Finding skilled tech talent is not a simple task in today’s competitive market, as any tech hiring manager or IT recruitment agency will tell you.
When searching for people to join our team, we are tempted to look in close or familiar circles – that’s why employee referral programs are part of most IT company strategies. Many companies also use their local or national job search websites or directly reach out to local candidates.
But the truth is that businesses seeking highly knowledgeable and motivated tech employees often find it extremely difficult to achieve within the constraints of one city or even country. It’s, therefore, no surprise that more and more employers are opening their doors to international talent – either inviting them to relocate or work remotely from their home country.
However, a greater talent pool isn’t the only benefit of recruiting international tech talent. This article shares 6 reasons why hiring international IT talent is a wise and beneficial decision for your business.
1. Gain access to a wider talent pool
IT recruitment world is competitive, with 42% of companies admitting to having difficulties hiring quality tech talent. The more experienced and specific IT professionals you seek, the more daunting this task becomes.
Even businesses based in big countries occasionally face the problem of a limited candidate pool, especially for very specialized positions. Therefore, casting a wider net is a smart business decision that will generate more suitable matches for the job at hand.
“No single country can compete with the IT talent pool that a wider region like all Europe or the world can offer.”
Maris Tepers, CEO of MateHR
If you’ve decided to hire across a wider region, not just your country, you’ll need to put in a lot of work to pick strategic recruitment channels. Alternatively, partner with top IT recruitment agencies who are experts in accessing the best international tech talent, wherever they may be located.
2. Build tech teams quicker
Suppose you are a startup that recently attracted investment or a company aiming to scale quickly. In that case, it’s essential to form a team of specialists to start working as soon as possible.
International IT recruitment allows you to hire a team of five, ten, or twenty professionals much quicker and more efficiently than it could be possible when hiring locally. In fact, hiring several employees will likely take a similar amount of time to recruiting one candidate because the process is the same; only the amount of approved candidates differs.
Hiring international tech talent is an especially cost-effective solution for building teams of niche specialists or executive positions.
3. Improve employee retention
Employee turnover is inconvenient and expensive – especially for senior-level or highly specific positions that require in-depth training. Depending on the salary and position, replacing an employee may cost from 16% up to 213% of their annual salary for executive positions. Furthermore, employees who leave in the first three months deliver little-to-no return on the investment made to hire them.
Internationally recruited employees are far less likely to leave within the first year as, in most cases, they have worked very hard to secure the respective job, e.g., completing several hiring stages, filing paperwork for themselves, and possibly for their families. And finally, they have made a lifetime decision and moved to another country for that particular job.
“Our long-term observations demonstrate that international tech employees are much less likely to change their job than locally hired talent. This may also be due to the fact that such specialists are often vetted much more thoroughly than locally or remotely hired workers.“
Maris Tepers, CEO of MateHR
4. Boost your team’s motivation & efficiency
Culturally – and otherwise – diverse teams also make more fun and more happy teams. In a Comparably survey, 51% of people indicated it was extremely important for them to work for a workplace committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Having people from different cultures and backgrounds most likely means that your company policy allows remote work or flexible working hours, which are also important factors that increase the overall satisfaction of your staff and improve their work-life balance.
Studies show that satisfied employees are also more motivated, engaged, and productive. This leads to the conclusion that more productive and engaged company culture is a natural consequence of hiring international IT talent.
5. Benefit from more creative problem-solving
Cultural diversity adds new perspectives to many aspects of your business, from entering new markets and deciding on a marketing strategy for new regions to finding more rounded and creative solutions to problems. Co-workers from different backgrounds and cultures are likely to see an issue from different perspectives and thus find more than one solution to it.
Make sure that you as a manager are doing your best supporting multinational staff not only in practical ways, but also maintaining a friendly environment that supports open discussions, celebrates innovative ideas, and welcomes fresh perspectives.
In short, when hiring international IT talent, you go beyond recruiting people who are a “cultural fit” to talents who are a “cultural add” and bring something new to your company.
6. Give a competitive edge to your company
69% percent of candidates say that they won’t work at a company with a bad reputation, and 84% would consider moving to another company with a better reputation. However, not only the public opinion of your business matters but also the ability of your job offer to stand out among many other similar ones.
It’s an excellent opportunity to give your company (and your job offer) a competitive edge by positioning it as a multicultural workplace that supports diversity. If you already have some international employees, they can become advocates of their workplace (for example, on social media) by showing their excitement to work at your organization.
Final words on hiring international tech teams
We’ve established that focusing only on local candidates is, in most cases, an unnecessary roadblock in the way of your company’s growth. Over the years, we’ve seen many companies realizing this too late, already after a few unsuccessful hiring rounds.
When you are looking to hire only one or two specialists for your company, it may be enough to mobilize your own team for this task and use local job search platforms. When it comes to hiring whole tech teams, working with an IT recruitment agency is definitely the most effective tactic.
That said, it's wise to start using international hiring channels already when you need only a few candidates. This way, when the need for a greater number of tech professionals arises, you can already follow the same path without losing time.
Finally, international tech recruitment has become simpler and more accessible thanks to the rise of remote work and remote recruitment. Fully remote hiring is no longer an unusual tactic, with more and more companies and IT professionals becoming open to hiring the talent they haven’t met in person. One British study showed that around 60% of mid-level and senior specialists would be OK if all the hiring process was done remotely.
A tight recruitment market and ongoing pandemic made 2021 another challenging year for recruiters scrambling to hire quality tech talent. To make 2022 easier in this regard, our suggestion is to entrust the talent scouting task to top experts who will mediate even the most complex recruitment process and supply your team with the much-needed tech talent.