The IT talent shortage has reached a critical point, and companies are increasingly looking to developers in Ukraine as a solution. Technology is developing so fast that supply cannot keep up with demand, and finding qualified specialists is becoming a real challenge. Changing skill requirements complicate the situation, and the influx of newcomers without experience only exacerbates the hiring process.
From Local to Global: How companies are adapting to talent shortages by moving to distributed teams
Talent challenges are a reality for every expanding company. Competition for specialists is growing, salaries are increasing, but this does not solve the problem. The most paradoxical thing is that despite the excess of new candidates, the shortage of really experienced developers remains acute. Companies are forced to look for alternatives, and one of the most effective strategies is outsourcing Ukrainian developers, who have high expertise, adaptability, and availability on the international market.
Key hiring challenges in 2025: What do companies face?
Fierce competition and rising talent costs
Experienced IT professionals are increasingly valued and costly to hire. Companies are literally fighting for talent, offering higher salaries, flexible schedules, bonuses, and a corporate culture focused on employee comfort. In such an environment, big players dictate the market, and smaller companies find it harder to attract qualified developers.
Gap between requirements and real skills of candidates
The so-called “qualification hole” is an imbalance between employers’ expectations and the competencies of specialists. Technologies are developing rapidly, but not all developers have time to update their knowledge. As a result, there are many candidates in the labor market, but their skills do not always correspond to real business tasks.
How Does a Business Adapt to the Shortage of Specialists?
Talent shortages are forcing companies to rethink their hiring strategies. More and more often, companies are looking for developers outside their own country. For example, IT professionals in Ukraine offer high qualifications with more affordable financial expectations compared to colleagues from the US and Europe — share the experience of experts at N-iX, a company that helps the world’s leading organizations turn challenges into sustainable business value.
Among the key trends:
- Distribution: Companies are hiring from across the country, forming flexible remote teams that cover both job openings and work hours
- Investing in employee retention: Employers can focus on the growth, development, and comfort of their employees, thereby reducing turnover.
- Automate hiring: Recruitment platforms and machine learning algorithms make it easier to find candidates.
FYI: According to the Free-Work survey, over 78% of IT companies globally plan to continue offering remote IT positions, a trend that is unlikely to reverse any time soon.s. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this process, making hybrid and remote formats the standard for many tech companies.
In-House or Outsourcing? How Companies Choose between Expertise and Economy
Choosing a work format is not an easy task for businesses. Each model has its advantages: in-house teams provide full control and deep expertise, while nearshore and offshore developers help reduce costs and scale projects faster.
Let’s find out what factors influence the choice.
Comparison of In-house and Nearshore/Offshore command
| Criterion | In-house | Nearshore/Offshore |
| Control | Full control over processes and quality | More difficult to track workload and working hours |
| Team spirit | Close-knit team, high involvement | Low engagement, requires additional work on team building |
| Finance | High costs (salaries, office, equipment) | Lower rates, no office expenses |
| Availability of talent | Limited by location | Search for specialists around the world |
| Cybersecurity | Data is localized and protected | Risks when transferring data to remote employees |
| Scaling | Long hiring process, limited office resources | Flexibility, quick selection of specialists, no staffing restrictions |
| Productivity | Personal interaction increases motivation | External factors influence, employee self-discipline is important |
“Cost-effectiveness” and ‘deep expertise’ are key factors in choosing the format of staff employment. Based on cost-efficiency considerations, business owners seek to reduce labor and operating costs. Their goals become maximizing profits and saving on technical infrastructure costs.
At the same time, “deep expertise” is a diametrically opposed approach. Here, a specialist with deep knowledge and expertise is considered to be the key value. Companies with such priorities rely on innovative solutions and high-quality products and services.
Ukrainian developers successfully combine both factors: they offer a high level of expertise with affordable financial expectations, which makes them the optimal choice for companies looking for a balance between price and quality. Forbes knows who is behind the Californian startups (this is related to the conversation about Ukrainian IT specialists).
How to find a balance?
Companies are increasingly combining both approaches. Part of the team works remotely, while the key tasks remain with the office staff. This hybrid format has proved its effectiveness.
Another option is to partner with agencies offering flexible conditions. For example, N-iX, founded in Ukraine, selects teams for specific business tasks, combining quality and economy.
Who Wins, and Who Loses in the Staffing Crisis?
To survive the shortage of specialists, it is important for companies to adapt:
- Strong HR and candidate screening — additional stages of selection, working with Applicant Tracking Systems, eliminating candidates with “tipped” experience.
- Remote work and outsourcing — distributed teams allow closing vacancies faster and reduce costs (for example, developers in Ukraine ask for lower rates than specialists from the USA and Europe).
- Corporate culture — focus on employee retention, creating a comfortable environment.
- Technology in recruitment — search automation, advanced remote team management systems.
- Training and development — investing in soft skills of employees, pumping up team and management skills.
The employer’s reputation also plays a key role — the best specialists will not go to a company with bad reviews.
What Lies Ahead?
Observing recent trends, industry experts predict that the IT market will increasingly be characterized by adaptability, develop tools for effective outsourcing, and make heavy use of cloud technology.
“Remote working is not just the future of work, it’s the present. Companies that don’t adapt will lose talented employees,” Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress.
Digital transformation puts conservative and technologically underdeveloped companies at threat: they risk losing talented employees. Those who resist progress and stick to traditional hiring approaches will become uncompetitive.
So, are you ready to rethink your development strategy? Evaluate the options available and choose the path that’s right for you.
