5 Oversights to Avoid When Hiring Remote Employees

There is a lot of value to be gained from hiring remote employees. By expanding your search for the right talent globally, you get access to the best employees.

However, hiring remote employees, especially those from other countries, comes with some challenges, and it is easy to make mistakes during the hiring and onboarding process.

To avoid these mistakes, you should know about them, and this is why the most common mistakes are highlighted below.

Offering One-Size-Fits-All Benefits

Many business owners assume that offering remote workers the same benefits as their local employees is an excellent way to handle benefits.

While it is a good way to make sure all employees are on the same level, it is often not appropriate.

For example, many countries offer adequate, free healthcare, so offering it as a benefit does not add anything to the package the remote employee receives.

To handle this better, businesses should start by understanding the unique needs of the potential employees in the countries they would like to hire in.

This will help business owners offer custom benefit plans appropriate and relevant to their employees’ specific circumstances.

A good place to start is by looking at what the competitors in the same country are offering and trying to match or better those benefits.

Businesses can also tailor their benefits to differentiate themselves from their competitors better.

Neglecting Onboarding

Employee onboarding helps a new employee get up to speed with everything concerning the businesses and their role in it. This process is very different for remote workers as it is for in-office workers.

This is because there is no office structure and, often, no employees to guide them through this process. It is, therefore, crucial for a business to come up with a strategy that deals with the uncertainties new employees feel. 

An excellent way to help a new employee get acquainted with their new co-workers is during a company-wide event. This is not always possible, so the use of video calls is perfectly fine, especially for employees who cannot travel to the business location or headquarters.

Finally, companies must ensure they follow the necessary regulations during the onboarding process.

For example, some countries dictate that new hires be registered with the government. Learning country-specific rules like these can save you a lot of headaches.

Going it Alone

Hiring remote workers, especially those from other countries, can be incredibly complicated.

A common mistake businesses, especially new ones, make is trying to do everything themselves. There is so much to think about, including compensation, taxes, and compliance with local laws. 

Fortunately, there are employment solutions to help you out. One of these solutions is partnering with a company under an Employer of Record (EOR) agreement.

Companies like New Horizons Global Partners have a local presence in the countries you are looking to hire in. For example, if you are looking to hire in Singapore, you can have them act as your Singapore EOR.

Under this arrangement, New Horizons Global Partners take care of hiring the remote workers, ensure proper employee onboarding is done and have HR professionals standing by to help you with things like contract renewal and employee terminations.

By offering these employment solutions, it ensures you do not have to go it alone when assembling a global team.

Overlooking Remote Work Policies

A common mistake businesses make is not having good remote work policies in place. These policies should ideally set expectations and boundaries for remote workers.

For example, they should dictate the amount of time a remote worker should be available, and when to let them go live their lives. 

Performance measures should also be put in place to ensure remote workers meet expectations.

When there are these types of understanding, things become clear. There is no confusion as to when a remote worker is supposed to be available, and when they are allowed not to be.

Noncompliant Agreements

When entering new markets, businesses need to hire people quickly to gain a competitive edge or capture a larger market share. But, in doing so, some companies do not adhere to all local employment laws.

By not complying with these rules and regulations, businesses may not know if these regulations will affect their remote hires. 

Things get even trickier when hiring independent contractors.

Business owners need to understand who qualifies as a remote worker in the new country, plus the roles and responsibilities they can give their independent contractors. 

Lastly, businesses must also think about financial and taxation laws they have to adhere to.

For example, some countries require employees to pay taxes for themselves,  others require the company to do it.

Hiring remote employees is a good way of getting into a new market. Because of the challenges this often presents, business owners can make mistakes that can affect their businesses or remote employees.

It is, therefore, essential to know what these mistakes are so business owners can avoid them. Happy hiring!

Do you have any experience with remote working?