Challenges of Managing a Global Workforce and How a Workforce Management Tool Can Fix Them

Work has changed. 

One aspect of that change is the ease of finding talents from any part of the world. That being said, new opportunities come with new challenges.  When finding talent is so easy, managing a global workforce comes with its own bundle of challenges.

Worry not, because there are ways to tackle these challenges – investing in a workforce management tool is one.

Take a look at these stats before we go any further: 

Let’s look at the common challenges and how a Work Management tool comes in handy in combating these challenges effectively.

TL;DR

• Global teams = new challenges: Poor onboarding, IT/security risks, compliance issues, and friction with support teams.

• Onboarding struggles: 20% of turnover happens in the first 45 days—automated onboarding fixes this.

• Employee-support gaps: Too many requests/emails slow employees down; a workforce management tool automates support.

• Tracking time & attendance: Remote visibility is tough; platforms provide real-time tracking, scheduling, and insights.

• Tech issues: Software/hardware glitches kill productivity—24/7 IT support within a unified platform solves it.

• Security concerns: Remote setups make IT security harder; secure access and encryption keep data safe.

• Compliance risks: Missed requirements = costly penalties; compliance software ensures policies are followed.

• The fix: A workforce management tool like ZenAdmin centralizes and automates people operations + IT, making remote and global workforce management seamless.

How a Workforce Management Tool Can Help You Tackle the Challenges While Managing a Global Workforce 

1. Poor onboarding

Needless to say, first impressions matter. Remote or otherwise, any organisation must ensure a seamless and effective onboarding process for new hires. According to an SHRM report, 20% of staff turnover occurs within the first 45 days of employment. This is the ugly impact of poor onboarding. 

Solution: An employee management platform can help you automate routine tasks and streamline the onboarding process by providing digital forms, training materials, and an organised onboarding checklist. An automated onboarding process ensures that the onboarding is effective, personalised, impactful and organised. 

2. Employee-support team frictions

Organisations normally take care of establishing seamless communication between teams, as it is critical for their employees’ productivity. But, when it comes to communication between employees and support teams, there’s friction. Employees have to go through a lot of processes, requests, emails and conversations to get something done from the HR or the IT departments. 

Solution: This is where an employee management platform steps in. It removes this friction by automating processes and ensuring timely employee support. For instance, an employee can easily raise a ticket on the workforce management platform and get their issues resolved in real time – with zero to minimal human interference. 

3. Not effectively tracking time and attendance

Managing time and attendance for remote employees can be challenging. Employees should have visibility into their attendance patterns, as well as the availability status of their team members. 

Solution: An employee management platform can provide time-tracking software and other tools to help you manage employee schedules, time off requests, and other related tasks. It also helps you get insight into your workforce’s attendance patterns,  and take necessary actions.  

4. Inadequate technical support

Technology issues can impede remote work, including internet connectivity, software malfunctions, and hardware problems. Managers must ensure that team members have adequate technology resources and support to avoid disruptions in work and productivity. 

Solution: An all-in-one employee management system will provide the employees with 24×7 real-time IT support, across all the touch points. 

5. Compromising IT security

One of the most important aspects of any workplace is double-fortified, uncompromised, IT security. While it could be challenging to enforce IT security measures on a remote and sporadic workforce, that shouldn’t stop you from doing so. 

Solution: That’s where a smart and proactive employee management platform can help you. It helps you provide secure access to company resources, data encryption, and other security features to help protect sensitive company data – with minimal manual work. 

6. Compliance issues

When you have remote teams, there are higher chances that you may need to catch up to compliance requirements. If you don’t take corrective action on time, costly fines and legal penalties might follow.

Solution: So, why take a risk? An employee management platform can provide compliance software to help track and manage compliance requirements and ensure that remote employees adhere to company policies.

If you manage a global workforce working remotely or in a hybrid environment, you must be facing some of the challenges mentioned above. Fortunately, an employee management platform can tackle all these challenges in an effective and data-driven manner. Do you still need convincing? 

Read the blog to know how to choose the right employee management platform that caters to your unique needs. 

ZenAdmin: An End-to-end Employee Lifecycle Management Platform

ZenAdmin streamlines your organisation’s entire people operations and IT by creating a single source of truth for employee data. This allows you to automate most of the manual operations associated with employee lifecycle management. Having a centralised employee management tool enables you or your team to manage employee onboarding, procure devices, quickly set up workspaces, automate workflows, calculate payroll, track absence or efficiently handle employee offboarding.

So, are you ready to redefine the way you manage your remote employees with us?

Get a demo now!

FAQs on Managing a Global Workforce

1. What are the biggest challenges of managing a global workforce?
The main challenges include poor onboarding, communication gaps with support teams, time and attendance tracking issues, inadequate IT support, data security risks, and compliance difficulties.

2. How can companies improve onboarding for remote employees?
Using a workforce management tool automates routine onboarding tasks, provides digital forms, training materials, and structured checklists, ensuring a seamless, consistent, and impactful onboarding experience.

3. Why is time tracking important for global teams?
Accurate time and attendance tracking helps managers monitor productivity, manage schedules, handle time-off requests, and gain insights into workforce patterns across different time zones.

4. How does IT support affect global workforce productivity?
Without reliable IT support, remote employees face downtime due to software glitches, hardware failures, or connectivity issues. Workforce management platforms often include 24/7 IT support to resolve issues quickly.

5. What role does IT security play in managing a remote workforce?
Remote setups increase exposure to cyber risks. A workforce management tool ensures secure access, data encryption, and compliance monitoring to protect company data and maintain trust.

6. How can companies ensure compliance with global teams?
Workforce management platforms include compliance features that track regulations, automate policy enforcement, and reduce the risk of fines or penalties.

7. What is the best way to manage a global workforce?
The most effective way is to use an all-in-one workforce management platform like ZenAdmin, which centralizes employee data, automates IT and HR workflows, and ensures smooth operations across countries and time zones.