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60%

of the revenue growth rate in high-growth companies comes from expanding their business footprint. (Gartner)

$525 billion

The global business process outsourcing market is expected to reach $525 billion USD by 2030. (Grand View Research)

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In fast-growing organizations, hiring tends to follow one simple rule: go where the people are. 

And there’s compelling evidence that this works: A 2024 Gartner report found that almost 60% of the revenue growth rate in high-growth companies comes from expanding their business footprint.

But as teams scale across borders, time zone differences, and differing levels of market complexity, that rule of thumb can get complicated — fast. 

Suddenly it’s less about hiring the right people, and more about finding out where the right talent is and going there. And setting up shop somewhere new requires carefully balancing the talent side of things with operational, legal, and logistical challenges.

Here’s what you need to know.

Assessing a new talent market for potential

Smart expansion into a new country or region isn’t just about planting your flag, or following business opportunities. In reality, it demands a comprehensive evaluation of whether or not you can actually attract and retain the talent needed to support business growth. 

But today’s business environment has shifted how TA teams are approaching this challenge. Instead of acting as a service model for the business, talent leaders are now weighing up strategic impact for any new market entry. 

“The operational, growth-at-all costs mindset has changed over the last few years due to macroeconomic pressures,” explains Brendon Lush, founder and employer brand advisor at DamnRight.io. Talent leaders are less focused on delivery — they’re focused on how smarter talent strategy drives commercial success. 

“Companies that succeed in new markets are the ones that treat talent strategy as business strategy,” he adds. “They’re not just thinking, ‘Can we hire here?’, but ‘Should we hire here, and how do we do it in a way that supports sustainable growth and business objectives while maintaining our margins and quality of hire?’

Answering the second question relies on running a full analysis of your business, the current market conditions, and the operational viability of expansion.

Key Steps to Assess and Expand into New Talent Markets

1

Business analysis

Talent expansion starts with data that aligns skills needs with business strategy. In simple terms: Where is the business going, and how can talent become a strategic partner?

Lush suggests a skills mapping exercise of your existing talent pool to identify the biggest gaps between business goals and internal capability.

“You need a clear understanding of what your company is trying to achieve, and which skills will add to those goals,” he says. “You first need to analyze your business model and how that impacts the flow of talent into your organization and future capabilities. For example, in account-based businesses, it may be more strategic to analyze markets that are growing more quickly than others. In service-based businesses like tech startups where there’s a global user base, it’s more of a case of understanding which markets make the most sense operationally — balancing cost-efficiency and talent density.”

Key questions to ask in this phase of your analysis:

  • Which skills and capabilities most closely align with future company goals?
  • What are our mission-critical roles — and what are the essential skills for these roles?
  • Where are the most pressing critical or scarce skills gaps?
  • Which teams or roles are at the most risk of underperformance due to skills shortages?
  • How might delayed expansion impact product development and launches, customer retention, or other critical business goals?
  • What is our current level of market attractiveness in current operating markets?

2

Conduct Market and Competitor Intelligence

TA teams can also pick up signals about where the market is moving by using global labor market analysis and competitor intelligence. Scan job listings to see where competitors are currently hiring, and what skills they’re hiring for. This will give you a sense of skills needs at a sector-specific level.

Using labor market analysis tools like Talent Neuron here can help you see rising skills across regions and competitor markets — as well as helping you track lagging economic indicators like GDP growth, unemployment rates, and where businesses are investing their hard-earned cash. 

Viewed together, these signals can indicate talent supply and demand.

Key questions to ask during this phase of your analysis:

  • Which markets are our competitors operating in — or hiring in?
  • Which markets are richest in the skills we’re looking for?
  • How developed is the local talent ecosystem?
  • Which universities produce high quality talent within our target skills and capabilities?
  • What are the external market trends affecting talent availability in our target locations?
  • What salary benchmarks and talent competition exist in potential markets?

3

Evaluate Operational Viability

Beyond talent availability and skills needs, you also need to make sure a new region makes sense from a practical standpoint. Miriam Groom, CEO of consultancy Mindful Career, says this is where TA teams really need to drill down into the longevity of their location strategy.

“When entering a new market, the temptation is to treat it like an extension of an existing playbook — copy/paste the hiring strategy, and adjust for currency,” she says. “But this approach fails to account for the local nuances that make or break expansion efforts. [It’s important to] emphasize a long-term lens: Will this market still be viable as the company scales in 3–5 years? Is there pipeline potential, or will you be competing with dominant players for limited talent?”

Groom suggests organizations focus on five key areas to establish viability:

  • Talent pool depth: Does the local labor market offer enough qualified professionals for both immediate hires and long-term scalability?
  • Talent cost versus quality ratio: Cost-efficiency is key — but organizations need to balance cost with value. “A lower salary market,” says Groom, “may still demand high investment in training or retention.”
  • Cultural compatibility: How will your company’s leadership style, values, and communication approach land in this region? 
  • Legal and compliance environment: Labor laws, termination policies, and social contributions can vary across countries and regions. Do you have the right level of internal or external expertise to navigate these complexities?
  • Recruiting capacity: Do you have local hiring infrastructure in place — or will you need third-party support to meet speed-to-market goals?

Groom said this approach worked particularly well when working with a US-based fintech client: “One of our clients was choosing between Poland, Portugal, and the Philippines for expanding their engineering team. Each market had benefits, but they initially leaned toward the Philippines for cost efficiency. However, our assessment found that while salary costs were lower, the candidate pipeline for senior full-stack developers was thin in their preferred region, and timezone overlap for product collaboration was limited.”

 

 

What It Takes to Expand Your Hiring Globally

Expanding your talent footprint into new global markets is a high-stakes decision that requires more than enthusiasm or surface-level research.

By rigorously assessing business alignment, market intelligence, and operational viability, your talent acquisition team can transform expansion from a risky guess into a strategic growth engine.

Start with data, ask the right questions, and think long-term — and you’ll position your company to hire smart, scale sustainably, and gain a competitive edge worldwide.

Ready to expand your talent footprint? Get in touch with Talentful today to learn how we can support your global hiring strategy and accelerate your growth.


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