ANDRZEJ KORKUS

President of the Migration Platform EWL

Currently people that manage companies, more frequently turn their focus on their organization having a broader social context and undertaking initiatives relating to social responsibility of their business. What actions in this respect is your company taking, how are they realized and what does responsible leadership mean to you?

You can say that the sense and mission of Migration Platform EWL come from the social idea of responsible business. From the company’s founding we manage an efficient operation in the area of migration which is very important not only to Poland but for the whole world. In our everyday work we help thousands of people find decent jobs, although the last few months have passed with a need for even greater help that arose with the migration of Ukrainian refugees. From the beginning of the war we have undertaken a series of helping efforts, directed at Ukrainian citizens in our country, especially for mothers with children, as well as those that remained in the occupied Ukraine to fight for their country. Within the framework of the Supporting Migrants In The Workplace Market EWL Foundation, literally in the first hours of the war, we initiated the evacuation of our employees and their families from Ukraine back to Poland. Within five days we not only evacuated over 1200 people from Lviv, but we also offered them shelter in EWL’s housing allowances. On top of that, on February the 24th the EWL Foundation activated the Mother With Child Centre dedicated for Ukrainian refugees and their children, located in the Warsaw West Station building. Thanks to the Centres work we could deliver warm supper, necessary hygiene products and first aid materials daily, for those who decided to escape to Poland. This would not be possible if it wasn’t for dedicated volunteers and Migration Platform EWL’s workers, who have overseen the smooth organization of various actions and for the safety of the refugees from day one. An important role was played by the special project “Backpack for Ukraine” directed in cooperation with United Volunteers. Thanks to a combined effort we were able to carry out the collection of essential relief items and medical supplies, which found their way to regions affected by war. We packed a combined 165 transports of humanitarian aid. Today we continue to help, getting involved in actions in the range of actively employing foreigners, taking advantage of experience we have garnered over the past 15 years. Our actions are focused on helping foreigners find decent jobs, eliminating language barriers and supporting integration into a new environment. To the present day we have been able to find work for a combined 11 thousand refugees, including 9 thousand refugees in Poland and for 2 thousand in other EU countries.

More and more investors, financial institutions choose organizations that function with ESG protocols as their business partners. Do you think this is right? In what manner does the company you manage go outside of the business as usual model? What does it do for the climate, local communities, diversity and what would you like to implement in the near future?

As the Migration Platform EWL we have been altering the landscape of global migration through comprehensive assistance granted to thousands of candidates across the world. Our goal is reducing obstacles and eliminating barriers that stand in their way to self-realization, which they encounter during their social integration processes or when searching for jobs. We are aware how important equal access to resources and opportunity for professional growth are. Thanks to our wide reaching recruitment network and continually evolving technologies, we assist foreign governments in reducing unemployment. At the same time we invite other companies to conduct global recruitment of candidates to local job markets. Supporting sustainable migration labor is not just something additional, it is business as usual.

Each company creates their own corporate policy, which contains values seen by clients from the outside. Are clients more willing to select a specific company, since it does something good, something which the client identifies with, or does the decision depend mainly on the price? What is your opinion, what trends have you noticed, are you changing anything in that respect?

If people believe in what they are doing, they do it better and more effectively. The effects of this are thoroughly and punctually realized projects, which determine the level of trust of our clients and their desire to continue to work with us. The foundation of our values lies in the policy based upon ‘I believe in cooperation, openness and tolerance in the spirit of questioning the status quo. From the beginning the center of our operations have been the people, that is why mutual trust plays a major role. We want to work with people that share common values with us, which is why these values are important to us.

Growth of values and ethical codes in many organizations may be an attest to a rising awareness in this respect. Many managers declare that it focuses on ethics as the central point of its operations. Is complying with rules of fair play in managing a guarantee of stable growth in a company?

Decidedly yes. If we comply with rules of fair play, that means that we all play according to clear and well defined rules. In result this means that we know how to work with each other minimizing the risk of making mistakes. In our work we thrive towards transparency of our operations and dialogue based on respect. In working with others we value each person’s ideas, regardless of their position in the organization. Thanks to this we create an environment supportive in undertaking independent actions.

The world needs smart and quality leaders that want to positively affect their environment. Was there ever a time where you started looking for a deeper sense of your work, ability to do something good for your community or country? What were you able to realize?

This moment came about very early. Consciousness of the fact we are doing something unique on a global scale has accompanied us nearly since the beginning. We observed how non-transparent and unorganized the migration labor sector was, which is why in the early stages of growth of the company we understood that we are in a good, although challenging position. From the perspective of local initiatives we were able to organize amongst other things, Christmas dinners, Easter breakfasts for lonesome people, according to the eastern calendar, or the initiative “Holidays Without Dad” for Ukrainian war orphans. In the 15 years of our operations we have found work for over 100 thousand people. We were able to positively influence their lives, giving them and their families better work and ability to grow.

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Last Updated on December 15, 2022 by Anastazja Lach