A well-qualified worker can still choose
Although the labour market is changing somewhat, with downsizing and reorganization, in an effort to be more efficient, a good employee is still an asset who can choose from the opportunities on the market, says Costin Tudor, founder of Munkahelyeink.hu. He sees similar trends across the region. Pay is still the number one motivator, but companies are increasingly looking at learning and development. We talked about these trends.
How do you see the labour market situation in the region? In which areas are there still labour shortages?
The layoffs that have already taken place in the United States and Western Europe are affecting the whole region, including Hungary, but there is a delay of a few months. This is most traceable in the IT sector. It is through this industry that we can see the future in a sense, what is happening there will happen sooner or later in other sectors. We are seeing companies striving for greater efficiency: lower costs, greater productivity from workers.
If I had to generalise, I would say that we can still talk about a worker-driven market, but more driven by well-trained, experienced workers who can be more efficient and productive in a shorter time.
What differences do you see in the region?
The trends are the same, I see differences mostly in the speed of events and happenings and in terms of the industries. In Hungary, for example, manufacturing, retail and IT are the leading sectors. While elsewhere, where we are present, for example in Greece, tourism and hospitality.
How are preferences changing in the light of these trends, either on the part of employers or employees?
Businesses, as I mentioned, are looking for efficiency. A new direction that can be seen is providing opportunities for development and learning as a benefit. Because greater efficiency also requires knowledge, which a company either buys (in the form of a "ready-made" employee) or invests in its existing workforce. This is not a country-specific trend, but a general one. By providing the opportunity for development, companies may also compensate for additional salary increases and other motivational factors.
Salary remains the clear flagship among employees' concerns, indeed well-being and benefits also play a role, but salary comes first, as our data shows. It is also the main reason why people are changing jobs in the region. Of course, preferences depend on the industry, the experience of the employee, and where they are at in their career path
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Do you think this new focus may also have an impact on the fact that whereas in the past companies would immediately cut training and development costs in the event of an economic slowdown, now the pace of technological development and change does not allow for this?
Yes and no is the answer at once. Companies are increasingly looking for immediate results, the fastest possible return on investment, while development and AI implementation are also more of a medium to long-term investment. The mature companies that can really invest in this for the long term are usually the large multinationals. While this is less the case for smaller, local companies, which tend to continue to use classic recruitment and motivation tools, mindset there is still more focused on quick return on investment.
Does your data show that employees are more likely to stick with their jobs? How is the willingness to change?
Good workers continue to be able to change jobs or careers easily because they have the competitive advantage of having the right skills. In this respect, the market is still dynamic, as our data shows. People are looking for opportunities. At the same time, when it comes to a less skilled workforce or even a career-ready workforce, they tend to look for a stable work environment, which is also the case in retail, for example.
How do you see the contrast between employer branding messages and reality? Could it be that some messages are actually less relevant in a market situation like this?
The needs of employees are different, so different topics are important to them. The important thing for a beginner is to have a job at all, if the management is good, that's a plus. At the next stage, career prospects, salary, work-life balance, if you already have a family, are more important. In other words, depending on seniority, preferences also differ. On our interfaces, we find that people who are looking are looking for employers. They find out about the opinions of employees who have already been there, whether there are projects running that have potential, whether there is fair pay, etc.
From the employers' point of view, maturity and knowledge will decide the direction. Mature companies, despite cost cuts and freezes, invest in their employer brand, in being attractive to potential employees, even if they don't have an open position.
- 88% of job seekers consider a company's employer brand when applying for a job.
- 76% of candidates want to learn about the team's culture and values before accepting a job offer.
- Increase interview attendance by 50%
- 20% reduction in recruitment time
How is transparency around salaries
There is not the pace of change in this area that we had hoped for, despite the existence of the EU recommendation on transparency. Of course, there has been progress compared to five years ago, but transparency should not only be about the salary in the job advertisement, but also about the prospects of the hired employee after the hiring: 6 months, one or two years from now. There is still a lot of potential and work to be done on the issue of transparency, which could be an important key to retaining employees.
Both managers and HR have an important role to play in creating a transparent corporate culture.