Prior to 2020, the use of international contractors and staff was typically seen only in large businesses. With the rise of remote work, small to midsize businesses began to realize the benefits of hiring contractors and even staff from other countries.
In 2024, 37% of American small businesses outsourced some of their business internationally. This could be as small as hiring a programmer to something as significant as an entire department being outsourced.
This means that any productivity solution you use has to have the capacity to offer collaboration across languages and borders. Google Workspace is that solution. If you want full multilingual functionality, the ideal package is Google Workspace for Business with Gemini for Workspace - Google's AI tool.
But don't take our word for it - take a look at how some other businesses are uniting a global workforce with Google.
How other companies are globally collaborating with Google Workspace
While these companies are not small businesses, they have been using Google Workspace to connect internationally in ways that small businesses like yours can use too.
Equifax
Equifax set out to find a solution that would help them achieve what they call "ruthless collaboration," and chose Google Workspace to do it. As a global credit reporting agency, Equifax has offices in over 20 countries. They were able to deploy it globally in 48 hours securely, which was very important considering the financial nature of their business.
They say that it has made their international mergers and acquisitions a smoother process as they are able to onboard teams from their newly acquired companies into the company ecosystem easily with Google Workspace.
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive operates in over 130 countries, making it absolutely necessary for its productivity suite to connect staff who speak multiple languages. Google Chat, Google Drive, and Google Meet are the apps they use the most to connect and collaborate.
With Google Chat, and specifically the use of spaces in Google Chat, multiple teams can coordinate their efforts worldwide. "That communal space helps us build connections that we couldn't over email, and that's vital for a global organization that doesn't see each other a lot in person," they say in a blog about their Google Workspace use. It also takes the pressure off overloaded email inboxes, which we can all get on board with.
Their frequent Google Chat use helps them centralize global account management, support clients from anywhere, and give employees in more far-flung locations the confidence that they are part of and supported by a global team.
Gemini for Workspace - more multilingual support in Google Apps
A massive part of global collaboration is breaking down language barriers. With the Gemini add-on for Google Workspace, you can bust through these barriers and make team collaboration easy. It supports over 40 commonly spoken languages.
Google recently rolled out more multilingual capacity for Google Workspace apps for the most commonly spoken languages, including French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean.
This means you can send emails in your target's chosen language and much more. While Google's multilingual support is robust, it should probably be confined to internal use with your team rather than using the final results on social media or any outward-facing campaigns unless you can have the content edited by a professional translator prior to launch.
Google Meet: Translate what people are saying in real time
With Google Meet, you can get translated captions for your meetings in any commonly spoken language, as well as some less common ones. As of June 2024, 69 languages were supported, with Google adding new ones all the time. This functionality is only available with the Gemini for Workspace add-on.
The ability to have face-to-face conversations with people is a big part of what makes Google Workspace ideal for globally connected workforces. Rather than sending an email with requirements and hoping it will be interpreted correctly, you can have standup meetings with your global team to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Google Calendar: Scheduling across time zones made easy
Scheduling meetings with multiple users across different time zones can be a challenge. With shared calendars and the recent ability to create a booking link for each user, that challenge is erased in Google Calendar. Just check the shared calendars of the people you want to invite to see if they are free. You'll be able to see everyone's blocked-off time.
You can then use Gemini to create that event for you; you just need to add the guests yourself (for now).
Remote working tips apply to global collaboration
Everything you did or are doing to work remotely is adaptable for global team collaboration. Shared drives, Google Forms, creating email lists with Google Groups; all of that can be repurposed for working across borders too.
Businesses need to work smarter with a unified team to make it through tougher economic times, and these habits will help the business to scale through a period of growth. While most small businesses try to hire in-country, the economic reality is that there are some functions that can be outsourced for a fraction of the cost. This money saved can be used to grow the domestic workforce for other jobs which promote business growth.
If you want to learn more about how you can use Google Workspace coupled with Gemini for Workspace to scale your globally distributed workforce, get in touch for a demonstration today.
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