BSS affiliate in Poland: Tamara Panic about her experience abroad

The adventure began in mid-April: Tamara Panic, Cost Accountant at Beiersdorf Shared Services (BSS) Global Finance Services, started her journey to Poland. The destination was the BSS affiliate in Poznań. The recently founded company is also called “BSS Hub” and started operations at the beginning of the year. It is – analogous to BSS Hamburg – divided into two lines: BSS IT and BSS Global Finance Services. There Tamara spent a 2-month assignment in European Supply Chain Controlling. We met her at the end of her stay in the BSS Poland office in June. In an interview, she reported how she liked the new department, whether she can apply the new learnings in her job in Hamburg, and what her résumé is.

My new team fully integrated me right away, so I felt welcome and part of the team since day one. I was directly involved in business tasks and appointments as well as in more informal team activities, so I never felt like I had just joined.

What I particularly appreciated: My team, which consisted exclusively of Polish colleagues, always spoke English when I was present.

During my studies, I was a working student in Global Controlling at Beiersdorf. After graduating, I joined Beiersdorf Shared Services as an Accounting Specialist. My current role, also at Beiersdorf Shared Services, is that of a Financial Accountant in Cost Accounting. So, I was already able to gain experience in Controlling and my current job in Cost Accounting also connects to certain tasks performed in Supply Chain Controlling. However, I did not have any specific, in-depth insights before my assignment abroad.

The two areas build on each other: in my job in Hamburg, I provide the basis for the Polish colleagues’ reporting. My time in Poland has therefore helped me to grasp and understand the bigger picture and larger context of my work. This knowledge is definitely useful for my work in Hamburg as well.

On the one hand, I found it exciting to get to know a different way of working: While I mainly work on defined tasks in Hamburg, I was involved in two projects in Poznań.
In addition, I structured my general working day in the Polish affiliate differently. In the morning, many team members would come to work 15 to 20 minutes earlier to have breakfast or coffee together in the cafeteria. That’s a very different, more dynamic start into the day. Throughout the working day, I often met with parts of the team for a short exchange, be it for lunch or for a 10-minute coffee chat. I have the feeling that these short breaks have contributed a lot to the team spirit and really brought people together. I will definitely keep that up in Hamburg!

I highly recommend a stay abroad. I had a great time in an exciting city, surrounded by great people and was able to broaden my horizons and knowledge. This not only professionally, but also in terms of soft skills: By working within a country and thus culture new to me, I got to know different perspectives, which I find very enriching. I think my time in Poland was a great development opportunity and I am grateful I have received and taken it.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us, dear Tamara!

After studying digital communications, writing her master’s thesis together with Beiersdorf, and gaining experience in journalism, marketing and corporate communications, Laura joined Beiersdorf’s Corporate Digital Communications team in March 2021, where she is responsible for a wide range of communications projects related to digitalization. As befits a digital communications strategist, however, areas such as social media and digital employee communications are not neglected.