Hire a head of sales in Poland or start with an outsourced commercial team?

Most foreign energy companies entering Poland face the same decision early: recruit a senior commercial lead in Warsaw, or bring in an outsourced team to open the market first. This article compares the two on cost, commitment and time to first meetings.

the nech is a Warsaw-based outsourced commercial team for foreign energy companies entering Poland. We cover the commercial function: first meetings, pipeline, partners and negotiations. We do not set up legal entities or run operations, so this article compares only the commercial options.

A head of sales on an employment contract is a long-term commitment under the Polish Labour Code. An outsourced commercial team is a service agreement you can scale up or end month by month. The main differences:

Sources: employer contributions, SD Worx; notice period, Labour Code, Art. 36; non-compete, Zielona Linia. Outsourced terms are those of the nech’s Poland Entry Sprint and Fractional Head of Sales Poland.

A director-level hire in the Polish energy sector is offered PLN 20,000 to 40,000 gross a month, according to the Hays Poland Salary Guide 2026, which is based on recruitment projects Hays completed in 2025. Hays does not list a separate head of sales role for the energy sector. The closest commercial and director roles it lists are these (Hays Poland Salary Guide 2026, Energy section):

Monthly gross salary, full-time employment contract, averaged for Poland. Source: Hays Poland Salary Guide 2026 (PDF, Energy section).

Gross pay is not the full cost. On an employment contract in 2026, the employer adds pension (9.76%), disability (6.50%), accident (1.67% at the standard rate), Labour Fund (1.00%), Solidarity Fund (1.45%) and Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund (0.10%) contributions, 20.48% in total (SD Worx, ZUS rates 2026). Pension and disability contributions stop once annual pay passes PLN 282,600 in 2026 (ZUS).

Our calculation using the 2026 rates and cap above. Excludes bonus, the PPK pension scheme (1.5%), benefits, car, travel and recruitment fees.

An employment contract in Poland commits you to a trial period of up to three months, a notice period of up to three months and, if you want one, a paid non-compete.

1. 01

   Trial period

   The trial period cannot exceed three months (Labour Code, Art. 25).

2. 02

   Notice period

   After the trial, notice depends on length of employment: two weeks for less than six months, one month for six months to under three years, and three months for three years or more (Labour Code, Art. 36).

3. 03

   Paid non-compete

   To stop a departing sales director from taking your Polish contacts to a competitor, a post-employment non-compete must be paid. The compensation cannot be lower than 25% of the employee’s pay for the whole period of the ban (Labour Code, Art. 101², via the government labour portal Zielona Linia).

A new head of sales in Poland needs months before the first qualified meetings: first the search, then onboarding, then building contacts from zero. Hays Poland reports that 49% of energy-sector employers expect recruitment difficulties in 2026, and that companies increasingly fill senior roles through confidential searches and direct headhunting, which lengthens the process (Hays Poland Salary Guide 2026).

After the hire, the new head of sales still has to learn your product, map Polish buyers and earn first meetings with developers, EPC contractors and grid operators.

Hire your own head of sales in Poland when the homework is done: you have confirmed that the market exists, that your product fits it, and you know the depth and volume of demand. At that point the question is no longer whether Poland works for you, but who will grow it, and a full-time hire becomes a sound investment.

Before that point, you can already search for candidates, but learning the market is faster and cheaper through an outsourced team. When you are ready to hire, our Sales Team Build defines the roles, interviews the candidates shortlisted by your recruitment partner, builds the sales operations and works with the new team until it delivers results, over 90 to 180 days.

An outsourced commercial team makes more sense when demand in Poland is not yet proven. If you do not know who buys your equipment or services in Poland and at what price, a full-time hire is a bet on assumptions. At the nech, our Poland Entry Sprint answers these questions in 30 to 60 days with a fixed scope: first meetings with buyers, a go or no-go decision and an entry model.

It also makes sense when first demand is confirmed but market depth is still unclear and a local team is not yet justified. Our Fractional Head of Sales Poland runs the commercial function on a monthly retainer: pipeline, partners and negotiations, without an employment contract, notice periods or a recruitment search. You can search for your own head of sales in parallel.