Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and nonprofit organizations (NPOs) face
unique hurdles when recruiting and hiring international employees.
Working internationally in any capacity, no matter the organization type,
means complying with local employment laws, customs, tax codes, employment
classifications and more. But compared to private companies, managing a
global workforce is even more complicated for NGOs and NPOs, who must also
carry out their mission in complex or difficult environments, in times of
crisis, or while navigating language and cultural barriers.
But there are ways to make recruiting, hiring and managing international
employees easier for NGOs and NPOs,which can help you carry out your
mission more effectively. Here are the most important ones to consider when
hiring employees abroad or managing your international staff:
1. Widen your talent pool
Finding skilled and dedicated employees can be a challenge for any
organization, but NGOs and nonprofits that are recruiting and hiring
internationally have the additional task of finding qualified personnel who
can, for example, relocate to the country and fulfill the length of the
contract, however long (or short) that may be.
NGOs and NPOs that tap into the global talent pool for open positions prime
themselves for even greater success, whether the candidates are local to the
country the NGO is from, local to the country the NGO will operate in, or even
located in a completely different country.
Having an HR infrastructure that can manage employees worldwide enables the
right candidates to be hired regardless of where they are located and ensures
that new employees can be onboarded and paid seamlessly.
2. Correctly classify employees
After recruiting and hiring the right candidates, NGOs and NPOs can save
themselves many headaches by ensuring employees are always classified
correctly and in accordance with the labor laws of the country of operation.
Misclassification of employees—whether they’re volunteers or independent
contractors who transition to become employees, candidates who apply from a
job site, or candidates sourced from a professional recruiting firm—can be
complex, time-intensive and costly to correct, and take away from an NGO’s or
NPO’s ability to focus on its mission or to use precious funding on more
important things than fines.
Additionally, the experience of getting misclassification corrected may
decrease staff morale, which could contribute to avoidable employee turnover.
Learn more: NGOs and independent contractors: How to protect your
mission from the costly risk of noncompliance
3. Stay compliant
Many NGOs and international NPOs think that a business entity must be set up
in order to work in another country, hire and onboard staff, process payroll,
and comply with local labor laws.
However, setting up an entity can complicate your global workforce management
process because:
- They can be complex, requiring location(s), licenses, bank accounts, business-level translators, etc.
- They can take several months to set up.
- They are not nimble. For example, if your organization needs to work in a country for a limited or fixed term, you probably don’t want to waste several months setting up a legal entity that will only be needed for a short time.
- They can be expensive and a budget strain.
Despite these hurdles, some NGOs and NPOs may elect to set up a business
entity in the countries they operate in. But in cases where that is not
feasible, the need for the work is urgent, or the process of setting up an
entity is too complex or time-consuming, a ready-made and adaptable HR
solution allows organizations to easily scale up or down their workforce based
on the project, timeline, scope and funding.
4. Support your staff
The adage “time is money” seems especially true for many NGOs and NPOs, who
sometimes feel short on both. So every second spent inefficiently on
redundancies or correcting preventable problems is time spent away from the
mission, as well as the staff that bring the mission to life.
In NGO and NPO work, staff may be grappling with physical and emotional
considerations such as stretched-thin resources, the emotional toll of the
work, a different standard of living, low pay or pay limits, or even
instability in the country or safety concerns.
Having efficient HR systems in place helps NGOs and NPOs easily manage and
scale a global workforce, which leaves ample time to provide support and
attention to staff.
Learn more: Global Employment Guide for NGOs
The right recruitment and hiring partner for NGOs and nonprofits
An experienced global recruitment services provider should offer a
dedicated recruiter focused on your operational needs, access to a network of
qualified candidates, support with salary negotiations, and contract to hire
solutions to test your candidates.
When it comes to hiring, an employer of record (EOR) can help
NGOs and NPOs save time and money, remain compliant, and get up and running in
a new country in as little as two weeks, while compliantly managing HR tasks
such as payroll, benefits, work permits, taxes, employment agreements,
terminations and more.
GEO, the EOR solution from Safeguard Global, has helped nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations hire employees in 170+ countries by:
- Providing an easy system to hire, onboard and pay new employees (even if they’re located in a different country from the one the NGO or NPO operates in)
- Allowing NGOs or NPOs to begin working in a country quickly and compliantly without having to set up a business entity first
- Keeping NGOs or NPOs compliant with local laws
- Being an HR partner that saves NGOs and NPOs time and resources, freeing them up to focus on their mission and taking care of staff
Contact us today to speak with a global solutions advisor and learn more about how we can help you find and hire the people you need to carry out your mission around the world.
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