Resourcing | The Brexit Effect - The perception of UK plc amongst global talent

Identifying and attracting senior overseas talent has never been easy and neither has managing their subsequent relocation.

Recently we have noticed an increased difficulty in bringing talented individuals to the UK. There is a markedly ‘cooler’ response to our approaches from overseas candidates since the Brexit referendum result in 2016.

There is no doubt that many mainland Europeans feel the UK has made a huge mistake in opting to leave the EU.  This often manifests itself in a knee-jerk “no” to an initial approach about a position here. Even if we are able to overcome this initial, visceral response there remains a perception that the UK, once seen as a progressive ‘open for business’ country, is no longer that.  Many of the people we approach perceive, rightly or wrongly, that things have changed here, and that foreign nationals will no longer receive such a warm welcome in the UK.

Even individuals from territories with historically well-trodden paths to the UK, like the Commonwealth countries, North America and Ireland, are no longer as open to moving here. The weak pound, UK economic uncertainty and strong ‘home’ economies are certainly factors. Yet combine these with a lack of clarity around the future visa status and relocation to the UK is increasingly falling in to the ‘too hard’ category.