit of CZK 4 billion from the Czech Republic’s point of view. However, Poland still offers a number of perspective fields with opportunities for Czech companies. These include mainly the transport industry and infrastructure (National Road Construction Program for the period 2014 – 2023), energy (modernization of power plants, support for renewable energy sources) or health care (increasing spending on health care).