FOLGA launches a new video/podcast format FolGIANTS, in which, together with HR experts and labor market practitioners, we show how to wisely design cooperation with a modern employment agency.
First episode FolGIGANTÓW "(PRO)employee quarters"„ focuses on the realities that in many companies today determine the effectiveness of recruitment and the stability of operations: employee accommodation, travel logistics, their privacy and security.
In this episode you will learn, among other things:
- why employee accommodation is one of the key elements of employee mobility and recruitment success today,
- is it possible to recruit without providing accommodation,
- what is important for foreign workers when choosing accommodation,
- what to pay attention to when choosing accommodation,
- what role do audits and standards play in assessing accommodation conditions,
- what are the most common mistakes companies make when operating under time pressure, and how to learn from them,
- what trend in the housing needs of employees can be seen for the next year/two years.
The guest of the conversation is Adrian Klonowski – Deputy Director of Operations and Development at FOLGA.
The full transcript of the interview is available below:
Hubert Ostrowski (HO)
Hello, welcome to the FolGIGANCI format, in which, together with HR experts, we show you how to wisely cooperate with a modern employment agency.
My name is Hubert Ostrowski, and in today's episode, we'll be talking about employee accommodations. We'll discuss their role for employers, what employees pay attention to, and how important good accommodations are to a business's operational efficiency. To ensure the meeting remains substantive, my guest today is Adrian Klonowski, Deputy Director of Operations and Development at FOLGA. Hi Adrian!
Adrian Klonowski (AK)
Good morning, Hubert. Greetings, ladies and gentlemen.
Why does an employment agency provide employee accommodation?
HO
At Folda, you're responsible for employee accommodation, transportation, and commuting, among other things. This is a rather unusual topic, because why would an employment agency even bother with employee accommodation?
AK
I believe that employee accommodations play a significant role today in the context of employee mobility, because the employees we bring in from abroad expect that accommodations will be provided. And now, for the entire mission to be successful in securing this operational infrastructure, we, as an employment agency, must focus on arranging such accommodations within close proximity to the workplace, to the client we are working with. Therefore, if employee accommodations are needed, then transport is also involved – all logistics must come into play here.
Therefore, we must focus very carefully on finding a solution, first and foremost, in the context of arranging accommodations in a good location. Very often, the employee accommodations we provide are not located directly next to the client, and this is due, among other things, to certain standards we have adopted. As the FOLGA Group, we primarily focus on standardization in terms of accommodation quality, not necessarily on ensuring that the accommodation is the closest location to the client. When comparing transportation costs and employee turnover costs, the answer is clear: the standard of accommodation, which translates into benefits stemming from minimizing the risk of turnover, is more important to us than the possibility of the accommodation being located nearby without transportation arrangements.
Why is it important to provide accommodation for employees?
HO
But is it still possible to effectively recruit employees today without providing them with these very needs of transport and accommodation?
AK
We need to ask ourselves whether such a solution will work in the long term. And from my own experience, despite various attempts over the past few years at organizing recruitment without employee accommodation, we ultimately ended up supporting ourselves with decisions related to opening such accommodation. This is because more and more foreign employees are coming to us, starting to work with us, and for them, using our accommodation is an essential part of this cooperation. The answer to this is very simple. It's a communication problem, namely the language barrier and issues related to deposits or security deposits, resulting from the fact that tenants and landlords who want to rent a given property to an employee also want to protect themselves in some way. Therefore, we shoulder this burden of responsibility, the burden of the organization itself, so that employees can focus solely on working and achieving the fulfillment they expect from us.
What expectations do foreign workers have?
HO
You mentioned foreign workers here, and let me cite the latest data from the Central Statistical Office. At the end of September 2025, over 1.1 million foreigners were working in Poland. This is over 7% more than a year earlier. Foreigners choose Poland to work, but they also have their own expectations regarding the work itself, the profession itself, logistics, and accommodation. So what are the expectations of foreign workers who choose Poland as their new home?
AK
If we consider statistical issues, the most important element here is certainly that these employees expect adequate comfort and quality, especially since they want to have the right conditions to relax after work. So, when we talk about the standard and quality of accommodation, we're definitely talking about rooms for 2-4 people.
At the FOLGA Group, we also strive to select people according to their shifts when organizing this accommodation, so that even if we're dealing with a four-person room, people from the same shift share the room. This prevents situations where night shift workers disturb those who are on the morning shift, and so on. This also prevents friction between employees within the room itself. Of course, double rooms are largely occupied by couples, and we adhere to this, primarily to ensure double rooms for couples. But I'm also noticing a trend in the context of appropriate standardization: there's a growing need for single-occupancy rooms. These rooms are, for example, made available to drivers, foremen, and leaders. This has a tangible impact on these employees' turnover, simply because they have these appropriate conditions.
How has the standard of accommodation changed in recent years?
HO
This accommodation model, this standard of accommodation you're talking about now, somewhat disrupts the perception and general belief about workers' quarters. It's about very poor living conditions: 7-8 people in one room, bunk beds, mess, mold on the walls, terrible conditions. How has this standard of workers' accommodation in Poland changed over the years?
AK
Today, we're trying to achieve a situation where this standard is high enough, specifically due to the lack of bunk beds, and due to the provision of rooms and an adequate number of double rooms. We're noticing a trend that employees are definitely better off living in such rooms. But there's also the issue of couples themselves. Seeing, for example, recruitment issues, where more couples are joining. And to meet their needs, we must provide them with adequate accommodation. So, by focusing on all these elements, we strive to maintain this standardization at a truly high level. However, returning to the evolution itself – it's not the case that this evolution has encompassed all companies on the market. Unfortunately, I'm observing a negative trend in the fact that not everyone operating in the market – clients, contractors – is operating in a manner consistent with this evolution. Now, one might ask what this evolution means in the context of employee accommodation. It primarily means that this standard is tailored to the needs of employees. We recognize the need for employee accommodations to no longer be the same as most of us imagine, that is, dormitory rooms and so on. Instead, they want to have the same conditions as they would have if they lived in an apartment or a house. Achieving this expected level of employee satisfaction requires a great deal of effort and a commitment to rising to the occasion. This is a significant challenge, as we must not only be responsive to this evolution but also manage it in such a way that, in some respects, we even become pioneers in what should be implemented in the context of employee expectations.
A modern workers' housing estate in Kutno
HO
And Folga seems to have chosen this path, as the evolution began about five years ago, when we decided to build a workers' housing estate near Kutno. This is also our gem in terms of the standard of accommodation. Tell us about this estate.
AK
Regarding our employee housing estate in Kutno, this also confirms my earlier words regarding a certain standardization we have adopted as the FOLGA Group. This estate very much meets the expectations of employees in terms of a place where they can not only relax, but above all, live and fulfill their needs, including family ones, outside of work. And as for the estate in Kutno, it comprises 46 semi-detached units, with 552 beds. This extensive accommodation base not only serves as a lodging option for employees, but above all, serves as our base for connecting our entire operational and logistical infrastructure. The estate in Kutno itself is a strategic point for us, enabling us to deploy employees to various parts of Poland, to various clients.
And what I faced when I launched the housing estate in Kutno a few years ago was that the employees who had the opportunity to live in this estate and were then delegated to various work areas for different clients, compared and compared a certain quality of these accommodations.
Our strong focus on quality in the construction and organization of these accommodations in Kutno meant that we also had to take decisive action to significantly improve the quality of accommodation in our other facilities, which we often leased from contractors to secure these accommodations. Therefore, today, the FOLGA Group no longer only relies on this to acquire prepared employee accommodations, either in consultation with intermediaries or direct owners, but we also organize these accommodations ourselves by renting premises that we directly adapt to our needs. This significantly allows us not only to maintain a certain level of operational and logistical efficiency, which is a measurable factor in maintaining a certain level of employee retention, but above all, it secures our interests in the context of client relationships. Because a satisfied client and a satisfied employee are our tangible success.
Latin American workers in Poland
HO
You mentioned employees who come with their entire families. A good example is Latinos, who place great importance on caring for their families. Entire families often come to us. In our report „"Work in Poland. Stereotypes of Latin Americans"” In 2025, Latinos working in Poland indicated in 85% that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their housing conditions. Among them were Latinos living in a housing estate in Kutno. What influenced this? Was it the same level of room amenities, was there support from other people, or was it close to work?
AK
Let's remember that the quality and comfort of accommodations are one thing. Employees also prioritize privacy, security, and other factors that contribute to this satisfaction. In terms of privacy, we can have very high-quality accommodation, but considering the market, these often include multi-person rooms. Therefore, in terms of maintaining this privacy, by offering these single- and double-person rooms, we ensure employee satisfaction. For them, the most important factors are comfort and quality, privacy, and security. Considering that employee accommodations are often not adequately secured to provide employees with a place to store their personal belongings, valuables, and other valuables, security in the form of appropriate lockable furniture or CCTV is essential. This also reflects the various incidents that can occur and their subsequent verification. The 85% we're discussing confirms the direction we're heading. The context is that we need to put ourselves in the employee's shoes and, based on this experience, strive to adapt to their needs. Considering that the first people who come to us are those who want to work hard and enjoy tangible benefits, and considering that we also have Spanish-speaking coordinators from various Latin American countries, we see that these are people who have started learning Polish and have begun supporting us in the processes related to serving these employees. So, very often, it's no longer a matter of relying solely on Spanish-speaking employees, but primarily on those from those regions of the world. Their mentality allows us to clearly understand the needs of employees who come to us from far away. So, obviously, it's also a difficult decision for them, one they must make in the context of trusting an agency in Poland. As we know, there are many cases in various articles where these employees experienced various problems after arriving in Poland. Therefore, we not only want the accommodation to be of adequate quality for them, but above all, for them to feel safe with us. So, if we combine these comfort-related issues,
with security and privacy, we have this tangible benefit in the form of the fact that these employees want to work and live with us.
What should you consider when choosing employee accommodation?
HO
Privacy, good living conditions. And this seems to me to be part of your framework, or perhaps even a checklist, when looking for accommodations for employees. After all, not all employees can live in Kutno. You probably have a way of evaluating such places. When browsing offers
and what are your criteria when looking for this accommodation?
AK
From my experience, and that of those I work with, these listings often reflect the reality of what we see in the photos. So, in the context of the checklist itself, I won't dwell on the specific steps we go through to launch such a facility, but I will discuss the process itself. Therefore, before we can begin working with a specific accommodation provider or property owner to prepare accommodation according to our needs, we must verify the entire building. Any building that can be adapted or already meets our expectations must be thoroughly verified. And in fact, knowledge of building law is also crucial here. Houses or buildings prepared for employee accommodation must also meet certain legal requirements. Considering that the clients we work with also audit us for the quality of accommodation, we must meet these expectations. Our clients, primarily from the FMCG sector, but also from manufacturing and logistics, are subject to audits. One of the audits our clients undergo is the SMETA audit, a so-called audit based on which living and working conditions are verified throughout the entire supply chain.
There are three aspects to consider. I'll just talk about the third in the context of the audit. During this audit, we're dealing with working conditions, safety, health and safety, and accommodation. My role is to focus on this third aspect, which concerns securing the client's interests by creating appropriate accommodations. This is to ensure that the accommodation is verified in a way that not only allows our employees to feel safe and comfortable, but also, above all, protects the client's interests.
So here, the benefit is definitely more tangible, because we don't just focus on ensuring employee comfort, but also on ensuring the customer has that peace of mind. And seeing that the customer audits us as their supplier and returns with positive feedback, we can only be pleased that we're pursuing a policy in this area, when it comes to accommodations, that aligns with employee expectations.
and customers. And the consequence, that is, the measurable aspect, is our satisfaction.
The worst quarters
HO
The worst accommodation you've ever seen?
AK
You know what, I saw one like that. There were many quarters I would classify as the worst, although I remember one where a rodent actually swarmed the wall. The cleanliness of the quarters themselves left much to be desired. However, as I said, in terms of cleanliness and amenities, you can take appropriate action by taking appropriate steps. This is true in situations where things aren't under control, for example, with the residents. Of course, these weren't residents billed to us, but residents who certainly wouldn't want to leave voluntarily. We couldn't afford to rent such a quarter. I'm not even talking about the location, as it was a long way from work. Also, the accessibility of things like internet and shops is very important from an employee's perspective, so this was a quarter that didn't meet the minimum expectations for collaboration. And these types of quarters meant we had to take a step forward, namely, focus on the issue of
with the organization of your own accommodation.
Trends in accommodation needs
HO
What trends do you see in accommodation needs in the coming year?
AK
You know what, I think I can confidently argue that these trends will evolve in two ways: in the context of business quality and operational efficiency. Now, how should we understand this? Our business relies heavily on employee efficiency. And for this efficiency to truly be justified, it must often be supported by factors that might seem insignificant at first glance.
And as it turns out, as various reports and articles, such as those in Puls HR, and our own observations and experiences clearly demonstrate, employees want to live in very comfortable conditions. And to meet these expectations, we must rise to the occasion, to actually meet them.
HO
Adrian, thank you very much for the interview. I left feeling empowered by the knowledge about employee housing and how to approach finding the right place for your employee. I think that after this interview, you too will know who to turn to if you need support in this area. My guest was Adrian Klonowski.
