UK Chief Financial Officers shift hiring to safer markets

UK businesses are shifting international hiring towards lower-risk markets, driven by geopolitical disruption, according to research from Safeguard Global.

The survey found that 44% of UK Chief Financial Officers have already moved hiring to markets they see as more stable. Another 38% have delayed or reduced hiring in affected regions, while 40% said geopolitical disruption had made their organisation more cautious about hiring globally.

The findings suggest a shift in how companies approach overseas recruitment as political and economic uncertainty shapes workforce planning. They also indicate that finance leaders are playing a larger role in decisions once more closely associated with human resources and expansion teams.

Two-thirds of Chief Financial Officers are involved in every final decision on international hiring, employment and workforce expansion. That puts balance-sheet concerns at the centre of decisions about where businesses recruit and grow.

Despite this shift, interest in overseas hiring remains widespread. Safeguard Global found that 97% of UK Chief Financial Officers expressed some level of interest in global hiring, although only 20% said they intended to hire globally in the second half of the year.

A further 39% of UK organisations said they were investing in global hiring but were still refining their processes and approach. The data suggests companies are not pulling back from cross-border recruitment altogether, but are becoming more selective about where and when they expand.

Finance influence

The survey also found that geopolitical pressure is affecting broader corporate plans beyond recruitment. Some 38% of UK Chief Financial Officers said geopolitical policies had hindered their company's ability to expand, linking hiring decisions more closely to market entry and investment choices.

That matters for UK employers still facing skills shortages in parts of the domestic labour market. For many businesses, overseas hiring remains a way to fill gaps, but the results suggest that strategy is being reshaped by concerns over conflict, trade tensions and wider instability.

The research was based on responses from 400 Chief Financial Officers across the UK and US, including 200 from the UK. Within the UK group, half worked at organisations with annual revenues between USD $25 million and USD $250 million.

Respondents came from a range of sectors, including financial services, IT, manufacturing, non-profits, business and professional services, and transport and logistics. That suggests the issue is not limited to one part of the economy, although the published findings do not break out responses by industry.

Shifting map

The results reflect a broader reassessment of risk in international business operations. Where companies once focused primarily on access to skills, labour costs and market opportunity, many now appear to place greater weight on political stability when deciding where to recruit.

That could shift the distribution of talent investment as companies redirect headcount to countries they see as more predictable. It may also affect local labour markets that had benefited from global recruitment strategies but now face slower hiring as businesses reassess their exposure.

"Though geopolitical risk can shift, it's clearly a present-day factor in corporate hiring and expansion plans. Decisions are shaped by the political and economic stability of the labour markets under consideration," said Bjorn Reynolds, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Safeguard Global.

"However, we operate in a global economy and access to global talent is critical. We can't eliminate geopolitical disruption, but with flexibility - and partners and solutions that help us stay nimble - we can employ talent around the world while minimising the risks associated with conflict, trade wars and fluctuating energy prices," he added.