Remote work has opened many doors in the modern business world. It grants businesses access to vast new talent pools, introduces new realms of work-life balance, and enables international business expansion. With remote work, you don’t have to open new offices to hire top talent from around the world. Of course, it is still necessary to manage matters like labor law compliance, locally accessible benefits, and other details involved in hiring people outside your business’s country of origin.
This has led to many new trends and strategies for businesses expanding internationally. At BrightR, our position as a Canadian employer of record (EOR) places us at the center of these trends. This provides us with valuable insight into the future direction of international business expansion. We can help you build your international hiring strategy by highlighting the path to remote global business growth through predictions and insights for the coming year.
Global Remote Work Culture
We are entering an era of global remote work culture. As more professionals accept remote and hybrid roles, new workplace norms and expectations are emerging among remote workers as a demographic. Remote workers and their employers are swiftly identifying best practices and common strategies that are becoming expected because they typically yield positive and predictable results.
Equipment stipends, virtual work environments, LMS onboarding and training, cloud-based file sharing, and structured yet non-invasive time tracking are just the tip of the iceberg. Becoming familiar with the emerging global remote work culture can help your business transition smoothly into team-building with remote international professionals who may already be experienced or benefit from well-structured onboarding to the remote workflow.
International Cloud Platforms
Cloud platforms are among the core tools for international business expansion with remote teams. Cloud platforms provide a virtual work environment available to anyone with internet access. This enables teams to share files, tools, and projects regardless of each member’s location.
Most businesses with remote workers build a cloud software stack including document, communication, and task-specific platforms. However, it is also increasingly common to choose an all-in-one solution, such as a cloud-based enterprise management system (EMS). This type of system aims to integrate necessary business tools and platforms into a single cloud-hosted virtual work environment.
Team Tracking Software
As every manager knows, keeping track of your team is a must. For international business expansion with remote teams, tracking must be done with software rather than stopping by desks and holding daily in-person meetings. Team tracking software enables managers to monitor productivity, task completion, and time management. It also helps reduce the risk of micromanagement and privacy intrusion.
Many of the latest cloud-based work platforms include some degree of team tracking and data-driven reports or dashboards to facilitate this trend. Third-party tools like Trello, Jira, and Asana are popular to fulfill this role in a productive, remote international business team.
Streamlined Benefits and HR Support
One requirement for international business expansion is the ability to provide benefits and HR support at the local level. Healthcare networks and other mandatory benefit packages must be available to your employees where they live. This was initially a challenge for businesses seeking to leverage remote international hiring. However, solutions have emerged to streamline localized benefits and HR support.
Partnering with an Employer of Record (EOR), such as BrightR, offers a comprehensive HR solution for your remote employees. This includes planned and hassle-free access to local employee benefits as required by each country’s labor laws. This ensures businesses and international employees can meet essential hiring requirements without unnecessary complications or burdensome processes.
Globally Accessible Employee Perks
As part of international business expansion, another solution to the challenge of providing employee benefits is offering globally accessible perks. While healthcare and other systemic benefits must be local, companies can offer benefits such as employee discounts, vacation days, flexible hours, wellness lifestyle stipends, and snack box subscriptions. These are examples of location-independent incentives that don’t rely on an employee’s location for access.
Companies that get creative with globally accessible perks are making themselves more appealing in the international hiring market. Often, the goal is to surprise and delight new hires with perks they didn’t expect and will enjoy as unique benefits when working with a specific company.
Localized Compliance Teams
Compliance is also a primary consideration when beginning international business expansion. Each country has a distinct set of labor laws covering payroll, classification, vacation and sick leave, required benefits, and the paperwork that must be filed for employees residing in that country. Compliance is the single biggest hurdle in a landscape of nearly perfect access to international talent.
The solution is the development of localized compliance teams. Whether you build your team or partner with an established local provider such as an EOR, assigning personnel to ensure international employment compliance is the most effective way to support smooth and successful global expansion.
Remote to Hybrid Expansion
Hiring remote employees in a new country can be a way to access singular top talent for international business expansion. However, it can also help you lay the groundwork for establishing a presence in new markets. For companies planning full-scale expansion, remote workers often join with the understanding that their roles will eventually become hybrid when the company successfully opens a new location in their country. These ‘foundational’ remote employees benefit from a prestigious status and can help companies build the necessary groundwork. They can also enjoy the perks of remote work and, later, hybrid benefits offered by the newly opened office resources.
International Business Expansion With BrightR Limited
To prepare for international remote hiring, your business should first establish a solid compliance and HR support structure. This will ensure a streamlined recruiting and hiring process where employees have everything they need to begin contributing to your company immediately. BrightR Ltd. can serve as your employer of record for top talent in the Canadian workforce. Contact us today to start strategizing your international business expansion by hiring Canadian professionals in your industry.
