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To succeed in a global economy, many companies are aiming to build teams that are internationally diverse and offer expertise in local markets. Hiring global teams provides companies with a wider perspective on how to approach global expansion challenges.
How common are global teams?
Globalization Partners’ 2019 Global Employee Survey found that 84 percent of employees work for global teams. Also, HR practitioners said that 48 percent of their global teams work together on a daily basis, and 86 percent work together at least weekly.
While many companies are already reaping the benefits of hiring internationally, now more than ever, it’s time to look outside your company’s home market:
- Grow revenue in new markets: If executed properly, opening a new market and bringing in new customers means more revenue.
- Find new pools of talent: Hire skilled workers in lower cost jurisdictions, saving on costs and filling talent gaps.
- Diversify to increase resilience: Access to multiple markets and consumer bases also means you’ll have greater visibility into trends, and more insight that can be gathered for future product development.
Advantages of global team development
Remote work is a new reality and companies are starting to realize that global team development can have many benefits, including improved flexibility, diversity, and productivity.
Benefit #1: Flexible support structure
Remote global teams work across different time zones around the world, providing a greater reach. Since they are available more hours throughout the day, they can respond to customers more promptly than teams working under one time zone. This is particularly important when a company has a global customer base.
Benefit #2: Diverse company culture
Global teams are key to establish an inclusive and diverse company culture. Companies can benefit from their employees’ wide range of expertise and skills to create and develop better business strategies and solutions. McKinsey has found that companies in the bottom quartile for both gender and ethnic cultural diversity are 29 percent less likely to achieve above-average profitability than other companies. Catalyst has compiled a body of academic and analyst research linking diversity to indicators of profitability which include earnings per share, revenue, market performance, and sales growth.
Benefit #3: Maximized productivity
Research shows 31 percent of HR professionals saw productivity as one of the top benefits of global teams. International teams working in various time zones are tackling tasks around the clock, increasing the speed at which projects are completed and, ultimately, goals are met. Therefore, global cooperation and collaboration lead to increased productivity.
Research shows 31 percent of HR professionals saw productivity as one of the top benefits of global teams. Click To TweetBenefit #4: Cultural understanding
Global teams have great benefits for employees as well. Employees who participate in international projects are more likely to have a deeper cultural understanding. This means that engaging with other cultures contributes to improving the employees’ abilities to understand and value other points of view, which leads to successful business interactions.
Benefit #5: Fewer problems
In the 2020 Global Employee Survey, Globalization Partners found that international teams are 12 percent less likely to report having problems than teams from single locations. They tend to be highly collaborative across borders, with fewer problems reported.
Are you ready to build your global team?
Building global teams is a great way for companies to achieve success as they enter new local markets. Having talented professionals in those local markets is becoming essential for international expansion.
Download The Complete Guide to Building a Remote Global Team to learn more about the logistics of growing global teams for efficiency and impact.
