As today’s economies become increasingly globalized, attracting skilled remote talent from emerging markets is becoming a strategic priority for forward-thinking organizations. These markets represent a unique opportunity for outsourcing remote positions to the best possible candidates while lowering overhead costs for your company.
This article outlines five best practices to help you optimize your company’s recruitment processes and gain a competitive edge in the talent acquisition market. We will explore how thorough knowledge of your target market, strong branding strategies, and compliance with local regulations can be the deciding factors for your potential candidates.
Understanding your market is an essential hiring best practice
1- Navigating cultural differences between local and emerging markets
Outsourcing certain roles into the vast talent pool offered by emerging markets is a strategic way to improve your processes by securing highly skilled workers. However, as you will be hiring potential candidates in unfamiliar markets compared to your own, you must understand how to navigate cultural differences in terms of the work environment.
By taking a more globalized approach and emphasizing the importance of diversity in your company culture, you can improve your chances of attracting skilled foreign talent as it shows a commitment to providing prospective candidates with a safe and inclusive workplace. This can be achieved by tailoring your brand to cultural values that are important based on each market:
United States
- Individualist culture based primarily on personal achievement and autonomous initiatives
- Direct communication is generally preferred, where opinions are expected to be stated with less filtering to ensure idea-sharing
- The work culture emphasizes hard work and productivity by normalizing working longer hours
Philippines
- Collectivist culture that prioritizes community through collaboration and harmony between members
- Indirect communication is paramount and is applied through non-verbal cues and a strong importance attached to hierarchy
- Flexibility is common and expected, with more importance being given to processes and collaboration than deadlines.
Indonesia
- Collectivist culture based on mutual respect, teamwork, and cohesion between individuals
- Formal communication is important which emphasizes politeness and respect based on hierarchy and age
- Work-life balance is important and employers are expected to accommodate religious practices and holidays.
2- Offering Supplemental benefits that have added value for foreign workers
One of the key hiring best practices for attracting and retaining prospective employees is your employee compensation package. It is important to distinguish your company from competitors and this can be achieved through offering supplemental benefits that go beyond the mandatory statutory benefits set by local governments.
This underlines the importance of understanding the emerging market that you are targeting, as it is a way to identify the types of benefits that represent the most added value for attracting talent. RecruitGo can help you determine and put in place the most commonly sought-after supplemental benefits for remote workers in your hiring market:
- Comprehensive health insurance plans
- Additional leave and paid time off
- 13th-month pay
- Remote work hubs and networking opportunities
- Employee wellness programs
Establishing a strong employer brand to promote your workplace
3- Brand advocacy is a key hiring best practice for attracting potential candidates
Establishing a strong employer brand is a key factor in attracting talent, especially when you are outsourcing in emerging markets where your reputation is not as established. A recent study published on LinkedIn states that 94% of candidates are more likely to apply for a job if a company actively manages its brand.
You can foster and develop your brand strategy when entering a new market by ensuring consistent messages that emphasize the importance that you attach to your target demographic’s cultural intricacies. This can be applied both in job advertisements and by attending local recruitment events or partnering with educational institutions.
Partnering with a locally established and recognized Employer of Record (EOR) can give you a significant advantage in building your brand as a foreign employer. RecruitGo has locally-based teams who understand local norms, as well as a pre-existing talent network. Jobs posted on RecruitGo’s job board can therefore benefit you by associating with an established local brand.
4- Leverage a strong reputation to attract candidates who are more likely to meet your needs
Building your reputation as a popular prospective employer is a hiring best practice as it allows you to find highly qualified candidates who more closely match your operational needs. As your reputation grows, so will the effectiveness of word of mouth from your local employees, as they will act as ambassadors for your company, leading to more job-specific applications.
Leveraging a strong reputation will also benefit you by reducing your overall costs, as you will need to spend less time and resources once applicants seek you out directly. This will in turn lead to lower marketing expenses, as extensive recruitment campaigns will be replaced by organic search and word-of-mouth referrals.
Ensuring compliance with local regulations will make you a more appealing employer for local talent
5- Outsourcing HR and Payroll to locally-based experts is a hiring best practice for showing commitment to your remote teams
The final key factor to take into account when seeking out candidates in emerging markets is ensuring that your company adheres to local regulations and requirements in terms of human resources, taxes, and payroll. Therefore, it is considered a best hiring practice to outsource these roles to locally based teams who know how to navigate the local standards.
RecruitGo can assist you with several key functions for hiring talent in emerging markets:
- Managed payroll to ensure compliance with taxation and statutory deductions
- EOR service to simplify and accelerate the hiring process for potential candidates
- Remote hub setup to provide your remote teams with a physical location
- Drafting employment contracts and onboarding support
If you are interested in outsourcing remote positions into emerging markets, contact us via the form below and one of our advisors will be happy to assist you in starting the process!
