Four Strategic Imperatives HR Can Take to Boost Talent Competitiveness

Here are four strategic actions human resources professionals can implement in 2020

Global talent is imperative to the success of U.S. companies and the competitiveness of America’s innovation economy. As such, it’s critical for human resources teams and business leadership alike to be aligned when implementing strategies to mobilize and retain talent across borders.

The following actionable practices will help business leaders improve talent competitiveness in 2020 and beyond

Enable a data-driven global talent program

Human capital needs require policies and procedures to help build transparent and scalable talent programs. By implementing routine analytic reporting measures, companies can better evaluate the marketplace. This data can cover talent trends, policies, benefits and labor flows. The wealth of knowledge will help HR teams benchmark their organization against peers.

Benchmarking is critical because it helps companies stay competitive or ahead of their competition.

Create a competitive global talent program

For companies to attract high-skilled foreign talent, a competitive benefits program should be a foundational element. Examples of end-to-end global mobility benefits for foreign nationals include:

• Travel allowances for annual trips to home countries
• Support resources upon arrival in a new destination
• Early green card sponsorship

Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to benefits, and companies can tailor their programs to best fit employee needs. Companies can tailor their benefits program as they see.

Place employee experience at the center

Foreign national anxiety about U.S. immigration is at an all-time high. To keep talent meaningfully engaged, HR teams can emphasize specialized policies and service standards. There are three main pillars to this approach, starting with reducing anxiety before, during and after the visa process. To help reduce anxiety, HR teams can:

• Communicate realistic expectations up front
• Practice transparency
• Emphasize responsiveness
• Communicate in clear, crisp messages
• Proactively monitor hot-button topics

Don’t forget to keep the employees who are either working remotely or traveling for business highly engaged with the operations and culture at the main office, too. For example, always give the person dialing into a meeting the first and last word. Doing so helps remote workers feel included in meetings, even though they aren’t physically in the room.

Tap into nontraditional talent pools

Organizations struggling to fill key job openings can examine adapting their hiring requirements to tap into nontraditional talent pools. These hiring areas can include local colleges and universities. 

More so, HR teams can also examine whether college degrees are relevant for certain positions. For positions that require technology skills, recruiters may want to be open-minded to creative backgrounds in candidates. This means talent acquisition teams can become familiar with reputable code academies, for instance.

Allow majority of employees to participate in global rotations

Global assignments have historically been reserved for senior executives. However, due to a growing demand from younger employees to work overseas, these assignments are becoming company-wide initiatives.

Organizations that are unsure how to include the majority of their employees in global rotations can adjust the program as they go to allow for more participation. HR teams may also want to implement shorter and more thoughtful placements. These assignments can last two to three months and tend to be more budget-friendly.

Also, select global assignment markets strategically that may be the most tax and immigration efficient.

Organizations of all sizes should make global talent a company-wide priority. Given the modern global talent imperative, companies should view global mobility as a strategic initiative.