𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻: A strategic destination held back by its own bureaucracy A few months ago, I was honored to be interviewed by 𝗔𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗣𝗘 on 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘆 about the transformation of the Spanish labor market and international talent attraction. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: → Significant increase in non-Spanish-speaking professionals choosing 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻. → 700+ multinationals operating in the country (ICEX 2025) → 89% plan to increase investments in 2025 (ICEX Barometer) After 20 years in HR and years bringing professionals to 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻, I can confirm the appeal is real: ✅ Quality of life without sacrificing European connectivity ✅ Operating costs 30% lower than UK/Germany ✅ Exceptional bilingual/multilingual talent ✅ Natural bridge between Americas-Europe-Africa ✅ Competitive tech infrastructure But here's the paradox that's holding back our potential... 𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗫𝗜𝗧𝗬 I've seen highly qualified professionals and solid companies 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻 not due to lack of opportunities, but because of regulatory complexity: ❌ 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 complexity shifting HR from strategic to administrative work. ❌ 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 reporting requirements creating endless administrative burden. ❌ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀: 15+ modalities mistake triggers significant penalties. ❌ 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 & 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Rigid, control-focused legislation that limits flexibility rather than empowering responsibility. ❌ 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Quarterly regulatory changes disrupting standardized processes and requiring constant update. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆: 80% of setup problems emerge in the first quarter. The first 3 months are critical. Getting it right from day one seems almost impossible, a challenge that even highly prepared professionals struggle with without specialized local expertise. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁: These regulatory barriers prevent 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻 from reaching its true potential as an international hub. We have the talent. We have the strategic location. We have the infrastructure. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆. 🔗 You can read the full interview at AEDIPE (link in comments) 📄 PDF of the article attached Is your company considering Spain? What's more relevant to you: the appeal or the complexity? I'd love to hear your experience. #SpainBusiness #GlobalMobility #HRCompliance #InternationalTalent #MultinationalExpansion AEDIPE AEDIPE Navarra _ La Rioja
Thank you for sharing Miguel, indeed I can relate to all the points you raise which we went through while working on a few mobility cases to Spain. Spain is a beautiful country and I hope improvements will take place to facilitate talent mobility and make it less of an administrative burden to local teams.
Very true story not only for Spain, which had an influence on both sides of the work environment both employers as employees are impacted by this bureaucracy! Thank you to share this.
Thanks for sharing Miguel Martínez Arribas International HR Manager
Really interesting analysis of the Spanish labor market, Miguel Martínez Arribas - International HR Manager. 👏🏻 It's great to read how you're empowering Talent at Amcor Thanks for sharing your insights!