The Employer of Record Market is Growing: Here’s How To Choose the Right Partner
Omnipresent
The global employment platform created by global employment experts. Compliantly hire & manage employees worldwide.
The Employer of Record market is growing and becoming more sophisticated - and the key benefits of working with an EOR are growing more numerous with every passing year.?
They’re faster and cheaper than setting up a legal entity. They make it easier to hire, onboard and manage key talent in specific global markets. They can help you stay compliant with local employment laws.
In short, the right EOR provider can help you scale a global business and simplify the complexity of employing international teams.? But there may come a time when you realise your EOR provider is no longer delivering the value, expertise or the simplicity that you need it to.?
Every year, Omnipresent works with globally distributed companies that need to switch their EOR provider.
Below are just some of the consequences of choosing the wrong provider at a time when value for money is paramount.?
Businesses encounter unseen costs or complexities
Your existing EOR could send you an invoice with costs that are either too aggregated (e.g. you don’t understand why you’re liable for certain tax, benefit or pension liabilities in a specific country) or too convoluted(e.g. you have to manually copy, paste and calculate fees and charges in a spreadsheet).?
The EOR lacks the human touch
Many EOR providers now offer their services via a platform and technology solution (including yours truly).?
And while a platform? may automate many of the tasks synonymous with hiring and managing global employees, such as onboarding, payroll and invoicing, it’s increasingly common that global companies need more than just a technology solution backed up by a customer support function (though this is still very important).
Some EORs are insufficiently proactive in helping businesses navigate global employment?
Global employment laws and regulatory environments are changing all the time. New laws surround worker classification in the USA and new maternity leave and flexible working entitlements in the UK are just two recent examples of why you may need to stay ahead of the curve when managing global teams.?
Companies need proactive support in identifying new employment laws or spotting hidden risks that could stifle their global growth.?
But any EOR switching strategy needs to place your employees at its heart. After all, ensuring or indeed improving staff retention is likely to be one of your key reasons for making the switch in the first place!?
So how to evaluate the right vendor in an increasingly competitive market??
If you're a business leader or HR executive assessing an EOR provider, we'd always recommend asking yourself these 5 questions.?
1. Does this provider offer alternative employment models in countries where EOR models face regulatory pressure?
In the previous section, we explored an example of a country where the EOR partnership model is made more complex by German employment law. Does the EOR you’re evaluating have alternative employment models (e.g. PEO and VEO) that ensure you’re not limited by regulatory pressures in new markets where you need to hire??
2. Are you buying into a platform or a partnership??
A truly empowering, employee centric EOR provider needs to offer you a full partnership. Specifically, this means legal, HR, benefits and payroll experts who can support you and your employees in navigating the different legal, financial and HR complexities you’ll face as you seek to grow a global business.?
Examples of this partnership model could include.?
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3. Does your prospective EOR provider offer transparent & flexible pricing??
When you’re evaluating an EOR provider, it can be tempting to think that ‘value for money’ is synonymous with ‘low cost’.?
But in an ever-changing global marketplace, we’d recommend looking for an EOR provider that offers transparent, flexible pricing that can be more easily customised to your growing business.?
4. Can your EOR provider support you at every stage of your business’s growth??
Many businesses typically think that EOR is simply there to save you the cost of establishing a legal entity in a new country. And while this is still the core use case for many companies looking to engage with an EOR, the providers of tomorrow can and will support you at every stage of your company’s growth.?
5. How robust is the EOR’s local expertise??
You’ll often hear EOR providers talk about their global reach. But is this global reach backed up by in-depth local expertise?? Can you count on support from US employment law experts when you’re hiring contractors in the USA? Are you able to access a wide range of trusted benefits providers when you’re trying to align your employee benefits in advance of an M&A??
For many businesses, the EOR sector is an unknown quantity. But at a time when your company’s HR capacity might be limited and compliance when moving into new markets is crucial, it’s vital to ask yourself these questions as you seek out a potential partner.?
The Omni-Outlook
From scaling to selling: How startup leaders can prep their international workforces for M&A
M&A can be an exciting next chapter for some European startups. But as your business scales, so does your global workforce, bringing with it hidden complexities that could ultimately harm your chances of a deal.
Join us for this exclusive talk in partnership with Sifted. We’re excited to have our Co-General Counsel and resident M&A expert,? James Mallet, on the panel.?
We’ll cover?
Sign up here for the event and we’ll see you on the 31st July
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About us
Global Team Trends is brought to you by Omnipresent.? Omnipresent is the only global employment platform built & supported by global employment experts in legal, benefits and HR.?
Our Employer of Record solution lets you easily and compliantly hire teams in a country where you don’t have a legal entity.?
Get in touch if you want to know more about who we are and how we can help you.?