Ukraine's Labor Market Under Pressure
In 2025, 60% of employers surveyed by OLX Rabota and the European Business Association reported a labor market crisis driven by workforce shortages linked to mobilization and emigration. This instability, coupled with a shrinking labor pool, is creating serious operational risks for retail chains. According to Work.ua, by 2026, one in three companies will lose more employees than it did the previous year. To navigate this challenge, businesses are being urged to adopt innovative tools, such as the comprehensive ATS platform HURMA.
The Critical Role of Candidate Engagement
Quality interactions with candidates are essential for successful hiring. The Candidate Experience Report reveals that 66% of candidates said their decision to accept a job offer depended on how they were treated during the process. Poor communication led 26% of candidates to turn down offers. With job searches in Ukraine typically lasting between 3 and 6 months, finding ways to speed up recruitment is crucial.
The HURMA system offers solutions to accelerate hiring, including multi-posting of job ads, custom AI agents for initial outreach, and automated follow-ups.
Volodymyr Fedak, CEO of HURMA, states: 'Time is a critical factor. If you take several days to make a decision, you risk losing the candidate.'This sentiment is echoed by Olha Kukhtina, who notes that manual spreadsheet management is inefficient, leading to wasted time and errors.
HR professionals face several key challenges:
- Collecting and processing feedback from multiple platforms;
- Delays in candidate responses, which make it difficult to track progress.
Olena Turchak, HRD of the Olena Zelenska Foundation, points out that this becomes a separate manual task that complicates the recruitment process. Nataliia Vysotska, Head of HR at Codeimpl, adds that follow-ups are the biggest pain point.
Additionally, Alina Gurova, HRD at JustSchool, notes that about 60% of communication with candidates happens over the phone, making it essential not only to message candidates but also to reach them quickly. Access to high-quality overall job statistics and better organization of recruitment processes could significantly improve the labor market situation.
For retail chains and other industries in Ukraine facing this talent crisis, adopting new technologies and systems that simplify hiring and reduce the risk of losing candidates is critical.
The current state of Ukraine's labor market demands proactive steps from companies to attract and retain talent. Leveraging modern technologies like ATS systems could be the key to boosting recruitment efficiency. This approach not only cuts down on hiring time but also enhances candidate engagement—a vital advantage in a highly competitive talent landscape.
As retail chains grapple with escalating workforce challenges, the implementation of automation tools has emerged as a vital strategy for enhancing hiring efficiency. For instance, the pharmacy chain successfully streamlined its recruitment process, resulting in a significant increase in vacancy closures. This highlights the importance of leveraging technology to mitigate the impact of talent shortages and improve operational resilience in the retail sector.