5 Insights from C Studios Inaugural What Talent Wants Report
October 19, 2023
With the release of our sister agency C Studios’ new report, What Talent Wants: Capturing What Europe’s Workforce Looks for in Jobs & Locations, we now have a better understanding of the motivations, behaviors and preferences among talent on a global scale.
Much like DCI’s Talent Wars from earlier this year, the goal of this report is to help economic development organizations, private-led industry groups, private-sector leaders and government officials to design better talent attraction and retention programs. Informed by our survey of 650+ individuals from across nine European nations who have relocated within the last three years, below are five insights that entities involved in talent attraction and retention should keep in mind.
1. People are seeking a better life – and what that means has been influenced by the pandemic:
“To have a better quality of life” was by far the top trigger inspiring Europeans to relocate (consistent with our U.S. study) with 43% of respondents selecting this option. Other top factors included “access to a larger living space” (26%), “wanting to be closer to family” (22%), and “remote work allowed me to move and try something new” (18%).
2. Relocation decisions are motivated by practical considerations more than flashy ones.
As Europeans have re-evaluated what a good life means, “must have” factors like costs, safety, housing and healthcare are much more important (each rating above 7.0 on a 10-point scale) than “nice to haves” like arts/culture and nightlife (which rate below 7.0). When targeting talent for relocation, it’s important to know where your community competes well on key practical factors, as it will be hard to convince people to make a move if basic needs aren’t going to stay consistent or improve.
3. Talent is hungry for upskilling.
Some 88% of European respondents (the same exact rate as the U.S.) said they are open to upgrading their skills if it would lead to better career or job prospects, although a good share of those respondents are unaware of such opportunities. Interestingly, 71% noted that they would be willing to relocate to a new region if it offered free training to upgrade their skills or job prospects.
4. Reaching prospective candidates is a digital-first journey.
Respondents listed internet research as the No. 1 source of information informing their relocation decision (48%), outranking first-person experience (35%). A dedicated live/work website was considered important by 75% of survey-takers evaluating new locations. And the influence of social media is clearly high, with Facebook leading the way as both the top channel influencing of perceptions (57%) and exploring job opportunities (55%). Online job boards was selected as the biggest source of information about jobs at 49%.
5. The view from the U.S. isn’t much different from that of Europe.
As we look at the data from across Europe, it’s not significantly different than the trends driving relocation in the U.S. market, which DCI captured in Talent Wars. While an ocean divides the two world regions, similar themes are mirrored on both sides of the Atlantic, including practical factors driving decision-making, a thirst for more work/life balance, an openness to upskilling and a preference for digital channels in the decision-making process.
To get a copy of the report, you can download it at c-studios.com. Whether you’re targeting U.S. (DCI) or European (C Studios) talents, our collective of agencies can help design, add scale or accelerate your talent attraction initiative. Give us a shout for more information.
