Research from Perkbox has found that hiring is going truly borderless, with almost two-thirds of businesses (62%) planning to increase the number of remote staff they hire outside of their main country of operations, over the next 12 months.
This drive is fuelled by technological advances over the past two years facilitating greater hybrid and remote working.
Businesses can now leverage those advances to boost their borderless working strategy.
There are many motivations, but Perkbox’s survey of more than 500 business leaders across the UK highlighted the top three as:
- Building a more diverse workforce to access a wider talent pool (35%)
- Encouraging innovation (32%)
- Building a global workforce (29%) to service a wider customer base.
HR policies are not keeping pace with borderless working
The benefits of going borderless are clear, but it is imperative that HR policies keep pace with business expansion.
This fact has not been lost on business leaders. Almost three-quarters (73%) of those who have already adopted borderless working say they have updated how they manage their global staff in the last 24 months.
So far, businesses have prioritised introducing flexible hours (43%) and dedicated remote working policies (42%). However, less than one in three (29%) have realised the importance of developing localised benefits offering to align to market needs, with only 31% having begun investing in tools to support borderless workers. Many businesses are missing a crucial step in keeping their borderless employees engaged and in role.
Gautam Sahgal, CEO of Perkbox, said, “The increasingly competitive talent market has put greater emphasis on having the right policies in place which retain and motivate the best talent. As borderless working increases in popularity, leaders must now ensure they’re focusing on how to deliver those policies equally across both international and domestic staff.
“Central to success will be creating a holistic rewards and recognition offering. This is the cornerstone of creating an attractive Employee Value Proposition and a unified company culture — one where your people are truly aligned with your purpose. Just as businesses reacted to the pandemic with innovation, they must again look to new tools which allow remote employees in locations around the world to feel seen and recognised for their hard work. Otherwise, they face losing them to the competition.”
Rewards and recognition, no matter the location
The research revealed that many businesses are taking the first steps toward creating a unified culture. It highlighted the following as the most successful ways of doing so:
- Allowing staff to travel freely and continue working while abroad (32%)
- All-company access to financial and wellbeing support (32%)
- Creating a companywide forum for recognising the good work of colleagues in different locations (29%)
Sahgal added, “Borderless working is here to stay. So, businesses must evolve their employee value propositions and find ways to modernise their traditional rewards and benefits.
“We understand how essential this transition is. We have therefore focused on developing a platform capable of harmonising rewards and benefits across complex global organisations. Our goal is to democratise the ability for businesses to become borderless.”
Jen Gaster, Founder and Managing Director of HR Heads, said, “One of the first questions candidates ask about HR roles concerns the prospective working patterns.
“Hybrid working has gone from being a nice to have to a necessary requirement when considering an opportunity.
“The pandemic showed numerous businesses – many of whom were averse to home working – that remote working doesn’t negatively impact productivity.
“Furthermore, it has opened up wider talent pools that previously would not have been available to companies who pursued a stringent five days in the office model.
“So, it is no great surprise to see Perkbox’s research show such a high number of businesses set to increase borderless working.”
