How Google, Grab & LiquidPay attract and recruit top tech talent
As the tech industry continues to grow, big companies like Google and start-ups alike are looking out for promising talent. But remember, talent recruitment isn’t limited only to your country of operation, nor is it difficult. But just how do you recruit top tech talent anyway?
Companies like Google, Grab, and LiquidPay are great examples to emulate. So how did they successfully recruit and attract top tech talent both in Singapore and abroad? Check out these quick case studies.
Google ventured out of Silicon Valley – the leading start-up and tech wonderland – in 2007. Their plan? To settle down in Singapore. The internet giant started out here with only 24 people.
11 years on, the organisation has expanded dramatically in size: Google Singapore now boasts over a thousand employees and is the fastest-growing office in APAC. The senior management team is comprised of Singapore-based talent, and Google Singapore’s engineering team is on the path of growth as well.
Being at the centre of rapid digital and tech growth, Singapore was the perfect choice for Google’s expansion into Asia. Google Singapore provides more tech jobs and is also investing in young talent through programmes like Code in the Community. Underprivileged and less than well-to-do kids are trained as proficient engineers and tech professionals of the future. Google Singapore also partners with local SMEs and develops homegrown businesses through digitisation, such as bolstering a traditional TCM group via an effective YouTube campaign.
Grab has been carving paths out of Singapore and Malaysia in search of a wider global talent supply. They started off by launching their 6th R&D centre in Indonesia.
This move was made alongside the acquisition of Kudo’s headquarters. Grab has since transformed the building into a knowledge-sharing platform for local tech communities in Indonesia. This partnership promises growth for Indonesia and its people. Grab is dedicated to committing resources into the research and development of consumer behaviour and data for continued growth.
Grab seeks to develop and invest in Indonesian start-ups in addition to building up five million micro-entrepreneurs and engineering talent in Indonesia. Such a devoted investment will surely bolster the growth of Indonesia’s tech community, as well as attract hot talents to join in.
LiquidPay is a Singapore e-payments technology start-up. Over the past year or so, they have recruited and nurtured Indonesian talent in Batam to expand regionally. Today, the team in Batam comprises about 20 engaged individuals.
Why Batam, you may ask? Just survey the landscape there and you’d uncover the software houses popping up on the island. They’re all filled with diverse and affordable tech talent. Indonesia is bursting with well-educated engineers and professionals. LiquidPay is wisely leveraging this resource pool and growing along with its business as a result. The start-up will also be using Batam as a launchpad into Indonesia’s market.
Google made the right choice in investing resources and time into Singapore’s tech community. Looking inward instead of outward, Google Singapore’s growth shows that hiring global talent is the way to go.
Google’s bold expansion from sunny America to even sunnier Singapore has paid off very well – and you can tell just by looking at their numbers. Likewise, Grab and LiquidPay’s expansion efforts into Indonesia and specifically Batam are succeeding greatly. Globalisation is here to stay!
As you think about growing your company, consider outsourcing work to low-cost areas like Vietnam or Indonesia. Grab’s smooth acquisition of Kudo and launch of its R&D centre says it all. Lower costs enable you to do more with your current pool of resources.
Outsourcing to low-cost areas doesn’t mean you’ll get low quality talents or work, either. Investing fully elsewhere promises great gains, especially if you’re investing into the people themselves. By reaching out and sharing information and knowledge, upskilling will do much for the local community you’re hiring from.
This goes without saying: you need to hire smartly as well as actively. Leaving up job postings to decay and collect virtual dust will do you no good. Instead of posting and praying and hoping something happens, adopt a more proactive approach.
Actively hunt for candidates who are for hire, whether through LinkedIn or engaging recruitment partners to meet your staffing needs. If jobseekers are expected to go the extra mile to secure a new job, the same standard is required of employers too. Good opportunities no longer just come to those who wait. Good opportunities belong to those who seize it for themselves.
These three companies have exhibited great boldness and wisdom in their recruitment and expansion efforts. There’s much to learn from their experiences and decisions. And we believe that to recruit top tech talent requires dedication and ambition like no other. These three key takeaways are thus worth remembering and acting upon.
In that same vein, companies like yours can consider utilising offshore work to bolster growth and expansion efforts. That’s especially in places like Nongsa Digital Park. LiquidPay had the right idea in mind when it started investing in Indonesian talent and allowed them to work and grow in the tech park, just an hour away from Singapore. The park is designed to house technopreneurs and programmers, and develop a thriving community of passionate talent. There’s no reason why you can’t tap on that talent pool as well!
Interested to build your offshore tech team in Nongsa Digital Park and recruit top tech talent? Work with Glints Global today and ramp up your recruitment efforts.
This article is brought to you by Glints TalentHub. Leading companies are actively building their borderless teams in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and beyond. However, the prospect of going borderless can be daunting due to complex regulations and cultural ambiguities. With Glints TalentHub, you’ll have a dedicated team of in-market legal, HR, and talent experts by your side at every step of the way.
Glints TalentHub offers an end-to-end, tech-enabled talent solution that encompasses talent acquisition, EOR, and talent development. We empower businesses to leverage the strengths of regional talent efficiently to build high-performing, cost-efficient teams.
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