How Founders Are Leveraging Global Talent to Grow & Scale Their Companies [Webinar]

When you think of Halloween, there are costumes, candy, and — of course — webinars!On Halloween, our very own Matt Drozdzynski, Co-Founder and CEO of Plane, was joined by Hebba Youssef, Chief People Officer at Workweek and founder of the “I Hate it Here” podcast and newsletter, and Nadia Vatalidis, Head of Talent Acquisition at Camunda, for a live webinar to talk about the latest trends in global hiring.You can watch the full webinar recording to hear these global HR experts share what they’re seeing across the landscape. A lot of ground was covered, but here are some of the top takeaways:

There was a post-pandemic pullback from global hiring. But it's regaining momentum.

During the pandemic, companies had no choice but to allow all employees to work remotely. Once restrictions eased, however, many companies returned to in-office policies. But now, Matt is seeing more companies tap into the value of global remote hiring again.“I think [global hiring] has accelerated because companies just want to be a lot more efficient,” he said.

Startups are focused on doing more with less.

Young, high-growth companies don’t have access to capital like they did in the frothy days of 2021.“There is not enough money just sloshing around – unless maybe you’re in AI – that you can bank on being able to just raise, raise, raise,” Matt said.In this tighter VC environment, it’s all about building high-impact teams without growing beyond current needs. “The competitive landscape is no longer just about how you’re doing against your competition, but actually, the bottom line is cost,” Nadia added.

Companies are hiring globally to access top talent.

Rather than hiring internationally to strictly save on costs, companies are tapping into the global workforce to bring the very best talent on board. “The world’s best talent doesn’t live in your 30-km radius,” Nadia said. Drozdzynski added that when US companies decide whether to hire mid-range talent in their local markets or top-5% talent globally, it’s becoming more and more obvious that global is the way to go.

HR leaders at smaller, US-based companies are often more nervous about hiring globally than they need to be.

During the webinar, Hebba noted, “A lot of HR people are rule followers,” to which one attendee replied: “Ugh, I love rules…” And obviously, rules are there to help organizations remain compliant as they grow. But Matt, Hebba, and Nadia all agreed that HR leaders – particularly at smaller, growing companies in the US – can sometimes overestimate the risk of making any misstep as they hire internationally. “I feel like a lot of HR people are like, ‘Oh no, I have to do it by the book,’” Hebba continued. “That actually becomes a big misconception that holds us back from trying to hire globally.”Matt added that HR leaders have to play by the rules of the countries they’re hiring from. For example, if independent contractor misclassification is a concern (and it often is), he says that some countries have very clear rules, while others don’t have rules at all. Often, in the latter case, they encourage the hiring of contractors, as they like to see more of their citizens working because it’s good for their local economy. Still not sure about the best move? If you have a good HR partner, they should be able to help. Matt says that if they’re offering advice that isn’t necessarily in their best interest, that’s usually a good sign you can trust them. For example, if your hiring partner recommends signing on a worker as a contractor even though using their employer-of-record services would generate more revenue for the vendor, you’ve got a keeper.

Check out the full webinar to get up to speed on the latest trends and ideas in global hiring

The amount of knowledge dropped in this webinar is downright frightening, and there’s no way it can all be covered in one blog post. If only we recorded it and you could watch it…Oh wait, we totally did! And you can! Check out the “Killer Global Hiring Strategies” webinar, and unlike Halloween candy, you can share it with as many friends and coworkers as you want.