It’s customary to begin introductory discussions of any business-related topic with a deep dive into the usually precarious economic conditions and an acknowledgment of any significant challenges that lay ahead of entrepreneurs trying to be ahead of the game. We’ll be taking a break from tradition by stating right at the outset that times are not so desperate. The race for recruitment is real and immediate, but it was always there. Organizational leaders have struggled with sourcing the right talent for a long time. No matter when you read this, a certain industry or segments of industries will be undergoing critical changes.
And even if all processes are streamlined and effective, unforeseen circumstances (like pandemics or natural disasters) can force us to rethink perfectly healthy business conditions.
What is ‘global hiring’?
How has global hiring evolved?
Outsourcing was initially a strictly regulated area, and cross-border delegation of payroll and/or certain manufacturing processes was admittedly begun solely to cut costs. Textiles, automotive, and electronics had sent many of their processes overseas by the middle of the twentieth century. Again, these jobs were sent to low-wage countries to reduce expenses. General Electric was probably the best-known company to do this during the sixties and seventies. Countries like India, the Philippines, and China emerged as some of the best places to offshore entire operations during the IT boom of the nineties.
Outsourcing and offshoring are often used synonymously, but for the sake of clarity, outsourcing means involving a third party in the business process, while offshoring usually refers to sending a specific task or process to a different country.
Gradually, customer service, human resources, finances, and other non-primary processes began to be offshored, giving rise to the concept of BPOs. Eventually this gave way to KPOs, where businesses offshored crucial business activities like specialized research and analytics.
It isn’t uncommon for companies to offshore processes not only to India or China, but to countries in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Additionally, offshoring isn’t limited to IT or manufacturing anymore; legal services, education, marketing, and designing jobs are also offshored now, as befits a truly globalized world. Freelance editors, writers, and video makers on Fiverr/Upwork who cater to international businesses had already been a regular part of this equation for more than ten years.
We are standing on the edge of something that promises to change the game, especially as tech has transformed the way we understand the words ‘global’ and ‘hiring’. Will robotic automation eventually take over all sourcing practices? Robotics and AI – very much a double-edged sword at the moment – render multiple entry-level roles irrelevant, but they are also poised to become a constant in every office. Companies will increasingly choose to integrate AI-powered solutions into hiring and team management. Of course, not every effort to boost efficiency and cut costs has a smooth journey, but we know these efforts are on their way.
Modes of global hiring
Part of these enterprises are already working. Multiple hybrid models of work exist to counter the many genuine challenges of global hiring. There are businesses that:
– Build entire full-time teams in a different country
– Hire some (or many) skilled part-timers in a different country
–Work with contractors on specific time-bound projects
An ideal team is a combination of onsite (there are many crucial roles that are location-sensitive) and overseas talent. It’s possible for headquarters to not have as many experts as you need in your field; you might be interested in spreading the risk across separate locations. Whatever the reason, hiring talent globally is an accessible solution for most businesses today.
The accessibility is a by-product of the straightforward nature of the process, since tech makes most of the steps very simple, and hiring – whether within borders or crossborder – entails a fairly streamlined series of activities. It would be a good idea to break this down into bite-sized portions.
How to ‘globally hire’: The first steps
Admittedly the process begins with the toughest job of all: looking for the best place to source from. Alternately, you might choose to keep all your options open.
1. Going through résumés and choosing shortlisted candidates is a location-agnostic step
2. Remote onboarding is a genuinely difficult thing, but guided offshoring services make it easier. You might choose not to opt for any offshoring assistance, and this is as valid as getting assistance. It’s your choice, and yours alone.
3. Compliance and payroll services exist, and many current e-platforms simplify these tasks .
4. Slack, Discord, and Teams make remote team management inexpensive and easy
An ideal team is a combination of onsite (there are many crucial roles that are location-sensitive) and overseas talent. It’s possible for headquarters to not have as many experts as you need in your field; you might be interested in spreading the risk across separate locations. Whatever the reason, hiring talent globally is an accessible solution for most businesses today.
The accessibility is a by-product of the straightforward nature of the process, since tech makes most of the steps very simple, and hiring – whether within borders or crossborder – entails a fairly streamlined series of activities. It would be a good idea to break this down into bite-sized portions.
