Since the beginning of January 2016, the British Pound has been declining by 20% and 27 %, respectively, to US and Canadian dollars. The British Pound is at its lowest in the last 5 years due to the Brexit vote. On 30th October, Canada and the EU signed a free trade agreement (CETA). There is still a lot of speculation about the final details and impacts of Brexit and Canadian companies are trying to strategize on how best to take advantage of the new economic environment. However, one thing is for sure: there will definitely be increases in free labour movement resulting from these two global changes. Apart from the fact that many organizations might move their offices from Britain to other locations, just the plain decline in the conversion rate means Canadian and American companies will look to expand in the EU and stand to save in hiring expenses on skilled labor.
Our Insight for HR :
- As HR managers, when a large labor movement is going to take place, there will definitely be a lot of value in considering hiring of out of market candidates, especially when the local talent pool for skilled workers is scarce
- HR managers should also keep an eye out for expats who might return home from EU/Britain with terminated contracts
- While it might take years to see real movement of talent, it is a good time for HR to be acquainted with hiring a skilled workforce through work visa programs. Many times, organizations overlook this segment of talent due to the perception of more paper work, but higher retention is a considerable advantage to be gained from hiring foreign workers
- With the opening of new markets for export and trade, there might be more opportunities for your organization to increase revenues and that means ramping up hiring and looking for multilingual employees that can ease communication
- Consider current hiring processes and re-organization if your organization is impacted by these changes, and do an impact analysis to be ready
Early movers stand to gain big, so it time to be proactive. StarGarden can help your business keep up with the global economy. An integrated payroll and scheduling system including a targeted HR system for cross-border workforce issues can help you keep up with globalization and payroll for workers at multiple jobsites worldwide.
Learn more about the advantages of an Integrated HR system in our newly launched HR case studies to find out how StarGarden has helped organizations like yours solve their HR problems and get the most out of their investments.
