19 April 2023

Small- and medium-sized companies in Switzerland account for more than two-thirds of actual and advertised jobs in Switzerland, and they are bearing the brunt of a historic candidate shortage, recruitment firm Michael Page reported.

The majority of small- and medium-sized businesses, 78%, are facing recruitment challenges, according to a survey of 500 recruitment decision makers at small- and medium-sized businesses in the German-speaking region of Switzerland and Swiss Romande.

External job market conditions presented barriers to recruiting suitable candidates. The survey found that 37% cited lack of applicants’ qualifications for advertised positions. In addition, 27% of small- and medium-sized firms had difficulty meeting salary expectations, and 18% had difficulty meeting workplace flexibility/home office expectations.

When it comes to reasons for recruiting, 30% of small- and medium-sized business cited filling vacant positions as the top reason. It was followed by improving overall staff qualifications, 15%; improving team diversity, 14%; and recruiting for newly created positions, 12%.

Often, the smaller the company, the harder it was to recruit candidates because they usually have fewer resources to dedicate to the process, according to Michael Page. Among very small companies of fewer than nine employees, 44% found recruiting very difficult. On the other hand, only 22% of companies with between 50 and 250 employees found recruiting very difficult.

Small- and medium-sized business did have advantages when it comes to recruiting — a friendly working atmosphere, cited by 32%, and relative flexibility, cited by 16%. Weaknesses included perceived low salaries, cited by 22%, and lack of professionalism and resources in the recruiting process, cited by 26%.