Several factors have improved Afghanistan's economy over the past decade, including new trade routes, modernized agricultural practices, and an influx of returning expats. This development makes the nation an excellent place to...
Read MoreSeveral factors have improved Afghanistan's economy over the past decade, including new trade routes, modernized agricultural practices, and an influx of returning expats. This development makes the nation an excellent place to test new markets.
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Several factors have improved Afghanistan’s economy over the past decade, including new trade routes, modernized agricultural practices, and an influx of returning expats. This development makes the nation an excellent place to test new markets.
When you expand your company, you need dedicated employees who can join your team from positions around the world. Plus, your company must abide by country-specific laws and expectations for recruiting and hiring your new employees.
At Globalization Partners, we take care of compliance for you. Our in-country experts keep our team up to date on labor laws, the hiring process, and other facets of managing a global workforce.
While it’s essential to acknowledge how your candidates’ culture informs their expectations, business culture often acts as its own entity. Your applicants have as much freedom in choosing where they want to work as you do in selecting a new member for your team. That said, here are four tips that will help you impress top talent in Afghanistan.
When you want to meet with a candidate, schedule your meeting in advance and arrive at the designated time. While punctuality is important, flexibility will serve you well in case of delays.
Avoid booking time-sensitive meetings that intersect with prayer times. If you choose to have meetings around daily prayers, ensure that anyone who needs to take time to pray feels welcome to do so.
Age and status create a strong and inflexible hierarchy within Afghanistan’s business culture. Many candidates will expect the oldest and highest-ranking professionals to open the conversation. You should always address candidates, fellow interviewers, and anyone else in the room by their title and last name.
Sharing business cards is not compulsory. If anyone hands you theirs, take a moment to study it carefully. Doing so shows respect for the other person’s business credentials.
Begin interviews with pleasantries and foster polite conversation. Starting a business meeting with direct conversations about your company can come across as dismissive. Instead, you should take the time to ask noninvasive questions about your candidate’s well-being.
Building a relationship is essential, and you should expect your candidate to consider any employment offers carefully. Allow time for the decision-making process in your recruiting and hiring schedule.
Expect to hear Pashto and Dari, Afghanistan’s two national languages, in interviews and other meetings. Dari is a term that envelopes various Persian languages. In the business sector, you’ll be most likely to hear Farsi, also known as “Afghan Persian.”
If you know which language to expect from your candidate’s correspondence, bring a translator for that language to your meeting. Otherwise, make sure you’re prepared for a smooth, productive meeting in either language.
The process of recruiting Afghanistan workers is fairly standard. Some roles require appointment, like civil servants and other high-ranking positions in the public sector.
To recruit the best talent for your company, follow this process:
Employees must be at least 18 years old. In some cases, 15-year-olds may perform light work and 14-year-olds can act as trainees. Special protections prohibit youths, pregnant women, and mothers with children under two years of age from performing dangerous work and working overtime or in poor conditions.
Excluding service personnel, employees must present a vocational training document with verification from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) and a health certificate from the Ministry of Public Health.
Employers must draft an employment contract and supply copies to both the employee and MOLSA. An employer may terminate the contract at expiration or with lawful grounds. To protect workers’ interests, the country is home to the National Union of Afghanistan Workers and Employees (NUAWE). Other unions have become scarce since the 1990s.
After you successfully hire new employees, the onboarding process acts as an official introduction to your company. Each employee’s first weeks are vital to strengthen their confidence in their position and your team. A smooth onboarding process makes the transition seamless and improves company loyalty.
Onboarding creates a host of responsibilities for international employers. Traveling to Afghanistan for your new workers’ first few days or weeks can help you circumvent some of these challenges. Having a physical presence on-site lets you evaluate this sect of your company and review each position with your employees. Set clear expectations to make your new hires’ first weeks at your company a success.
Onboarding is a great time to introduce employees to a training program. Depending on your time schedule and the employees’ experience in similar roles, your training program can be a single day introducing workers to their jobs or a guided week of learning the details of the job process. Keep the difficulty of each role and your industry in mind when you implement a new training program.
If your company has expectations for employees’ behavior in the workplace, lay the rules out in a code of conduct. Doing so creates clear standards for your employees to follow.
Recruiting and hiring for your local office can be complex. That process only becomes more complicated when you hire overseas.
Your company is responsible for following employment laws in the countries where you do business. Plus, those regulations can change without warning. If you fall out of compliance, you shoulder the liability for those shortcomings. Your company could experience hefty fines and suspended or revoked business licenses in some countries.
Outsource the administrative burdens of recruiting and hiring with a global PEO like Globalization Partners. We act as an Employer of Record, which means we accept the liability for hiring and onboarding your global workforce.
When your company uses our global PEO services, our legal team, HR experts, and other representatives ensure full compliance with labor laws in more than 180 countries. Our in-country business entities let us hire your favorite candidates fast.
Take the risk out of your company’s expansion with Globalization Partners. We make finding and hiring top talent easy, so you can build a stellar team in record time. Contact our team today to learn more about our recruiting and hiring outsourcing services.
If you’re ready to grow your business, or you have questions about a specific country, complete the form. One of our experts will be in touch shortly.
