A study of global business leaders found that most of them believe the talent pool is drying up amid increased competition, high employment and an ageing population.

The study from talent acquisition and Recruitment Process Outsourcing consultancy Cielo Talent, found that Nearly 70% of business leaders surveyed worldwide believe the existing talent pool is shrinking while the competition for talent is increasing, and 54% say their company has more open positions than ever before.

“Although leaders in all of the business functions we surveyed now agree that retaining talent is a core business driver, they disagree on talent acquisition priorities, effectiveness, metrics for success and the role of technology and outsourced services to help them compete for talent,” Sue Marks, founder and CEO of Cielo, said. “Over 70% of C-Suite leaders now say they want to play a role in talent acquisition decisions, a clear indication of the increasing pressure to align talent acquisition and retention with business goals. There is a tremendous opportunity to improve outcomes through better collaboration and communication across the enterprise.”

Cielo’s study also found that nearly 30% of companies are now hiring contingent labour across all job levels, including 24% of senior roles, 28% of manager-level roles, 32% of individual contributors and 41% of entry-level talent. This contingent labor includes temporary employees, independent contractors, consultants, interim executives and gig workers. The proportion of contingent labor in the total workforce is significantly higher in Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East than in the United States, Canada and Europe.

“There appears to be a rapidly growing trend as 65% of companies we surveyed said they expect flexible workers, contingent workers and project-based workers will take over a significant amount of the work currently being done by full-time employees,” Marissa Geist, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the Americas for Cielo, said. “We’re seeing more and more companies embrace a ‘Total Talent’ approach that incorporates the recruiting, hiring, and retaining functions of all their employees into a single strategy. This shift introduces important challenges, specifically around who owns that single strategy for the organisation.”