Conscensia News
Conscensia has the majority of its employees based in war-torn Ukraine
1. July 2024
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Conscensia, which has around 200 IT consultants in Ukraine, has achieved great success despite the challenging situation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. We have especially seen an impressive mindset from our Ukrainian IT consultants over the past few years, working under completely different conditions. CEO of Conscensia, Torsten Bielefeldt Schlägelberger says,
“We are extremely proud of our employees in Ukraine, who deliver really well. There is a drive in these people that is stronger than what you would otherwise experience. For the simple reason that they are in the situation they are in.”
Despite the uncertainty of war, we have maintained our office and customer teams in Ukraine, with our Ukrainian consultants working in our Lviv office, which is close to the Polish border. Some of our customers also choose to have their teams of consultants based in both Ukraine and Poland, giving them the best of both delivery hubs. We find that new customers are somewhat reluctant to work with consultants in Ukraine, even though our colleagues still deliver high-quality software development and provide important support to the country. Torsten Bielefeldt Schlägelberger points out,
“The door to our part of the world is under pressure. And when money comes into the country, it does something good for the individual citizen, and a lot of their money is donated to the war, which is also their contribution.”
To safeguard our operations, we have developed a comprehensive business continuity plan with emergency measures such as Starlink networks and emergency generators that can come into effect during temporary interruptions. It is important for us to be thoroughly prepared for possible future challenges so that we can maintain normal operations at our development center in Ukraine. To get a more accurate understanding of the situation in Ukraine, we naturally follow local news and work closely with our Ukrainian management team. Torsten Bielefeldt Schlägelberger explains,
“When you just follow Danish or major international news, there is a tendency to think that when a bomb falls, it affects the whole country. I think there is a wrong perception of what is actually happening in Ukraine.”
Torsten Bielefeldt Schlägelberger is planning to travel to Ukraine in September to meet with Ukrainian employees and get a first-hand impression of the situation. Although Danish customers are not recommended to travel to Ukraine for obvious reasons, there is an opportunity to meet with management at Conscensia’s branch in Warsaw, Poland. Overall, we have succeeded in maintaining and even strengthening our business in a war-torn region where our colleagues in Ukraine have demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt and resist, while providing important support to our Ukrainian employees and the wider community.
