In the IT business, not only in Poland, as experience shows, companies can be divided into those that are proud of their employees who are active in the community outside of work and those that are disturbed by it. After all, every hour of outsourcing work for a client could turn into additional profit, but instead, employees waste time speaking at industry conferences.
Fortunately, Billennium falls into the first group. Six years ago, when I talked to Bartek Łopiński, the company’s CEO, about the fact that many of my teammates speak or want to speak at conferences, run technical community groups or write blogs, I was greenlit to build an incentive package and prepare Billennium to support such activities. Just a few days later, we created the Billennium Inspiration Team (BIT) regulations.
Benefits of joining BIT
The primary and most popular benefit that BIT members get is the opportunity to take a day off to speak at a conference or to prepare for it. Every speaker knows the value of not having to request a day off before each conference.
Moreover, there is also marketing support (promotion on social media, which helps to build a personal brand) and Employer Branding support (gadgets that we can proudly wear or give to interested parties).
The duties of a BIT member are relatively minor: use the company’s presentation template, introduce themselves as a Billennium employee, and wear some clothing with the [B] logo.
There is also an unwritten duty to collect information about potential candidates for the recruitment process. The resumes submitted on the speaker’s recommendation are the best tool to show our value in PLN in the annual summary.
Today, BIT is a global, thriving association of technology activists, evangelists and advocates from Billennium. Currently, there are 23 of us, but I believe that the growth has stopped because of the pandemic and there will be even more of us in a moment!
What I am most proud of is that BIT is completely unmanaged. It can be called a teal team inside the organization. We are only subject to a set of clear and simple rules. You comply with them – you are welcome; you stop complying – we bid you farewell.
In addition, BIT helps us meet very interesting people and encourage them to join Billennium (believe it – every speaker has a hatful of amazing stories 
).
BIT has also contributed to the opening of a new Billennium branch in Białystok. I cannot stress enough the work done by one of the BIT members, Dominik Przywara, who visited Białystok several times to give lectures at the Białystok .NET Group and eventually encouraged a large group of speakers, headed by Rafał Hryniewski, to join the company. I know that for Rafał and his colleagues, BIT and the organization’s support for this type of activity was a phenomenon that vitally helped to decide on employment.
What do the team members say about BIT?
BIT helps me pursue my passion for public speaking. I have extra paid days to spend on trips or preparing my presentations, and I can count on subsidized transport and accommodation.
Thus, I don’t have to spend my personal funds on it, so it’s easier for me to decide to go to an event. I suppose nothing in my career has given me as much as public speaking, so I’m happy that the company supports me in these activities.Rafał Hryniewski
I have been a member of BIT since the very beginning of my employment. I had already spoken at various conferences and meetups before, so I was well aware that this was a significant form of activity in my career. As soon as I heard about such a program at Billennium, I considered it a great asset that appealed to me and won me over to work for the company.
Being a BIT member gives me extra time to prepare for a presentation or go to a conference. This allowed me to plan my speeches, also during the week, and meet interesting personalities.
Currently, I have many friends and fellow speakers from all over Poland and beyond. My personal brand has also benefited from it, as I constantly develop and climb up step by step.
Getting on stage had a huge impact on everything. Despite my difficult beginnings, I make great progress and have always been able to count on the support of my BIT teammates.Krzysztof Owsiany
During COVID, I started engaging in online meetings with professionals worldwide, and that’s when I learned about the existence of testing communities. So I started sharing my knowledge with others.
I discovered a love for public speaking, blogging, and contributing to open sources. Later, I joined the BIT team, and I must say that Tomasz Kot is a fantastic person. His mission and vision are outstanding.
Being a member of the BIT team gives me a sense of accomplishment and credibility. Moreover, I receive additional days off and I am visible in Billennium. We want to raise awareness on this issue and show fellow Billennials the power of this community.Pricilla Bilavendran
If you are interested in public speaking, supporting the organization, and building a personal brand through speeches, do not hesitate to speak up! I love pondering on these matters.
See you somewhere at the event!
