Spurred by increased international employment, global expansion seems to be everywhere. Case in point: Comparably shows that Squarespace is making inroads around the world. Rahi is entering Africa. And Elsevier is heading deeper into India.
It’s not hard to understand why organizations would want to go big. Heading overseas opens doors to untapped talent pools and eager audiences. Yet moving into unfamiliar markets halfway around the earth can be fraught with challenges. Some of those challenges can be quite hard to overcome.
Consider all the different international employment laws, for instance. Regulations can vary widely, not just by country but also by municipality. Businesses deal with this issue in the United States, of course. However, with expansions to foreign countries, this problem can be harder to navigate and resolve.
Another hurdle is determining fair and equitable salaries. The value of currencies isn’t 1:1. Consequently, what happens when a company based in North America wants to expand its presence to the United Kingdom? Or the Czech Republic? Or Japan? How do pay expectations hold up? And with so many workers demanding better paychecks due to inflation, yesterday’s pays aren’t necessarily the “going rate” anymore.
Then there’s the conundrum of culture. Building and managing an international workforce involves weighing and merging the needs of people from wide-ranging backgrounds. Concessions must be made when so many people from unique experiences come together.
In other words, it’s not just enough to want to go global. You have to put effort into the process. And part of your effort should include thoughtful planning and well-considered partnerships with organizations such as Remote.
Remote: Shepherding Clients Through International Expansion Trouble Spots
Remote serves as an international employer of record for the businesses it works with. As an employer of record, Remote helps companies onboard employees in other countries by hiring those employees through Remote’s own local legal entities. So, while the employees may work for ABC Company, Remote acts as the employer on paper — while managing other HR functions like payroll, benefits, tax withholding, stock options, and compliance.
How does this work in practice, though? Let’s say your brand wants to start doing business in Lisbon, Portugal. It’s a terrific choice and becoming a much-desired location for expansion. The main point or issue occurs because you don’t necessarily want to go through the process of opening a legal entity there. Instead, you just want to hire some employees who happen to live in Portugal.
Rather than taking on the expansive human resources administrative work in-house, you would work with an employer of record (EOR). Not only do you bypass the need to establish a legal local entity or hire global contractors, but you also gain all the advantages that come with hiring an employer of record. Here’s how Remote is helping companies overcome the challenges of international expansion.
1. Your payroll deliveries will be streamlined.
No matter what countries your workers come from, they all want to get paid on time and in the correct amount. Unfortunately, this can be very difficult to achieve if you’re trying to pay employees who live overseas. Not only is it tough to calculate currency rates in real-time, but trying to juggle withholdings can seem overwhelming.
Working with an EOR like Remote ensures that all workers get the money they expect when they expect it. As a result, your employees remain satisfied, and you never have to deal with costly payroll mistakes.
2. Your company will remain compliant throughout its expansion.
As mentioned before, countries have specific rules around everything from employee work hours to acceptable benefits. Remaining compliant would necessitate that you learn and follow all the rules for every place your employees work. Though not an impossible task, compliance takes quite a bit of legwork and financial outlay to get right.
Because Remote is accustomed to working overseas, it keeps up with all employer-related laws. If anything changes, Remote’s team knows. In other words, you don’t have to spend all your efforts or resources to reduce your chance of risk. Remote takes on the compliance risks of international employment on your behalf.
3. Your staff’s administrative burdens won’t be as high.
You may be a small operation unable to successfully incorporate overseas employees’ paperwork into your flow. Or, you may have enough people on your administrative team to manage the ins and outs of an international workforce. Either way, do you want to add yet another task to your administrators’ plates?
Many people who handle your payroll and human resources paperwork have in-country skills and knowledge. However, most won’t be experts on topics like foreign taxes or worker classifications.
Upskilling them appropriately would likely be cost-prohibitive. Additionally, they may find it difficult to incorporate their new responsibilities with old ones. Remote makes sure they can focus on doing their best without becoming overworked.
4. You can onboard global workers quickly.
It’s hardly a secret that the American labor market is tight. Accordingly, many organizations are going out of the country for talent. Getting any workers set up with payroll, benefits, and more can be a time-consuming process.
It only gets more time-consuming when you’re trying to onboard workers from other countries. Even if they speak your language, certain aspects of international employment may have cultural differences across borders. Accordingly, your in-house staffers could spend untold hours helping new coworkers. This just isn’t efficient.
Remote has local expertise in more than 60 countries around the world, which means you can hire like a local no matter where you go. So imagine how impressed your international hires will be when you can offer a streamlined, culturally informed onboarding process that demonstrates how much you want them to love working for your company.
One thing’s for certain. You want to hire the best people you can, no matter where those people might live. As your employer of record, Remote gives you the freedom to realize these ambitious goals, positioning your enterprise as not just an industry leader but a global industry leader.
Image Credit: Vanessa Garcia; Pexels; Thanks!
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