Five years ago, working remotely was a fun trend. One pandemic later, remote work is the order of business for huge swaths of the professional world.
Just because C-suites are finally accepting the value of remote work doesn’t mean they’re applying it well, though. In fact, many leaders are trying to reverse course and head back to a hybrid or full-time in-person work experience.
Folly.
The concept of a global workforce used to be daunting. Now, technology has made hiring from an … [+]
Those who want to stay on the bleeding edge need to look for ways to capitalize on (rather than minimize) the remote work experience. One of these ways is by expanding beyond traditional talent pools and recruiting from across the world.
Here are a few reasons why there has never been a better time to build a global workforce.
1. You Don’t Need to Worry About Compliance and Payroll
Before highlighting genuine benefits, let’s begin by debunking an old remote work boogeyman (especially where international workers are concerned). For many, the sheer complexities and headaches that come from operating a company across national borders are too much to even consider. Compliance, payroll, and even minor elements like time zones and equitable benefits are historically difficult to reconcile with a global workforce.
However, technology has made this fear groundless. There are countless tools that automate and streamline the administrative minutiae that comes from hiring around the world. These third-party tools allow employers to affordably take advantage of the rest of the benefits on this list without opening up Pandora’s box in the process.
2. You Gain Access to a Bigger, More Affordable Talent Pool
The pandemic threw a wrench into many companies’ ability to retain talent. The Great Resignation that followed only exacerbated the situation. Heading into 2023, the unemployment rate remained as low as 3.5%. Suffice it to say talent is at a premium.
Companies that are willing to look further abroad for new hires open themselves up to a much larger talent pool. Hiring globally means you can expect more qualified candidates with sufficient training and experience. In addition, for many industries, hiring outside of common talent hubs (say, a tech firm hiring in Silicon Valley, for example) can significantly reduce the cost of each hire without undercutting the value of the compensation package to the employee.
3. You Can Unleash Multi-Dimensional Growth
A willingness to grow your workforce through remote workers around the world can jumpstart growth in multiple areas of business activity. Internally, the ability to quickly find qualified workers to fill skill gaps or scale your workforce is invaluable. Global employment platform Oyster, for example, reports facilitating a 30% annual growth rate for 37% of its customers.
But the growth doesn’t stop with hiring. Often a global workforce provides connections and insights into new markets. This presents opportunities to grow in unexpected directions as a company scales its operations.
4. You Foster a Truly Diverse and Dynamic Workforce
International workforces aren’t just different due to their geographic location. When you hire across national borders, you introduce a wide variety of cultures, beliefs, and personal experiences into your workforce. This yields many powerful benefits (see the next section for more on that front), but it also helps you achieve a common goal for many modern businesses: hiring for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
When you are willing to go beyond your own homogeneous, geographically-constrained comfort zone to achieve your professional goals, it organically draws in a more diverse group of individuals. For many companies that are struggling to diversify their workforce and be more equitable, this is one solution. However, the benefits that global workforce expansion provides go beyond quotas and DEI initiatives.
5. You Spark Greater Creativity, Flexibility, and Productivity
Diversifying your workforce through global hiring can lead to several key benefits. Open Sourced Workplace identifies three of these as flexibility, creativity, and productivity. The remote work online community adds that bringing people with different backgrounds, points of view, skill sets, and perspectives can revolutionize how a workplace operates.
A global workforce will be able to approach opportunities with a unique level of creativity. They can overcome issues quicker by bringing multiple perspectives to bear in search of a solution. Creating an inclusive work environment also helps to build trust and engagement in your workforce, leading to a willingness to adapt and remain flexible as you all work together.
A new era of work is dawning. The global workforce is officially open for business. It’s available, accessible, and affordable thanks to the capabilities of modern technology. The only thing left is for leaders to recognize the vast benefits that an international workforce offers. When they can do that, it allows them to not just use but optimize the value of remote work …and, in many cases, seize the opportunity before their competitors beat them to the punch.
