The increase of global internet usage, including for seeking employment, has been increasing year on year. Thanks to this increase, combined with single market agreements across the world’s trading blocs, companies now have access to a much wider range of quality candidates who could help businesses expand globally, or simply attract talent from overseas.
In today’s global economy, some businesses are finding themselves in a position where they must expand their operations internationally to compete within increasingly competitive markets. This expansion into other countries will, in most cases, mean that businesses must embark on a global recruitment campaign to find new talent in a host country, however, recruiting globally is even more challenging than recruiting domestically; largely due to different cultures and laws.
Not only do businesses need to consider the implications of the different laws and cultures, they must also consider the technicalities of evaluating and accepting candidates in different cultures. To run a successful campaign to attract talent globally, we suggest devising a specific recruitment strategy that accounts for the laws and culture of the target country; a ‘one size fits all’ approach to global recruitment simply isn’t practical.
Here are a few factors that should be considered to help effectively market vacancies to an international audience:
Company culture
Effectively communicating the core values of a business is something some organisations are better at than others. Every company has its own unique culture and the ability to communicate these values effectively can help management accurately adapt the company culture accordingly to their operations in a host country.
By adapting the company culture to suit the local norms, companies can be more effective recruiting and retaining talent in host countries. For example, in the USA, people are taught to sell themselves on CV’s and in interviews. This could come across as cocky or even deceptive to recruiters in modest cultures like Norway or Sweden which could result in the interviewer dismissing a perfectly good candidate.
Local laws
Understanding local employment law will not only help organisations recruit more effectively in host countries, it will also help them avoid any potential lawsuits and fines. Any organisation that is expanding into new markets abroad should consider consulting with an expansion partner in the host country to ensure a seamless expansion and help navigate the different legal requirements that must be adhered to.
For example, Luxembourg has very strict overtime laws and overtime is only allowed with prior authorisation or notice from the Minister of Employment’s office. If an organisation that has a culture of offering employees unlimited overtime in busy periods was to operate in Luxembourg, this is a very important law that must be considered.
Employee well-being
Work life balance is becoming an increasingly important factor when it comes to recruiting and retaining employees. The need for a better work life balance is not only becoming more popular here in the UK, it is becoming more of a popular incentive for employees globally. Millennials are seen to be the driving force behind this shift to placing work life balance above salary as the deciding factor on where they seek employment. As this is becoming a global trend, employers recruiting overseas should research the typical employment benefits of the host country and structure employee benefits tailored to the country.
A good source of independent information on what employees value in a particular country is review websites for places of employment such as Glassdoor. By reading through reviews from employees, companies should be able to get a good understanding of what people are looking for in a good employer.
Recruitment marketing techniques
Global employers must understand that simply advertising a vacancy on a job board or mainstream media is not enough to attract all of the potentially available candidates. With so many new and innovative ways to attract new talent, companies that limit themselves to traditional methods of recruitment could be missing out on high quality talent.
One of our current global recruitment projects at crooton is working with a US based engineering company recruiting in the US, into sectors traditionally outside of their core offering e.g., IT Security. Using our unique recruitment marketing software, ‘Employer Fencing’ we are able to re-educate a very targeted audience on the benefits and perks of working for this company.
We are also using ‘Employer Fencing’ to recruit nurses into the NHS from overseas. We have selected a number of training hospitals and academic institutions in different countries, geo-graphically ring fenced their physical locations and are sending digital display messaging to potential overseas candidates with the aim of recruiting them into the NHS.
To conclude, companies who familiarise themselves with the laws and customs of their host countries before expanding will undoubtedly reduce the obstacles of their global expansion plans and maximise their opportunities when recruiting local talent. Using an ‘outside of the box’ approach to marketing vacancies can be a very effective way to attract the very best talent.
To find out how we can help you recruit overseas talent or strengthen your employer brand globally, contact us today.