[Wikimedia-l] About the concentration of resources in SF (it was: "Communication plans for community engagement"

[Brad Jorsch (Anomie)]

(note this reply represents only my personal thoughts, and is in no
way at all anything official)

On Wed, Jul 24, 2013 at 11:44 AM, Richard Symonds
<richard.symonds at wikimedia.org.uk> wrote:
>>
>> *We are a global movement with global projects and global goals.*
>
>
> Indeed we are! But allow me to play devil's advocate here:
>
>    - How would you run HR meetings? Is it feasible to use videoconferencing?

I don't know if HR meetings are specially problematic, but WMF has
plenty of meetings using videoconferencing. Although it is a bit
annoying sometimes, it mostly works.

>    - What are the additional costs involved with this approach? Are there
>    local taxes that would need administrating and paying? Would you need a HR
>    team who can handle

Don't forget the costs for office space, supplies, equipment,
utilities, support staff, and so on too. And I can't even guess
whether it might increase or decrease overall travel costs.

>    - Does it increase the WMF's liability if they have a permanent staff
>    presence in another country (eg., EU data protection laws, or UK libel
>    laws)?

Wouldn't surprise me.

>    - What are the insurance implications of staff remote-working from (say)
>    Ghana or India?
>    - If employees from one country are entitled to certain privileges by
>    law - eg paid paternity leave, or minimum break times - does that
>    automatically get extended to others around the world? If not, will it
>    create resentment between people who do the same job in different countries?

I imagine just having to be aware of all the different laws and
requirements in all those different countries and the extra work to
comply with them all would be an issue. Probably a bigger one than
just deciding whether Fooians should also get a benefit that must be
provided to Barrians.