Global Talent #42

🔥 Global Talent Grab: Europe Hunts, UK Hinders

One door closes as another opens in the global talent arena. This week, the UK is raising new barriers for hiring overseas workers even in critical skill areas, just as companies elsewhere double down on recruiting internationally. From Europe’s hunt for specialized talent abroad to Latin America’s tech hiring surge, it’s clear the borderless talent war is alive and well. The takeaway for leaders? Adapting fast – whether through policy or strategy – is key to staying ahead in this ever-globalizing workforce race.

📌 On the Radar

• UK Tightens Skilled Visa Routes: The British government is rolling out stricter immigration rules that curb recruitment of overseas talent for roles deemed “critical” skill shortages. Sectors like finance, tech, and legal could feel the pinch from these visa clampdowns, sparking concern among employers who rely on global hires to fill skill gaps. It’s a stark reminder that even as talent goes global, politics can still throw up roadblocks.

• Europe Turns to U.S. Talent: Facing specialist skill gaps (think AI, data science, finance), European companies are recruiting more Americans to stay competitive. In the first months of 2025, hires of U.S.-based professionals by UK firms jumped 11.5%, and across Europe they’re up 16.4% – a huge leap from roughly 3% growth the year prior. Interest is mutual: clicks from U.S. job seekers on UK roles just hit a two-year high. The message? Cross-border remote work is moving from experiment to mainstream as Western employers tap overseas talent pools to innovate and scale.

• HBR: Go Global or Fall Behind: An Harvard Business Review piece underscores why global hiring is becoming a strategic must-have. With aging workforces and tight local labor markets, tapping international talent offers not only a wider pool of smart, digital-ready people but also local market insight – often at lower cost. In short, the companies that cast a wider net (and leverage partners like Employers of Record to navigate legalities) can access skills and cost advantages their domestically-bound competitors might miss. In the long run, going global could mean the difference between thriving or lagging in the talent race.

• Remote Teams & Time-Zone Tensions: Going global isn’t without its wrinkles. New research from Harvard Business School finds that distributed teams struggle with time-zone gaps, which can strain collaboration. Even a one-hour difference can introduce communication hiccups and off-hours work, disproportionately affecting those juggling family or caregiving duties. The upshot: “work-from-anywhere” boosts talent access, but leaders must actively manage schedules and expectations to keep their far-flung teams cohesive and avoid burnout.

📊 Chart of the Week

Latin America’s Tech Talent Boom: One region firmly on the radar for cost-effective skill is LATAM, where international tech hiring has exploded. The chart below shows year-over-year growth in hires by companies tapping talent in key Latin American countries. Chile leads the pack with a 67% surge in 2024, followed by Colombia (55%), Mexico and Argentina (54%), and Brazil (53%). Aligned time zones and abundant engineers make these markets hard to ignore. (Notably, Gen Z talent is in hot demand – globally, hiring of young professionals jumped 97% last year – as companies bet on up-and-coming skills and enthusiasm.)

🚀 One More Thing

The talent war doesn’t care where your HQ is. If you’re in a high-cost market and feeling the squeeze, it might be time to go on the offensive, globally.

I’m opening up a few one-on-one Strategy Sessions to walk through what’s working right now in global hiring: how companies like yours are building cross-border teams, avoiding expensive missteps, and moving faster than the market.

No fluff. Just a candid look at how to turn global hiring into a real edge.

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Opportunity doesn’t wait. Neither should you.