Half of SMEs have difficulties filling vacancies
Published: Friday, Jul 26th 2024, 00:50
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Swiss SMEs are struggling to fill vacancies. They are therefore trying to persuade employees to make greater concessions in terms of working hours and salary.
More than half of Swiss SMEs are having difficulty finding employees, according to a study published on Friday by insurer Axa. The construction industry and the healthcare and social services sectors are particularly affected. Even the recent slowdown in the labor market has brought little relief.
The resulting ongoing shortage of skilled workers is strengthening the negotiating position of employees. For example, 28% of the SMEs surveyed are confronted with rising wage demands.
In just under a quarter of the companies surveyed, employees would also place higher demands on working hours. 18 percent also report resistance to a higher workload.
Companies approach employees
In order to remain competitive on the labor market, SMEs are increasingly approaching potential applicants. Almost half of the companies surveyed want to offer more flexibility in terms of work volume and working hours this year. Almost as many companies want to increase flexibility in the organization of work, such as working from home or trust-based working hours.
Around a third of SMEs are also focusing on additional benefits such as vacations or further training and 21% want to offer higher wages. In addition, 32 percent of companies stated that they wanted to grant substantial pay rises to existing employees in order to retain them in the company in the long term.
40 percent of SMEs provide training
Of the SMEs surveyed, 40 percent stated that they offer apprenticeships. Of the companies that do not offer apprenticeships, two thirds cited a lack of prerequisites or a lack of fields of activity as the reason. In second place was a lack of resources in the company.
Two thirds of companies that provide training primarily want to train the required skilled workers directly in their own company. Every second company hopes to be able to retain the trainees in the longer term.
37% of companies want to provide a service to society and one in five SMEs hope to improve their image. Only one in seven companies stated that they wanted to attract cheap labor with the trainees.
Every second company providing training stated that it had difficulties filling training places. Companies in the manufacturing industry are finding it more difficult than those in the service sector.
For the Axa study, the Sotomo research institute surveyed 300 Swiss SMEs with five or more employees in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland. The data collection took place from February 5 to 13, 2024.
©Keystone/SDA
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