S
Catalyst | Soundbites
Ich liebe DACH
Germany is a global player, despite
only reunifying in 1990 and, with
high levels of native talent and
access to the wider DACH region
(which includes Switzerland
and Austria), high performance
is almost guaranteed. However,
new players face unique
challenges entering the market.
In a recent whitepaper Talent
sourcing at the heart of Europe,
Alexander Mann Solutions
investigated the challenges
and opportunities faced by
businesses acquiring talent in the
three countries.
Unemployment in Germany is at
its lowest since reunification and is
one of the lowest in the developed
world. Due to its ‘national innovation
system’, it has been a leader in ‘hard
science’ but is currently experiencing
a shortfall in digital t a l e n t .
Marcel Kalis from
ESMT Business School
explained: “Berlin is an
international hothouse
for digital, but there is
nothing like enough
people with the right
skills to fuel it all.”
So how can DACH
businesses plug the
gap? Flying in talent from
around the world is difficult as
German remains the language
of business. Although English is
widely understood, a ‘two-tier’
system emerges, where key decision
conversations would pass by foreign
workers with a decent understanding
of the local tongue.
Recruiters also struggle with the
inertia of domestic talent. People
in the DACH region lay down
deep roots, and are not inclined to
relocate. German companies excel
in creating a sense of loyalty, and
employees appear reluctant to look
elsewhere, and often have unrealistic
expectations of their roles compared
to those from other countries.
So what can be done to attract the
best talent in an immobile market?
Strong employer branding is vital,
and connection of role to brand is
more significant in DACH than
any other region.
“We are an employer of
choice for anyone wanting to
work in the airline industry,”
said Tobias Bartholomé,
senior director of recruiting
and sourcing at Lufthansa.
“In areas where we have
an evolving reputation, we
need to keep working hard
at our offering.”
The popularity of the DACH
region’s (German-speaking,
medium-sized) ‘mittelstand’
companies lies in:
• Leaders who serve as role models
based on character, commitment and
understanding of the business
• Value placed on technical
education
• Management behaviour
characterised by values: honesty,
reliability, respect and mutual esteem
• Decentralised and flatter
organisational structures allowing
decision-making at all levels
How can organisations
break into the DACH region?
• Be flexible: look at a balance of
skills rather than ticking all the boxes
• Speed up and streamline
processes: faster and sleeker
recruitment to win top talent
• Deploy results of global
lessons: many German employers are
slow to embrace innovations in talent
pooling. Revolutionise your approach
to pipelining to strengthen your
brand in the region
New
Berlin office
On 12 June, Alexander Mann Solutions
opened its new office in Berlin. With a
growing footprint in the DACH region, the
move follows an extensive rise in demand
for our services in Central Europe. We have
placed nearly 2000 hires in the region,400
of these in the challenging IT, tech and
engineering fields.
You can find us at:
17th Floor, Eichhornstraße 3,
Berlin, 10785, Germany
Issue 3 - 2019
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