How to Hire Overseas Quickly & Easily

As the world becomes ever more connected, a growing number of companies are choosing to build overseas workforces. Many of the traditional barriers to overseas hiring, including language differences, complex legal requirements, and high up-front costs, have fallen away.

Despite many positive changes, however, employers that want to build remote teams still face obstacles. And the process of setting up a foreign legal entity and navigating relevant rules and regulations requires significant resources. As a result, overseas hiring has largely been the domain of large corporations.

So, can smaller businesses still take advantage of foreign talent? In practically all cases, the answer is a resounding “yes.” Small, medium, and even micro employers have access to several mechanisms for quickly, easily, and cost-effectively recruiting overseas employees.

Many of the traditional barriers to overseas hiring, including language differences, complex legal requirements, and high up-front costs, have fallen away.

In this post, we’re going to look specifically at “employers of record” (EORs), or “global professional employment organizations” (PEOs), and explore how they can help you build a highly-skilled overseas team.

Why Should You Consider Hiring Overseas?

Overseas hiring has two main benefits. First, access to foreign labor markets allows you to fill skill gaps in your current team for what will often be a lower cost than hiring locally. Sometimes, skills shortages in an employer’s home country mean that it’s not even possible to rely on the local labor force.

Do You Need to Set Up A Separate Legal Entity?

Many employers assume that to hire overseas they need to establish a company in the jurisdiction in which they’ll be recruiting. While many companies follow this route, it is by no means the only correct approach.

Setting up a new legal entity is a complicated, resource-intensive process. And if an organization doesn’t have the necessary legal, linguistic, and cultural expertise in-house, it will also need to hire outside consultants.

Many countries, particularly in Europe, allow organizations to set up less complex legal frameworks, such as branch offices, which afford more or less the same freedoms as having a company.

Alternatively, it is also possible to enlist the help of an employer of record, or EOR, which hires individuals on your behalf. In most cases, this is by far the most cost-effective solution.

What Is an Employer of Record (EOR) or Professional Employment Organization (PEO)?

The terms “employer of record” and...

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