“We want to focus on long-term added value“

“We want to focus on long-term added value“

Interview with René Tritscher, Managing Director of ABA and thus the highest representative of Austria’s business location.

Two years ago, René Tritscher was appointed as the head of the new department “Work in Austria” of the Austrian Business Agency (ABA), which actively supports Austrian companies in finding skilled staff abroad and promotes Austria as a job location. The expansion of ABA from a business settlement agency to a full business location agency turned the organisation into a port of call for investors and skilled staff; it now promotes Austria as an attractive place to do business and to work. An active business location policy aims not only to attract the best companies but also the best people.

On 1 July 2021, Tritscher took over from long-standing Managing Director René Siegl as head of the Austrian Business Agency. ”World Champion Austria” met him for an interview.

Being the Managing Director of the Austrian Business Agency, you know Austria as a business location like no other. How is it doing? The head of the Austrian Institute for Economic Research WIFO, Gabriel Felbermayr, has answered this question recently really well: “There is room for optimism, the second quarter was very positive in Austria. Austria is getting back on track a bit faster than Germany, for example.” This description coincides with talks that we are currently holding with investors. Generally, we can say that those who react quickly during a crisis will usually emerge from it stronger. And Austria did just that.

“Work in Austria” was established at ABA in 2019 as a new service. Is it doing the same job as a recruiter? Work in Austria’s tasks are fundamentally different from a recruiter’s tasks. We don’t have any specific selection processes or do job interviews. This is how we separate ourselves clearly from recruiters. One of ABA’s main tasks is to highlight Austria as a place to work. Austria isn’t on many skilled staffs’ radar, unlike Germany, for example. We need to change this. We ensure that Austria is on the radar of talent that are willing to move.

How is ABA supporting Austrian businesses in finding skilled staff? We are organising events in our target countries Croatia, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, for example. They specifically target potential candidates, and we showcase Austrian companies. We have also created a nationwide job platform for international, highly skilled specialists. Businesses can register there and advertise their open positions internationally for free.

At the turn of the year, we also established a service point for immigration and residency at ABA. We support businesses in recruiting highly skilled staff from abroad as a one-stop-shop. Our experts help with all questions surrounding the Red-WhiteRed-Card [N.B. Austria’s immigration and residency permit for non-EU-citizens] and offer support during the application process.

You were appointed Managing Director on 1 July. What changes does this entail at ABA? Having become Austria’s business location agency, our strategic direction has also changed. In the future we want to pay even more attention to quality over quantity when settling new businesses in Austria. The added economic value for the business location is decisive to us. The Covid crisis has highlighted the vulnerability of national economies and made us aware of how important a low dependency on international production and securing supply chains is. Therefore, we want to focus on longterm added value in future by specifically approaching international businesses from the fields of IT and life sciences, as they create premium jobs.

René Tritscher, Managing Director of the Austrian Business Agency, on the organisation’s tasks and the business location.

Speaking of changes, what needs to change in the business location to keep it attractive? Or is everything in order and there is no need for action? There is always room for improvement, even though Austria has made unparalleled progress to the top of the European countries as a business location over the last decades. Our economy mainly needs further incentives that promote investments. The Investment Bonus was a very good example, but the Research Bonus also helps to attract international businesses to Austria – or makes those who are already operating here invest more, respectively. I’m thinking of Infineon or Boehringer Ingelheim, for example.

How did the pandemic change ABA, how did you experience the crisis? The Covid pandemic gave digitisation a massive boost. Not only in education and in the world of business but also at ABA. Like all companies we struggled with organisational details in the beginning. But many ABA employees were used to working from home already before the pandemic as our teams are travelling internationally to promote Austria as a business location, a place to work and also a place to shoot films.

During the lockdowns we managed to perform a lot of tasks via video meetings and kept working together. We did not only communicate within ABA though, but also with investors. In May 2020 we successfully hosted the first large-scale virtual investor event.

If you permit a personal question at the end, we would like to know how you recharge your batteries? Being in charge of promoting the business location is obviously very challenging. It may sound corny but my most important source of energy is my family. I am a team player and that’s why I am also a passionate football player. Pursuing a common goal is not only good for the body but also for your mental health.

I am therefore looking forward to continuing working with my great and highly motivated team at the reorganised Austrian Business Agency. ◆