South Africa, Feb. 5 -- I spend a lot of time talking to HR leaders and founders across South Africa, the UK, the US and Europe. Whether it's a fast-scaling startup or a multinational with a continent-wide footprint, the themes are starting to sound very similar: "Where do we find the right people?"; "How do we hire them quickly?"; and "How do we stay compliant while doing it?"

Meanwhile, international companies are eyeing South African talent harder than ever and they're doing it because the talent holds up. The cost advantage is real - because remote work has erased the distance between Johannesburg and New York.

For South African employers, this means one thing. If you have high performers, look after them because global companies ar...