3 tactics to help you navigate complex legal and cultural employee benefits differences across the globe

When expanding globally and entering new markets, assumptions can threaten the success of your overseas operation. When it comes to employee benefits law, culture, norms, and expectations, even bordering countries can have stark and complex differences that, as a business, you need to ensure you’re aware of.

In this article, we share 3 key tactics to help ensure that, wherever you operate in the world, you understand and navigate the legal and cultural differences that can make a success of your business expansion.

1.    Immerse yourself

It may sound simple but, no matter how ‘similar’ a country may seem to one in which you already operate, each new market you enter needs to be thoroughly researched beforehand. While it may be tempting to just do some online digging or ask people that have experience of working in said country, the best way to get to grips with a country and what it means to succeed there as a business is to travel there and physically immerse yourself in it.

By booking a trip and involving the stakeholders that are key to the success of your overseas expansion, you can:

• Prepare yourself for what to expect from this new market
• Increase your credibility as an employer
• Understand what benefits are valued and expected by the local talent

2.    Utilise local expertise

While you may think you’re able to manage and oversee your employee benefits strategy yourself, it can be a real time-consuming challenge, especially without local knowhow. If you don’t have access to local expertise internally, it is important to be working with a consulting partner that possesses a large network of local partners, who update them of any changes internationally that impact you or your associated plans.

Local knowledge is especially important because, not only can laws be so different from country to country, but they are changing all the time. With a local partner, or global broker with local connections, you will have access to a team of specialists who proactively seek information on employee benefit legislation changes and keep you up to date.

A partner with strong local knowledge and relationships can support your business by:

• Building and implementing a compliant and competitive benefits offering, each time you set up in a new country.
• Managing the ongoing compliance and competitiveness of global benefits and ensuring a well-managed, ongoing benefits management and renewal process.
• Providing a single source for global benefits liaison and instant access to benefits information, for local and head office benefit leads.

3.    Global business culture consulting

The business culture of every country is unique, and understanding these nuances is key to optimising communication and strengthening relationships with your key international stakeholders. A good relationship with local partners and providers is key to securing the best employee benefits outcomes for your people, and a good relationship with your people in each country is key to keeping them happy, motivated, and retained.

Global business culture consulting ensures that your teams understand how to effectively communicate and operate in other business cultures, and can help:

• Improve cross-border effectiveness and help your teams work together more effectively
• Train executives and managers to make informed decisions and better manage your multicultural, global workforce.
• Expand your culture of success worldwide and adapt that culture to your organisation’s new international landscape