Borderless HR business practices are the future: Prime BPM’s Mark Khabe

The pandemic has changed the face of business across many facets, including talent resourcing and hiring. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, many organisations limited their hiring policies to close geographical locations, with remote positions being the exception. However, nowadays, almost-all businesses have components of remote working or maintain a hybrid working model for staff. This is especially true for digital tech businesses, which are not limited by physical labour or product constraints. With remote working as the norm, businesses are entering into a new era of borderless hiring. And while this presents exciting opportunities for businesses, which have access to world-class talent, HR practices need to be re-examined to suit this new working style. 

In an exclusive interview, Mark Khabe, Co-founder of Prime BPM, which has 50% of its staff operating remotely from global locations, shares how organisations can successfully address the complexities of maintaining borderless teams. He highlights that partnerships with major international brands motivated them to start thinking borderless and sheds light on the benefits of a diverse global team. 

What are your views on the shift in the rising trend of hiring globally? What motivated you to start thinking borderless? 

According to research, 30% of the global workforce currently operates remotely and 95% have reported increased productivity since adopting the change. This shift in mindset has opened up the world, from a business and prospective talent standpoint, which means businesses need not be limited by location when hiring. While still in nascent stages, the trend of hiring from a global talent pool will continue to gain momentum, as businesses continue to diversify and leverage digital technology.

While our business went borderless due to customer demand internationally, we also felt doing so would increase our talent and skills pool and add immense value to the business. An international workforce brings varied views to a business that spur innovation and takes customer satisfaction to another level. As employees are closer to customers, they’re capable of understanding their requirements better and addressing pain points. 

Are there any challenges to hiring globally? Tell us some best practices for successfully recruiting and maintaining global teams. 

There can be challenges when hiring globally if you don’t have the right processes in place. Well-defined processes and end-to-end visibility and transparency on work projects are an absolute must-have for any organisation planning on hiring and setting up a remote team.  From seamless employee induction to defining employee roles and responsibilities and leveraging appropriate tools and technology for collaboration, everything needs to be addressed to ensure remote employees remain motivated and connected. As a BPM business, we know first-hand that these systems and processes are intrinsic to business operations. 

What are the benefits of employing a borderless and international team?

We found that the positive outcomes of a cross-cultural team far outweigh any potential challenge. When we’re hiring internationally, we look for the best person regardless of what country the candidate is from, their background, gender or culture. Looking for talent internationally provides your business with the opportunity to find the right skill set for your business and team. It also opens up the world, in terms of candidate options.

Our team offers a diverse range of skills, culture and interpersonal qualities, which would not be possible without hiring globally. Also, it brings a unique value proposition to our business, with team members from different cultures bringing new and varied ideas, as well as driving creativity and innovation. 

Do organisations need to rethink their practices when managing global teams? 

Managing a remote global team is not the same as managing a team in an office. Policies and processes for hiring, onboarding and employee performance, all need to be re-examined. Helping employees integrate into teams, providing them with the right training, and ensuring they feel connected to the organisation and its goals become all the more important when we have borderless teams. HR policies need to evolve to accommodate the growing trend of borderless teams.    

What Employee Value Propositions (EVP) do borderless businesses have?

A good employee value proposition has become essential for many people, when assessing a workplace, particularly since the pandemic. Employees now place a higher emphasis on flexibility, work-life balance and workplace culture. Borderless business practices give employees the chance to be leaders, take charge of their roles and have a sense of pride and responsibility. We want people to feel empowered and, ultimately, to be happy both professionally and personally. Our motto has always been autonomy, mastery and purpose. 

If businesses can provide employees with ownership and accountability, people have a purpose to deliver their best and gain a sense of appreciation. Statistics show organisations that deliver on EVP can decrease annual employee turnover by around 70% and increase new hire commitment by nearly 30%. So, ultimately, having a better EVP is good for employees and business holistically.