Check out the globe, and you’ll find that the Republic of Turkey is at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. The country’s history and geographical place between these two continents have exposed the government and its society to Eastern or Western influences. This is why the culture has a unique mix of modern and traditional customs and secular and religious practices.
The reality of Turkish tradition and business culture remains personal. A company’s success mainly depends on the ability to create effective relationships. Consider the events of COVID-19 and their impact on a world built on verbal and personal connections, not digital ones.
We will look at the trends in HR to be on the lookout for in Turkey from 2023 onwards. We hope to discover the pandemic’s consequences, the declining lira, and the break in the traditional communication system for leaders, employees, and companies.
HR trend trends that you should look out for in Turkey 2023
The minimum wage is increased to offset rising prices; wage workers comprise over 40 percent of the workforce in Turkey. Due to the central bank launching the lira-weakening and lowering interest reductions, Turkey’s minimum wage will increase by 50% by 2023 to offset the subsequent increase in living expenses.
The rising costs resulting from the currency’s depreciation decreased the standard of living of salaried workers. The increased earnings offset the decline in the lira’s value, eliminating the bulk of the competitiveness. The increase in the minimum salary to 50% is the most significant increase over the past 50 years. As one of the most critical HR trends to look for in Turkey, it demonstrates the determination to avoid having price increases harm employees.
Although it might appear as if it will encourage struggling companies to cut costs and increase unemployment, the truth is against it. According to official statistics, the number of jobless in Turkey decreased by 0.3 percent month-over-month to 10.9 percent in May.
Making remote work part of labor laws
The epidemic forced businesses across Turkey to reconsider their decision to recruit remote workers and ultimately led to an amendment of the labor code, which outlines the procedures for hiring. In March of 2021, the Regulation on Remote Work took into effect and gives employers guidance regarding how to incorporate remote workers and onboard them legally.
Remote work was made legal due to the spread of the virus. The regulations for remote work were created to conform with the latest procedures and rules from remote work. The employer and employee must sign a written contract before beginning remote work. In addition, they must, in written form, document the time they work remotely, the salary-payment method, and all the devices and tools given to them.
Incorporating these factors ensures the procedures are consistent when more companies consider long-term remote work arrangements.
The demand for workers with better social and technological abilities
Undoubtedly, automation and digitalization will impact the total labor force in Turkey. To stay ahead of the requirements of a modern work environment, 21.2 million people within the Turkish workforce will have to upgrade their skills in technology as they continue to work in their current jobs.
The demand for people with a technological and social background will continue to rise over the next ten years. By 2030, the number of hours worked is expected to nearly double, with technology skills seeing the highest growth (63 percent). Social skills are predicted to grow by 22%.
Looking at the entire economy, we see that most industries require more excellent technical know-how. In most sectors, including the entertainment and arts, financial services, and the service sector, social skills are also vital, highlighting the importance of ensuring that clients are satisfied with their interactions. However, most sectors suffer a decline in their fundamental cognitive, physical, and manual abilities because of the ease of the data entry process, basic literacy, numeracy, and equipment operation, which are now automated.
Ultimately, the Turkish workforce’s capabilities could require significant improvements. Upskilling and reskilling will be crucial to making a long-term shift within the workforce.
Prioritizing the complete transformation of talent to ensure major upgrading and reskilling
Although automation, artificial intelligence, and digital technology present many opportunities for Turkey, they also offer serious challenges. Making a workforce competitive and increasing productivity over time is contingent on understanding these challenges and taking steps to address these issues. According to two-thirds percent of senior executives and union members, automation will boost the competitiveness of the Turkish economy. However, the executives believe their organizations or other institutions are equipped for automation.
Every business stakeholder must try to find a compromise between the pace of automation and reskilling to reap the benefits of the automation process, AI, and digital technologies. Automation and digitization can create new jobs that aren’t filled when they are done too fast. This may create more inequality in income and make people feel like they’re being pushed aside. Turkey’s economic competitiveness and growth could suffer when digitization and automation progress too slowly. It is, therefore, crucial to strike a fair balance between digitization and automation.
Automation AI, robotics, and other digital technologies provide Turkey with a lot of potential to increase productivity and create many jobs. Inspiring talent transformation to enable people to acquire advanced skills is the necessity of the day. To achieve this, all parties involved must work together.
The advent of automation and digitalization will profoundly transform the job market
The following major HR trends to be a watcher for in Turkey It is worth noting that the country has a high potential for automation of 50%, highly concentrated in the agriculture, manufacturing, and trade sectors with a large percentage of predictable work tasks.
The use of digital technology can result in a significant productivity boost. However, it will also need to go along with the changes in employment and the general society. This will require rapid development of technology and solutions, accompanied by significant investments in research, infrastructure, and research.
The delay in adoption, on the other hand, may help alleviate job losses because of automation. However, it can result in Turkish firms falling behind in their competitiveness globally.
In most professions in Turkey, technological advancement tends to be more suited to complement tasks rather than replace them. Despite the changes in total employment across the major sectors, such as services and agriculture and services, there was still a stable percentage of the population, and the total number of employed rose between 18 and 29 million. This indicates that the Turkish labor force can adjust to structural changes well.