In today’s digital age, possessing the right IT skills is more important than ever. Romania’s booming IT sector is no exception, facing a unique challenge: a significant skill gap for specific high-demand IT roles. This article dives deep into the intricacies of the Romanian IT labor market, exploring the most sought-after IT skills, challenges in recruitment, and effective strategies for attracting and retaining top talent. We’ll uncover the reasons behind the SAP-FI Consultant shortage, delve into competitive salary and benefit packages, and explore the complexities of recruiting Romanians with IT skills currently working abroad. From mastering the art of crafting successful retention strategies to navigating the realities of niche software solutions in the Romanian market, this exploration of IT skills in Romania equips you with valuable insights for navigating this dynamic landscape.
Topics of IT Skills Research
In discussions in various professional settings I came across questions about the IT labor market. I collected them and bundled them bellow with my answers.
Question 1
What IT profiles are in big demand on Romanian labor market? Why is it that you cannot find candidates for these roles?
Based on my personal experience, the simple answer for this year is: SAP Consultants and Java Full Stack developers.
My analysis on “Why?” focuses further only on SAP-FI Consultants.
What is a Consultant ?
First, let’s start with the definition of a Consultant. A simple definition is an individual providing subject matter expertise (technical, functional, business) during concept development or solution implementation.
But it is more complex than that! A Consultant has (all bellow):
- subject matter knowledge (exceeding the one of the Client),
- interpersonal skills (ideas to actions, builds alliances, negotiates, influences, overcomes resistance)
- Project management knowledge & experience
- selling skills
A Consultant has therefore a complex mix of skills, knowledge and experience. A good Consultant is deep into the ALL the treats above. Therefore, rare!
What is a SAP-FI Consultant ?
In the company I work for, we consider that the SAP-FI Consultant role executes the software application implementation project and has:
- functional area knowledge (AP, AR, GL)
- previous experience with customization/configuration of the corresponding SAP modules (FI)
- adheres to the typical phases of a project (ASAP methodology) – Blueprint, Realization, Go-Live, etc.
Based on my current experience to date, gathered while working alongside several recruitment companies, there are not many SAP-FI Consultants with project implementation experience on the Romanian market.
An additional fact supporting this conclusion is that there are few SAP-FI implementation projects for Romanian customers and therefore very few such Consultants with local SAP integrators.
Why few SAP-FI implementations? Because SAP is a Premium software product and therefore not widely spread amongst small and medium enterprises in Romania (where the large numbers are). Because Large Corporates in Romania that are SAP users are using it within centralized instances at the level of their Group organizations and SAP implementation projects take place at Head Quarters (usually abroad) and not in Romania.
And if you are asking yourself about the Shared Services and Outsourcing Centers opened in Romania, those offer mostly technical assistance and support, evolutive maintenance of existing/established SAP installation in the IT services area or execution in business process operations area (like payment/collection factories). In terms of numbers, more staff are to be found in process/operations area. But neither (IT Services or Business Process Services) fall in SAP-FI project implementation work category.
Search for IT skills and consultant profiles
While searching for CVs on LinkedIn, one comes across many SAP Consultant profiles. But this title is used for many types of roles. And it is wrongly done so, in my view and in according to the definition I shared in the beginning. So people are using the SAP Consultant title for:
- SAP based solution implementation with focus on functional or technical areas (CORRECT)
- maintenance and support for existing SAP applications (support not project activity)
- or even for non-IT SAP key-users roles (pure business process operations, not project activity)
Therefore, not everyone holding a SAP Consultant title in their CV have the experience we are looking for.
Question 2
What net salaries and benefits are the candidates offered?
I explained above the difference between project work and support/maintenance or business process operation work and therefore, in our case, a first benefit is the type of work offered – project in the real sense of the word, delivered towards various international Customers in Europe, US or Middle East or Asia, ensuing an international carrier and travel opportunities.
Base salary is aligned to market levels:
- for experienced (minimum 3 years of SAP customizing in projects) may exceed 2000 EUR net
- for project/team coordination responsibilities may exceed 3000 EUR net
A less encountered motivation scheme for Consultants is granting a certain percentage from the value of the billable day sold and delivered to the customer. This approach stimulates increase in billable usage of the Consultants. The Consultants would be motivated to become multi-skilled in order to be allocated to different type of customer projects, aligning to changing market demand. Also, it stimulates a behavior generating positive feedback from Customers as well as internally from project managers, facilitating further allocation of work.
Other benefits are laptop, professional mobile phone and mobile communication subscription as well as private health care subscription.
And in order to differentiate, it is recommended that these are sourced from quality/premium providers.
Question 3
What IT profiles have the candidates willing to relocate in a different city in Romania? Which are the reasons that weigh the most in the candidates’ decisions to relocate? What does the relocation package usually contain?
We have investigated the relocation option mostly for German speaking candidates, the majority of German speakers being located in the central part of Romania, in Transylvania.
Based on experience to date, candidates are hardly motivated by a relocation in Bucharest, since salary ranges are quite similar and, above all, the main city in the area – Cluj – offers them a quieter life, alongside the many perks of a growing IT hub (the second in Romania, after Bucharest).
Nevertheless, this has to be monitored as a new sentiment is starting to gain traction – that Cluj will be soon as vibrant as Bucharest with all associated disadvantages … like traffic.
But for now, these kind of candidates usually find a higher motivation in relocating to Germany than in Bucharest.
In order to motivate them to accept a relocation, potential candidates usually ask for a relocation package, which consists, for example, of an extra salary payment, assistance in finding rent along with a few months’ rent payment.
There seems to be no “standard” and outcome depends on requirements of each individual.
Question 4
A frequent strategy used for valuable employee’s retention is making a counter-offer when they announce they want to leave for a competitor. What are the usual salary increases or benefits found in such counter-offers deemed not to lose valuable IT talent?
I do not see this as a strategy… In my opinion, it represents a last resort HR policy.
In an environment characterized by intense competition for the best talent, the strategy of every employer has to include a regular monitoring of compensation and benefits package versus market evolution together with the assessment of satisfaction with the work place (includes type of projects, type of experiences, technologies, skills evolutions, certifications, team, working environment, etc.). Based on this monitoring implement pro-active actions.
Coming back to the question, in practice any percentage between 5% and 20% is used. This is very large interval because it depends very much about each individual case – current value of the salary and relative positioning on the market, offer from competition, etc.
Sometimes such an offer may be successful. Sometimes not.
If the level of satisfaction with the work place is low, this kind of counter-offering is unsuccessful in most cases.
Question 5
What are the IT profiles you recruit Romanians that work abroad? How do you convince them to return to Romania? What are the salaries they are offered to return and how big are those compared to the ones of their colleagues from Romania and same expertise?
We have tried to recruit for SAP-FI Consultant role, some Romanians prospecting a return home.
Based on experience to date, Romanians working abroad take into consideration return to Romania for personal reasons.
I do not think that there is a mass phenomenon or a consistent approach from employers to make compelling offers to Romanians to return from abroad.
A Romanian that left abroad has had very strong motives for leaving the country, like dissatisfaction with (and lack of hope of improvement for) educational system, medical system, social assistance system, fight with corruption, non-representation at political level, etc. No employment offer will address any of these reasons.
In my opinion, salaries for returning Romanians should be aligned to market levels. This level is given by the intensity of competition in the Romanian labor market, as well as some limits imposed by economic sense. In practice, you cannot offer any (high) value of the salary because it may be unsustainable. There is an upper threshold for salaries, to which salaries in IT are somewhat close, in my opinion. This level is determined by the level of productivity and the value of salaries compared to other countries.
In my experience to date with such candidates (returning Romanians), their expectations were completely unrealistic and discussions were not successful.
Question 6
What are the main difficulties in recruiting IT talent in Romania?
Romanian market for IT solutions based on IT premium or niche software solutions is small or very small.
Therefore, the number of experienced IT staff with implementing or developing within such frameworks is very small.
In addition, the recruitment process is based on the identification of IT staff with relevant skills, their direct contacting and stirring-up their interest for the company/project/technology/further development opportunities.
If this approach finds a context in which the potential candidate has an on-going concern or dissatisfaction, it may lead to a discussion. Otherwise, the recruitment process stops there.
Conclusions – IT Skills
Skill Gap in High-Demand IT Roles: The Romanian IT market faces a significant skill gap for specific roles like SAP-FI Consultants. These positions require a rare mix of technical expertise, project management, and interpersonal skills, leading to a shortage of qualified candidates.
Competitive Strategies for Talent Acquisition: Companies need to adopt competitive strategies to attract and retain top IT talent. This includes offering attractive salaries and benefits packages, international exposure through projects, and a focus on creating a positive work environment. Traditional counteroffers at resignation might not be as effective as proactive retention strategies.
Challenges in Recruiting Romanians Abroad: Recruiting Romanian IT professionals currently working abroad proves difficult. While personal reasons might motivate them to return, unrealistic salary expectations and the limitations of the Romanian market for niche software solutions make successful negotiations challenging.
I turn what I go through into experience I can use.
I turn these experiences into wisdom, a kind of learned understanding.
This wisdom helps me make better choices.
Sharing this wisdom helps others navigate their own experiences, and by teaching them, I solidify my own knowledge even further.
It’s a continuous loop of growth.