As a recruitment and PEO partner, we talk a lot about attracting the best talent when expanding your business globally. But, once you recruit the top talent, it can be just as big a challenge to retain them. In this latest blog, we take a look at how to retain international employees so your global expansion can thrive.
How To Retain International Employees
Have a clear onboarding process
First impressions matter, no more so than when you’re starting a new job. Therefore, it is critical that your new employee gets off on the right foot when starting their new role at your business.
One way to achieve this is by having a clear, structured international onboarding process.
As we have discussed in our previous blog, your onboarding process for international employees must be unique to that of your home country in order to accommodate foreign employment laws and cultural differences. As such, you can guarantee full compliance whilst also ensuring that your new employee feels welcomed and part of your global team, which in turn helps to boost productivity and ensure employee retention in the longer term.
Prioritise payroll
It goes without saying that paying your employees on time and correctly is a business necessity. However, when you are up against international employment laws and need to pay employees in different time zones, payroll can get on top of you. And, while employees may be understanding the first time around, consistently getting paid late or incorrectly is a sure-fire way to get employees looking for a job elsewhere.
Therefore, prioritising your payroll and establishing a clear process early on is vital to retaining your employees and ensuring a happy workforce, wherever in the world they are based.
Employee benefits
While payroll is of course a necessity when hiring and retaining employees, benefits and work perks are also becoming increasingly expected in the workplace.
From extra days of annual leave to private healthcare, your employee benefits are more often than not what can lead the top talent to sign on the dotted line. When it comes to employee benefits it’s important to think outside of the box. As well as expensed benefits such as healthcare or dental care, think about flexible working hours and remote working to give your employees autonomy in how they work. Not only will perks such as this help boost your employee retention but they can also help to improve productivity and reduce sick leave due to a happier, more balanced workforce.
Company culture
Establishing and maintaining a positive workplace culture can be challenging at the best of times, but with your team spread across the globe this can become even more difficult. However, with over a third of UK employees leaving their jobs because of a toxic workplace culture, this is something that employers really need to get right if they want to retain their best talent.
By achieving what we have already discussed, securing employee benefits, running compliant, timely payroll, allowing flexible working and having a clear onboarding strategy you, as the employer, lay the foundations for a positive working environment that puts its employees at the core of its operation. Not only that, but maintaining clear communication with international employees can really help to maintain a positive environment. Whether that’s regular ‘How’s It Going’ calls, more formal meetings or more informal team building exercises these all come together to make your workforce feel valued, which in turn leads to enhanced productivity and a happier workforce.
How can Leap29 help me retain international employees?
Expanding your workforce on a global scale is a challenge in itself, with ample time and resources needed. With the added effort that goes into creating a productive, happy international workforce, it can often feel like you have too many plates to spin.
This is where our global PEO services can help. Firstly, our team are well-versed in international employment laws therefore helping you to recruit and onboard international employees compliantly. Secondly, with our employee management software we can help you ensure all payroll, taxes and expenses are handled accurately, saving you time and keeping your employees happy.
All in all, by taking care of compliance and overall employee management, our PEO or EOR services help to ensure you have the correct processes in place to compliantly employ staff on an international scale. Not only does this lay the foundations for a compliant, productive workforce but it also frees up your time to embed your company culture and ensure the day-to-day happiness of your international employees to get those retention rates high.
To find out more about our PEO services and how we can help you retain your international employees, contact our team today.
