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Businesses in general, and localization teams in particular, are under pressure to determine how quickly to transfer (new) staff to new roles or to reskill existing ones – while supporting them remotely in effective ways. This requires the HR function to be much nimbler as it’s tasked with developing the guardrails for hybrid work models to support this evolution in roles and responsibilities.

HR May Require Upskilling Itself to Better Support Localization

As localization staffing requirements evolve to require candidates with expertise in natural language processing, machine learning, accessibility, and product management, HR roles must evolve as well to match recruiting efforts and benefits packages to work-from-anywhere models. Localization teams also require HR support beyond the recruiting stage to develop strong career paths to retain team members.

• Localization depends on HR to help develop flexible working models. To attract and retain current and future talent, firms find themselves playing catch-up to design remote collaboration models. HR has a huge role to play in designing and rolling them out. Although localization teams often have been geographically dispersed for many years, they may need HR support to implement tweaks as employees use home offices and other teams join them from asynchronous, non-office-based locations. They also need HR to support a digital-first framework that doesn’t meander between “one size fits all” and “no-rules-for-anyone” policies.
• HR can benefit from upskilling itself to better support localization personnel. It often lacks insights to efficiently staff, train, and manage careers for the localization team. Corporate HR staff usually don’t understand contract requirements, benefits packages, vacation and working hours schedules, or labor laws in locales other than their headquarters location – and often can’t or won’t accommodate them. Rather than leaving localization managers to struggle on their own to build valid career paths, HR needs to pitch in.

Three Actions to Take to Improve HR Collaboration

Be proactive with your HR colleagues. Sit down and explain exactly what you need from them now – and into the future. Outlined in the figure below are just a few examples of areas that may be ripe for discussion to help you get started.