Going Remote-First: How To Hire International Employees At Your Startup?

The online space is a very profitable one that can accommodate every business with the right entry and sustenance strategy. This is not to say setting up a physical store or an offline shop isn’t profitable. Of course, it is. However, creating an online presence, going remote, carrying out activities virtually are better strategies to drive sales, cut costs, and maximize profit.

The global coronavirus pandemic has significantly changed how everything is being done in virtually every area of human endeavor. You will discover that many of the businesses that stood the test of the pandemic time were businesses that had a remote system in place or that immediately moved to create one.

That wasn’t a one-time business strategy, but one that should become the norm in the post-pandemic era. As such, business owners should know to operate remotely, especially in the area of hiring international employees. Hiring international employees promotes diversity and unity of culture in your startup. 

How to Hire International Employees At Your Startup

As your startup continues to grow and resources become readily available, more hands will be needed to facilitate business activities. You can either outsource tasks or hire physical or remote employees to take on these jobs.

Most startup founders prefer to hire remote international employees for diversity and subsequently outsource specific tasks. The employees you hire will, regardless of their nationality, depend on your business needs and available funding per time. However, the hiring process is easier said than done.

Finding the right individuals to hire may be a hassle. But, while searching for great employees with the right talent, passion, and skills needed, great caution must be taken to prevent hiring more than your startup’s financial capacity can handle.

Also, as a startup founder, you will need to hire employees who are flexible enough to take up extra roles and responsibilities until these roles can be assigned to new employees.

Beyond the need to hire flexible international employees, knowing how to hire them remotely is essential. To hire remotely, here are some steps to follow

Determine the roles employees are needed for 

The first step to going remotely with international employment is determining the roles you need people for in the startup. These roles can include a sales manager, customer care representative, chief marketer, accountant, etc. 

Determining the roles makes it easy to create the best system of remote employment. These roles can be given out to freelancers or other remote workers. 

Outline the entire process of employment 

Hiring international employees remotely takes a different turn from hiring locally and physically. To ensure a smooth process, you must design a unique process of employment. Many times, you will have to include the peculiarities of each role when outlining such a process and who these roles are available for.

You also have to determine what country indigenes you require and study the employment and labor laws peculiar to each of them. 

For example, suppose you are hiring a customer care representative. In that case, your employment process should try to examine the soft skills the person possesses, like communication skills, listening, and interpersonal skills, among others.

On the other hand, if you are hiring an accountant, your focus should be on such a person’s academic qualifications and working experience without bias.

Publicize the openings 

Once you have determined the positions needed, their specific roles, and carefully outlined the employment process, the next appropriate step is publicization.

As a startup founder, you can publicize openings through various mediums such as your startup’s website, social media platforms, TV ads, to maximize your reach etc. You can work with local partners in multiple countries to help facilitate this process. 

Also, publicizing openings can only produce effective results when directed to the right platform and the right audience. It would be best if you created strategic ways of advertising available positions correctly and to the right audience to get the best candidates. Publicity should also be concise and brief.

Create a system for collating and analyzing entries

Before publicizing available positions in your startup, you must have an effective system that collates and analyses applicants. You need to create a system that helps you collate the necessary data to screen and select the right candidate for each position. Publicizing internationally means you will have tons of applicants.

You need to be duly prepared to prevent confusion and mistakes in the process. A separate collating and data analysis system should be created for each position to facilitate the employment process.

Conduct the interview process virtually

When hiring international employees remotely, you will be interacting with and interviewing individuals beyond your physical reach. This will mean that interviews have to be conducted virtually.

Fortunately, the recent global pandemic has caused an increasing rise in the need for virtual interviews and online interview platforms as well. Several online interview platforms have been created to enable you to carry out hitch-free online interviews to meet this need. A few of these platforms include Google Meet, Zoom, Skype, Vidcruiter, myinterview, etc.

Benefits of Going Remote When Hiring International Employees

Remember, we mentioned earlier that going remote and operating virtually helps startups save costs, maximize profits, promote diversity, and increase sales. However, that’s not all there is to going remote. Other benefits that come with going remote, especially when it comes to hiring international employees, includes:

• It helps startups to save the operational cost that comes with the physical employment process

The period immediately after launching is usually not one of financial buoyancy for startups. As such, business owners who want to remain in business must consider alternative means of doing things that help save cost. Interestingly, hiring remotely is an excellent way to save the operational cost that comes with hiring.

For example, if you have to hire physically, you have to set up a human resource department, get the materials needed to conduct interviews and other costs that come with hiring employees. However, on the bright side of hiring remotely, you would not have to incur all of this cost. Instead, the money that will have been used for hiring employees physically can be invested in other areas of the business. 

• Hiring international employees remotely is faster

Some startups spend weeks and some spanning into months recruiting new employees (physically). As a startup, not only does time equate to money, time is also very valuable as a sustenance strategy. So, the earlier you can employ the right people for the right positions, the faster your startup can achieve its goals. Hiring international employees remotely doesn’t just help you save cost, but it also enables you to save time.

• It takes away geographical limitations that come with hiring professionals

By hiring remotely, there is no limit to who and where you can hire from. Hiring physically limits your reach geographically. The chances are that you can only hire those within the geographical region of your startup. But you make the process remote when you can hire professionals from other locations and benefit from the pool of professionals worldwide 

Conclusion 

As a startup, going remote is an effective way to achieve sustainable business growth. Hiring international employees remotely contributes to the growth and success of your startup.

However, when engaging in the hiring process, you must consider the roles needed based on your startup needs and outline the necessary process. Several barriers may arise such as language, time-zone, cultural differences, etc., and you should be prepared to handle these issues professionally. 

Employees hired should understand your startup’s mission, vision, and goals and contribute actively to it.

References

• AllBusiness: The Ins and Outs of Hiring International Remote Workers for Your Small Business
• Recruiterbox: The Benefits and Risks of Hiring Internationally
• BusinessNewsDaily: How to Hire for Your Startup: The First 8 People You Should Hire
• ShieldGeo: How to Hire and Pay Remote Workers in Multiple Countries

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