Recruiting talents at the time of pandemic

The sector of modern services for business boasts a significant and stable position in the Polish labour market.

ManpowerGroup experts are continuously observing a huge interest taken by foreign investors in new ventures in Poland, which causes further growth of that branch and entails constant demand for new workers. Simultaneously, the knowledge and competences of Polish labour force are judged to be at a very high level; therefore, both well-established and new centres intend to create here teams dedicated to handling highly advanced processes in finances, purchasing, R&D, IT, as well as in HR or digital marketing. What challenges, in the light of these changes, are faced by employers and how these challenges can be overcome? The answers are provided by ManpowerGroup experts.

Availability of candidates with desired competences (including language skills), ever-bigger pools of more experienced workers, and the maturity of the Polish sector of modern services for business mean an increased traffic of more and more advanced business processes and operations to the companies located on the Vistula. It leads to changes reflected, for example, in a rising demand for human resources with the senior experience, and in a smaller proportion of vacancies for the entry-level candidates. Unchangeably though, Poland is an appealing market for new investors. What adds to that appeal is a pool of graduates (larger and larger every year) from technical universities which follow current trends in the labour market of the IT and R&D sectors and which annually spawn new engineers ready to enter the market and start work. Technological know-how in Poland is constantly growing and ever more complex projects are completed thanks to Polish specialists. Experience gained by Polish experts and the availability of high-skilled graduates from technical faculties secure ventures planned in Poland, which – in turn – enhance competition for talents.

In order to be able to provide more advanced solutions, employers need to recruit people with specific experience and knowledge so that they could comprehensively take over and manage new processes. These are positions for senior candidates, because such responsibility cannot be shouldered by people lacking the necessary experience and who are just starting their professional career. Besides that, highly experienced candidates are fully self-sufficient, able to arrange their work, familiar with streamlining measures that should be implemented, used to working in a dynamically changing corporate environment and they can share their knowledge.

Availability of candidates with desired competences (including language skills), ever-bigger pools of more experienced workers, and the maturity of the Polish sector of modern services for business mean an increased traffic of more and more advanced business processes and operations to the companies located on the Vistula.

That trend, seen in the concentration on highly experienced people in an organisation, has bolstered a transition to the model of remote or hybrid work in companies. Thanks to such workers the transition was smoother and companies did not lose their efficiency. It is also confirmed by representatives of the IT sector who are increasingly looking for workers ready to start work in the organisation from day one and to take over the scope of work assigned to their function. ManpowerGroup experts predict that the trend will change in post-Covid days. A lot of IT companies want to implement the hybrid model of work after the pandemic and this partial return to offices will clear the path for hiring juniors again. This is so, because juniors’ work requires constant monitoring and support from more experienced staff. Organisations which will decide to continue work exclusively in the remote mode will be forced to implement instruments and solutions that will help juniors develop themselves in their organisations, on the one hand, or to limit their hiring to those candidates who are already equipped with commercial experience, on the other hand.

The transition to the model of remote work has let companies, particularly those IT-oriented, attract specialists without any specific location restrictions. If there is no need to commute to the office every day, the search area of new employees is much bigger, and specialists themselves admit that, while choosing a new employer, they consider first and foremost a project rather than the location of the prospective workplace.

This comprehensive transition of recruiting for the needs of the remote mode of work has substantially affected the speed of recruitment. Experienced candidates are more open for talks with new companies. These interviews do not engage them as much as the former recruitment processes which required from them their personal attendance. Additionally, what is observable in the Polish market is a growing interest in IT specialists from Eastern Europe, i.e. Ukraine or Belarus, and thanks to modern instruments for virtual work, working online is gaining in popularity.

Reskilling and upskilling apply to both hard professional competences and soft competences. It is also noteworthy that the best candidates in the market – specialist in their field – will be more likely to cooperate with organisations offering development programmes in their benefit portfolio.

Attracting and maintaining workers with rich experience comes with new challenges for an organisation, because it is necessary to adjust the offered remuneration and benefit packages to candidates with another profile. Organisations also have to take care of career development paths for seniors, proper training programmes and ambitious tasks which may engage them with the company for longer. Today, companies from the sector of modern services for business unceasingly vie for experienced workers, so the risk of worker turnover is high and provision of development opportunities in dynamically changing economic conditions is necessary.

Talent is a significant determinant of competitiveness and access to human resources with key qualifications is a growth criterion for organisations. That is why companies which will want to return to the pre-Covid scope of business operations or enlarge it alongside the growth of the sector through hiring experienced workers will more and more frequently turn to advanced recruitment solutions such as the RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing). They will seek customised solutions which will help them minimise the fixed costs of recruitment and attract talents equipped with desired competences at a particular time. It goes without saying that with the right people at the right place entrepreneurs can reach their goals and gain competitive advantage in the market. Another important trend for companies wishing to bounce back to the level of activity from before the pandemic is increased hiring flexibility. Ever more evidently, in the sector of modern services temporary work is becoming more and more attractive; it provides an opportunity to replenish resources when there is no certainty with regard to long-term plans, orders and possibilities of permanent employment from the start.

Naturally, workers profiled as juniors still constitute an important part of appointed teams, but they need to have mentors from whom they can learn – people who already have the right experience to take care of the effective management of entrusted processes. Organisations may capitalise on solutions that prepare a worker for a new role or equip her with new, desired competences. These are found in reskilling/ upskilling programmes. Upskilling focuses on equipping a worker with more advanced skills, knowledge and experience related to a particular job function – development of a worker within a particular specialist field, handing over a larger scope of responsibilities. Reskilling, on the other hand, involves gaining new work skills, which is often connected with changing one’s professional profile. Thanks to reskilling and upskilling of competences it is possible to reduce deficiencies in competences in the whole organisation and, as a result, to provide for the staffing needs of the company. Reskilling and upskilling apply to both hard professional competences and soft competences.

It is also noteworthy that the best candidates in the market – specialist in their field – will be more likely to cooperate with organisations offering development programmes in their benefit portfolio. Provision of such opportunities and creation of career prospects by a company are strong factors in building the image of the company as a brand of choice – an essential element in the strategy of employer branding.

Competing for talents, as a trend, is going to stay for a while in the sector of modern services for business. Companies will strengthen their position if they have a transparent employer branding strategy and a good opinion in the market among candidates and workers alike. Therefore, from the perspective of an employer, it will be critical to take care of candidates’ experience as early as at the stage of recruiting, which means interviewing in the climate of partnership, giving feedback, acting efficiently and in due time, and editing a job offer in an interesting manner. Among issues that will matter as well there will be: offered conditions of employment, customised benefits and an individual approach to employee development. Finally, last year proved that candidates highly appreciate an employer’s flexibility and stability, too.

Authors:

Szymon Rudnicki,

Talent Solutions Director

Katarzyna Pączkowska,

Permanent Placement Director, Manpower

Agnieszka Grzybowska,

IT Recruitment Project Manager, Experis