Expanding into overseas markets and hiring a remote workforce is a daunting venture. More so in the biomedical industry, where the stakes are even higher.
On the surface, setting up a remote expansion for a biomedical company is the same as it is in every other business; you identify your potential market, scope out the competition, plan your strategy, and move in.
But when clients become patients and your products could potentially save lives, the barriers—and the pitfalls—are far greater. Here at AYP, we offer 5 steps to set your overseas teams up for success, and how you can make use of a PEO or EOR to carry them out.
Tip 1: Establish a Country-Specific Strategy
Before you start identifying what roles you’ll be hiring for, it pays to build an in-depth understanding of the markets in your chosen country of expansion. Some markets are reached mostly by direct entry from biotech and biomedical companies, while for others, you may have to establish a partnership with a local entity.
A specialised PEO that’s familiar with the local education, laws and cultural atmosphere can help you gather the necessary research, so you can hit the ground running with a remote workforce that’s tailored to your new market.
Tip 2: Cover Your Legal Bases
Many biomedical companies set their sights on Asia when the cancer treatment market grew 40% from 2015 to 2022. However, countries such as China and Japan have stringent regulations that require data from local clinical trials before new drugs can be approved.
Your EOR or PEO is instrumental in establishing a legal entity for hiring purposes, and a PEO can also help ensure that your local team is compliant with all qualifications and licenses. Trust is everything in the biomedical field, and even small missteps and oversights can throw a dent in your organisation’s market perception.
Tip 3: Set Up a Holistic Local Presence
One of the key issues with a remote workforce is adjusting to time differences. Having a team on the ground with the expertise at their fingertips and the agency to make use of it will nix the issue of delays from having to touch base with your headquarters constantly before making low- to mid-level business decisions.
Tip 4: Expand Your Footprint
Utilise existing local resources in the country of expansion to identify potential partners in the region, or promising markets in neighbouring countries that you may not have explored directly. This allows you to enter previously untapped or difficult-to-reach markets with your biomedical solutions.
Unlike the simplicity of an EOR, PEO professionals often have a wealth of market knowledge and resources at their fingertips to point you in the right direction.
Tip 5: Support Your Overseas Teams
While other industries suffered with the advent of COVID-19, the global biotechnology industry boomed. The market is expected to continue growing to be worth US $1.7 trillion by 2030, at a compound growth rate of 8.7% per year. But with a high demand comes increased pressure. Don’t skimp on the work-life balance and health of your overseas teams.
Here at AYP, our PEO professionals can help you empower your remote workforce, boosting employee engagement and maintaining productivity anywhere in the world you want to call home.
Featured Content
1. I Believe in the Hybrid Work Model. Here’s Why (ft Lester Lim)
2. 5 Strategies for implementing remote work in manufacturing
