Sii Lodz grows despite the pandemic – over 300 specialists and international projects

The Sii Lodz branch already has more than 300 workers and occupies over 2 500m2 of space in the current office at 79 Kopcińskiego Street. It is here that specialists carry out projects for international clients. Since last year, there has been also some from the Swiss market. Although a large part of the team works remotely, workers are in constant contact and develop common passions.

Sii Lodz has been present on the market for 8 years. How did the branch in central Poland grow during this time?

– At the first press conference accompanying the opening of Sii Lodz in 2012, we declared that the employment level was 80 people. Today we have more than 300 specialists on board and believe that the pandemic and temporary turndown in business will not stop us from further dynamic growth – says Maciej Topczewski, Regional Director. – The development of Sii Lodz would not be possible without local clients, e.g. from the banking or hi-tech sectors. What also keeps us motivated is the process of building teams for foreign projects. We focus on the Swiss market, and especially the financial, retail and hi-tech sectors. We cooperate with 8 clients included in the list of the top 100 largest companies and SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich. An important part of our development is the company culture, which our workers appreciate. An anonymous employee survey was a deciding factor in Sii’s winning the Great Place to Work title for the sixth time in a row. We are the only company in the region that can boast that – he adds.

Thanks to the diversification of clients and projects, Sii Poland gives workers many opportunities – they can change not only their location but also the project they are currently working on within the organization.

– In each project there comes a time when you already know every nook and cranny of the system, there is no line of code you haven’t seen and you have all frameworks at your fingertips. In my case, it was no different. At my superior’s suggestion, instead of applying to other companies, I filled out a form in the internal Job Changer application. Even though I never believed in such solutions, I thought I’d try this time. And it all worked – even much faster than I expected. I have been on a new project for a year now. I am developing again, exploring the world of IoT as well as learning new cloud solutions and technologies that I have not known before. I can honestly say that the passion for programming has revived – explains Maciej Osyda, Senior Java Developer.

Apart from projects, they also share common passions

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the Sii Lodz team spent time together not only at numerous team-building events, but also when running or training football and volleyball. However, staying at home does not have to mean losing contact with each other. Thanks to daily online meetings over a cup of morning coffee, competitions, animations for children or a channel for exchanging favourite books, series and films, a large part of the Lodz team can spend time together remotely.

A group of board game fans has also moved online. – Even though the pandemic kept us indoors for several weeks, we have not given up meeting. With the available platforms, we were able to move online. In the lockdown, we played even more than usual. We invite all workers who would like to see how board games have changed since the days of Scrabble and Man, Don’t Get Angry to join us – says Ludwika Majchrzak, Senior Analyst.

Sii Lodz specialists are also willing to share knowledge during technological meetups, organized under the banner of Code Cruise. The formula has also changed and now the exchange of knowledge is possible thanks to webinars. All upcoming events can be followed after joining a dedicated Facebook group.

Due to the development of the branch and the establishment of cooperation with new clients, specialists are still needed. Sii Lodz is mainly looking for ServiceNow, Office365 and BI experts, Angular and React front-end developers as well as Azure DevOps engineers. The entire recruitment process can be performed remotely. It is up to the candidate whether he or she wants to meet in person, at the office or have a phone or online conversation. In the case of working for Swiss clients, the company also offers relocation.

All current job offers can be found in the career section on www.sii.pl.