The talent shortage is a global problem, especially knowing that demand for software engineers shows no sign of slowing pace.
Under extreme pressure, hiring departments change their hiring behavior gradually, prodded by a tight labor market and additional stress to diversify their workforce.
Due to complicated bureaucratic procedures varying from country to country, once perceived as a last resort measure, global mobility and relocation become a way to enable companies to continue to grow.
Whether you run a startup or a multinational company, mobilizing your workforce quickly and as seamlessly as possible becomes a need.
Global mobility - what is essential to know?
Remote work uprising caused by the recent pandemic shift and rapid digitization helped companies to widen their talent pools by bringing jobs to people instead of vice versa.
However, some companies develop projects where their tech teams prefer team members to sit next to each other. In that case, companies must relocate new hires and offer relocation packages.
Relocation packages help cover all or part of the costs incurred by employees during the moving process and are usually defined in relocation policy and may vary from company to company. Still, these should be general offerings:
- Travel reimbursement
- Temporary housing
- Assistance to break a lease or sell a home
- Packing and moving services
- Support family relocation
In addition, the relocation process demands employers to understand complex visa and immigration requirements varying from country to country.
Sufficient to say no two countries are alike in employment laws.
Prevailing obstacles in global mobility
Before considering relocation as a model to attract software engineers, companies must consider how this impacts their legal obligations or to put it simply - diving into bureaucracy.
Helping your employees avoid bureaucracy means you have to deal with it. That’s completely fine if you have enough time to prepare and research the country of origin for each new hire.
The first step to ensure you’re on the right track is to check out the Foreign Office website for any country you’re seeking information from or get in touch with the local embassy. Recruiters also need to know about the application requirements such as:
- Visa regulations
- Specific regulations (e.g., education, income, job positions)
- Understand how much time it will take to successfully finish the process
Beware knowing that any problem that might occur during the process leads to long(er) delays for the starting day of the new employee, as well as for the team that is waiting for the international employee who has to deal with the missing resources.
Companies often resort to external relocation services that will conduct all necessary procedures and are far better aware of opportunities from country to country.
External service providers are well aware of all possible delays and bottlenecks that might occur during the visa process and are considered a helping hand for IT recruiters.
When the relocation process is over, your work still isn’t
After the relocation process from one country to another is over, there are still some tasks left. Some of the tasks to follow aren’t that obvious, but are still time-consuming:
- Assisting new hires to obtain health insurance
- Finding permanent housing
- Providing banking and phone options
- Providing introductions with the relevant contacts in the network
Long-term benefits for IT companies
Nonetheless, that wide acceptance of remote work brought further depth into the talent pool, and companies are far from finding continuous solutions to talent acquisition today.
Most companies recognize that global mobility and relocation as their natural part can provide a competitive advantage and significant cost savings. To mention some of the benefits:
- Talent pool expansion
- Improved employee retention
- Increased diversity
Conclusion
Even though the world has permanently embraced remote work, many companies still limit themselves to looking for local talents only. Under pressure to become competitive, they must allow their hiring department to look at and hire candidates considering relocation.
As remote is here to help companies to overcome some of the recruiting challenges, relocation in the IT industry still plays a very important role for companies and candidates seeking new experiences, challenges, and lifepath achievements.
