Address the issues that are urgent and postpone those that are not. This seems to be the main resolution for most Romanian companies this year, after a particularly notable 2024 that brought significant market volatility. Companies and HR teams are doing whatever it takes to remain flexible and respond to the evolving needs of the staff they already have, whether it's realigning teams, creating new roles, or adjusting reporting structures. In fact, adapting organizational structures (46%) has become a key priority in HR plans for 2025, ranking just below employee retention (49%) in terms of importance, followed immediately by a focus on recruitment (see chart 1, right).

With fewer available candidates and increased competition for talent, the vast majority of companies surveyed plan to focus on recruiting permanent employees. At the same time, many companies recognize the value of hiring contract, freelance, or temporary staff when it comes to meeting immediate needs and project-specific demands without long-term commitments: in 2025, 16% of companies plan to collaborate with contractors, while another 13% intend to hire temporary workers for short-term projects (see chart 2).

2024 wasn't the best year for salary growth in Romania and 2025 doesn't look any more promising either. Salary expectations for this year are aligned between employers and employees, but not entirely. Two-thirds of employers surveyed (65%) expect increases of less than 10%, in line with last year's trend. While the vast majority (42%) of employees foresee a modest increase of less than 10%, a proportion have a slightly more optimistic perspective, with 25% expecting increases of between 10-20%. This highlights a gap between employees’ expectations and employers’ plans (see chart 3).