he factors for attracting and retaining talent are increasingly diverse and go beyond salary. One thing in common? Personalisation.
"We can say that there is no market where it is easy to recruit". This was one of the first sentences by François-Pierre Puech, country director of Robert Walters, in the webinar “Will the talent war lead to an increase in salaries?”, organised by IIRH, and perhaps it's fitting that it as a summary of the conversation. According to the country director, market demand is even higher at the start of this year than the consultant anticipated. And, even with the war in Europe - which increases the degree of unpredictability on the job market in the Old Continent in the coming months -, the search for talent remains and is transversal. "There are many companies looking to increase the number of employees, whether in SaaS, Tax & Legal, or even in Retail. I would say there is a talent war for high demand", he notes.
"We can say that there is no market where it is easy to recruit". This was one of the first sentences by François-Pierre Puech, country director of Robert Walters, in the webinar “Will the talent war lead to an increase in salaries?”, organised by IIRH, and perhaps it's fitting that it as a summary of the conversation. According to the country director, market demand is even higher at the start of this year than the consultant anticipated. And, even with the war in Europe - which increases the degree of unpredictability on the job market in the Old Continent in the coming months -, the search for talent remains and is transversal. "There are many companies looking to increase the number of employees, whether in SaaS, Tax & Legal, or even in Retail. I would say there is a talent war for high demand", he notes.
In this talent war, there are many ways to materialise differentiation: the thing is that nobody wants to be left behind. Returning to the office, often in a hybrid set-up, is one of them. But there is more, François-Pierre Puech details. "There are initiatives such as the pet day, the choice of equipment that people want to work with, other perks", he says.
At Timeular, the offer is the product itself: the tech company works with time management and it offers time, even to employees. "We value what we sell: time. And we offer 50 days of vacation. Sometimes we have to force employees to take vacation days. When the remuneration is fair, it allows the person to look at other things", points out Marisa Mercês, Head of People & Culture at Timeular.
The term "war" has been around for some time, and if we think about the players, the ammunition has been recruiters. For João Franqueira, "those who recruit talent are at the forefront of making companies grow, which is not an easy task these days". With the transformation of the market – from a local level to a global market –, companies and recruiters are faced with a broader challenge. "We are not just looking at Portugal, we are recruiting from Brazil to Kazakhstan. The increase in salaries has already happened and will continue to happen", says the VP of People at Coverflex.
Benefits matter, and they customise offers
In the war for talent, François-Pierre Puech stresses that the salary package as a whole "is very important". "A very good salary with a bad challenge is not a good offer. It is necessary to have a balance, we need to understand that the market moves very quickly, and having a situation without balance is something that the company has to start thinking about: if I make a specific and adapted offer, that is one of the reasons for certain talent to choose me. We are seeing these companies embracing these trends, but still with a pre-covid mindset”, warns the head of Robert Walters.
When choosing between job offers, the country director of the consultant also underlines the role of flexible benefits as a differentiating factor of "great importance". "Professionals highly value flexibility in what comes to benefits. Within a company with so many departments, it is necessary that the benefit plan is applicable to everyone. And it is often this complexity that stops or slows companies down from doing so. Often they are not so agile in the market - small companies, for example, do not have that agility", he adds, underlining the disparities between different industries. "Not all companies can implement the same benefits and at the same time", he emphasises.
Marisa Mercês believes that, even if there is talk of a war on recruitment, the era we live in is a "change of belief", of a profound transformation of mindset. "People look inward, think about what they want, and ponder if there is more ‘out there’. It's fun to see how things are changing. We are all looking for people with more experience, for unicorns, and we end up wanting all the same, which allows employees who are in the market to choose which project they identify with the most", she analyses.
Marisa Mercês believes that, even if there is talk of a war on recruitment, the era we live in is a "change of belief", of a profound transformation of mindset. "People look inward, think about what they want, and ponder if there is more ‘out there’. It's fun to see how things are changing. We are all looking for people with more experience, for unicorns, and we end up wanting all the same, which allows employees who are in the market to choose which project they identify with the most", she analyses.
That's why, at Timeular, the main focus is on productivity and individuality.
"Candidates are increasingly demanding. And hiring someone in Portugal, Spain or Italy is completely different from hiring someone in Nigeria, for example, in terms of what we can do in what comes to benefits and make the salary package much more attractive".
João Franqueira believes that the future involves "tapering". "I think we have to get away from what work was, more transactional, from the idea that whoever pays the most is the one who has the best employees". That's why, in the talent war, João Franqueira is sure of one thing: recruiters continue to look for lasting relationships with candidates. "We don't want to be the Tinder of companies, we want marriage. Whoever recruits wants to have a lasting relationship. Therefore, in the value proposition we have to add autonomy, coherence and justice".
João Franqueira believes that the future involves "tapering". "I think we have to get away from what work was, more transactional, from the idea that whoever pays the most is the one who has the best employees". That's why, in the talent war, João Franqueira is sure of one thing: recruiters continue to look for lasting relationships with candidates. "We don't want to be the Tinder of companies, we want marriage. Whoever recruits wants to have a lasting relationship. Therefore, in the value proposition we have to add autonomy, coherence and justice".
With the opening of the market on a global level, the ideal would be to give employees the possibility to choose their own benefits, adapting their needs to a much more detailed level of customisation. "Not everyone is interested in the same benefits. The possibility of choosing the benefits you want, this freedom, will make you feel autonomous", emphasises João Franqueira. One thing is for sure: if the right answer, "always", for the people area, is "it depends", João Franqueira is confident that compensation comes hand in hand with another increasingly essential factor: "transparency".
