Managing a business is not at all an easy task. It takes constant zeal for improvement, use of techniques to increase workforce, managing the money properly. In order to increase the quality and quantity of the product the company needs more and more efficient workers every day. That is why entrepreneurs need to think out of the box and consider hiring employees or contractors on an international scale to increase the productivity and save money at the same time. However, hiring people out of the state is not something people are familiar with. That is why, it is necessary to consider the pros and cons before they begin.
Pros of hiring people from abroad:
Everything comes in a package of pros and cons. Hiring international contractors might sound risky at first but there are some real advantages to this:
- Access to efficient and flexible workers: International workers specialize in any specific field. That is why, when an entrepreneur is looking for a specific skill it might be pragmatic to think of abroad. Apart from that, These employees generally remain flexible with the time schedule which is a big plus point for the productivity.
- Fewer regulations: Full time employees from one’s own country come with loads of baggage. On the other hand international employees generally work on contractual basis or on part time basis. That is why the boundaries are limited.
- Lesser obstacles regarding travel: Previously there used to be lots of problems in getting visa for travelling abroad. Now it has become much easier and any entrepreneur can meet their contractor if necessary.
- Saves money: Now this is one of the prime reasons why entrepreneurs are so interested in hiring an international team. When someone hires people from countries with weaker currencies it helps saving a lot of money for business.
Cons of hiring international employees:
It is not that hurdle free as it sounds though. Every advantage comes in a package with the drawbacks. Hiring from abroad has its cons too for consideration:
- Lack of security and control: Even after binding the international employee with a contract there is no security in the process because of the loopholes.
Apart from this, the international teams are generally autonomous by nature and that is why they cannot be forced to change their work hours. As a result there is no control over them.
- Barrier if Language: Language is the prime medium for communication and because of this it might sometimes be problematic to communicate with international employees with different mother tongue. Because of the difference of languages there might be difficulties in exchanging information properly. This might result in compromising the product quality.
- Time zone: Even if the other obstacles are absent the problem of time zone is something one must have to deal with while working with an international team. True, there are some contractors who are flexible regarding their work hours but this is not always the case. Many prefer to use the overlapping hours to work together. This is a big problem and creates unwanted delays. However, this problem might be solved by coming to a compromise together.
- Payment and Taxes: Paying the employee with different currency is not always easy as there might be extra charges to convert the money. The payment might stay pending for unwanted period of time creating legal problems. Paying the tax becomes a problematic issue as well while working with international employees.
So there are both advantages and disadvantages in hiring people from abroad. There is no easy answer to this. After considering every aspect from pros and cons to business needs and budget one should make the decision.
