Within the next decade the global competitive landscape will have changed dramatically. The BRICs 
(Brazil, Russia, India and China) plus others will have driven their way into the top league. To remain 
competitive, large and small companies across the world need to decide what this means for their 
organisation and where their people resource is best deployed.


Using gross domestic product (GDP) as 
a measure, from 2002 to 2009 the BRIC 
economies grew by 83%, CEE Europe by 
46.9%, Asia by 62.4% and US, Western 
Europe and the UK by 12.3%, 9% and 
9.5% respectively. At the existing rate of 
growth, it is widely forecast that within 20 
years the world’s mature economies will 
be overtaken by resource-rich regions like 
the Middle East, Brazil, Canada, Australia 
and Russia, and people-rich regions such 
as China and India. It appears that the US, 
Western Europe and Japan, among others, 
face major challenges.
Globalisation will undoubtedly reduce the 
clarity of who owns what and where, but 
will accentuate the importance of the 
employment centre location. Work is likely 
to move increasingly to where the skills 
are available, employment costs represent 
best value and the social environment is 
conducive to workforce agility. 
In the 13th Annual Global CEO Survey, 
53% of respondents were somewhat or 
extremely concerned with the effect of 
low-cost competition on growth 
prospects. In order to compete, we expect 
organisations will favour international 
locations where the labour force and their 
government are noticeably orientated 
towards innovation and productivity. 
People will be more internationally mobile 
too, with employers establishing talent 
banks drawing on the skills and 
knowledge of a culturally diverse team. 
How organisations can stay ahead
The dilemma for many mature economy 
governments, specifically in Western 
Europe, is how to balance entrenched 
social wellbeing policies while competing 
with more highly productive and lower-cost 
territories. For Western Europe, the 
recession has highlighted how powerful 
and agile competing countries have 
become. Governments will need to ensure 
that elements such as employment law, 
taxes and education standards are 
appropriately structured to attract 
employers and key talent. 
Organisations in BRIC and other emerging 
countries are not without their own 
challenges. The increasingly talented 
population are likely to become more 
internationally mobile, while demographic 
shifts and reward expectations will drive 
wage increases.
If they have not already, it is critical for 
organisations, large and small, to plan for 
their increasingly globalised future. 
Remaining competitive will require 
organisations to assess their own 
productivity versus the market and to decide 
who should produce (the company’s own 
employees or via an outsourced agreement), 
where to produce (determining the value 
derived from outsourced services) and 
when to make changes. The winners will 
be those organisations that move early to 
identified locations with the right people 
for the job.