Introduction and Overview Of The Country
Sweden is a Nordic country located in the North Europe. It lies to the southwest of Finland, a long coastline forms the country’s eastern border, separated from Denmark on the southern border by the Öresund Strait, and a shorter coastline along the Skagerrak and Kattegat straits forms Sweden’s border to the southwest (Larson & Enander, 2019). At 447,4420 sq km, Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe and fourth largest country in Europe by area (Larson & Enander, 2019). Sweden offers sparse population density, extensive forest coverage, over 90,000 lakes and over 3,000 kilometers of sea coastline (Jessica, 2020).
Sweden has a total population of 10.3 million and It has a low population density of 25 inhabitants per square kilometer (65/sq mi), with 1,437 persons per km² in localities (Larson & Enander, 2019). The general climate and environment vary significantly from the south and north due to the vast latitude difference, and much of Sweden has reliably cold and snowy winters. Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested and includes a portion of the Scandinavian Mountain.
Sweden’s per capita gross national product (GNP) is among the highest in the world, but so are its taxes as most enterprises are privately owned and market oriented (Larson & Enander, 2019). Sweden is an export-oriented mixed economy, as the value of exports are about one-third of its GDP and is highly dependent on free international trade. Timber, hydropower and iron are constituting the resource base of an economy with a heavy emphasis on foreign trade. Sweden’s engineering sector accounts for 50% of output and exports, while telecommunications, the automotive industry and the pharmaceutical industries are also of great importance (Larson & Enander, 2019).
Recruitment Practices
In Sweden, employers have the freedom to decide which questions need to be asked in order to determine if an applicant is suitable for a position. However, an employer may not ask questions that could lead into discrimination. An employer can also refuse to hire an applicant who does not consent to an additional test. However, an employer must act in accordance with good labor market practice.
There are two types of recruitment in Sweden that are commonly used by companies or organizations to recruit new employee; informal and formal recruitment (Hakansson & Nilsson, 2018).
Informal Recruitment
Informal recruitment is one of the cheapest ways that Swedish companies or organizations commonly used to recruit new employees (Hakansson & Nilsson, 2018).
- Friends and Acquaintances
Networking is one of the most important characteristics that are required by many Swedish companies. Usually through friends and acquaintances, job seekers can apply directly to the employer even though no vacancies are available. The most common network form of friend and acquaintances are family or friend contacts, summer or extra jobs, and social programs
- Employer made contact
Re-hiring previous worker is very advantageous recruitment method that are commonly used by the human resource specialist in many Sweden companies. The majority of respondent who stated that employer made contact with them usually accept the job offer due to bigger benefits or incentives (Hakansson & Nilsson, 2018).
Formal Recruitment
Formal recruitment in Sweden can be divided into direct application, formal recruitment practices under private recruitment practices, and formal recruitment practices under Arbetsförmedlingen or Swedish Public Employment Administration (SPEA). Formal recruitment under SPEA is government-sponsored job matching through a government agency, whereas the other is employer-controlled recruitment channels (Hakansson & Nilsson, 2018).
- Direct application
In direct application, jobseekers usually apply directly to the company website. The job posts are usually posted by employers in the internet or the newspaper advertisement.
- Private recruitment services
Private recruitment services in Sweden are usually leaning forward into employer-controlled recruitment channels. Private recruitment is usually associated with higher education level jobseekers. The most commonly used private recruitment services in Sweden are Adecco, Blocket Jobb, Careerbuilder, Manpower, and Randstad.
- Recruitment through the Swedish Public Employment Agency (SPEA)
Sweden has a history of having a highly active Public Employment Administration (SPEA) and centralized employment policy that is an advantage for many employers, especially local employers (Hakansson & Nilsson, 2018). Formal recruitment under SPEA is government sponsored job matching and mediation through government agency. Through the data collected by SPEA, it gives employer a wider range of job seeker data and bigger match possibilities for future employee.
Selection Practices
Selection practices in Sweden is really fair as direct and indirect discrimination in access to employment is prohibited on various grounds (Carlson, 2020). Apart from the provisions on unlawful discrimination and background checks, there is no general statutory framework governing the practice of recruitment and selection of job applicants in the private sector (Carlson, 2020).
The selection practice in Sweden is usually broken down into 5 stages: (Arthur D Little, 2017)
1. Application screening
The first step is application screening where all applications received are considered and carefully evaluated by company’s human resource department staff members.
2. First interview
Potential candidates that have the same interest shown in the application are selected for a first interview. The purpose of the first interview is for the company to get a personal impression of potential candidates, as well as giving potential candidates the chance to learn more about the company or organization.
3. Interview round
After successfully passed the first interview, candidates will be invited to attend a second interview or its usually called the interview round. The purpose of the second interview is for the company to assess potential candidates’ skills and allowing the human resource manager to get to know the candidates further. The interview round is usually comprised of a set of interviews with 2 or more consultants because in selection practice in Sweden is consensus oriented.
4. Partners interviews
Successful potential candidates from the interview round are then usually will be invited to the last round of interview where candidates are going to meet with one or two partners from the company. It usually carried out in the same day as the interview round.
5. Employment offer
Based on the performance of the candidate during the interview rounds, then the management team will make the final decision on an offer. Successful candidates will be invited to a meeting with the Managing Partner to go through the signed offer and resolve the final questions from the candidate.
Miscellaneous Information
Work Permit
Citizens of countries outside the EU must have a work permit to work in Sweden, EU and EEA citizens do not need a visa and they have the right to work in Sweden without work and residence permits (L&E Global, 2016). While people who have a residence permit, but are not EU citizens, they can apply to obtain the status of long-term resident in that country. Non-Swedish nationals are required to have a work permit for employment in Sweden unless they are citizens of the other 27 EU member states, the other EEA countries, the other Nordic countries or Switzerland (L&E Global Knowledge Center, 2016)
A foreign employer in Sweden is not required to have a permanent establishment in Sweden to hire employees. However, if the employees are going to perform work in Sweden, the Foreign Employer is normally obligated to pay taxes in Sweden, as well as to register as an employer in Sweden (L&E Global Knowledge Center, 2016).
Limitations on Background Checks
Employers have limited possibilities of obtaining information from registers containing information regarding applicants, such as medical or criminal records, and are limited by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as regards the processing of such personal data (L&E Global Knowledge Center, 2016). An applicant can voluntarily present medical or criminal information about himself or herself, if the employer request it. There is no obligation for the applicant to comply. with such a request, but the non-compliance may result in the applicant not being offered the position in question (L&E Global Knowledge Center, 2016).
Working conditions
- Working Hours
Normal working hours in Sweden are 40 hours a week with an upper limit of 48 hours. Working overtime is neither valued nor seen as necessary in fact it can be seen as an indication of poor planning and time management.
- Work Ethics
In Sweden, the focus is on less hours, but higher productivity (Tottle, 2019). This benefits the employee because from a psychological perspective longer hours often result in higher depletion of energy. Promoting rest and healthy working hours mean employees will be more efficient and productive in the long-term. It is said that presenteeism, or the nature of being at work when one should not be, is much more costly than its counterpart, absenteeism (Tottle, 2019).
- Annual Vacation
In Sweden, employee right to annual vacation is regulated by the Swedish Annual Leave Act but also by collective agreements and your own contract of employment. According to the Annual Leave Act, employee is entitled to 25 full days of vacation every year regardless of your age or type of employment (Unionen, n.d.). If employee enter into new employment after 31 August in any given year then you are only entitled to 5 full days of vacation until 1 April the following year. Unless otherwise specified in your collective agreement or contract of employment, you will be allocated your annual vacation days on 1 April every year (Unionen, n.d.).
Bibliography
Carlson, L. (2020). Sweden: Recruitment and selection. [online] www.xperthr.com. Available at: https://www.xperthr.com/international-manual/sweden-recruitment-and-selection/7107/.
Håkansson, P. and Nilsson, A. (2018). Getting a job when times are bad: recruitment practices in Sweden before, during and after the Great Recession. Scandinavian Economic History Review, 67(2), pp.132–153.
Jessica (2019). 10 Cool Swedish Things : What Is Sweden Known For? [online] www.nordicvisitor.com. Available at: https://www.nordicvisitor.com/blog/10-coolest-things-about-sweden/ [Accessed 22 Oct. 2020].
L&E Global Knowledge Center (2016). Hiring Practices in Sweden. [online] L&E Global Knowledge Centre. Available at: https://knowledge.leglobal.org/hiring-practices-in-sweden/.
Tottle, S. (2019). The Swedish Work Ethic. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@sarahgrace221084/the-swedish-work-ethic-ada3c7ce9541#. [Accessed 22 Oct. 2020].
Unionen. (n.d.). Annual vacation. [online] Available at: https://www.unionen.se/in-english/annual-vacation.