Global Expansion Strategy

Introduction

As the world economy continues to grow and expand, organizations must establish operations in new countries to stay competitive. Additionally, as more people connect through technology, the pool of potential customers or clients expands beyond one’s immediate geographical area.

What Is a Global Expansion Strategy?

A global expansion strategy is a plan for a company to grow its business in international markets. Understanding the local market and customer base is essential to any global expansion strategy. It's also crucial to have an efficient supply chain, employees who understand the local culture, and a marketing strategy that resonates with customers in different countries. Many companies choose to start their global expansion by setting up subsidiaries in major cities around the world. Others take a more organic approach, growing their business through partnerships with local companies or by selling products online internationally.

For many organizations, expanding globally through remote hiring is an excellent way to quickly expand your business into new markets without incurring the costs associated with traditional brick-and-mortar expansions. By harnessing the power of technology, you can connect with talented employees worldwide and bring them on board to help grow your business.

However, simply posting a job ad online and hoping for the best is not enough – you need to have a well-thought-out plan to succeed. A successful global expansion strategy through remote hiring should at the very least require due diligence in a few foundational steps:

• Defining Your Goals – What do you hope to achieve by expanding globally? Do you want to enter new markets, reach new customers, or improve your bottom line? Be specific about your goals to formulate a targeted recruiting strategy.
• Researching Your Markets - Not all countries are created equal when doing business. You must carefully research each market before deciding to expand there. Consider factors like cultural differences, economic stability, infrastructure development, and local talent pool size/quality when choosing where to focus your efforts.‍
• Building a Strong Team - The success of your international expansion will hinge largely on the people you hire to help lead the way. Before making any decisions, take some time ͞get to know potential candidates and determine whether or not they have the skillset and cultural awareness necessary for success in your target markets.

Why Organizations Need an Efficient Global Expansion Strategy

Numerous benefits come with hiring remote workers for business growth. Perhaps most importantly, it allows organizations to tap into a larger talent pool than would be available if they were only hiring locally. With more employees working remotely, hours and scheduling are also increased flexibility. This can be particularly beneficial for businesses that operate across different time zones or whose customer base is spread out around the globe; employees can begin work earlier or later than traditional office hours without disrupting day-to-day operations. Finally, by reducing its physical footprint (i.e., the number of brick-and-mortar locations), an organization can save on costs associated with rent, utilities, etc., all of which add up and can significantly impact the bottom line.

If done inefficiently, however, remote hiring can lead to communication difficulties and lower levels of team cohesion. Additionally, if the recruitment process is not well organized, it can be more difficult to assess candidates' qualifications accurately.

Furthermore, it's no longer just big companies with lots of money that can have an international presence. Thanks to advances in remote work and digital technology, even small businesses and startups can now expand their reach globally. They need an efficient global expansion strategy that suits their level of organizational maturity and growth objectives.

Steps To Creating a Successful Global Expansion Strategy

Craft a Top-level Global Hiring Policy That Addresses All-encompassing Aspects

Companies need to keep compliance in mind when looking to hire anyone, anywhere, based on the specific market’s employment laws and changing regulations around remote work. Although hiring local talent remotely in the location of interest may bypass immigration issues, tax liabilities and compliant payroll and benefits still need to be considered. Any organization’s effective growth strategy should include a compliant, strong global hiring policy that encompasses factors such as:

• Standardize and structure your compensation approaches to ensure everyone is on the same page regarding what they're being paid and that there's no confusion or ambiguity about who gets what. This will help keep your team happy and motivated and prevent any potential conflict down the line.
• Provide an adequate level of support for your workers. Make sure your employees have access to the same support they would if they were working on-site. This includes compliant contracts, payroll, and benefits. By providing this support, you'll help ensure that your remote employees can be productive and happy in their work.
• Be clear about your expectations regarding taxes and compliance. Ensure you discuss the assignee's role and responsibilities regarding expatriate tax, personal tax, and company compliance. This will help avoid any confusion or misunderstandings down the road.

Perform your due diligence and research your target markets. Use tools such as business intelligence and analytics to make better-informed decisions and reveal what other all-encompassing aspects of remote hiring strategy you need to develop at a top level.

Conducting due diligence can be time-consuming and expensive, but it is integral to developing any sound business strategy. Failing to do your homework can lead to costly mistakes downstream of your execution pipeline.

Keep the Employee Experience Front and Center

How companies traditionally think about employee wellbeing has changed now that remote work is more common. One significant example is how work segmentation by purpose or duration (a staple of operations management for over a couple of decades) may no longer be the foremost approach to managing work. Employees expect to be able to prioritize a better work-life balance and more support for their mental health.

This is complex for company executives who are used to segmentation because it might not be enough to connect with what employees want. This is especially true for decision-makers who have functioned within traditional roles and paradigms long. Expect community, purpose, and job satisfaction to be more prominent. It is more crucial than ever to meet your remote employees' expectations by giving them a voice and understanding their preferences and concerns. This makes solid and hands-on employee support a key part of a global expansion strategy. At the same time, any partners and providers you bring on board for this endeavor should be on the same page as you are.

Find and Grow with Reliable Partner-Providers

If you're planning to expand your business into new markets, you might be worried about the complicated process of hiring employees internationally. But there's no need to stress — global employment and payroll platforms like Skuad offer global hiring, management and payment solutions that make it easy for businesses of any size to compliantly hire and onboard talent in other countries.

These services handle payroll, taxes, benefits and compliance for you, so you can focus on growing your business. And if you're worried about complying with employment laws in different countries, using a reliable global employment solutions provider gives you peace of mind by managing all that for you. Therefore, expanding your business globally can be simple and hassle-free when you work with a platform like Skuad.

Finding the perfect fit between your company and a provider makes for an excellent foundation for a long-term partnership. As you scale, your working relationship also grows. As they reap the benefits of your business, you leverage the cost advantages and competitive edge their services can provide to reach your global expansion objectives more quickly.

Grow Your Team to a Global Scale with Skuad

If you're looking to expand your business internationally, you must understand and comply with the local employment laws of the markets in which you want to operate. This compliance is the foundation for successful outsourcing.

Skuad handles the entire employment lifecycle so you can scale business operations with a reduced cost, less effort and with an efficient HR administration. To know more about Skuad, book a demo today.