STOCKHOLM & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nordic companies plan to build their leadership bench and talent identification to achieve faster transformation and maximise growth opportunities by 2020, according to The Boyden Report: Nordic – “What’s driving the growth agenda for Nordic business leaders?” released today by Boyden global executive search.

“increase talent management to grow leadership capabilities and skills for the future.”

The report is based on a series of in-depth interviews with leading CEOs and senior executives from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden as well as Boyden partners in the region, covering business confidence, growth, investment, risk, executive hiring, human resources leadership and board agenda.

In addition, the report includes survey research from 96 executives on investment, current global and regional economic conditions, talent management strategy, priorities for hiring executives and plans for human resources structuring.

“Executive hiring priorities reflect the surge in planned investment in the more stable Nordic markets,” said Gray Hollett, Chief Marketing Officer of Boyden World Corporation. “Boards of Nordic companies and organisations operating in the region are pressing for faster transformation. Boyden’s report and the leaders we interviewed and polled reveal it’s all about diversity and talent-led growth, including the right mix of organisational experience, commercial background, professional perspectives, nationality and gender as well as sharpening the composition of boards.”

The report includes the following survey results for the Nordic region:

• Investment – Most organisations or subsidiaries in the region are investing in the future, as opposed to focusing on cost cutting. In Sweden, 77% of companies surveyed will focus on investing compared to 23% on cost-cutting. Eighty-one percent of Norwegian organisations, 60% of Finnish companies and 64% of Danish companies respectively will focus on investing instead of cost cutting, according to survey participants.
• Management talent – The overriding focus in all four Nordic markets was “identification and promotion of top talent,” compared to lesser priorities of “upgrading the skills of management” and “harnessing new competencies in line with changes in the industry.” In Sweden, 95% of executives polled noted identifying and promoting talent as a top priority, while 73% in Denmark, 65% in Finland and 57% in Norway noted the same.
• Human Resources – For HR, the highest priority within all Nordic markets is to “increase talent management to grow leadership capabilities and skills for the future.” Two other priorities for the HR function are the increased use of key performance indicators to show HR contribution, for a mean of 50% of participants in all markets surveyed, and revising the remuneration structure, which is the second priority at 56% of companies in Finland.

For a full copy of The Boyden Report: Nordic, please visit www.boyden.com. To join a complimentary webinar on October 8 covering the findings of the report, please click HERE.

Panel Members

Panel members for the report include Mikkel Eriksen, COO and board member, Valcon and Chairman of Operate AS, based in Denmark; Morten Fon, President and CEO, Jotun, based in Norway; Reidar Gårdebäck, CEO, Medtronic, based in Sweden; Camilla Kampmann, Vice President of Oracle and Non-Executive Director of AIG Europe, based in Denmark; Pili Kotilainen, HR Leader, formerly at Outokumpu, based in Finland; Tapio Pajuharju, CEO, Lumene Oy, based in Finland; and Margaretha Wibeck, Vice President-Human Resources, Stoneridge Electronics Global, headquartered in Sweden.

Boyden Project Team Members and Local Media Contacts:

Jesper Broeckner, Partner, Boyden Denmark: jesper.brockner@boyden.dk or +45 7023-7383

Jussi Eränen, Partner, Boyden Finland, jussi.eranen@boyden.fi or +358 40-502-6199

Bjørn Boberg, Managing Partner, Boyden Norway, bjorn.boberg@boyden.no or +47 9289-7133

Per Z Hæggström, Managing Partner, Boyden Sweden, phaeggstrom@boyden.com or +46 8-440-4183

About The Boyden Report

Other reports in the series include The Boyden Report: Russia – Russia's Executives lead an economic renaissance; The Boyden Report: China 2011 Multiculturalism – China's gift to the global economy; The Boyden Report: Brazil – Executives walking on the big stage; The Boyden Report: Latin America – Multi-Latinas drive Latin America's destiny, and The Boyden Report: India – The sun also rises on the Indian executive.

About Boyden World Corporation

Boyden is a global leader in the executive search industry with more than 65 offices in over 40 countries. Founded in 1946, Boyden specialises in high level executive search, interim management and human capital consulting across a broad spectrum of industries. For further information, visit the firm’s website at www.boyden.com.