Global talent acquisition: 5 tips for your international hiring strategy

When employers are looking to grow their team, there are two main options to choose from: hiring domestically or internationally. Hiring someone locally may be more convenient, but there are several advantages of hiring internationally instead. 

Hiring internationally gives you access to a larger, more diverse talent pool so you can find the best possible candidates to fill open positions. Looking abroad can also give your company insights into new global markets, including learning about different customs, languages, and trends. What’s more, international employees can enrich the workplace culture. 

All these benefits are leading more and more companies to pursue global talent acquisition, so it’s worth exploring in greater detail. 

What is global talent acquisition?

Global talent acquisition is the process of strategically identifying and recruiting workers from all over the world. You can use global talent acquisition to address skill gaps within your organization, scale your business to new heights, or expand operations into new markets. 

Before the rise of remote work in recent years, many companies found the challenges of global talent acquisition too much to overcome. But now that remote work is commonplace, hiring global talent is easier than ever.  

How to create a global talent acquisition strategy

It’s always best to develop a strategy before jumping into a new business approach, and global talent acquisition is no exception. With that in mind, here are some tips for creating a strong global hiring strategy.

1. Consider your company’s goals for hiring global talent

Start with a clear picture of the goals your company is trying to achieve by hiring global talent. Do you want to tap into a certain growing market? Are you interested in understanding trends in certain areas? Global talent acquisition is about more than just filling empty positions. Set clear short-term and long-term goals so you can develop a strategy around achieving these aims. 

2. Convey your company’s values

One way to help your company stand out from competitors in the global talent market is to clearly convey your company’s values. What is the company’s vision? What steps do managers take to uphold company values? Answering these questions for prospective talent will help attract candidates who identify with your organization’s values. For global recruitment, you likely want to emphasize inclusivity and a commitment to diversity. 

3. Understand the regional job markets

Each regional job market has unique characteristics, including labor laws, tax regulations, and cultural norms. You need to be familiar with these details before hiring a candidate in a new job market. Otherwise, you risk breaking the law or alienating top talent. Since understanding the intricacies of local job markets all over the world is a major undertaking, you can rely on country-specific hiring guides, such as this one for Finland, or work with an employer of record (EOR) specializing in that area. 

4. Adapt your candidate selection process

Your standard candidate selection process may not be well suited for international candidates. For example, requiring a college degree may be logical in some areas, but equivalent work experience may be more reasonable in others. Adapt your selection process to fit each regional job market so you can find the best possible candidates there.  

5. Adjust the onboarding process

Your onboarding strategy for new global employees is a critical part of the broader talent acquisition strategy. Make sure to tailor your standard employee onboarding process for international employees as needed. Provide translations and/or captions, for example, to accommodate employees who don’t speak English as a first language.     

These tips will help your company develop an effective global talent acquisition strategy. For global hiring made easy, turn to Oyster’s global employment platform. Oyster helps companies tackle all the challenges of hiring international employees, from ensuring compliance with local labor laws to automated onboarding to get new hires set up as fast as possible. Book a demo today to see the difference Oyster makes.

About Oyster

Oyster is a global employment platform designed to enable visionary HR leaders to find, engage, pay, manage, develop, and take care of a thriving distributed workforce. Oyster lets growing companies give valued international team members the experience they deserve, without the usual headaches and expense.

Oyster enables hiring anywhere in the world—with reliable, compliant payroll, and great local benefits and perks.