Cooperation and trusting others, especially residents of other countries, is sometimes a challenge for self-reliant and “do-it-yourself” Latvians. Including also in the business environment, because the unknown is perceived with greater caution and associated with greater risk. To a large extent, this can also be attributed to foreign labor. But is there a basis for this and can we afford it?
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The 2021 data of the Digital Economy and Society Index show that 48% of Latvian companies have encountered difficulties in finding qualified IT specialists who meet their requirements.
At the same time, there are enough high-level IT specialists in the global labor market who would be ready to “ease” Latvia’s labor crisis with cross-border solutions. Thus, there is a solution to the problem – the hiring of foreign IT specialists, which has been talked about in the Latvian business environment and also on a national scale for many years. But companies still do not choose the “lifeline” and continue to drown. Why is this happening?
At first glance, it seems that the main problem is that businessmen in Latvia simply do not trust anyone. It is believed that a software developer from Turkey, Ukraine, Australia or anywhere else in the world is actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing who will sell all the trade secrets entrusted to him as soon as possible and then disappear without a trace. On the one hand, the fear is understandable. The main foreign specialist in your company usually works thousands of kilometers away, in a different time zone and also in a different cultural space. And really, how much can you learn and understand during a video interview or a regular job meeting, what this person is really like? Since these specialists are not sitting next to you in the office and you cannot follow their work on a daily basis, how should they be entrusted with data and information that can potentially negatively affect the work of the entire company if it falls into the wrong hands?
But at the same time, paying special attention to security risks may simply be mandatory. The vast majority of IT companies are certainly capable of creating systems that protect company data and prevent employees from spreading sensitive information around the world. So, in reality, the actual problem may be the fear of cultural differences that inevitably have to be faced when hiring employees who live in other countries.
However, the third and no less important problem may be hidden in the personnel selection specialists themselves. In order to successfully conduct a job interview with a person whose native language is not Latvian and whose country of residence is not Latvia, in addition to doing all this online, certain experience is required. However, currently there are not many experienced international talent selection specialists in Latvia. In addition, if a person lacks such experience, he is unlikely to want to take responsibility if the person he chooses turns out to be an incompetent specialist or, even worse, a fraud.
To reduce said risks, there are tools available that take almost everything out of the equation of the situation. It is important to choose a reliable partner for recruitment, but it is even more important to think carefully about contracts with employees. The fact is, if someone wants to share sensitive data with third parties, they will still be able to do so, but it’s important to be prepared for it and create an opportunity to legally protect your rights afterwards. For example, the requirements of intellectual property laws vary greatly from country to country, so when entering into an employment contract with any foreign employee, the contract must be tailored to account for regional differences. For example, Deel mitigates risks and has developed two-tiered contracts to protect the client’s business by ensuring that all intellectual property ownership remains with the client’s business.
That’s why I call on my colleagues from the business environment and especially the IT sector: let’s learn to trust new forms of work and work opportunities, because this is the only way to achieve goals and ensure control over salary and labor pressure.
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