Moscow discussed the problem of staff shortage in the country

Leading HR development and management experts from major Russian companies discussed the situation in the HR industry and the creation of an effective environment for employee development at the IX Corporate Education Forum in Moscow.

Against the backdrop of the demographic pit of the 1990s and other factors, the Russian labor market has found itself in a new reality, and there is no reason to expect the situation to improve, said Natalia Albrecht, Deputy General Director for HR Management at Rusal and En+. According to Rosstat's forecast, the staff hunger will increase in the next 20 years.

According to the forum participants, one of the long-term solutions to the problem is to work with young people. The age of the audience with which businesses start building relationships and conducting career guidance programs is decreasing. "We have not yet reached the level of kindergartens, but we already work with children starting from the fifth grade: we hold open days for schoolchildren, excursions to our production facilities, Olympiads," said Albrecht.

At the same time, companies are more often turning to the older generation, although recently they have been working to reduce the average age of their staff. Today businesses have to retain specialists over 55 years old, experts said. Another important aspect is the support of labor dynasties: succession in professions is becoming an important tool to combat staff shortages, strengthen corporate culture and increase the stability of the company.

The speakers also paid attention to the topic of introducing artificial intelligence in the processes of recruitment, adaptation and retention of employees. The speakers agreed that new technologies make it possible to reduce the cost of many HR tools. The experts also emphasized the coming of the era of decision-making based on numbers and big data, not just experience and personal feelings.

The forum was attended by more than 200 leading experts and representatives of large companies, leading educational institutions and government agencies.