HROTodayGlobal

Recruitment accomplishing the objective. Gaining alignment is often the most difficult part of a global recruitment programme. Many organisations have few mechanisms in place to foster consensus among their global teams. In this case, local hiring managers who are concerned about losing control of their respective domains might resist supporting new recruiting processes. Additionally, the concept of RPO might take on different meanings in different regions. In some regions, RPO might be an end-to-end solution that encompasses everything from sourcing to onboarding. For other regions, the RPO solution may consist of the selective outsourcing of specific elements of recruiting such as background screening or sourcing for specific hard-to-fill positions. Understanding the complexity of what the solution means by region is critical to a true global programme. In order to achieve this alignment, it is important that all business users have a shared lexicon and common definitions. Often times when global programmes are developed, regions may have a different understanding of terminology and expectations. From the outset, the faster a common lexicon can be established, the sooner the team can begin to work towards the same goals. This common terminology is also of the utmost importance when effectively communicating expectations to the team on appropriate resource requirements and process milestones. Another critical component of programme alignment is having executive sponsorship across the organisation. This helps to align the business needs with the talent gap that is the driver behind the global recruitment strategy. Obtaining executive level sponsorship is paramount to the long-term success and impact of any programme. Achieving programme alignment should involve input from stakeholders until all important areas of concern have been addressed. Acknowledge and consider all feedback, but keep in mind the goals and ultimate end result of a global recruitment strategy— maximising your talent pool. Global Design, Local Execution All global recruitment programmes require some degree of flexibility within the project framework. Some programme elements should be consistent horizontally across the company—including brand standards, technology platform, and both compliance requirements and common definitions. But it is also critical that the team provide ample room to accommodate different regional requirements for their varying recruiting resources and techniques. Making an effort to accommodate to different cultural nuances is of the utmost importance. For example, in many countries and regions, the size of the space that is used for interviews can vary drastically. If an organisation did not consider these elements when exploring offices in regions for interviews, success could be difficult to achieve. Having levels of flexibility ensures that organisations can have an effective recruiting programme on a local level while conforming to global standards. Recruiting knowledge and requirements are also often at different stages in different regions. For example, in the United States, there is a great deal of industry information available to help human resource professionals understand the key elements of a best-practice approach. However, that same level of information may not exist in other regions of the world, particularly in emerging markets. Another key element to consider during the design phase of any global recruiting strategy is the varying local system requirements for technology-based applicant tracking government-compliance regulations. For example, in some countries, the applicant tracking system (ATS) needs to be "safe harbour certified". The European Union's Data Protection Directive sets restrictions on how elements of personal information can be collected, stored, and shared, creating many challenges. It is illegal to share personal information between countries if proper procedures have not been followed. Data can be shared freely between countries that maintain compatible data privacy policies. In addition to the E.U., other countries permit the free sharing of data, including Switzerland, Canada, and Argentina. If data belonging to an employee from these countries is shared with managers located in other countries, the parent company must either secure permission from each individual employee following very specific procedures or demonstrate organisation-wide permission by pursuing one of several options to bring the organisation's data FALL 2011 | www.hroglobal.com [37] Find Expertise As more organisations conduct business across borders, a global recruiting strategy with a centralised reporting structure makes it possible to manage data obligations, mitigate risks, and aggressively enforce Europe's data privacy laws. To protect European Union data from being subjected to the U.S. Patriot Act— legislation that conflicts directly with the E.U. Data Protection Directive—the E.U. is particularly sensitive to prohibiting data from being processed or reviewed in the United States. A recruiting provider with local experience and safe harbour certification will be able to facilitate compliance with local requirements.

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