Challenges of a Global Company

Either through acquisitions or expansions your company has gone global. You now have opportunities in additional markets, but also face a new set of challenges. 

These challenges may be cultural challenges, such as adapting to a wide range of business environments, and operational challenges, such as setting up lines of communication which allow your company to function as a global company, rather than just a company that happens to have a lot of offices in different locations.

Some of the common challenges that companies face when establishing a global footing are as follows:

Human Resources and Talent Management

Companies need to focus on having the right people in the right place when executing a global strategy; as human capital is at the core of driving a successful global business. This requires providing ongoing coaching to your executives and leaders, so they can adapt to the different cultural environments, while working on their business management and leadership skills. 

At Volaris, we recognize that cultivating the next generation of leaders is essential to continued growth and sustainability. Hence, we encourage our leaders to develop a long term perspective, and provide them with the autonomy to make decisions, in order to meet a clear set of goals and objectives in those global markets. 

We also empower our leaders with the necessary tools to succeed in a global environment, through regular performance reviews, mentoring, and corporate summits. This helps keep our teams motivated, attracts better employees, engages our customers, and helps our leaders manage growth more effectively.

Catering to Different Markets

It is crucial to understand what works in your domestic market might not work in other countries around the globe. Thus, when expanding into a global market, your company needs to be conscious about the perceptions, needs, preferences, and other attributes that affect the decision making process of the customers in that market in order to customize your solutions.

The same concept applies to the products that you offer in those global markets. Some products might qualify as global products when they solve a common problem for all your international markets. However, forcing customers in a new market to adjust to all your domestic products might not be well received. Therefore, you need to conduct a thorough market analysis to deliver localized products and develop processes that satisfy your customer’s needs. 

You also need to consider tailoring your marketing efforts to match the new market’s preferences. For example; adjusting your brand positioning, translating your marketing materials and corporate website, customizing your sales cycle, and evaluating your digital marketing and communications strategy.

Communication

Having your operations spread out across multiple countries and time zones can make it tricky to communicate. This also slows down the decision making process as there are only a few hours a day of common “awake” time. 

At Volaris, we encourage our leaders to regularly use the company intranet site as a tool to collaborate with peers across multiple businesses, regions and countries electronically. Many of the academies we have put together in the past have proved to be an effective method to 
share best practices, and allow our businesses to collaborate with each other while understanding each other’s goals.

We also host quarterly corporate summits with general managers and leaders from all over the globe, as we firmly believe that these summits play a crucial role in bringing people together; in order for them to learn, share, and grow. 

Global companies must continually work on creating opportunities such as these, which encourage a face-to-face interaction between their teams, as this can definitely help boost team morale and increase collaboration.

Remember

Depending on which industry you are in, you will face additional challenges that could affect the way you run your business in those global markets. It’s always important to conduct a thorough research on your competition, legal regulations, and other factors relevant to your industry, prior to making the big move.

Your Thoughts

What challenges has your company faced in pursuing a global strategy? How has your company worked on overcoming those challenges? Let us know in the comments section below.

Remember to tweet, share, and like this post if you found it useful!