Recruiting internationally can open many doors for organizations, offering greater diversity, larger talent pools, and more clout in their market. But, it also comes with some major challenges and considerations.
This article will walk you through some key considerations you should be aware of when recruiting internationally, and will offer some strategies to make it easier.
Let’s get started!
Why you should consider recruiting internationally
Recruiting internationally, or hiring individuals outside of your home country of operation, offers many benefits to companies who are looking to expand their footprint and diversify their talent pools.
In particular, international recruiting can help:
- Expand your operations into and knowledge of new markets and territories
- Expand your talent pool, by opening you up to a literal whole new world of potential candidates
- Boost diversity within your organization, leading to new ideas, perspectives, and innovation
- Position you as an international company, and one who is a bigger player in your industry than if you had remained local
- Boost your international competitiveness and presence in new markets, allowing you to land a more diversified portfolio of customers
- Unlock a culture of remote work and cross timezone collaboration, freeing employees up to work in the settings that they choose
- Offer insights into the market that you may not have had before
Many of the core benefits of recruiting internationally map back to the value of diversity within your organization. The more people that you recruit from “diverse” backgrounds, the wider range of knowledge, insights, and skill sets you’ll have within your organization to solve problems and innovate.
Coupled with a concerted effort to ensure that your workplace is inclusive, international recruitment can be a major advantage for any organization willing to take the leap.
Of course, recruiting internationally is not without its challenges and considerations. Let’s explore some of those now.
Key considerations and challenges when recruiting internationally
For organizations looking to start recruiting internationally, it can be tough to know where to start or what considerations need to be taken into account.
Here are seven of the most important considerations and challenges that you should consider.
1. Unique and changing employment laws across the world
When you hire a person, you have to ensure that you’re adhering to all relevant employment laws in that person’s area of operation. These laws, of course, vary dramatically from country to country, and even region to region. What works in the United States, for example, could be very different from the rules that are applied in Europe.
In particular, international recruiters and hiring managers should be aware of rules that dictate:
- Required benefits
- Vacation time
- Taxation
- Paid or unpaid leave
- Termination
- Notice period
That list isn’t exhaustive, but it gives you an idea of the different factors that you need to consider when extending an offer and hiring international employees.
2. Localization factors for job ads
Every region will have unwritten rules, cultural considerations, and nuances that dictate how international candidates will read and interpret your recruitment ads. Again, what works in one market will likely not work in another.
This is made even trickier if you’re recruiting in multiple languages. In these cases, you’ll need to ensure that your translation is up to par, but also that you’re using the right words, phrases, and nuance in your recruitment ads to convey your message accurately.
3. Increased recruitment costs
International recruitment requires you to look in many more places, and use more resources, than you would if you were to just recruit locally. This is likely to increase the amount of money and time you need to allocate to each job opening.
That’s not to say that this can’t be done efficiently, but is rather intended to point out that widening your net to an international market is likely to also widen your investment in recruitment.
4. Larger influx of candidates
Widening your net to catch more fish, if you do it right, usually leads to just that: more fish. That’s a good thing, but only if you have the technology and resources in place to parse through all of those fish (or resumes).
You’ll also notice that the job of shortlisting candidates becomes a bit trickier as your volume of inbound candidates grows, and the diversity of candidates expands. Because of this, you may want to revisit how you process resumes, and the screening parameters you use.
5. Transforming diversity into inclusivity
Hiring a diverse pool of international candidates is one thing, but you also need to consider how effectively those international hires are able to integrate into the workforce, and how welcome they feel with your existing employees.
This is where a concerted effort to make your workplace more inclusive comes into play. As you expand internationally, you’ll need to set up the correct policies, processes, and communication channels to ensure that you foster a culture of inclusivity that values and thrives upon this newfound diversity.
6. Retaining and expanding your company culture
International employees who join your company should feel that they are just as much a part of the culture as any other employee. It’s easy to say, but much harder to accomplish when you have remote workers spread around the globe.
That’s because it can be tough to mimic the culture and communication of a geographically centralized company when large portions of the company are remote. As such, it’s essential that you take steps to ensure that all employees, regardless of location, feel connected to the mission and like they are a valued member of the team.
7. Cultural considerations
It should be a surprise to no one that different cultures have different conventions, values, and priorities in a business setting. This is well documented, and should be a major consideration when recruiting internationally.
These cultural nuances should be taken into consideration from when you first approach a candidate for an interview, all the way through to when they join your company as a new hire. If they’re not, you run the risk of inadvertently driving a strong candidate away due to a simple cultural misunderstanding.
Strategies for recruiting internationally
While there are many challenges and considerations to take into account before recruiting internationally, following these strategies will give you a better chance of success.
1. Define your ideal candidate
Clearly defining your ideal candidate should be a first step in any hiring campaign. This is especially true in international recruiting where the volume of applicants is higher, and diversity is a major factor.
Work with your hiring manager - and their team - to determine what characteristics and skills the candidate must have to be successful. This will help you zero in on the type of person you’re looking for, and will make it much easier to screen and shortlist high potential candidates.
2. Identify new sourcing platforms
Expanding to international recruiting means finding new sourcing channels that will allow you to tap into a global talent pool.
To do so, consider channels like:
- International job boards
- Geo-targeted advertising on social media
- Direct outreach via social, forums, or localized industry groups
- International colleges and university events
- Search optimization that includes the geographies in which you’re looking to expand
Coupled with your existing sourcing channels, you should be able to collect a strong pool of diverse candidates from your chosen geographies. As always, be sure to test and refine your sourcing strategies as success data becomes available.
3. Ensure that you offer multi-language accessibility
Recruiting internationally means accommodating the many different languages that your candidates may speak. It doesn’t mean you have to account for all languages, but you should consider localizing your application process into the primary languages associated with your international recruiting targets.
If you do this, however, you need to make sure that someone on your team - or an outside resource - is able to read those applications. Ideally, your ATS should also have multi-language capabilities that allow you to automate shortlisting.
4. Build an international employer brand
Your employer brand is critical to enticing potential candidates to apply. This is true whether your company hires at a city level or a global level. If you’re looking to hire internationally, you should look to reposition yourself as a global employer, and one who values diversity and inclusion.
To do so, consider channels like your:
- Careers site
- About Us, Our Mission, and Our Values pages
- Employee stories pages
- Social media pages
Expand your messaging on all of these channels to focus on how you view yourself on a global scale. Talk about your organization as an international company, and one that is committed to - and values - diversity and inclusion as a strength.
5. Tailor your recruitment ads to specific regions
As mentioned, certain words, phrases, and even promises may resonate differently from region to region. It’s important, therefore, that you understand the business practices and employment expectations of the people who live and work in your target locales.
Research what language is typically used in recruitment ads for your target region, and write them to fit into that region. If in doubt, ask your network of recruiters, or even consult an outside localization service for advice.
6. Develop a diversity and inclusion policy
It’s not enough to hire for diversity. You also need to take the appropriate steps to ensure that your workplace actively communicates and promotes the value and importance of inclusion.
To do so, you’ll need to create a diversity and inclusion policy that outlines:
- What diversity and inclusion means at your organization
- What steps and investments you’re making to foster diversity and inclusion
- The behaviors that will not be tolerated in the context of inclusion
- The training and support you offer employees to educate them on the values of diversity and inclusion
Make this policy, and your commitment to diversity and inclusion, a cornerstone of your employer brand and message.
7. Start hiring internationally at the right time
Not all companies - especially smaller ones or start ups - will have the capacity to hire internationally right away. Unless you’re able to develop a strong base of policies and legal backing to confidently hire and work internationally, you might want to consider building out a critical mass of local employees first.
When you’re ready to allocate the time, resources, and support required to hire and expand internationally, then this is the time you should branch out. Doing some prematurely can set your organization up for headaches in the long run.
8. Find ways to work, collaborate, and communicate remotely
Again: hiring internationally is one thing. Working internationally is a different ballgame entirely. The more international employees you have, the more likely it will be that your teams will have to collaborate remotely.
As we all know since the outbreak of the pandemic, working remotely offers unique challenges. Chief among them is collaboration and communication. As such, companies who recruit internationally should also make sure that they provide the right tools, training, and flexibility that employees will require to work effectively in a remote environment.
9. Find someone who understands international recruiting
There are two ways for a company to become proficient at international recruiting: learning it themselves over time, or hiring/outsourcing somebody who already has that knowledge.
If you’re looking to scale your international recruiting quickly, then the latter option is likely for you. Look to hire or outsource a recruitment professional who has a strong understanding of all the points made in this article, as well as:
- Hiring regulations for target locales
- Visa requirements
- Outreach and localization tactics
- Tax codes
- Any other consideration that may arise when recruiting international talent
Recruiting internationally is different from local recruitment: clearly. Getting help from someone who has been there, done that will make the transition process a lot easier.
Diversifying your workforce with international recruiting is a critical next step for companies looking to expand their bench talent, and gain footholds into global markets. It’s a near requirement in today’s globalized world that growing companies, especially in the digital space, expand beyond their own borders.
Because of this, international recruiting has become, and will continue to be, a major asset for companies with the knowledge and resources to do it correctly.
