How to Build a Successful Global Talent Acquisition Strategy

What if you could fill open roles with the world’s best talent rather than whoever happens to live in your city? The rise of remote work has shown us that physical distance is no longer a barrier to teamwork. With talent shortages projected to cost $8.5 trillion in unrealized revenue by 2030, forward-thinking companies are starting to look beyond borders to find the talent they need. A globally diverse team might even be a competitive advantage, boosting performance by bringing together a wider range of perspectives, skill sets, and problem-solving approaches. For companies open to remote and distributed work, global talent acquisition represents an opportunity to access a larger and more diverse talent pool, break into new markets and territories, gain consumer insights from around the world, and understand global trends. From overcoming local skills shortages to seizing new business opportunities, a global team could be instrumental to your company’s success. If you want to expand your team across borders, below are some actionable tips to help you build a successful global talent acquisition strategy. We’ll discuss why and how to get started, how to ensure equity and fairness, and best practices for managing and retaining your international team. The key benefits of a global talent acquisition strategy If your company is considering global talent acquisition, below are some key benefits of hiring international employees. Increased access to talent When you recruit globally, your talent pool is potentially as vast as the whole world. You can find the best employees anywhere. When you recruit locally, you’re fishing in the same pond as everybody else. This is a common problem in big tech hubs like San Francisco, New York, and London. If you’re based in San Francisco and looking for engineers in the Bay Area, a lot of big companies are looking for the same ones, and they can pay more. But if you’re open to hiring engineers in other countries, you find a much greater availability of talent because you’ve moved beyond that highly competitive and oversaturated market. Source: Oyster Ability to scale talent quickly By removing the geographical constraints, you can scale more quickly, thanks to increased access to talent. One surefire way to stop local labor shortages from stunting your growth is by recruiting globally for hard-to-fill roles that require highly specialized or in-demand skills. International team members can also help you gain insights into markets and trends and take your brand presence to those regions. You’ll be better positioned to reach new audiences for your products or services. Greater diversity If you hire only within your city, you’re limited to who lives there and what that population looks like. But when you have a global talent strategy, you can intentionally hire a diverse group of people. It allows you to bring in a diversity of race, gender, nationality, or disability – all of which enrich your company culture by offering new experiences and ways of thinking. A varied set of perspectives and skill sets results in creative approaches to solving problems, driving innovation. Cost-conscious growth A company’s biggest expense is often its people. If you hire only in expensive markets like the US or the UK, salaries are significantly higher than in other countries, so a great way to lower your headcount costs is to recruit talent around the world. This also allows you to pay competitive, above-market rates in Tier 2 and 3 countries while still paying less than in a Tier 1 country. Time zone coverage By recruiting globally, you can build a distributed team that spans multiple time zones. This means you can serve clients who need 24-hour coverage. For instance, a customer service team might need to have continuous availability to address important consumer issues, or an IT support team might need to have staff available at all times to keep systems running smoothly or respond to critical incidents. In such cases, a globalized workforce seamlessly cares for customers around the world and the clock. Setting a strong foundation for your global talent acquisition strategy Acquiring global talent complicates the hiring process. There’s a lot to consider – regional job markets, time zones, tools and processes, compliance issues, payroll, benefits, and a lot of unexpected things. Confirm that all is well internally, and make sure you have a global talent acquisition strategy in place. A thoughtful and intentional approach will set you up for success. Align with company leadership Make sure you’re clear about the company’s needs and objectives for recruiting global talent. Below are some key questions you can ask to help figure those out. What skills do you have on the team, and which ones do you need? Are there any skills that have been hard to find? You can conduct a skills gap and needs analysis to determine which roles you might want to recruit globally. How global do you want to go? Do you want to have a fully distributed team? Or do you want to hire clusters of people in regional hubs? Are there specific time zones that you need to cover? Do you need your distributed team to have a certain amount of overlap in their working hours? How do you plan to pay your international hires? What about benefits? Time off and pension? Do you envision handling payroll and legal compliance by opening your own entities in those countries or by partnering with a company that can do it for you? Analyze the local markets Once you’ve identified where you want to look for talent, research to understand local employment laws and hiring practices so you comply with legal and tax regulations. Beyond the legal requirements, cultural norms and expectations differ from yours, so learn about local customs and cultural differences to appreciate and respect the worlds your candidates come from. If you’re new to recruiting globally, start in markets where you know the talent exists and then widen out. Some countries are known for their customer support talent, and others are emerging hubs for engineers. The more you explore local markets, the more you’ll notice patterns. Choose the right tools You need to equip your global recruiting team with the right tools to pave the way for success. Three of the most important tools you need are: An applicant tracking system to help you manage applications, review candidates, and move them through the funnel. A scheduling tool to plan interviews and manage time zones. An interview intelligence tool to record interviews and create AI summaries to share with the hiring team for async review and feedback. In addition to the recruiting tools above, you also need other tools in place so you’re ready to hire and employ the talent you find. Make sure you make use of an employer of record or a global employment platform to handle compliance, payroll, and benefits. Set yourself up to scale The more you put systems and processes in place early on, the easier it’ll be to scale later. First, give hiring managers simple workflows, processes, and templates so they’re empowered to move candidates forward without having to rely on talent acquisition leadership at every step. This speeds things up, which makes a difference if your business needs to scale quickly or candidates have other opportunities. Then, you set up solid procedures and automation to help pare down the work. Record everything so everyone has access to the references they need. Particularly for remote and distributed environments, clear and thorough documentation helps maintain consistent, efficient, and scalable processes. Ensuring fairness and equity in your global talent acquisition process When you’re hiring around the world, you have to work harder than usual to make certain all candidates are treated the same regardless of where they’re located. This can be challenging since cultural norms and expectations vary widely, and you also need to comply with local regulations. Still, these concerns shouldn’t stop you from designing a hiring process that’s as fair and equitable as possible. Source: Oyster Create a consistent candidate experience Prepare a structured interview process so that every single applicant meets the same people who ask them the same questions and rate them on the same criteria. Plan the interview process at the very beginning before you even post the job. Create a recruitment playbook that outlines for every interviewer, the purpose of each interview, 5-7 questions that they will ask every candidate, and the evaluation criteria. This ensures that every candidate goes through the same process, which helps you make fair and consistent decisions. Use tools that enable fair evaluation Provide interviewers with a rubric for evaluating candidates that aligns with the criteria you’re looking for. This helps ensure that candidates are evaluated consistently and objectively. Additionally, consider using blind screening tools that hide identifying information such as name, gender, and location to reduce unconscious bias in the selection process. Set clear communication standards Communicate openly and transparently with candidates throughout the hiring process. Let them know what to expect, what the timeline looks like, and how they can reach out with questions or concerns. Make sure all candidates receive timely feedback on their application status and interview performance. This not only helps maintain a positive candidate experience but also reflects positively on your employer brand. Provide training on diversity and inclusion Ensure that everyone involved in the hiring process, from recruiters to interviewers to hiring managers, is trained on diversity and inclusion best practices. This includes understanding unconscious bias, promoting diversity in candidate selection, and creating an inclusive workplace culture. By fostering a diverse and inclusive hiring process, you’ll attract top talent from around the world and build a strong, innovative team. By following these tips and best practices, you can build a successful global talent acquisition strategy that helps your company access the best talent from around the world. With a diverse and inclusive team, you’ll be well-positioned to drive innovation, solve complex problems, and achieve long-term success.



Source link