CEO at Topia, the leader in Global Talent Mobility.
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As the way we work becomes more mobile and distributed, companies are figuring out that building a global talent strategy is critical, not only for business resiliency and success, but also for attracting and retaining top talent.
In the wake of the pandemic, employees will continue to demand the kind of flexibility that has kept business afloat for most of the first half of the year. Now that we’ve proven what’s possible, the demand to work from anywhere will persist — whether that be at home for health or personal reasons, in the tranquility of a mountain cabin, or on a working vacation on a tropical island. For some, that could mean working halfway around the world; for others, it might be just halfway across town.
Offering this flexibility is essential, but it also creates a problem for companies: Ask almost any CHRO or HR leader if they know where all of their people are or where they’ve been, and most will struggle to answer these basic questions with confidence. Their current talent management solutions (which still too often end up in spreadsheets) are inadequate. That means if an issue such as a global pandemic arises, or tax and employment laws change, there’s no way to protect employees or the company.
This spring, as borders closed and businesses shuttered around the world, the rush to remote work sent even the most sophisticated global businesses scrambling. The inefficiencies, gaps and inadequate solutions HR has been struggling with for years in managing global talent have now been exposed, and the C-suite is definitely paying attention. Across all industries, leaders now recognize they need a more effective way to manage global talent to not only solve the current problems but also position them for future growth — or any crises that arise along the way.
While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, organizations must take a more comprehensive approach to talent management by implementing a holistic global talent strategy that enables the agility, flexibility, speed and insights to make smarter decisions. Here are the four essential elements for any successful global talent strategy:
1. Accurate Data
If your employee information is outdated, inconsistent or inaccurate, no solution can give you the current, accurate visibility you need to know where your people are. A standardized data platform and data model must be at the core of any global talent strategy to bring consistency and structure to complex HR and mobility data. It creates the foundation needed to make confident decisions based on clear and accurate information.
This sound data platform also allows HR to benchmark its global talent strategy and spot inefficiencies and opportunities to reduce costs or improve employee experience. This, in turn, provides a mechanism to measure success and drive continuous improvement.
2. Emphasis On Employee Experience
Keeping employees informed about mobility opportunities is essential for giving them the kind of global experience and growth potential they’re looking for. But it’s also important to consider lifestyle or family situations in the process, and to provide interactive resources to ease transitions.
These are vital to employees’ level of satisfaction and, ultimately, their longevity with your company. People want to work for companies that give them mobility opportunities, but don’t treat them like pawns being moved around without compassion or concern for their personal preferences.
Incorporating employee-facing tools to manage global mobility can help companies deliver an outstanding experience where people know what’s going on, feel engaged in HR and mobility processes, and know that their employer cares about its people on an individual level.
3. Tax And Legal Compliance
In today’s environment, keeping up with labor and tax laws across hundreds or thousands of jurisdictions is impossible by most conventional means. As the way we work continues to shift toward more dispersed work, global employment and business travel, compliance will only become more complex in the wake of Covid-19.
Organizations must have constant communication with their people to know where in the world they are. Having regular check-ins will ensure compliance and reduce a company’s risk while restoring HR’s sanity.
Additionally, by pulling in data from multiple sources, such as travel booking, HR systems, compensation and benefits, companies can track and analyze mobility data to surface potential risk as employees move and work around the world.
4. Integrated Technology
Data silos, inefficiencies and redundancies that bog down HR teams and prevent them from focusing on strategy, performance and cost optimization limit teams and employees.
A strategy that leverages a central platform that integrates with existing solutions for performance management, payroll, tax and other functions not only allows HR to tackle work with greater speed and precision; it also provides a more strategic talent perspective. Now, rather than merely posting global work opportunities and choosing among the candidates who apply, hiring managers can look at who has the skill sets and experience to do the job internally and make calculated, strategic placements.
As the way we work becomes increasingly fluid and organizations leverage new models of mobility to accomplish their goals, HR leaders must have flexible solutions to manage these complexities. By implementing a sophisticated global talent strategy, organizations can make faster, more confident decisions to execute and achieve their objectives in a fast-evolving business landscape.
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