Are HR leaders looking for tech talent in the wrong places?
Those open to exploring new markets outside of saturated technology hubs stand the best chance of finding underappreciated pockets of remote tech talent. This report demonstrates that ambitious organisations open to building globally distributed teams can take advantage of an unexplored opportunity — and it’s not as hard as you might imagine.
What are the key challenges of global tech recruitment?
Get firsthand insight from more than 1,400 executives and hiring managers from organisations across Germany, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
This 2022 survey asked respondents about key considerations of hiring in existing talent hotspots like New York, London, and Tokyo, as well as 15 emerging tech talent hubs spread across the world.
Our survey found that hiring managers are apprehensive about staying compliant.
38%
More than a third of all respondents say they feel challenged about learning local legal requirements for hiring in new regions.
Download the report to learn how easy it can be to reap the benefits of international employment with speed, security, and minimal risk.
Expert global recruitment insight 01
Businesses are hiring remotely for tech talent
Talent is everywhere. There’s a lot of opportunity to tap into emerging hubs to find top-of-the-line hidden gems in places most employers would typically overlook. In this current landscape, forward thinking companies are taking a conservative, cost-effective approach by hiring remote talent from these emerging centers.
Ilya Brotzky, CEO at VanHack
01. HR managers are getting comfortable with global recruitment
65%
of hiring managers surveyed in the US, the UK, and Europe are looking to hire globally for tech talent.
Because remote work is now an embedded part of global work lives, hiring managers no longer feel constrained by their national borders to find tech talent.
02. Global hiring is part of a larger strategy
20%
of hiring managers say they’re experiencing a tech talent crunch at home, most of the drivers for hiring internationally are entirely strategic.
48%
Want to diversify their team
45%
Want to try out new markets strategically
36%
Were enabled by the pandemic to broaden their search for talent
The opportunity for building capability has expanded beyond specific roles or skill sets. HR managers are considering all the benefits to a remote-first strategy.
Expert global recruitment insight 02
Emerging tech hubs offer competitive advantages
You can often attract another country’s top tier talent that might not be accessible in your local market because of the level of competition. Tech professionals located outside of the established saturated hubs are more responsive to established organizations offering globally competitive compensation. This type of job opportunity can be life changing for international candidates and their families, especially in developing nations. You’ll see increased motivation and loyalty in return.
Brett Jones, Co-founder at OFFERZEN
The majority of respondents are still looking for new talent in their own country.
A domestic focus is fine, but it also means hiring managers are failing to tap into rich candidate pools in both traditional and emerging tech hubs.
When venturing into global markets, hiring managers are sticking to existing tech talent hubs in large percentages.
0%
0%
While some of these emerging cities are clearly growing in demand with hiring managers, they still aren’t as popular as the well-known — and highly competitive — traditional tech hubs.
Expert global recruitment insight 03
Real and perceived obstacles to hiring internationally
We're seeing salaries rise globally as employers expand their talent pools and candidates find more opportunities outside their backyards. To ride out this storm of uncertainty, we recommend a shift from hyper-growth to more efficient growth. Be responsive and attentive to what's important to employees, stay the course on DEI initiatives, and continue to nurture your employer brand.
Josh Brenner, CEO at Hired_
01. Not having a legal entity is seen as a major barrier to global hiring
Many companies rely on having a legal entity for remote hiring.
Overall, 33% of respondents say they won’t hire globally without one.
Challenges businesses face when hiring in new regions
Forty per cent (0%)
Thirty-six per cent (0%)
Thirty-five per cent (0%)
Working with an EOR makes hiring abroad simple and secure
Making adjustments that are currently outside your comfort zone are worth it for the right talent. Knowing where to find untapped tech talent pools that fit into your budget is the first step. Hiring, onboarding, and managing those people requires a change in mindset.
An Employer of Record (EOR) like Remote allows you to legally hire abroad. Remote owns local legal entities across the globe to employ on your behalf, managing payroll, benefits, and taxation to keep your company compliant and competitive in every market.
02. Legal requirements and cultural fit a concern for hiring managers
Hiring managers who do plan to hire tech talent in new regions are concerned about two main areas of remote work — how to legally employ people and how to successfully manage culture across a geographically diverse team.
Legal requirements
The survey shows hiring managers are apprehensive about staying compliant when hiring outside of their own country. It’s a real concern, but a navigable one for companies serious about onboarding the right talent.
Working culture
The report shows HR managers are deeply concerned about inclusive hiring practices and how a globally remote team can successfully work together, both for the benefit of each employee and the company as a whole.
Forty per cent (0%)
Thirty-six per cent (0%)
Thirty-five per cent (0%)
Expert global recruitment insight 04
Overcoming barriers to global hiring
The benefit of international hiring is obvious and compelling – you can suddenly open up access to the world's very best talent. Crucially, you can also develop truly a diverse team. Value-based recruitment provides the foundation for lasting success here. Leaders who seek out new team members with shared values can build an inclusive, equitable, and trusting environment that empowers a global team to thrive.
Anastasia Pshegodskaya, Director of Talent Acquisition. Remote
01. Experienced remote tech professionals are spread across the world
Knowledge workers transition to working in remote teams with relative ease as long as you take a globally inclusive approach to recruitment. Great candidates are all over the world, but it takes a new remote-first hiring strategy to acquire their skills.
Action
Hire a global workforce legally and compliantly with ease
Hiring remote tech talent doesn’t have to be complicated. As the most trusted EOR in the business, Remote eliminates the need for you to have your own entity in each location — an expensive undertaking that can inhibit your ability to scale your operation. Remote provides the confidence you need to be sure you:
have the right contracts
be compliant with local labor laws and tax regulations
classify your employees and contractors correctly
You can hire people all over the world with Remote legally, easily, and quickly. You can even offer your international employees stock options in your business using Remote’s platform!
02. There is no one-size-fits-all global compensation plan
Scaling your team globally can provide enormous benefits, but HR managers must clear a few hurdles when developing remote compensation plans to foster a high-functioning international workforce.
Employees quickly discover if you’re underpaying them compared to their colleagues and international market rates, but it’s not as simple as paying everyone the same.
Benefits packages also require nuance between different geographies.
People with the same education, skills, and experience should have access to the same lifestyle and disposable income in their country of residence.
Action
Offer competitive pay and benefits packages
Remote’s global employment platform saves you time, money, and effort by creating country-specific benefits packages at highly negotiated prices. You can offer equitable, best-in-class benefits to your employees for a fraction of the cost of navigating things on your own or establishing a legal entity. You can even offer stock options to your international workforce.
03. Asynchronous work is the key to globally successful teams
Asynchronous (async) working enables a globally distributed team to maximize productivity regardless of time zones. Performance is measured by what work has been done, not which people worked at which times. The ability to work with autonomy and flexibility is a compelling incentive for the world’s most talented and experienced tech professionals.
Many of these potential employees have years of experience delivering productively in a fully remote work environment.
Action
Build intentional remote-first work practices
An async work environment requires increased communication and documentation which, in turn, leads to higher employee morale and higher productivity.
04. Async work removes multiple barriers to global work
An async way of working directly addresses many of the barriers holding hiring managers back from taking the plunge to working remotely. Intentionally inclusive work practices encourage diversity and allow a truly globally distributed team to flourish. Skilled remote tech professionals are actively seeking roles where life-work balance is encouraged. That means employers can enable remote workers anywhere to work on the schedule that suits their timezone and lifestyle. Apart from attracting top remote talent, building the processes to manage a globally distributed team will maximize productivity while boosting staff retention rates.
Employ with Remote
Intentional remote-first work practices and async workflows facilitate innovation and maximize the productivity of your global team. While it takes discipline to develop good documentation and move away from real-time workflows, the benefits far outweigh the downsides of the traditional, synchronous way of working. In the process of developing those documentation assets, you can transform your organization into one ready for the future of work. Diversity brings significant long-term advantages and a culture of inclusion baked into the fabric of your company.
Remote can help you remove the complexity of managing compliance with international legislation.
Setting up local entities abroad is almost always cost and time prohibitive. We establish our entities to meet the highest standards of compliance so you can grow your global footprint with confidence.
About this study
Remote surveyed a total of 1,485 decision-makers in each of six key markets who self-identified as currently hiring tech talent. The survey ran between the 9th and 26th of September 2022 in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Each country contributed around 200 respondents to the survey.
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