It s a family lifestyle thing too

It's a family lifestyle thing too

Still in Switzerland, pharmaceutical giant Novartis is the dominant employer in the small city of Basel. Veronica Foote, their British-born head of global staffing says that, ˜It can be difficult for transfers and new recruits to get used to Basel and the area, but if they stay for six months they are hooked - especially employees with families.' Why? Novartis have gone out of their way to meet employees' lifestyle expectations ( especially those they seek to recruit from outside Switzerland). ˜We have a very good English/German school,' says Foote, ˜and housing is relatively inexpensive compared to London or New York.' Novartis has also put an emphasis on families, bringing the whole family to Basel to see and sample the school and local facilities. ˜Families make decisions today as a collective group , so we spend time with them,' she enthuses. ˜What we are trying to do is to tailor-make our recruitment strategy on the basis of what people are looking for as a lifestyle, not what we, Novartis, wants. Also it is a very secure, safe environment with wonderful countryside.' This meets fully the criteria of the people they need to recruit. They have made the proposition fit the lifestyle expectations of the employees . ˜We even have a fully staffed service to help the spouse find work, one way or another,' she adds, ˜In this we share a job opportunity bank with other local employers .'