Good wage often not enough to find new staff: Planning Office

Employers have to offer more than good wages and benefits to their staff if they want to attract and keep people in the tight labor market, the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP) warned after a study.

As examples of what companies can do, the Cabinet’s influential advisor mentioned reducing the workload and offering education and training. Companies can also provide opportunities for people with occupational disabilities and make it possible to work from home.

According to the researchers, given the significant staff shortages in some sectors, it is currently essential for employers to retain their employees and prevent people from dropping out. They could also help people who currently do not have a job find work.

For this publication, the SCP also looked at what employers are already doing with their personnel policy. The data dates from 2020 when finding suitable personnel was already a big bottleneck. About four in ten organizations reported complaints about work pressure, such as stressed employees.

The researchers found that concrete policy for corporate social responsibility was still often lacking in 2020, although employers said they found this important. According to the SCP, theory, and practice are often very different. For example, most employers said they feel responsible for hiring people with disabilities. But only one in six companies actually employed someone with an occupational disability.