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Facing the challenges of managing a multinational workforce

Have you thought about your global IQ? Does your company plan to open an international office or possibly acquire an organization that already has a worldwide presence?

These types of activities are more likely to occur today than 20 years ago as companies strive to sustain top-line profit growth and seek to gain customer loyalty. Consider the following:

• U.S. exports and imports have increased more than 10 times in the last two decades.
• U.S. corporations have invested more than $400 billion abroad and employ more than 60 million workers overseas.
• Annual growth abroad exceeds domestic growth for hundreds of the top 1,000 industrial companies in the United States.
• More than 10 percent of U.S. manufacturing, employing more than three million Americans, is owned by non-U.S. corporations.

While you may be focused on the intricacies of the latest and ever-changing U.S. human resource-related rules and regulations, new global changes could be on the way. And, by the time you learn about your company's global initiatives, the challenges of managing a multinational workforce are already your new priority.

To each their own - set of rules, that is
The complexity of human capital management increases when businesses respond to the economics of competition and become more global. Regardless of location, employees still need to be hired, trained, managed and paid. Successful multinational companies need to effectively manage, track and monitor their global workforce, which becomes exacerbated by the distance, time difference and language challenges, as well as the local rules, taxes, employment laws and compliance demands.

The burden of managing a multinational workforce can be mind boggling with idiosyncrasies that make the nearly 10,000 tax regulations in the U.S. seem almost minor by comparison. As for that global IQ, do you know that:

• A multinational can invest in China by establishing itself as a joint venture, a wholly-foreign owned enterprise or representative office (RO), but a RO is prohibited from direct private hiring.
• A company is not required to have a presence in Italy, but must pay monthly inland revenue taxes through a local bank.
• Employers in India are legally obliged to disperse payrolls on or before the 7th day of the month following processing.

With literally thousands of local rules and customs, companies that strive to be responsive locally -- and integrated globally -- should, after a review of current internal capabilities, consider enlisting the help of an experienced human resources partner that provides solutions to meet the needs of a multinational workforce.

A multinational/multidimensional solution
Respondents to a 2005 survey by Ceridian and HR.com indicated the top three HR issues for managing a global workforce are culture and language, inconsistent processes and local compliance. Ceridian offers multinational solutions to support the human resources challenges like these that arise in the global marketplace.

Ceridian provides in-country payroll for 40 countries within the Americas, EMEA (Europe/Middle East/Africa) and Asia Pacific. Under a common service level description, the range of our payroll capabilities include payroll processing, tax preparation, year-end processing, multilingual support services and issue resolution. Companies that engage Ceridian's multinational solutions gain global governance and consistent oversight with multi-country service optimization. This means central management and control of all in-country operations with a comprehensive global view of all employee activities.

In addition to its in-country payroll and HR services, Ceridian also provides employee assistance programs (EAP) and work-life services in more than 100 countries to help employees address cultural issues and to provide support with everyday challenges.

Ceridian's EAP and work-life services have proven to be invaluable, particularly to expatriates who typically have a limited knowledge about local customs when they take a position at one of their company's international offices. It also helps employers repatriate employees returning to the U.S. from an overseas assignment.

It really is all about who you know
Critical to Ceridian's multinational solutions is its strong relationships with in-country experts who know the language, culture and legislation. These local experts have been selected by Ceridian due to their high standards and ability to deliver quality services.

We offer companies a strong outsourcing partner committed to delivering multinational expertise, effective and cost-efficient business processes, including:

• Global and local expertise, closely mirroring the company's global footprint that allows your company to focus on its core business.
• A broad set of proven payroll, EAP and work-life solutions that minimize the number of vendor relationships that must be developed and managed.
• The knowledge and processes to ensure compliance with constantly changing tax structures, legislative rules and regulations around the world.
• A strong commitment to customer service and continuous improvement with measurable performance metrics.
• The flexibility and sensitivity to adapt to a company's changing needs.

To learn more about Ceridian's multinational solutions, contact your Ceridian representative.