News
Beyond Compliance: How the EU Pay Transparency Directive Can Transform Employee Engagement
09.03.2026
The European Union's Pay Transparency Directive, which member states must transpose into national law by June 2026, has sparked considerable discussion among HR professionals and business leaders. While much of the conversation has centred on compliance requirements, reporting obligations, pay gap assessments, and potential penalties, there's a far more compelling story beneath the regulatory surface. This directive presents organizations with a unique opportunity to address what research consistently shows is one of the most powerful drivers of employee satisfaction: transparency in compensation systems.
Structured Estonians, Hardworking Latvians and Bold Lithuanians – How Work Cultures Differ Across the Baltics
09.03.2026
The Baltic region is often perceived as a single entity. For many foreign investors, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania tend to blend into one whole. However, when working with people and organizations across all three countries, it becomes clear that behind this shared perception lie three rather distinct work cultures, experiences and approaches to problem-solving. We are united by similar values – education, stability and the desire to receive fair compensation – yet the ways in which we seek to achieve these goals can differ.
Baltic salary markets in 2026: similar salary increases, different labour-market realities
30.01.2026
Figure’s forecast survey tells us that looking ahead to 2026, the Baltic countries appear, at first glance, to be moving in sync, but labour market dynamics are diverging according to perceived economic realities of the last few years. Salary growth is slowing down across the Baltics, and inflation is no longer the dominant driver of pay decisions. Employers across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are approaching the year with cautious optimism rather than urgency, being more optimistic towards the south of the region.
New EU directive encourages employers to hold more systematic salary discussions
16.12.2025
Next year, a new directive on salary transparency (No. 2023/970) will come into force in the European Union, with the aim of reducing and preventing the gender pay gap and strengthening employees' rights to information about their salary level and how it is determined. Although many employers associate the directive primarily with tedious reporting obligations and an increasing administrative burden, it also encourages employers to make their wage policies more systematic and transparent, and thus more motivating for employees. One very practical tool in this process, which also offers opportunities to promote employee-centered management practices, is the regular salary review.
Performance Reviews Are Not Exams
12.11.2025
The end of the year is traditionally the time when organizations evaluate work performance and plan employee development for the year ahead. Recent trends show growing dissatisfaction with performance evaluation - both among employers and employees. Employers often see the process as bureaucratic and lacking meaningful impact, while employees feel that the evaluation is unfair. Much of this dissatisfaction stems from a misunderstanding of the purpose of performance reviews and a deeply rooted perception that evaluation is a form of criticism - the belief that “if I’m being evaluated, I must have done something wrong.” But is performance evaluation truly just a stressful administrative task? Could development conversations replace formal assessments and reduce employee anxiety? And what would such a shift mean for employers?