When a Scandinavian company decides to open a shared services centre in Poland - or to outsource its finance and HR processes to a Polish partner - the first conversation usually revolves around costs.
That is natural. The wage gap between Poland and Denmark, Sweden or Norway is still significant. The Polish economy, the office infrastructure in the Tricity (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot), Kraków or Warsaw, access to an educated workforce with language skills - all of this sounds like a ready-made business case.
But after several years of working at the interface between Polish operational teams and Scandinavian parent organisations, I see clearly: what determines the long-term success of this collaboration rarely shows up in the cost spreadsheet.
Culture is what determines it. More specifically - whether both sides understand that they work according to different assumptions about what good collaboration looks like.
What Scandinavia means by "Partner"
In the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian working model, partnership is not a word from a sales proposal. It is a description of the expected relationship between organisations.
This means several things that may not be obvious to Polish SSC teams at the outset:
Flat hierarchy on the client side. A Danish CFO does not expect the Polish side to approach them through intermediaries. A Swedish Finance Director will not build the relationship through a long escalation chain. A Norwegian company expects that the person doing the work can contact the decision-maker directly - without formal intermediation.
The Polish organisational model can be different here. Accustomed to reporting hierarchies, Polish teams often wait for "authorisation" to speak with a more senior client representative. Scandinavians read this as a lack of engagement or a sign that something is being hidden.
Expectation of proactive communication. A Scandinavian client does not want to be informed only when something has gone well or when a problem has already been solved. They want to know about a problem the moment it arises - so that they can help or adjust expectations.
In Poland - both culturally and operationally - the prevailing tendency is to solve problems before reporting them. This is a valuable competence. But for a Scandinavian organisation that is used to transparency, silence in a crisis situation is a warning sign, not professionalism.
Consensus as a way of working, not a weakness. Swedes in particular - though Danes and Norwegians too - make decisions through internal consultation. A project that, from the Polish perspective, "is stuck waiting for a decision from the client" may simply be in the consultation phase with five people who need to give their approval.
This is not indecisiveness. It is a management style based on everyone feeling part of the process, and a decision that everyone is accountable for is implemented better than a decision imposed from above.
Three cultural differences that complicate day-to-day work the most
1. Attitude Toward Feedback
In Scandinavia, feedback is given directly, without lengthy preambles or diplomatic hedging. "The report was hard to read" - and that's it. No apologising, no softening. This is not a personal attack. It is work-related feedback.
Polish teams often perceive this kind of communication as personal criticism, which leads either to defensiveness or to excessive contrition ("sorry for causing trouble"). Neither of these reactions is well received by a Scandinavian counterpart. What they expect is simply: "We know, we understand, we're fixing it."
2. Attitude Toward Schedules
For Scandinavians, a deadline means a deadline. Not "give or take a few days". Not "we've basically finished, but we're still making corrections". Meeting a deadline is an element of mutual respect - if you cannot meet it, you inform them in advance and propose a new one.
This may seem trivial, but in practice it means that Polish teams must learn to say "no" at the moment they see that a deadline is unrealistic - not two days after it has been missed. Scandinavians prefer a difficult conversation early to a pleasant untruth for several weeks.
3. Attitude Toward Initiative
Janteloven - the Danish (and more broadly Scandinavian) cultural principle of not placing yourself above others - has a paradoxical effect in the context of B2B collaboration: Scandinavians expect a partner to be active and to take initiative, but they do not like it when someone does so ostentatiously.
In other words: they want you to propose a better solution when you see one. But they do not expect a presentation titled "how we optimised your process". They expect a conversation: "We see that this could be done differently - does that make sense?"
It is a subtle difference, but in a long-term relationship it is enormous.
What the Polish side brings - and why it is valuable
It is worth saying plainly: Polish work culture brings elements to this collaboration that Scandinavians genuinely value.
Operational flexibility. Polish teams are used to working amid shifting priorities, non-standard requests and ad hoc processes. A Scandinavian company that wants to launch a new operation quickly or handle peak volumes will find in Poland a capacity for rapid action that it does not always have at home.
Language competence. Polish F&A specialists with a command of English, Danish, Swedish or Norwegian are a real asset - and this is no coincidence. The Tricity in particular, with its history of ties to the Nordic market, produces professionals who are able to work within this culture.
High standards of technical expertise. Polish universities of economics and a dozen or so years of building the SSC ecosystem in Poland have produced a generation of finance professionals who understand end-to-end processes, know IFRS, and can work with systems such as SAP and Workday. This is not a "cheap resource". It is a competent resource at a lower price.
How this translates into collaboration in practice
From what I observe, the organisations that are most successful at building a lasting Polish-Scandinavian relationship do several things together:
They establish clear communication norms at the outset - they do not assume that "everyone knows how to work". It is not obvious. "How quickly do we reply to emails?", "When do we escalate?", "Who is the first point of contact on the client side and on the partner side?" - these are questions worth asking in the first month, not the eighth.
They invest in so-called cultural onboarding for Polish teams. This is not about a lecture on Janteloven. It is about a few concrete scenarios: "If a Danish client writes to you directly, you write back to them - you don't ask your manager for permission."
They build a mechanism for regular two-way feedback. A Scandinavian client who can say plainly every quarter "this works, this doesn't" is less tempted to terminate the collaboration abruptly. And a Polish side that knows what is well received does not waste energy on things that do not matter.
Why the Tricity has a distinctive position here
Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot - and the wider region - have historical and economic ties with Scandinavia that Kraków and Wrocław do not have. The port, trade, joint infrastructure projects, Scandinavian companies present in the region for decades.
This translates into something concrete: the availability of people who have had real exposure to the Scandinavian working style - not just in theory. A few years at FEBS (Fujifilm), at Danish Crown, at Nordea in the Tricity, at Coloplast - this is experience of working in a culture that applies these principles every day.
It is not the only location factor, but it is underestimated in discussions about where to locate processes.
Instead of a summary
The cost difference between Poland and Scandinavia - yes, it is significant. But a Polish company or service centre that offers only that is replaceable. By the next country that will be cheaper.
The lasting value of this collaboration is built where the Polish partner understands that the Scandinavian client does not want a supplier - they want someone who will speak plainly when something is not right, deliver on what they promised, and proactively look for better solutions instead of waiting for instructions.
This is exactly the competence that Polish organisations can build. And one that, over a 5-year horizon, is worth more than any exchange rate.
Wiktoria Wierzbicka is HR Project & Operations Manager at Pomerico Group - a BPO partner specialising in finance and HR outsourcing for international companies operating in Poland. Pomerico works with organisations from the Scandinavian and Central European markets, supporting the building of effective operational teams. Contact: consult@pomerico.com.
