‘Talent is everywhere’: Creating a multinational workforce

A borderless workforce has the potential to provide a multitude of benefits; however, the suitability of this organisational structure is entirely dependent on a business’s objectives, one expert has advised.

In a recent HR Leader Podcast episode, Deel’s country lead in ANZ, Shannon Karaka (pictured), spoke about why global workforces are increasingly critical heading into 2026, the benefits businesses can glean from having a cross-border talent pool, how cognisant Australian business leaders are of the opportunities that can come from a global workforce, and the various challenges to grapple with in creating such a pool of workers.

The borderless workforce: Born from an epiphany

As companies were forced to work remotely in 2020, Karaka observed a workforce-wide realisation (in the initial 12- to 18-month period of the pandemic) that “you don’t necessarily need to be in the office at your desk to perform the responsibilities of your role”.

Following this realisation, he saw a trend of organisations hiring foreign nationals or foreign employees with aspirations to go home and visit their families. He noted that these organisations did not have the option of retaining these people. Karaka said that, because of these challenges, the borderless workforce was created.

Efficiency and commercial gains

Karaka observed common growth markets in the US and the UK, where organisations expanded into these jurisdictions to grow in revenue. He found that the borderless organisations “working around the clock” with teams across the Americas, Europe, and Asia were able to provide support to their customers “regardless of the time of day” – helping to drive efficiency.

The opportunity to diversify teams to enhance company culture and engage offshore teams with lower labour costs are additional benefits of borderless workforces, Karaka noted – especially when larger corporations “outprice” on wages in local markets such as Australia.

Offshore regulatory awareness

Karaka said Aussie businesses need to consider their underlying objectives before expanding into new jurisdictions.

He stated that companies must first get up to speed on their HR payroll compliance obligations in the jurisdiction they plan to expand to, as well as their organisational goals (whether to grow revenue or deliver a specific outcome), to make an informed decision towards their expansion.

In the face of scepticism from businesses and HR teams, Karaka suggested that HR leaders determine the origins of the company’s apprehension – whether it is fear of an unknown perspective or fear from previous attempts at going global.

He recommended that companies “[get] really clear” on why they have “that perspective”, which will then enable these barriers to be addressed.

Setting up to support change

Karaka also stressed that companies must ensure there is adequate infrastructure to support worker engagement, they can operate compliantly in the jurisdiction, and meet their obligations with the local authorities.

Further, Karaka suggested that businesses ask themselves whether they can support a borderless workforce, pointing to the need to develop a cohesive company culture that allows fully remote employees to feel connected to the organisational mission.

He emphasised the importance of checking if the organisation is set up to support a borderless team, not just from an HR payroll compliance perspective, but from a metrics perspective. For Karaka, having these checks in place can ensure the sustainability of a borderless workforce – through measuring performance – allowing organisations to keep their global workforces engaged.

Karaka advised that businesses consider the differences in culture and ways of working across jurisdictions and leverage technology to create employee value propositions (EVP) that work across all global offices.

Success is not just ‘box-ticking’

“HR really [needs] to act as the cornerstone to deliver” a borderless workforce, Karaka said.

He said that businesses must partner with their HR departments to be aligned on whether “initiatives are actually going to provide value to [team members]” – EVP is not simply a box-ticking exercise.

“I think many organisations around the world are starting to deploy more and more initiatives around exploring markets that they might have been uncomfortable with in the past because of the global acceptance of remote, hybrid, distributed workforce,” Karaka said.

However, Karaka emphasised that a borderless workforce is not a silver bullet. “That’s not to say that an Australian-only business can’t be as successful focusing on the domestic market,” he said, noting that the suitability of a borderless workforce is entirely dependent on the business’s objectives.