Technology is advancing at speed, and with it, the roles required to build, manage, and sustain digital capability. For organisations looking to remain competitive, the question isn’t just who to hire, it’s how to strategically align talent with long-term business goals. That’s where talent mapping comes in.
The challenge isn’t new, but it’s becoming more urgent. As digital and AI technologies reshape how we work and live, companies are racing to adapt. Research by McKinsey reveal 90% of companies have already launched transformation initiatives, yet only around one-third of the expected revenue benefits are being realised. The gap between ambition and outcome can often come down to talent.
What Is Talent Mapping?
Talent mapping is a strategic process that helps organisations assess their current workforce, identify skill gaps, and plan for future hiring and development needs. It’s not just about filling vacancies, it’s about understanding the trajectory of your business and ensuring the right people are in place to support it.
At Abstract, we use talent mapping to help clients:
The Roles That Matter Most
While every organisation’s needs are unique, there are foundational roles that consistently emerge as critical over the next 3–5 years:
Software Developers – The builders of digital infrastructure
AI Engineers – Essential for implementing intelligent systems
Data Scientists – Driving insight and innovation through data
Cybersecurity Specialists – Safeguarding operations and compliance
These roles form the backbone of digital capability but understanding the purpose of these roles is only part of the picture.
Strategy First, Hiring Second
Understanding which roles are needed begins with a clear technology strategy. We work with clients to assess their current state, reviewing org charts, role descriptions, and the capabilities of team members, before mapping this against where they expect their vision to take them. This allows us to identify gaps and determine whether they’re best filled by permanent hires, contractors, or third-party services.
Crucially, we help clients think beyond transformation. It’s not just about the roles needed to deliver new products or systems, it’s about the people required to support and optimise them in the long term. Roles like IT managers, cloud engineers, and operational staff become increasingly important once the “new and shiny” moves into the operate phase.
Only 16% of executives feel confident they have enough technology talent to drive their digital transformation. That’s why strategy must come first, hiring second. Without a clear view of where the organisation is headed, it’s impossible to know which roles are truly needed, when they’re needed, and how best to fill them.
The Impact of Emerging Technologies
Technologies like Agentic AI, platform engineering, and synthetic data are transforming the hiring landscape. Agentic AI, in particular, is driving demand for new skills and operating models as organisations shift from asking AI to assist, to asking it to act.
According to the OneReach.ai whitepaper, the global Agentic AI market is projected to grow at a 35% compound annual growth rate, reaching $126.9 billion by 2029, roughly the size of the global chocolate market.
This kind of growth isn’t just about innovation; it’s about scale. As Agentic AI moves from pilot projects to enterprise-wide deployment, organisations need the right talent not only to build these systems, but to support and optimise them long-term.
This shift is driving demand not only for AI engineers, but also for:
These roles already exist, but organisations will need more of them, and they’ll need to evolve.
New Roles, New Challenges
Roles like AI Product Managers, Prompt Engineers, and Platform Architects are becoming increasingly relevant. Yet many organisations don’t have these skillsets internally.
AI-related job listings have soared globally. Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, demand for AI skills has climbed by 68%, with a 61% year-on-year increase in 2024 alone, far outpacing overall job market growth.
That’s where Abstract Group can support you. Whether through our AI services or executive tech hiring, we help organisations access the talent and expertise needed to build future-ready teams.
Augmentation Over Replacement
AI and automation are impacting every tech role, but not in the way many expect. While some tasks may be replaced, the dominant trend is augmentation. Upskilling is the most urgent need.
With 61% of HR leaders saying new demands exceed their capacity to deliver, upskilling has become a strategic imperative, not just a priority. PwC found that 74% of workers are willing to learn new skills to remain employable. Organisations face a global skills gap. Replacement isn’t always an option. Instead, we can help clients focus on training and development to adapt existing roles to new technologies.
Assessing Capability and Planning Ahead
Reactive hiring can be used as a quick fix in a situation where there is a significant skills gap, but it can make it difficult to deliver against transformation plans, especially when it comes to AI. We help clients build hiring plans based on clear role responsibilities and long-term strategy.
We recommend using SFIA which is a globally recognised framework that helps organisations define and assess the digital skills and competencies required across key areas such as AI, data science, and cybersecurity. It offers a structured framework for role creation and capability assessment, bringing clarity to the process of building and managing technology talent.
Building a Future-Ready Team
Organisations that prioritise continuous learning and development position themselves to thrive amid technological change. Empowering existing talent to grow, innovate, and adapt ensures teams are not only equipped for emerging technologies but also aligned with evolving business objectives.
Upskilling should be the default strategy, preceding external hiring wherever possible. When employees feel undervalued, attrition rises and organisations find themselves in a reactive cycle. Proactive investment in internal capability builds loyalty, reduces churn, and strengthens institutional knowledge.
Retention and motivation are strategic imperatives. Recognising achievement and involving employees in transformation efforts fosters a culture of resilience and agility. Creating open forums to understand learning preferences can reveal untapped potential, enhance morale, and accelerate capability development across the organisation.
Final Thoughts
Talent mapping isn’t just a hiring strategy, it’s a growth strategy. As technologies evolve and business priorities shift, organisations must take a long-term, people-first approach to workforce planning. At Abstract, we help clients build tech teams that are not only future-ready, but future-defining.