Recently,
HireVue has embarked on our own international journey by hiring an EMEA leader
and planning our first UK office. Darren Jaffrey joined HireVue in February and
is an amazing leader who brings a wealth of experience in building and growing
teams to support EMEA. HireVue is fortunate to have him on the team, and as we
build our international teams to support Darren and our HireVue EMEA explosion,
we should keep in mind the following keys to success:
Adaptation When I first started working internationally I brought the bias that many first timers do: "This is how we do it in the U.S. so it is the right way." Whether it is vacation time, leave policies, or meeting etiquette, working with an international team is just different. It can be a wonderful and enlightening experience if you bring an open mind and a willingness to learn from your team.
Learning I should have known where Finland was. I should have known what EMEA meant. Many of our international customers are better informed about working across borders than we are. Many people we will hire will have worked with a U.S. company before. Building an international team requires abandoning assumptions and embracing different cultures and practices to make your team feel like they are part of something bigger.
Personal interactions Today we leverage HireVue Live to have face to face conversations with our international team. Working remotely can be an isolating experience. Working remotely in a foreign country can be even more so. Bringing personal interactions into team collaboration encourages learning and helps to make your international team real to everyone involved.
Sharing the burden In addition to a large body of water there are several time zones between here and there. Building a cohesive team requires sharing the burden of time shifting. For U.S. employees that means taking your turn working very early to balance the times when the international team works late. It is an important balance so international teams don't feel penalized for being outside of the U.S.
Keeping the fire lit Starting an international team is cool. It's a big deal for a company to reach a point in their growth where they can establish and build a team based in EMEA and APAC. But that sizzle can wear off in time and it is easy to forget that the same continuous business evolution that happens in the U.S. also happens in EMEA. It is important to remain diligent in learning, adapting, and sharing ownership.
It is easy to assume that everyone has a basic understanding of geography, has traveled internationally and understands the common international business acronyms and practices, but it is not always true. It is not uncommon for U.S. based employees and companies to operate under a set of false assumptions about their international customers and teams. Building an international team can be extremely rewarding if you embrace the opportunity to adapt, continuously learn, evolve your team and processes, and share ownership of making it work to keep the fire lit and the sizzle on.
Adaptation When I first started working internationally I brought the bias that many first timers do: "This is how we do it in the U.S. so it is the right way." Whether it is vacation time, leave policies, or meeting etiquette, working with an international team is just different. It can be a wonderful and enlightening experience if you bring an open mind and a willingness to learn from your team.
Learning I should have known where Finland was. I should have known what EMEA meant. Many of our international customers are better informed about working across borders than we are. Many people we will hire will have worked with a U.S. company before. Building an international team requires abandoning assumptions and embracing different cultures and practices to make your team feel like they are part of something bigger.
Personal interactions Today we leverage HireVue Live to have face to face conversations with our international team. Working remotely can be an isolating experience. Working remotely in a foreign country can be even more so. Bringing personal interactions into team collaboration encourages learning and helps to make your international team real to everyone involved.
Sharing the burden In addition to a large body of water there are several time zones between here and there. Building a cohesive team requires sharing the burden of time shifting. For U.S. employees that means taking your turn working very early to balance the times when the international team works late. It is an important balance so international teams don't feel penalized for being outside of the U.S.
Keeping the fire lit Starting an international team is cool. It's a big deal for a company to reach a point in their growth where they can establish and build a team based in EMEA and APAC. But that sizzle can wear off in time and it is easy to forget that the same continuous business evolution that happens in the U.S. also happens in EMEA. It is important to remain diligent in learning, adapting, and sharing ownership.
It is easy to assume that everyone has a basic understanding of geography, has traveled internationally and understands the common international business acronyms and practices, but it is not always true. It is not uncommon for U.S. based employees and companies to operate under a set of false assumptions about their international customers and teams. Building an international team can be extremely rewarding if you embrace the opportunity to adapt, continuously learn, evolve your team and processes, and share ownership of making it work to keep the fire lit and the sizzle on.
About David Verhaag
David is the Vice President, Client Experience at Degreed, the lifelong learning platform. Prior to Degreed, David established and scaled the Customer Success function at Kahuna and HireVue and spent eight+ years with SuccessFactors where he led the development of the global Customer Value team. David lives on a sailboat in Half Moon Bay, CA.
Follow on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn
No comments:
Post a Comment