According to The Conference Board, the world is facing its greatest talent shortage since 2007.
As companies grow and expand into new markets, HR and recruitment professionals increasingly need to explore the talent pools of new, perhaps unfamiliar markets. And finding the right candidates for specialised roles can be a complex process at the best of times, let alone with the challenges of language barriers, differences in international qualifications and lack of local contacts being added to the hiring process.
Last year, $4 billion was invested in HR technology – nearly four times the amount invested the previous year. Tech can help overcome certain barriers to global recruitment. For example, it’s possible to set up company career portals in different languages, so that candidates can read a job description in their native tongue. And AI-powered chat bots are a great way to iron out any queries candidates may have about a role – they can ping information about your company or a position to a candidate’s phone 24/7. They’re also a great tool for building rapport with talent from the moment they first cast their eyes over a job description.
HR departments are also increasingly recognising the need to monitor the success of their company’s recruitment process and identify any obstacles, so they can refine their global strategy and take into account any regional trends that need to be considered. Taking a data-driven approach is the best way to do this, and the latest HR tech provides a single method for gathering feedback from job candidates around the world, analysing their responses about where a company’s recruitment process could be improved, and highlighting any regional trends. For example, if your company is having a particularly high success rate in hiring candidates in a particular destination or area of the world, it could be worth investing more in recruiting from this region.
The latest software can also monitor metrics such as how long it takes candidates to fill out your company’s applications, job offer acceptance rates, and time-to-hire (how quickly HR and recruitment professionals were able to identify the right candidate and make a job offer). Taking a more technical, systematic approach to your recruitment process not only helps identify any bottlenecks that can be addressed – it creates the right framework for a process that works on a global scale, rather than a local one.
For HR professionals on the ground in new markets, finding suitable meeting space for interviewing candidates can also be a challenge. But seamless solutions for pre-booking high-quality private meeting rooms in city centre locations are now available. Rather than Googling options from afar, users can remove the hassle from the process by turning to solutions such as the Regus app, which lets them book and drop in to use interview rooms at the brand’s 3,000 locations around the world.
All in all, when creating an effective international recruitment strategy, the same principles apply as with a local one: make it as simple, service-orientated and speedy as possible. However, technical innovations, self-awareness and local, on-the-ground solutions are needed to really take things global – and scout the globe for a company’s next rising star.
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