Six success factors for effective international recruitment
Workforce challenges and skills mismatches remain top of ‘worry-list’ for business leaders. International recruitment is a vital outlet but the increasingly fraught immigration debate and evolving labour market dynamics are creating a volatile and uncertain backdrop. The core aim of next month’s International Recruitment for UK Employers Workshop is to bring clarity and help to UK-based employers and refocus their global talent attraction lens.
Understanding the feasibility and pitfalls of international recruitment
Re-energise international hiring strategies starts with asking ourselves the right questions and identifying the right priority issues. Based on the feedback from previous workshops and the latest conversations with employers across different sectors, here are six success factors for effective international recruitment:
1. Making the case
International recruitment requires time and resources; so one of the immediate challenges is to make the case internally. This includes harnessing the latest jobs data, understanding global talent trends and pre-empting specific questions that executive teams are likely to ask
2. Navigating the immigration minefield
Being up to speed with the latest visa and immigration requirements is a vital building block. This helps to establish feasibility, cost, timing, and resource implications. Identifying the best possible immigration specialists to work with is also a vital staging post to effective international recruitment.
3. Weighing up ‘global outreach’ options
There are different ways of spreading the international recruitment net. For some employers, this will involve a proactive approach and targeting specific countries through jobs fairs and other channels. For others it will simply mean knowing how to manage applications from overseas candidates.
4. ‘Border-proofing’ employer brand
One priority is to be aware of how job descriptions and overall employer brands are perceived and interpreted in different countries. This review process will cover tone and channels as well as content. The opportunity is to learn from other employers who have successfully adapted their brand and messages.
5. Going beyond recruitment
Successful international recruitment isn’t just about placing people into roles; it is about ensuring they stay there and are performing well. Effective onboarding and relocation support are key parts of the equation.
6. Taking a longer-term view
How might immigration and skills policy evolve? What could different labour market scenarios mean in practice and how does international recruitment fit within longer-term workforce strategies? As well as addressing immediate priorities, the workshop will enable participants to look ahead and reality-check longer-term plans.
International recruitment isn’t getting any easier; but we can all get better at it! Hearing from immigration experts, taking stock of latest best practice and sharing innovative approaches are good ways forward. They are also key pillars of next month’s workshop. See you there!
Register: International Recruitment for UK Employers Workshop - Wednesday, 28th June
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Tom Hadley is the former Director of Campaigns at REC and is now an independent consultant on campaigns and workforce issues, working with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and employers across the globe.