Municipality Spends 1 Million on Advertising for 'Human Job Seeking'

In Skellefteå, there is a desire to make an impression and stand out, something they’ve tried to accomplish by spending taxpayers’ money in various ways. Now, yet another costly attempt has prompted Sweden’s Waste Ombudsman to speak out.

Last year, they ran a project where a job seeker could invent their own position and set their own salary, resulting in the role of ‘democracy developer.’ The position has since been made permanent and continues to be funded by taxpayers.

The concept has now been expanded upon, and an additional 1.2 million SEK has been spent. The money has gone to a PR agency to have psychologist Björn Hedensjö and Lina Thomsgård from the podcast Dumma människor (Stupid People) ‘quality assure’ the project and promote the municipality’s new ‘human’ approach to job seeking.

The ‘human’ aspect consists, among other things, of Skellefteå municipality changing the tone of its job ads and sending questions to candidates ahead of job interviews.

‘A nurse who closes their eyes during scary TV scenes’ or a ‘preschool teacher who sometimes forgets the kids’ names’ – these are examples of people Skellefteå municipality wants to recruit. At a time when job ads can set inhuman expectations, the municipality is choosing to go against the grain. To develop a more human approach to job seeking, Skellefteå municipality is enlisting the help of psychologist Björn Hedensjö and his colleague Lina Thomsgård.’

– I think most people know that we northerners, and of course also people from Skellefteå, are a bit more down-to-earth. This is something we want reflected in our recruitment process, with the ambition to create a more human job search. We’re looking for real people with strengths and weaknesses who build strong teams together, says Joakim Lundin, HR manager at Skellefteå municipality.

The podcast episode alone cost 100,000 SEK, and a press release 25,000 SEK.

– Human software hasn’t been updated for at least 200,000 years. We’re still the same biological beings who walked the savanna, but reading some job descriptions feels like we’ve suddenly acquired robot-like abilities. I find it encouraging that Skellefteå municipality is pushing back against this, says Björn Hedensjö.

Beyond the podcast episode, the initiative will also result in an internal recruitment guide for managers, with concrete tips for fair and human recruiting.

– Many job seekers have noticed job ads with requirements that don’t match reality, which creates unrealistic expectations. At Skellefteå municipality, we’ve already made good progress with our recruitment processes, something that’s also apparent in the podcast episode, where Björn and Lina review and question me about our practices. Even though we received a lot of praise and have come a long way, there’s always room for improvement. This is a long-term effort to become even better at recruiting and seeing the person behind each application, says Linn Landström, Head of Recruitment at Skellefteå municipality.

Philip Syrén. Photo: Swedish Taxpayers’ Association

Waste of taxpayers’ money

Waste Ombudsman Philip Syrén from the Swedish Taxpayers’ Association is not impressed.

– Skellefteå wants to stand out, and it does, as a warning example of how to burn through municipal tax revenue, he said to state television.

According to Syrén, municipalities should not use PR campaigns to attract staff. Instead, he says, the focus should be on salaries and creating a positive work environment. Advertising campaigns like this, he argues, are a waste of public funds.

– The municipality seems to measure success in reach and media attention, just like with the previous campaign. But that’s not what the public sector should be doing, and I don’t think it’s what the residents of Skellefteå care about, says Philip Syrén.

Skellefteå municipality is governed by a political majority consisting of the Social Democrats and the Left Party.