Written by Ben Gateley, Charlie HR
One of the biggest human resources trends for organisations right now is being able to recruit around the world for the very best talent. As skilled and in-demand staff seek fuller life experiences, and a better balance between work and leisure, they are increasingly widening their boundaries and seeking opportunities abroad or with foreign companies in their home markets.
This development is raising a number of issues for British employers, including compliance with differing international employment and legal standards and navigating the complex web of visas and immigration law for firms that want to bring overseas talent onto UK shores. Larger employers are responding by conducting experiments including allowing complete home working in return for lower pay and Friday afternoons off in the summer, However, there’s much that smaller and mid-sized operations can also do to help them compete for talent anywhere in the world.
Think Global
Approaching this issue begins with thinking globally, advertising roles on as many job boards as possible and in a wide range of international markets to attract diverse candidates from different areas and sectors. Consider the likely expectations of potential future team members in different markets and consider how your company values and practices might play out in other cultures. Could you steal a march on competitors by recruiting in markets and segments where they’re not already looking?
However, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel, as some key components of what you already offer may compare favourably with what’s on offer in potential employees’ home markets. Communicate the flexibility and well-being benefits, including health insurance, flexible working plans for mothers and gym memberships, that you already offer. Be totally transparent about salaries, bonuses and benefits so that nothing gets lost in translation.
Get Specialist Support
There are practical matters to consider, such as visa applications and rules around the sponsorship of employees, which vary widely across countries. It’s a very good idea to get specialist support in this area as, even if you intend to employ international team members on a remote working basis, you’ll still have to comply with laws and regulations in their home nations. Such employees will still need setting up on payroll and in national tax systems.
Then there will be different laws and expectations on maternity and paternity rights. Seek specialist legal advice on navigating such issues and take time to review your human resources operations, considering whether you can improve your onboarding or recruitment processes or make other changes to your work culture.
Consider creating a Nomad Working Policy
At CharlieHR, we have launched a nomad working policy for our own team, which means that they can now work anywhere in the world – with only a few limits for a set number of days each year. We believe this has put us in a much better position not only operationally, but also in our ability to address the current climate and growing demand for working abroad.
The new policy is already helping us recruit and retain valuable team members, as well as spreading the word that CharlieHR is a forward-thinking and progressive place to work. Another highly-beneficial result is that we have added drafting bespoke nomad working policies to the wide range of HR services we already offered clients.
The response has been fantastic and our passport is getting stamped with new clients. As you adapt to working around the world, take some tips from seasoned travellers who already know the best routes.
Ben Gateley is CEO and Co-Founder of CharlieHR, a service which offers on-demand HR advice and HR software for thousands of UK SMEs.