6 Benefits of Having an International Workforce

Some companies hire international employees out of necessity, while others do it to expand or improve their companies. Regardless of the reason, there are many benefits to hiring an international workforce. The hiring process may be more challenging, but the rewards are often worth the time and effort.

1. Fill Highly-Skilled Roles

Many countries have a shortage of highly-skilled workers in a variety of fields. Depending on your location, there are well-established avenues for hiring foreign workers.

If you’re in the U.S., for example, these options may include:

  • H1-B visa for skilled professional workers
  • L-1 and B visas with partners, offices or subsidiaries outside of the U.S.
  • O-1 visa for workers with extraordinary abilities
  • EB and NIW petitions, which can give green cards for leaders in their fields

Companies that want to fill these highly-skilled roles often work closely with an immigration lawyer to navigate the complex hiring process.

2. Language and Community Relations Skills

In today’s global economy, having an international workforce provides you with language and community relations advantages.

Companies that plan to expand into global markets can benefit from hiring workers in the area. These local employees understand the language and culture, which will help companies better assimilate and do business in those countries.

3. Enhanced Creativity and New Perspectives

International workers bring new perspectives, cultural backgrounds and ideas to the table. A homogenous workforce which includes employees of the same background may stifle creativity.

The introduction of new ideas and perspectives allows for unique and interesting solutions to problems as well as innovation in your operations.

4. Richer Workplace Culture

In addition to enhanced creativity and new perspectives, an international workforce can also help build a richer and more diverse workplace culture for employees.

This sharing of different cultural ideas and perspectives benefits immigrant and non-immigrant employees. Ultimately, this boosts employee morale and creates a more positive reputation for your company’s culture.

5. Increased Productivity

Diverse teams are more productive because they bring a wide range of experience, expertise and working methods. These different perspectives improve problem-solving capabilities, which also leads to greater overall productivity.

Studies have shown that businesses with cultural diversity and inclusion are more productive and happier overall.

Diversity can also create healthy competition and push teams to achieve their best. Healthy competition can lead to improvements in efficiency and operations as a whole. Innovation and efficiency are sure to follow.

6. Attract and Retain Talent

According to a survey from Glassdoor, two-thirds of job hunters say that diversity is an important factor when choosing an employer. If applicants see that diversity is an important part of your recruiting process, it will broaden your pool of perspective employees.

Ultimately, an international workforce will help your business attract and retain talent. Maintaining this diversity will also improve employee loyalty, as they feel valued and respected for their unique contributions. This also fosters mutual respect among co-workers. Developing an inclusive atmosphere which values cross-cultural cooperation improves bonds among co-workers and teams across all divisions of the company’s operations.