fbpx

TOP 10 Benefits of Having an International Team in a Hi-Tech Company

Quick Summary - Research shows that national and cultural diversity increases business revenue and allows a company to be more flexible to change. What other benefits do you get from your international human resources and how to make the global team feel connected despite the geographic distance?

10 Benefits of Having an International Team

5 mins read

February 14, 2023

“Technology works best when it brings people together”, as Matt Mullenweg, a founding developer of WordPress, once said. Today, tech companies, thanks to modern tools and the strengthening of remote work trends, have the opportunity to unite people from anywhere in the world in their teams.

According to the survey, a third of respondents from global companies work directly with a team member, located in another country, on a daily basis. Plus, nearly 40 percent deal with employees in other countries one to several times per business week. So, why is it good to work together globally?

The main advantages of creating an international team

1. Increasing profitability 

According to a McKinsey report, companies with high ethnic and cultural diversity were 36 percent more profitable than those with less diversity.

By the way, in general, the implementation of all types of inclusion directly affects the economic success of the business. According to a recent report by Global Industry Analysts, such a corporate culture helps companies to be more flexible and increase revenue per employee by 2.5 times.

2. Facilitating the development of international markets

Whether it is the opening of an office in a new country, or the international release of a startup – it is important to understand how and for whom you work. Deep knowing of local markets, mentality, culture, and business practices of the location the company is mastering is a strong competitive advantage.

International employees can be a good resource of knowledge and experience of working in a certain region. They may help to better build marketing and communication and more easily integrate into the environment.

3. Access to the specialists from anywhere in the world

Tech talent is unevenly distributed around the globe. In the Middle East, for example, there may be a shortage of programmers working with Rust, Go or Node.js. On the other hand, there are enough such specialists in Eastern Europe.

Moving away from the practice of searching for specialists exclusively in one’s own country opens up an unlimited choice of the best staff. This is especially true of rare skills and experience.

4. Cost reduction

By attracting talent from all over the world, the company has a wider choice for better conditions. South Asia and Eastern Europe have lower developer hourly rates than North America, for example. In addition, a number of countries have tax legislation loyal to the innovation sphere.

For more information on how to reduce spendings, read the article “Hidden Ways to Decrease Your Cost per Hire”.

5. Continuous workflow

A team consisting of residents of countries with different time zones can provide a virtually non-stop workflow. And although the time difference can make scheduling difficult, it allows, for example, 24/7 customer support without de facto the night shifts.

6. Improving creativity and generation of non-trivial solutions 

Recruiting only members from its own country, the company is forced to receive only ideas dictated by similar experience and mentality. Instead, a multicultural team can bring fresh blood to the project. According to the CIPD report, such teams are more creative. Managers also point to the advantages of sharing unique insights for innovation.

Exploring the connection between a high level of creativity and the cultural diversity of the team, Tendayi Viki in an article for Forbes comes to the conclusion that new unique ideas are generated at the intersection of different perspectives and worldviews.

 

image

International team benefits

7. Reputational benefits and employee loyalty

The survey shows that 76% of participants value the diversity of their global teams and state that it improves their performances.

According to another study, 58% of respondents mention diversity as the main benefit of working for a global company. Additionally, this research found an interesting correlation: respondents who listed diversity as a top benefit informed wanting to stay in their current job for more than 4 years.

8. Access to a wide range of experiences

Experience gained in the country of origin can be useful during brainstorming or risk calculation. Diversity of backgrounds can be especially valuable in the case of so-called “black swans”. The more people with different life experiences are involved in the team, the more scenarios can be predicted.

9. Cultural and language exchange 

The language barrier can be one of the main challenges of managing international staff. 80% of respondents mention understanding pronunciation and different accents as a key challenge of working in a global team. However, it is a good incentive to work on the language skills of employees, to invest in their training.

At the same time, the cultural exchange allows the team members to improve their communication, empathy, and mutual understanding skills.

10. Wide scope for improving management and team building

According to the study, only 15% of leaders of global virtual teams consider themselves as highly effective. 53% define their preparation for that role as moderate. Researchers note that managing a multicultural team requires the same skills as any qualified management. However, such work requires additional empathy, cultural tact, and the creation of trusting relationships in the team.

How to manage an international team

The main task in organizing the work of an international team is to eliminate the challenges that negatively affect the process. The time difference and finding effective communication methods are among the most common problems.

Obstacles for successful work in global teams

 

image

Obstacles for successful work in global teams

 

  • Open communication

    It is necessary to provide an opportunity to clarify and ask questions. What is obvious to some may be incomprehensible or even unacceptable to others.

  • Involving all members in team work

    Survey shows that 76% of employees point to colleagues that do not participate as the main problem facing a global team. Researchers mention that through open-ended comments, it becomes clear that these members want to take active part but do not know how. For example, in some teams, the only way to participate is to interrupt the speaker. But for certain cultures, this is unacceptable and extremely rude.

  • Encouraging acquaintance and informal communication in the team

    Cultural differences, language barriers, and geographical distance can prevent a team from feeling united. Tactful work is needed to establish emotional connections and ensure that none of the participants feel isolated.

  • Selection of appropriate communication methods

    Considering time zones and cultural differences, the manager must choose whether he needs a live call here and now, or if a simple text is sufficient.

Do you need to assemble and maintain an international team of programmers? PerceptionBox knows how to do it. We can help you not only select specialists, but also integrate them into main teams, making each participant a full part of your project. We are represented in 11 locations around the world and have more than 1000 skilled Software engineers with international experience in our pool.

 

LET’S TALK

Tell us about what you are trying to build

  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Subscribe to our newsletter

icon
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.