Talent Hubs in the Era of Web 3.0

The next internet revolution is upon us. As conversations around Web 3.0 take centre stage, businesses that were already grappling with the ‘Great Resignation’ amidst Covid-19 are now trying to wrap their heads around what the future of work and their location strategy will look like. At the core of this discussion is one important question: how can businesses effectively attract, maintain and create competitive advantages through their technology workforce and talent hubs across the globe?

Web 3.0 marks the rise of the new internet

Since the advent of Web 1.0, the internet has come a long way. From the early days of HTML-based static websites and the Mosaic Web Browser, we moved to the era of Web 2.0 (Internet as a Platform) in the 2000s. Web 2.0 was defined by the rise of ecosystems, mobile-first, always-on computing, social networks, e-commerce and a shift towards the cloud. Web 3.0 now aims to create a user-centric, decentralized, private and secure internet giving power back to the users.

Businesses will need to develop talent strategies in the era of Web 3.0

With the rise of Web 3.0, the need for hiring the right technology talent has become even more critical to corporate success than before. Covid-19 marked the advent of the ‘Great Resignation’, and this trend is likely to continue as employees undertake the quintessential search for employers who can offer them a suitable work-life balance while providing a purposeful mission and culture-driven business environment. All of this needs to be balanced with the ever-expanding career opportunities for tech workers, fuelled by the rise of tech unicorns, the maturing gig economy and alternative income streams such as crypto trading.

A multi-dimensional approach will be key to tech hub selection

Businesses and start-ups looking to hire the right Web 3.0 talent need to look at labour markets from a multi-dimensional perspective. Every year, CBRE’s Global Labour Analytics team advises numerous businesses on selecting the right tech talent markets. Some key factors to consider while optimizing technology hub selection at a global scale include:

• availability and depth of the technology talent pool
• tech talent costs
• the competitive environment and regulatory landscape
• availability of office and flexible workspaces
• accessibility and connectivity

Businesses that we advise use the location intelligence suite that CBRE provides to help build advantages for their workforce by undertaking data-backed conversations with the C-suite for decision making. All of this has been extremely fruitful. These companies have either emerged as employers of choice, been able to manage workforce attrition more effectively or identified new suitable markets for scalability and longevity in the long run.

The APAC region offers significant opportunity for tech businesses

Asia Pacific continues to be a key market for tech companies. The region boasts more than a dozen locations which can act as suitable technology hubs, nearshoring and outsourcing markets for companies.

Both American and European companies have grappled with scalability and cost issues in recent years. The APAC region solves this problem by enabling access to skilled, future-ready talent coupled with cost arbitrage for both real estate and workforce costs.

But all locations are not created equal. Depending on the business drivers, each company may view each market very differently. And with more than a dozen locations to choose from, that job is no mean feat.

Relative Salary Comparisons by Market - APAC

Source: CBRE Labour Analytics, 2022

The Road Ahead for Businesses

As businesses prepare for the new paradigm, CBRE’s Global Labour Analytics team can help support more effective location and workforce strategies. From global location strategy, regional workforce reviews, market benchmarking, to country and city selection, leveraging reliable data for these major business decisions is more crucial than ever.

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