Global talent acquisition isn’t such a far-fetched idea anymore. In the age of digital recruitment, it’s easy to imagine your company expanding overseas. (Or even into space! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.)
So you’re thinking of bringing on global talent. Or you’re looking to spruce up your current international recruitment process. Either way, it’s a step in the right direction! Global recruiting has many benefits for the right type of company. Is it right for you?
Assessing the benefits of global talent
It’s no secret that creating diversity and reach through an international workforce is appealing. There are many positives to expanding your team across the globe.
1. Exposure
Employer branding and product/service branding go hand in hand. If you are placing job advertisements around the world, you are putting your brand in front of an international audience.
People tend to gravitate toward companies with happy employees. Refine your job ads to display that awesome culture you’re working on! The long-term, positive effects on business will be apparent.
2. Diverse ideas
Global talent doesn’t just open up new avenues for your brand. It doesn’t just add more of the same type of employees. The new global hires you make should certainly be culture fits. However, they will undoubtedly come with new and creative ideas!
Different places around the world have different customs and ways of thinking. For instance, a company in the extroverted, rigid business world of the United States, employers may benefit from hiring Dutch employees that are more laid-back, and vice versa!
Hiring globally will ultimately lead to your company’s new-found ability to think globally. A global growth mindset is crucial to the scaling of today’s businesses.
3. Scalability
Hand-in-hand with exposure and diversity comes scalability. With the expansion of your team into other locations, your business now has a hand in those markets. Are you ready to put your product or service out there?
In this case, you may be looking to hire a product manager or people for the product team that oversees the successful launch of these products in each country.
Global talent will help you do so. Setting up offices around the world not only reflects nicely on your company, but it’s also good for business. You should ensure there is a match not only with their geographic location in such cases, but also with their skills.
4. Flexibility
Candidates that are applying for international jobs are likely to be more open-minded. Flexible jobs are on the rise. 9-to-5 grinds may not be the norm in other countries where you are recruiting! This is something you’ll have to get used to.
However, it will benefit you in ways you wouldn’t expect. Work-life balance leads to more productivity. Flex positions lead to happier employees. And we already learned that happy employees are good for business!
It’s a vicious cycle of positivity.
5. Larger talent pools
Opening up your talent pools to include candidates from other locations means more fish in the pond. This combats labor shortages. These vary geographically. If one market is oversaturated in your area, it will be helpful to source elsewhere.
As a recruiter, gain insight into what locations have the most talent in certain fields. What positions do you need to fill? Start there. You won’t end up settling for an underqualified or non-culture fit. Proximity isn’t the most important thing in a global talent search. Fit is!
6. Extended skill sets
Branching off of the above point, larger talent pools will open up your ability to gain niche talent.
Looking for a Customer Support Agent that speaks a different language? Global talent searches are your best bet. Nuanced jobs like these are just the start of the benefits of recruiting internationally.
7. Operational efficiency
International recruitment requires a level of streamlining. This forces you to whip your hiring process into shape! We will talk about it later in this article, but getting the right strategy and tech to facilitate global hiring is a great stepping stone for growth.
Your team will have to put in hard work. But they will thank you!
8. More attractive opportunities
Your opportunities are now offering more flexibility to potential candidates. In a world where a global workforce is possible, job seekers are actively looking for benefits such as international offices, remote work, and flexible hours. Now you offer that!
9. Inclusive culture
Securing a solid diversity hiring strategy is a highly sought after achievement. Employers always tout diversity, even if it’s not always the case. But you will have it in the bag if you hire internationally. This shows your initiative to other potential candidates in the future. It doesn’t mean changing your culture. You simply expand it.
Preparing to go global
Optimizing your global recruitment process is a key factor in making this all work. Get inspiration from other companies that have done this successfully! Hotjar is a great example. But, make it yours- don’t copy another employer’s global strategy completely.
Take your team dynamics into account. Survey your employees to see how they would like to move forward.
Are they ready for global growth? Make sure that you set your team up for success. These 5 steps will prepare you for the recruitment challenges, hurdles, and exciting advancements to come.
1. Pinpoint the ideal candidate
If you’ve only sourced local candidates previously, think about their strong suits. Why did you choose to do so? Was it due to budget, ease, or habit? Or are your hiring needs geared toward candidates that know the locale?
There are many caveats to knowing whether your ideal candidate(s) can be international. However, it is possible for any company! Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Is your product offered only in one location?
- Does the right fit have to see your team face to face?
- Do you prefer traditional working methods?
- On the flip side, are you open to the possibilities global talent will bring?
You have to consider your hiring preferences as a recruiter/CEO/hiring manager/etc. And you have to take your team’s needs into account.
Where are the gaps in progress? Identify whether or not you need to work on your local team internally. Get things with your culture and processes settled first. Then you can look into expanding your reach.
You don’t want to get ahead of yourselves! Global talent will be on the hunt for forward-thinking companies. Make sure you don’t break their expectations.
2. Identify new sourcing avenues
A new talent market will require different sourcing channels. Dependent on the field you are hiring for, there may be job boards that cater to certain areas. Look into ways to make it apparent that you are sourcing global talent from here on out.
Some avenues to consider are:
- Updating your mission statement on your careers site. Make it obvious that you are open to worldwide talent!
- Including the right lingo in your job titles and descriptions. Is the job remote? Say so. Is it in multiple locations? Check the right boxes.
- Posting on international job boards
- Targeting ads to specific locations. This is easily possible when recruiting on Facebook.
- Highlighting what you can offer global talent. What makes you stand out from their local companies?
3. Acquire regional sensitivity and knowledge
Learn the lay of the land (literally). Different locations will have varying regulations regarding employment. Train your recruitment team on how to approach these discrepancies when recruiting to avoid legal mishaps.
A few examples of these instances include:
- Requirements on certain parts of an application, such as photos. Sometimes, these things are illegal to ask for (or mandatory!);
- Termination laws;
- Time-off policies;
- Visa requirements;
- Exempt and non-exempt rules about overtime;
- Contract (1099) vs. full- or part-time employees (W-2)
- Non-compete agreements.
There are bound to be more tenets that aren’t covered here. Make sure to do your research before hiring someone in another municipality, state, province, or country. There can be benefits to hiring contract workers rather than employees internationally, but there are also drawbacks and legalities involved. It’s worth it to do your global homework!
4. Ensure the right tech is there
Global talent will only be successful if they are properly connected. Although there can be a certain degree of independence with global talent, it’s important to have a system in place.
Whether it’s rigorously connected or not, you’ll want to onboard your local team with the software first. There are several programs to consider to keep your distributed teams on task and in the loop:
- Project management software, like Clickup;
- Team messaging platforms, like Slack;
- Performance management software, like Lattice;
- Time tracking tools, like Toggl;
- Collaborative talent acquisition software, like Recruitee!
There are many other possibilities of tools you can use. Find what works for you and your team! Get everyone used to keeping their activities online. This way, your distributed employees or teams can have access to everything they need to be productive. It will also enhance company culture, even across distances!
5. Allow for multi-language accessibility
Most importantly, you will need to cater to the different languages of locations in which you would like to hire. Sourcing global talent requires a bit of finesse. Here are the reasons why having your recruitment efforts available in multiple languages is crucial during global talent searches:
- It shows initiative and willingness to cater to global talent needs.
- Global talent will appreciate the ease of application.
- Prospective customers will also be able to easily read about your company!
- And it further promotes the idea that you are a diverse, inclusive employer.
The problem is: most companies don’t have time to translate every single careers site, job ad, job description, job title, application, etc.
That’s when tools come in handy! If you have talent acquisition software that comes with multi-language capabilities, you’re set! Recruitee is one such tool. It has multi-language support to keep up with the companies from over 100 countries that use the platform.
Take all of the five steps above into consideration, and start your (effective) search for global talent today!
