The Ultimate Checklist for Global Hiring

Steve Malley, Global Director of Employer of Record (EoR), has put together the ultimate checklist for global hiring to help you bring on the best new global talent for your business venture.

Navigating the ins and outs of global hiring can be an absolute minefield, especially if this is your first time venturing into the world of international business expansion.

However, remote working and global hiring is on the rise, and for very good reason – it can present businesses with amazing opportunities to support their growth and give them access to fresh pools of talent that may have otherwise been unattainable.

To give you a helping hand, Steve Malley, Global Director of Employer of Record (EoR), has put together the ultimate checklist for global hiring to help you bring on the best new global talent for your business venture.

1) Assess Global Talent Needs

You first need to assess your current position. This includes evaluating any talent gaps, identifying specific requirements, and determining whether you have the necessary resources and budgets to accommodate these new hires.

2) Develop a Global Recruitment Strategy

You need to know where you want to hire and where you want to grow before you can start putting the job applications out and reaching out to potential candidates. It might be that certain markets offer greater access to the talent you’re seeking, where other markets are more employer friendly.

As an example, for companies headquartered in the US, there is also a great opportunity to hire qualified bilingual talent on a remote basis across Latin America. With these countries situated in the same time zone, companies can hire candidates at a fraction of similarly qualified US residents.

In a country like Argentina for example, economic uncertainty within its borders can mean an increase in value of certain foreign currencies. One such example is with major US tech companies hiring Argentinean workers to remotely service their operations in Spain, leveraging the value of the EURO against the currently ailing Peso.

Once you’ve decided on your location, it’s important to cultivate an appealing employer brand to attract and retain the best talent. The recruitment market can be competitive, so it’s how you set your business apart from the noise that can get you in front of the kind of talent you want to hire for your business.

3) Source Global Talent

With the above aspects in place, it’s time for you to start sourcing your talent. To help you get started, you should consider leveraging some sort of technology or outsourced provider for recruitment.

You can also utilize international job boards and agencies, or even attend global job fairs and actively begin networking. This phase is all about getting your company brand in front of candidates and sharing why your company is setup for success.

4) Screen and Select Candidates

You’ve highlighted the talent you want to hire, so now it’s time to conduct the interview processes.

When interviewing candidates from different countries, it can be beneficial to implement cross-cultural interview techniques, showing an understanding of their culture.

In this part of the process, you should also conduct thorough reference checks and right to work checks.

5) What infrastructure do you need to hire internationally?

From here, you need to consider how the organization will be structured – will you set up a physical entity or opt for an Employer of Record (EoR)?

Typically, businesses will go to an accountant or a lawyer to determine their infrastructure; however, they can only give top-level platform recommendations instead of delving deeper to truly understand the businesses’ reasons for global expansion.

Businesses should find someone to help them make these evaluated decisions with the business’s long-term success in mind.

So, why choose EoR solutions?

Whilst EoR solutions have been around for years, the effects of the pandemic and the introduction of “Work From Anywhere” meant that remote working was pushed into the mainstream for businesses, and as such, EoR solutions became an increasingly popular option for businesses looking to hire internationally without the need for a legal entity.

Acting as a quick-to-market, mitigated risk solution, EoR provides businesses with access to fresh pool of talents in various countries, meaning they can conduct global business expansion with minimal chances of risk, such as violating local employment or tax laws.

6) Ensure Legal Compliance

A very important step that cannot be overlooked is ensuring legal compliance.

For this, you must navigate the visa and work permit requirements where applicable and ensure you’re maintaining legal and data protection compliance every step of the way.

Employers need to have a firm understanding of the different local laws and regulations in different markets, and ensure they are complying with them. When hiring in multiple countries, this can quickly become complicated, so it’s important to have the right support on hand to guide you through the process.

For reference, here are some areas of legal compliance that need to be factored in:

Payroll compliance
Tax compliance
Local labor laws
Annual leave
Remote work compliance
Equipment compliance

7) Onboard and Integrate Globally

You’ve hired your new talent – this is an exciting step in the growth of your business!

To ensure your new talent beds in the company, we recommend creating a robust onboarding program. This is especially important when hiring remote staff, as they need to feel integrated into the company and involved in the company, despite working from a different location.

To support this, you should foster cross-border collaboration and communication, keeping in regular contact with your new hire to ensure they have everything they need and are settling into the company smoothly.

8) Manage and Retain Global Talent

Once you’ve successfully hired the new talent, it’s time to turn your focus to retention.

To do this, you should prioritize areas such as performance management, utilizing HR and People solutions.

It’s also important to keep on top of and address any cultural challenges and conflicts as and when they arise. This will ensure that you’re presented as an employer that actively works with its remote teams to keep employees happy, while also ensuring effective business operations.

As you can see, there are various steps involved in global hiring, some quite extensive, and multiple areas to consider that you might not have realized. From ensuring smooth onboarding, to navigating the complexities of compliance requirements in different markets, what seems like a simple list can soon become complex and time consuming.