Hiring Overseas Contractors Tips For Small Businesses

For internet focused businesses in particular, hiring employees for full time positions or even special projects can be quite expensive and unrealistic. Contractor positions in the United States often afford some alleviation of the costs involved in hiring someone full time, but hourly rates can still make this very difficult especially in this economic recession. Even in prosperous times, the salary of hiring someone is simply cost prohibitive. As a result many small firms are turning to overseas contractors as a solution.Image result for Overseas Contractors

Depending on the needs of you company this choice may prove to be quite successful, but this requires a number of issues to be resolved. The foremost issue is the question of language proficiency. Overseas workers are usually quite proficient in their areas of expertise, but communication problems can from personal experience severely plague a project’s success. It’s extremely important therefore to insure that the lines of communication are firm. This can occur via written or verbal communication. Another possibility to consider is to give the individual under consideration a test assignment. The test assignment depending on size and scope can be paid. This gives the potential worker incentive to perform to the best of their ability and insures that they have confidence in the seriousness of your company.

Another issue to consider is the schedule and methods of payment. Foreign workers are often limited in the type of payment venues they can receive, though new options are increasingly opening up to them including Pay Pal. Pay Pal offers one of the simplest options to pay foreign workers. Other methods such as money transfers are certainly an option but are more cumbersome in terms of the paperwork they require.

The other major challenge in contracting with workers outside of the United States is the ability to oversee their daily productivity. This is especially important if they are hired as defacto full time employees. Clearly stating expectations as well as requesting daily or weekly updates can go far in insuring that your needs as an owner are met consistently. Foreign workers are typically quite open to your requests and are usually very willing to work to meet your expectations. In fact, depending on the country of origin, there almost seems to be an inherent cultural sensitivity of respect and attentiveness. While the salary you may pay is astonishingly low by American standards, it can be a respectable middle wage income in many regions of the world.

After back-to-back tours in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, many Gulf War Vets would never think of returning overseas as a contractor. That’s certainly understandable. Yet, you might be surprised to learn that thousands of men and women who have served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and/or Enduring Freedom are actively seeking overseas jobs. If you’re a veteran and are weighing the advantages of returning overseas as a defense contractor, continue reading for the straight scoop.

U.S. employers often find it difficult to translate military experience into civilian job skills. That’s not the case with Defense contractors. They speak the veteran’s language. Veterans already know what to expect; they’ve “been there, done that.” Chances are, they worked around contractors during their tour(s) and already know they can handle the hardships. Defense contractors value veterans’ ability to develop and execute a plan. They know that veterans exercise good judgment under challenging conditions and are committed to their assignment.