How to Hire for Your Business Abroad

HUMAN resource managementis a dynamic and constantlychanging process，which is also applicable tothe human resource management ofenterprises going international. Asinternational business has become anindispensable part of many Chineseenterprises， the management of internationalhuman resources and organizationalstructure has also entered a more matureand systematic stage.

In this process， as a talent solution partnerfor enterprises going international，LHH FESCO， the Beijing-based humanresources management consultancy I amwith， has witnessed mutual growth of enterprisesand individuals. Unfortunately，there are also failures. It is gratifyingto see that a growing number of enterprisesgoing global are paying attentionto the long-term planning and strategicdeployment of human resources， ratherthan just focusing on short-term talentrecruitment. They have realized that tosucceed in the global market， they needto build an overseas talent ecosystem.This system covers a series of planningand design， from market access to talentattraction， team building and development，and business compliance. Onlyby truly understanding the local marketand talent demand can they accuratelyinvest in people and achieve sustainabledevelopment.

Although Chinese enterprises areat different stages of going global， theyface some similar challenges. Talentattraction and retention， businesscompliance， and cultural integrationare three major challenges they face ininternational expansion.

Retaining Talent in a BANI World

Talent search and retention is undoubtedlythe most pressing issue，which has a far-reaching impact on thesustainable management of enterprises.Senior talents excelling in sales andmarketing are in high demand for mostChinese businesses we serve.

According to our internal data， demandfor such positions accounts foras high as 65 percent of our business，which is followed by demand for seniorengineers and technical experts， makingup around 18 percent and 20 percent，respectively. Demand for directors orstrategic mangers of overseas branchesmakes up around 13 percent of our business.

Enterprises in different stages of goinginternational have slightly differentdemands for talents. From our observations，an overemphasis on sales personnelbut less attention to managementtalents shows that Chinese businessesare still at an early stage in reservingtalents for their long-term presence ina foreign market. In the long run， it maylead to an imbalance in the structure oftheir international talent team， which inturn will have an impact on the implementationof their talent managementsystem in overseas markets.

For instance， there may be hiddendangers at key areas， such as talent localization，cultural integration， the settingand distributing of compensationand benefits， the reserve and developmentof overseas talents， data security，and business compliance.

In addition， due to the lack of indepthunderstanding of overseas marketsand local networking， enterprisesmay make mistakes in talent strategy.Most enterprises that have just goneglobal have not yet fully establishedthemselves as a respectable employerbrand overseas or are in the initial stageof brand building. As a result， they findit difficult to attract high-quality talentsfrom the local market.

From a talent perspective， the worldis in a BANI （Brittle， Anxious， Nonlinear，and Incomprehensible） era. Careerpeople are looking for a more securedway to take control of their future.Knowing what employees are thinkingcan be beneficial for businesses to retaintalents.

According to a survey of 30，000 employeesand business managers aroundthe world conducted by the AdeccoGroup for five consecutive years， uneasinessis a common feeling amongemployees. More than 70 percent ofthem prefer to stay with their currentcompany， up 12 percent from the previousyear， indicating that employees areless willing and likely to leave their jobs.

For them， stability and certainty areof paramount importance. They wantemployers to provide them with skillupgrading and career mobility opportunitiesto help them rebuild confidenceand motivation. Half of employees say itis the employers’ responsibility to helpemployees understand the changing natureof work， and 42 percent say it is theenterprises’ responsibility to make sureemployees are equipped with necessaryskills to adapt to the future.

For employers， this means that fundamentally，the strategy to retain talentslies in employees’ in-house mobility， skillupgrading， and development opportunities.This can not only consolidate theloyalty of the existing personnel in theorganization and enhance the core competitivenessof the enterprise， but alsohelp improve the talent supply chainfrom within.

Knowing Local Laws and Regulations

Labor laws and taxation laws vary indifferent countries. Chinese companiesneed to strictly adhere to local employmentlaws and regulations to ensurethat the recruitment process is legitimate.For example， as their projectsfinish， some Chinese companies mayhave to cut the project departments orbranches overseas. Risks may arise correspondingly，such as labor disputes. Itwill hurt the company’s reputation overseasand even lead to legal penalties.Companies need to develop capabilitiesto deal with such problems reasonablyin accordance with the law.

In addition， in Europe and the UnitedStates where market regulations are wellestablished， there is a higher thresholdfor market access. For example， thereare mandatory DEI （Diversity， Equityand Inclusion） reporting requirements.

Therefore， enterprises need to understandlocal laws， identify risks， andmake contingency plans before goingglobal. They should also pay attentionto policy trends and deal with hiddendangers in a timely manner. This can beaddressed by having an overall humanresources solution partner who notonly understands the operation modeand development demand of Chineseenterprises， but also has long-term cooperationin many popular investmentdestinations overseas.

High Demand for Cross-Cultural Training

Among the enterprises we haveserved， the demand for cross-culturaltraining has risen by 165 percent overthe last two years. The demand forsuch training in investment destinationssurged 78 percent over the last sixmonth. Such training revolves aroundlanguage skills， communication andcooperation skills， local culture and customs，corporate culture and businessphilosophy， as well as local laws andregulations.

Labor laws are highlighted in trainingin laws and regulations. For senior executivessent to an overseas investmentdestination， the most important abilitythey need is cross-cultural leadership.Our clients usually purchase our servicepackage integrating senior executiverecruitment and cross-cultural leadershiptraining because they realize thatfinding the right person is just the beginning，and how to equip them withnecessary skills to obtain local supportand secure long-term development isthe key to success.

According to our survey， enterprisesthat have carried out systematic crossculturaltraining outperform in termsof workforce efficiency， local marketresponse speed， and product or channelmanagement efficiency in overseasmarkets.

Building an Overseas Talent Ecosystem

Building a talent ecosystem is not aneasy task， and it is even more difficultto build a talent ecosystem that knowsyourself and knows “others” （“others”refers to entities other than the enterprise，such as employees， local partners，and local labor unions）. The followingquestion lists can be used to see if anenterprise is well-prepared for globalexpansion.

The “know yourself ” questionsinclude： What kind of talent does myoverseas business need？ What kind ofperson do I need to recruit at home andwhat kind do I need to hire locally？ Ismy talent planning conducive to thedevelopment in the next three to fiveyears？ How to find local talents？ Howto set the remuneration？ How to dobackground check for locally recruitedemployees？ How can I run a businesssmoothly？ If the person is not suitable，how can I terminate labor contract legally？How to apply visa for employeesto be sent to a foreign country？ Whocan help me deal with emergencies？Have I got a contingency plan？

The “know others” questionsinclude： Are my employees ready forworking in another country？ Will theybe able to adapt？ What else can I do forthem？ Is employees’ career expectationin line with the direction of my businessdevelopment？ Do I know the local laborunions？ How are labor laws？ Are thererisks with people I hire locally？ Whatdo they expect from working for me？How are they different from domesticemployees？ Do I have a reliable localpartner？ Who are they？ How should Ifind such partners？

As a professional workforce solutionprovider， we suggest that enterprisesexamine from a macro perspective theirrecruitment strategy， employment trainingand development， management oflabor relations， employer brand building，and strategy for talent attraction.Well prepared in human resources， theywill find it more smooth to explore foreignmarkets and better adapt to globalmarket competition.