How To Hire International Employees (Step-By-Step Guide)

How does hiring foreign employees drive a competitive advantage?

In the business world, competitive advantage is the lifeline of a company. Having a clear established competitive advantage not only lets a business survive but provides them with the opportunity to thrive.

The ability to hire foreign employees has seen companies experience a wide range of benefits, ranging from filling skilled roles that were limited in your domestic area to experiencing new, creative, and rich perspectives initially off-limits to you.

But the rise of remote work allows you to access a larger talent pool. Businesses have found a way to adapt and gain a competitive advantage against each other, one such method being the use of a professional employment organisation (PEO).

Aside from the benefits of remote working, why should you be hiring international employees for your business?

We’ve prepared a few reasons why companies might want to begin developing their competitive advantage with the power of international employees.

1. International employees bring a new perspective

When you bring people who share similar backgrounds and beliefs together in a room, chances are you’re going to get an outcome that everyone agrees on – but this isn’t necessarily a good thing.

You want to encourage people to bring new and fresh perspectives to problems and challenge the status quo – and this is why an international employee can do wonders for your business.

We all know the benefits that come when you hire employees from different backgrounds, countries and cultures. One of the most important of these is that they can bring a new perspective.

International employees can share unique insights you may not have considered and bring different angles to problem-solving.

When your business is exposed to the thoughts and opinions of foreign employees, you’ll reap the benefits of the diversity of thought, which leads us to our next point…

Read more: Can you build an inclusive remote company culture?

2. International employees encourage diverse thinking

When building your business, you want the best people that can help you get to where you want to be. Whether your goal is expanding internationally, growing your team or tapping into new markets domestically, you want to have the best team for the job that covers all aspects of thinking.

When you combine a team of high-performers from all over the world, you’re going to get a well-thought-out plan and an even better result.

When people who have shared different life experiences combine their individual ideas and beliefs, that’s when things begin to come together. It’s the idea that when two unrelated viewpoints are joined, that is when true innovation occurs.

Read more: Online communication tools for collaboration between remote teams

3. Expert insights into a global market

When you’re looking to expand your business into a new market, you want to completely understand the market.

Are they driven by price? Do they value quality? Are they all about top-tier customer service?

This is where it makes sense to employ someone who has a greater understanding of the new market you’re entering and knows the target audience.

At the end of the day, having someone on your team who has localised knowledge can be the difference between a successful launch and a not-so-successful one.

They can also bring innovative ideas to the table for launch strategies and the ongoing direction for the international arm of the company.

Who wouldn’t want permanent employees on the ground in the country you’re looking to launch into?

4. Attract and retain employees

When expanding globally, businesses may experience the feeling of being overwhelmed and challenged in the hiring process.

However, expansion into international markets gives businesses the incredible opportunity to recruit productive and innovative employees. Businesses that explore the use of a global workforce are more adaptable to change and have a hands-on grasp of international markets.

By bringing in new talent, your existing team members can benefit from developing new skills. Your local employees gain a unique insight into global markets through the international team members with eyes on the ground.

Having a distributed team experience within your business boosts your competitive advantage and provides growth opportunities for your employees.

Read more: Retention strategies for remote teams

5. Increased productivity around the clock

The potential benefits of having a remote international team in different time zones are immense. If their time zones are several hours ahead of yours, for example, foreign employees can get started on their days when most of your local employees are still sleeping.

You will find it easier to keep clients satisfied when they need quick turnarounds on urgent projects. Increasing productivity around the clock will allow your business to maintain a competitive advantage over competitors as they rest.

Read more: Flexible working best practices

What are the legal requirements to hire international employees?

When hiring international workers, it’s important to research the legal requirements for their respective countries.

Breaching tax laws can be an expensive mistake for your company, so be sure to do your due diligence before hiring foreign employees.

1. Local laws and relevant employment laws

When hiring employees outside of your own country, they may still fall under the employment law of the country you operate in.

In Australia, for example, employees are still subject to Australian employment laws such as the Fair Work Act 2009, National Employment Standards and certain industry awards. This is standard for all employees in Australia.

You may also be beholden to the employment laws of the country your employee resides in.

For example, if you hire someone from Hong Kong, they will fall under both Australian and Hong Kong employment acts.

That means you must obey the laws surrounding contracts, termination, payroll, leave and retention of both countries.

This isn’t the case for every country so make sure to do your research beforehand. It is critical to ensure you can comply with both sets of laws.

Want to take the guesswork out of it? Employment Hero’s Global PEO services will automatically check the legal requirements for international hiring.

2. Tax treaties and tax laws

In Australia, there are many double tax agreements or tax treaties with many different countries. These agreements set out which country has the right to tax each type of income an employee earns.

This will deem whether the employee must pay tax here and in their home country as well.

Find a list of the double tax treaties in Australia here. If the country in question doesn’t appear here, you will have to do further research into that nation’s tax laws and taxation system.

3. Health and safety

Just because an employee isn’t in your office, let alone in your country, doesn’t mean that they don’t have to comply with health and safety laws.

The employee is still your responsibility so you will have to legally draft health and safety plans for overseas remote workers. This will include things such as risk assessment, hazard mitigation, health and safety reporting systems and work-related incidents.

If any role involves tasks that require personal protective equipment or other specific equipment, it is the duty of the employer to provide them or source appropriate local replacements.

4. Security and privacy

With remote teams, every piece of information and data will be sent across decentralised networks.

Your employees know a lot of sensitive information about your business so you must figure out how to protect yourself and the employee from any breaches.

Legally, you will need to find secure data transfer systems and also make sure your new staff member is well across your privacy and security policies.

Think about software such as VPNs (virtual private networks) or drive encryptions to protect everyone involved.

5. Termination of employment

It might sound a bit preemptive to be thinking about ending employment before you’ve even hired someone, but when it comes to remote overseas staff, it’s something you may need to consider.

As with things like sick leave and overtime entitlements, each country has their own laws regarding termination and some of them will be very different from what you are used to.

Requirements such as length of notice, severance pay and extra perks will differ, and you will most likely need to follow both sets of laws just like with taxation.

Don’t assume the employee will get the forms correct

Once you’ve made your hiring decision, make sure you help them through the legal processes on their end.

It will take up some of your time, but ensuring they apply for the correct working visa or fill in the employment application correctly will end up saving you a huge headache if something goes wrong.

These processes are lengthy and complicated, and as the hiring company, you can get the blame for non-compliance. It’s in your best interest to oversee any and all legal applications.

How to find the right fit when hiring international workers

When you hire a foreign employee, apply the same rules when hiring a local employee. You need to put the effort in to make sure you have the best candidate possible joining your team.

1. Screen resumes of international candidates carefully

Start by digging into the resume. Some countries may have elements in their resume you aren’t used to seeing.

Japanese resumes may have a handwriting sample, and German resumes sometimes include autobiographies with what may seem like irrelevant information, such as their parent’s occupation.

Make sure to ask about these inclusions in one of your interviews with them. It will help you learn about the culture and how the applicant thinks and works.

Similarly, don’t be afraid to contact their references and ask even more questions. Past employers are extremely valuable resources of information about an employee’s conduct and productivity.

They might also be able to tell you whether the person is in it for the long haul. International hiring can be a lengthy and complicated process, so you must make sure you acquire someone who is genuinely planning on sticking around for a while.

2. Double-check your job-post language

Language is an odd thing. Even when both countries speak English, some words may not mean the same thing. For example, though we call them optometrists, the US calls them opticians and won’t know what our word means.

While we’re at it, an ophthalmologist and an optometrist aren’t the same thing!

To ensure you find the right employees for your business, you must ensure your language is universal or at least correct for the main countries you are interested in.

Check out the Skilled Occupation List for more information on this.

3. Utilise international hiring job boards

There are quite a few different websites and programs that will connect you with employees searching for foreign jobs or becoming part of a global team.

Indeed and Glassdoor are some of the largest online career community platforms with millions of people searching for international jobs they can do from home.

Similarly, HR services such as Employment Hero can search, vet and hire the perfect employee for you and then fully maintain their needs while they are working for your company.

Individual countries will also have their own job boards. Find one in your country of interest and post jobs there. They may not be specific to global team searches, but many employment-seekers will be intrigued by the idea and keen to learn if it’s right for them.

Read more:  How global teams can transform your business

Where are the skilled workers located?

Finding the perfect employee is hard. It’s even harder when you’re limited to candidates in a 50km radius. Currently, talent mismatch is worsening. There is a disparity between skills available in local markets and what employers require.

Skills such as digital communication, emotional intelligence and digital skills are in demand globally. With international hiring, you can now access a larger talent pool for your business.

Your future employee could live anywhere. Below we outline specific countries and what they specialise in and what skills are in demand there.

France

Suddenly craving a croissant? Well, the French have a lot more to offer than just delicious food and icons. This country has an abundance of experts in telecommunications, engineering, marketing and education fields that could help transform your business to the next level.

On the other hand, the key skills in demand for French businesses are:

• Supply chain specialists
• Payroll officers
• Data analysts

Australia

G’day! Australians are a friendly bunch and will be keen to join your business. Australians are clever with a highly educated workforce; 56% of the population hold a post-school qualification, and there is a great diversity of industries.

The key experts in Australia are from the finance, business, health, education and administration sectors.

Australian businesses desire employees with these key skills:

• Risk and compliance managers
• Systems engineers
• Marketing and content managers

Canada

Oh Canada, Oh Canada—how can you help my business thrive? This beautiful country filled with maple syrup and snow-capped mountains has experts in commercial banking, technology, pharmaceuticals and academia, all of which could be your next employee!

Canadian businesses are after employees with these key skills:

• Software developers
• Cybersecurity professionals
• Construction estimators

Japan

Known for its delicious cuisine and caring culture, the Japanese workforce is varied and has a multitude of opportunities for companies to seek candidates from this country. Specific areas of expertise include IT professionals, researchers and sales.

Japanese businesses need employees who possess these key skills:

• Data scientists
• Human resource business partners
• Indirect and direct procurement specialists

Chile

Chile is a beautiful country filled with red wine and a side of professional experts in software development, media, mining and agriculture.

However, Chilean businesses need roles filled in:

• Account management
• Digital Marketing
• Engineering

Austria

Vienna is known as the city of dreams, and your next employee could be the dream candidate with expertise in real estate, construction, health care and social work.

Austrian businesses have a skill shortage in:

• Software developers
• IT consultants
• SAP consultants

Singapore

Is that a bird? Is that a plane? No, it’s just your next employee sitting in Singapore’s skyscrapers saying hello (via Zoom).

They are probably an expert in communications and media, IT or construction and will help you achieve your business goals.

Key skills in demand for businesses in Singapore include:

• Cloud engineers
• Financial planning
• Analysis experts

Switzerland

Their flag is a big plus, and an employee from Switzerland could be a big plus to your business!

They have expert knowledge in insurance, engineering, medicine and consulting. Switzerland businesses are after these skills:

• Administrators
• Helpdesk and support administrators
• Software developers

Questions to ask before recruiting internationally

Employing remote international workers can give your business an incredible competitive advantage. Without being confined by borders, you can access the diverse knowledge, skills and unique personalities different parts of the world can offer.

If you’re paying an employee based outside of your home state or country (or thinking about it), then there are several things you need to consider to remain compliant.

Legal requirements

Employment law is a complex subject and often requires extensive research to comply with local regulations of your overseas worker. Before proceeding with hiring a worker overseas, be sure to consult a professional that specialises in the local laws.

Here are a few things you can look into yourself:

1. Have you checked the employment laws for both countries?

When hiring international employees to work for an Australian company, they will fall under Australian employment laws. However, when hiring someone in another country, their own employment laws may still apply.

For example, if you hire someone from Hong Kong, they will fall under the Australian and Hong Kong employment acts. That means you must obey the laws surrounding contracts, termination, payroll, leave and retention of both countries.

This isn’t the case for every country so make sure to do your research beforehand. It is critical to ensure you can comply with both sets of laws.

Learn the employment laws when hiring in:

• New Zealand
• Philippines
• Singapore
• United Kingdom
• Netherlands
• Indonesia
• Canada
• United States

2. Have you checked the list of tax treaties?

Australia has several double tax agreements or tax treaties with several different countries. These agreements set out which country has the right to tax each type of income an employee earns. This will deem whether the employee must pay tax here and in their home country as well.

3. Have you familiarised yourself with the rules around ending employment?

As with things like annual leave and overtime entitlements, each country will have their own laws regarding termination; you will have to ensure you follow Australian and the other country’s rules.

Requirements such as length of notice, severance pay and extra perks will differ. For example, workers in Belgium are entitled to paid time off to search for a new job. In Brazil they have an unusually high severance pay system depending on the cause of termination.

Make sure to investigate all the requirements before commencing overseas remote hiring.

Read more: How to implement a remote working policy

Remote recruitment process

Following the complex employment laws, recruiting overseas can be a daunting task for hiring managers, as the recruiting process for international workers may differ significantly from hiring locally.

4. Have you thought of employing a Professional Employer Organisation?

A professional employer organisation (PEO) is an HR service that allows employers to access talent worldwide. It won’t only find and recruit overseas employees, it will also take on functions such as payroll, benefits, remuneration, administration, employment taxes, HR guidance and more.

Plus, each of these will be conducted according to employment laws from the countries of both parties.

PEOs are extremely helpful for more than just international hiring. Learn more about how PEOs can optimise your business.

Read more: Is an Employer of Record different from PEOs?

5. Are you utilising international job-seeker websites?

Make sure to put your job advertisement on international web pages, Glassdoor and CareerJet are some of the largest online career community platforms with millions of people searching for international jobs they can do from home.

Individual countries will also have their own job search websites. So be sure to do some research beforehand.

Find one in your country of interest and post your job ad there. They may not be specific to remote hiring work searches, but many employment-seekers will be intrigued by the idea and keen to learn if it’s right for them.

Read more: How to build an international sales team

6. Have you double-checked their references?

Just because they are overseas, you can’t forget the importance of reference checks. Past employers are extremely valuable resources of information about an employee’s conduct, personality and productivity.

As you will only meet prospective employees through online interviews, it can be difficult to gauge how they mesh with business culture or do under pressure. References might be able to help answer these questions.

They might also be able to tell you whether the person is in it for the long haul.

International remote hiring can be a lengthy and complicated process, so you must make sure to acquire someone who is genuinely planning on sticking around for a while.

Employee wellbeing

Managing and supporting wellbeing of remote employees is a different ballgame from your traditional office space. Without the ability to be physically present and pick up subtle cues from your employees, you should pay extra attention to developing an employee wellbeing plan.

7. Have you created a remote wellbeing plan to help support overseas employees?

Only connecting with people through a computer screen can make it difficult to feel part of a community. Remote workers don’t get those ‘watercooler chat sessions’ or impromptu after-work drinks so they can struggle with loneliness and not feel like part of a team.

While there are many challenges of remote work, lacking human interaction is a big one. As their employer, it is your responsibility to create a specific plan to ensure remote staff aren’t left out. This can be an online trivia game once a week, virtual birthday parties or international holiday celebrations.

Whatever it is, make sure they happen regularly and that you consistently check in with remote employees to monitor their wellbeing. Consider the insights from remote working statistics to look out for to better understand how to enhance your remote working strategy.

8. Have you begun shifting into a “one team, one culture” mindset?

When hiring overseas staff, you are starting the journey to becoming a global team, so you’ll need to start thinking and talking like an international company.

Make sure to sit down and refresh your internal business culture. Your language needs to be inclusive of your international team members as well as your practices. This could include altering your mission, values and goals.

Perhaps take on this challenge with some of your employees to gain an international and diverse perspective. This should be done before the remote hiring of new overseas employees, so they can be welcomed in a globally-thinking company.

This can also inform other key things of this checklist such as performance reviews and business culture.

Employee productivity plan

After hiring your new overseas employee, it’s important to have a plan in place to allow employees to be as productive as they would be in the office. This involves planning the online induction process, learning and development, and other work plans.

9. Have you planned necessary online training and induction courses?

First impressions are everything. Employees who go through a poor remote onboarding process may find themselves wondering if they made the right choice. This means that your training, induction and general introduction to the company must be engaging and inviting.

Also, make sure all your courses can be done online, and that remote staff won’t miss out on any details. In fact, you could give them a tour of the office space to help them visualise the company and feel included.

Make the induction personalised to your business and the employee. To help you get started, refer to the 3-day virtual onboarding schedule for remote teams for a comprehensive guide on creating effective induction programmes.

10. Have you scheduled regular work meetings that accommodate all time zones?

Another common challenge international workers face is communication issues and being out of the loop. The best way to solve these issues is by scheduling regular work meetings that all relevant employees can attend.

You can use these online team meetings as a time to allocate tasks, check in on progress, answer questions or brainstorm ideas. Just make sure they are regular, and they accommodate the time zones of employees.

11. Are you using globally-available technology?

If you are planning on sending your remote employee a bundle of technology used by your company, then skip this checklist. If you aren’t, then you have to be aware of technology differences based on geography.

Some countries won’t favour Apple or Microsoft products, so you may have to adjust practices and technology to accommodate these workers. Similarly, think about any online tools and platforms you use.

Are these applications available to all countries? Do some research otherwise, you may end up with a different tech stack for each team in separate countries. For further guidance, explore the complete remote working guide which includes innovative retention strategies for remote employees.

12. Have you created a performance review system and check-ins?

More so than local workers, overseas employees will require more feedback on their performance. They will miss out on the little bits of advice or check-ins that staff in the office will receive.

To make sure they maintain peak performance, work together to create a review system based on the job description, expectations and goals.

As remote work is increasing, there are plenty of resources on how to conduct effective performance reviews. Schedule these reviews more regularly for overseas staff and make the effort to provide unprompted positive feedback and encourage every now and then.

Start hiring international employees

As you can see, the world is big and full of talent waiting to fulfil your job roles (and that was only eight countries).

Your organisation is full of potential, so it’s time to stop restricting yourself.

The perfect candidate is out there! If the global workforce connects, there is power for your business to grow exponentially.

Employment Hero’s global PEO, Global Teams, allows you to access talent in 54 countries and regain that coveted competitive advantage. Learn more by booking a demo with us today.

Still want to learn more about international hiring?

Download our guide now.