February 14, 2011, 13:00 / Management

The crisis has tempered the career ambitions of Russians

The crisis has moderated the career ambitions of Russians, conclude experts from the personnel holding Ankor, having surveyed 5,652 Russians in the largest cities of the country in December 2010 and compared the results with the data of a similar survey before the crisis in 2007.

The main reasons for leaving the previous job ("Anchor")

Candidate's expectations for changes in income when changing jobs ("Anchor")

Reasons for changing jobs have changed

According to the latest data from Rosstat, from 2007 to 2010, total unemployment in the country increased by 1 million people (from 4.6 million to 5.6 million, respectively). At the same time, according to the Ankora survey, Russians continued to change jobs of their own free will even during the crisis, but the reasons for changing jobs changed.

As before, the main thing remained “lack of development prospects.” But if in 2007 56% blamed the “lack of prospects,” then in 2010 - only 46% (see diagram No. 1). Before the crisis, 29% of respondents explained their job change as a “more interesting offer,” but after the crisis, only 14%. The reasons for the changes are not difficult to understand - judging by the same survey, if in 2007 only 9% of workers complained about the only offer of a new job if they wanted to leave, then in 2010 every fifth person had one single opportunity to change jobs. 13% of those who decided to move to another company in 2010 also agreed to a salary reduction, which actually happened extremely rarely in 2007.

“The time of crisis has forced many to think about the value of what already exists,” comments Natalya Malysheva, director of the industry company “Ankor,” commenting on the results of the study. According to her, “bird in hand” for many was more important than “pie in the sky” - loyalty to the employer, caution when communicating with personnel providers and balance in decision-making increased significantly.

According to Ekaterina Gorokhova, CEO of Kelly Services, in 2010 there was a noticeable increase in the number of employees who stick with their employer. Apparently, having reflected on the experience of 2008-2009, people themselves began to take a more responsible attitude towards their current place of work.

Agree for less

According to an analysis of vacancies, specialists from HeadHunter companies noted a significant decline in market salaries after 2008. According to both companies, a return to the pre-crisis level occurred only by the end of summer - beginning of autumn 2010. According to Superjob.ru, by the beginning of 2011 the average salary level in the labor market was 105.3% compared to the beginning of the crisis (October 2008 G.). However, according to both companies, the salaries candidates ask for are often lower than those offered on their resumes, which was rarely the case in the past.

Earlier, Yuri Virovets, president of HeadHunter, told Vedomosti that the previously frozen demand for specialists and managers began to grow again in 2010. However, in his opinion, it will take years to restore the pre-crisis supply/demand balance in the labor market. According to the Ankora survey, fewer Russians today expect rapid career growth than in 2007 (54% versus 69%, respectively). In addition, if three years ago only 5% of candidates were ready for lower salaries, now there are twice as many of them (see diagram No. 2).

“Now candidates are interested in career growth, an increase in salary of up to 30% and the opportunities that a new employer is ready to provide,” says Malysheva from Ankor. According to her, fluctuations in the ranks of employees were felt especially acutely by companies that, due to rather objective reasons, were unable to carry out indexation during 2009-2010. “The time of crisis has only exacerbated and aggravated the problem of a shortage of qualified personnel, so candidates are once again setting labor market trends,” she says. “There is a feeling that since the acute phase of the crisis, the pendulum of “staff motivation” has swung again towards hired employees,” says Gorokhova from Kelly Services.

Stability benefits everyone

“It cannot be said that the crisis layoffs flooded the market with a large number of really good candidates, since even in difficult times, companies still tried by any means possible to retain the most valuable personnel,” says Yuri Dorfman, partner at the headhunting company Cornerstone. In his opinion, this is also why employers are now, more than ever, focused on effective specialists. For employees, in his opinion, after the crisis, long and stable cooperation with a company that pays special attention to the development and training of its staff became an excellent motivation.

Dorfman's opinion is confirmed by Ankor polls, according to which during the crisis Russians began to value their careers more than the constant increase in salaries. Training and internship opportunities continue to be highly valued. However, now the career ambitions of Russians have decreased. For example, they are increasingly less likely to want to share responsibility for running a business: if in 2007 39% of respondents wanted to become a partner and co-owner of a business, now only 15% want to become a partner and co-owner of a business.

“If during the crisis, in fact, employees cited the level of wages as the only criterion of loyalty, today, with an increase in the number of vacancies, companies are again expanding the range of tools for attracting and retaining key employees,” states Gorokhova from Kelly Services. In her opinion, the social package and training are again becoming an argument for the most sought-after (and therefore the most discerning) specialists. Dorfman is confident that in post-crisis times, it is more important than ever for employers to develop effective talent management programs within the company.