Training your overseas hire isn't enough
Zack AllenApril 25, 20263:16
A client's hire was underperforming. The first place I looked was leadership, not training.
A client came to me recently because someone he'd hired through us was underperforming. The first thing I started diagnosing was the leadership side.
As business owners, it's harder for us to understand someone's motives, and what's required of us for them to do their best work.
Training vs. empowerment
From years of leading my team, I've noticed the problem is rarely training. It's rarely that I didn't teach someone how to do the work. It's usually about how much they want to do it, and what reason they have to.
That's the difference between training and empowerment.
It's easy to say, "They're just not the right fit for my team." Sometimes the reality is that there's something I need to adapt.
My leadership skills have kept developing over the years, and I've worked on them on purpose: constant feedback loops, education and asking my team directly. I have a big responsibility to give them what they need beyond training. Teaching the role is minor compared to the part I play as a leader.
Ask what motivates them
A lot of people see international hires as virtual assistants. I started my recruitment firm because I saw that international team members could play important roles in a business for a fraction of US salaries.
Part of that is understanding what drives each person. In the first few weeks, sometimes on the first day, I ask new team members what motivates them.
If it's money, that's fine. I tell them that. If it's money, we'll figure out how to make you more of it.
But it's usually more than money. Recognition is a big one, both public and private: shout-outs in Slack channels and meetings, and 1-on-1 messages calling out what they did well.
It's a positive reinforcement loop. We all respond to it. And it gives people a sense that their work matters.
Aligned incentives
Paying someone because it's their job is the bare minimum, and by itself it doesn't get people to do much. You have to find a way for your team to want to do the work themselves, not because you told them to.
This isn't manipulation. It's making what I want the same thing they want. That's what I mean by aligned incentives.
I think it's negligent for a business owner not to take on that leadership role and get as good at it as you can, if you want the best from your team.
The reframe
That's where my conversation with the client landed. A team member on the other side of the world can provide the same value as someone local, if not more. Distance doesn't change that outcome, and you should expect it.
What it does require is adaptation on your end. If you want the advantage of the US dollar against local currencies, there's a cost. Not a lower outcome. The cost is leveling up as a leader and adapting how you run things.
Transcript
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A client of ours came to me recently because a team member that he hired through us was underperforming. The first thing I started to diagnose and figure out was on the leadership side. I think that as business owners, it's more difficult for us to understand someone's motives and what is actually required of us for them to be succeeding at their best. I've noticed from the years of leading my team that it's usually not the training that is a problem.
It's not that I didn't give them the right education to do the work. It's more about how much they want to do it, what reason they have to do it. I think that's the difference between training and empowerment. It's easy for me to use the excuse of, "Oh, they're just not a right fit for my team." when in reality, there may just be something I need to adapt to. I think that as I've led a team for many years, my leadership skills have continued to develop.
That's been a very core focus of what I've been trying to better myself at through constant feedback loops, education, asking my team. I think there's a great responsibility of me providing them with the resources they need outside of training. I think that like the training and education on the role is very minor in comparison to the role I play as a leader. Like because we hire internationally, a lot of people will consider it virtual assistants.
And for me, the reason why I started this recruitment firm in the first place was because I saw that you could have international team members that played important roles in your business for a fraction of US salaries. And one part of it for me is understanding the motives behind what drives my team. That's one of the questions I ask in like the first few weeks of bringing someone on, maybe like the first day even, is what motivates them.
Of course, it's okay if it's money. Like I tell them that. If it's money, then we can figure out how to make you more money. But, I find it's also a lot more than that. There's recognition being one of the really big ones, public and private. So, like posting in Slack channels, shouting them out on meetings, and then one-on-one Slack, giving them the recognition for the things they do well. I find that's I mean, first of all, it's a positive reinforcement loop.
We're all Pavlovian. It gives like a sense of fulfillment that what they're doing is valuable. I think that providing a reason to do the work rather than just because like being paid to do it cuz it's your job is like bare minimum. As we've seen, it doesn't really get people to do things. You have to find a way to make your team want to do the work themselves, not cuz you're telling them to.
It's not like a manipulative where like we make them think that this is the right thing to do. It's like how can we literally make it so that the thing that I want is the same thing you want. That's what I consider to be aligned incentives. Leadership is a very important part of hiring general, being a business owner. And I think it's negligent to not take on that role and be the best you can as a business owner if you want to see the best out of your team.
And so that's the reframe we were getting through was basically that a team member on the other side of the world can still provide the same value if not more than someone locally. Like the distance in the different country does not affect that outcome. And that outcome should be expected. Now, sure, from your end as a leader, there will be some adaptation to fit that. It will require you to level up as a leader if that's the endeavor you want to take on.
Like if you want to use the advantage of the US dollar to these local currencies, it will come at some cost. And I don't mean cost of like a lower outcome. I mean adapting your style and the way you run things to fit that.
