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For companies employing staff across multiple countries, it is crucial that they ensure their hiring processes are up to scratch by accounting for local contexts and policies, including employment laws, time zones and cultural norms in each working region.
Too often, companies hire globally without addressing these considerations, which impacts their ability to operate at an international level (and compliantly) and maintain a cohesive and engaging global culture.
Here are three top tips for HR leaders and their teams who are looking to crack the global hiring process in 2023.
Create a global workplace policy and tailor it
By hiring overseas, companies can continue to grow and combat staffing issues associated with Australia’s tight labour market, but it is important that they do so with a strong global workplace policy that is tailored to local markets.
Existing hiring policies are met with varied degrees of success when they are repurposed for international regions, due to differing employment legislation and working requirements. For example, annual, sick, and parental leave entitlements vary greatly across the world, meaning local policies cannot be used in every market.
Instead, companies should first create a foundational global workplace policy and then build on it in each working region they operate in, tailoring it to avoid any discrepancies with local employment regulations.
It is the responsibility of HR leaders to determine which policies will be the most competitive in each market by establishing company-wide leave standards that best benefit staff and attract talent on a global level.
Once companies have a set global policy standard in place, HR teams can then determine how it is best accommodated within the framework of local employment laws. This will facilitate competitive and people-centric policies that foster effective global teams.
Support asynchronous working
The COVID-19 pandemic has heralded a new era for companies and staff around the world, defined by remote working arrangements. Melbourne Institute’s “Taking the Pulse of the Nation” September survey noted that almost 70 per cent of Australians who have been working from home because of the pandemic would like to continue doing so, with half of the respondents stating they are now mostly working from home.
A wholesale shift has occurred in the way we live and work, meaning employee performance is best measured by outcomes, as opposed to time spent in the office.
This has led to companies exploring new ways to entice the skilled workers they need to maintain growth. Jobs that require employees to work the same hours regardless of the time zone they reside in are unattractive to people based overseas and this limits the success of attempts to hire staff, which may be needed to fill skills gaps in-country, on a global scale.
HR leaders should set new expectations for staff about flexible workplace arrangements and give global teams across time zones the flexibility to work asynchronously.
Investing in communications platforms, such as instant messaging and video conferencing tools, enables global teams to feel connected to one another, and to company missions.
As workplaces become increasingly digitalised, companies must prioritise investment in good communications tools that help people collaborate effectively, no matter where or when they work.
Account for shifting global culture
Understanding that global culture is dynamic is a necessary realisation for companies and their teams to perform to the best of their abilities.
Taking employees out for a drink on a Friday is no longer going to tick the culture box. Companies need to be willing to cultivate and nurture a cohesive culture by adopting a global-first mindset that supports employees and ensures they are all working towards the same goals, wherever they are.
HR leaders must convince employees that they are part of a supportive culture, no matter their location. Great initiatives I have seen include offering new hires a week of paid leave to recharge between jobs or sponsoring in-person get-togethers for teams in each region.
Perks like these show employees that the organisation encourages supportive, people-centric company cultures. Creating a positive workplace culture takes time, effort, and creativity, but it is necessary in building team morale and ensuring employees are fully engaged in the work that they do for your company.
Companies can’t compete effectively in the global economy without access to the pool of talent and skills found in international markets. By following these tips, companies can successfully implement a global hiring approach that ensures their teams are competitive worldwide.
Jonathan Perumal is country manager, ANZ at Safeguard Global.
Shandel McAuliffe
Shandel has recently returned to Australia after working in the UK for eight years. Shandel's experience in the UK included over three years at the CIPD in their marketing, marcomms and events teams, followed by two plus years with The Adecco Group UK&I in marketing, PR, internal comms and project management. Cementing Shandel's experience in the HR industry, she was the head of content for Cezanne HR, a full-lifecycle HR software solution, for the two years prior to her return to Australia.
Shandel has previous experience as a copy writer, proofreader and copy editor, and a keen interest in HR, leadership and psychology. She's excited to be at the helm of HR Leader as its editor, bringing new and innovative ideas to the publication's audience, drawing on her time overseas and learning from experts closer to home in Australia.
