Deciding on the right candidate for a job is not an easy task even for the most experienced recruiters. Even worse is when your company is considering hiring foreign talent. To succeed at this, some research is mostly required. This includes getting insight into the advantages and disadvantages of hiring foreign talent, the impact of hiring foreign talent on local talent already in your company, and the great invigoration your company may experience because of the new international recruit. This insightful read will answer a few of those questions and assist you in your decision.

The Important Things You Need to Know About Hiring Foreign Talent

Here are a few important things you may need to consider when hiring international talent:

• New Employment Trends  

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, the global employment landscape experienced a shift that will have long-lasting effects on companies. Some of these shifts include remote and hybrid working systems.

According to a report by Mckinsey & Company, The Future of work after COVID-19, the prediction is that the shift to remote and hybrid workplaces is likely to stay longer post the pandemic. There are great

benefits to this, including access to hiring international talent.

Mckinsey & Company further reports that there has been an increase of about 4 to 5 times more remote work post-pandemic than before. As you consider hiring foreign talent, it is great to recognize that it is possible due to the new trends in the global employment landscape post the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Legal Compliance

You will need to consider the legal requirements that may be applicable in different countries. There may be documentation and certification required. In some instances, your company may have to adhere to foreign labor laws. See this article by Business.com for more insight.

• Time and Money

Hiring foreign talent may be costly, tedious, and time-consuming. Your company must be willing to pay for all the legal documentation and processes required, including relocation packages. Some legal processes take time. Patience and investment in your recruitment process must be applied.

The Advantages of Hiring Foreign Talent

There are numerous benefits to hiring foreign talent, including:

• Expansion into a Global Market

Foreign talent can serve as a connector between your company and the markets you seek to reach in their countries. They understand the culture, language, and values of those markets. This can enhance your marketing and selling strategies by gaining you special access to those crowds.  

• Foreign Employees may bring Uniqueness to your Company

International recruits bring a unique set of skills, knowledge, and viewpoints to the job. This may enhance your team’s creativity and innovation in problem-solving. A workplace is meant to be a place for sharing ideas and perspectives. Foreign recruits may bring in new ideas based on their foreign experiences. In turn, local employees may learn new skills.

• Diverse workplace

When you hire foreign recruits, you invite cultural diversity into your company. This is good for employee morale as it tells your employees that you value all people. It even goes to show that your company hires people based on their skills and capabilities and not necessarily on who they are and what they look like.

• Overcoming Language and Cultural Barriers in Foreign Markets

To reach some foreign markets and build a global company, you will need an access point to those markets. It is believed that you are more likely to close a sale when you are speaking to a potential customer in their mother tongue and having an understanding of their culture.

Hiring international recruits can enable you to develop customized customer care which may expand your global business. Foreign recruits have the potential to enlarge your business beyond local territories.

We understand that language barriers between you and your prospective customers may negatively impact your business, that’s why Hanatutor offers Corporate Language Training for groups and individuals. You can check our corporate offers here.

• Increased Time Productivity

Having an international workforce means productivity all day and night. Due to different time zones, you can offer flexible working schedules and flexible locations, such as working remotely. Your customers will have access to your services wherever and from wherever. An international workforce brings convenience to your customers.

• Potential Cost-Reduction

Although people should not be treated unfairly and paid below the pay grade, hiring international recruits, especially from developing counties, can mean low currency for you as you will pay them in their local currency.  

The Disadvantages of Hiring Foreign Talent

As with every good thing, there will always be a negative side to it. Let us look at the disadvantages of hiring foreign talent below.

• Language Barriers

Bringing in a foreign recruit may pose to be a challenge especially if there is a language barrier. The new employee may feel out of place with no sense of belonging, but this may have a very negative burden on communication. With Hanatutor, you can adopt a system where every employee learns a new language for better communication with international customers and with each other. Simply, you can sign up the foreign recruit for language training in the language your company uses to communicate. Hanatutor offers a variety of popular online language training.  You can fill in our quotation form for pricing.  

• Disinclination from Local Communities

The local people, including local employees, may be reluctant and even refuse to accept foreign nationals in their communities. This is particularly true for small communities with high rates of unemployment.

• Reporting in person May Have Cost Implications

For companies that will require their employees to report to their offices, hiring foreign talent may be costly. As already said above, relocation costs may apply, and legal compliance costs among other costs. Remote work seems rather feasible as far as cost-saving is concerned.

• Local Pay scale

Although in some instances companies pay international recruits less than their local counterparts, at other times the local laws governing the labor relations of your desired recruit may demand that they be paid more than what you were willing to pay or what your country allows you to pay as a minimum hourly rate.

• Difficulties Managing Foreign Employees

If you are offering a remote working system, the first and obvious difficulty is that every communication is virtual. This may be a challenge as you may be operating in different time zones. Because work is done virtually, you cannot confirm the reasons given for missed deadlines. There may be poor communication due to internet connections or technical issues which may result in delays, missed meetings, and missed deadlines.

• The decline in Local Employment Opportunities 

Some people argue that remote work is replacing ‘normal’ work and thus leaving a lot of people deprived of employment. More so, hiring international talent when there is a demand for employment in your country may have bad implications for the economy as a whole. As the world of technology and IT expands, more and more people are going to lose their jobs. With the introduction of Artificial Intelligence in some industries, we are looking at more shifts to the global employment landscape in the coming years anyway.

CONCLUSION

The global employment landscape has greatly shifted post the Covid-19 pandemic. There are predictions that remote and hybrid working systems will stick longer in the coming years. More and more companies are still adopting the virtual workplace. With the advancement in technology, it seems virtual work and e-commerce businesses have gained popularity post the pandemic. This has given companies an allowance to hire top talent, including tapping into international recruitment. There are a few things a company needs to know before hiring foreign talent, including, the new employment trends, legal requirements, and the time and money involved in the process. In addition, we have outlined the advantages and disadvantages of hiring foreign talent above. One factor that serves as an advantage and disadvantage concurrently is the language barrier.

Hanatutor has developed online language training for corporates tailored to the specific needs of companies across the world. 

Read more about our Corporate Offers. 

If you are considering hiring international talent and you are not sure where to start, you can find assistance from companies such as Multiplier, CXC, and Oyster.