The Ukrainian economy and labor market underwent significant changes in 2014 following the political unrest. Employment decreased in eastern regions affected by conflicts, while central and western regions saw an influx of internal migrants seeking work. Recruitment demands fell across most sectors as salaries dropped and companies prioritized retaining existing employees. However, some skills remained in high demand including IT, sales, and agriculture. The human resources industry also adjusted as many HR professionals entered the job market while salaries decreased. Companies focused HR efforts on maintaining morale and engagement among existing workers. Overall, Ukrainians demonstrated resilience and community support during the difficult period.

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TEMAT numeru O TYM SIĘ MÓWI KOMENTARZE SPECJALISTÓW ŚWIAT HR WYDARZENIA BRANŻOWE ŚWIAT REKRUTACJI FELIETONwieści z zagranicy
CEERekruter
focusonUkraine
2014HasbeenahardyearforUkraine,andoneyearonfromthebreakoutofthe
MajdansquareresistanceandUkraineisstilltryingtogetitselfbacktonormal.
WhathappenedinUkrainelastyearwasakintotheLondonBombingsof2007
andNewYorkin2001,withpeoplecomingtogethertoshowtheirtruehumanity.
DopomogaisaleadingagencyintheUkraineandwereturntothemforanupdate
ontherecruitmentmarketthere.KaterYnaSkibska,CEOofDopomogaGroupfills
usinonwhathashappenedsinceJanuary.
KaterynaSkibska,CEO,DOPOMOGAUkraine
The Ukrainian Economy went through
a major overhaul during the first half of
the year, not only in terms of the basic
principles of economy, but also in terms
of how many emotions the population
had to go through. Each person was af-
fected differently by the changes, and
each person had their own unique ap-
praisal of what they thought had happe-
ned.Somedecidedtoleavethecountry,
others decided to fight, others helped
as they could and yet a few also tried
to pretend that nothing untoward was
occurring around them. There was no
person left by the middle of the year
who had not been affected one way or
another by what had happened in the
Ukraine. There is nothing worse than to
live in anticipation of war.
Every day as people read the news, the
only thing that crossed your mind was:
“We can handle anything, as long as
it’s not a war”. Ukrainians have proudly
handled everything. Everything that is
happening in Ukraine united the em-
ployees in a struggle to help their com-
panies to survive. Employees across the
country tightened their belts and put
aside selfish thoughts of payrises and
promotions, in order to help the com-
mon good. The majority of business
decisions in 2014 were made with a he-
avy emphasis on employee input. This
year was the year of Dedication and
Solidarity, nobody put themselves first.
For their part, companies helped their
employees manage the stress as best as
possible. The best support those in Hu-
man Resources could give these people
was to create an „oasis without stress”
in their offices. All resources were used:
theaters,art-therapy,psychologists,mo-
vies, warm milk and cookies, childcare
centers in the offices, master-classes,
volunteering and participating in social
care activities. For many employees this
year, work became a place where they
wenthappilyintheknowledgethatthey
were not alone, and that life goes on.
Of course, not all companies survived
this transition period. For example,
many Russian companies operating in
Ukraine have suffered from financial
losses due to the boycott of Russian go-
ods and services. Many luxury brands,
insurance companies and construction
companies had to cope with the natu-
ral decrease of their purchasing power,
forsaking profit margins for the sake of
continuity.
The Labour Market must have seen
more changes than most sectors, how
didthisaffecttherecruitmentsector?
The Current difficult political and eco-
nomic situation in the country affected
the labour market badly, especially in
the east of Ukraine. The number of va-

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TEMAT numeru O TYM SIĘ MÓWI KOMENTARZE SPECJALISTÓW ŚWIAT HR WYDARZENIA BRANŻOWE ŚWIAT REKRUTACJI FELIETONwieści z zagranicy
cancies offered by employers
in the Donetsk and Lugansk
regions were down by 80%
on the previous year. The
majority of the open vacan-
cies are related with network
marketing and field-based
roles. The labour market in
the Crimean peninsula is flo-
oded with job opportunities
for low-skilled personnel, sti-
pulating relocation to Russia
(as opposed to the Crimean
region as it was before). Ho-
wever, many other regions of
Ukraine showed some positi-
ve signs through the year.
We have witnessed mass mi-
gration of job-seekers from
the unstable regions to we-
stern and central regions of
Ukraine, which has in turn
put additional stress on their labour
markets of these regions. The number
of migrants leaving for Russia remains
stable, with no significant growth or
drop in numbers compared to earlier
years.
2014 has been the year of the Employ-
er. The average amount of applicants
per role has been 10 people for mid and
junior roles. In 2013, this number was
20. This indeed is a conundrum and
may leave the reader feeling confused,
but there is a simple reason behind this.
Internal migration does not mean a bet-
ter “permanent” recruitment market,
as most of the migrants are still hoping
that one day they can return to their ho-
mes.Thesepeopleknowworkmainlyas
taxidrivers,nurses,porters,marketven-
dors, and in similar trades. And on the
flipside, many permanent employees
are scared to change jobs, lowering the
applications to roles on the job market.
Bearing in mind our previous observa-
tions, employees in Ukraine are now far
more loyal to their employers than ever
before.It’salsonotaprofitablesituation
for someone to currently change work.
Salaries of mid-level specialists, ma-
nagers and supervisors have dropped
by 30% from 2013. Companies prefer
to recruit people only in the case of an
emergency, trying instead to manage
the workload with an existing team of
people even if that means extra hours.
Occasionally new roles are posted by
employers, but salaries are much less
attractive than they once had been, and
companies have half an eye on suppor-
ting the unemployed rather than truly
needing to hire someone. Top mana-
gement salaries also took a drop, some
15% less than they had been in 2013.
The flexible business manager has been
a concept that has been very popular in
2014, with companies experimenting
more than ever in order to stay compe-
titive.
Those employees who did
not earn and did not save
moneyforthecompanywere
thefirstonestogetlaidoff.
What skills shortages have
remained constant or deve-
lopedthrough2014?
The roles which were in the
most demand in 2014 Sales
specialists at all levels; IT
specialists; Accountants (fe-
wer and fewer accountants
want to grow in the pro-
fession due to the frequent
changes in legislation and
national standards); and
Agricultural experts. The
demand for top-level execu-
tives increased in conjunc-
tion with the optimization and restruc-
turing of the company. Some top-level
executives also had to spend some time
looking into new markets so as to diver-
sify as quickly as possible.
This year local producers in the FMCG
sector recruited new employees, as well
as the IT, Agricultural and Pharmaceu-
tical sectors. These were both local and
international companies, which have
branches in Ukraine.
The majority of the vacancies received
by recruiting agencies were from busi-
nesses with foreign investments (77%
of orders). In comparison with 2013,
the demand for recruitment services
decreased by 61%. In addition to the re-
duction of the need for new employees,
budgetsforexternalsuppliershavebeen
also reduced and most of the work was
distributed between departments insi-
de the companies.

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Itshouldbepointedoutthatthemarket
for recruitment agencies remained sta-
ble with small fluctuations. New recru-
itment agencies opened in Kiev, Ode-
ssa, Kharkiv and Lviv.
Aside from the volume of recruitment
itself, the work of an average recruiter in
2014 was characterized by:
• Delaysincandidatesbeingintervie-
wed by Clients;
• Tougherpersonspecificationsfrom
our Clients;
• Instability of vacancies: active to-
day on hold tomorrow;
• Closing or putting on hold of roles
after final interviews – successful or
not;
• Disengaged candidate-base;
• Reduction of normal work-load
Considering these trends, DOPOMO-
GA Ukraine had to take steps too:
• Changed the production figures ac-
cording to situation on the market;
• Developed new standards by intro-
ducing innovative approaches;
• Created a new social project for ca-
reer-oriented pupils. Developed a
program of internships and career
consulting for Ukrainian students;
• Developedaframeworkforinternal
communications;
• Built a platform to exchange infor-
mation with select business part-
ners;
• Helping develop the professiona-
lism of its recruiters through self-
-training initiatives.
And how did the Human Resources In-
dustrydealwiththechange?
Earlier in the year we witnessed a large
flow of Human Resources professionals
entering the job market. Executive ma-
nagers often thought that the main duty
of a Human Resources Manager is the
recruiting of personnel and as there is
norecruitingthisyear–thereisnowork
for a HR manager. Lots of freelancers,
trainers, coaches and facilitators who
can provide HR services for companies
surfaced on the market.
The second half of the year was busier
and more intense for HR and CSR
events. We adapted to the situation in
the country, started to learn, to form
communities, to organize small busi-
nesses, to engage in volunteering, in-
cluding in the field of HR. The salary
level in HR dropped to 40% of what it
had been; the number of candidates ap-
plying per role rose to 15-20 people (in
2013 - 5-7). A lot of HR-tasks in 2014
were aimed at creating a non-stressful
atmosphere in the company, to increase
engagement among employees, to or-
ganize volunteer and external corpora-
te social responsibility activities by the
company, to build a system of self-lear-
ning and training, to work with univer-
sities, young talents.
Our Thanks goes to all the Countries
and those who were not indifferent to
the problems in Ukraine.
Ukrainians are a cheerful people with
good spirits. They have learned to enjoy
the small things in life like kids’ birth-
days, the first snowfall; the fact that all
family members are safe and sound.
They build short-term plans, are full of
optimism, and open for helping others
more than ever before.
Ukrainians
are a cheerful
people with good
spirits. They have
learned to enjoy
the small things
in life like kids’
birthdays, the
first snowfall; the
fact that all family
members are safe
and sound. They
build short-term
plans, are full of
optimism, and open
for helping others
more than ever
before.