A recent survey of approximately 1,200 companies in 23 countries found that nearly two-thirds are experiencing difficulties attracting "critical-skill" employees, Personnel Today reports.

Other key findings include:

• One-quarter of businesses reported trouble with employee recruitment generally.
• Sixty-one percent of the companies stated that their cost-saving measures - redundancies, hiring and salary freezes - had increased their employees' workloads, and 53% said such measures had impaired employees' ability to manage work-related stress.

In response to these challenges, the surveyed employers are proactively attempting to remedy deficiencies by, for example, focusing on development of internal talent, and ensuring employees are prepared for critical roles.