Global Talent Mobility is Supported by Changing Laws

Many countries have established a legal framework to ease hiring and relocating global talent.

At first glance, the outlook for global talent mobility may look bleak, but it has rarely been easier for skilled talent to cross borders. Many countries have established a legal framework to ease hiring and relocating global talent.

To compete in the global economy, companies are building geographically dispersed teams that offer the best expertise from around the world. These teams globally bring together people from many cultures with varied work experiences and perspectives on strategic and organizational challenges.

Governments understand the importance of globally diverse teams, and many are passing laws and creating visa categories that will make recruiting international talent easier.

The Boston Consulting Group recently completed research on “Innovation Without Borders” that analyzed the ease of global relocation for skilled talent. The study found that the world is now “flat” for international talent. Many countries have established a legal framework that makes hiring and relocating global talent comparable to hiring domestically.

Canada historically has been seen as welcoming thanks to its straightforward points-based visa system.

France has introduced a new visa for entrepreneurs, and Germany is now considering a points-based visa system to attract skilled talent. Even in the post-Brexit UK, a points-based skilled worker visa remains a core pillar of the country’s talent strategy.

Countries outside of Europe, not traditionally known for their openness, including India and Japan, are now actively trying to attract foreign talent and make it easier for their firms to hire globally.

Japan offers a visa category aimed mainly, but not exclusively at tech talent, India continues to ease restrictions and simply employment visa requirements to attract international companies and investors,

Although Australia’s Covid-19 restrictions today make mobility challenging, rules are expected to change soon.

On the other hand, the United States has hard caps for its H1B visa program. Similarly, China has introduced new tax laws in 2022 that make it more difficult for expatriates to deduct housing rent and schooling expenses from personal taxable income.

Despite the pandemic, talent is willing to relocate

For companies trying to grow amid the Covid-19 crisis, limited access to talent has become a significant roadblock. Despite a global pandemic, talent is still willing to move abroad, and remote work makes closing the gap between workers and employers easier. 

Mobile workers and remote opportunities have lowered the barrier to hiring globally. It is estimated that more than 260 million university graduates will hit the global labor markets in the next ten years. The growing talent pool is willing to relocate, with 50% of international talents reporting they remain willing to move to seek better job opportunities elsewhere. 

It is expected that more talent will move globally in the 2020s than ever before. In 2019, annual inflows hit new highs in 20 out of 25 OECD countries (excluding the US). Although work-visa-based migration dropped in many countries during Covid-19, it has started to rebound and is approaching pre-pandemic levels.

The first steps to building a globally diverse team

The Boston Consulting Group recently surveyed 850 senior executives and found that while 95% say they want to develop globally diverse teams, only 2% have succeeded. The companies with globally diverse groups are more than twice as likely to be innovative and fast-growing than their more homogenous peers.

Corporate leaders who want to build diverse teams can open hubs abroad if it is legally difficult to hire foreign talent. For example, Wayfair — an online furniture retailer — wanted to hire more developers and data scientists but understood it would be challenging to bring all the talent they needed to their headquarters in Boston. Instead, they opened an engineering hub in Berlin and an office in Toronto.

Before expanding abroad, companies could consider globalizing their current work environment. Switching a firm’s primary language to English can be a massive culture shock for teams generally operating in their native language. Still, the change can open the doors to a broader talent pool. E.ON — a European energy networks operator — switched its primary operating language to English while it allows small teams to run in their respective native languages. The change leaves room for people to communicate in their native language but ensures seamless communication as all essential documents are provided only in English.

Another simple way to globalize your company is to use global freelance or employer-of-record structures to onboard people remotely before physical relocation. This “try before you buy” strategy allows companies to screen international talent before starting the relocation process.

Ultimately, if domestic talent isn’t interested in working for your company, you’ll struggle to attract foreign talent. To build a globally diverse team, companies should introduce a smooth, remote hiring process for digital talent and targeted relocation packages that help recruits with housing support and ensure better retention of its globalizing workforce.

Global talent mobility may seem to be in a weakened state, but it offers an opportunity to address urgent talent shortages and drive innovation. Now is the time to widen your net while hiring and work to diversify your team.