5 tips for managing global teams
Discover how UK employers can leverage international talent with insights from the Global Talent Survey and master the successful management of global teams.
One fundamental change in recent years throughout the world of work has been the importance of location for workers and jobseekers. Where traditionally organisations were limited to a pool of workers who were based near their location, teams can now be made up of people from around the country, and even the world.
However, employers looking to hire and manage talent across the globe need to stay up to date with mobility trends and evolving candidate preferences. That’s where the Global Talent Survey (GTS) can help, a piece of research from Totaljobs and our partners in The Network, a global alliance of more than 50 leading recruitment websites, alongside Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the world’s leading management consultancies.
Tapping into the knowledge and experience of 150,000 workers from across 180 countries, the GTS offers a comprehensive look at talent mobility for employers looking to leverage overseas talent.
In this article, we’ll be using insights from the GTS to explore how UK employers can benefit from a global workforce and meet jobseeker’s expectations to successfully manage global teams.
The rise in virtual mobility
Before looking at management approaches for global teams, employers first need to understand how much the hiring landscape has shifted in recent years when it comes to virtual mobility.
A number of factors have contributed towards an increase in remote work, including:
- Technological advances
- Worker expectations
- The COVID-19 pandemic
Before the pandemic only around 12% of UK workers were working remotely, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). By 2024, the ONS said 16% of UK workers worked only from home, while 28% have a hybrid setup.
The GTS found virtual mobility has risen from 57% in 2020 to 66% by 2023, signalling that more candidates are looking for the best possible opportunity for themselves, regardless of the location, and highlighting how managing global virtual teams is becoming an increasingly important for employers.
Despite this increase in virtual mobility, employers should consider that the GTS found that quality of job opportunities (65%) was the top reason for jobseekers gave for picking one country over another for work. As such, in order to attract a global workforce, employers still need to focus on providing concrete and enticing offers to candidates.
The benefits of a global workforce
There are a number of benefits to having a global workforce. Here are some of the most significant for employers to consider.
Access to a wider pool of talent
The number one benefit for many organisations of having a global workforce is that there is an entire planet of skilled workers to choose from. Never in history has there been the opportunity for companies to tap into such a wide talent pool.
The GTS 2024 shows 63% of workers are generally open to relocating for work, with 23% of them actively mobile and 21% considered passively mobile. This means organisations can hire from a diverse range of candidates with highly specialised skill sets.
Fill skills gaps
Previous research from Totaljobs found more than a third of UK businesses reported struggling to find the right people to fill roles, and 29% of businesses think the skills shortages they are seeing will be an ongoing challenge in 2024.
With many employers finding the needs of their industry are outpacing the necessary education of workers to fill the roles, companies can look to a global workforce to fill their skills gaps. This talent pool has workers who have been educated in universities and institutions across the planet, with skill sets that cannot necessarily be sourced from one location alone.
Foster diversity and inclusion
It’s not just the technical skill sets that a global workforce can offer UK employers. By bringing in employees from different countries, they can foster true diversity of thought, experience, and opinion, finding innovative ways to solve problems and look at processes from different perspectives.
Diverse views and experiences can have tangible impact. In its Migration Matters report, BCG found that organisations that have more global diversity generate 2.2% higher profits and are a 75% more likely to be word-class innovators.
In the modern workplace, it’s vital that diverse viewpoints and experiences are respected by everyone, and having a global workforce has the added bonus of creating an atmosphere where this can be achieved.
Tips for managing global teams
While global teams bring all the above benefits, global team management can represent new challenges for employers. Here are our top five tips for making global teams a success in your organisation.
1. Implement comprehensive onboarding
A key part of successfully managing any team is having a comprehensive and carefully planned onboarding process for new hires. If you’re managing a global or remote workforce, this becomes even more vital.
New hires who are going to be working remotely want to feel like they are becoming part of a team, despite potentially being based in a different city or country. If they are relocating, a relocation support package is something that many candidates will be looking for before accepting a new role.
The GTS found that smooth relocation and onboarding is important when choosing a country for 46% of jobseekers. A relocation package usually includes:
- Help with moving expenses
- Finding temporary or permanent accommodation
- Family support
2. Define communication protocols
Amongst the biggest challenges of managing a global workforce is navigating cross-cultural nuances and setting up communication styles across different time zones and languages. That’s why it’s crucial to have defined communication protocols from the outset.
The GTS found that English being the official working language of an organisation is a reason that 66% of candidates choose one country over another when looking for an international role. UK employers can therefore cater to international talent and breakdown language barriers by ensuring the use of English across their communications.
Furthermore, when looking to land overseas talent, employers should be aware that, according to the Global Talent Survey, 54% of international employees would appreciate language support and training in their new role. As a result, support of this nature can lead to smooth onboarding and more effective communication across global teams.
3. Leverage technology
Managing a global workforce requires the smart and efficient use of technology. With teams spread across different locations, building cohesion and effective collaboration between colleagues should be a priority.
There is ample opportunity to do this by leveraging the right tools. For example, organisations can implement regular team meetings with tools like:
- Slack
- Zoom
- Microsoft Teams
Colleagues can also communicate and collaborate on documents in real time through Microsoft Office or Google’s suite of products, while there also a wide range of project management tools like Asana.
The key is to use the tools available to ease collaboration when it comes to getting work done and bring people together during the working day, even if they live thousands of miles apart.
4. Meet in person when time and budget allow
Despite there being a wealth of technological tools equipped to bring global teams closer together, the inescapable truth is there is no true replacement for meeting up in person.
Many remote workers still crave face-to-face communication and socialising, making them more appreciative of the chance to meet other team members and managers in person when possible. However, this can be a challenge a result of time and budget considerations.
Many companies with international teams will have one or two get-togethers in a set location each year so staff can get to know each other, build trust and enjoy a break from their day-to-day schedule. If a remote team is based in the same country or location, more frequent in-person events are possible, providing employers with the opportunity to foster both teamwork and collaboration.
5. Prioritise diversity and inclusivity
A global workforce means a more diverse workforce, so inclusion is vital to make sure everyone feels a valued and respected within an international business.
This is backed up by the data. According to the Global Talent Survey, over half of workers see an inclusive company culture as one of the top factors that would attract them when deciding on a country to work in.
People professionals and team leaders can look to foster inclusivity in their organisations in several ways, including:
- Listening to their employees’ experiences and expectations
- Identifying barriers workers face at all stages of the employee experience
- Getting buy-in from leadership on diversity and inclusion solutions
Navigating a global landscape
As virtual mobility surges and employers seek to harness the potential of an international workforce, the management of global teams has become an increasingly key priority. However, success in this area relies on implementing and executing core strategies effectively.
By prioritising robust onboarding, diversity, clear communication, and technology, employers can cultivate a collaborative environment for global teams. Doing so can help facilitate the attraction of top talent from overseas, subsequently driving organisational success in an interconnected world.