The global talent war has reached a tipping point. Companies worldwide face a shortage of skilled professionals, with more than half of executives reporting difficulty finding qualified candidates. Traditional hiring models are now making geographic limitations evident with the escalating costs of keeping the talent pool local. Perhaps these pain points are the ones that led to the creation of the fully remote outsourcing company BruntWork.

Winston Ong, the company’s CEO, shares how a remote-first culture can magnetize top talents from every corner of the globe. He has broken the conventional wisdom about workforce management, proving that trust-based leadership and geographic flexibility create advantages and opportunities for clients and contractors.

Ong’s timing could not have come at a better point. The outsourcing market is on an upward trajectory, and a significant percentage of the workforce has permanently shifted to remote arrangements. Now, it’s unlikely these professionals would be willing to give up the autonomy and flexibility of remote work. He believes that companies that stick to old talent acquisition strategies will lose the opportunity to recruit the best talent.

The trust revolution that changed everything

BruntWork’s success comes from Ong’s ability to identify when old models are no longer working. While competitors rely on micromanagement and time-tracking software, BruntWork’s team eliminated surveillance entirely.

Some might say this is counterintuitive and leaves a lot of room for inefficiency, but independent surveys and reviews show employee satisfaction ratings remain high at 4.8 out of 5. Most employers are quick to shrug off employee sentiments, but various studies have shown time and time again the strong positive correlation between employee happiness and productivity. According to research by Oxford University, there is a conclusive link between happiness and productivity. They have found that workers are 13% more productive when they are happy. When translated to revenue, perhaps it’s high time employer paid attention to these figures.

“That’s just how it is, happy employees deliver better results,” Ong explains. “It’s not that they clock in more hours, it’s just that they seem to be able to do more within the time they work.” Ong’s philosophy has enabled BruntWork to recruit talent that some cannot access, creating a global network spanning Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa.

Ong’s theory does not come up empty-handed. He points to client reviews and feedback his team monitors consistently. Client satisfaction scores persistently exceed 4.9 stars. Enterprise clients, including multinational companies, have embraced this model, driving the company’s expansion from startup to $80 million in annual revenue.

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