2024 was a year of acceleration. Against a backdrop of labor shortages, rapid technological evolution, and global economic crisis, companies were forced to adapt more quickly to trends that began emerging in the years before.
Now it’s clearer than ever that optimizing your hiring strategy to stay competitive, attract top talent, and futureproof your workplace means staying on top of developments in AI, global skills-based hiring, and cultural agility.
In this article, we share insights from seven global hiring experts, taking a closer look at how trends evolved in 2024 and offering advice on how to adapt as we head into 2025. You’ll find exclusive data from our reports and actionable strategies you can put to use immediately.
AI is reshaping hiring strategies
In 2024, companies didn’t just discover, consider, and explore artificial intelligence (AI) solutions — they restructured their teams to revolve around them. In this section, we take a closer look at the hard and soft skills that companies are now looking for – and the AI tools they’re using to find them.
Core tech skills are shifting
Companies are increasingly seeking specialized skills in emerging technologies; AI sits at the forefront of this transformation with demand for generative AI leading the way. According to our recent report “The tech talent evolution,” demand for gen AI expertise has grown by 13x since 2022. Roles in data science and machine learning have also grown by 80% and 250% respectively.
As such the tech skills shortage, another major pattern of 2024, refers not to a lack of talent, but this lack of specialized skills. “If you look at the number of people with computer science degrees, there’s actually too much tech talent,” Matt Charney, Editor in Chief at Recruiter.com says, “The real problem is that coding is no longer enough.”
As we move into 2025, companies seeking AI skills will be forced to adapt their hiring strategies. In emerging fields, where technology is evolving so quickly that educational programs can’t keep up, formally trained talent just doesn’t exist. Companies are looking to pockets of self-trained talent across the globe and using skills-based hiring to fill gaps.
Human skills are still important
With the rise of AI, companies are increasingly focusing on skills that can’t easily be recreated by machines. As AI automates technical tasks, skills like problem-solving, creative thinking, and communication become increasingly important for navigating complex, cross-functional projects. In the next section, we take a closer look at the role these skills play in remote teams in 2025.
AI is reshaping recruitment
AI is streamlining many HR operations, with talent acquisition the most popular use case.
How does this shift look in practice? AI tools are helping companies automate routine tasks like CV parsing and interview scheduling while giving them the insights they need to spot skills. This means recruiters can work more quickly and more strategically, filling gaps by predicting which candidates will be a good fit based on wide amounts of data. As Rich Wilson, CEO of the AI-powered talent platform, Gigged.AI says, “AI tools can now provide in-depth insights about talent pools, skills gaps, and workforce trends.”
To make use of AI tools in 2025, Wilson advises that companies focus on supporting their HR department first and foremost. “Equip team members with knowledge about AI tools and analytics to ensure that they can harness its full potential,” he says, “However, remember that knowing when to use GenAI is as important as knowing when not to use it.” To prepare for ethical challenges, companies should also empower HR to develop governance frameworks to protect data privacy and fair hiring.
Skills-based hiring continues to be a priority
More and more companies are building their teams around skills rather than degrees or years of education. In fact, 81% of organizations reported using skills-based hiring in 2024, up from 73% in 2023. Here’s a look at what’s behind the trend, how companies are optimizing their approaches, and which skills to look out for as we head into 2025.
Why are companies using skills-based hiring?
Economic issues, rapidly changing technologies, and skills shortages are placing pressure on companies to hire in a way that is more efficient, agile, and accurate. Skills-based hiring provides an obvious solution by expanding the talent pool and providing objective criteria to measure applicants against. According to Alycia Damp, Head of Applied Behavioral Science at HireGuide, “decades of behavioral research show that skills are stronger predictors of on-the-job performance than education and experience.”
Let’s say you want to hire a marketing specialist. Now instead of looking for someone with a marketing degree who lives in your city, you open up the search to a global pool of candidates with demonstrated SEO skills. With a skills test or assignment as part of your hiring process, you’re able to hone in on a new team member who can hit the ground running.
Shifting toward a skills-based model also fosters a diverse workforce, as it removes requirements associated with more privileged pathways – a key consideration for Gen Z workers. More than half of Gen Z recently reported that they wouldn’t apply to a job where the workforce lacked diversity.
Optimizing your skills-based hiring approach
So how are companies making skills-based hiring work in practice? In short, they’re implementing well-defined frameworks, ensuring internal alignment, and tracking results. “Operationalizing skills-based hiring should be treated as a change management initiative,” Damp explains. This means you need to use a structured process to support employees throughout the transition.
Here’s a closer look at some processes to consider as we head into 2025:
- Forecast all required skills, but build only core skills into job ads.
- Take resumes out at initial stages and opt for skills tests and assessments.
- Use behavioral or situational interview questions, ensuring each question is mapped to a specific skill.
- Simulate real-world situations with role-play scenarios.
- Using multi-measure testing combining skills assessments and behavioral evaluations to assess both technical proficiency and soft skills.
Of course, the move toward skills-based hiring isn’t just about hiring — ultimately, it’s an indicator of a wider shift toward a world where skills are the currency of the workplace. This means you also need to build robust upskilling and reskilling initiatives, leverage cross-functional training, and ensure all stakeholders are engaged in a skills-based approach. In the words of Damp, “It’s important to keep in mind that it’s not just HR that needs to change for skills-based hiring to work.”
Which skills will be most sought after in 2025?
While technical skills of course vary between roles, there are some soft skills that have been essential for making work work in 2024. Here we take a look at four that we think will play a key role across teams in 2025.
Adaptability
In a business landscape shaped by technologies that are rapidly evolving, perhaps the most important soft skill is adaptability itself. As Addie Johnsen, Chief People Officer at Aperian described in our recent e-book: “Global workforce playbook,” “Being able to find folks that are nimble, adaptable and comfortable with ambiguity is more important than ever.”
Creative thinking
Creative individuals are those who think beyond the immediate task at hand and take the initiative to come up with solutions that move business forward. In a remote setting, where there may be fewer organic opportunities for spontaneous collaboration, this is key.
Communication
“Communication is at the base of everything — particularly in a remote team,” says Gerald Menezes, Senior Vice President, People and Culture, Multiplier. And it’s true — when everyone has access to clear, consistent information, cross-functional collaboration becomes quicker and easier.
Empathy
Understanding and valuing the perspectives and experiences of others is crucial in building strong, collaborative teams, especially in increasingly diverse, distributed work environments. As Sagar Khatri, Co-Founder and CEO at Multiplier says, “In a remote setting, people need to understand the nuances of other cultures and how people like to work.” Empathy allows team members to create a supportive atmosphere where everyone feels heard and respected.
Global hiring continues to grow
Global hiring had a good 2024, proving its transformative potential – and it shows no sign of slowing down as we head into 2025. In this section, we’ll explore why that is, and how the ability to source and manage talent from all over the world is reshaping how businesses operate and grow.
Why are companies hiring globally?
Organizations are increasingly looking beyond their immediate geography to hire talent, driven by the dual objectives of reducing costs and accessing the skills they desperately need.
Indeed, by 2030, more than 85 million jobs could go unfilled because there aren’t enough skilled people to take them. Getting more creative about where you look for talent is no longer just a smart thing to do; it’s an existential need.
Our recent accountant shortage white paper found that the percentage of international accountants hired by US-based companies through Multiplier increased four times over the last few years, as businesses shifted their hiring strategies to pursue global talent.
As more and more businesses aim their offerings towards a global customer base, they must think more globally about their workforce. “When you are building a business, you need global workers to address the needs of global clients,” says Khatri. “And to sell your products globally, you need diverse individuals contributing towards building those products.”
How does global hiring happen?
You might assume that this trend is being driven by the biggest companies, but global hiring is becoming a fundamental strategy for companies of all sizes – from boutique creative agencies to global advisory firms. What they have in common is a need to access the talent that’s out there without the many hassles of hiring overseas.
“Opportunities are centralized, but talent is distributed,” says Khatri. “In a world where your talent is the most important intangible asset, it’s vital to identify and tap into the right talent pools.”
Tapping into those talent pools is easier said than done. Traditionally, it’s a process that involves setting up your own entity to hire in a specific country – and dealing with all the compliance and tax burdens it brings.
An Employer of Record (EOR) like Multiplier’s employs workers on your behalf via its own entities. For businesses looking to hire globally, EORs simplify and derisk the process by handling local compliance, payroll, tax, and HR requirements – all of which differ substantially from country to country.
An Employer of Record assumes local risks so you no longer have to deal with the compliance challenges of employment in unfamiliar markets. That leaves you free to focus on getting the best talent, no matter where it might be.
The rise of cultural agility
With global hiring coming to the fore, it’s no surprise that cultural agility–that is, an individual’s ability to work comfortably across different cultures–has also become a cornerstone of effective global teamwork in 2024.
Little wonder that a 2024 paper described it as a “mega-competency” that enables professionals to adapt and succeed in unfamiliar cultural situations.
Here’s what you need to know about the trend heading into 2025.
How are companies making international teams work?
Distributed teams are undoubtedly a pull factor, but they come with their fair share of challenges, too – as our global workforce playbook explores.
Put it in a policy
One way companies are achieving harmony in their teams is by emphasizing the importance of carefully crafted policies that ensure your point is understood across cultural boundaries.
Khatri stresses the importance of inclusive policies: “It’s crucial to design policies so no one feels left out. For example, prioritizing rigid working hours might alienate European colleagues who value flexibility. Similarly, overly formal meeting etiquette could be off-putting to American team members who favor direct communication styles.”
With so many competing considerations, it can be hard to know where to start. But as a distributed company, we know a thing or two about crafting global policies. Instead of starting from scratch, take a look at our policy templates which are designed to help you rapidly master global workforce management:
The human touch
In increasingly global teams, managers and employees alike can benefit from an understanding of cultural nuances across regions, backgrounds, and time zones.
Khatri, drawing from his own experience of working internationally, says: “In India, people often work late into the night; In the US, workers tend to start and finish early. Germany’s direct communication style contrasts with Japan’s preference for subtlety.”
By understanding these nuances, managers can take small but significant actions that bring teams together.
As Addie Johnsen, Chief People Officer at Aperian, said in our global workforce management playbook: “It can be as simple as reading the headlines for the person that you’re about to talk to and understanding the critical things taking place in their location.”
Talent attraction trends
Global hiring gives companies access to more talent than ever before, but it also gives candidates more opportunities than ever before. And this fierce competition means companies are focusing more on optimizing their talent attraction strategies. Here are some trends we’ve found in 2024 and advice on how to leverage them in 2025.
Global compensation strategies
Attracting global talent requires careful consideration of compensation. After all, if you have team members that are doing the same role, but distributed across the world, how can you ensure fairness and competitiveness? As Michael Nierstedt, Payroll Product Director at Multiplier, put it in our recent webinar “Paying global teams: Strategic compensation and compliant payroll,” “You don’t want to price yourself out, but you also don’t want to alienate certain groups and create cultural issues.”
Global compensation strategies are increasingly popular, offering a framework that balances cost of living, local labor markets, and employee experience to help you gain a competitive edge. Here are some tips to consider when strategizing in 2025:
- Use payscales and salary bands to set clear, consistent compensation ranges that reflect role requirements.
- Conduct competitive analysis in the region where you are hiring to ensure salaries are attractive.
- Automate compliance with a global payroll solution so you can focus on strategic work.
Benefits optimization
Compensation is, of course, not the whole picture. Here are some of the new types of global benefits companies have been administering in 2024 to attract, retain, and motivate top global talent:
- Energy cost contributions. With the cost of living crisis impacting countries across the world, higher numbers of employees are looking for support with paying the bills.
- Mental and physical health support. Employers are going further to support employees who may be facing increased financial stress, providing money guidance and counseling.
- Environmental agenda support. In line with Environmental, Social, and Governance legislation, companies are providing benefits such as electric vehicle access and sustainable pension investment opportunities.
- Earned wage access. New technology is allowing employees to access a portion of their wages before payday.
Flexibility, always
As in years prior, flexibility remains a priority for teams looking to attract top talent. As Khatri says, “Back in the day, your brand name and compensation were what was important. These days it’s flexible policies that help you stand out.”
Allowing team members to balance work-life commitments and find a flow that works for their own productivity, 68% of US employers now offer some level of flexibility over location. So, while RTO mandates may be coming back for some companies, the real question is: are they here to stay or will they give way to more employee-driven approaches?
Khatri points to the hybrid model as a major trend for 2025, describing “There’s no one-size-fits-all, but I think we’re evolving toward a hybrid culture where people work out what suits them rather than the organization.”
Preparing for 2025
2025 is likely to be about the intensification of existing trends. With AI, global skills-based hiring, and renewed attention to cultural matters all becoming even more prominent, succeeding will mean optimizing your approach before the competition.
Mastering these trends will also require the right talent. And that means looking beyond your front doorstep and putting flexibility first to attract talent. As companies go global, it’s up to HR teams to ensure that their approach to global workforce management is as robust as it can be, and that it is backed up by the right technology – starting with an EOR that gives them the flexibility to hire anywhere in the world.
Multiplier’s EOR helps businesses scale their global workforces and access the skilled workers they need to succeed in 2025. Ready to embrace global talent but need help figuring out where to begin? Talk to our experts.
