Searching for top managers takes six months, for a cashier in a supermarket — half a day
In various sectors of the Russian economy, a real shortage of personnel is beginning to be felt. In the first half of 2024, staffing shortages reached a historic peak. Experts discussed the problem of personnel shortage at a conference at the National News Service.
According to analysts, in the spring of this year the shortage of specialists in the IT sector in Russia amounted to half a million people (45% of the total number of employees). There is a shortage of doctors — institutions lack 63 thousand doctors, paramedics and orderlies. The situation has worsened in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where the shortage has reached 152 thousand people.
— There are not enough employees in many industries in Russia. But this is primarily due to the fact that the labor market is shaped by employers, many of whom do not want to train young people, but prefer to get a ready-made candidate, says HR expert Ilgiz Valinurov. “However, it does not happen that there are already professionals for all positions in all cities. Therefore, the task of employers is to invest more in the development of employees. And then there will be no shortage.
The same goes for employee retention. If you give people opportunities for career growth, there will be no need to search for new ones, the expert continues: “Finding a new employee is always more expensive than retaining the current one. A person should be fired only if he cannot cope with his tasks. And even then, before dismissing him, it makes sense to train him first, and only after that should you make drastic decisions.”
The shortage of personnel in Russia is associated with several reasons, and one of the main ones is demography, which has never happened, says Roman Gubanov, development director of a large job search resource. 75 million Russians belong to the working population. And there are about 2.5 million unemployed people, an unprecedentedly small figure: “There is no one to choose employees from, so it’s worth sticking with the existing ones.”
As for the labor shortage due to the departure of foreign labor migrants, this problem is far-fetched: “Russia can easily cope without guests from Central Asia,” the analyst is confident. – There are enough people in our country who will take positions as construction and agricultural workers, couriers, drivers, store salespeople and warehouse employees – both in their own regions and in others. Again, process automation is being actively implemented, capable of replacing hundreds of guest workers.”
How long does it take to find a job for a candidate and to find an employee for an employer? If you are a sales assistant or cashier, you will find a place in half a day. And they will find you quickly, experts say. But choosing a worthy candidate for a high position in the company is the most difficult thing.
The search for top managers — people who earn one or two million rubles a month or even more — can take up to six months, the expert says. This is normal practice. Employers have high demands on candidates. They want to get the perfect employee right away. There is competition from applicants, and the employer makes a decision slowly.
“From my own experience, I will say that an accomplished top manager is a person over 45 years old,” the recruiter shares. – I can give you a recent example. The owner of an agricultural holding was looking for a director. At first, he was determined to take on a young specialist, daring and energetic. I immediately told him: “A young guy cannot be the director of an enterprise with a turnover of several billion.” In the end, this is what happened — my client chose a 50-year-old man from candidates aged 34, 36 and 50 years. Yes, experience and qualifications can be achieved even at 35 years old. But wisdom comes with age.
According to a large research company, the level of wages in Russia in January-May increased by more than a third compared to the same period last year. An increase in wages was observed in all sectors of the economy and business.
The highest median salaries (an indicator above and below which the same number of residents in the country receives) were offered by companies in the transport and logistics industry (139 thousand rubles), the mining segment (116 thousand) and heavy engineering (110 thousand), construction (103 thousand ) and oil and gas companies (102 thousand). The most modest are organizations in the field of culture and art (55 thousand), telecommunications industry and retail trade (52 thousand).
— A significant increase in salaries in logistics is associated with an exacerbation of the shortage of warehouse personnel and truck drivers, — comments the director by personnel PEC Victoria Tsoi. — The number of vacancies is growing faster than the number of resumes. The average time to fill one vacancy has more than doubled — to 25 days. As a result, in January-May, the salary level of truck drivers increased over the year by 20-50% — up to 200-250 thousand rubles per month. Flexible schedules, specific days off, and support from the company are becoming increasingly important for employees.