Cross border talent attraction: company culture is key

Julia Meighan

In an ever-connected and increasingly mobile business world, the trend for working across borders is becoming ever more common. What motivates talented workers to make the move to abroad? Julia Meighan explains

Organisations are expanding internationally as the option to open offices across Europe becomes both more tempting and easier to execute. From a talent perspective, working beyond the constraints of borders is less daunting than it was ten or twenty years ago. But, for resourcing teams, attracting talent across Europe can present a challenge.

Aside from the obvious cultural and language barriers to contend with, recognising the drivers and motivators of this community will be difficult without the insight into what candidates really want. Historically, financial incentives have played a key role in talent attraction, with the offer of a pay rise or benefits package topping the list of tactics used by resourcing teams. But our experience shows that pay will now have little impact when it comes to enticing specialist professionals across borders. So what are the real motivators of career moves in Europe?

European talent drivers

In VMA Group’s recent survey of communications professionals across Europe, Understanding the European Communications Labour Market, we found salary was ranked only fourth in the list of key factors respondents consider when switching jobs.

In comparison, company culture was reported as the key decision maker for the majority of candidates, with 87% of those surveyed noting this as a key consideration – a stark contrast to the 56% who said the same about salary options. The opportunity to develop was the second most important consideration, with 76% listing this as an important factor, and management style came third with 72%.

It’s clear, then, that candidates are looking for much more from a company than just a wage. They want to work for a business that has an appropriate corporate culture that fits their personality, is committed to staff development, and has a management team they can relate to. For resourcing teams, this means that in order to recruit individuals who will stay in a role, there is likely to be a need to work closely with the company to build its employee value proposition.

While it’s encouraging that the majority of respondents are willing to relocate to a new country for a job role (69%), not all of these are active candidates, with a large number of those surveyed acknowledging they would consider options, but are not actively looking (48%).

For recruiters this passive candidate pool presents both an opportunity and a challenge. Willem de Ruijter, head of mainland Europe at VMA Group, says: “These passive individuals will not be seeking opportunities or looking at job postings on websites, publications or LinkedIn, so targeting them will understandably be difficult. But, on the flip side, the recruiter that can reach these passive candidates will be able to tap into a pool of talent that is, in the most part, out of the grasp of competitors.”

As national borders become increasingly irrelevant in the business world, the recruitment industry now has a wider pool of expertise to tap into, but fishing in this proverbial ocean can only be successful with the right bait. Resourcing teams need to recognise just what is driving talent – or employ the experts that do – in order to not only attract the best professionals, but also retain them.

Julia Meighan is CEO of VMA Group www.vmagroup.com