The employee market shapes HR trends in 2017

A long-term but flexible HR strategy is of paramount importance to an organization. The competitive advantage of a company is determined by employees – their knowledge, experience and commitment. Proper people management and all processes related to both hard and soft HR require not only knowledge, but also tracking the current situation on the labor market and in the industry. Knowledge of trends and challenges will allow you to adjust your management strategy to them on an ongoing basis. Here is a list prepared by a LeasingTeam expert.

Employee market

The year 2016 was exceptional for the Polish labour market. In November, the lowest unemployment rate in 25 years was recorded, which, according to the Central Statistical Office, amounted to only 8.2%. This information confirmed the trend that HR consulting companies and employers have been observing for several quarters. The labor market has become an employee’s market. The greatest difficulties are observed in middle and senior positions. This is especially true in industries where narrow competences are required, e.g. in IT. Engineers working for highly specialized industries such as metallurgy or foundry also have great opportunities on the labor market. Recruiting blue-collar workers is also a challenge for employers. The main criteria that candidates follow are salary, working conditions and a convenient location of the company.

Meeting the expectations of candidates will be one of the biggest challenges for organizations in 2017. A large number of offers and thus a wider range of professional opportunities means that candidates can look into the future and plan their careers much more calmly. Their negotiating position has also increased. They expect potential employers not only to pay a higher salary, but also to provide non-wage benefits such as a medical care package, a card that allows them to practice sports, training to expand their qualifications or at least co-financing courses – comments Andrzej Trela, Sales Director at LeasingTeam Group.

Rotation at all levels of positions

The employee’s market has made people willing to change jobs. As a result, counteracting turnover in companies has become another challenge that organizations have to face. Experienced employees who know the company and its environment well are able to perform their duties faster and more effectively than new hires. This applies to people in lower positions, as well as specialists or managers. Onboarding a new person always requires appropriate training, which involves an investment of time and money. Therefore, employers are increasingly wondering how to retain employees, not just how to attract them. In the case of medium and senior positions, companies m.in. create career paths, examine the level of salaries in the company and adjust them to market conditions, as well as adjust benefits to the needs of a given employee group. The type of action taken, of course, depends on the company’s capabilities and the practices used in a given industry. In lower positions, a competitive level of remuneration is primarily taken care of and additional benefits are increasingly introduced. For example, companies with company canteens very often subsidize employees’ meals.

High turnover means that the employer is forced to incur costs related to hiring a new person and their implementation. A new employee does not always work well in the position. In order to reduce the risk of recruitment failure, employers use external entities that support companies in acquiring the right employees as part of temporary work or recruitment services – says Andrzej Trela from LeasingTeam.

Diversity management

The employee market has also influenced companies to be more open about hiring employees of different generations, countries and cultures. As a result, diversity management in organizations has recently become a hot topic in HR. Organizations are more open to hiring people 50+, they also hire young people, generations Y and Z, as well as specialists and managers with several or several years of experience. The biggest challenge that employers managing a diverse organization have to face is creating working conditions in which representatives of different generations and cultures will feel comfortable. The first challenges arise already at the stage of communicating with such a diverse group. In this situation, it is necessary not only to choose the right way of communication, but also the form of communication adapted to the technological capabilities of a given group. Organizations employing foreigners without knowledge of the Polish language should remember to translate the most important documents, such as contracts or instructions, into the languages used by the employees.

Skillful management of a diverse organization can bring many benefits to a company. The combination of knowledge and experience with youth and commitment makes multi-generational teams do very well, are creative and effective. Older employees usually have extensive professional experience and high qualifications, which may prove attractive to the employer. They are also more loyal, and properly motivated, as mentors or trainers they can share their experience and knowledge with younger employees. On the other hand, young people are more familiar with new technologies, they are more active, full of new ideas – says Andrzej Trela.

Workers from Ukraine

Due to the persistence of the employee market and the resulting difficulties in recruiting employees, companies had to start looking for candidates for work among foreigners. This is confirmed by statistics. The number of foreigners who receive a residence and work permit in Poland is growing every year. According to a report prepared by the Office for Foreigners, in 2016 58,699 work permits were issued to foreigners, including as many as 42,334 granted to Ukrainian citizens. Compared to 2015, this is an over 50% increase in the number of work permits issued. This trend shows that Poland is an attractive country in terms of earnings and working conditions for foreigners, especially from Ukraine.

Candidates from Eastern Europe are valued and willingly hired by companies in Poland for several reasons. Firstly, thanks to the similarity of language and culture, they adapt faster to new conditions. After just a few months, they are able to communicate in Polish without major problems. They are highly motivated and effective. The place of work is not important to them.

In reaching and legally employing foreigners, entrepreneurs are more and more often supported by employment agencies specializing in recruiting employees from abroad. It is worth establishing cooperation with an experienced company that knows the specifics of the eastern labor market and the expectations of candidates.

Companies for which employment agencies such as Go West & Co carry out the search for employees in Ukraine reduce the high costs of legalization of stay and work as well as administration of the employed people – says Andrzej Trela – They also do not have to worry about the consequences of failure to comply with formalities, such as fines, which can be a heavy burden for them – adds the expert.

Flexible approach

Employees are aware that the situation on the labour market has improved in their favour. No wonder that they increasingly expect employers to be more flexible in choosing their working hours. Both young people, such as students or mothers, who would like to work unusual hours, and older people, such as pensioners, who are willing to take up part-time work, have requirements. Therefore, flexible working hours are perceived by many candidates as an important benefit, and even as a decisive issue when choosing an employer. Organizations with a hierarchical structure, which do not always accept this type of model, will be forced to change their approach over time. More and more companies agree to flexible working hours, coming at fixed hours, e.g. between 8:00 and 10:00. Some organizations allow their employees to work from home several times a month. However, we cannot talk about complete flexibility here, which is reserved for freelancers, i.e. programmers, IT specialists, graphic designers. Their work does not require presence in the office, because they do not take part in consultations, team meetings or negotiations with clients. They do not provide internal services, such as employees of financial or HR departments who serve other departments and cooperate with external companies.

Due to the strengthening employee market, in addition to the trends described above, companies must also pay attention to other areas such as employer branding, process optimization, the use of modern technologies or the search for new methods of reaching candidates. By observing trends and trying to forecast their impact on the functioning of enterprises, companies will be able to quickly and flexibly adjust their HR strategy.