Portugal and Poland: The New Home for Product? Part One
3rd Jul 2024
There’s no denying that the salaries and overall CAPEX for Product and Tech teams have increased since 2020. Some businesses (both start ups and large corporates) are looking to new horizons to lower overall cost while maintaining the quality of skillset. Enter Portugal and Poland.
For our search criteria, we chose Product professionals with the following titles:
- Junior Product Manager
- Product Manager
- Senior Product Manager
- Lead Product Manager
- Principal Product Manager
- Head of Product
- Product Director
- Chief Product Officer
Portugal: The New Home for Product
Image source: LinkedIn Talent Insights
We can see the two main hubs for Product Talent are Lisbon (3,162) and Porto (928). With Braga, Guimaraes, and Aveiro having shown signs of growth over the last few years.
Attrition is strong at 13.8% across the industry which shows a truly competitive landscape. Companies need to make sure Product Managers are welcomed, have a Product-first mindset, and allow for deep, meaningful onboarding processes.
Also, 788 job changes with only 111 jobs posted. This further reflects that not every role is posted via LinkedIn and that Tech/ Product individuals need to have a visible social media presence and allow themselves to be seen at events and conferences.
Location & Talent Breakdown
Image source: LinkedIn Talent Insights
We can see that all geographical areas of Portugal have a high to very high Hiring Demand rating with one exception in the Greater Faro area.
We see Lisbon leading the way in Job posts (63) but with attrition rates at 13.8%. More than 400 individuals have changed jobs, only representing 15% of roles placed being advertised through LinkedIn.
Across the hubs of Lisbon and Porto, we see large global corporates such as Vodafone, FarFetch, TalkDesk, NOS and Parfois leading with Product Talent acquisition.
Breakdown of Product titles - Including Gender Disparity
Image source: LinkedIn Talent Insights
Dark blue = Male
Green = Female
We can see a strong talent pool at the Product Manager level with 500 individuals finding new roles over the last 12 months. Gender balance is healthy with 45% - 55% Female to Male ratio.
Senior Product Managers encompass a much smaller talent pool but there is a 40% to 60% split between female and male professionals.
From Head of Product, Director of Product Management and Chief Product Officer: these Product leaders make up 11% of the total Product talent pool, but again the female ratio never moves above 30%, with only 15% of Females making up the CPO tranche.
Product Takeaways
If you’re looking to grow your Product and Tech teams, the time is now. Portugal allows Digital Nomads to move to the country as well as having a strong native talent community.
The technology infrastructure is advanced, with most Data and API SaaS businesses having a strong foothold in the country.
Hire for the future, Portugal's Tech economy is really flourishing. With lower salaries and talent looking for longer tenure being the main driver for businesses coming to Portugal.
Wherever you're hiring Product talent in Europe, the UK, or elsewhere - don't hesitate to get in touch with us to discuss your hiring needs.