The Current Financial Crisis Affects the Recruitment Confidence Index

Survey Results for the 1^st Half of 2009

One out of three companies is expected to reduce its number of employees during the first 6 months of 2009. Reduction in all recruiting processes, salary increases of no more than 4%, fear for the repercussions of the financial crisis, but also optimism for the future of Greek enterprises, comprise the findings of the Recruitment Confidence Index survey for the 1^st half of 2009. The survey is carried out by the Applied Research & Innovation Department of ALBA Graduate Business School.      

The results of the survey were presented on January 15, during a special event organized by ALBA and chaired by Dr. Olga Epitropaki, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management at ALBA. The event was attended by several General Managers and HR Directors of Greek companies, who had the opportunity to exchange interesting views concerning the impact of the current financial crisis as well as possible ways to overcome it, during the discussion that took place.  

The main area under discussion was the rather noticeable decrease of the Recruitment Confidence Index, which is adjusted every six months through the survey. The main objective of the survey is to explore the perceptions and trends of companies regarding their recruitment processes and methodologies over the next 6 months.  The 1^st round (1^st half) of 2009 was carried out in the time period November 2008 – January 2009 with the support of ECDL Hellas and in co-operation with SEV Hellenic Federation of Enterprises. More than 2000 invitations were sent to HR departments, Recruitment and Selection Managers, CEOs, etc. of companies in Greece.     

The event was concluded with the comments of Mrs. Fani Palli-Petralia, Minister of Employment and Social Security who, amongst others, stated: “The security of employees and organizations, is the absolute prerequisite in order to come out of the financial crisis and it represents the positive dynamic linkage between employment and development. This is the core of the development route our country has chosen and we are called to armor it on every level. The competitiveness of the enterprises should keep up with the protection of the employment affairs”. 

The main findings of the survey can be summarized as follows:

• The majority of companies is expected to reduce all respective activities concerning recruitment and selection of new personnel during the next 6 months.
• Almost half of the companies that are operating in Greece are expected to maintain the same number of employees, while 1 out of 3 (32.6%) is expected to reduce it. 
• Salary increases in nearly half of the companies that participated in the survey (49.3%) will be around 4% for the next year. Only 11.2% of the participating companies is expected to give increases of more than 6%.
• Despite the current crisis, participants seem to be rather optimistic concerning the future of their company (70.6%).
• 19.4% of the companies have been affected either a lot or dramatically by the current financial crisis, while only 6.6% state that they have not been affected at all.
• Concerning the next 6 months, 42.7% of the participating companies expects to be affected a lot or dramatically by the current financial crisis.
• 32.4% of the companies intend to decrease bonuses, whereas employee education may also be negatively influenced (1 out of 4 companies). However, all additional benefits will remain the same for the majority of companies. 
• Greek companies, in comparison with multinational ones, appear to be more intimidated by the repercussions of the financial crisis, while dramatic implications are primarily expected in the fields of Commerce and Tourism. Moreover, one out of two banks believes that it will be largely influenced from the crisis.
• 61.6% of the companies employ personal interviews as the main employee selection tool, while 29.7% of the companies employ other tools as well, such as psychometric tests and evaluation centres.
• Concerning IT knowledge, basic or advanced certification is required for almost all positions, except for Sales Managers and Sales Employees, Reception and Warehouse Employees and Customer Service Employees, where IT knowledge is desired without any certification.

From the 222 companies that participated in the survey, 56.8% were Greek, whereas 43.2% were multinational.

The collection of data for the 2^nd half of 2009 will take place during May -June 2009. You may download the complete report with the results of the survey, as well as the analysis concerning the repercussions of the financial crisis here

For the detailed program of the event, you may download the event’s invitation in Greek here

For more information on the survey please visit:  www.alba.edu.gr/rci,  or contact Mr. Panagiotis Tarsinos, e-mail: [email protected], tel.: 210 8964531.