Fluctuating Job Market & Going Global

Job Market Fluctuations?

With international conflicts, and the impending US election – it's no surprise that we continue to see a topsy turvy market. Aligned to this, jobs data has seen considerable fluctuations. Thankfully, September saw a big shift in the right direction with the number of jobs far exceeding forecasts, and unemployment down a hair to 4.1% These numbers are still some ways short of the running average in the past couple of years, and certainly some way short of the post-pandemic surge.?

Legal, Healthcare, and IT continue to provide the most attractive job prospects according to research. Other sectors like accounting and consulting which I talked about in my last newsletter continue to see challenges with talent attraction and retention. Consulting seems to be taking some heat despite applications still being high. The typical shiny path through a top-tier firm, into an executive fast track may not be the answer for newer entrants into the workforce. ?

Going Global?

In a world that increasingly demands information, answers, and results around the clock, having a global workforce is a necessity. Engaging a global workforce requires some different perspectives and strategies, particularly for those teams and companies who may be new to it. I have seen a huge shift in the market over the past couple of years where enterprise organizations are looking to combine global processes, technologies, and talent pools. A one-stop shop for talent acquisition, compliance, and payroll is now almost always a top priority. But this is far from easy. Some of the challenges facing leaders today as they look to embrace a global workforce include: ?

Technology Infrastructure: Managing a globally dispersed workforce requires robust technological infrastructure, but integration of different systems across countries can be complex. Additionally, ensuring cybersecurity for remote employees is a growing challenge. A 2024 Deloitte report found that 46% of organizations see technology integration as a barrier to successfully managing a global workforce.?

Cultural Differences: Global teams often struggle with cultural differences that impact communication, work styles, and management expectations. Misunderstandings due to language barriers, varying time zones, and different cultural norms can reduce efficiency and collaboration. Further, some more transactional limitations exist. Needing wet signatures on documents and relying on different agencies and organizations for background checks to name a couple. 70% of multinational companies report that cross-cultural differences impact global project execution.?

Recruiting Across Borders: Recruiting globally can provide access to diverse skills, but high-demand talent pools, like those in technology, can come at a premium. Retaining talent across regions is another challenge due to varying expectations regarding benefits, career progression, and company culture. In a recent Podcast, Bruce Morton with Allegis Global Solutions highlighted that 76% of organizations report difficulties in sourcing and retaining skilled talent across borders.?

Worker Populations: In some pockets of the world, there are still talent shortages. Whether innovation is outpacing education, or simply the supply and demand equation is not being balanced – there are things to consider to address these shortages. Some countries expect a growth in their worker base. Saudi Arabia for example is expecting the largest jump. Whereas South Korea on the other hand is expecting the largest decline. ?

Untapped Talent Pools: In other regions, talent shortage is not the problem and in fact there is an abundance of untapped skilled workers. Andela is a great example of a company providing access to such populations. Founded a decade ago in Nigeria, their mission was to help talent in developing countries gain access to jobs. They share that “we believe that brilliance is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not”. I love that sentiment, and it really is a great way to think about global talent enablement.?

Compliance & Payroll: Now when we think about compliance and payroll, it’s often challenging enough to manage a US-only population. Every State has different laws and regulations, and even different Counties and Cities have their own rules, taxes, and considerations. Now, on top of this you throw in the global component spanning different regions, cultures, and laws. Chain leasing laws, employment definitions, and the adoption or prohibition of platform workers are among the many headaches the modern CWP Lead must contend with. It’s not going away though.

More countries are putting in place controls for on-demand workers. These controls are to ensure the workers are protected, but also to make sure that the tax income from employers doesn’t disappear. France has notoriously strong worker protections, China has tight regulatory controls, and Brazil is renowned for complex taxation laws. Those are just three, but it’s important to note that as the world ‘gets smaller’, and work continues to be done anywhere, by anyone, it’s not as easy as just posting a job and paying talent online. In the past ten years, the employer of record (EOR) market has exploded and, according to recent Everest Group research, is expected to hit net revenues of as much as?$3 billion?by the end of next year, and $4 billion in just another three years.??

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Stat of the Week?

359,000,000 – the estimated number of companies that operate globally ?