The Roles My Clients No Longer Pay US Salaries For
Zack AllenMay 23, 20262:38
Some roles have to be local. A lot more don't, and the talent pool on the other side is huge.
There are roles in a business that should be hired locally. Some are logistically impossible to fill any other way, like warehouse staff or enterprise sales.
But there are so many roles that don't require paying a local premium for the responsibilities.
In my recruitment firm, we've hired from six different countries. Some roles are as simple as executive assistants, but a lot of our clients have realized how many roles don't need to be local at all. In recent months we've placed talent in Facebook ad media buying and business development.
Cost is only half of it
Cost is a huge driver, of course. When you convert the US dollar into the Philippine peso, the Argentine peso or the South African rand, your dollar goes much further in those local economies.
But the bigger shift is the talent pool. It goes from one small local area to many different countries, with people who see life from very different angles.
I think about it like building a team of misfits: people who each bring a different perspective, so you can solve problems with a lot more variety. You could keep using the same playbook everyone in your niche uses and end up a duplicate of your competitors. I think there's a lot of power in combining the perspectives global talent brings.
So it's the cost, and it's the sheer number of options you get by hiring internationally.
Where the limiting belief comes from
I've met plenty of business owners with limiting beliefs about international talent. It usually starts the same way. They hop on Upwork, post a $2 an hour job because that's what they saw online, and it sours the whole idea. They assume everyone overseas is low-quality, commoditized labor. Button pushers.
I believed that in the beginning too. Once I learned what it takes to recruit and vet great talent, that belief was shattered for me, and I've watched it get shattered for a lot of the business owners we've worked with.
An 8-figure example
One example comes to mind: a friend of mine who runs an 8-figure e-commerce business. He knew what I was doing with the recruitment firm, but he never believed someone overseas could handle important parts of his business. He'd just never seen it work.
Today he has a team based entirely in the Philippines that runs almost all of the back-end operations of that business, which does 8 figures a year in revenue.
And he still has people working locally in the warehouse. The overseas team is a complement, not a replacement. You don't have to pick one or the other.
If overseas hiring is even a thought in your mind, I'd take the jump. It can easily be the best decision you make for your business. It was for mine.
Transcript
Show the full transcript
There are many roles in a business that should be hired for locally. Of course, some of them are logistically impossible to not have a local hire like a warehouse or like enterprise sales type roles. On the other side, there are so many roles that don't require paying a local premium for the responsibilities. In my recruitment firm, we've hired from six different countries for roles ranging from simple as executive assistants, but a lot of our clients have realized the extent to which roles don't need to be local.
In the recent months, we've placed talent for Facebook ad media buying for business development representative. And not only is the cost a huge driving factor, of course, taking the US dollar and converting it to local currencies like the Philippine peso, the Argentinian peso, the South African ranch, your dollar is able to go much further in these local economies. But along with that, you open yourself up to the world of global talent. the talent pool suddenly shifts from this small localized area to many different countries and countries that have a lot different perspectives.
I think about if you want to build a team of misfits, people who all have their own unique angles and perspectives on life, you're able to solve problems with such variety. And sure, you could use a playbook and keep solving the problems the same way everyone has in your niche, all your competitors, and just become duplicates of that. But I think there's a lot of power in combining the perspectives that global talent has.
So, it's like cost, but then also the sheer amount of options that you have, the optionality that comes with hiring internationally. I've come across many business owners who have limiting beliefs around international talent, and it comes from them hopping on Upwork and making a $2 an hour job posting cuz that's what they saw online, and it ends up souring their whole concept of international hiring, and they just assume that it's all very lowquality, commoditized labor, button pushers.
And that was definitely the case in the beginning for me as well. Once I started learning what it took to actually recruit and vet great talent, that limiting belief was shattered for me and it has been shattered many times for the business owners we've worked with. There was one that comes to mind about a 8 figureure e-commerce seller and him and I had been friends for a while. He heard what I was doing with the recruitment firm, but he never believed that someone overseas could handle important parts of his business.
Just like didn't believe that that was possible. Hadn't seen that be the case. And fast forward to today, he's built up a team that is entirely based in the Philippines and runs almost all the back-end operations of his e-commerce business. They literally do 8 figures a year in revenue. And again, back to like the ware, like he has guys that work locally in the warehouse and then has this overseas team as a compliment.
Like, you don't have to pick one or the other. So, if like overseas hiring is even a concept in your mind, I would highly recommend taking the jump. It can easily be the best decision you ever make for your business. I know it was for mine.
