Victory can be yours in the global war for talent

Abstract

Purpose

– This paper aims to provide a critical overview of the significant and growing challenges that countries and organizations face with attracting and retaining foreign talent.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper analyzes information from academia, business and the media on the challenges for countries and companies in winning the war for foreign talent.

Findings

– The paper shows that governments and companies need to engage with foreign professionals at an early stage in their careers in order to reap the benefits of their human capital in the long term.

Practical implications

– The paper reveals how organizations and whole regions can benefit from attracting foreign talent.

Social implications

– The paper emphasizes that organizations need to look beyond the traditional economic incentives of career opportunities and salaries to other social and lifestyle factors outside the workplace.

Originality/value

– The paper highlights the growing competition for foreign talent, which is a zero‐sum game between countries and companies. The winners will be those who recognize the importance of foreign talent at all stages of a country's economic cycle, those who invest in this invaluable resource earlier, as well those who recognize the value of economic and non‐economic incentives.