The Future of Talent Attraction- a recap

On 28 January 2021, we invited employers for an interactive webinar on the future of talent attraction. Over 180 employer representatives signed up, mainly from companies, but also regions/cities as well as universities.   

2020 has been an interesting and challenging year for employers and businesses, but what we have learnt is that no matter what the situation, the need for talent remains high. This has brought into focus yet again the role that the city and the region need to play.    

In order to support employers in West Sweden to be on top of their game in talent attraction, we invited speakers who presented and discussed global trends on attracting talent worldwide. We addressed questions such as; what will be the winning concept of tomorrow and what role does the place/location have in talent attraction? How can employers find the right talent and present a unique offer? How can talents be inspired for their international journey? 

• First out of three experts speaking at the event was Morten King Grubert who is the Director of Talent Attraction & Business Development at Future Place Leadership presented some global trends on what attractive countries and regions are doing today and what will be the winning concept. He stated it is a competitive area which got key components such as digital platforms to attract as well as soft landing services provided by the city/region. Retention efforts need to be in place too and a type of ‘quality of life’ offer. A long-term forecast and the short-term urgency need to be in balance with the employers.  

•  Second expert speaker was Erik Bergqvist who is Nordic Team Lead Search and Staffing at LinkedIn. Erik talked about global trends on how talent attraction and recruitment strategies for employers have changed, also addressing what could perhaps be the winning concept of tomorrow. Furthermore, about the future key factors for talents when choosing the next step in their career. On LinkedIn, there are billions of interactions daily and it’s about connecting the dots on the platform with all the data of members, skills, jobs, etc. One important message from Erik was that it’s important to truly understand your own target group and if you want to learn about them, reach out and ask them.   

• Last but not least, we invited the expert Emilia Eriksson who is Head of Marketing at We Select speaking on digital strategies when attracting international/foreign talent and how it has changed in the time of crisis. With this, it is important to build on the place branding. One should be aware of your brand and your business as well as your offer for talents. In addition, there are public policies which play a big role in improving the attractiveness of a location - from both national and regional perspectives.