It’s no secret that today’s changing and evolving business landscape makes it challenging for organizations and their HR departments to keep up. Now more than ever, technology has made it much more possible to have a globalized workforce, complete with workers in different loca
tions, across borders, connected by the Internet, computers, and Skype. Add all of that up and you now have to manage a workforce that has differing cultural backgrounds, communication styles, and are located in different time zones.
According to an Economist Intelligence Unit survey (source), executives reported that one-third of virtual teams are thought to be badly managed. Building an environment of trust and cooperation can be challenging when people only meet and communicate virtually. Take it one step further, and the same survey discovered that cultural differences present are by far the most pressing challenge for cross-border managers. Differences in cultural backgrounds impact values and attitudes and can contribute to a breakdown in team cohesion.
Here are 4 helpful tips on how to adapt to the challenges associated with a cross-border workforce:
- Encourage flexibility: work with your team to accommodate other people’s schedules, including adjusting to different time zones, work weeks and sometimes even holiday periods. Not always easy, but an important part of adapting.
- Learn to understand: get to know the people you are working with and what makes them tick. It doesn’t mean learning everything about their differing culture, but even just showing a willingness to learn can help develop trust.
- Create a clear mission and concrete objectives: It’s a very important step for success in any organization, but having a cross-border team connect to the company’s overall mission and goals will help create a common bond that everyone can pull for.
- Choose important attributes: Regardless of where your team sits, each person needs to have a common set of attributes that makes them a good fit for what you’re company is up to. Some additional attributes that help in a cross-border scenario are being adaptable, self-directed, and reliable.
Today’s HR professionals are critical to helping attract and retain a workforce that can adapt to the challenges of a cross-border work environment. They are also expected to manage all of the payroll and scheduling complexities that come with this type of workforce, such as differing jurisdictional requirements and taxes, and multiple types of workers such as contract workers, part-time workers, and full-time employees. Without the right hr system for cross-border workforce in place, this can be quite mind-boggling and downright debilitating.
Avoid costly fines, compliance issues, time-intensive data mining and incorrect information and know that there is a better way. StarGarden’s Industrial Strength Scheduling and Payroll System is the best hr software for cross-border workforce, designed to handle the complexities of a cross-border workforce and everything that comes with it. Allow your system to empower your HR initiatives and efforts vs. being bogged down by its inefficiencies.
Visit our cross-border page today and download our free case study to learn more. And as always, contact us and let one of our expert team members learn more about your needs. We are here to help.
