Layoffs, economic uncertainty, increased risk perception, local talent scarcity, hiring freezes, recruitment vs staffing, remote work vs office, local talent vs global talent, business continuity during times of conflict, cost optimisation, perms vs temps vs independent contractors, access to other talent pools, monocultural vs multicultural teams, diversity, etc.
The paragraph above could well be a Word Cloud for the most talked upon topics during last year by professionals related to IT Workforce management. It reflects mostly an anxious mood, mixing wishes of recovery and growth with fears of making wrong decisions that would compromise the business competitiveness.
From all the terms above we choose one we firmly believe won’t go away, even when the ‘market’ as a whole improves: local talent scarcity.
📌 Local Talent Scarcity
The numbers are clear, and they show a growing divergence between the estimated needs of IT Professionals and their local availability. To worsen things, it’s economics 101 that scarcity drives prices up, i.e., local IT talent will be progressively more hard to get and more costly.
A lot of companies are complaining about this shortage, in the hopes that some ‘miracle’ happens and the local market corrects itself. This might even be possible in a world where Remote Work (including Across Borders) was not what it is after the pandemic: widespread. Nowadays competition is not local: it’s fully global and increasing because IT talent shortage is a worldwide phenomenon.
When faced with the question ‘Would you hire someone from other countries or cultures?’ the majority of companies answer ‘Yes, if they are good.’ Unfortunately, one thing is what people say, other sometimes quite different is what they do. And most companies still lie to themselves on this topic, clearly avoiding this option.
It’s normal to be afraid of hiring people from other cultures, who don’t speak our own ‘local’ language, working remotely from other countries. Fear is normal, and a good advisor to prevent mistakes. But if fear gets to a point where it becomes an excuse for not making decisions, then it’s the whole business that is threatened to oblivion, and you’re doing a bad job.
🌍 Globalization of Tech Work
The truth is there are not a lot of other options for companies that really need to grow their IT Teams other than embracing the #GlobalizationOfTechWork and hiring globally. This unless your company has deep, deep pockets to pay for local talent, a reality seldom true in times where money got way more expensive than it was some years ago.
Besides the need for companies to tap into other global sources of talent, another large trend is an integrated approach to the work relation with IT professionals. This means hiring and managing IT workers equally whether they are permanent employees, independent contractors or Employer of Record employees.
A final word of advice: whenever someone takes on an adventure, it’s fundamental to have the best partners with us. In this case, for companies to really use the #GlobalizationOfTechWork to their advantage, two kinds of functions are almost mandatory: Global IT Recruitment services and Global HR Payment / Management.
Don’t let your company fall into the mistake of not going global in regards to IT Professionals. The opportunity cost of not doing so is much higher than the cost of having to learn how to do it.
For more solutions and insights on the challenges and opportunities in the global IT workforce, join us at the upcoming event “Beyond Borders: Harnessing Global IT Talent for Portuguese Firms”. Explore strategies for overcoming local talent scarcity and embracing the global market. Secure your spot here.
This article resulted from a collaboration between Landing.Jobs and Deel.
Landing.Jobs is a Global IT Recruitment and Staffing premium platform helping companies hire the IT Professionals they need wherever they are. Our digital marketplace connects our user base of more than 250.000 pre-vetted IT Professionals with companies worldwide increasing access, cutting costs and reducing complexity.
Deel is the all-in-one HR platform for global teams. It helps companies simplify every aspect of managing an international workforce, from culture and onboarding, to local payroll and compliance. Deel works for independent contractors and full-time employees in more than 150 countries, compliantly. And getting set up takes just a few minutes.
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