Now that the economy is becoming increasingly more global, many recruiters out there have to search for candidates from all around the world. This sounds (and is indeed) exciting, but you must keep in mind that candidates from different cultures will never communicate the same. Let’s say you have recruited someone from France; then according to Erin Meyer and a piece she made for Harvard Business Review, you need to be as emotionally expressive as you can be, as well as even a bit confrontational. On the other hand, acting like this would not work with a British candidate, as in the United Kingdom, such an approach is not at all well regarded or in any way appreciated.
To make global hiring easier and faster, recruiters can use platforms like SignalHire, which allow you to quickly find verified contact details of candidates worldwide — regardless of their country or cultural background.
While you may notice there’s a dichotomy across some of the world’s cultures, it’s easy to think that being emotionally expressive and confrontational go together very well and are even encouraged. Meyer wouldn’t agree, though; she has written this is not the case whatsoever. For example, in Germany, haggling during recruiting while remaining calm and professional is absolutely okay, says Meyer. In Saudi Arabia, however, professionals are encouraged to build a strong personal relationship with prospects and avoid confrontation as much as possible. Taking all these things into consideration, it can be said recruiting trends across countries is not at all the same.
Building trust isn’t the same in different cultures
Furthermore, Meyer says building trust is a completely different process in different countries, from both a cognitive and affectionate point of view. While in the United States, the cognitive approach is used to build trust across many professional settings, in Qatar and China, trust is usually built at an affectional level. In a video where Meyer explains the difference between the two approaches, she mentions that cognitive trust is based on tasks and comes from the mind, focusing on skills, accomplishments, and reliability. In contrast, affective trust is more about relationships and what the heart dictates, revolving around feelings of closeness at an emotional level, friendship, empathy, and developing relationships while having drinks, sharing meals, or going out for coffee breaks.
Some other cultural differences
Meyer also mentioned some of the other cultural differences that exist and need to be taken into consideration when recruiting. Some of them are strictly related to the professional setting, while others are more about behavior, what to say and what to never talk about, as well as how to express opinions. Here are these other cultural differences you need to be aware of when hiring from across different countries:
Some countries agree with disagreeing, others find disagreeing extremely rude
If you happen to be hiring from Russia, then know your candidate may challenge you right at your pitch’s onset, says Meyer. This is because negotiations in Russia happen like this. On the other side of the globe, in Mexico (but not only), outright telling a candidate the word no or disagreeing with them in one way or another is considered to be very rude, as Meyer explains. Here, formulations like “Please get into more details and explain, or “I don’t really understand what you mean by that” are common and considered polite.
Yes-no questions are not appreciated everywhere
Recruiting more than often involves asking the candidate many yes-no questions about how happy they are with the salary or if they are willing to relocate for the position. However, in some South Asian countries, such as Indonesia, saying no to a request is considered outright rude. The Indonesian candidates’ approach is to use body language when trying to indicate a no is in place or saying, “I will try my best.” These are the ways in which candidates from South Asia will tell you it’s a no for sure.
Written contracts aren’t preferred in some countries
While in the US, nothing happens without a written contract, there are countries in the world, like China and Nigeria, where it’s common for agreements to be closed verbally, says Meyer. Still, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask your candidates to sign a contract, especially if that’s how you do things in your business (and it’s very likely you do prefer written statements). What you need to do when hiring someone from a part of the world that prefers verbal agreements is to explain how the process goes and why it’s necessary, even if they may think it’s a sign you’re not trusting them, suggests Meyers.
What else should recruiters know?
All people are the same, no matter where they may be coming from. That’s a fact. However, different cultures are creating different, sometimes completely opposite values and expectations for the candidates who live in different countries across the globe. You must be aware of this if you’re planning to recruit internationally and succeed at building teams of happy (and efficient) people working for you. When it comes to building trust with the purpose of closing the candidate, you must know that in China and most African countries, this process takes place slowly and requires you to be more involved. On the other hand, in the UK and the US, you would only be required to provide the facts regarding the position to ensure you will be getting a firm response shortly. It goes the same way for negotiating salaries. For instance, a candidate from Israel will passionately debate with you for hours about the dollar and the global economic situation, but one from Japan — not so much, if at all.
Conclusion
In the end, if you’re the type of recruiter with an ethnocentric mindset and think most people out there are playing by your own rules, then you’re sure not to have a smooth sailing when trying to recruit internationally. Your approach needs to be nuanced, and you have to really understand who the candidates you’re pitching are and what their traditions are in the professional environment. This is the only way to go and become successful when closing candidates from all over the world. And, while certain business communication aspects remain relatively standard (especially in international companies), one still needs to consider cultural peculiarities for ultimate success.
Images sources: pixabay.com
