All HR professionals will know the challenge of staying up-to-date with business trends.

 

This is perplexing enough on a local scale, led alone on a global basis.

We understand the complexity of this challenge, so we aim to share our expertise at every opportunity possible.

This is why our General Manager US, Catherine Moore, headed to NCHRA‘s 2017 Global HR conference.

Taking place on September 28, Catherine shared her knowledge on global expansion. Using her own experience in human resources, Catherine illuminated the pathway to a successful international HR strategy.

Here are just some of Catherine’s tips.

 

How to Bridge Cross-Cultural Differences

When discussing global expansion, one difficulty stood out: the challenge of fostering collaboration between cultures.

It’s clear that there is no clear-cut “roadmap” to cross-cultural understanding. However, Catherine shared strategies to help to overcome the complexities.

 

Bring the Workplace Culture with You!

Sharing the company values on a global scale is a great way to unify employees. But how can company culture be shared around the world?

When tackling this question, Catherine spoke about the effectiveness of bringing a “cultural mentor” from the company’s HQ.

This individual needs to be well acquainted with the company’s culture. With this understanding, they can implement the appropriate HR systems and operations, including onboarding, training and conflict resolution.

 

How to Work Across Different Time Zones

Communication is a key enabler of connectivity. However, communicating across borders can be complicated. As such, Catherine shared her advise in communicating across different time zones, and managing global projects.

 

Use Tech to Empower

There is an abundance of tools which allow remote teams to collaborate. It’s all about understanding the needs, and making use of the right software. For example, cross-cultural communication can be aided by an instant messaging software such as Slack.

If you are looking to foster global project management, you may consider a project management tool such as Asana, which aids the centralisation of project tasks and objectives. If you are more of a visual person, Milanote might be best as it enables users to organise ideas and projects into visual boards.

Overall, software is a key enabler for remote teams, so be sure to make use of the tools on offer.

 

Implement A Proactive Management Strategy

When it comes to cross-cultural collaboration, appropriate systems of operation need to be established.

This involves providing definitions of responsibilities and well-defined communication guidelines. Establishing such guidelines will encourage responsiveness and accountability, which are the essentials of cross-cultural collaboration!

 

See You at the Next Conference!

The world of HR is constantly evolving, and new possibilities are continually emerging. As such, we look forward to exploring latest best practice at the next NCHRA event. See you there!

About the Author:

Jacqueline Harding is passionate about sharing information, news and stories in a user-friendly way to educate and uplift people from all across the globe.