How technology can help global companies weather coronavirus

Jeff Phipps

Managing Director

International businesses face complex challenges, taking on communication and language issues, employment law compliance, and various cultural differences. The coronavirus pandemic has compounded these difficulties, with many organisations struggling to engage their global workforce.

However, when companies invest in the right technological tools, it can be significantly easier to manage the challenges of operating internationally. The Economist Intelligence Unit report: “The HR challenges of international expansion” sponsored by ADP, a global payroll provider, highlights the role technology plays in a range of global organisations.

Technology is essential to improve human resources

Human resources is one of the most challenging areas for global businesses. Nearly half of organisations name recruitment as the greatest challenge they face. The right technology is instrumental - nearly half of global organisations agreed that technology helped to improve HR process integration, easing the burden of monitoring disparate systems in different geographies, and facilitating high-level collaboration and boosting engagement.

Ensuring that you are recruiting the right people, maintaining engagement and wellbeing, and providing the right training are all elements that enable businesses to thrive. When employees are heard, they produce better work and are more engaged with the shared purpose of an organisation.

Organisations need to gain a singular view of employees

Many international businesses are unable to perform at their best, with 80% stating that potential growth is limited by HR challenges. Overseeing a global employee base can be difficult, and when employers lose touch with their workforce it can lead to a downturn in engagement and productivity.

With the right technology, managers can access a singular view of employees: their performance, their capabilities, and their needs. Employers can tackle problems before they arise, keeping teams running no matter what they are faced with. HR teams are then freed up to bring greater value to businesses by drawing out the best in employees.

The rewards can be huge

Managing an international organisation is a task that is exciting and daunting, and the rewards are clear - gaining access to new market opportunities, a wider base of specialist skills to draw from, and proximity to global resources. To access these benefits, employers need to stay connected to their workforce no matter where in the world they might be.

The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the challenges international businesses face, but by adopting the right technological tools, organisations can empower their global employees to thrive through communication, training, and well-integrated systems.

Growing pains:
The HR challenges of international expansion

This report sheds light on how businesses are expanding internationally, the top challenges of managing and expanding an international workforce, and what HR leaders can do to address them.

Download the report