Workers from abroad in a pandemic

Hiring foreigners usually means additional formalities, necessity to visit various authorities, arrange necessary documents, not to mention the arduous search for suitable candidates. Is it safe to do this in times of a pandemic when we should limit contact with others and follow the principle of social distance?

DDM principle

The most important principles related to the containment of the new coronavirus are expressed in three words: Disinfection, Distance, Mask. This is the quintessence of what we should do in social contact to ensure safety of ourselves and those around us. Unfortunately, the principle of keeping a distance is not always possible to adhere to in every job. Moreover, sometimes professional activity and the nature of work at a given position even makes it necessary to be in contact with different people.

In many situations, we can avoid direct contact, for example by using electronic media, video calls or videoconferences. When hiring new employees (not only ones from abroad), we can also take advantage of the possibility to acquire employees in a safe way.

Safe outsourcing of employees from abroad

One of the best and safest ways to look for workers from abroad is to use the services of outsourcing agencies. With their help we can employ, among others, workers from Ukraine and workers from Asia. Thanks to employee outsourcing we can avoid the need to visit various authorities and meet with new people, thus risking our health. It is a special kind of cooperation between an entrepreneur, an employee and an agency, where the actual employer is the latter. This means that the agency takes on not only the whole process of recruitment of candidates to work and the costs associated with it, but also the enormity of tasks associated with acquiring and hiring an employee from abroad.

For the owner of the company, this means pure benefits. Not only does the company not have to bear the costs related to HR and payroll, but also in the current epidemiological situation – it does not risk the health of its employees. Outsourcing of staff is also a great way to ensure continuity of work in a given position and to minimise any losses that might result from the need to search again if the first candidate resigns or simply fails during the probationary period. Polish employers have long learned about the advantages of hiring Ukrainian and Asian workers and many of them no longer need to be persuaded to do so.

Double security for the entrepreneur

A pandemic means not only a risk associated with the disease itself, but also a whole range of concerns about the uncertain global economic situation. A lackdown that may happen at any time means losses not only for those industries that simply cannot operate in these circumstances. Problems in one sector work in the same way as communicating vessels and usually cause more or less problems for other companies. In such circumstances, it is difficult to plan production and sales, but also to employ new staff. Employee outsourcing in this case works a bit like a kind of lifeline, because thanks to flexibly composed terms of cooperation it allows us to adjust the number of employees to the current needs. If you’re curious about what it might look like in your company, be sure to ask for details.