Meet our HR team in Krakow

Hi all, please could you introduce yourselves and what you do.

Barbara - I’m Barbara and I’ve been in HR Advisory for nine years now. Basically, I help people. I lead the teams of advisors providing support to our UBS employees in Poland, the UK and Switzerland.

Marcin - My name is Marcin. I’m the lead developer and IT business analyst for the main HR reporting & analytics database. Together with my team we make sure we provide accurate data and take care of data security.

Aleksandra – Hey, I’m Aleksandra. I’m the team leader for the Swiss Onboarding team. My team prepares and delivers contracts for candidates, creates company profiles for them and makes sure that their first day is as positive as possible.

Weronika - Hi! My name is Weronika and I’m working in the Swiss HR Operations Exit team. My team supports Swiss colleagues who have decided to leave the company.

And you’re all part of the HR function in Krakow. Do you still remember your first day here?

A – Yes, we're all part of HR, and for me it was almost three years ago and I was both excited and quite stressed at the same time. Once I met my team (a group of great people, by the way) I felt at home. Everyone took care of me and was eager to help. This allowed me to hit the ground running and have early successes.

W - I remember it very well. It was just after my university exams and I was eager to find new opportunities in my life. On the first day here, I participated in the induction session featuring some of the leadership from UBS in Poland. The atmosphere of the group felt really special.

What do you like in your daily work?

B – The people. I also love the variety of my work as it allows me to build up my reporting skills, IT skills, and many other things that I never thought would be part of my job. It develops me not only as an employee but as a person.

M - I need to collaborate with many people every day to understand their needs and deliver solutions to them. When you feel that your knowledge is of value to people and you see the impact of your work, it’s great.

A - No two days are the same. This is what I like the most. Day by day I’m gaining experience, meeting new people and facing new challenges. Being exposed to new situations is when I’m learning the most.

W - As I’m people oriented, I really like the possibility to have lots of contact with my colleagues (here in Krakow and also in Switzerland). Every day we’re dealing with different people and we have to treat everybody individually. This is my favorite part of work!

From what you're saying, working in HR is a lot about collaboration. So how do your colleagues inspire you?

B - I observe how they work and get motivated to do my job even better. They also inspire me with what they do outside of work. This is a gathering of extraordinary people. Thanks to them, I’ve taken part in volunteering initiatives and the Krakow Business Run too.

M - For me, inspiration comes from the whole group, from the projects we have and all the ideas flowing around us. Observing colleagues having a good time working together every day and enjoying what they do is always inspiring to me.

A - I’m a very lucky person. I have the pleasure of working with very inspirational people. Their resilience, focus, and overall tenacity, or their openness to different initiatives or changes, makes me want to be a part of it too.

W - My team is brilliant. They’re good company and together we’re able to face every challenging situation. Each team member contributes something valuable.

How diversified is HR? How does this benefit the culture?

B - When speaking to my colleagues who work elsewhere, I am amazed and grateful for the diversity that UBS offers. In my team, we have some colleagues from abroad and that works perfectly for the group. When I observe how UBS promotes respect towards everyone, I'm encouraged. My brother has cerebral palsy, and so I really notice how people treat each other.

M - It really makes the atmosphere more open, promoting collaboration and an increased understanding of other cultures. The mix of different personalities is always enriching.

A - Working in a multicultural and diverse environment really generates new ideas and creative solutions. Individuals from different backgrounds can offer a selection of talents, skills and experiences. This is great for bouncing ideas off of each other!

It sounds like there is a big mix of people. You must speak so many languages! How important is it to have language skills?

A - We support a global organization, so I cannot imagine someone working here without a good knowledge of English. This is our business language and we use it on a daily basis for e-mails and calls. Also knowing other languages frees us, because we can communicate with people around the world more easily.

W - In my team, language skills are a big part of our daily work. As we are working for Switzerland, our team is providing services in four languages – English, German, French and Italian.