International Staffing

Consider the cultural differences inherent in global business as well as the geographic obstacles of home office and remote locations being in different countries.

When considering the cultural difference inherent in global business as well as the geographic obstacles of home office and remote locations being in different countries the first thing that comes to mind is the distance, time differences, and also the cultural differences of the employees from the home office working in the remote location as well as the local citizens working in the remote locations.  

Time differences are a major obstacle to overcome, for GE’s LightSpeed team, this frequently meant holding eight-hour global conference calls encompassing numerous time zones. (The call times were rotated so that no single team had to stay up all night for every call.) Many companies try to build variety into their teams in order to maximize responsiveness to the special needs of different countries. (Bohlander & Snell, 2007, pg. 650).   If there is an 8 hour time difference it is likely that one company, perhaps the remote location, would be attending the web meeting in the early morning hours where the home office would be attending that same meeting in the late evening hours.   In any case it is likely that compromise on both parts is needed to facilitate a worthwhile productive meeting.

Distance will always be a factor; it is not convenient to be located halfway around the world from the home office to the remote location so having the foresight to plan in advance is a must.   In this circumstance it pays to be proactive and not reactive, a term that I use almost weekly where I work now.   You are simply not afforded the benefit of walking down the hall to get those important documents to someone.   Timelines and deadlines must be adjusted so that mailings, emails, or other forms of telecommunicating can take place on time.

Cultural differences and lowering the gap in understanding of...