The battle for the most talented employees is a demanding task for German industry. Forty-four percent of managers said their greatest challenge was attracting specialists with the right technical and scientific background, ranking alongside globalized competition (46 percent). This is the result of the "Industry Innovation Index" – a multi-sector study carried out by the research institute Forsa on behalf of the specialty chemicals group ALTANA. The survey covered 250 top-level decision makers and 250 entry-level employees at German industrial companies. But how can firms win over the best candidates? This takes more than a generous salary, as shown by the survey. An above-average income is the deciding factor for only 28 percent of talented young industrial specialists when choosing an employer.
In their initial years of employment, on the whole young professionals are not looking primarily for highly paid positions, bonuses and status symbols. The list of relevant criteria for selecting an employer is headed by a cooperative working atmosphere ("very important" for 87 percent), room for creativity (66 percent) and attractive promotion prospects (56 per cent). The upcoming specialists also see success, image and the future viability of the company as more important than financial considerations (47, 34 and 34 percent respectively).