13.12.08

In response to the crisis, 94% of companies polled will reduce or freeze costs for HR, training, corporate events, recruitment, and travel. At the same time, employers hope to raise loyalty and improve employee output. This is according to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which looked at anti-crisis HR measures being implemented.

PwC polled 123 major companies, of which 53% were Russian. The study showed that 79% of respondents imposed hiring freezes in October or November, and reduced expenditures on training. 48% reported planning staff cuts of 10% in the near future. Half of these companies planning cuts had already reduced their head counts earlier citing the simple reasons that their staff was bloated, inefficient, and employees performed poorly. 56% of all companies are planning to use year-end reviews to determine who will be cut.

Far from all employers plan to fire staff.  94% of respondents reported that most employees will be dismissed by agreement. 67% of respondents plan to fire employees while 46% are sure that they will be able to persuade the employee to resign. 
The vast majority of those polled said that next year will not see pay raises enacted and that annual bonuses will be reduced or cancelled. About 60% of respondents are cutting perks such as mobile phones, health insurance, and fitness club memberships.

Most companies will not change the contents of the perks packages, but will reduce its quality, for example, by finding a cheaper health insurance package. Despite these cuts, most companies believe they will still be successful. Due to an overall reduction of market, company will still be able to attract good specialists on favorable terms.

It is also worth nothing that on Friday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, stated that the Russian government will allocate an additional 50 billion rubles to employment services during the crisis. In addition, regional governments and large corporations will be required to form programs to support employment. Vladimir Putin explained that the laid-off employees will be assisted in finding employment, moving to a new place of work, retraining or improving their skills, and opening their own businesses.

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