Horvath & Partners: Low salaries do not compensate for the skills shortage

The low salaries in Romania are not necessarily an advantage, considering that this cannot compensate the skills shortage of employees, according to a study by the Horvath & Partners management consultancy company, to which managers of the Austrian enterprises operating in Romania participated in.

Thus, the average salary increases registered in the past few years were higher than the growth rate of labor productivity. "Investing in training programs is the main factor which can lead to a convergence between the two indicators," the managers who participated in the study said.

They added that corruption is the most severe problem of the Romanian business environment, followed by high taxes and the low qualification level of employees. Compared to other countries in Eastern Europe, most managers (46 percent) in Austrian companies consider Romania at the same level as Serbia, in terms of skilled employees, but above Ukraine and Bulgaria.

Austrian managers said that the Romanian management style is the main difference regarding business culture. "The Romanian business style is by far patriarchal, closely related to a lack of responsibility and a reactive behavior of employees," the study says. The inaccurate working style and the lack of punctuality were also criticized by the Austrians.

Money.ro