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How to Build a Talent Retention Strategy for Global Teams

Anna Burgess Yang
Updated date
January 15, 2025

Employee turnover comes at a high cost, often higher than companies realize. Gallup estimates that the cost to replace an employee ranges from 40% to 200% of the employee's salary, depending on the role. That doesn't even factor in intangible costs, such as losing institutional knowledge or the strain on other teammates. 

Creating and implementing employee retention strategies should be top-of-mind if you're looking to build talented, cohesive teams. However, much of the "traditional" advice for retention strategies doesn't consider a global workforce. Some basic principles apply, but you need to tweak the specifics and implementation when managing people across multiple continents. 

Key Takeaways:

  • A global workforce requires thoughtful and intentional talent retention strategies. 
  • It's key to consider how to best facilitate onboarding, employee feedback, communication, and career development in a remote environment.
  • Flexible work arrangements increase employee satisfaction and make them feel trusted by management.  

Understanding the Challenges of Retaining Global Remote Talent 

High employee turnover rates occur for a variety of reasons. Some of the top ones cited by departing employees during exit interviews include feeling unappreciated, lack of growth opportunities, and poor internal communication. 

In a remote environment, isolation is also part of the mix. The research nonprofit Integrated Benefits Institute found that loneliness leads to reduced job performance, lower job satisfaction, and increased turnover.

There's no denying that an in-office environment provides more opportunities for spontaneous interactions (such as poking one's head into a nearby cubicle). Giving remote global talent opportunities to connect — both about work and non-work topics — can decrease loneliness and give them a sense of belonging. The key is replicating in-person interaction experiences in a remote environment to help foster connections as much as possible. More on that later.

With that said, try to provide employees with periodic opportunities to meet up in person when possible. If you have the budget, consider springing for an offsite retreat that brings the whole company together. Or, you can plan smaller gatherings that are more budget-friendly. For example, RemoFirst employees based in the U.S. met up in Boston in late 2024 to give teammates a chance to meet in person. We also have a large number of employees in Spain and Portugal, as well as in Kazakhstan, who often meet up to co-work.

Creating a Strong Onboarding Process for Remote Employees

First impressions matter. Think about what the experience will be like for your new hires when they log in on their first day. Are they greeted with a warm welcome? Or do they feel immediately isolated and confused about what to do next?

One of the most effective strategies to prep the employee is sending vital information in advance (including login information for any tools you use). Let them know what to expect, and ensure a manager schedules a welcome meeting with the employee. Even if the manager and employee won't have a lot of time-zone overlap in the future, that first meeting is essential since it will set the tone. 

The manager can review what the employee can expect during remote onboarding (onboarding checklists help!). Onboarding should be well-structured and provide the necessary guidance so the employee doesn't have to figure things out on their own.

Finally, create a company-wide announcement (or at least team-wide if your company is large) announcing the employee's start date and role. Include a little bit of personal information too (provided by the employee in advance), like where they live, their hobbies, etc. Make sure to do this far enough in advance that welcomes aren't too delayed due to time zones. That way, the employee feels welcome and begins to learn the names of their teammates. 

Embracing Flexibility to Support Remote Employees

Remote work should feel freeing, not stifling. Employees want a healthy work-life balance, and If your global workforce feels confined to specific work hours (such as aligning with the work hours of a team on another continent), it can cause them stress or reduce job satisfaction. Top-performing teams feel empowered to make their own decisions about when and how work gets done. 

The foundation for flexibility is trust. Managers should trust their employees to get the expected work done and not feel compelled to "check in" unnecessarily. Make sure managers let their direct reports know they are focused on the outcome of a particular task or project, not virtual presenteeism in the company Slack channel. 

Of course, this is only effective if deadlines and expectations are clear. Everyone needs to focus on clear communication so employees working in their respective locations and chosen schedules know the collective end goal. 

Building a Supportive and Inclusive Remote Work Culture

No matter where your company is headquartered, you don't want to put too much emphasis on a "home base" that the rest of the company revolves around. The company culture should emphasize work flexibility, as well as cultural inclusivity.

Virtual team-building activities can help employees get to know each other better. Think of exercises that can be done asynchronously, such as guessing games or forming a book group, to build employee engagement. You can also create interest-based Slack channels where employees can chat about their interests (food, music, travel, pets, and more). 

Donut is a fun app for Slack and Microsoft Teams that randomly pairs two employees to connect for a chat. It gives employees the chance to interact with people within the company who they might not talk to otherwise. Donut and similar apps are a good option if you're trying to mimic random watercooler conversations. 

You'll also want to create a positive work environment that celebrates all employee cultural traditions. Ensure your PTO policy allows employees to observe holidays based on their location rather than implementing a policy based on the company's headquarters. For example, at RemoFirst, we have employees based in 20+ countries. While there are a few common holidays we all share, like New Year’s Day, the majority are based on where employees live, so they’re able to celebrate the holidays important to their culture.

Offering Competitive Compensation and Benefits Across Borders 

When hiring a global remote team, at a minimum, your pay must comply with local laws. However, you should offer a competitive pay and benefits package to retain top talent.

Compensation equity is also essential for maintaining employee satisfaction and loyalty. By that, we mean that if you hire employees using location-based pay, the pay should be competitively aligned with the cost of living in that location. It should also align with the salaries and living costs in other locations so employees feel treated fairly. 

Social media management software Buffer employs a global remote team and transparently shares salary data. In a blog post about the company's open salary system, founder and CEO Joel Gascoigne writes, "We pull in market data and adjust it to arrive at our own benchmarks for each role and level." 

The more upfront you are about salary transparency, the more likely employees will feel that they are being compensated appropriately and equitably. 

Providing Opportunities for Career Growth and Development

Career advancement often motivates top talent, so you'll want professional development opportunities that appeal to your remote global team. 

Managers should talk with employees about their specific career goals. Ensure employees have access to career development opportunities, such as mentorship programs, continuing education, and training programs. Tools like Lattice and Culture Amp can manage performance reviews and ongoing career development. Importantly, you'll want to ensure that opportunities are location-independent and that you've outlined clear steps for promotions within a role. 

Finally, recognize achievements along the way. Since lack of appreciation leads to employee dissatisfaction, create open channels to share wins and accomplishments. This might be as simple as a #wins Slack channel, or you might implement employee recognition programs so staff can earn perks like merch or gift cards in recognition of their achievements. 

Maintaining Clear and Consistent Communication Across Time Zones

Global remote work is truly a mindset shift for employees who have never worked in such an environment before. For example, they may want to ping a colleague with a question only to find that it might be the middle of the night in that employee's time zone. 

To alleviate frustration among asynchronous teams, set some clear guidelines around communication, such as:

  • Where communication will occur (email, Slack, project management tool, etc.)
  • The expected response time (example: within 24 hours)
  • How often synchronous meetings will occur, such as team meetings or a company all-hands

Additionally, employees should be encouraged to share their working hours. A calendar app (like Google Calendar) is the easiest way to do this. That way, employees can easily check each other's calendars when scheduling meetings across time zones.

Regularly Gathering Feedback to Improve the Employee Experience

The best way to know if employees are satisfied with their work environment is to ask. Managers can check in during one-on-one meetings, but sometimes, employees might be hesitant to share — especially if they're dissatisfied about something. 

Anonymous surveys can help you collect honest feedback across the entire company and are often more manageable (and more comfortable) for remote global teams. You can also use survey data to benchmark improvements from one period to the next (such as quarter-to-quarter). HRIS platforms, like Culture Amp and Lattice mentioned above, can facilitate employee surveys. 

If you find an area of the business that needs improvement, consider forming groups for employees to share ideas and feedback. Employees will be more engaged if they feel that their voices are heard — leading to positive changes within the company.

RemoFirst Can Help Your Company Retain Talent

Since every country has its own employment laws, managing payroll and benefits for a global team can be challenging. If you want to boost your retention rates, your focus should be on overall strategy, not worrying about learning tax withholding laws in 15 different countries.

As an Employer of Record, RemoFirst can help your company compliantly hire, manage, and pay employees in 180+ countries. In addition to payroll (and taxes), we will onboard your new team members and take care of human resources and compliance tasks. 

We can also perform background checks and assist with visa applications to make it easier for you to hire (and retain) top talent.

Schedule a demo to learn more about how RemoFirst can help you manage your global team.

About the author

Anna Burgess Yang has worked remotely since 2006 and considers flexible work an integral part of her life. She spent more than 15 years at a fintech before pivoting to content marketing and journalism.