Going Global: Hiring the right talent as you expand internationally

Historically, hiring globally has been a luxury only enterprise-level businesses can afford. Why? Because of the time, resource, and risk involved with having an international employee base. 

Now though, the move to remote work and the so-called “global talent shortage” means that more and more companies are hiring globally. Though it’s important to note that the amount of work involved is the same, regardless of the size of your business. So, understanding your options and knowing how to get it right is key. 

Ultimately, it isn’t a linear process. How you can hire varies in different countries. Some allow you to set up solely as a hiring entity, while others require a business entity, or an employer of record. 

Which route you take will be dependent on where you expand to, your business stage, and team capacity. (More on this here).

If you do decide to hire outside of your local region, there are a number of things to be aware of before you hit go on those job descriptions: 

1. Employment law: Similar to payments and sales tax, employment regulation varies across jurisdictions. The laws by which employees are governed can depend on where they’re from as well as where they’re working. The affected policies are wide-ranging, including Leave and Absence, Compensation, Pensions, and Benefits. There are also different rules that apply to full-time employees and independent contractors.

2. Employee expectations: As well as your legal obligations, you’ll also need to consider the different expectations from employees in different regions. Particularly when it comes to the compensation and benefits packages you offer. Salaries in particular differ greatly across regions – and should take into account cost of living and other economic factors. 

3. Attracting the right talent: Do your research to find the job boards and networks that work with the type of talent you’re looking for locally. You should also adhere to local expectations when it comes to the application process and job descriptions.

In addition to reaching the right talent and staying compliant, hiring a global team brings with it a whole host of new challenges for your People and People Operations teams. They’ll need to think about: 

• Onboarding new team members around the world.
• How you can develop and keep your company culture across borders. 
• How you’ll ensure your company values are upheld.
• How teams will work together across time zones. 
• How you’ll ensure an inclusive experience for each employee, wherever they’re based.  

For this, it’s a good idea to review your tech stack and make sure it’s set up to support a global team. For example, you can use tooling to:

• Empower your in-house teams to manage international hiring and employees. Teams can use these tools to send automated reminders to track important dates for compliance and ensure you’re following labor laws in each country.
  
• Streamline offers and onboarding. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) like Greenhouse and eSignature software like DocuSign are an easy way to manage hiring processes and ensure contracts are agreed upon. You can also use cloud-based HR and onboarding systems to remove friction from a new starter’s first few weeks at the company.
  
• Encourage collaborative work. Project management tools like G Suite, Asana, and Monday.com work well for global teams, and should be able to scale with you wherever you are.
  
• Support asynchronous work. Using scheduling functionality across email, and messaging tools like Slack, helps manage working across different time zones. You can also use tools like Notion or Nuclino as an internal resource or knowledge hub to help people upskill in areas and find solutions to any issues they might be having. 

The content in this blog post was originally included in our Selling SaaS globally handbook. 

This comprehensive guide covers insights and advice for each team in your business as you consider expanding internationally. Check it out here.