As more organizations expand their operations beyond borders, HR teams are tasked with managing a global  workforce spread across different countries. While this presents opportunities—like access to specialized talent, reduced labor costs, and increased competitiveness—it also comes with unique challenges. 

One of the most significant challenges HR managers face when dealing with global teams is navigating the complex web of compliance with varying labor laws across different countries. Each jurisdiction has its own set of regulations regarding employment contracts, benefits, taxation, and worker rights, requiring meticulous attention to detail to avoid legal pitfalls. Additionally, cultural differences can impact everything from communication styles to workplace norms, necessitating a nuanced approach to ensure inclusivity and harmony within diverse teams.

In this complex environment, organizations must adopt a strategic approach to ensure efficiency, compliance, and employee satisfaction. In this article, we will explore 11 best practices to streamline your global HR management.

Best Practices for Global HR Management

Effectively managing HR for an international organization requires striking a delicate balance between global consistency and local relevance. While standardized processes are essential for efficiency and scalability, they must also be adaptable to accommodate diverse regulatory, cultural, and market demands. 

To navigate this complex landscape, HR professionals can implement the following best practices across key HR functions.

Recruitment and talent acquisition

HR teams need to find, hire, and retain high-performing individuals capable of thriving in a cross-cultural atmosphere. This will drive innovation and growth in the organization, increasing its competitiveness in the global marketplace. 

However, global recruitment and talent acquisition present unique challenges, from navigating varied labor laws and cultural norms to attracting candidates with the right mix of skills and cross-cultural competencies. 

The following best practices will help you streamline your global recruitment and talent acquisition processes, ensuring you hire the right fit for your organization.

1. Identify key talent hubs worldwide

Hiring from low-cost economies offers significant advantages by reducing labor expenses while accessing highly skilled professionals. To leverage this, HR must stay aware of and keep up with emerging local talent hubs worldwide. Organizations should first determine their specific talent needs—whether in software development, product design, digital marketing, or other fields—and then identify regions renowned for producing top talent in those areas.

Examples of cost differences:

• Hiring a software developer in Silicon Valley (US) can cost upwards of $150,000 annually, while a similarly skilled developer in Bengaluru (India) may cost around $30,000.
• A product designer in London (UK) might command a salary of £70,000, whereas in Manila (Philippines), the cost could be as low as £20,000.

To attract and hire an international talent pool, you should identify key regions and cities known for producing top talent from your industry. This involves:

• Market research: Companies must conduct thorough research to identify regions known for producing top talent. For example, tech companies can focus on Silicon Valley (US), Bengaluru (India), etc., whereas a finance company can focus on London (UK), New York (US), Hong Kong, etc.
• Local partnerships: Once the region is identified, you can collaborate with institutions, training centers, and industry clusters that produce high-quality candidates.
• Local job fairs and conferences: Sponsor or participate in local job fairs, industry-specific conferences, and networking events to increase brand visibility and attract potential candidates.

Gloroots’ Remote Work Readiness Calculator and Salary Calculator are invaluable tools for HR professionals and business leaders. These tools help identify and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different talent hubs, ensuring informed decision-making that aligns with budget constraints and strategic goals.

2. Focus on employer branding

Positioning your company as one of the best places to work is a crucial strategy for attracting and retaining top talent. A LinkedIn Talent Solutions study  found that having a good brand image attracted 50% more qualified candidates, reduced the cost-per-hire by 50%, and reduced turnover by 28%.

Creating a strong employer brand involves:

• Developing a global employer value proposition (EVP): Communicate your company’s unique features that make it the best place for people across cultures to work and thrive.
• Maintaining consistent messaging: Make sure your messaging across all channels is consistent and reflects your respect for diverse cultures. Highlight your commitment to diversity, inclusion, and development.
• Showcasing employee testimonials: Share the success stories of engaged employees from multiple locations around the globe to showcase your positive, dynamic, and growth-oriented work culture.
• Building social media and online presence: Leverage multiple social media channels and your company website to share content that reflects your culture, achievements, and positive employee experiences.

3. Determine if you want to hire employees or contractors

Employees can be full-time or part-time workers on a company’s payroll, while contractors are independent workers hired for a specific project or task. 

You have greater control over your employees committed to your company for the long-term, whereas you only have limited control over your contractors. But hiring contractors offers flexibility and cost advantages. 

Deciding whether the role requires a full-time employee or contractors depends on factors like the job profile, budget constraints, and long-term goals. 

• Job requirements: Identify the unique requirements of the job. For a critical and ongoing function, hiring full-time employees can be beneficial. For short-term projects or specialized skills, contractors might be more appropriate.
• Legal and compliance considerations: The regulations for employees and contractors vary in different regions, including employment laws, tax regulations, and contractual agreements.
• Budget constraints: For each hire, you incur costs like salaries, benefits, and administrative expenses. Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of hiring employees versus contractors before deciding.

Onboarding

New hires should be introduced to the organization and its culture to ensure professional success, establishing the foundation for future employee-employer relationships. A Gallup study found that employees with the best onboarding experience are 2.6 times more likely to be extremely satisfied with their workplace.

While onboarding an international team, your onboarding process should improve engagement, collaboration, productivity, and retention. 

4. Engage new hires before onboarding sessions 

You have to plan ahead to ensure your new hire has everything they need on the day of onboarding to make their experience satisfying. Ensure that you:

• Send their work equipment loaded with all software and their log-in credentials
• Collect all employee information and complete all their payroll formalities
• Send them the agenda for their orientation and onboarding 

5. Deliver a culturally sensitive and inclusive onboarding process

Onboarding international employees can be complicated due to cultural nuances, language barriers, and timezone differences. Take the following steps to address these complexities:

• Be sensitive to cultural differences: Acknowledge and respect cultural differences throughout onboarding. Educate employees about these differences and create a welcoming atmosphere for all.
• Account for time zone differences: While scheduling meetings and team communications, consider time zone differences to ensure inclusivity. Use scheduling tools and asynchronous communication wherever possible.
• Help new hires feel connected: Introduce your team to the new hires and provide opportunities to connect with each other online or in person. Being a part of a cross-border team can be isolating, especially if they work in different time zones. 
• Conduct regular check-ins: Schedule regular meetings to check if they receive all the support they need and establish open lines of communication. Also use these meetings as an opportunity to receive feedback.

6. Provide post-onboarding support

Adjusting to a new company in a new country can be overwhelming for new hires. Take the following steps to offer continuous support and help them get accustomed to the new environment:

• Give new hires time to adjust: Don’t burden them with numerous tasks from the get-go. Give them manageable tasks for their first week and let them move at their own pace.
• Provide ongoing support and developmental opportunities: Offer continuous support and resources to help employees perform in their new roles. Provide mentorship opportunities that help in self and professional development.
• Measure onboarding success: Gather feedback with onboarding survey to understand what needs improvement. Also, track key performance metrics to measure the effectiveness of onboarding.

By following these best practices and leveraging onboarding platforms and tools, companies can create a positive onboarding experience for international employees.

Gloroots offers a seamless, six-click employee onboarding platform. With features to pause and resume onboarding, 360-degree view, and add/remove employees as per changes, Gloroots’s unified platform ensures successful onboarding of your international employees within minutes.

Global payroll and compliance

Managing payroll for a global workforce is challenging for HR teams as it involves multi-currency transactions, fluctuating exchange rates, and varying payroll costs. These complexities can lead to errors, delays, and increased costs, ultimately affecting employee satisfaction and productivity.

Ensuring compliance with diverse international laws and regulations—from labor and tax laws to data protection regulations—adds another layer of complexity. Non-compliance can lead to hefty fines, legal repercussions, and reputational damage. 

To effectively manage these challenges, here are three best practices for streamlining global payroll and compliance.

7. Partner with EORs to avoid compliance issues

An Employer of Record (EOR) acts as the legal employer for your international workforce, handling your employment responsibilities, such as payroll, taxes, and compliance. 

EORs handle:

• Payroll processing: Calculates and disburses salaries, taxes, and benefits in regional currencies.
• Compliance: Stays updated and adheres to local labor laws, tax regulations, and employment contracts.
• HR administration: Handles employee onboarding, offboarding, payrolling, and benefits administration.

Benefits of partnering with EORs:

• Access to compliance experts: EORs have in-house expert teams with in-depth knowledge of the ever-changing local labor laws, tax regulations, and employment standards. 
• Reduced legal risks: By outsourcing your global payroll and compliance management to EORs, you significantly reduce your risks of misunderstanding these laws.
• Reduced workload: EORs handle all your administrative burdens, letting your HR team handle core strategic tasks.

8. Conduct due diligence before choosing a vendor

Choosing the right EOR or global payroll provider is crucial for successfully managing and reducing the risks of global payroll and compliance. Carefully assess each vendor before making a partnership decision to avoid any future complexities.

Factors to look for in an EOR:

• Global coverage: Make sure the provider you choose has a presence in the countries you operate in.
• Expertise: Assess the EOR’s expertise and experience in local laws and regulations.
• Technology: Evaluate the EOR’s platform for user-friendliness and seamless integration with your current systems. 

How to zero-in on the best EOR vendor?

• Reputation and reviews: Research the vendor’s reputation by looking for reviews and testimonials about their expertise and reliability from clients in your industry. 
• Case studies: Look at case studies about how the vendor managed payroll and compliance for international companies that are similar in size, industry, and geographies.

Gloroots offers exceptional EOR service with expertise in 140+ countries and a unified platform for employee onboarding, global payroll and compliance management, benefits administration, and 24/7 support. Read our case study to know how a client saved 250 person-hours with Gloroots.

9. Establish a robust global payroll infrastructure

If you would prefer to handle payroll in-house, you must set up effective payroll management to ensure accuracy, compliance, and efficiency. Here are some steps to take:

• Implement a centralized payroll system: Adopt a cloud-based, multi-country payroll platform that can integrate with your existing HR and finance systems. Look for features such as automated currency conversions, tax calculations, local labor law compliance, and reporting capabilities.
• Conduct regular audits: Regularly audit your payroll system to ensure compliance and accuracy without waiting for last-minute blow-ups.
• Invest in training and development: Invest in training your HR and payroll teams on global HR practices, local laws, and compliance requirements.

Tech stack

For today’s fast-growing, cross-border organizations, handling administrative HR tasks can be resource-intensive and time-consuming. This is where a HR tech stack comes into play. With automation, companies can improve operational efficiency, leading to better global workforce management.

Your HR tech stack should include specialized software and platforms that automate and streamline various HR functions, such as recruitment, onboarding, payroll, data management, performance management, and employee engagement. 

10. Select the right Applicant Tracking System

An ATS streamlines the recruitment process by simplifying and automating job postings, candidate sourcing, resume screening, interview scheduling, and applicant communications. Overall, the ideal ATS should make the hiring process more efficient and improve the experience of the candidates and employers.

An ideal ATS should:

• Centralize candidate data
• Automate tasks like resume parsing, job posting, and scheduling candidate screening
• Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations, like GDPR, CCPA, etc.
• Integrate with other tools
• Provide analytics and reporting
• User-friendly and customizable
• Optimized for mobiles

11. Choose a SaaS-based global hiring platform

A cloud-based solution, usually available on a subscription basis, consolidates multiple HR functions into a single platform, eliminating the need for multiple vendors. With a SaaS-based global HR platform, you can manage payroll, benefits administration, legal compliance, and other administrative tasks seamlessly.

 Here are several other benefits:

• Flexibility: Each country has different legal and cultural requirements. A SaaS platform allows you to customize features based on your specific needs.
• Ease of access: SaaS-based platforms can be accessed from anywhere on any device with an internet connection, allowing HR managers and recruitment specialists to manage a borderless workforce seamlessly.
• Compliance management: An ideal SaaS platform should include features that provide automated updates regarding any regulatory changes. This ensures compliance with local labor laws and reduces risks.
• Single vendor to manage benefits: A comprehensive SaaS platform centralizes benefits administration so that you can use a single solution to offer and manage benefits for your global teams.

Factors to consider while choosing SaaS-based global HR platform:

• User-experience: The platform should be easy to use for both HR professionals and employees or candidates.
• Customer support: Responsive customer support is essential to resolve queries and issues faster and more efficiently.
• Integration capabilities: Ensure the platform can seamlessly integrate with your existing HR and payroll systems to enable accurate and on-time payment for global employees.
• Scalability: The platform should be able to grow with your business, accommodating an increasing number of hires from a growing number of countries.

Experience Effective Global HR Management with Gloroots

Gloroots offers a comprehensive solution by providing Employer of Record (EOR) services, global payroll, compliance management, and global benefits administration. This helps you save 250+ hours/week in administrative tasks while remaining 100% compliant. 

‍Contact us today to learn how we can help with your global HR strategy.