4 Mistakes Companies Make When Recruiting Internationally
Make the right choices.
There are countless resources out there for hiring new employees. From job sites to social media platforms, qualified workers are everywhere. Sometimes, these qualified workers are even located on different continents from your business. Integrating an international workforce can have huge benefits for a company, especially when developing different and creative ways to approach decisions. This integration can also prove difficult, leading many organizations to have a hard time finding international employees.
Here are four of the common reasons why a significant number of companies struggle to recruit internationally:
1. They’re Not Looking In The Right Places
You may know precisely where to find top-notch employees and how to reach out to them in a way to garners great results. What you may be overlooking, however, is that the right place to look can vary significantly depending on where you’re looking from. Web sites, industry organizations and social media platforms can be vastly different from one country to the next, and the types of places where workers go to find jobs in their home countries could be options you’ve never even considered in yours.
2. They Don’t Understand Cultural Differences
Another reason that employers often have a difficult time recruiting workers internationally is that they don’t know how to effectively communicate with them. This has nothing to do with language barriers, but instead concerns cultural ones. Perhaps domestic applicants are focused on a position’s base salary and bonus opportunities, but that same thought process doesn’t always apply around the globe. For some international applicants, a higher emphasis may be put on the level of respect allocated to a certain job or having sufficient vacation time each year to spend relaxing and with their families.
3. Compensation Packages Aren’t Sufficient Enough
Perhaps you feel that the compensation packages you offer to new employees are sufficient, or are maybe even an attractive part of your employment offer. This might be true when trying to draw employees within a major metropolitan area or from another state through job search engines, but are you offering the right level of compensation to encourage someone to move around the world? For many international workers, there is a premium needed to make up for often having to leave friends and family much farther than a short drive or flight behind to relocate for a new job.
4. Government Laws Or Regulations Get In The Way
Any business owner or job recruiter who has hired a non-citizen knows that there can sometimes be a notable amount of government bureaucracy and red tape to wade through before bringing the new hire on board. This undoubtedly can prove a challenge for some, and for others it could completely shy them away from recruiting internationally at all. Before trying to find workers across the globe, be sure to understand (or consult with an expert who does) the appropriate procedures for remaining compliant with all laws.
Choosing the right person for an open position in your organization may require searching outside of your local geographic area. You may even need to search outside of your country or continent. Hiring international employees has a number of benefits, but it can also be a difficult goal to achieve. Before going on the hunt, be sure to look at your strategy for acquiring the best employees and make sure that it fits well with the international job market. Not taking the time to do so could lead to a fruitless search and countless wasted HR hours.
About the Author
Edd Rennolls works as a freelancer and enjoys that it provides him with the ability to work from anywhere. Edd has worked with teams from all over the world and understands why some businesses have trouble reaching into international settings.
