Hands Across the World
With the vast resources, the name brand, and
the innovative thinkers at Microsoft, you
would think that it would be easy to recruit
from anywhere to anywhere.
However, even with the reach of Microsoft,
global recruiting still proves to be a huge
challenge.

Hands Across the World
Topics/Categories to be covered include:
• Recruiting Model & Methodology:
– Recruiter location
– Engagement model
– Agency involvement
• Personnel:
– Building an international staffing team
– Recruiting across boundaries
– Remote recruiter engagement model
• Strategy:
– When to hire internationally verses locally
– Dedicated cross-border recruiting department
– Readiness for overseas assignments - Qualifying the right candidates
• Logistics:
– International interview travel
– International interview scheduling
– International relocation
– Visas/Work permits
– Expat and local hire foreigner packages
– Target locale benefits
– Target locale labor laws

Recruiting Model & Methodology
• Recruiter location:
– In the country doing the hiring?
– In the country where there is talent?
– Both?
• Factors:
– Time zones – candidate and client experience
– Client engagement and ownership
• Engagement Model:
– Who owns the req?
– Who owns the candidate?
• Agency involvement:
– Should you engage agencies to source from around the world?

Recruiting Model & Methodology
Place recruiters in strategic locations,
by broad time zone requirements,
in order to facilitate real-time candidate engagement
EMEA
Candidates
Remote
Recruiting to…
Recruiters
APAC
Candidates
Remote
Recruiters
Host country
(Local Recruiter)
Americas
Candidates
Remote
Recruiters

Personnel
• Building an international staffing team
– Success factors of remote employees
• Ex-Entrepreneurs
• Trustworthy
– Driven by process and numbers more than face to face
relationships
• Recruiting across boundaries
– Consider multi-lingual recruiters
– Great phone skills
– Cross culturally sensitive
• Remote recruiter engagement model
– Partnership between local recruiter and remote recruiter

Strategy
• When to hire internationally verses locally
– Identify talent gaps in-country (MS China example)
– Employee development
– Senior leadership experience and perspective
• Dedicated cross-border recruiting department
– Create a template for international talent movement and apply it
consistently
• Readiness for overseas assignments -
Qualifying the right candidates
– Tools and relocation companies for assessing candidates

Logistics
• International interview travel
– Reimbursed, or paid directly by company?
• International interview scheduling
– A logistical nightmare!
• International relocation
– Special considerations such as pets, customs
• Visas/Work permits
– China examples… (Olympics, city differences, etc.)
• Expat and local hire foreigner packages
– Company policies
• Target locale benefits
– Know them!
• Target locale labor laws
– Know them!

Q&A
• Chris Gootherts
International Staffing Manager
Microsoft Corporation
chrisgootherts@live.com