CEO Insights: How to solve Europe’s productivity crisis

An interview with Protime CEO Jan Van Autreve

Over the past few years, work in the EU has rapidly changed. The rise of technology, the introduction of remote working, and the coming of AI.

Jan Van Autreve has a front-row seat to that evolution. As the CEO of Protime, he leads a company that has spent more than three decades in workforce management, which is long enough to have seen the market reinvent itself several times over.

Now, Jan is seeing new challenges within the EU, including a rapidly aging workforce and a productivity crisis across borders.

We sat down with Jan to examine the current state of the workforce in Europe and heard his advice about how you can stay prepared for the coming challenges.

Europe’s workforce is growing older

According to Eurofound, the employment rate among those aged 55 or older increased by almost 20% during the last decade.

This demographic shift is already influencing both economic output and consumer behaviour.

As Jan puts it, “Europe is an ageing region. As ageing accelerates, people leave the labour market, but they continue to consume. In fact, they often even have more disposable income, because they retire and have savings set aside. So, the consumer market doesn’t shrink – it grows faster than production can keep up.”

This growing gap between consumption and production has direct consequences for employers across Europe. Jan continues, “There is constant change and movement, and that creates a growing need for talent. That talent is becoming scarcer.”

Young people want more than just a job

Generational expectations around work are also shifting rapidly within Europe.

“Younger talent looks at the world very differently than my generation did, or the generation before me. Young people say: we want to enjoy life. We’re not going to work ourselves into the ground the way our grandparents sometimes did, working purely to save money,” Jan explains.

This reflects a broader redefinition of what a successful career looks like, with well-being and flexibility playing a much bigger role than before.

According to the HR & Payroll Pulse 2025, 4 in 10 Gen Z employees identify flexible hours and hybrid work as their preferred flexible working arrangement.

That’s not to say that younger people don’t want to work – only that they are approaching work in a new way, with different priorities and expectations.

Where and how we work is changing

According to Eurostat, approximately 3-4% of the working-age population in Europe engages in gig or platform work.

As Jan notes, “There are many forms of employment: permanent contracts, temporary contracts, student jobs, gig work.”

At the same time, technology has untethered work from a fixed location, as more people work across-borders throughout Europe.

“You have people saying: ‘I’ll go live somewhere sunny and work from there,’” Jan says. “You see these digital nomads especially in IT. You see the impact locally as well: well-paid IT professionals moving in, pushing up housing prices, creating tension. The entire labour market is reorganising itself.”

With this change in where people work, it’s more important than ever to align your teams throughout Europe and use a tool that’s well suited to that reality.

How EU companies can adapt

Despite differences in sector and geography, many organisations are facing these same underlying issues.

As Jan observes, “Companies face the same challenges: talent scarcity, regulation, union relations. That’s why insight into people – what they do, what they’re good at, where they need to develop – is essential. With that insight, you can make better policy.”

So, what exactly do you need to face these growing challenges and shrinking workforce?

1. Europe-specific tools

Our HR & Payroll Pulse 2025 report shows that just 59% of EU organisations believe their payroll systems can scale with future growth.

Operating successfully across Europe requires systems that can handle regulatory and cultural complexity at scale. Jan is clear on this point:

“Companies need tools that can be deployed across all European countries. When I joined Protime, I thought: time & attendance – how hard can it be? Well, it’s complex. There is complexity at company level, sector level, and country level. There are special rules around overtime, specific regimes, but if you can do that, it also means you can support companies that operate in multiple countries."

2. Transparent data

Data, particularly among younger employees, is often met with scepticism due to concerns around privacy and control.

Jan acknowledges that history directly. “Historically, a lot of the discussion has been dominated by old-school thinking: the idea that data exists primarily to control people. But I believe data should mainly be used to measure and verify, and then to act on it."

To achieve that, companies need to clearly communicate how data is used and ensure it benefits both employees and the organisation. For example, by using insights to improve planning, workload balance, or fairness.

As Jan concludes, “That leads to a very different relationship with data. It’s not a quarterly photo moment. It’s a continuous process. Real-time data is essential.”

3. Continuous workforce management

According to our research, approximately 6 in 10 EU companies use a workforce planning tool, while around two-thirds rely on a time and attendance solution.

Jan sees workforce management as an area with enormous, untapped potential.

“Workforce management is one of the most exciting spaces in the HR landscape today. However, it is still underexposed. We often look at talent in snapshots, such as annual reviews or quarterly evaluations. Workforce management deserves continuous attention.”

Moving away from snapshots toward a more ongoing approach allows organisations to adapt faster and plan more intelligently.

As Jan puts it, “Allocating time, tasks, and resources more intelligently makes organisations more productive. The smarter the allocation, the better the team setup, and the greater the chance that your company will succeed.

Preparing for Europe’s workforce challenges

European companies are navigating an ageing workforce and evolving employee expectations – both of which impact productivity.

As Jan concludes: “When you bring all of that together, you see that European companies are facing a massive challenge: how to organise productivity.”

Addressing these challenges requires the right tools, a transparent approach to data, and continuous workforce management.

Interested in strengthening your workforce strategy? Contact us today to schedule a call with one of our experts.