The year 2020 and coping with the health emergency has hastened the mainstream adoption of remote work. By necessity, many businesses were forced to transition employees to working full-time from home, to follow social distancing best-practice for health and safety.
While the transition has not been easy for any business, it has elevated remote work to a level of procedural mainstream. When will businesses feel it is safe to welcome employees back to the office? It depends on a number of factors, including the resurgence of the virus. And infection rates that vary by region.
Now that remote work is truly the ‘new normal’ there is another benefit for businesses. The ability to hire beyond regional borders and find new opportunities to recruit human capital. Have you thought about hiring in another region? Or perhaps, another country?
Here are four (4) advantages of global hiring to consider.
1. Sourcing Uncommon Talent That May Not Be Available Locally
Depending on the market where your business is located, you may have encountered problems finding the talent you need. This is common in the technology sector, where there are often not enough mid to advanced level skilled professionals available.
It is not that the talent does not exist. The real problem is competing for that talent with other businesses. In a candidate-driven market, hiring managers can spend time and resources to locate and interview prospective hires. Only to lose them to a counteroffer by their current employer, or by another competitor.
Hiring top tier talent is often compared to as a veritable arms race. Your business needs that talent to grow. Every business is drawing from the same local talent pool. That can lead to escalations in offers, increased salaries, perks, and benefits. At a time when all businesses are closely monitoring their budgets, particularly during the current economic adversities.
2. Expanding Your Operational Intel
How often do businesses evaluate their competitors? Either regionally or internationally? Every day. Because when you are neck-and-neck in a race for market share for your products or services, you need every possible foothold to peer behind the curtain of your largest competitors.
If your business successfully hires an experienced and valuable employee away from one of your competitors? That is a victory in more ways than one. First, you have strengthened your team and potentially weakened your competitor. Second, you can learn a lot from your new hire.
Part of a professional recruitment process is to identify non-competition agreements. Many companies do require a non-competition contract with employees. But if there is no legal obstacle, a former employee of one of your competitors can provide operational insights.
Should you hire back a former employee, that left to work at an organization that directly competes with your business? There is often some hesitancy to rehire but think of the potential benefits. An employee that returns may be more committed to a longer tenure. And they have new experience cultivated by your direct competitor, which can present many opportunities for your business. There is a reason why many businesses prepare a counteroffer when they know a valuable employee is leaving. The departure of experienced impacts productivity. But taking your trade secrets to a competitor can be devastating. And it happens all the time.
3. Cultural Diversification is Valuable
If your corporation sells a product or service globally, cultural diversification is one highly valuable benefit when you hire international employees. Let’s say for instance that your business is planning to expand globally. Are you ready to do business in the new location? How would you rate your understanding of labor laws, regulations, and cultural nuances for that region?
Many businesses explore a new location, by setting up a PEO. A professional employer organization (PEO) helps small and mid-sized businesses manage payroll, taxes, and worker and safety compliance. Access to group benefits are generally too expensive, or not available for small business enterprises. A PEO allows employers to be able to offer competitive health benefits for employees.
A PEO as an employer of record in a new international location can help streamline payroll and human resource administration. That makes the experience feel similar to what employees would experience in a large corporation. This helps to both recruit and retain talent.
When you are planning global expansion, one of the most effective ways to learn about the culture of your new business location, is to hire local to your PEO. For instance, if you were planning to expand to a Latin American country, you would need employees fluent in Spanish. But you would also need to hire professionals who help onboard your company into the cultural aspects of the state, region, or country.
The least successful global expansion case studies that resulted in catastrophic loss. In the majority of instances, there were insufficient resources placed into cultural onboarding. To hire, operate, and grow your business, you need to know more than how to speak the language. You have to embrace the new culture of the region. And the best way to do that is to welcome talented new employees who can help your business make that important transition.
4. Peer to Peer Development of New Skills
What happens when you hire a seasoned and experienced new employee? After you have successfully onboarded them to their new role, they begin to apply their own personal knowledge and talent to your team.
There is a process of diffusion that happens to employees who work with your new hire. Peer to peer collaboration on projects and day to day operations can improve the skills of other members of the team. If the new hire is a high performer, they can inspire some healthy competition that encourages other employees to excel.
The shared insights, knowledge, and experience can improve the skills of all employees who work with the new hire. As your new employee engages and feels more confident in their role, they may share some innovative new methods or approaches. Skill sharing on-the-job can elevate the performance of all members of the team. And that can become a valuable competitive advantage.
With the mass adoption of remote work and the technology to facilitate teams working from home, your business has fewer hiring obstacles. And more experienced candidates to choose from when you expand beyond your locality.
