When the COVID-19 pandemic forced employers to embrace remote work, it also created a global hiring trend that will continue into 2025. Now, companies can tap into a larger talent pool that doesn’t have many geographical restrictions. Talent management professionals can recruit the best candidates regardless of location.
While global hiring offers several benefits, it also forces companies to build more inclusive workforce cultures that appeal to people from diverse regions. Building more inclusive workforce cultures can challenge many organizations, but it’s essential to success when you take advantage of this 2025 staffing trend. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of global hiring and how you can align policies across regions to make everyone feel welcome.
The Rise of the Global Talent Pool
World Economic Forum notes that embracing the global talent pool helps future-proof organizations. By turning to talent hubs outside of their geographic regions, companies can:
- Hire bilingual employees, making it possible to reach new customers around the globe
- Save money by hiring people in areas with lower living costs
- Overcome the talent gap that plagues many businesses
Cloud technology makes it possible to connect with global talent. Not surprisingly, companies invested a lot of money in cloud services during the pandemic’s height. As long as a job doesn’t require on-site work, it often makes sense for companies to hire remote employees who can contribute via the cloud.
Of course, organizations will face challenges as they adopt this 2025 staffing trend. For example, the U.S. and many other countries have embargos that prevent employers from working with people in certain jurisdictions. Sanctions aren’t always as simple as “you can’t hire people in Cuba,” though. Some embargos will let you hire people with specific skills. It’s a complicated matter, so it’s best to consult with an expert.
Other potential challenges include:
- Time differences that make it difficult for some team members to collaborate with coworkers
- Language, dialect, and accent differences that can interfere with communication
- Local customs and holidays that force teams to work around complicated schedules
It’s possible to overcome all of these challenges, but doing so requires a strategic approach that respects diverse cultures.
The Need for Inclusive Workforce Cultures
An inclusive workforce culture takes steps toward solving many of the cultural challenges businesses face when they hire global talent. Inclusive workforce cultures typically emphasize the value of talent regardless of the person’s religion, nationality, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or socio-economic position.
As you recruit people from more cultures, though, you might need to dive deeper into the values that people hold dear. What happens when one employee’s culture clashes with another employee’s? How can you find a balance that values each person while celebrating the traits that make them unique?
HR has an enormous role to play here. More often than not, HR needs to address minor issues before they can disrupt the overall company culture. Successful strategies might include:
- Meeting with individual employees to explain the importance of respecting cultural mores (even when they disagree with them)
- Establishing processes that bring issues to light before confrontations occur
- Emphasizing the benefits of working in a diverse workplace that values each person’s contributions
- Training employees so they learn how to communicate with each other respectfully
Aligning Handbooks and Policies Across Regions
Organizations with global workforces need to retain their core values while adapting to regional norms and expectations. It’s a challenging situation, but employers can position themselves for success by:
- Identifying and communicating core values
- Researching legal obligations that apply to specific regions
- Understanding how cultures influence factors like paid time off and working hours
- Maintaining a consistent message throughout all communications
- Explaining why the company has chosen to adopt policies
- Rolling out any changes in phases to test reactions from smaller groups before introducing them to the entire workforce
- Providing training programs that help all employees understand and follow policies
- Establishing a process for handling any legal or cultural compliance issues
Cultivating a Unified Experience
HR doesn’t have complete control over how the company communicates and enforces policies while following these 2025 staffing trends. Managers often play a crucial role because they have frequent contact with team members. Talent management professionals within the company can help ensure success by training managers how to lead inclusively. Training programs should ensure that managers understand how to communicate with diverse teams while following the company’s core values.
Other opportunities for cultivating a unified experience include:
- Adopting a human resource information system (HRIS) to streamline processes and ensure all employees receive inclusivity training.
- Holding cultural sensitivity seminars that introduce employees to lifestyles that they might not already know.
- Keeping communications consistent across guidebooks, policies, publications, and other communications.
- Maintaining an “open door” policy for anyone who has questions or concerns.
Stay Ahead of Employment Trends
Global hiring has the potential to reshape how companies and professionals accomplish tasks. It is, however, a complicated subject that requires plenty of forethought and planning.
Stay ahead of this and other 2025 staffing trends by following MRINetwork.