4 Things To Consider When You Have Offshore Staff

With today's interconnected world, fueled by the internet, more and more companies are hiring talent from overseas to fill gaps that their organisations may need to succeed. And this strategy has been adopted by many companies across various verticals, from humble start-ups to large multicorporations alike.

Besides the wider pool of talent that can be tapped into with offshore staff, there’s also an increased cost savings potential that businesses can benefit from by hiring these workers, particularly if they come from lower-cost-of-living countries such as Latin America and southern regions of Asia. 

Workers from these regions of the world tend to ask for less than their local, first-world counterparts, and this can turn into significant cost savings for the business while still filling a similar niche in the company.

Does that mean that a global workforce outright replaces local talent? The short answer is no, and the medium one is it’s quite a complicated and nuanced take. 

From navigating cultural norms to communicating with them optimally, there are things you have to consider to ensure that you’re maximising these offshore staff to their fullest potential.

If you’re curious to learn more, then read on. We’ll give you a lay down of four important things worth considering when you’re dealing with offshore staff. Let’s jump right into it.

1. Setting a Suitable Payroll System

When managing offshore staff, the method you use to send payments may differ from that of your local workforce at the beginning of their time in your company. These global talents may not have access to local bank accounts, making immediate deposits locked out for them at the start.

There are a couple of ways you, as a business owner, can navigate this. The first is by sending them payment through global payment apps like PayPal, Wise, and similar e-Wallets. This method can be beneficial as it’s easy to open an account with them from all over the world.

The downside of this option, however, is that these services often come with high bank charges and hidden conversion costs, both of which can add up over time.

Alternatively, you can also assist your new global hire in opening a local bank account for foreigners (such as Westpac) to reduce the fees taken by the aforementioned intermediaries. The money would then not have to undergo a conversion process, allowing the employee to enjoy the bulk of their earnings from fluctuations based on currency.

You can also consider encouraging them to open a multi-currency account through global bank apps, such as Payoneer. 

In any case, setting an efficient payment system ensures that your offshore team gets the money they’ve earned over the course of the month while also giving your financial team a stress-free experience by standardising the payment system to fit your company’s capacity.

2. Building Clear Communication Routines

It’s important to keep in mind the difference in time zones when dealing with foreign staff. As this is the case, align your offshore team on how you and your company wish to foster a good level of communication to ensure that you reduce misunderstandings and keep projects moving smoothly.

You can do this by standardising them to work in your hours and paying the difference (i.g, Night shift if they’re from the other side of the world), ensuring that they stay online while you and your team are also working. You can also establish daily and weekly check-ups with them to keep their progress transparent and easy to follow.

Project management tools like monday.com, Trello, and Asana are also helpful to streamline projects and deadlines for both you and your offshore staff. Lastly, having them feel included in various company developments can also play a big role in maintaining their motivation and productivity.

In any case, just like with local staff, it’s important to keep the global hires happy and motivated. If there’s a language barrier, then find a way to work through that or simply hire a staff member who speaks your language. When healthy communication is upheld and standardised in the company, you and your staff will have a much easier time collaborating with each other and remaining productive.

3. Establish Secure Protocols for Sensitive Data

You’ll mostly be dealing with your offshore staff online through the Internet. Websites like Slack and WhatsApp can help organise communications between your company’s headquarters and your offshore team. And while the convenience offered by this network is next-to-none, it also comes with its own fair share of risks. 

Without secure protocols in place, your company could run the risk of data breaches or intellectual property loss. 

If your remote staff is working from their personal laptop, their device may be infected or compromised in some form, which can put your company’s sensitive data at immense risk. Clear agreements and reliable tools are, therefore, crucial to safeguard your company’s digital data and assets.

As a start, establish clear protocols as part of your strategy when onboarding your staff. Require staff to use company-approved devices or secure VPNs, and implement role-based access so employees only see the data relevant to their tasks. Have them download anti-virus software to spot and quarantine potential malware on their device as well.

Besides that, draft strong confidentiality agreements and regularly update passwords and authentication methods. You won’t always have your eye on them, but these agreements and protocols can help minimise the risk of your data falling into the wrong hands.

By doing all this, you can help reduce the chances of your company’s data leaking out, thus keeping your company secrets safe and away from people who may use the data to their own advantage.

4. Onboard and Train Remote Hires Effectively

Bringing offshore staff into your company isn’t just about sending them a contract and assigning tasks from the get-go. 

Just like with an actual on-site staff, it’s important to onboard them and have them understand your company’s values and workflow. They need to be in the loop of how things are done in your company, as this can help them activate their highest potential and perform their best.

Consider investing in their onboarding process to ensure that you keep things flowing smoothly and prevent any confusion. A good remote worker is only as good as the instructions they’re given, so it’s essential to establish the right onboarding process to make them a good and productive team member.

To start, provide structured training materials to guide them through your company’s systems. This should ideally be standardised if you’re hiring multiple staff members to fill the same role, with tweaks if necessary.

You should also pair your remote staff with a point person, like a supervisor, for the first few weeks of their time at the company. This way, they can have their specific inquiries cleared by someone whenever they have a question to ask. 

By drafting a formal hiring system for your remote hires, you can make them more easily integrate into your company and its culture. In turn, this can make it easier for you to utilise their skillset at the level you expect of them.

All the best in managing your offshore staff!