As an HR professional in an international business, you understand the challenges of managing a global workforce.
Fortunately, there are no international human resources challenges that cannot be overcome. There are solutions to even the most advanced obstacles – you just need to know to go and find.
While you're sure to face a variety of challenges, here are five of the most common:
Take, for example, an international company based in the United States. Hiring and managing employees in various states is already difficult. Additionally, you must also consider HR laws related to the other countries where your employees work.
Failure to do so can lead to a variety of problems, including penalties and fines, as well as workers not paying enough local taxes.
You want every employee to have the same benefits package. This is true whether they are in your "homeland" or on the other side of the world.
The challenge with this is that the benefits of "here" may not be the same as those of "there". This includes everything from health insurance to disability insurance to retirement planning.
Each country's currency has a different exchange rate. This can make it challenging to pay employees in their home currency and ensure they are fully compensated.
Your goal is to pay employees in their local currency, and the only way to easily do that is to use a dedicated software solution.
Everyone should take time out when they need to. The problem faced by international companies is that paid time off (PTO) laws vary from country to country. If you try to hold everyone to the same standards, you may be violating the legal right of others to receive a certain level of benefits.
You can't be in every time zone at the same time. The same applies to your employees. Time zones can create a logistical nightmare for HR departments, as well as all other departments within a company.
For example, if you're in the U.S. and need to provide HR-related information to employees in Australia, it's nearly impossible to do it in real time.
The best solution is to work asynchronously.
Asynchronous communication doesn't happen in real-time and doesn't need to exist at the same time. It does not assume that the receiver will accept immediately or expect an immediate reply. For example, you can send an email to your teammates that they will read and respond to at different times, depending on their working hours and time zone. Similarly, instead of scheduling a live meeting, you can record a paragraph explaining how something worked, or report progress on a Slack channel, etc. These are all examples of asynchronous practices.
When real-time communication isn't possible, asynchronous communication should be your primary focus.
You don't always get the right solution the first time. It may take some experimentation and testing to determine what works best for your HR department, your employees, and your company as a whole.
Track the results of each solution, adjust accordingly, and re-evaluate as needed. Don't stop until you find the answer to each challenge.
The problem of international human resources does exist and will not disappear in the future. Don't let them let you down. Identify them, compare potential tools and solutions, and take action at the right time. Soon, you'll have a system that can seamlessly overcome any challenges that stand in your way.