Something Isn’t Working. Before You Fix It, Find the Actual Problem…
Lots of challenges are around every corner when you grow globally
Imagine you’ve hired someone in a new country.
Immigration is underway. Payroll needs setting up. The employee is relocating. Housing needs arranging. Finance has questions. HR is dealing with the employee. Several suppliers are involved.
Then the move starts slipping.
The employee is frustrated. Temporary accommodation has been extended. Payroll is still waiting for information. Everyone is chasing everyone else.
The obvious conclusion might be:
“The relocation provider isn’t performing.”
Maybe.
But maybe the supplier is only the symptom.
Find the real problem first
A delayed international move could be caused by any number of things:
nobody confirmed the employment structure early enough;
payroll was brought in too late;
relocation benefits were never clearly agreed;
the housing budget is still awaiting approval;
suppliers are working separately with no overall owner;
the employee is being asked for the same information repeatedly.
Replacing a supplier won’t fix those problems.
You might simply recreate the same issue with somebody new.
Follow what actually happens
When something isn’t working, I like to follow the process from beginning to end.
For an international hire:
Who checks whether the person can legally work there?
Who confirms how they will be employed?
Who tells payroll?
Who starts the immigration process?
Who agrees the relocation support?
Who approves costs?
Who keeps the employee informed?
And most importantly:
Who owns the whole thing?
You can have excellent immigration lawyers, payroll specialists, tax advisers and relocation providers and still deliver a poor experience if nobody is joining the work together.
Sometimes the gaps between everybody’s jobs are the actual problem.
Ask what “fixed” looks like
“Improve the process” is not enough.
A better international hiring process might mean:
one clear owner for every international hire;
immigration checked before an offer is finalised;
payroll involved early enough;
relocation benefits clearly defined;
suppliers knowing who can approve decisions;
the employee having one clear point of contact;
fewer hand-offs and duplicated requests.
Those are outcomes you can actually build around.
Then decide what needs to change
Once you understand the problem, the answer becomes much clearer.
It might be a better process.
It might be clearer ownership.
It might be different suppliers.
It might be a proper mobility policy.
It might simply be better communication between HR, Finance, payroll and external providers.
Sometimes the supplier really is the problem.
Sometimes you genuinely need more people or better technology.
But you should know why before you spend money fixing it.
This matters as you grow
One international hire can often be managed through goodwill and improvisation.
Someone in HR figures it out. Finance sorts the invoice. A founder makes the decisions when somebody gets stuck.
Then one hire becomes five.
Then five becomes twenty.
Then you enter another country.
What worked as a workaround becomes the process.
That is when the cracks start to show.
You do not necessarily need a huge global mobility function or an enormous transformation programme.
You do need clarity, ownership and a process that fits the scale of your business.
Start with the problem
Whether it is a relocation that keeps going wrong, an expansion project with too many suppliers or a service that has become unnecessarily complicated, the starting point is the same:
Understand what is actually happening.
Work out what needs to change.
Bring the right people together.
Get it moving.
Before fixing the problem, make sure you have found the right one.
Need another pair of eyes on it?
If your international hiring, relocation or expansion process isn’t working as it should, I can help you work out where the problem sits, what needs to change and how to get it delivered.
Email contact@david-brady.co.uk or use the contact form to tell me what’s happening.