With almost 90% of organizations now embracing some form of “workplace flexibility”, the old single-office model of work is no longer relevant. But flexibility without intention creates friction fast. It’s not just that distributed employees don’t benefit from the simple camaraderie an office provides: Being spread across time zones stretches communication thin and creates invisible silos. The result is teams that look global on paper but behave local in practice.

Building a unified global team is possible — but only if HR leads the design. Here’s how to do it with clarity, equity, and cultural intelligence.

1. Hire problem solvers

It all starts with hiring the kinds of people that can thrive in a global environment. Managers should look for people who can thrive amid the uncertainty and complexity inherent in global organizations, and HR should emphasize the importance of skills like communication, problem-solving, and comfort with ambiguity.

Distributed teams often face more uncertainty than in-office teams due to delays in responses, unclear workflows, and the lack of nonverbal cues. Studies show 86% of remote workers report some level of burnout, compared with 70% of their in-office peers.  Global employees, therefore, need the ability to handle these challenges productively rather than being overwhelmed.

But knowing which soft skills you need is only half the work — you also need the right interview techniques to spot them. Despite being critical in a global workplace, only 60% of employers actively evaluate candidates for problem-solving abilities. A CV alone won’t give you the full picture: Ask candidates to describe a time they handled conflict, collaborated across locations, or managed a challenging project. Problem-solving tasks can also reveal whether a candidate is suited for distributed teamwork.

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