It’s no secret that identifying and hiring highly qualified candidates is one of the most important steps in building a successful company. But when your organization is ready to expand into new markets worldwide, finding the right talent becomes even more complicated. Hiring someone who lists a foreign language on their resume is never enough. In fact, the selection process is much more nuanced.
Four Key Factors to Investigate in Global Hiring
Language fluency—not just language proficiency—is essential for outward facing roles. A native English speaker may have studied a second language in school or college, but this doesn’t mean they can engage in a sophisticated discussion or negotiate a contract with C-suite executives in another country. Unfortunately, if an employee is unable to truly speak the business language of their target market, an employer may not even know that opportunities are being missed due to subpar communication.
Cultural expectations and customs are another area where there is no substitute for real world experience. For example, in Latin America the role of relationships and personal trust in business is completely different than the transactional approach in countries like Germany or Switzerland. Choosing a job candidate who knows how to behave in specific social and business settings helps ensure success.
Hiring locally might reduce issues with language and culture, but there can be other factors at play under the surface. Even regional differences can constitute a significant barrier in trying to build a strong presence in some nations. During the hiring process, identifying prejudices or allegiances that could hamper job performance is important.
What is the candidate bringing to the table? For roles like sales, networking is always a big part of the equation. In some countries, simply working hard isn’t enough to break into the “right” circles. A job candidate who already has strong connections within your target market would be a substantial asset.
Can a Global Staffing Partner Help?
As you can see, navigating the international hiring process can be very complex. A staffing agency may be able to step in and help fill the role of talent sourcing and recruitment. However, making the right choice in this area poses a challenge of its own. There are some simple ways to narrow down your search for the best agency to fill your global staffing needs. Here are a few questions to start with:
- Does the agency offer other international and multilingual services, indicating a greater depth of resources?
- Do they have global offices, or are they located only in one region?
- What kind of research are they willing to do to learn about what your company needs?
- What is their process for identifying the best candidates for a multilingual or international position?
How You Can Help the Staffing Process Along…
Of course, you also need to be prepared to provide information to help your selected staffing partner find the right talent. In addition to the standard job description and the desired level of industry experience, an agency needs to know:
- The country/city the employee will be working in
- Whether they will be working remotely from the U.S. or on location
- The length of the engagement if extended travel or expatriation is required
- What support will be available to the employee if working internationally
- The types of internal and external interactions they will be expected to have in their assigned role
All of this information can help qualify or disqualify candidates more quickly, aiding your search for your next set of global employees.
The right multilingual and multicultural staffing partner can make your global expansion plans go much more smoothly. To learn more about making smart decisions for international hiring, contact our team of experts at Akorbi today.
About Akorbi:
Akorbi provides enterprise solutions that empower companies to achieve success in the global economy. It helps companies connect with employees, vendors and customers in over 170 languages 24×7, in any modality, from any location. Akorbi’s customizable, enterprise solutions include: technical and multilingual staffing, learning services, multilingual contact centers, video remote solutions, translation/ localization and in-person interpretation services.
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