GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT

NEWS & VIEWS

Ongoing contact is key to engaging a global workforce

A standardized onboarding process ensures that everyone starts with a strong foundation.

By Yasmeen Qahwash

While managing and maintaining engagement among a global workforce may seem like a daunting challenge, it’s not impossible.

Operating globally can present additional challenges and concerns when it comes to engaging employees. These hurdles can go well beyond time zone differences — the divide in cultures, communication styles, values and gaining a better understanding of the global marketplace are to be considered as well.

The goal is to make sure that employees feel connected to each other, the culture and the company’s values regardless of their location.

“If you are working with a team spread around the world, especially in different time zones, it is important to remember the human being in all of it.” said Joe Flanagan, fitness app developer at GetSongBPM, an open source database of beats per minute. “If your employees feel valued and connected, they will remain motivated and loyal.”

“EMPLOYMENT LAWS ... CREATE CULTURES WITHIN THEMSELVES IN THE WAY YOU DO BUSINESS.” — MICHAEL TINDALL

Onboarding is a great place to start. Tammy Perkins, chief people officer of PMI Worldwide, a global manufacturer of food and beverage container solutions, said that managing a global team requires understanding and adopting professional practices of other cultures.

Standardizing the onboarding process worldwide can ensure that everyone starts out with a strong foundation, which can result in developing and retaining happier, more productive employees.

“The onboarding process is one of the most important leadership functions. It is fundamental to success when it comes to developing strong, diverse teams,” Perkins said via email. “The additional complexity of managing remote, international teams makes it even more important that we get onboarding right.”

Michael Tindall, founder and CEO of virtual staffing company Opus Global Operations, said that transparency and feedback are also key factors for managing successful global teams.

“Only knowing your piece of the puzzle can limit what is achievable if the team has a transparent vision of where things are going. The same thing is on the flip side, when times are rough, everyone digs and supports the organization from top to bottom,” Tindall said via email. “A major challenge for the company is everyone’s challenge. When your team feels that they are responsible for the whole picture and not just ‘their’ part, people will get creative to make things work.”

Tindall also pointed out how essential it is in becoming accustomed to the varying employment laws worldwide. “Employment laws vary widely from country to country and these create cultures within themselves in the way you have to do business,” Tindall said. “You have to learn about and be aware of these or you will be in for a shock when someone quits or you have a major issue on your hands from something that you weren’t aware of that applies to that locality.”

In addition, cultural awareness and diversity training should be regulated throughout the entire organization to educate employees about what to expect regarding cultural differences and how to work successfully with colleagues from around the world. Katy Roby, marketing manager at e-learning company Valamis, said that investing in an employee’s personal learning and development is a huge contributing factor to employee loyalty.

Roby also pointed out that one of the biggest challenges in a global workforce is creating a truly global work culture despite multiple cultures.