Ambitionet | Home

Switzerland is the most talent competitive country – again

Switzerland has been crowned the most talent competitive country in the world in this year’s Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI). It trumps due to cognitive diversity. Singapore and the U.S. follow on second and third spot.

Countries that leverage diversity as a resource and do so effectively lead this year’s Global Talent Competitiveness Index. The GTCI is an annual index created by international business school Insead in partnership with Adecco.

Switzerland has come out top in the index for a number of years now. Insead explains this decision due to the country’s sensitivity to cognitive diversity; it retains the talent it grows and is also welcoming to outside talent, write Insead’s Paul Evans and Bruno Lanvin on the school’s Knowledge Platform. According to their report 24 per cent of Switzerland’s population was born abroad. The authors criticize the country’s gender diversity, however, writing that there are still obstacles preventing women from assuming leadership roles.

In general, the authors emphasize that according to research diversity is the key to success for companies. Complex tasks that require creativity are best given to diverse teams. They tend to do better than those comprised of similar individuals – as long as the team members have the skills to collaborate. Diversity of views, experiences, expertise, culture and race can all enhance the way organisations and countries work according to Evans and Lanvin. “There is a growing realisation that diversity can be a national resource for competitiveness,” they say.

Cognitive diversity comprises of diversity of knowledge, experience and perspectives and a combination of these leads to higher performance and creative innovation on problem-solving and predictive tasks according to research. “This is more important than ever in an era of automation,” claim the authors.

Another country which has fully embraced diversity and has built a unique environment is Singapore. With the help of schools and public housing, the government has developed a successful and diverse society over generations, making sure that the distinct ethnic groups live together in harmony.

Singapore and the Nordic countries – Norway (4), Sweden (5), Finland (6) and Denmark (7) demonstrate the link between diversity, talent competitiveness and prosperity, according to Paul Evans and Bruno Lanvin. Norway stands out in particular as it provides women with the same leadership opportunities as men, that’s why it was chosen to move up six places within the top 10 compared to last year.

The Netherlands (9) are praised for being the world’s best country overall in growing talent, and the United States (3) for their track record despite being scolded on the acceptance of gender diversity. High quality universities in the United Kingdom (8) train a well-informed workforce which helped the UK to grab a spot in the top ten whilst Luxembourg (10) earned his place due to an open and attractive business climate.

The World’s Most Talent Competitive Countries, GTCI Top 10 2018