Employers in Russia Fight Rear Guard Action
2006 was set from the start to be a good year for job-seekers, but at the cost of employers. The simple fact is that virtually all companies are expanding and there are not enough good people to satisfy the demand. This has two results: employers either compromise on their requirements, i. e. find candidates with less experience, from another industry or discipline or with lower academic standards alternatively go head to head with other companies and compete with benefits – cash and non-financial.
Moscow (PRWEB) August 24, 2006
This year, 2006, was set from the start to be a good year for job-seekers, but at the cost of employers. The simple fact is that virtually all companies are expanding and there are not enough good people to satisfy the demand. This has two results: employers either compromise on their requirements, i. e. find candidates with less experience, from another industry or discipline or with lower academic standards alternatively go head to head with other companies and compete with benefits – cash and non-financial.
Many employers enter the market for talent blissfully unaware that it is already becoming a battlefield. This is a war fought by stealth and subversion rather than heavy artillery. Those companies who can react quickly and get an offer on the table will beat counteroffers by being the first to make a decision. This policy can backfire though; the charismatic, I might suggest slightly overbearing, owner one of our well-known Russian clients met a prospective employee from a FTSE100 company for a top level Finance Role. The meeting had taken months to arrange with careful courting and grooming of the candidate. The owner proclaimed amidst much triumph after 30 minutes of chitchat that the candidate was the man for the job and made an offer. It was a great offer, but a bridge too far for somebody safely ensconced in his plush offices in Central London whose first trip to Moscow had certainly been en eye-opener!
Most examples are more down to earth. Companies entering the market are desperate for ready trained staff. The easiest way to hit the deck rolling is to steal somebody else’s trained staff. Paying a 25%-50% premium for somebody is still cheaper than spending 6-12 months developing and investing in him or her. Your company will be vulnerable if you are not paying a reasonable market salary, and this constantly changing (usually upwards – unless your chosen profession is a driver!). You are slightly more secure if you are paying a performance related package with a good bonuses or commission structure, in these instances the only people who will be tempted away are staff who are average or below average performers. This then becomes self-policing and there’s a viewpoint that it’s even healthy to keep a certain level of staff turnover, particularly in a sales / commercial environment.
Employees are beginning to appreciate that if a company has to pay an unnecessarily high salary to attract somebody there may be a reason for this. The big payers are usually those companies who have to compensate for being smaller, less well known, less successful or new on the market. Big brand names with significant presence can afford to be less generous with cash rewards but generally have far more to offer by way of non-financial incentives. Those small to medium size companies still operating in the grey / semi legitimate way are losing staff as it’s difficult to get a bank loan if your stated salary is only $200 per month! Also one day the tax authorities will catch up in the end. With a 13% tax rate why would the employee want to take the risk, and from an employers’ point of view it’s plain ridiculous.
There is no end in sight for the overheating of the candidate market. I maintain it’s more conservative than pre-1998 but it’s certainly putting pressure on employers to make quick decisions, get their compensation and benefits policy tuned to the market, and retain good staff. Nobody is safe out there. Wear your flack jacket.
Tremayne Elson
Managing Partner
Antal International – Russia
Notes to Editors:
Antal International is a global executive recruitment business that was established in 1993. Antal specialises in the ‘Rising Star Recruitment’™ marketplace - mid to senior level management positions in all disciplines and across all sectors.
Over the years, Antal has been in the spotlight most notably for being the only recruitment organisation to have been listed in the Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 for four consecutive years.
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