As our economy continues to become more globalized, so too does the global workforce.
When people hear the term “global workforce,” they may be thinking of outsourcing, or offshore workers, as the same thing. Although these two terms may seem alike, there are significant differences.
What is the global workforce?
The global workforce, also referred to as the international labor pool, has been growing since the 1970’s — long before the world wide web ever went live. It’s essentially a global pool of labor and goods.
Before the Internet, the global workforce involved the cross-border movement of goods and services for a global marketplace. One could argue that this started much earlier with the fur trade in North America or the Silk Road in Asia. However, the global workforce has expanded at a startling rate, thanks to the Internet.
The tech sector is one such industry that’s drastically influenced by an international labor pool. Through the global workforce, companies can find the most qualified and talented developers, programmers, and engineers, rather than being limited to the labor pool in their immediate vicinity.
What is outsourcing/offshore workers?
Outsourcing is a term usually used when hiring internationally for positions such as call centers or manufacturing. Over the years, it has gained a bad reputation. It is often blamed for valuing profit over people – taking jobs away from Americans in favor of cheaper labor overseas.
The validity of that reputation – deserved or undeserved – is not the point of this article. However, the net of this negative connotation has been cast far and wide and has grown to encompass the entire global workforce. There should be a distinction between outsourcing in the traditional sense – moving menial jobs overseas when there is an abundance of qualified candidates locally – and engaging the global workforce – finding the most qualified candidate, especially when there is a shortage of local qualified candidates.
In reality, engaging the global workforce has become necessary for companies to find the most qualified professionals and to grow. The global workforce should be considered separately from outsourcing
Why is the global workforce necessary?
The global workforce is an essential solution to a significant labor shortage facing tech companies in countries such as America.
On average, there are five jobs for every software engineer position in the US. There aren’t enough talented and trained engineers in the local labor pool to fill the tech sectors’ needs.
The global workforce is the only answer.
Luckily, there are many highly trained, professional engineers in countries such as Mexico and India. They are equally as qualified as their American counterparts. Furthermore, their countries are experiencing the exact opposite problem as the United States. There are more qualified engineers than local, available jobs.
What does this mean for companies looking for application development solutions?
Many companies and businesses looking for software engineers or application developers must now look globally for qualified talent to build their application or MVP.
It can be a daunting idea to trust professionals you can’t speak to face-to-face and monitor their productivity. The old negative connotation associated with outsourcing globally is still very much alive for many. It can play a significant role in discouraging individuals from looking globally for professionals.
At IntuitioLabs, we’re taking all the best parts of the global workforce and removing the parts that may be concerning. We hire quality talent from the global workforce and labor pool as part of our team. This way, we have the best developers and engineers on staff for more extended periods rather than outsourcing for only one project. We get to train and improve our team and, in turn, our client’s benefit.
Our team is here to help if you’re looking to develop a new application or software-based product. Let’s chat today to start brainstorming.