Nothing new from the east

The EU's eastward expansion came into force on May 1. Employees from Eastern Europe no longer need a visa to work in Switzerland or other European countries. This could give Swiss agencies a real creative boost - because workers from Eastern Europe are known for their excellent artistic training, perfect illustrations and, above all, extensive digital skills, which are still lacking in Switzerland. What's more, they are usually younger than their Swiss competitors when they enter the job market. And not as expensive.

Werbewoche wanted to know whether the new free movement of workers has already had an impact on Swiss agencies, whether it is an opportunity or - with regard to wage dumping - perhaps even a risk. We asked whether Swiss agencies are specifically recruiting Eastern European staff or whether they have received more applications from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic or Hungary since May 1. We also wanted to know which areas are being recruited for and how satisfied the agencies are with the qualifications of their Eastern European employees.

Of 21 agencies contacted, 15 answered our questions, 3 abstained from participating for reasons of content or time and 3 agencies did not respond to our request at all.

The results: No run on new talent

For 6 of the 15 agencies surveyed, workers from Eastern Europe do not play a major role today and will presumably continue to do so in the future. 8 agencies do not rule out that the topic could become relevant for them in the future, and one agency considers it likely that it will hire workers from Eastern Europe: "We can very well imagine acquiring staff from Eastern Europe in the future," says Annina Stettler from Contexta. Some of the agencies surveyed point out that it is still too early for them to make well-founded statements about whether the acquisition of workers from Eastern Europe will become relevant for them in the future.

Six of the agencies that took part in our survey already employ staff from Eastern Europe. However, they did not come to Switzerland as part of the EU's eastward expansion, but have been living and working in the country for some time. Four of these six agencies explicitly emphasize that they are very satisfied with the performance of their Eastern European employees. Word of the high level of qualifications that creative professionals and consultants from Eastern Europe can demonstrate has already spread to agencies that do not yet employ Eastern Europeans: "Those people over there are damn good! An opportunity for our agency world," says Silvan Metzger from Metzgerlehner, for example. Frank Bodin from Euro RSCG emphasizes: "Especially in network agencies, in the IT and programming sector, you can find excellent people there, even in key positions. In creation, too, especially in design, people often come from Eastern Europe. I think this is absolutely legitimate in this area, there are many very good portfolios." René Schwarz from Maxomedia disagrees: "So far, we haven't received any really good applications."

Three of the agencies surveyed employ the specialists required for projects - primarily programmers - locally, predominantly in Poland, but also in other Eastern European countries. No problem in times of global networking. Andy Hostettler from TBWA: "They can do something that we can't, or they do it faster or cheaper. That's why we are very satisfied with them. We always have teams from these countries (Poland, Germany, France; editor's note) when it comes to international campaigns. Or we send our people there." Euro RSCG and Goldbach do something similar. "We use networks to award contracts to Eastern Europe or India, especially programming work," says Frank Bodin from Euro RSCG. And Bramwell Kaltenrieder from Goldbach Interactive emphasizes: "In connection with the development of new markets and the establishment of corresponding units, for example in Poland, we have already had the opportunity for some time to have selected work and sub-projects carried out locally. The interactive, global media world opens up new marketing opportunities for us and the Swiss advertising industry in general."

Wage dumping not to be feared

Eight of the agencies that took part in the survey had not yet recruited any workers from Eastern Europe and had not received any applications from this region. The other seven agencies already had dossiers from Eastern Europeans to sift through. In all cases, however, this was before the EU's eastward expansion on May 1. Frank Bodin: "We receive many inquiries from the former Balkan countries. They have increased over the last few years because well-educated people from Eastern Europe earn a lot more in Austria, Germany, Switzerland or Italy than in their home country." The fact that hardly any Swiss agencies are specifically recruiting Eastern Europeans is probably due to the fact that there is still a sufficient selection of qualified employees from Switzerland and the surrounding countries.

Three of the agencies surveyed explicitly mentioned that they consider a lack of language skills, namely in German, English and Swiss German, to be a significant barrier to hiring employees from Eastern Europe. However, a lack of German and English language skills is a handicap primarily for consultants working in Switzerland, less so for creative professionals or IT specialists.

All the agencies surveyed consider it unlikely that Swiss employees will be threatened with wage dumping if workers from Eastern Europe come to Switzerland - especially as it is not expected that the Swiss labor market will be overrun by Eastern European creatives, IT specialists and strategists. However, Daniel Hünebeck from Adisfaction points out: "With comparable or even higher professional expertise and lower wages, Eastern European designers could become serious competition for Swiss jobs.
local specialists."

Surprising differences to Germany What our survey clearly reveals are the sometimes striking differences to Germany: while the eastward expansion of the EU does not bring any major changes for Swiss agencies according to their own assessment, the German agency landscape is already benefiting from the permeability of the borders to the east. Werben&Verkaufen Online" was able to prove this at the beginning of May with a similar survey of large German agencies (survey: http://bit.ly/mjkTOX). The trade magazine surveyed the recruiting heads of nine agencies. The tenor of all responses is similar: German agencies have been acquiring employees in Eastern Europe since the abolition of the work visa requirement and are also receiving applications from this region - albeit not in large numbers. German employers are consistently satisfied with the performance of Eastern European copywriters, creatives and digital specialists: Eastern European employees are seen as an absolute asset for creative work, as they are very ambitious and technically advanced, although there is still no training for agency staff and communication professions in Eastern Europe.

In addition, these workers could help to overcome the shortage of skilled workers, particularly in the digital sector. Although the HR managers surveyed at the German agencies also pointed out possible language problems that could make working with Eastern Europeans more difficult, as an agency you have to invest in talent, according to Wunderman, for example. Eastern Europeans who speak English very well are deployed on international accounts. Some of the interviewees expect that the eastward expansion of the EU will increase competition among creative professionals in Germany. However, wage dumping is just as little expected by German agencies as it is by the Swiss agencies surveyed by Werbewoche. Anne-Friederike Heinrich

> To the complete answers of the agency representatives

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