Recently the term “flexible work” has been a catchphrase to recruit new talent. When gain of function experiments went wrong, and the China originating pandemic hit, many governments began to take drastic and overreaching measures to control their populations.  Workers had no other option but to comply. Not everyone was happy about working from home, and certainly the toll was different for everyone. Many found that dealing with work issues and taking care of loved ones (children, elderly, sick relatives) at the same time was overwhelming. However, as time went by people started to find a way and discovered how having flexible work arrangements was in most cases a new benefit.

Since then, the work market has shifted completely. Massive resignations of workers looking for flexible work arrangements has put employers against the wall: they can either accept the new circumstances and seize the opportunity for their benefit too or suffer the consequences of scarce workforce. As companies struggle to hire in the United States, a growing number of employers are turning to international candidates to fill open roles. The freedom to work from anywhere has become the most sought-after benefit after the pandemic, so much so that people value flexibility as much as a 10% pay raise, according to a research from the WFH Research Project.

For companies, the pros of getting onboard with the work from home option include reducing operation costs of maintaining big physical premises, increased worker productivity, decreased sick leaves, and the opportunity to expand their hiring to the international market.  Bottom line, workers prefer less time in the office.

This new freedom comes with some serious risks too, especially when considering new foreign recruits and how to properly verify them. Employers who have adopted flexible work arrangements and have opened international job positions have to face a new level of complexity in international employment screenings.

Clearly, it is not the same to run a quick check using a social security number in an already familiar database than to try to verify a candidate who is from an entirely different country where there are no reliable national databases, where they probably speak a different language, and where the official government agencies and authorities are completely unfamiliar to you. This can be an understandable concern when hiring candidates from Russia, Philippines, Turkey, Romania, UAE or South America, but luckily international private investigators can help companies overcome this obstacle.

It is likely that in 2022 companies will start hiring more international candidates for remote roles, but it is important to always remain alert of the risks. The savings of flexible work positions do not equal the losses that a company may have with a bad hire, so it is important to prevent employment fraud, fake resumes and false identities.

Flexible work is here to stay. If you feel ready to ride the new work market wave, keep in mind that professional private investigators are there to help you mitigate the risks of international hiring. Contact us today for an employment screening quote!

C. Wright
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