As workforces progressively become more globally dispersed, today’s team compositions look remarkably different from what they used to be. A team huddle bringing together members dialing in from London, Mumbai, and Singapore is now business as usual. 

There are, of course, huge differences between having local employees in one office and establishing distributed teams with multi-national members from all over. What’s undeniable is how individual expertise can greatly contribute to a workforce and how certain specializations can sometimes only come from across the pond. 

However, without an efficient set of standardized policies that everyone can get on board with, global teams may drop faster than a Zoom call in a dead Wi-Fi zone—chaotic, disconnected, and ultimately unproductive. That’s why it’s crucial to make sure your point crosses cultural lines effectively, honoring differences and bringing together a diverse team. 

The nuances of establishing global teams 

In this year’s Future of Jobs  Report, 27% of companies agree that offering remote work across borders is a top solution for improving talent availability, showing how successful global teams continue to empower companies worldwide. While creating and executing appropriate workplace policies for remote teams can be challenging for employers, the purpose remains the same: to ensure everyone feels heard, respected, included, and fairly compensated. 

Global teams, or distributed workforces, rely on efficient company policies that address numerous hiring complexities across territories. But the concept itself is overwhelming for many. Consider how only 24% of today’s business leaders feel they are ready to fully embrace a global team.

Among the main factors an employer has to consider are compliance risks, legal entity costs, and cultural and time zone differences for asynchronous work. Those go on top of varying expectations, communication, and work styles, and management norms that can be quite a struggle for leaders to reconcile.

However, each complexity has its own workaround given the proper review, strategy, and investment. Employers, for example, can rely on Employer of Record (EOR) solutions rather than opt for the more costly and complicated route of establishing traditional legal entities. EORs provide employers the convenience of hiring foreign talent without the need for local legal entities, reducing risks while boosting agility.      

How policies can guide global teams

Of course, beyond operational challenges, overall success would be weighted more on how a company creates efficient and fair company policies for all its team members. With straightforward policies for every employee in place, irrespective of language comprehension or cultural background, it becomes easier to unify a global team.   

Amid all the differences, 97% of employees can rally behind one shared truth: there’s a direct connection between their work performance and efficient Human Resources (HR) policies. This makes it easy enough to grasp how company policies should serve as a roadmap for global employees who may feel like they are off to a cross-country drive after they are onboarded. 

For employers, keeping an open mind in drafting standardized company policies for their global teams would be the first step. Establishing efficient communication channels is particularly useful when it comes to conveying company policies. For instance, this would involve adopting proper meeting etiquette that can foster alignment and drive productivity. These channels also help you avoid any conflict that might stem from unclear asynchronous work arrangements, cultural differences in decorum, or communication breakdowns.  

To address these challenges early on, top management should work closely with HR, who should be willing to shift from being a compliance officer to a cultural translator and enabler who can bridge leadership standards with local nuances. 

In short, HR should take the lead in integrating cultural sensitivity while drafting standardized policies that are clear and equitable for all. Keep in mind that cultural fluency should always serve as the anchor in achieving the effective standardization of company policies. 

Promoting clarity across cultures

Recognizing contextual cues and adapting communication accordingly helps build more meaningful and inclusive engagement with employees across an organization. One report found that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to outperform their peers financially. In most cases, this goes beyond translations and hinges on providing local case studies that are more relevant to individual employees.  

When it comes to visual aids for onboarding, one pro tip is that company policies should not be too long. They should be designed to fit into one screen. Bite-sized summaries always work well for busy and diverse teams. Utilizing multiple formats, including videos, infographics, audio snippets, and virtual training, helps accommodate varied learning styles and preferences. 

Complement all of these moving forward by setting up reminders ahead of company-wide events like town halls or letting everyone’s voices be heard via anonymous Q&A forms. Regularly promoting clarity and transparency, layered with these efforts, helps solicit valuable feedback. 

Guiding global teams through local sensitivity

Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) highlights the importance of striking a good balance between standardized policies and cultural sensitivity, especially for bigger companies with local teams. A successful approach involves establishing a global strategy that allows for local flexibility and setting clear non-negotiable policies while enabling local adaptation through a ‘loose fit’ approach. 

Similarly, prioritizing culture before compliance is key, ensuring that leaders and employees are aligned with the intent of each policy in ways that overcome potential cultural barriers. 

Empowering local leaders is equally crucial, as the effectiveness of policies often depends on how well local managers perform and champion them. Practical, ongoing training to enhance employees’ perspectives according to their role expectations is also recommended. What’s needed at the core of it all is ownership and accountability, one way of which is involving a multicultural drafting panel early in the development of global policies.  

While drafting company policies for global teams, it’s essential to recognize specific nuances (be it varied communication styles, work ethics, or paid time-off discrepancies) and draw clear distinctions among all of them. Cultural incompatibilities should not be a hindrance to conveying overall organizational coherence, especially when about 80% of professionals value inclusive leadership. That means most employees simply want to feel they belong. 

Setting global standards everyone can appreciate

Company policies are most effective when they’re grounded in shared values. Once policies are conveyed and trust is earned, engagement and disclosure will soon follow. Aside from standardizing core policies, ensuring that everyone gets their fair share of baseline benefits, protections, and expectations makes it easier for the HR department to adapt its delivery to diverse teams.

Embedding your policies consistently, from the onboarding process to ongoing communication to regular check-ins and performance evaluations, gets everyone involved and participative in any future changes or adjustments. Best of all, great company policies will make employees want to stay and contribute greater value in the long term.