Shortage in the labor market, how do you respond?

Although the economy continues to grow, it is growing at a slower rate than in recent years. This is due in part to the pandemic, staff shortages, and the tension prevailing in the labor market. Nevertheless, open vacancies continue to increase; last year there were more vacancies than unemployed people. This can cause a lot of frustration for employers because it inhibits the growth of their business. In addition, it also affects the staff who may have to contend with an increased workload as a result. Of course, you can use a recruitment company to search for staff, but there are a number of other factors that can increase the chances of filling open vacancies.  

Remote working

During the pandemic, many companies started facilitating working from home. This convenience has become the new standard and it is expected that this trend will continue after the pandemic. Most developers we speak to at DIQQ indicate that this is one of their needs: the convenience, wanting to work temporarily from home, little to no travel time which in turn saves time, are several reasons they give for this.  

Expats in the Netherlands

Expats from all over the world come to work in the Netherlands. This number has grown significantly in recent years, and is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. The Netherlands had an average of 383,000 highly skilled migrants from 2016 to 2018. In addition, both highly skilled migrants within and outside Europe can claim various schemes.  

30% rule

When a highly skilled migrant comes to the Netherlands to work, a claim can be made under the 30% rule. This is a tax benefit whereby 30% of the salary is paid tax-free. This is in contrast to a Dutch citizen whereby income tax is deducted from the earnings. Due to the tax benefit, this advantageous scheme ensures that more knowledge migrants are attracted.

Attracting highly skilled migrants

By making your company attractive to knowledge migrants, you can increase the pond in which you fish. Attracting knowledge migrants can have consequences for your company. The language of communication within the company may change, for example to English. Experience shows that some companies are reluctant to do this. In that case you should consider how important it is for the company. Changing the language of communication can, often in the short term, cause resistance from staff. In the long run, acceptance often comes, and it can ensure that new markets can be tapped into, and it can be easier to interact with customers. Finally, setting up your company in an expat-friendly way can help the knowledge migrant feel at home. Organize an event where employees can talk about their country or integrate international cuisine into the canteen. You can also ensure that new staff receive all information in English.  

Offer a language course

Do you have a potential highly skilled migrant in mind, but he or she does not yet have sufficient command of the language. Then a language course may be a solution. This is possible with the nuns of Vught, among others. After five intensive training days, the language level increases by an average of 1 level in the ECFR (European Reference Framework). You can also use this course to prepare for the transition to the Netherlands. In this way, a language barrier need not be an obstacle to attracting knowledge migrants.

Becoming an IND referent

To come to the Netherlands, a non-European highly skilled migrant needs a sponsor who can submit the visa application. With this migrant visa, migrants can work and live in the Netherlands. Companies can become IND-references, but have to meet certain criteria. The advantage of being an IND referent is that the process is simplified. For example, the Naturalization Service (IND) processes the applications faster. A decision on a completely submitted application is usually made within two weeks. In addition, the application requires you to submit fewer supporting documents than an ordinary visa application and there is a business portal for companies to submit the documents.

In short, by making a few adjustments, the pond can be enlarged. The increasing number of highly skilled migrants can bring relief to the labor market. By making a company expat-friendly, this can be cleverly anticipated. Europeans can enjoy the 30% tax benefit, but by becoming an IND reference, even personnel from all over the world can be attracted. And finally, language barriers can easily be solved by deploying courses.

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