While it is extremely exciting for any start-up, global expansion isn't without its challenges. An international team brings a lot of value to the company, yet as good as it sounds, hiring top talent isn't easy on its own and becomes exponentially harder when you go global.
Once you've decided where to expand and researched the local salary market, it's time to look at what you must know and do when starting to hire internationally.
Make sure you have the resources to onboard and manage the new team.
Get to know local employment, benefits, and taxation regulations, and be careful to comply with them.
Find which sourcing channels and career platforms work best in this new environment (e.g., LinkedIn is popular far from everywhere).
Ensure you have a global Employer brand with a mission that would extend across borders and is strong enough to connect distributed teams.
Make acquaintances and create your network in local professional communities. Hiring from referrals is the safest way to improve the quality of your candidate pool, especially if you are in a niche industry.
Consider potential cultural differences. Research the specifics of communication and negotiations; customize your recruitment ads; learn how to give feedback to and reject candidates in a foreign cultural context.
Related to the above, but a separate concern — be aware of any unconscious hiring biases you might have and look out for them.
Keep the team updated on the expansion progress and be transparent about it. Otherwise, the people who are already working with you, are likely to get demotivated or even leave. There's no need to make this a backdoor operation.
Last but not least. Moving fast is important when entering a new market, but don't rush the hiring process. Getting it wrong may cost you success in the expansion. Putting together the right team takes time, requires planning, and is well worth the effort in the long run.
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