A 30th edition of the Robert Half Confidence Index (ICRH), who interviewed 387 professionals responsible for recruitment in companies across Brazil, revealed the main management priorities at the beginning of 2025. The study highlighted that talent retention has become the managers' greatest concern, closely followed by challenges related to productivity and profitability.
In the previous survey, regarding the second semester of 2024, talent retention ranked third in the priority list. Another highlight was the attraction of professionals, which rose from seventh to fourth position among the main challenges. Conversely, topics such as well-being and career lost relevance, dropping from fourth to fifth place, and from sixth to eighth position, respectively.
“It is no surprise that retention and attraction are gaining priority in a booming job market, with only 3% unemployment among qualified professionals. In this scenario of full employment, companies face harassment from other organizations to retain their best talent while competing to attract new professionals. This requires clear strategies from leaders,” comments Fernando Mantovani, general director of Robert Half for South America.
The 10 biggest concerns for managers at the beginning of 2025, according to the ICRH:
- Retention: not losing good professionals to the market (60%)
- Productivity:fulfill obligations more efficiently (56%)
- Profitability:generating more value, spending less (54%)
- Attraction:attract suitable professionals for the company (52%)
- Well-being:promote mental health and quality of life (42%)
- Remuneration:have competitive salaries and benefits (42%)
- Technology:understand developments and use them to your advantage (35%)
- Career:develop and offer growth opportunities (29%)
- Market information:impacts of politics and economics on business (24%)
- Working models:adapt and evolve in the adopted model (21%)
“Managers play a central role in defining priorities and engaging teams. Companies that combine operational efficiency, valuing talent and adapting to technological changes have greater potential to achieve their goals. Promoting mental health, offering competitive salaries and creating growth opportunities are essential initiatives in a market as dynamic as today’s,” concludes Mantovani.
