In the Latvian labor market, there is strong competition for employees, this was found out in a survey among retail, logistics and warehouse industry experts conducted by the temporary employment and recruitment company “Biuro”.
In May of this year, the unemployment rate in Latvia decreased to 5.6%, this indicator is a record low compared to other years, which can be attributed to the recovery of the labor market after the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the employment of Ukrainian refugees. In May of this year, the number of working people in Latvia increased to 880,600 people, while before the pandemic it was around 900,000. These indicators allow us to conclude that the situation in the labor market is starting to improve in general and employers should think more and more about what methods to use in order to effectively attract employees and reduced staff turnover.
“Increasing competition among employers has increased the importance of employee evaluation and recognition in the formation of labor relations. In the battle for employees, those companies that invest in the creation of a motivation system, take care of the brand’s reputation and offer regular training as well as development programs for employees win, thus significantly increasing the chances of hiring suitable candidates,” comments the results of the survey. “Office” client service manager Baiba Rozentāle.
Also at the beginning of this year, the population survey commissioned by the business training company “Trainify” concluded that, in addition to financial motivation, a fifth of the employed population would gladly use the opportunity to learn more in order to improve their qualifications, as well as improve professionally, thus growing their knowledge and competences.
“Venipak Group” personnel department manager Laura Butkuviene states: “The international parcel delivery company “Venipak” employs in Latvia in various professions, representing areas such as sales, personnel selection, marketing, logistics specialists, as well as employees who directly provide logistics processes, for example sorting parcels, delivering packages, etc. Currently, there is considerable competition for employees in the labor market, as employers compete for them by offering various benefits and developing motivational measures. We also have to constantly think about how to retain people, so we regularly invest in training and development programs have also been developed. The lack of specialists at various levels has been observed for a long time, so we try to create a friendly team so that everyone feels welcome and valued, and we also try to solve any problems individually, also applying non-standard solutions.”
“Currently, the situation in the labor market is twofold, some entrepreneurs state that finding suitable workforce for vacancies is a big challenge, as they have to compete with other companies. However, there are also those who use, for example, temporary employment, allowing the lessor to use the workforce on a short-term or long-term basis, without the need to employ them directly in their company. Such an approach is observed more and more often in companies of various industries,” he says Baiba Rosenthal.
The popularity of temporary employment is growing and this type of personnel management allows reducing personnel expenses. At the same time, as a result of irregular or insufficient work volume, the lessor reduces personnel expenses, because the company employs only when it is necessary. Also, in cases where the company has an insufficient number of employees of a certain qualification, but staff positions are limited, hiring temporary staff is a suitable solution to the problem.
This year, compared to the previous year’s data collected by “Biuro”, the demand for new employees in the retail and logistics sector has increased by 6-9% on average. However, in other areas, the demand for workers is much higher, such as truck and bus drivers and electricians.
“Nikolajs Zaikins, manager of iDeal’s Latvian branch states: “Currently, iDeal has all the employees it needs, but recently it was necessary to fill two positions in the store and we received a lot of interest – even more than 100-150 applications for one vacancy. Then we called in the help of a recruitment company to review all applications and create a selection filter. In 2022, there were also situations when it was necessary to look for store employees for a longer time, about a month, but in general the staff turnover is not high. Most of the employees at iDeal have been working for a year or more. There are employees who work for eight years. In my opinion, iDeal’s values, association with the Apple brand and its image also help form this stability. Apple has very specific HR guidelines that must be followed in each country. Each employee basically learns all the time, because it is necessary to know the products, to tell the customer their differences. “iDeal” invests in training already at the beginning of the employment relationship, and we always follow the level of knowledge of employees, create the so-called employee journey (employee journey). We have two types of training – from the Apple brand and our internal training for improving knowledge and skills, adapted to the Latvian market. Therefore, in general, we feel that the employment market is currently very favorable. However, it is not because there are more employees, rather because of economic conditions, maybe other companies are doing worse.”
According to the short-term labor market forecasts of the State Employment Agency, labor demand will grow rapidly in the second half of the year. The supply of labor this year is 939,684, but next year it will increase to 941,601, judging by future trends, in 2025 and 2026, the supply will not change significantly and will fluctuate around 942,000. The demand for labor this year is 877,210, which allows us to conclude that supply exceeds demand. Similar to labor supply, demand will grow by nearly three thousand next year.
About the company “Biuro”
“Biuro” is a temporary employment and recruitment company founded in 2012 with representative offices in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. “Biuro” clients include such companies as “Lexel fabrika”, “Orkla Latvija”, “Latvijas Pasts” and many others. “Biuro” is a member of the Association of Latvian Temporary Employment Agencies and the World Employment Confederation – Europe.
“Office”
2023-07-14 09:59:03
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