If your company is feeling the pinch of hiring difficulties, help may be on the way. By broadening your horizons beyond the nation’s borders, you can attract employees with the skills you need to reach business goals.
Expanding internationally by way of bringing on remote employees can fill your vexing talent gaps and improve your company’s bottom line. And getting started with hiring global talent is easier than ever, with benefits beyond filling openings in your organization chart.
1. International Talent Can Drive Innovation
Everyone wants to be at the cutting edge, but by definition, that aspiration isn’t possible for everyone. However, your team can benefit from expanding its breadth globally. Bringing on international talent can provide new perspectives, techniques, and ideas otherwise unavailable stateside.
Blend your team with global talent that can help diversify your makeup, focusing on developing cohesion and fostering innovation. Some international hires may have exposure to emerging trends or can offer insight into new business circles. Oftentimes, even the most forward-looking leaders can have blinders on when it comes to innovation. The way work has always been done needn’t be the rule, and fresh perspectives can be game-changers for organizations.
If you’ve never hired internationally, the process may feel arduous. Thankfully, growing across the globe has gotten easier thanks to technology and experienced service providers. An employer of record or professional employer organization can be a partner in your global expansion endeavor.
Both EORs and PEOs can help you onboard international team members, but they vary in how much responsibility they assume. They can both handle human resources tasks, but there is one crucial difference. With a PEO, you’re required to establish a local business entity in the country where you wish to hire employees. An EOR, on the other hand, acts as this legal entity on your behalf — no branch office or subsidiary required. Consider the benefits of an EOR vs. PEO to determine which option would be a better fit for your organization.
2. Your Business Can Better Serve Its Customers
If your company serves global customers, it’s in your best interest to be available when they are. Chatbots are useful as far as they go, but sometimes human assistance is required. Distributed teams can bridge the gap between traditional stateside working hours and customers in other time zones with less complexity. When your company has a customer-facing commitment to uphold, diversifying your work hours offers big benefits.
If you’re in a technical field, for example, you need engineers ready to trouble-shoot and execute solutions at all times. Being tied to a U.S.-based work schedule can make providing this assistance more complicated and/or expensive. With domestic teams, you may need to offer shift differentials to contact center representatives in exchange for working odd hours. Equipping a global talent base with the means to serve your customers can fulfill the need more cost-effectively.
Consider your time-bound requirements and determine whether international expansion can benefit your company. Expansion can give your existing team breathing room if they’ve been understaffed. Providing employees with more time to serve client needs can result in better service and greater job satisfaction. Aligning work schedules with time zones can allow you to expand availability without the headache.
3. Lower Overhead Costs Can Free Up Capital for Growth
By now, it’s a given that remote work can reduce capital expenditure for companies big and small. Global teams with remote work setups eliminate the brick-and-mortar needs of traditional businesses. High-performing technology, including collaboration tools and file-sharing capabilities, are key to making this space-saving remote work possible.
First, assess your current workforce and determine whether you’ve got remote work right with your existing team. If not, identify potential changes and implement them before you launch your international expansion efforts. This may include developing processes for autonomous work, collaboration tool usage, file sharing, and safe data management practices.
You’ll also want to budget for enhanced tech needs and figure out how you’ll deliver tools and equipment across the globe. This step can help ensure your expansion plan will be well-executed and set your international hires up for success. Next, you’ll need to document your global processes and procedures to keep everyone in alignment.
Lastly, train your leaders and staff with how you’ll work on a global scale. Plan for long-term training and reinforcement to ensure alignment and retention as your team grows. Recaptured capital from minimizing your physical footprint can be deployed in whatever way your business needs to. You may want to further grow your team, invest in technology, pursue capital-dependent research, or save funds for future projects.
The World Is Getting Smaller, But Your Business Is Ripe for Growth
In today’s business climate, location matters less and less. What has moved to the forefront of importance is the solutions and services you offer your clients. As a leader, it’s essential for you to think about how your organization can continue to delight your customers.
Beyond products and services, it’s the “who” that matters when you think about delivering results. When you staff your teams with top domestic and international talent, you can deliver on your brand promise. With global team members playing to their strengths, you’ll be able to grow with confidence, no matter their postal code.
