Managing a global workforce: Top tips for staying compliant

Author: Miranda Zolot, Oyster

Despite the benefits of working with talent in different jurisdictions, companies are sometimes hesitant to take the first step into global hiring because they're not sure how to manage an international workforce compliantly. Miranda Zolot, general counsel at Oyster, sets out some actionable strategies to ensure compliance when managing a globally distributed team.

Companies are increasingly adopting a global talent strategy for a competitive edge. Globally diverse teams can more easily empathize with customers around the world, which ultimately helps improve products and services, and they can better support customers in different time zones and ensure seamless operations around the clock. Recruiting globally also means you can pick the best candidate for the role, and not be limited to your local jurisdiction.

But it is also true that the more countries or jurisdictions you operate in, the greater the complexity of the labour laws and tax regulations you need to navigate. Ensuring compliance can quickly become a full-time challenge for your HR team.

The good news is that it's both possible and feasible to manage a global team compliantly - you just need a system and process to identify and meet those requirements.

1. Use templates, checklists and playbooks

Things are always easier when you have clear directions to follow. Cross-border employment is no exception. You can make compliance manageable by setting up repeatable processes.

Templates speed up compliance by ensuring that everyone is using the same up-to-date document. For example, you can use them for job postings, employment agreements, employment verification forms and so on. They're also helpful for people who are new to your team or filling in for someone who's on leave.

Checklists are another time-saving compliance tool. For instance, you can create onboarding and offboarding checklists for each jurisdiction, so you have a comprehensive list of items to work through each time you onboard or offboard team members in a particular location. Once you build your checklists, they can serve as a complete guide to managing your workforce in that specific country or jurisdiction.

Playbooks are documented processes that cover a particular topic, and take templates and checklists to the next level. For instance, you might create playbooks for employing talent in each jurisdiction to ensure that your processes are locally compliant. This kind of playbook might contain information on where you can advertise the job, whether you're required to include a salary range, what the employment contract should look like, what statutory benefits you have to provide, how much notice is required, what reasons are acceptable for separating an employee (ie bringing the working relationship to an end) and so on. It's a complete "how to" guide for you and your teams.

Templates, checklists and playbooks are especially helpful when hiring in the same location multiple times. Building these resources absolutely requires an upfront investment of time, but it's time well spent because it gives your people team superpowers. They'll be able to work more efficiently and ensure that processes are fair, consistent and compliant.

2. Capturing and keeping up to date on compliance requirements

Once you've built templates and processes to keep your workforce compliant, you also need to create a system to review them periodically and make any necessary adjustments. The fastest way to create or populate a resource is to use an outside vendor. This might, for instance, be a law firm, an accountancy firm, a payroll company or an employer of record (EOR). If you operate in multiple geographies, you'll probably need a trusted provider in each of those jurisdictions. If you're building out the requirements yourself, industry and peer groups may have resources to get you started.

Compliance resources are only helpful if they are accurate, so you'll need to have a system in place for monitoring the requirements in each jurisdiction. You can always use your trusted providers for updates, as most provide newsletters with changes and updates. You can also rely on industry and peer groups. Another possibility is to set up an alert in your web browser to notify you of particular information.

As AI data sets improve, reviewing your documents against up-to-date regulations may be one efficient use of that technology. You could certainly use an AI product to sort and summarize the data you gather from other sources. Regardless of how you choose to gather ongoing updates, be sure to set aside time each week or month to go through the emails or notifications and actually update your internal resources. 

Alternatively, you can set expiration dates on your documents themselves. For example, if you're using templates for employment agreements, put a time limit on the document so that the owner of the document receives a notification to review it and confirm if it's still valid. Document repositories and word-processing software usually allow you to set an end date. If not, you can set reminders or calendar alerts.

You can also build time in your team calendar to conduct an annual review and refresh of your templates, playbooks and policies. For instance, if the summer tends to be a quiet time for your business, that may be a good time for your team to review and update any outstanding compliance items in your templates or playbooks.

The good news is that law change happens slowly and you'll normally have six months to a year to prepare for any change.

3. Create company-level policies to streamline compliance

You've identified compliance requirements and have a system for using that information and keeping it updated, but practically speaking, you might ask yourself how you can possibly operate with different requirements for every location. How can you manage company policies across multiple jurisdictions? Should you have separate employee handbooks for each, or a single comprehensive handbook for your entire workforce? 

A common approach is to create a general handbook of corporate policies that apply throughout the footprint of your organization. This would cover overarching principles of legal and ethical conduct, such as policies against harassment, bribery, money laundering and so on. You can then supplement the general handbook with country-specific addenda, only where legally required, to ensure local compliance. These supplements may take the form of work rules or employee handbooks.

This location-specific "guide" approach is easier than trying to create a single handbook to cover all countries, which would be more difficult to create and maintain. It also has the benefit of setting expectations and answering frequently asked questions for employees onboarding in a particular location.

Some companies take a more employee-centric approach by choosing the most employee-friendly option among the countries where they employ talent. For instance, if the most generous standard is to offer six weeks of vacation or a Christmas bonus, you might offer that to all your employees even if they aren't statutorily entitled to the same benefit. This ensures that all employees have the same experience and you are only maintaining one set of documentation. However, this approach can be expensive at separation, if paying out vacation, notice periods and/or severance is mandatory or part of your defined package.

Another strategy is to follow the rules of the country where you have the most employees. If most of your workforce is based in the Philippines, with only a handful in other countries, it might make the most sense to adopt Philippine laws and regulations as your company standard. By doing so, you maximise compliance where you have the most employees, though you're also taking a calculated business risk by applying Philippines-specific policies to other jurisdictions. This may not be a problem if your workers in other locations are contractors or consultants, for instance. So, consider your workforce composition when making these decisions.

4. Leverage partners with local experience and expertise

Finally, even if you have a team to manage compliance in-house, when first hiring in a new country, it's a good idea to leverage local partners who understand the workforce and the rules in that jurisdiction. Sometimes, knowing statutory requirements isn't enough to be an employer of choice, and understanding the common, customary and expected terms of employment is key to hiring and retaining employees.

Local partners like law firms, accountants, tax professionals, payroll providers, benefit providers and EORs can help you understand and navigate local norms, customs and employee expectations. Also use peer networks to chat with colleagues who have hired people there so you can understand the potential cultural challenges your teams might encounter.

Beyond your initial entry into a new market, trusted peers and local partners can also be helpful if you run into unexpected situations that you aren't sure how to navigate. It takes time to build these networks, but they pay off in the long run, especially as you grow and scale your workforce in those jurisdictions.

Setting yourself up for success in the long term

When managing a global workforce, the compliance requirements can seem overwhelming at first. But if you take a disciplined approach, put time into building robust processes and policies, and leverage expert partners, you're doing all the right things to ensure organisational success in the long term.

While it does take a significant investment of time upfront, as well as ongoing maintenance, the effort will pay off many times over as your global team invigorates your company culture, helps you conquer new markets and unlocks superpowers for your organisation.