The ‘Zero Visibility’ Problem In Global Recruitment

Gaining visibility into global HR and talent acquisition

Organizations rely on regular communication, consistency and cohesion, but for global companies, this can be a major challenge.

With thousands of people in different regions across the globe all managing their own priorities, knowing how a particular department is running in the far reaches of Hong Kong or South Africa can almost seem irrelevant.
 

For the HR department especially, this is a big problem.

HR and talent acquisition (TA) teams need to have visibility over where they’re hiring, who they’re hiring, how much it’s costing them, what staffing agencies they’re working with and how the recruitment process is carried out across the globe.

This seems like a difficult ask when there’s likely entirely different onboarding processes, D&I strategies and upskilling programs in different regions. Even the way talent is brought on board will vary drastically within the same company.

But it’s not impossible to gain visibility and it’s crucial if companies wish to stand out as competitive employers in the war for talent.

The Zero Visibility Problem

Most global HR and TA teams suffer from the ‘zero visibility’ problem; they have next to no oversight of how teams are managed at locations across the world. This presents a number of risks relating to diversity and inclusion practices:

Regulation

D&I strategies and ESG regulations are really ramping up. How can global organizations ensure they’re meeting all the regulatory requirements without visibility of the hiring process and without knowledge of diversity and inclusion protocols employed by the staffing agencies they hire?

Litigation

The number of legal cases is growing when it comes to poor recruitment practices. If global organizations face the zero visibility problem over who they hire, they may be exposing themselves to litigious risk as employees demand fairer practices.

Brand reputation

Finally, a major problem with poor recruitment practices is being seen as a bad employer. In such a competitive job market, brand reputation is so important. Without visibility, brands might be exposed to poor employer reputation in a number of markets, and the media may get a hold of that information first.

Analysis of Quality and Quantity

The HR and TA teams – like all departments – are often judged by numbers. Whether we like it or not, cost, locations, employee ratios, gender pay gap etc are all very important figures that the HR team will need to present to the board.
Accuracy is key. Gaining visibility of that data at the touch of a button is essential.

Additionally, as you would expect, a huge part of HR does not involve numbers. Interviews, engagement, candidate and supplier experience, employer brand, company culture, just to name a few, all fall under this bracket, and are much harder to understand on a global level without visibility and communication.

Often, HR teams fall in the data camp – everything must be quantified – or the qualitative camp – HR is about people, not numbers. The reality is that both aspects are important: one for communicating to the wider business the success of the department, and the other for the actual success of HR and recruitment.

Crucially, how can businesses reduce the risks they’re exposed to from zero visibility and how can HR teams improve both the qualitative and quantitative sides of their roles?

Step one: Data

It may come as no surprise that data is essential here. It’s revolutionizing other departments, but HR and recruitment are not utilizing it to its full advantage. You can’t identify issues, streamline strategies or create a cohesive report for the wider business without data. Fortunately, there are now tools for HR leaders that will put all of the data from global operations into one simple platform. By aggregating global data, HR and TA teams can have complete visibility over staffing agencies, their costs, workforce planning and so on.
Having visibility over data is the first step but then, leaders need to focus on the less tangible deliverables of HR and recruitment.

Step two: Communication

The second step requires a little more work, but is made ten times easier with a complete data overview.

Now you’ve gained visibility, you can see where issues need fixing and what regional areas need to be re-evaluated or realigned to the global strategy. This is done through clear communication across all channels and requires involvement from procurement.
When everyone is fully aligned to the global strategy and clear on who has what responsibility, HR, procurement and staffing agencies globally can jump into action.

Step three: Going beyond visibility

Not only does fixing the zero visibility problem fix other wider issues in HR and recruitment, but with greater visibility, the door of possibilities has been unlocked.

You know where you stand as a company, but you don’t know where you could be. Data can also help talent teams find the best staffing agencies in the perfect locations for their organization. For example, you might need data scientists. Who you hire depends on the time to hire, how much you want to spend, the quality of the hire and how many data scientists you need.

Instead of selecting a location to hire in based on office location, or even one that you’ve conducted a small amount of research into, technology now has the power to show you which location has the most affordable salaries and staffing agencies, the best data scientists, the quickest time to hire or the least amount of competition for roles.

The zero visibility problem doesn’t just present a threat to your global HR strategy – it holds you back from realizing the full potential of global recruitment operations too.

Author Bio

Lenna Thompson is the Head of Client Services at RAMP.Global.