One of the benefits of an international recruiting network is the ability to work in locales that you couldn’t before, as you can rely on your global partners for help. Many recruiters who work solo or at small firms think they aren’t able to spread their wings due to the fact that all their clients and/or candidates are in one geography, or they don’t have the bandwidth or knowledge to work internationally. But NPA members have found success working globally, as they have network affiliates “on the ground” in another country that understand that country’s laws, regulations, customs, etc.
Recently, one of our members in Shanghai made their first network placement, placing a Country Manager in Sales, provided by on of NPA’s South Korean affiliates.
The two members first met virtually through NPA’s monthly APAC Zoom calls, and then they were able to meet in person at NPA’s APAC Conference in Hong Kong in 2019.
One of the Shanghai member’s local clients was looking to expand their operations into Korea, and to hire their first staff member there. The client had a lot of questions about the market such as the labor laws, talent pool and salary guides, he said. The member was able to introduce the client to his NPA affiliate in South Korea, who handled all of their questions and needs in a highly professional manner, and he was able to successfully find their first staff member in Korea… even despite a 6-month pause on the hiring process due to Covid-19.
The South Korean partner said the assignment required more attention and follow-ups with the client due to the fact that they had no presence in Korea and wanted to hire directly from Shanghai so he had to provide necessary support such as payroll information, tax information, labor law information for them to assess what they need to prepare in order to hire an employee directly.
For the Shanghai member, he said: “The key for me was to remain active in the NPA network and get to know my partners better so that when a request came up, I was able to reach out directly to an NPA partner and feel confident that they would be able to provide the support that my client needed,” he said. “Now that my first split has been made, I have also been able to make a second split shortly after with a partner in India, and we’re close to making another one soon!”
This is a great example of, despite setbacks of Covid and a client’s changing expectations, as well as the barrier of working in different countries, how utilizing a global recruitment network and building those trading partnerships can result in a split!
One of the benefits of an international recruiting network is the ability to work in locales that you couldn’t before, as you can rely on your global partners for help. Many recruiters who work solo or at small firms think they aren’t able to spread their wings due to the fact that all their clients and/or candidates are in one geography, or they don’t have the bandwidth or knowledge to work internationally. But NPA members have found success working globally, as they have network affiliates “on the ground” in another country that understand that country’s laws, regulations, customs, etc.