satya – Talent500 Blog

Global teams: the secret to winning the talent war in 2022

Posted on September 26, 2022September 26, 2022 by satya

In the last couple of years, we’ve all become equally familiar with phrases like “war for talent” or “the Great Resignation” of the “Great Reshuffle.” But what’s really happening? Let’s use numbers to put things into perspective:

Over 85 million jobs would be unfilled by 2030, leading to a global revenue shortage of as much as $8.5 trillion, with the shortage of high-tech workers alone accounting for a loss of $162 billion.
The talent shortage in the U.S. has tripled in the last decade, with as many as 69% of employers struggling to fill positions.

The U.S. is struggling with an acute shortage of skilled talent…

Meanwhile, the cost of hiring in the US has increased by the biggest margin since 2001, mainly due to an increase in wages and benefits. The employment cost index (ECI) surged 1.3% in Q3 2021 after rising 0.7% in Q2. This marks the largest gain in the last 20 years!

Employers today are facing the most brutal talent market in history, and there are multiple reasons for this.

Baby boomers are bidding adieu

One of the biggest factors contributing to this decrease in the supply of skilled workers is the accelerated retirement of Baby boomers. Nearly 30 million Boomers retired in the third quarter of 2020, leaving a large gap in the pool of skilled labor. While this was planned retirement for a part of the population, many Boomers retired early due to jobs lost during the pandemic.

Shortage of skilled workers in the younger generations

A large chunk of this shortage is simply demographic – think Japan or many Scandinavian nations, where the rate of birth has remained relatively low for decades. As a majority of Baby Boomers move out of the workforce by 2030, there will simply not be enough skilled workers from the later generations to fill this gap or invest the time and training that many highly skilled jobs require.

Work motivations have changed drastically

Skilled workers today know that they are a scarce commodity, and are not scared of using this as leverage. Professionals today want a significant increase in perks and benefits, better work-life balance, and greater flexibility and autonomy. 97% of respondents would choose some form of remote work in their lives, with 24% agreeing to take a pay cut in order to work remotely.

Professionals in the younger generations are leading the “Great Reshuffle”, with 87% of GenZ professionals in India planning to switch jobs in 2022. The fact that switching jobs does pay is a further incentive. Professionals who chose to switch their jobs got an average salary increase of 14.8%, with workers between 25 and 34 receiving the highest wage increase.

…and there is only one solution – global teams

The exponential demand for remote work opportunities also means that employers now have a chance to tap into a pool of talent that is global and limitless. Empowered by technology and the competitive cost of hiring, some of the biggest companies in the world are choosing to hire highly skilled professionals from different parts of the world and build global teams.

Different models of global teams

As companies rethink the most viable and profitable models of location-independent work, there are 4 major types that have emerged ~

Global capability centers

A GCC or a global capability center is a second, mirror team in a different location, which is generally an offshore tech hub that functions as an individual unit in itself. It mirrors the culture, setup, processes, and governance of the home office while giving the company access to extremely skilled talent at competitive costs. Simultaneously, it also enables the company to penetrate a completely new geographical market by accessing the local talent there. The cities of Sao Paolo, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires are emerging as the hottest tech hubs of LatAm, with Easter Europe and South Asia following suit. India is touted as the Global GCC capital, accounting for 45% of the world’s GCCs, generating an annual revenue of USD 33.8 billion in FY20.

At Talent500, we have helped companies across a multitude of industries, ranging from retail stalwarts like Giant Eagle, Advance Auto Parts, 7-Eleven, and Northern Tool + Equipment, to aviation giant Delta Air Lines setting up their GCCs in India.

Cluster offices/ hub & spoke model

Post-pandemic, a large part of the working population all over the world chose to move to the suburbs or their hometowns to cut costs. Cities like Miami, Austin, and Lisbon are emerging as fast-growing tech hubs, offering a better quality of life combined with a low cost of living. In this setup, the company operates a centralized main office – the “hub”, with more localized satellite offices, the “spokes”.

Following the hub and spoke model, companies like Adyen and MineralTree have chosen to set up their own offices in India with hiring assistance from Talent500.

Employer of record model

For businesses looking to expand globally and access a wider pool of skilled talent without the hassle of setting up a new entity, Employer of Record (EOR) is the solution. The EOR steps in to manage all the legal and operational requirements of building a global workforce for its client companies, from hiring and management of payrolls, to taxation, benefits, and legal compliances in a foreign country.

The EOR model has worked tremendously well for companies like Nike & Space and Time, as well as many upcoming financial product companies like SaaS leader Chargebee, Peach Payments, and Servify with Talent500 acting as their employer of record.

Fully remote

Completely location independent, companies that are fully remote do not have any physical offices or headquarters. Team members telecommute from different parts of the world, working across multiple countries and time zones. With the U.S. seeing a 96% increase in the number of fully-remote employees, it is evident that this model has become immensely popular post-pandemic.

Globally renowned companies GETTR, GitLab, Automattic, Atlassian, and Buffer are fully remote, distributed organizations with no central office.

Top talent hubs to tap into across the globe

The biggest advantage of global teams is the ability to hire superlative talent at a highly competitive cost. Ranging from Eastern Europe and Latin America, to Southeast Asia and parts of Africa, these regions offer an abundance of highly skilled talent, at substantially lower cost of acquisition.

Leveraging the superlative talent in the LatAm region

Colombia

The Columbian IT sector specialises in catering to the ever-growing demand for services required for custom software products such as application development, game development, and mobile app development. The country’s VAT exemption brings in a substantial amount of foreign direct investment, thus supporting IT infrastructure. The average annual salary for a software developer in Columbia is COL$43,247,704, or USD 9900, a highly competitive amount even at a global level.

Argentina

Argentina’s emphasis on higher education and technical skills makes it among the top countries offering niche skills in AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, Internet of Things, and application programming interface. A 75% tax rebate for startups, and a Teleworking Law makes Argentina a highly preferred destination for hiring remote workers. With only a one-hour difference from the U.S. time zone, working with Argentinian developers in real-time is a big advantage.

Capturing Europe’s tech expertise

Turkey

Free technical education at public universities is a huge contributor to Turkey’s thriving tech population, with about 8.4 million students graduating every year.

Its close proximity to the European time zones (local time is CET+1 and GMT+2) makes it the ideal talent hub for distributed teams. The ease of availability of niche skills like C#, Java, Node.JS, .NET Core frameworks, and React, makes it one of the most popular destinations for hiring remote technical talent.

Poland

The Harvard Business Review ranked Poland 5th among the most tech-skilled labor markets in the world, housing as many as 430,000 IT specialists. Poland consistently ranks as one of the top three countries with the world’s best programmers, known for their technical expertise, code quality and general proficiency with English.

Building cost-effective tech teams in Southeast Asia

India

The emergence of a young and dynamic workforce is a major catalyst in making India one of the most popular destinations for hiring remote tech professionals. The Global Startup Ecosystem Report of 2021 has ranked Mumbai and Bengaluru amongst the world’s top startup hubs, pegging the valuation of India’s tech industry at a whopping $200 billion. Tech professionals in India are known for their expertise with skills like Blockchain, IoT, cybersecurity, machine learning and data science, combined with excellent spoken and written English.

Vietnam

Based on TopDev’s 2021 IT market report, the total number of developers in Vietnam (as of Q1/2021) was 430,000 IT developers, and over 55,000 graduated IT Students from over 153 IT institutions per year. The startup scene in Vietnam is on pace to be the region’s next tech hub; funding reached $2.1 billion in 2021, up from just $48 million in 2017. Vietnam is attracting top tier Silicon Valley venture capitalists, including Goodwater Capital LLC, Accel Partners LP and Altos Ventures Management Inc.

Watch out for these emerging tech hubs

Kenya

According to Findeable’s 2021 Global Fintech rankings, Kenya takes the top spot among African countries boasting 51 tech hubs and an increasingly connected workforce that continues to gain the attention of global VC interest. In a world experiencing digital transformation of its industries, Kenya—a country with an average age of 17—is now able to use technology to catapult into a different league.

Azerbaijan

Post-pandemic, the IT-outsourcing market has grown tremendously in the country thanks to governmental investment in IT infrastructure and internet access. The opening of the Google Technology Users Group in Baku has brought in some of the biggest tech companies to the country. A major factor in establishing Azerbaijan as an outsourcing hub is its highly competitive cost of hiring and talent acquisition. According to Glassdoor, the average software developer salary in Azn 2000, or 1200 USD.

Wondering which country might be the most conducive to building your global team? Find a point-wise comparison here.

Companies of all sizes are struggling with an acute shortage of skilled talent, with Gartner reporting an increase of 10% in the rate of attrition in a single year. With the ever-increasing cost of hiring and an employee-centric talent market, businesses can no longer afford to restrict their hiring strategy to a 30-mile radius.

Be it in any industry, across any part of the world – successful business leaders understand that leveraging the power of a global team is the only way to meet their hiring needs.

At Talent500, we understand that the transition to location independent working is a multi-layered process involving numerous stakeholders and factors. Our team of experts and network of highly skilled professionals are here to help you build your global team in over 50 countries. Ready to take the first step? Set up a consultation with our team here.

Choosing the right model for remote workforce engagement (FTE vs contractor)

Posted on May 1, 2022July 8, 2022 by satya

As a growing business, choosing the right model of remote workforce engagement is crucial to your success. Building a full in-house workforce might not always be financially viable, and hiring qualified expertise can be difficult and time consuming. More importantly, when hiring across multiple geographical locations, employers are required to adhere to a greater set of legal and regulatory requirements in the form of employment contracts and payrolls, taxation, compensation and benefits, etc.

This is where contract workers step in. By removing the barriers of location, remote work has enabled enterprises to try out more flexible work arrangements and include contract workers and freelancers within their teams in a seamless fashion. Additionally, this route enables companies to work with highly skilled individuals without having to pay hefty salaries by engaging them as contractors for a single project.

Before we jump into a comparison of the two work models, let’s first understand the difference between them.

Contract workers vs full time employees

Contract workers

A contract worker, also known as an independent contractor, is a self-employed worker who operates independently on a contract basis. Contract workers are not employees on the payrolls of the company, and hence do not usually receive any employment benefits. In many cases, contractors may register their own legal entities like a sole proprietorship, a limited liability company or a limited liability partnership. Contract workers are usually employed by companies on a project to project basis, or for certain highly specific niche roles. Their entire employment is regulated by their contract, and the duration of their engagement can be long-term or short term. They can also work for multiple companies at one time if their contract permits the same.

Full time employees

As suggested by the term, full time employees are employees that are on the payrolls of the company. They receive access to a wide range of perks and benefits like health, accidental and life insurance, as well as employer’s contribution towards a pension fund or savings of a similar nature. Employers are also responsible for withholding the appropriate amount of income tax for their employees, and ensuring that it is according to the necessary regulations. Companies often choose to hire full time employees for long term roles and projects, as it requires a substantial amount of investment in terms of time and capital.

Contract workers vs full time employees – making the right choice

Now that we know the major differences between full time employees and contract workers, let’s examine a few areas that will help determine which workforce model is the best fit for your organisation.

Management of payrolls

One of the biggest differences between the full time employees and contractors is the way they are paid. When hiring a full time employee, companies are required to set up a legal entity and local bank account in order to pay salaries, resulting in a sizable chunk of investment. Today, an increasing number of enterprises are choosing to avail the services of an employer of record (EOR) to solve this problem. The EOR already has a local presence in the country of the talent, and is thus able to pay them through its own bank accounts. In the case of contractors, employers only pay the mutually agreed contract fee, without the requirement of setting up a local entity or bank account.

Taxation

For full time employees, companies must comply with the taxation regime of the employee’s country of residence. We know that Income tax is a common deduction across all nations, and employers must hold back this amount from the employee’s salary. The percentage can differ anywhere between 5% to 40%, depending on the country’s laws. For example, employers in Brazil are responsible for paying a portion of employees’ social security and unemployment tax, and in Germany, employers pay taxes toward employees’ social security (unemployment, accidental and health care insurance). On the other hand, contractors are responsible for paying their own taxes, and employers have zero liability.

Employment benefits

In case of full time employees, employers are responsible for making provisions for certain statutory benefits along the lines of health, accidental and disability insurance in most countries. In most cases, employers hold a portion of the salaries back in order to make contributions towards these statutory benefits. For example, Indian employment law requires all companies with over 20 employees to contribute 12% of the employee’s salary towards their provident fund under the EPF Act. For contractors, employers are generally not legally obligated to make provisions for any such employment benefits. Exceptions to this may include benefits like maternity leave.

Control and autonomy

Another major difference between an employee and a contractor exists with respect to the control and autonomy residing with the employee. Independent contractors are generally hired to complete a specific task or project independently, and thus experience limited accountability and increased autonomy. As an employer, if you would like to experience greater control over the daily working of your employees, hiring full time employees is a better choice.

Hiring goals

When choosing between contractors and full time employees, the factor that should be given the most weightage is the nature and duration of their contribution to your business. If your goal behind hiring is to scale your business in the long run, or diversify into a new location or vertical permanently, then hiring a full time employee will justify the time and effort spent in recruiting and onboarding them. However, if your goal behind hiring is the completion of a short term project or development of a single product or service, then hiring a contractor would be a better decision.

Exclusivity

Another factor to consider when deciding between contract workers and employees is the exclusivity factor. Full time employees usually work with a single company, and must serve a notice period ranging from two weeks to ninety days before terminating their employment. Thus, it is preferable to hire employees for roles that are critical to the functioning of your business and require dealing with sensitive data. On the other hand, independent contractors have the right to terminate their employment with negligible or no notice period, and hence might not be suitable for such roles. However, this also means that contractors would be more suitable for jobs that you need to hire for immediately.

When creating your investment portfolio, it is often advised to diversify your investment in order to reap the best benefits; we recommend following the same approach when building your global team. An increasing number of companies are choosing to hire contract workers in order to get access to highly skilled talent with niche skills. The right balance of full time employees and contract workers helps companies extract the complete potential of their talent without having to pay a fortune in salaries and benefits.

The removal of the barriers of location and distance means that product companies in Singapore can hire DevOps professionals from Nairobi. Leveraging the services of the right EOR enables companies to build their distributed teams within weeks, without worrying about the hassle of legal compliance and paperwork in a foreign country.

At Talent500, we are helping global companies hire, build and manage global teams in 50+ countries by acting as their Employers of Record. We aim to transform high-impact companies by giving them access to a worldwide community of highly skilled professionals transcending geographical boundaries. Sign up here to take your first step towards global expansion.

7 key remote working skills & how to interview for them

Posted on April 5, 2022April 5, 2022 by satya

When interviewing potential team members, we often depend on a number of verbal and non-verbal cues to judge whether the candidate would be a good fit. We look at their body language and facial expressions, and ask questions to judge their analytical and decision making skills.

However, in the absence of a face to face interaction, you might have to redesign the interview experience so as to extract the maximum potential of that remote interview. More importantly, picking the right member for your distributed team requires you to dive deeper and look for certain qualities that are essential for the success of all remote teams, like effective communication and collaboration.

In this article, we discuss what these qualities are, and what are the most effective ways to interview for them. Read on, as moving forward, these qualities will determine the overall productivity of your team.

Self motivation

An effective remote worker is adept at working independently, without the need for constant check-ins. Candidates who are highly motivated and self-starters work wonders within remote teams. We recommend looking for signs of self discipline, motivation, and planning. A good way to do this is by asking the candidate about their daily work routine, and how they approach a new project.

Some questions that can help you check their level of motivation are:

What goals, including career goals, have you set for the next 5 years?
What techniques have you learned or discovered that make your job easier, or make you more productive?
Tell me about a time where you went above and beyond your role and expectations. Why did you do this? What exactly did you do?

Digital literacy

Consider this: you find a person who is an expert in your required field, but is unable to use the team’s shared tools for collaboration and knowledge sharing. In the age of virtual workspaces, digital literacy is a non-negotiable basic skill. Every member of your distributed team will be required to use multiple tools for communication, collaboration, and project management, among others on a daily basis. General awareness of how technology functions enables team members to work efficiently throughout the day, and makes it easier for them to adopt new tools and products. Whether you’re hiring for a DevOps role, or for the role of a copywriter, it is imperative that the person you hire is comfortable with the tools and technology used by your team.

While the tools and technology used by every team will be different, here are a few questions that work universally:

Are you comfortable using everyday communication tools like Slack, Zoom, GoogleMeet, and MS Teams?
What social media websites have you used in a professional setting?
Tell me about a time you had to figure out a computer-related issue

Effective communication skills

While effective communication is an important skill for every employee, its importance cannot be over-emphasized when it comes to working remotely. A remote worker must be direct, clear, and professional in their communication. They must be able to understand the difference between synchronous and asynchronous communication, and the right usage of both. They must be comfortable asking for help when they are unsure of how to proceed with work. In customer facing roles, it is often your team member’s communication skills that play a huge role in the success of your company. The goal is to check for how they deal with challenging situations and stressful conversations, and whether they are able to put their point across without being aggressive.

Thankfully, you no longer have to depend on the regular “tell me about yourself” to gain an insight into an interviewee’s communication skills. These questions can help you gauge whether the candidate has effective communication skills:

1) Describe a time when you faced conflict and how you addressed it.

2) Why are you a good fit for this position?

3) How would your co-workers describe your personality?

Collaboration

Ever wondered how important collaboration as a skill really is? 97% of employees and executives believe that the lack of alignment within a team impacts the outcome of a task or project.

While many interviewers often club communication and collaboration together, the two are fairly distinct skills. How well a person might be able to collaborate depends on their ability to deal with conflict, and understand another person’s point of view. Being a team player requires being sensitive to the needs of other people in the team, without being overbearing. The need for collaboration becomes all the more important in a remote work environment, as team members do not have the opportunity to co-exist physically.

Here are some questions to help you check the collaboration skills of a potential team member:

How do you provide feedback to a colleague who is struggling or performing poorly?
Describe a situation where you had to work with a colleague you didn’t get along with. How did you solve this problem?
Tell us about a situation where you created a productive relationship with someone on another team/department.

Problem solving

Does this person view a challenge as an opportunity or a barrier? All remote workers are required to exercise their discretion multiple times during the day, and take autonomy over their projects. This requires a considerable amount of problem solving and prioritisation, skills that interviewers must check for. Asking hypothetical situation-based questions is a great way to check for problem solving and analytical skills.

Even better, by asking the candidate to solve a problem that occurs regularly as a part of the role, you get an insight into their problem solving skills, as well as their actual experience.

Here are a few questions that can help you gauge a candidate’s problem solving skills:

1) Describe a time when you used a creative solution to tackle a job-related problem.

2)What are the steps you take while making a crucial decision?

3) Describe the biggest work-related problem you have faced. How did you deal with it?

Time Management

When you can’t physically keep track of the progress that your team members are making, how do you ensure that they stick to timelines? Time management is an essential skill for every employee, as it has a direct impact on the success of projects. Asking the right questions can also give you valuable insights into the candidate’s work ethic and planning process. More importantly, it helps you understand how they will prioritise their goals in times of conflict between deadlines.

Here are some questions that can help:

1) Describe a time when you recognized you weren’t going to be able to meet multiple deadlines. What did you do about it? What was the outcome?

2) You’ve been on leave for a week and find your email swamped with work mails. Which ones do you respond to first, and why?

3) Multiple people in the organisation approach you with different tasks and overlapping deadlines. How do you prioritise which one to take up first?

Empathy and emotional intelligence

The productivity of every team is closely linked to the amount of trust and comfort that its members experience with each other. Members in distributed teams are often more successful at bonding with each other as they make a conscious effort to do so, instead of merely relying on situational triggers. However, this calls for a certain level of emotional intelligence and empathy. When recruiting for remote positions, it is always a good idea to look for signs of social intelligence and empathy. Tailor your questions to scenarios that they will face as a part of their role.
Here are a few questions to help you choose the right culture fit for your team:

1) Tell me about a time you had a conflict with your supervisor. How did you resolve it?

2) Tell me about a time when you had to neutralize a stressful situation in a professional environment.

3) What’s something you’ve achieved that you’re most proud of and why?

Research predicts that 73% of all departments will have remote workers by 2028. Today, more than ever, the war for talent has made it imperative for hiring to be efficient. As recruiters and employers, one of the best ways to ensure successful recruitment is by asking the right questions.

Recruiting for multiple remote roles? Take the first step towards building your distributed workforce with Talent500. Our team of experts and network of highly skilled professionals help you build your global team in over 50 countries. Ready to take the first step? Set up a consultation with our team here.

How hybrid working is enabling enterprises to leverage the benefits of global talent

Posted on April 5, 2022April 5, 2022 by satya

If there’s one phrase we have heard repeatedly over the last two years, it’s “the new normal”. Remote working is the new normal, travelling as you work is the new normal, and now, it seems that hybrid working is the new normal. So what does a hybrid work model really mean?

A hybrid work model integrates multiple working processes by blending colocated, remote, and semi-remote employees into a single system, thus enabling employees to work according to their comfort and schedules. We know that there are pros and cons to each working style; people in physical offices spend considerable time and money on their daily commute, while remote workers often struggle with isolation and Zoom fatigue. The hybrid model enables organisations to reap the benefits of both models by giving employees the autonomy to decide how they work.

Enabled by technology, an increasing number of multinational companies are choosing to go the hybrid route due to its many benefits:

Eroding geographical boundaries

By removing the barriers of location and physical presence, the hybrid model gives companies access to a limitless pool of talent. No longer restricted to hiring within a 20 mile radius, businesses now have access to a highly diverse and skilled set of candidates from across the globe. Today, hiring is determined by technical excellence and specialisation, not where the talent resides. Having a hybrid workplace enables companies to easily hire different types of employees, whether they work remotely or from the office, as freelancers, contractors, or full time employees.

Reducing operational costs

The hybrid model enables companies to reduce operational costs by as much as 27%. Employers are able to substantially cut down on office rent as employees share the same workstations on rotation. Not only does this considerably reduce a company’s real estate cost, it also reduces spending on utilities like electricity, maintenance, and pantry. This reduction in cost enables companies to offer better salaries, giving them access to highly skilled talent across the globe.

Reduced employee attrition rate

‘Flexible working hours’ and ‘the ability to work from home’ are some of the most valued employee benefits according to millennials. According to this survey by Ernst and Young, 54% of employees surveyed from around the world would consider leaving their job post-COVID-19 pandemic if they are not afforded some form of flexibility in where and when they work. Want a highly engaged workforce? Give them the autonomy to decide how they work. Switching to a hybrid work model is one of the best ways to increase employee engagement, and consequently, retention.

Increased productivity

Did you know that the relationship between remote work and increase in productivity has now been proved? 77% of people who work remotely at least a few times per month show increased productivity, with 30% doing more work in less time. When employees have the flexibility to work according to their own schedules, the result is a visible increase in their productivity. This is especially true for employees who are primary caregivers to children or adults.

Improved collaboration and team bonding

According to this survey by Microsoft, a hefty 67% of employees said that they would want more in-person work or collaboration post pandemic. One of the biggest benefits of the hybrid system is that it enables all types of employees – remote, semi -remote and collocated, to find their own office and home balance. Hybrid teams can choose when they want to work from the comfort of their homes, and when they want to sit together for an in-person brainstorming session. The ability to blend in-person interactions with virtual meet-ups helps teams form better relationships, which in turn boosts collaboration.

Improved scalability and global expansion

Thanks to the benefits of a distributed team, companies can expand globally without having to set up a legal entity in a new country. Scaling up becomes easy as employers now only need to pay for the cost of the talent, without having to worry about relocation, travel and visa costs. A company in the USA’s silicon valley can recruit a DevOps engineer in India’s Hyderabad with zero hassle.

More importantly, hybrid working has made it easier for multinational corporations to enter new geographical markets via local employees. Instead of having to set up a new foreign office, companies are choosing to simply hire remote team members who are aware of the on-ground social, economical, and cultural aspects of the foreign country. An increasing number of employers are choosing to leverage the services of an employer of record to build their global teams without worrying about the hassle of legal compliance and paperwork.

Prepping for the transition

In the last section, we’ve talked about the multiple benefits of a hybrid work model, especially for global companies. However, as we get ready to make this transition, it is important to remember that the hybrid model is also prone to certain challenges.

Here are a few important factors that all employers must account for before switching to a hybrid work model:

The proximity bias

One of the biggest and most common challenges faced by hybrid teams is the presence of the proximity bias, a phenomenon where remote colleagues are often meted out second-hand treatment when it comes to new initiatives, appraisals and opportunities. Employees who physically commute to the workplace experience better visibility in the eyes of the leadership, are viewed as more productive and consequently experience better rewards and recognition.

As is the case with all biases, the first step towards correction is to accept that the bias exists. Hybrid managers and leadership must regularly check for, and take active steps to guard against any kind of proximity bias. A good place to start would be by putting in place objective and qualitative measures for performance evaluation.

Redesigning workspaces

As many as 66% of employers are considering redesigning their workspaces for hybrid work. The pandemic has changed how we view our physical offices. What was once the “ dreaded workplace” has now become an avenue for collaboration and socialising.

However, this transition to hybrid working will require employers to strategically use their physical office spaces in order to increase the spaces for collaboration, and cut down exclusive cubicles. Companies will also need to ensure that all conference and meeting rooms include video conferencing facilities, stable internet connection and optimum bandwidth so as to ensure uninterrupted meetings.

The hybrid work model emerged from a need to consolidate the benefits of the different existing work models. Its beauty lies in its flexibility. Employees are free to carve out their own home and office schedules, and employers are no longer restricted to hiring within a specific geographical region. For companies exploring global expansion and location strategy, the hybrid model is the perfect way to extract the maximum potential of a distributed team.

Together, we win: 6 ideas for building culture in remote teams

Posted on April 5, 2022April 5, 2022 by satya

Did you know that “loneliness” and “difficulty in collaboration and communication” are two of the biggest struggles faced by remote workers? Often, the lack of human interaction leads to remote workers feeling isolated and disengaged, eventually affecting their mental health and productivity.

The solution? A robust and inclusive remote company culture. Your company culture directly impacts the enthusiasm of your workforce, and how much of their time and energy they are willing to invest in your company. Not just that, there is now a proven link between healthy company culture and employee productivity. According to a study conducted by Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, happy workers are 13% more productive than their unhappy counterparts.

In co-located settings, company culture often stems from various naturally occurring triggers built upon how team members treat one another, and what is the accepted code of conduct. On the other hand, in the absence of these natural triggers, remote companies often struggle with the following challenges when it comes to building culture:

The water cooler effect

The ‘watercooler effect’ is defined as “a phenomenon occurring when employees at a workplace gather around the office water cooler and chat.” In a physical office, casual conversations and non-work banter build trust amongst employees, in effect strengthening company culture. However, in the absence of these regular conversations and social interaction, remote workers often find themselves distanced and disconnected from their team members.

Cultural differences

In colocated offices, a large part of the workforce shares a common culture. Festivals and holidays become a natural point of convergence, adding to the team’s sense of oneness and camaraderie. On the other hand, members of a distributed team hail from different cultural backgrounds and celebrate different festivals, and thus have to work harder to find common ground.

Lack of trust and empathy

Non-verbal cues like facial expression, body language, gestures, and eye contact play a huge role in any kind of communication. When a person’s nonverbal signals match with their words, it increases trust, clarity, and empathy. Team members feel connected to each other, viewing fellow colleagues as people instead of merely names on a screen. One of the biggest factors for disengagement within remote teams is the lack of trust within team members.

For distributed teams, culture must be built intentionally, and strengthened continuously. Here are some steps that every remote organisation can take to build and strengthen their work culture:

Re-emphasize core values

Ensure that the company’s core values are clearly articulated, and reiterated at regular intervals. We recommend ensuring that your company’s website clearly reflects your vision and mission statement and your core values. Remember, simply adding that you’re an equal opportunity employer in your company’s values is not enough. The same must be reflected in the composition of your workforce.

Get buy-in from the leadership

One of the best ways to earn credibility in this area is to get participation from your company’s leadership. Here’s an example: back in May 2020, when most companies were struggling with the transition to remote work, Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, sent a company-wide email telling his employees that they had the option to continue working remotely forever. This endorsement by the CEO played a huge role in helping Twitter’s employees feel safe and valued as they chose to continue working remotely. Today, we know that company culture remains an empty phrase unless it is reflected in the actions of the company’s leadership.

Create open channels of communication at all levels

In physical workplaces, interaction amongst team members is often decided by physical proximity of their cubicles. However, in a remote setting, every employee is simply a message away, whether it’s your immediate manager or the company’s CEO. Remote companies must use this advantage to form better relationships between employees that are not restricted by organisational hierarchies.

Set clear availability expectations

In a remote team, it’s easy for people to feel like they need to respond to requests immediately to show that they are staying actively engaged. However, this also leads to the problem of constant presenteeism followed by burnout. Companies need to set clear expectations with respect to time and channels of communication. Slack, email, video calls – clearly demarcate your policy with respect to synchronous and asynchronous communication. Clearly defined expectations ensure that all employees are on the same page.

Invest in your onboarding process

69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experienced great onboarding. As a remote company, your onboarding process is your best chance to create a positive lasting impression on new employees. We recommend investing into weekly and monthly check-ins, a thoughtful welcome kit, and a company handbook with all the relevant information an employee needs to get started.

Set up a virtual water cooler (or banter channel)

Much like an actual water-cooler, where colleagues indulge in non-work banter and socialising, a virtual water cooler enables the same for distributed teams. A dedicated slack channel, a virtual game room or even an email thread – the idea is to help your workforce bond over shared interests and non-work conversations. From Gatheraround to Donut, there exist hundreds of tools to help strengthen the connection between members of distributed teams.

Remote teams work because they refuse to let barriers like physical location and time zones act as hurdles. The same also holds true for building company culture.

As a remote first organisation, we know at Talent500 that there is no fixed secret-sauce for building the perfect remote culture. As leaders begin to understand and prioritise the needs of their distributed workforce, a healthy and nurturing company culture is the natural result.

The power of remote: is your company ready to go global?

Posted on April 5, 2022April 5, 2022 by satya

Post pandemic, one of the biggest changes that we have witnessed has been the sheer increase in the number of people choosing to work from home. According to this survey by Buffer, as many as 97% of respondents would choose to work remotely for some parts of their work week.

The good news? The remote model offers multiple benefits to employers too, from reduced operational costs to access to an unrestricted pool of highly skilled talent. However, building and managing a successful remote team comes with its own set of challenges.

Right from the initial policy framework, to setting up the digital infrastructure and recruitment pipeline, an organisation has to consider a multitude of factors before it’s ready to go remote. Here are 5 areas that you must consider:

Remote work policies

A remote work policy is a set of guidelines that outlines the code of conduct and expectations from all remote employees of the company. These policies often cover work timings, communication expectations, time-tracking processes, data security rules, legal considerations and more. For teams transitioning to remote work, having a policy in place helps eliminate uncertainty and ad hoc decision making at the manager level.

A good place to start is by ensuring that your remote work policy covers the following:

Working hours and availability

Ensure that your remote work policy clearly sets down expectations with respect to working hours, times of availability etc.

Communication channels

An effective communication strategy is the backbone of every remote organisation. Clearly demarcate the preferred channels for both synchronous and asynchronous communication.

Cybersecurity standards

We know that data security is one of the biggest concerns for all remote organisations. Clearly mention all security measures that employees need to take in terms of firewalls, VPNs, antiviruses and usage of public wifi.

Mechanism for availing paid time off

Put down the number of leaves and vacation days, how they are divided and how they can be availed so as to make life easier for your HR department.

Digital capabilities

One of your most important responsibilities as a remote employer is to ensure that your workforce has access to the tools and technology that they need. Much like a physical office where you would set up cubicles, conference rooms, computer systems and desks, your remote workforce will require infrastructural support. This can be divided into three parts:

Hardware

Having a dedicated workspace enables your team members to bring their most productive selves to work. This includes the right computer and attachments like speakers or headphones, a fully functional workstation and an ergonomic chair.

Software

Working without the necessary tools is like running a race barefoot. Ensure your team has access to all necessary licensed softwares like adobe illustrator, Microsoft365, CRM softwares, etc

Remote work tools

Today, there exist multiple tools designed specifically to help remote teams increase their productivity. From synchronous and asynchronous communication, to having a common central repository of all data, these tools help remote teams function as a single unit.

Recruitment essentials

73% of all departments are expected to have remote workers by 2028. Now, more than ever is the time when recruiters upskill themselves in order to have a seamless remote recruitment process.

We recommend dividing this process into office stages:

Assessment and planning

As the most important part of building your remote team, it is important to ensure that you have a clear understanding of the various roles and job descriptions. We also recommend having an organisational chart in place before you start recruiting.

Build your employer brand

According to Gartner, 65% of the candidates surveyed report that they have actually discontinued a hiring process due to an unattractive employer brand. The right EVP (employer value proposition) helps potential candidates understand how their professional goals align with your company’s trajectory. Make sure your careers page includes information about your company’s culture, perks and benefits, employee testimonials and opportunities for growth and learning.

Building a remote talent pool

One of the biggest advantages of working remotely is to be able to hire solely on the basis of skill set and relevant experience, regardless of the candidate’s location. Here are some tips to help you build an expansive pool of talent for recruiting your remote team members:

a) Leverage technology: Thanks to the integration of AI and machine learning into hiring workflows, companies can now post across multiple channels via a single process. Remember to include platforms meant exclusively for remote workers like flexjobs and angel list.

b) Use your social media: Not just LinkedIn, but even your company’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts are good places to publicise the fact that you’re hiring. If your blog posts receive a fair amount of traction, it’s a good idea to use them for putting out hiring requirements.

c) Employee and user networks: Employee referrals are one of the most effective ways to find and retain new employees. We also suggest sending out feelers in your user base. The added advantage here is that they are already familiar with your product or services.

Preparing for virtual interviews

Whether an interview is conducted in person, or across a computer screen, the qualities that all recruiters look for remain constant. Share all relevant information like the date and time of the meeting, name of the interviewer and any other such requirements a few days prior to the interview. We also recommend preparing a standard list of questions and a hiring rubric for a completely objective interview. This has the twofold benefit – it ensures that the interview covers all required areas, while simultaneously guarding against any bias that might creep in.

Onboarding your distributed teams

The right onboarding process can improve employee retention by 82%. Effective onboarding becomes increasingly important for remote organisations as it plays a major role in helping new employees find their place within the organisation. In the absence of the same, HR departments at remote organisations need to strategically build a highly engaged and interactive onboarding process.

We recommend dividing your onboarding process into three parts – pre joining, first day, and post joining. This enables you to structure all activities in a chronological order and maximise the results.

Compensation and benefits

The remote workforce knows exactly what perks and benefits it wants, and it isn’t a high-end coffee machine or foosball table. ‘Flexible working hours’ and ‘the ability to work from home’ are some of the most valued employee benefits according to millennials.

When recruiting globally, employers also need to factor in the statutory benefits of the employee’s country of residence. For example, Indian law requires that all companies with over 20 employees make contributions to a provident fund. Most countries will require employers to contribute to provisions made towards health insurance, pension funds, or accidental insurance. As you decide your remote recruitment strategy, it is important to factor the cost of providing these benefits to your remote workforce.

Legal and regulatory compliance

Access to a global team also means that you will now have to ensure compliance with the employment laws, taxation regimes and legal requirements of the countries of residence of your foreing employees. While you might not have to worry about the taxation percentages for the contractors you hire, all full time employees will be subject to taxation in their country of residence.

Similarly, every country has its own employment laws and regulations, non compliance with which can result in hefty fines. A sizable amount of the initial cost will go towards registration and paperwork, and consulting legal and financial experts.

A good way to hire across multiple countries without investing a substantial amount of time and capital is to avail the services of an employer of record. An Employer of Record is a third-party organisation that serves as the legal employer for a company’s foreign employees. The EOR undertakes the management of all workforce-related aspects – from hiring & payrolls to taxation, employee benefits, and legal compliances.

If there is one thing that is common to all companies that have thrived in the last two years, it is their ability to function remotely. As you take the first step towards building a remote organisation, remember that its success hinges heavily on the foundation that you lay much before you start recruiting.

At Talent500, we are helping global companies hire, build and manage global teams in 30+ countries by acting as their Employers of Record. We aim to transform high-impact companies by giving them access to a worldwide community of highly skilled professionals transcending geographical boundaries. Sign up here to take your first step towards global expansion!

5 Necessary tools for managing remote teams

Posted on April 1, 2022April 1, 2022 by satya

Much like the weapon of choice for any warrior, the right tools enable your workforce to perform to the best of their abilities. Having access to the right tool becomes all the more important in a distributed work setting, as team members now need to collaborate across multiple platforms and on numerous projects.

With over a hundred offerings for every single aspect of remote work choosing a tool that works best for your team can be quite a challenge.

We’ve curated the best tools for 5 essential aspects of remote work:

Communication

All successful remote teams leverage a combination of synchronous and asynchronous communication, which requires an entire arsenal of tools. We recommend finding tools that enable you to sync multiple time zones, and can easily be integrated with other applications. Our list of top communication tools includes

Slack

Did you know that ‘Slack’ is an acronym for “Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge”? One of the most widely used communication tools throughout the world, Slack is said to reduce the number of emails by 32% and meetings by 23%. We love slack for its easy to use interface and seamless integration with numerous applications that we use daily.

Zoom

Thanks to the pandemic, Zoom’s popularity has skyrocketed due to the sheer number of video calls that every organisation now requires. Zoom’s USP lies in its versatility. From automated recording of meetings, to integrated breakout rooms, Zoom is a complete video conferencing solution.

MS Teams

A stiff competitor to Slack, Microsoft’s MS Teams is used by over 500,000+ organisations worldwide. Its inbuilt integration with all Office 365 tools like Word and Excel make it the world’s most widely used office collaboration tools.

Project Management

There are over a hundred project management tools in the market today. However, how a software development team functions differs greatly from how an advertising team functions. The trick is to find a project management tool that addresses the specific requirements of your team. Here’s our list

Jira

Jira is considered one of the best tools for agile project management used by software development teams. It is preferred by technical teams as it makes managing workflows, tracking bugs, and getting the next release together effortless.

Trello

An integrated solution for all your project management needs, Trello helps teams break complex deliverables into individual tasks. It offers a wide range of boards, from the simplest “to do/doing/done” workflow to a much more complex board offering options like “backlog/in progress/ blocked/paused/ready for launch/ live”.

Asana

While almost all project management tools offer functionalities like Gantt charts and Kanban boards, we love Asana because of its process management automation.

Knowledge sharing and storage

From GitLab to Airbnb, one thing all successful remote companies have in common is their policy of documentation and knowledge sharing. Having a single source of data which is universally accessible reduces the time spent on location and duplication, and also helps new participants understand the chronological chain of events. Our recommendations include:

DropBox

One of the oldest file sharing tools, DropBox is still used widely by individuals and organisations alike due to its interoperability. It’s easy integration with an exhaustive list of softwares, cloud security, and storage and search capabilities make it a favourite with teams globally.

Confluence

Atlassian’s knowledge management tool makes it to our list due to its structured storage and smart search functions. It allows automatic versioning, instant previews, full-text search, and pinned comments, making knowledge sharing a breeze.

Box

Much like DropBox, Box is another data and file storage solution aimed majorly at enterprise usage. If data security is high up on your priority list, we recommend using Box due to its advanced security controls, intelligent threat detection, and complete information governance.

Collaboration to stay in line with the flow

In the absence of a physical whiteboard and conference room, distributed teams need the right tools for effective collaboration. Today, there exist different tools to help with the various aspects of brainstorming and ideation, from digital whiteboards to video and screen recording applications. Our list includes:

Miro

An online collaborative whiteboard, Miro offers a wide set of functionalities including Agile workflows, ideation & brainstorming and mapping & diagramming. The one thing we love about Miro is its infinite canvas, enabling easy asynchronous collaboration.

Invision

Invision is a digital whiteboard that allows you to wireframe, plan, design presentations, and give and receive feedback smoothly. With over a hundred pre-set templates, planning and collaboration becomes smoother and faster.

Worldtimebuddy

Designed keeping in mind the needs of a distributed team, worldtimebuddy is a world clock, time zone converter, and online meeting scheduler. Simply add the locations of your teammates and then drag and drop the slider to find a good time to meet.

Rewards and recognition

Rewards and recognition form an integral part of any company’s culture. Still sending that old email to show your appreciation? It’s time to get a little more creative. Thankfully, there exist multiple tools that integrate with reward points or coupons to give your workforce tangible rewards.

Bonusly

Designed to help remote teams connect and increase employee engagement, Bonusly enables team members to recognise each other’s contributions and award points. The best part? The points can be redeemed in exchange for gift cards from numerous brands like Amazon, Uber, Starbucks and many more.

HeyTaco

A simple application that can be integrated with both Slack and MS Teams, HeyTaco uses “Tacos” as reward points. Team members can only give out 5 Tacos per day, ensuring that the rewards are used judiciously.

Kazoo

Created to help companies keep their employees motivated and engaged, Kazoo is used by over 600 companies throughout the world. Instead of simply offering a reward-framework, Kazoo also integrates functionalities to track progress, like goals and OKRs.

In the words of Peter Drucker, the founder of modern management, “Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.” Choosing the right tool for your distributed team is a function of two factors – knowing your areas of operation, and understanding your team’s requirements.

Take the first step towards building your distributed workforce with Talent500. Our team of experts and network of highly skilled professionals help you build your global team in over 50 countries. Ready to take the first step? Set up a consultation with our team here.

Removing barriers: 5 team building activities for your distributed team

Posted on April 1, 2022 by satya

One of the few advantages of a brick and mortar workplace is that colleagues get multiple opportunities to interact with each other and form social bonds. It is natural to socialise at cafeterias and water coolers, social and cultural events.

However, when your office is remote and meetings are virtual, team building requires a little more innovation than just foosball and monthly coffee meetings. According to this survey by Buffer, the top two challenges faced by remote workers include “barriers to communication & collaboration” and “loneliness”.

Luckily, the right team building activities can help solve both of these problems. When members of a distributed team participate in virtual team building activities, it builds bonds of trust and empathy between them. Team members understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. As a result, teams experience increased productivity, better collaboration, and a marked increase in employee engagement.

Struggling to find an activity that will help erode the cultural and geographical barriers amongst your team members? Here’s a list of 5 universally popular team building activities:

Virtual escape room

Clues, competition, and camaraderie; a virtual escape room is the perfect combination of all three. Participants are divided into teams, which must then compete against each other across a variety of challenges. The challenges mostly include solving puzzles and riddles. The team that is able to complete all the challenges in the least amount of time wins, or “escapes the room”. Here’s a list of some very popular virtual escape rooms.

Virtual pictionary

There’s something about poorly drawn illustrations that makes us inevitably smile. Much like real life pictionary, one team member tries to illustrate the word on the virtual paint board, while the others take turns guessing. Skribbl.io, Let’sDraw.It, and Brightful are all great multiplayer games.

Two truths and a lie

Here is one team building game that never fails to break the ice between members of a distributed team. Just as the name suggests, each member of the group introduces themselves by stating two truths and one lie about themselves. The rest of the participants then guess which statement is the lie. In addition to being a great alternative for the usual introduction, it also gives team members a brief insight into the personal lives of their team members.

Gatheraround

What if you could find a way to make sharing easy and effortless? That’s exactly what Gatheraround does. The game lets team members answer random questions based on a particular theme. It’s USP lies in its easy to use interface and carefully curated questions. Gatheraround offers an entire list of themes to choose from, ranging from “All-Hands Social” to mixers for various communities.

Mad, glad, sad retrospective

Although a tool devised for the improvement of project management, the mad-glad-sad-retrospective exercise makes its way into our list due to its sheer simplicity. Team members take turns discussing 3 things in the previous sprint/work week; one that made them mad, one that made them glad, and one that made them sad. Apart from being a great way for team members to share their emotions, it also enables leaders to understand team dynamics.

Still wondering if there are any tangible benefits of investing into team building activities? According to this Gallup research, virtual team building activities lead to an increase in employee performance rate, resulting in 41% lower absenteeism and 21% higher profitability. So the next time you think about skipping that Fun Friday session, remember that it impacts your bottom line directly.

Take your pick from our list of fun and easily executable team building activities. You can thank us later!

At Talent500, we help companies build, manage, and scale their distributed teams. With our best-in-class benefits, managing a remote team becomes easy with us as your EOR. We leverage a host of community activities, learning and development initiatives, and many more methods to help bolster employee engagement. To know how we can help you achieve this goal, book a consultation online.

Working from home vs. Working from anywhere: what employers must know

Posted on March 1, 2022March 1, 2022 by satya

What’s in a name?

Location-independent, remote worker, digital nomad – in the last couple of years, we have heard multiple variations of the same concept. Before we begin, let’s get our basics right.

Working from home is not the same as working remotely; while the former means exactly what it sounds like, the latter pertains to the idea of your workplace not being fixed. This could include digital nomads spending each month in a new continent, or a tech consultant travelling to multiple office locations every quarter. “Working from home” could refer to freelancers or full time employees; as well as remote workers.

A third category is that of hybrid workforces – where employees alternate between working from home and working from the office. Post pandemic, a large percentage of the working population chose to work remotely for some parts of the week. Tech companies like Twitter, Apple and Microsoft are great examples of companies that adapted smartly to the situation.

But why are we discussing this? In a nutshell, because being open to a location independent workforce is one of the best steps a company can take in order to increase its growth and productivity. The multiple benefits of being a remote first company include:

Access to an unrestricted pool of talent, unfettered by geographical barriers;
Cost efficient hiring, thanks to the comparative cost of hiring talent globally;
Increased levels of productivity as employees work according to their own schedules;
Increased flexibility for employees resulting in higher levels of autonomy, engagement and happiness;
Reduced operational costs in the form of office rent, electricity and other such fixed costs.

So how does a workplace make the transition? As the first step, here are some essential considerations that employers must take into account to nurture a remote workplace:

Asynchronous communication

In a geographically dispersed team, asynchronous communication enables each contributor to work according to their own time zone, but still play an integral part in the project deliverables. As an employer, encourage the use of asynchronous communication in the form of pre-recorded videos and voice notes, emails and slack messages wherever possible. Read more about how open source leader Github is using asynchronous communication to extract the complete productivity of its fully remote team.

Knowledge sharing

Colleagues located at different corners of the world can’t tap one another on the shoulder to ask questions or to get help. Siloed data is one of the biggest problems faced by remote teams, leading to a direct loss in productivity. Often, a large chunk of time is wasted in locating the most recent version of a document.

Having a central, universally accessible source of all work related information is a highly beneficial practice. More importantly, it ensures that attrition in the company does not result in loss of knowledge and data. From Auttomattic to Slack, a central source of knowledge forms the backbone of all successful remote workforces. Tools like Notion enable teams to document standard operating procedures along with related data. Box and Canto are great for the management of shared digital assets.

Boost social interaction

How do you build trust and relationships between coworkers in the absence of coffee breaks and water cooler conversations? In this podcast, Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of Auttomatic talks about how fully remote workplaces need to intentionally create avenues for social interaction.

Managers and leaders must intentionally include time for non-work conversations and regular team building sessions. This enables team members to form bonds of trust and empathy. From Gatheraround to Donut, there exist hundreds of tools to help strengthen the connection between members of distributed teams. We also love the idea of virtual water coolers – online spaces where remote colleagues can gather for casual conversations and non work banter.

Performance evaluation

Quality over quantity is a principle that applies squarely to most things, and evaluating your remote team is no exception. Begin by setting objective standards for the evaluation of your employees that are not based on the number of working hours. We recommend de-prioritizing the transactional nature of work and taking into account multiple metrics like customer feedback, collaborative effort and initiative.

A holistic evaluation of any employee’s performance includes self evaluation, one-on-one conversations and actionable, constructive feedback. In a remote setting, how you give instructions and feedback plays a major role in the way your workforce experiences your company culture. It is not enough to simply include the words “flexibility” and “empathy” in your core values; they must reflect equally in your performance evaluations.

Data security

Solar Winds, Colonial Pipelines and Sony – we’ve all heard of high profile cybersecurity breaches that have held sensitive data and millions of dollars ransome. Here’s a scary number – cybercrime could cost the world economy a total of $10.5 trillion annually by 2025.

As we work to establish completely remote workplaces, we must accept the fact that all-remote companies have to work harder to protect employee, corporate, and customer data. Subtract the secure network and firewall protections that all of us take for granted, and add the perils of working on public wifi or non-work computers – and you have the perfect recipe for disaster. Thankfully, there are a large number of steps that employers and employees can take to protect the security of their data. Some of these include the usage of VPNs (virtual private networks), sliding web-cams, password protected documents and a cloud based, centralised storage system.

Working remotely was always a highly viable option; however, it took a pandemic for us to realize how beneficial it could be for businesses universally. With technology and location strategy enabling us to eradicate the barriers of geography and time zones, there has never been a better time to build your global team.

Take the first step towards building your distributed workforce with Talent500. Our team of experts and network of highly skilled professionals help you build your global team in over 50 countries. Ready to take the first step? Set up a consultation with our team here.

How to start looking for a new job while you’re still employed

Posted on February 25, 2022April 5, 2022 by satya

Finding a new job can be tricky when you are still employed due to restrictions at your current organization. You have to be wise as one false move can get you fired, that being said, you are more attractive to potential employers if you already have a job.

Let us help you with your job search with these tips.

1. Explore options where you are

A job change to progress in your career is an obvious move, but if you are thinking of leaving due to some issues at work, you can explore options to improve your situation.

Depending on the level of trust between you and your manager, you can explore lateral or upward moves at your current job. Many times, employees feel an improved outlook after a few days of telecommuting or doing remote work. Also, following up with your manager to explore what can be done to make your current work situation more enjoyable can fix the problems.

If a change in position is not an option or there is no way to improve your work condition, then swiftly read the rest of the article.

2. Strategically time your job search

It helps to find a new job while you are still employed if you can minimize the competition.

How would you do that?

Simply by getting the timing of your job search exactly right such that there are minimum applications for the role you are vying for.

April, May, and June are the best months to apply for jobs in Indian organizations. For India-based companies, the financial year ends in March, and most companies award their employees with annual benefits and bonuses at this time. The employees who are planning to leave, quit after getting their dues. If you are looking for opportunities in MNCs, the months of January, February, and March are best to explore any opportunities.

The mid-year, i.e., July, August, and September are not favorable to look for a new job. When companies announce the annual benefits at the start of the year, employees who choose to remain are less likely to resign.

3. Leverage social media

Social media can be an excellent tool for job seekers, provided they know how to leverage it correctly. Without a doubt, LinkedIn is where you should be if you are looking for a new job.

However, do not update your professional profile when you are looking for a new role unless you have been updating your LinkedIn profile constantly.

Why?

Because that’s a dead giveaway to your current employer.

If you are going to jump the ship, you want it to be quietly, swiftly, and gracefully. If you are updating your LinkedIn profile to land a new job, start by turning off public notifications. This will not notify your current employer when you change the status to ‘open to new job possibilities.’

As a rule of thumb avoid making public comments about your job search on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Keep any job-hunt-related posts or messages private and use direct messaging to reach out to people.

4. Reach out to your network

According to studies, most employers give preference to referrals from their current employees as they feel such candidates make the best hires. Therefore, when you are looking for a new role reach out to your friends, family, and most importantly former colleagues to find out about roles available at their companies.

When you are working full-time, networking informally can be tough. Try scheduling morning coffee or dinner to talk about possible opportunities. Currently, when everyone is trying to minimize physical contact due to the pandemic, you can also set updates via Skype or FaceTime.

5. Being a boomerang employee is an option

This will work for you if you left your previous job on good terms. If you did, it is advisable to get in touch with your former colleagues to know if there are any matching opportunities available. You have better chances of getting hired by your ex-employer as you are already familiar with the company’s technology and culture. It will save onboarding time.

Companies have intel on former employees so there is no need for comprehensive due diligence. Also, if you added new skills that can benefit or contribute to the company, it will work in your favor. You can be a boomerang employee with companies that you choose to decline previously. If you interviewed with a company in the past but turned down their offer, you can revisit the connection. Just make a quick check, something like, “I was impressed by your organization, unfortunately, I was not able to accept the position at that time.” Follow up by informing them that you are exploring other options now.

Talent500 has already helped hundreds of candidates to land dream jobs with Forbes500 companies. Join our elite global network of talent and find new opportunities faster. Sign up today.