Relocation phenomenon: What attracts talent in Finland – and what bothers employers?

Finland is a top destination for foreign professionals for several reasons, a view that is supported by numerous studies as well as statements from foreign talent. However, Finnish employers feel that the recruitment of global talent is challenging. How can these two phenomenons exist simultaneously? Let’s look at both parts independently.

From previous market growth cycles, we know that once the wheels of economy are once again in motion it is too late to start thinking about how to attract the best talent in the world. Hence, it is of the utmost importance to lean into our strengths as a society and present Finland boldly as an attractive location. How to go about this?

In Finland, everything just works

Finland has a unique opportunity to highlight itself with topical matters right now. The Covid-19 pandemic is strongly present everywhere. Finland having some of the best numbers in dealing with the epidemic are seen and heard all the way in Silicon Valley. This supports Finland’s reputation as a safe and functioning society where everything works and solutions are actively pursued to deal with any problems and challenges.

On November 17, 2020 the world record for commercial 5G speeds was broken in Finland. This is a great achievement and promotes Finland’s image as a modern and technologically advanced society, where opportunities abound for both businesses and professionals to develop and create new and exciting things. Combining this with a clean environment, nature, and equality as well as the ease of achieving work-life balance, we are holding a hand full of trump cards!

Finland is a modern and technologically advanced society, where opportunities abound for both businesses and professionals to develop and create new and exciting things.

In addition to these, Finland possesses additional strengths that make it an easy country for international talent to immigrate to. The level of English Finns possess is proven time and again to be amongst the best in the world, with the recent Education First -ranking being only the latest achievement. Finland is also continuously ranked at the top of the happiest countries in the world, even or perhaps especially amongst immigrants. Even the often criticised high taxation is acceptable to many foreign professionals as they feel they gain far more with their taxes than they do in their home countries.

Solutions for the international recruitment challenges

So, Finland has excellent tools to attract international talent, as long as they can be used and targeted correctly. These strengths mean that there’s something in Finland for everyone. So why is the recruiting of foreign talent perceived to be so challenging?

The uncertainty and therefore discomfort about hiring the first foreign professional is often high. Getting the foreign talent to Finland is also seen as a slow and challenging process. But where there are challenges are also solutions.

One important factor is for example the support from public institutions. Providing sufficient daycare and primary school opportunities is one such example. Creating and promoting a positive and modern image of Finland to the rest of the world is another. A third, increasingly important one, is ensuring that companies and employees are aware of existing service providers.

Many challenges in international recruitment already have solutions provided by Finnish companies.

One vital part of these solutions are relocation services, which make it significantly faster and easier to get the desired talent to Finland. When official bureaucracy and for example salary, taxation, and home search related issues are taken care of swiftly and in good order, employers can save costs and their resources can be better focused on core tasks and business. The costs of these services are often lower than their reputation, which may be largely based on experiences from the United States. Finland’s relocation services offerings are notably far more reasonable.

By utilizing Finland’s unique strengths as a location, the internal strengths of companies, and existing supporting services, Finnish employers have every opportunity to succeed in the competition for international talent. If we want to strengthen the competitiveness of Finnish businesses and fix the increasingly challenging dependency ratio, the conclusion is clear to all: International talent is needed and Finland needs to continue to attract and integrate them as part of the society.