International Recruitment: Cost-Effective but Complex Tool
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International Recruitment: Cost-Effective but Complex Tool

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Cinthya Alaniz Salazar By Cinthya Alaniz Salazar | Journalist & Industry Analyst - Thu, 10/14/2021 - 13:20

You can watch the video of this presentation here.

Remote work has opened the doors to international recruitment, where companies will have recourse to highly qualified talent from around the world to enrich innovation and expand their presence without having to open physical offices abroad. However, hiring abroad entails unknown socio-political contexts and regulatory compliance processes that can be difficult and expensive to navigate. This should not intimidate companies from looking abroad, said Ricardo Guerra, Director of Business Development at Globalization Partners.

The COVID-19 pandemic proved to formerly resistant companies that remote work is not only doable, but effective. Findings from a study commissioned by Microsoft, Boston Consulting Group and KRC Research found that 82 percent of executives reported that productivity levels remained the same or increased after shifting to remote work. Plainly observable results from the pandemic have pushed about 78 percent of CEOs to accept remote work as a corporate norm, according to a PWC survey. Going forward about 80 percent of companies plan to allow employees to work remotely at least part-time after the pandemic, found a Garner Study.

Since corporate perception on remote work happened relatively abruptly, there is no uniform standard about remote work hiring and workforce management—nor should it be. Employers understand that their hiring process should be different but this is an ongoing process for many companies. If hiring domestically is a challenge, companies looking abroad should understand that this entails cultural singularities and legal processes which can take anywhere from six months to a year says Guerra. In this context outsourcing this task to a specialized third party makes sense and is more efficient.

Although it may be easier for companies to stay within the limitations of their country’s available talent pool, by doing so they would be cutting themselves off from cost-effective, highly qualified talent that would add diversity and stand to accelerate innovation. Moreover, adding personnel from other countries is a de-facto expansion strategy that could open other markets for business. This is highly pertinent to technology and data driven industry sectors in information economies that are currently grappling with talent deficits. US Tech companies have already taken note of this, practicing nearshoring with their closest neighbor Mexico.

International outsourcing is not only a business savvy choice; it is also a an ESG decision. Allowing people to defer to remote working keeps cars of the road, increases employee wellbeing and supports international economies by giving their residents added purchasing power. Already some 56 percent of US American households are considering international relocation in 2021—and increase of 20 percent from 2020.

Conclusively, companies cannot afford to turn away from international outsourcing. Failing to do so limits company growth and takes away from the added perspective foreigners could provide. Businesses that have taken note of this are growing faster than their competitors as evidenced by China’s ride service application DiDi. This expansion process could have been facilitated by locals aware of social rules and market conditions, which normally requires costly analyses and assessments. In the global talent pool, there are people in limited economies waiting to be hired and, although this process can be intimidating, there are options to bypass and facilitate this process for businesses.

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