Learn how to hire employees in any market

Hiring in a competitive market is tough, but hiring in any market demands strategy. Whether you’re scaling fast or filling critical gaps, the way you attract, assess, and onboard talent can make or break your team’s momentum.

What is covered in this guide?

Hiring across markets opens up a world of opportunity, but it also comes with added complexity. Whether you’re expanding into new regions or building a distributed team from the ground up, this guide gives you the tools to do it well.

Inside, you’ll find:

• Why casting a wider net can improve both speed and quality of hire
• Practical ways to attract qualified candidates across cities, states, or borders
• Strategies to assess cultural and role fit, not just credentials
• What you need to know about legal compliance, onboarding, and payroll in different locations
• Tips to create a smooth, structured hiring experience that sets new employees up for success from day one

How does the hiring process impact retention?

The way you hire directly shapes how long people stay. Every interaction during your recruitment process sets expectations about your workplace culture, values, and how you’ll treat them as an employee. Get this wrong, and you’ll find yourself replacing the same roles repeatedly—an expensive cycle that drains resources and morale.

Here’s how different stages of your hiring process directly influence whether new hires stay or go.

Vague job descriptions drive early turnover

When job descriptions are vague or oversell the role, new hires quickly realise the mismatch. They feel misled and start looking elsewhere within months.

Being honest about challenges, day-to-day realities, and growth limitations upfront means candidates self-select appropriately. Those who join know what they’re signing up for and are more likely to stick around.

Poor interview experiences predict workplace dysfunction

Disorganised scheduling, unprepared interviewers, or lengthy processes without feedback signal dysfunction. Candidates who experience this assume it reflects how you operate generally, and they’re often right. A respectful, efficient process suggests you value people’s time and run things professionally.

Weak manager selection creates retention problems

Most people leave managers, not companies. If your hiring process doesn’t properly assess management capability or match new hires with suitable line managers, you’re setting up failure. 

Ensure hiring managers are equipped to support new team members and that personality fits are considered alongside technical skills.

Limited workplace exposure increases departure risk

Showing candidates the actual work environment, introducing them to potential colleagues, or offering trial periods reduces turnover. 

When people understand what they’re joining, including the less glamorous bits, they make more informed decisions. This transparency creates psychological buy-in that carries through their early months.

Undelivered hiring promises trigger early exits

The promises you make during hiring become expectations that new starters carry with them. If you mention flexible working, development opportunities, or specific projects during interviews, these need to materialise quickly. 

Unmet expectations from the recruitment stage often trigger departures within the first year.

What should be included in an employment contract when hiring employees?

​​Most companies get employment contracts wrong. They use generic templates, miss crucial clauses, or include terms they don’t understand. This creates expensive problems later including unclear termination procedures, unprotected intellectual property, and disputes that could have been avoided.

Smaller companies struggle most here. Without dedicated HR support, they assume basic contracts will suffice, not realising that employment law varies significantly by jurisdiction and industry. A tech startup’s needs differ vastly from a manufacturing business. Remote-first companies require different clauses than traditional office-based operations.

Poor contracts affect employee experience, too. When expectations aren’t clearly documented, new hires feel uncertain about their role boundaries, review processes, or career progression. This uncertainty breeds anxiety and can impact early retention. 

What you include will depend on your company type, size, and location. A five-person consultancy has different requirements than a 200-person manufacturer. UK contracts need different clauses from US ones. However, certain elements should appear in virtually every employment agreement.

Job details and reporting structure

Define the role title, key responsibilities, and reporting lines clearly. Include the start date, work location (including remote work arrangements), and any probationary period. 

Specify whether the position is full-time, part-time, or contract-based. This prevents confusion about expectations and helps managers structure appropriate oversight.

Compensation and benefits package

Detail the salary or hourly rate, payment frequency, and any variable compensation like bonuses or commissions. Include benefit entitlements such as pension contributions, health insurance, or professional development budgets. 

Outline any salary review process and timing; this connects to your broader performance management approach and helps employees understand when they might expect increases.

Working arrangements and flexibility

Specify standard working hours, break entitlements, and any flexibility around start/finish times. If you offer remote work, detail the conditions and expectations. Include overtime policies and how additional hours are compensated. 

As work patterns become more flexible, these clauses prevent misunderstandings about availability and work-life boundaries.

Holiday and leave entitlements

Document annual leave allowance, how it accrues, and any restrictions on when it can be taken. 

Include sick leave policies, parental leave entitlements, and any other special leave categories. Specify the notice period required for holiday requests and what happens to unused leave on termination.

Performance management and development

Outline how performance will be measured and reviewed. This might include regular 1:1 meetings with line managers, quarterly goal-setting sessions, or annual 360-degree review processes involving feedback from colleagues and stakeholders. 

Detail any probationary review periods and what constitutes satisfactory performance. Include commitments to training and professional development where applicable.

Termination and notice periods

Clearly state notice periods required from both parties and any circumstances where immediate termination applies. Include details about final pay, return of company property, and any restrictive covenants that continue after employment ends. This section often determines whether departures are smooth or contentious.

Confidentiality and intellectual property

Protect sensitive information through clear confidentiality clauses covering customer data, business strategies, and proprietary processes. Define who owns work created during employment, particularly important for creative or technical roles. Include any restrictions on using company information after employment ends.

Technology and equipment usage

Specify what technology the company provides and the employee’s responsibilities for its care. Include acceptable use policies for company systems and data.

With increased remote working, these clauses become crucial for maintaining security and ensuring equipment is returned when employment ends.

Restrictive covenants

Include non-compete, non-solicitation, or non-dealing clauses where genuinely necessary to protect business interests. Ensure these are reasonable in scope and duration, as overly broad restrictions are often unenforceable and can deter good candidates from joining.

What are the key employer obligations when bringing on a new employee?

Hiring across markets brings access to incredible talent, but it also introduces complexity. Employment laws, onboarding requirements, and compliance risks can vary significantly depending on where your new hire is based. While the details may shift between states, countries, or sectors, some responsibilities remain constant.

Here’s what you need to get right, no matter the market:

Provide a compliant employment contract

Every employee should receive a written employee contract that reflects their entitlements under local legislation. This isn’t just a formality, it protects both parties and provides a clear foundation for the working relationship.

In Australia, this means outlining terms that meet the National Employment Standards (NES), relevant Modern Awards, or Enterprise Agreements. Internationally, you may also need to comply with regional labour codes, collective bargaining agreements, or specific visa conditions. Apart from that, contracts may also need to be translated or localised to align with regulatory language or formats.

Confirm legal right to work

Before employment begins, you must confirm that the individual has the legal right to work in their country or state. Failing to do this can expose your business to penalties, especially if the person holds a temporary visa or work permit.

In Australia, you must:

• Verify Australian citizenship or permanent residency
• Conduct VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online) checks for non-citizens
• Keep records of these checks as part of your onboarding documentation

In other jurisdictions, you may need to register with local immigration authorities, file employment declarations, or report international hires to tax agencies. For example, notifying HMRC in the UK or filing a Form I-9 and reporting to state agencies in the US.

Set up correct payroll and taxation processes

Once a hire is confirmed, you ensure their pay, contributions, and tax reporting are accurate and compliant. While some of the mechanics may be familiar, the specifics can vary significantly depending on where your employee is based.

In Australia, this includes registering for PAYG withholding with the ATO, making compulsory Superannuation Guarantee contributions based on minimum earnings thresholds, ensuring Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting, as well as issuing payslips and payment summaries that meet Fair Work and ATO standards

If you’re hiring overseas, the requirements become more nuanced. You’ll need to account for local tax and withholding rules, as each country has its own tax system. You’ll also have to think about statutory social contributions, payroll registration, and ongoing reporting, as well as currency, tax treaties, and cross-border payments. 

Meet workplace health and safety (WHS) duties

WHS obligations apply regardless of location and extend to remote, hybrid, or home-based workers. As an employer, you’re legally required to provide a safe work environment and take reasonable steps to mitigate risk.

This may include conducting a risk assessment for remote or home-based work environments to ensure they meet basic safety standards. You may also need to provide ergonomic equipment, such as an adjustable chair or monitor stand, or offer a stipend so employees can set up a suitable workspace themselves. 

It’s essential to share clear, accessible policies around health and safety, covering both physical and psychological risks. Where relevant, this should be supported by access to mental health and wellbeing resources, whether through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), flexible work options, or clear escalation pathways.

Even in countries where WHS frameworks differ, your duty of care remains. Taking a proactive, well-documented approach demonstrates responsibility, reduces risk, and shows your employees that their safety is more than a checkbox and is indeed a priority.

Provide onboarding support and entitlements access

A new hire’s first few weeks shape their long-term engagement. Beyond compliance, you’re also responsible for ensuring they have the tools, knowledge, and access they need to do their job well.

This means:

• Issuing workplace policies and procedures
• Providing training on systems, tools, and expectations
• Ensuring access to internal platforms, benefits, and employee assistance programs
• Creating a structured induction that reflects your culture and values

In different regions, entitlements may include local public holidays, cultural leave, or unique benefits like transport allowances. Clear documentation and early communication help avoid confusion and reduce attrition.

What are the best practices for interviewing candidates to ensure the right hire?

When you’re hiring across markets, time zones, cultures, or compliance frameworks, the interview process needs to do more than surface technical skills. It should give you a reliable read on how a candidate thinks, collaborates, and adapts to your way of working. Done well, it becomes a powerful tool not just for selection, but for long-term alignment.

Here are the key practices to help you make confident, market-aware hiring decisions:

Standardise your core questions, but stay context-aware

A structured interview process creates consistency, reduces bias, and helps you compare candidates more objectively, particularly when you’re hiring across locations or at scale. That means clearly defining what success in the role looks like, identifying the skills and behaviours that matter most, and building a repeatable framework around them. 

But standardisation shouldn’t come at the cost of cultural nuance.

It’s common knowledge that candidates in Japan, for example, may downplay their achievements or avoid highlighting personal wins due to cultural norms around humility, whereas candidates from the US might lean into confidence and self-promotion as signals of competence. Same capability, different expression. Your questions need to leave space for both, and your interviewers should be trained to interpret responses through a global lens rather than a single cultural frame.

Prioritise values and communication fit

Hiring across borders means welcoming different ways of working; that diversity can be a real strength, if navigated well. But to get it right, you need to go beyond technical skills and understand how a candidate operates under pressure, communicates across cultures, and responds to ambiguity. That means asking questions that uncover mindset, not just method.

For example, instead of asking “How do you prioritise tasks?”, try “Tell me about a time when a stakeholder shifted the goalposts at the last minute—how did you respond, and what changed in your approach?” A candidate’s ability to stay clear, respectful, and outcome-focused in that scenario will tell you more about long-term fit than any hypothetical answer could.

Be specific about how the role works day to day

When candidates walk into a job that doesn’t match what they were told the retention suffers, and that’s entirely preventable. It’s not enough to say the role is “remote” or “flexible”; you need to spell out what that looks like in real terms. Be honest about expected availability across time zones, preferred communication rhythms (asynchronous vs live), and where decision-making power sits.

For instance, if you’re hiring someone in Singapore to work closely with a team based in London, early morning calls might be the norm. If project approvals come from HQ in Sydney, a delay in feedback may be part of the cycle. Candidates don’t need a perfect setup, they just need clarity. And when they get that upfront, you’ll see fewer mismatched hires and stronger early engagement.

Calibrate for market differences in experience

Job titles and credentials don’t always map neatly across countries, and if you take them at face value, you might miss out on exceptional candidates or overestimate capability. In some markets, what’s called a “manager” may lead a team of ten, while in others, the same title may apply to an individual contributor. Education systems, certifications, and even how career progression is signalled can differ.

So rather than fixating on labels, focus on the depth of responsibility. Ask candidates to walk you through a typical project: what decisions they owned, how they worked with others, and where they added value. These stories often reveal far more than a CV ever could.

Include practical case tasks where relevant

In cross-border hiring, where you might not share mutual references or cultural shorthand, a well-designed case task can give you a far clearer sense of how a candidate thinks and communicates than a traditional interview. These tasks don’t need to be long or complex, but they should reflect the real demands of the role and give candidates an opportunity to demonstrate how they approach unfamiliar problems.

For example, if you’re hiring a regional HR lead, you could ask them to outline how they’d adapt an onboarding program for three different countries with varying employment laws and cultural norms. Their response won’t just show you their knowledge, but also their judgment, structure, and communication style under pressure.

Keep panels small and purposeful

When interview panels get too big, candidates feel like they’re being assessed by a committee, and often, no one walks away with a clear impression. Instead of stacking interviews with stakeholders for visibility, select a few team members who can offer useful perspectives on the role and assess specific qualities, such as collaboration, functional skills, or leadership style.

If you’re hiring for a role that spans regions, try to include someone from a different location or time zone in the process. This will help to provide a broader view and signal to the candidate that global collaboration is part of the job. A thoughtful panel builds confidence on both sides.

Ready to hire talent across any market? Download this whitepaper for proven strategies to attract, assess, and onboard talent globally, or use performance management software from Employment Hero to manage your distributed team effectively once they’re hired.