Finding skilled talent continues to be a challenge in 2023, as according to ManpowerGroup’s Talent Shortage Survey, 8 in 10 employers (77%) are struggling to find skilled talent, up from 78% in 2022, 2021 to 72% and in 2019 to 77%.

New data, emerging from the responses to additional questions asked, as part of the quarterly standard hiring intentions survey, to 510 Greek employers, reveals how the recruitment strategy is changing, with the aim of overcoming the obstacle of the lack of talent, and which ones are the main personal skills that employers look for in candidates.

“Equally likely to hire temporary and permanent workers”

According to the findings of the research, in a mixture of permanent, temporary and gig workers (gig workers are employed through online platforms), Greek employers will move forward in the next 12 months to meet their needs.

Specifically, 32% of employers report that they are going to hire both temporary and permanent workers. On the other hand, 15% of Greek employers report a reduction in temporary and permanent employees, while 53% state that they will not make any changes.

Additionally, 34% of employers report an increase in gig workers, 15% will decrease, and 51% will make no change.

A case in point is that 55% of employers in the Energy and Utilities sector express a more optimistic outlook for temporary workers, while 44% in the IT sector express optimistic intentions for permanent workers.

Inclusion is the key

“As the talent pool shrinks, Greek employers have been willing in the last 12 months to hire candidates from different categories in order to overcome the talent shortage,” the survey points out.

According to her findings, “characteristic of this ‘diversity’ is the fact that 32% are long-term unemployed, 24% do not meet all the necessary personal skills, 23% have become unemployed due to caring responsibilities, 20% do not meet requirements for all necessary technical skills, while 19% have non-linear careers or multiple career changes. 16% are older and looking for work or a career change, while an equal percentage come from under-represented or marginalized communities. 14% have a special need or chronic condition and 7% have a minor criminal record.”

What employers are looking for

The elements that employers look for most in candidates are teamwork, responsibility and reliability, critical thinking and analysis, problem solving and taking initiative.

Based on the new research data, Greek employers examine their human resources needs and focus on different points depending on the age group the employees belong to.

36% of employers intend to hire Gen Z (ages 18-26), 28% Millenials (ages 27-42), 13% Gen X (ages 43-58) and 8% by Baby Boomers (ages 59-77). Retention aims to make 38% of employers Gen X workers, 30% Baby Boomers and 28% Millennials.

31% intend to upgrade and reskill, with Gen Z workers as a priority, 26% primarily for Gen X staff, 24% for Millenials and 15% opting for baby boomers to take the lead.

Employers define the ideal soft skills for Gen Z: 30% collaboration and teamwork, 28% active learning and curiosity, 28% responsibility and reliability.

The personal skills that employers are looking for in Baby Boomers are training and coaching (23%), responsibility and reliability (22%), leadership and social influence (21%).

Employers determine which are the top elements that lead to productivity: 39% prefer professional development (training, upskilling, reskilling), 38% clear goals & objectives, 36% positive work culture, 36% balance work-life balance, 32% effective communication & collaboration, 25% effective development of existing technology, 18% utilization of new AI-tools (e.g. ChatGPT), 17% lifelong collaboration and 15% the increasing adoption of existing technology.

Despite the lack of talent (81%), IT is the strongest sector in Greece for the fourth quarter of 2023, with employment prospects reaching +32%.

At the same time, with the willingness of employers to proceed with recruitment, the most important personal skills that they are looking for from candidates are recorded. In particular, cooperation & teamwork is in first place with a percentage of 40%. This is followed by responsibility & reliability (35%) and critical thinking & analysis (35%). With a percentage of 32% they mention solving problems as an important skill. Finally, the top five closes with the need for familiarity with technology (28%).