For decades, we’ve heard that the war for talent is central to corporate competitiveness. Businesses have been besieged with strategies for identifying, recruiting, developing, and mobilizing talent.

But today, the battlefield for talent is shifting from inside the corporation to the places talented people choose to live. Indeed, a key dimension—if not the key dimension—of the war for talent has become the war for residents.

The shift was already happening at the turn of the millennium, as knowledge workers flocked to global superstar cities, tech hubs, and creative class centers with their thick labor markets filled with job opportunities and abundant lifestyle amenities.

But the role of place in talent attraction has become even more important in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, thanks to the rise of digitally enabled remote work, has given knowledge workers much more choice in where they choose to live.

Locational strategy is now a key component of talent attraction. In addition to embracing the internal strategies required to attract and retain, corporations must choose the right location or locations where the talented people they need live.  

This is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Different kinds of people at different stages of the life cycle prefer to live in different kinds of places. While young talented people still gravitate to big superstar cities, especially during the early stages of their careers, families are drawn to more affordable cities, suburbs, and rural areas.  

The key driver, according to a major new survey of talented global residents, is the search for a “better life.” The survey covers more than 25,000 residents of 79 global cities. Nearly 4 in 10 (37%) surveyed reported being dissatisfied with their cities, and a quarter were actively or strongly considering moving.

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