The war for Global talent has been heating up for a while now, but I think it is safe to say that it has reached its boiling point. Let us look at the instances of Global reach by companies for talent
- Google opening Engineering Centers in Mexico and Argentina (we have often highlighted that the GDP share of Argentina in Education has been impressive in the last five years).
- In a recent press conference, Julio Velázquez, CEO of Google Cloud in Mexico, commented that Mexico is “a hotbed” of talent.
- US Unicorn Carta opened an office in Singapore (Several cross border market opportunities are emerging, thereby more demand for talent)
- Netflix opens its office in Stockholm and will use this as a hub to tap into Copenhagen, Istanbul, and other regions in the area as their Satellite offices. These are touted as production offices, but our researcher’s interviews predict that Netflix will plan to hire various digital-related and software talent in these hubs and satellites
- Apple is planning to expand significantly in San Diego Engineering hub and as well North Carolina, Colorado, and Massachusetts
- Sweden’s Sharkmob has opened a game studio in London, and it’s starting to hire developers for it. (hub and satellite tech operations becoming very popular in Europe)
- Many companies are scaling in Suzhou – China (a tech hub we identified and helped Microsoft set up in our early days of consulting- demonstrated forecasting power)
All this means that the job of Talent Intelligence and Recruitment professionals are becoming challenging. (Big Tech companies are also targeting to hire good recruiters – so times are challenging for digitally transforming Enterprises – hold on to your Recruiters at any cost) With every challenge comes an opportunity.
One such pioneer who converted a challenge into an opportunity is Warby Parker. Warby Parker was founded in 2010 with a lofty objective: to offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price while leading the way for socially conscious businesses. Every idea starts with a problem. Glasses are too expensive. One of the founders lost his glasses on a backpacking trip. The cost of replacing them was so high that he spent the first semester of grad school without them. Where were the options? It turns out there was a simple explanation. The eyewear industry was dominated by a single company that has been able to keep prices artificially high while reaping huge profits from consumers who have no other options. Warby Parker created an alternative. By circumventing traditional channels, designing glasses in-house, and engaging with customers directly, they are able to provide higher-quality, better-looking prescription eyewear at a fraction of the going price.
Recruitment is facing a Warby Parker moment of the eyeglasses industry. A few big tech players are dominating the scene. The challenge can be met with comprehensive talent intelligence and digitally savvy recruitment efforts.
