Introduction
Are we in a recessionary environment? Economic indicators show global economies slowing down with some advanced economies recording negative growths. Worldwide governments are taking measures to avert a recession, only time will tell whether these measures are successful. Recession poses a severe challenge to corporations, including managing people mobility. As corporations strive to manage in these times of financial uncertainty, managing international workforce requires careful planning and adapting strategies to overcome a recessionary environment. In this blog, we’ll explore some effective strategies that corporations can employ to manage people mobility, and ensure compliance, talent retention, and business continuity.
Assess Workforce Requirements:
Think about the future and periodically assess workforce needs at a more micro level based on the evolving business and market conditions. Identify crucial skills and roles that are essential for sustaining and growing the company.
Strategy: Conduct and re-conduct deep analysis of your workforce to determine roles that can be filled by local talent and that which would require international expertise. Focus towards retaining key international employees who contribute significantly to meeting the company’s goals and objectives.
Create Flexible Work Arrangements:
Extend remote work and flexible arrangements to help retain valuable international talent while minimizing disruptions.
Strategy: Evaluate and offer, remote working options (this may not be the right time to have a back to office policy), reduced work hours, temporary furloughs as alternatives to layoffs. While doing so work closely with your People Mobility and extended Legal teams work to ensure compliance with immigration and employment regulations.
Skill and Re-Skill, the Workforce:
Increase investment in skill development and training across the board to enhance employee value to the organization and contribute to future growth.
Strategy: Assess future skill requirements and provide ample opportunities to employees to upskill and cross-train in areas that align with the evolving needs of business. While classroom sessions are fantastic, online learning platforms and virtual workshops can be a cost-effective and more scalable option to upskill employees.
Be Transparent and Constantly Communicate:
Be open, be transparent, it may surprise you how well this can go down with employees. Communicating with employees in these times of uncertainty, providing support and guidance can help significantly alleviate concerns and maintain morale.
Strategy: Create forums and establish regular communication channels to address immigration-related queries and provide updates on company initiatives. Continue to processes / aid with visa renewals, extensions, and other immigration processes.
Optimize Talent Mobility and Redeployment:
Leveraging the diverse skills of employees across different roles and locations to optimize talent utilization and resource allocation.
Strategy: Relook your resource deployment model and create a model that supports global re-deployment of resources (any country to any country). Create practices and processes that balance local hiring and redeployment of employees for international assignments. This will help retain valuable talent and building loyalty while adapting to the changing environment.
Explore Cross Border Remote Working:
The rise of Covid created a culture of remote working and Nomad Visas, creating opportunities for companies to leverage talent regardless of geographical location.
Strategy: Explore this possibility for specific roles that can be performed remotely. While doing so do ensure compliance to local immigration, labor and tax laws to avoid legal complications.
Ensure Compliance:
Immigration laws and regulations can be complex and would require expert advice to ensure compliance and avoid legal risks.
Strategy: Partner with your legal service providers or immigration & tax consultants who understand and specialize in navigating complex immigration & tax requirements. Work with them closely to formulate your policies and practices and to stay updated on changes in immigration policies and regulations to make informed decisions.
Conclusion
Managing immigration during a recessionary environment required advance planning and a strategic approach that aligns and balances between business priorities and regulatory requirements. By adopting the strategies given above corporations can navigate the complexities of immigration and tax requirements while continuing to maintain operational resilience and retaining valuable talent. By doing so, businesses can to a great extent insulate them from the recessionary environment and better position them for recovery and long-term success in the ever-changing economic landscape.