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Brief

Indeed – as part of their own company-wide CSR initiatives and programme of charitable giving -became involved in the work of UNHCR and the Tent Partnership for Refugees in Poland. 

The recruiter approached Worldspan to join forces with them to take the concept of “mass hiring fairs”- previously successfully delivered for the NHS in the UK- to Poland.  The idea was to help recently displaced Ukrainian refugees to find work. 

Challenges

The timeline from first briefing to "event ready" was less than four working weeks. A widely shared vision and mission for these events helped to foster a spirit of deeply collaborative effort. But the recruitment process - by its very nature - still had to be considered, thorough and, ultimately, respectful of all potential and successful candidates.

The event successfully took the concept of a "mass hiring fair" into an environment that was deeply uncertain, with real challenges in terms of availability of employers in the region and the readiness of candidates who were living in very difficult conditions. 

The event

The "mass hiring fair" concept allowed Indeed and Worldspan to move at speed. The events were held at easily accessible venues in Warsaw and Krakow.

The events were publicised to Ukrainian refugees through a partnership with the local government who supported with free advertising on local transport. Posters and leaflets were distributed to the refugee centres throughout Poland. Social media channels such as Telegraph and WhatsApp groups were also used, with Ukrainian Influencers publicising it on their channels.

The event was carried out in English but with translators’ available in Ukrainian, Russian,Romani, Polish and Sign Language.

Worldspan delivered full event management services for both events leading on: client management and liaison; stakeholder management and liaison; candidate/attendee management and liaison; venue sourcing and supplier management and support; creative and collateral branding and assets; logistics; technical production and staging support; evaluation.

Results

- 1929 candidates attended across the two events.

- 1032 interviews took place

- 608 job offers were made
- IOM Poland attended to offer free support with CVs, career counselling and information on labour and residency rights with over 300 CV’s written over the two events
- Wrap around support including childcare and interpretation was provided for all active candidates

- While a CSR initiative, Indeed Poland had 650K impressions on LinkedIn pages – the highest daily total recorded

- Over 50 companies and 10 NGOs with operations in Poland took part in the initiative over the two locations.

- 608 Ukrainian refugees were helped to find work in Poland.

Both Indeed and Worldspan committed significant time and resource on a pro bono basis to make sure the outcome was successful. 

Strong visual branding and merchandising, gave the event a unique identity and “personality”.  It now exists as a “ready-to-deploy”event model for future use and one that is able to be enacted quickly and cost-effectively.

The event was so successful that Indeed and Worldspan, supported by UNHRC and local NGO’s,  committed to running a further two events in Poland in 2023 plus events in the UK, Netherlands, Germany and Italy- all countries with significant refugees in need of jobs.

Verdict

Sophie Morris, Managing Director, Worldspan said: “Every now and then, but not often, you get the privilege to work on an event that literally changes people’s lives. 

"We are honoured to have been supporting our partner Indeed to deliver a series of hiring fairs across Poland for refugees fromUkraine. Over 50 major companies with operations in Poland took part in the job fairs, and over the two days, we have helped and supported over 1,000 displaced Ukrainians. 

"A tiny drop in a vast ocean of work that needs to be done but hugely humbling and exceptionally rewarding.”

James Allo, Senior Project Manager - Public Sector, Indeed said: “Thank you all for your incredible work to make the Job Fairs in Poland such a huge success! 

"Seeing the impact these events had on people's lives has been one of the high points of my career.”