Back to BlogThe talent scarcity myth: Are you looking in the right places?
Organisations across the globe are grappling with what they consider to be a “global talent shortage”. But the reality is far more nuanced. As business leaders and HR professionals sit with the frustration of unfilled roles, their plight perhaps isn’t so much a talent shortage, but a sourcing issue.
In this article, we’re going to unpack the myth of talent scarcity in today’s global workforce. We’ll look at the downsides of traditional hiring methods, we’ll show you how to unlock hidden talent pools, and we’ll demonstrate why now is the time for a rethink of your hiring strategies.
Debunking the talent scarcity narrative
Despite the widespread belief of global talent scarcity, we’ve uncovered comprehensive data indicating there isn’t scarcity at all: but rather, a problematic, habitual approach to hiring causing vast categories of candidates to be overlooked.
Scarcity vs. sourcing strategy: what’s really happening?
ManpowerGroup’s 2025 Global Talent Shortage Survey shows us that 74% of employers globally, are having difficulty filling open skilled positions. This is a sharp increase from 36% in 2014. You would think reading this statistic, that there’s a talent shortage crisis. But perhaps not.
LinkedIn’s 2024 Global Talent Trends report tells us why. It reported that 70% of professionals are open to new job opportunities. But, only 30% are actively searching. Which says that employers are still reliant on traditional talent attraction methods: think job boards, referrals and recruiters. A passive candidate pool this size, presents a huge opportunity for employers. The vast discrepancy between candidate shortages and available talent, points clearly to the issue being a sourcing problem, not a candidate one.
The cost of narrow visibility in a global labour market
If your hiring practices are overly focused on the local talent market, and you’re using standardised or rigid job descriptions, there will continue to be a disconnect between talent supply and demand.
McKinsey’s 2024 “The State of Organisations” report, showed us that employers with a broader geographic and skills-based search strategy are 40% more likely to fill specialist roles, fast. Conversely, narrow geographic reach coupled with limited lateral thinking on required skills, lead to longer role vacancies, steeper hiring costs and ongoing productivity loss.
Gartner’s recent survey showed that companies adopting a global, remote hiring strategy experienced 50% fewer hiring bottlenecks. While a 2024 Upwork study found that nearly 40% of US employers now employ remote workers from outside the US – up from 28% in 2022. Tapping into emerging markets to plug skills gaps is becoming the norm, not the anomaly.
Where traditional hiring models fall short
Most traditional hiring strategies contribute to the perception of talent scarcity. Outdated hiring approaches simply don’t factor in today’s blended, remote and hybrid workforce. Here’s what that looks like:
The pitfalls of job boards, referrals, and rigid job specs
Job boards, referral programs and overly specific job specs, all contribute to narrowing the potential candidate pool. Just look at a typical job board post – you’ll see job specs with a list of requirements that work against the employer in two ways. Firstly, they deter candidates who may not possess just one criteria, and secondly, they keep the focus of the employer really narrow, blinding them to talent that may be perfectly suited. A 2023 Harvard Business Review analysis of mid-level jobs found that 88% called for the candidate to have a Bachelor’s degree. Yet only 16% of workers in those roles actually had one. Arbitrary job requirements play a big role in excluding qualified, capable candidates.
Supplier bias and missed opportunities
Relying on recruitment firms or long-standing roster of talent suppliers can lead to genuine biases on the part of the employer. Ultimately, this old-school set-up leads to missed opportunities to engage with a broader talent pool. Deloitte’s 2025 Human Capital Trends report highlights this point: companies who ignore non-traditional sources of talent are at a competitive disadvantage, due to entrenched supplier bias. And a 2024 Gartner survey found that 63% of HR leaders admit their recruitment partners are failing to deliver a sufficiently diverse candidate pool. These biases help to reinforce the belief about talent scarcity.
Centralised hiring vs. skills-based search
Rigid hiring protocols, typically centralised and focused on pedigree or formal credentials, restrict the potential candidate pool, as talent with non-traditional backgrounds get overlooked. A 2025 study from LinkedIn found that when employers shift their hiring criteria to include experience and industry-gained skills, hiring efficiency increases by up to 20%. So there you have it: a clear way to rethink your talent strategy and gain access to a vastly bigger candidate pool.
Unlocking hidden talent pools
It’s time for employers to explore non-traditional and untapped candidate sources, to overcome the perception of talent scarcity. Here are a few considerations.
Contingent workers and gig professionals
Despite contingent and gig work having exploded over the past decade, this is still a talent source that remains underutilised. As an agile, skilled workforce that continues to grow, employer woes of candidate scarcity can be debunked. Just look at the data:
- a 2025 Statista Report estimates that 50% of the global workforce will be classified as “gig” by 2027
- Upwork’s 2024 Freelance Forward Report found that 38% of the US workforce already engages in gig work, a trend that’s surging globally
Remote and emerging market talent
With the rise of remote working, geographic hiring barriers are being removed for employers. Specialist talent from emerging markets such as India, the Philippines and Eastern Europe offer skilled professionals, keen to attain international experience. From Remote, when companies hire candidates from these global markets, they experience a 30% reduction in time-to-hire and a 20% increase in candidate quality. And from McKinsey, hiring remotely from developing regions offer companies a 30% increase in productivity, thanks to the diverse perspectives and innovation. Our 2025 Global Talent Guide is a great resource for understanding global talent trends.
Career-switchers, self-taught learners, and underserved groups
What about career-switchers and self-taught learners? This is a massively untapped source of highly specialised workers. Other underserved groups include neurodiverse people, veterans, older workers and return-to-work parents. According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), these talent sources can increase the potential talent pool to organisations, by 25%. By not actively targeting these groups, and by keeping a closed perspective on what is “best fit” talent, companies will continue to experience candidate shortages.
Rethinking candidate potential and fit
A key shift that needs to be made by employers to avoid talent scarcity is mindset. Those willing to adopt a more lateral approach will drastically expand their candidate pipelines. Here are a few strategies to consider.
Teachability and growth mindset over pedigree
Finding candidates with teachability and a growth mindset, will often result in better hiring decisions, than a focus on formal qualifications. When candidates are hired for adaptability and strong learning agility, they often outperform their peers who have been hired based on academic qualifications alone (from Microsoft WorkLab, 2025).
Training, mentorship, and upskilling as a pipeline solution
Training, mentorship and talent upskilling programs can completely transform the potential of existing employees. According to Mercer’s 2024 Global Talent Trends Report, companies willing to establish robust learning and development programs are 50% more likely to retain top talent, and 30% more likely to fill roles with internal candidates. This is a powerful, cost-effective solution for addressing skills shortages. And mentorship is a proven strategy for long-term talent engagement, career progression, and retention.
Rethinking “ideal candidate” templates
Again, let’s touch on mindset. When companies go about the strategic development of talent profiles to fit their organisation’s skills requirements, culture and leadership, they can become rigid in their approach to hiring. A candidate that falls outside of this template, isn’t an option, thus unnecessarily limiting the potential candidate pool. Thinking broadly, and being flexible and diverse with both job specs and candidate reach will eliminate these limitations and enhance recruitment effectiveness.
Culture as a talent magnet
Organisational culture and reputation are a critical element of effective hiring, especially for the passive candidate market.
When a company is known for its engaging culture, flexible working practices and a “talent first” mindset, top talent want to work there. It’s that simple. Just look at how candidates feel:
- Glassdoor’s 2024 Employer Branding Report, showed that 78% of potential workers prioritise culture and flexible working practices when considering job opportunities
- And in Glassdoor’s 2024 Employment Confidence Survey, 77% of job seekers research company culture, before applying for a role
- McKinsey reported in 2024 that 60% of professionals cited flexible working arrangements as a key priority: flexibility is now a crucial component of culture
A compelling company culture coupled with flexible working arrangements can surface extensive passive talent for your organisation. Try it.
How CXC helps clients tap into global talent
CXC stands at the forefront of reimagining talent sourcing, by serving as a strategic partner to employers across the globe. We help our clients overcome perceived talent scarcity through innovative sourcing strategies such as:
- Direct sourcing: we help organisations establish direct contact with contingent and contract professionals, eliminating the bottlenecks presented by recruitment intermediaries or traditional hiring practices. Our own client experiences show direct sourcing can achieve a 35% increase in candidate quality and a 25% reduction in time-to-hire
- Global Employer of Record (EoR): we simplify the complexities of global hiring practices by managing compliance, payroll and local legalities. We enable our clients to hire across borders in a way that is frictionless, fast and effective, allowing them to tap into emerging markets, without having to establish a local entity
- Talent mapping and market intelligence: we provide actionable insights to our clients to help them make better, more informed hiring decisions. Our global labour market intelligence identifies where specific skills are concentrated and shows our clients how to access them.
Our clients enjoy significantly reduced hiring barriers, faster fill rates, enhanced talent quality and candidate diversity. All helping to eliminate the notion of “talent scarcity”.
Conclusion: rethink scarcity, reclaim access
Talent scarcity is a sourcing failure, not a talent supply issue.
The perceived lack of skilled professionals comes squarely from outdated, inflexible and limited hiring practices. Organisations can immediately address their talent needs by:
- Embracing flexible hiring practices
- Investing in talent pools outside of the scope of traditional skills, qualifications and geography
- Prioritising their company culture
- Embracing non-traditional talent pools
- Establishing a robust talent upskilling and mentoring program
Partnering with industry expert CXC will help your organisation to further amplify these strategies and provide the tools and insights needed to rethink recruitment and reclaim access to the world’s best talent.
Keep in mind: talent scarcity is a sourcing failure, not a talent failure. It’s time to reframe recruitment, rethink reach, and partner smarter.
About CXC
At CXC, we want to help you grow your business with flexible, contingent talent. But we also understand that managing a contingent workforce can be complicated, costly and time-consuming. Through our MSP solution, we can help you to fulfil all of your contingent hiring needs, including temp employees, independent contractors and SOW workers. And if your needs change? No problem. Our flexible solution is designed to scale up and down to match our clients’ requirements.
