Global HR

What Is Global HR?

Global HR is the process human resources teams use to manage employees across the world. This is mainly a concern for larger, multinational corporations with offices in more than one country.

Global HR involves figuring out how to manage cultural and geographic differences, language barriers, compliance, and other issues while streamlining operations and keeping the workforce engaged and productive.

What Are the Main Duties of a Global HR Team?

Undoubtedly, global HR is a massive undertaking, even for the most prepared teams. Here’s a breakdown of the duties your team will need to think about as the company continues to expand around the world.

Recruitment and Hiring

International expansion often requires a change in recruiting and hiring practices. The differences frequently involve both cultural and legal compliance issues. These may include shifting candidate sourcing methods and adjusting to differences in communication styles in interviews.

You may also have to navigate different data privacy laws that dictate how and when you can contact candidates and what information you collect about them.

Additionally, you may need to consult experts when it comes to dealing with work visas or immigration processes for employees who may not be in the country long-term. These workers may also need assistance with relocation and integrating into a new culture.

Employee Development

Global HR may include changes in employee training and development for both your local workforce and your employees overseas. Employees will need training on how to overcome language barriers and respect differences in communication.

Because of the differences in education and training standards between countries, employees may also need additional job training or skill-acquisition opportunities to complete their job duties.

Payroll and Benefits

Compensation laws and expectations differ between labor markets and jurisdictions. Employers also have to conduct global HR research regarding tax laws and currency values and how those impact their ability to pay the workforce.

Additionally, the benefits available in each country will be different. It’s up to the global HR team to decide what’s needed in terms of compensation strategies and benefits packages for employees in each country while ensuring they’re being fair to employees around the world.

Employee Management

Strategies to keep employees engaged and happy can differ based on variances in global cultures. In some countries, working long, uninterrupted hours may represent the cultural norm. In others, shutting down for a long lunch break may be the custom. Company policies should reflect and respect these cultural differences.

Global HR teams also need to decide what diversity and inclusion initiatives should look like. This may mean training employees on how to interact and collaborate with teams across the world in terms of languages, communication styles, and cultural practices.

Compliance

Global HR professionals must know and figure out how to comply with labor laws in every country where the business has an office. This means understanding laws surrounding compensation, taxes, pay transparency, data privacy and usage, discrimination, and accommodations.

You must also ensure that all published policies are created with these laws in mind. This lowers compliance risks for the entire organization and keeps fines, penalties, lawsuits, and even business shutdowns at bay.

Strategic Planning

Your global HR team must work to create systems and processes that work for both the organization as a whole and each individual office across the world.

Additionally, strategic planning involves aligning HR tasks and processes with the overall business mission and goals. This, in turn, ensures the HR function supports the company in moving toward those goals.

Data Analysis

It’s the global HR team’s job to collect data and analyze progress toward KPIs and HR metrics. However, your metrics, analysis, and insight may vary across markets and jurisdictions based on goals and cultural norms. When deciding how you will analyze data, make sure to do so in line with each country’s data collection and privacy laws.

How Can Global HR Management Impact Companies?

Global HR management can impact companies by helping streamline operations so the process of international expansion is much smoother. This, in turn, enhances organizational performance, ensuring leaders at all levels are equipped to handle the complexities that come along with having a global workforce.

It also gives HR teams access to a wider talent pool. Having employees who bring a different set of skills and experience can drive innovation across the company, as well as business growth and expansion.

Global HR management can also give companies more flexible options when it comes to workforce development. Companies can tap into the power of a remote or hybrid workforce, which can expand the talent pool even further.

This flexibility also offers companies the opportunity to have employees in different time zones, which can further enhance customer service and productivity.

Additionally, global HR management can improve collaboration between offices, making sure that teams are able to work together effectively on projects and tasks. This keeps the global workforce much more engaged and productive.

The better that individual teams are able to perform, the better the performance of the company as a whole will be.

Finally, good global HR management helps business leaders better support employees across the world. It ensures that every employee understands their role and is equipped to contribute to the company’s overall mission and goals.

Challenges That Face Global HR Teams

While global HR management certainly has its benefits, there are a few challenges that come along with international expansion. Here are four hurdles that global HR teams often face when it comes to managing a worldwide workforce.

Creating Company Culture

It can be difficult to build a cohesive company culture when your workforce is scattered all over the world. This can, in turn, make it hard to ensure all employees are treated fairly or to build a solid strategy for employee engagement.

Sourcing Employees

Education, training, and typical role responsibilities can differ based on the country you’re in, and employee attitudes are often based on cultural norms, preferences, and sentiments.

Consequently, it can be challenging to find employees who have the right skill set to match your company’s needs and possess the right attitude to fit in with your workplace culture.

Managing Global Complexities

Language barriers, cultural differences, geographical issues, and varying legal restrictions can make global HR management much more complex. HR professionals overseeing a global workforce sometimes need additional training and also need to consult with global HR services firms that can provide business expertise in the target country.

Unifying Systems

Global HR thrives when systems and workflows are streamlined and consistent. Using different vendors and software applications can make it challenging to unify systems and ensure that everyone is using the same tools and processes.

Best Practices for Global HR

Succeeding in global HR management requires a solid strategy. The following are best practices that can help you build that strategy and assist your company in achieving growth and expansion targets:

• Hire the right leaders: Ensure that those leading offices in other countries have experience managing a global workforce
• Get a seat at the table: Partner with senior leadership in establishing strategies to help them meet global expansion goals
• Understand the law: Avoid liabilities by developing global HR policies and practices with the regulations of each jurisdiction in mind
• Leverage data analysis: Collect and analyze data on compensation, benefits availability, expectations, and cultural norms for each jurisdiction
• Build the right culture: Ensure all employees embrace cultural differences and are eager to learn how to communicate and collaborate with others
• Use a global HRIS: Unify data, workflows, processes, and systems by choosing an HRIS that supports global operations

What is global HR if not a practice full of challenges and complexities? However, it’s important to realize that it also opens unprecedented opportunities to tackle new markets and expand the company’s mission.

When done right, global HR can allow companies and their employees to grow, thrive, innovate, and create new pathways to success.