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Chasing the Creative Class: What Works, and What Doesn’t? Recruitment Strategies in Norwegian Local Government

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The Future of Local Self-Government

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Sub-National Governance ((PSSNG))

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Abstract

What are (the most) effective strategies for recruiting staff to key positions in local government? Are the features of the work place or the features of the location of the work place the decisive factors? Classical Human Relations Management theories emphasise the former whereas the theory of the creative class along with scenescape theory highlights the latter. The theories are tested by drawing on a survey of middle managers in local government in Norway and what they have found to work (and not to work) in their respective municipalities when seeking to fill vacancies in their departments. The findings indicate that attractive features of the work place are more important than lively communities or natural scenery for drawing high-calibre candidates to local government positions.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The development of human capital is, of course, a core concern in modern HRM; the possession of high-level human capital is, however, also a defining characteristic of the creative class, see Florida (2012b).

References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Harald Baldersheim

Authors
  1. Harald Baldersheim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Harald Baldersheim .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Tomas Bergström

  2. University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    Jochen Franzke  & Sabine Kuhlmann  & 

  3. Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Ellen Wayenberg

Appendices

Appendix 1

Factor analysis of recruitment strategies.

Rotated Component Matrixa

 

Component

1

2

3

 

Community & life cycle

Work place design & basics

Job core & reputation design

Competitive wages

.006

.551

.384

Independent and stimulating job tasks

–.086

.328

.689

Attractive professional environment

–.103

.342

.696

Flexible working hours

.028

.583

.177

Fringe benefits such as kindergarten, housing

.390

.631

–.066

Fringe benefits such as free fitness programmes

.386

.681

–.076

Opportunities for further studies, including paid leave

.124

.669

.272

A well-defined career path

.226

.662

.251

The community’s cultural benefits

.804

.155

.057

Opportunities for outdoor recreation

.799

.130

.065

Attractive urban scene (coffee shops etc.)

.745

.166

.136

The reputation of the municipality

.477

.054

.589

The reputation of the unit/department

.324

–.076

.734

Family bonds to the community

.544

.043

.069

The municipality’s retirement programme

.545

.429

.021

The municipality’s trainee programme

.556

.434

–.059

  1. Extraction method: Principal component analysis
  2. Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser normalisation
  3. aRotation converged in 11 iterations

Appendix 2

1.1 Operationalisation of Managerial Autonomy

To what extent do the following statements describe your authority and responsibility as a leader of your unit? 1 = not at all, 4 = very well.

1.1.1 Extent of Delegation

  • I have discretion to reallocate budgetary resources inside my overall budget.

  • I have discretion over the spending of extraordinary income.

  • I may carry over (parts of) a budgetary surplus into next year’s budget.

  • I have to cover a budgetary deficit in next year’s budget.

  • I have the power to hire staff.

  • I have the power to conduct local tariff negotiations.

  • I have the power to approve local tariff negotiations.

  • I have the power to change the internal organisation of my unit.

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Baldersheim, H. (2021). Chasing the Creative Class: What Works, and What Doesn’t? Recruitment Strategies in Norwegian Local Government. In: Bergström, T., Franzke, J., Kuhlmann, S., Wayenberg, E. (eds) The Future of Local Self-Government. Palgrave Studies in Sub-National Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56059-1_7

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