Onboarding a global workforce

You’ve found amazing skilled talent overseas and it’s time to onboard them. But what factors come into play to deliver a great experience when onboarding a global workforce?

Today’s workforces are becoming more fluid than ever before. Remote-based workers and business expansion into new territories means taking a more considered approach to your new employee onboarding has never been so important.

A great onboarding experience is critical to engaging a workforce from the outset, increasing retention by 25 percent and improving employee performance by up to 11 percent.

There are three things to consider when onboarding a global worker:

1. Consistency

Reinforcing to your remote hires that they’re part of the same team, irrespective of where they live, goes a long way in building an inclusive culture.

This is particularly important where you may be utilising talent from countries you wouldn’t usually operate in. They should receive the same introduction and welcome as the rest of your in-country teams (with some localised variations depending on geography).

Each touchpoint of a remote team’s onboarding, payroll and ongoing HR should feel like part of the same experience as your local workforce and your technology needs to support this. There are many onboarding software providers out there, but very few (like Expedo!) cater to both workforce types across global locations.

2. Compliance

With employment legislation varying significantly on a country-by-country basis, businesses need to know they’re engaging their new hires with compliance. This is where good global onboarding technology can become your voice of authority.

Expedo’s HR documents, onboarding workflows and advisory are tailored to the region you’re hiring in and maintained by in-country employment experts, giving you the confidence that you’re onboarding right.

Visibility is everything, though. Good technology will give you confidence of meeting continuous compliance with workforce alerts notifying those responsible of any new employer obligations you have towards your global worker.

3. Cultural consideration

Global onboarding isn’t a one size fits all approach and taking the time to understand cultural sensitivities and differences makes your global workers feel like they belong.

Culture and customs differ across work locations and a good onboarding experience should consider country nuances and formalities. This is as simple as translating HR documents into native languages, even if your global worker speaks your language. It ensures everyone has the same strong start and highlights a level of depth and understanding around local practices. It also lessens the chance of any miscommunication.