Improving the environment for internationals is the number one issue of concern. Sixty percent of workplaces in Eastern Jutland expect an increased need for international specialists in the coming years, but, experts say, government and businesses are not doing enough to address the practical and political barriers that stand in the way of attracting and maintaining an international workforce.
”Improving the environment for internationals is the number one issue of concern among our members right now,” says Stephen Brugger, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Denmark (AmCham Denmark), which recently published a whitepaper outlining the most important practical challenges entitled Denmark: The Talent to Succeed.
The relatively simple everyday problems, Brugger says, are often seen in isolation, but put together create a morass for employers. “In the wake of the financial crisis and increasing unemployment, it’s a huge challenge to convince the Danish Government of the urgency of the situation,“ Brugger says, “but the feedback from our members is that we are going to be very quickly in an even worse situation than we were in the full-employment times between 2004 and 2007. Our companies are going to be in dire need of highly qualified talent that they are not going to be able to attract.”
Governmental Issues
Problems in obtaining a driving license, insufficient international school capacity and what Brugger calls the Three-year tax wall created by the Expat Taxation Scheme are just some of the issues AmCham is calling on the government to address immediately. ”One of the difficulties is that few of these issues lie within a single ministry,” he says. ”So one of the biggest challenges is keeping the overall issue, that being the shortage of talent, front and centre with the key decision makers, ensuring that all in the political sphere know it is there and keep it in mind.”
Brugger also admits that a more concerted effort from the business community is called for. ”There are a lot of regional, industry-based and other councils talking to the government and these groups also have to be better in expressing themselves as the common voice of business,” he adds.
Exit Dialogue is Important
Helle Herstad Lauridsen believes there is also an internal aspect in which businesses need to be better. And she has a lot of firsthand experience. In her position as Director at House of Relocation she deals with international families both on the way in- and out- of Denmark. ”I suggest that companies do an exit dialogue and ask them why they leave in order to prevent some of the same issues arising later for the next employee. It sounds simple but many do not do it”.
Lauridsen believes that workplaces need to make a more concerted effort in monitoring international workers from the interview process all the way until they have returned home – and maybe even after. “If we want to know why these workers leave, why are we not talking to those former employees who have already left?” she asks, rhetorically.
The results of International Community’s study support Lauridsen’s observations. When asked why international workers leave their companies, over one third of the companies surveyed answered: don’t know.
