EOR: Your Winning Strategy for the New Season

Two weekends ago, the English Premier League started and as a lifelong West Ham United fan, I realised there are a huge amount of similarities between football (or as my US colleagues call it, soccer) and the successful delivery of Employer or Record (EOR) services.

It would be easy to draw upon the life lessons provided by that fictional manager, Ted Lasso but let's take a deeper look at the game, the structure and how I realised that the structure of Global Expansion was designed to create a football team spirit that ultimately leads to a successful ‘season’.?

In our EOR model, we measure success by how quickly we can onboard professionals, the longevity of our client relationships, and our compliance with local employment laws.

Think of each client as a football match, with employment laws as the referees. Just like in football, a strong team and structure are crucial to winning. But, as any fan knows, it's not always the win that stands out—sometimes, it's how you play the game.

The EOR team's role isn't always about securing a win for every client. Each situation needs careful consideration. Sometimes, it’s better to advise when EOR might not be necessary, helping the client make the right decision. At Global Expansion, our victory is in supporting our clients and creating lasting, positive memories.

EOR Structure

The team structure within your EOR delivery model needs to reflect the phrase coined by Ted Lasso (or more accurately Rinus Michels who introduced the system at Ajax in the 1970s - known in Dutch as ‘Totaalvoetbal’) of ‘Total Football’ in essence this means every player knowing their role and be free to play as required for the betterment of the team and ultimately the client.?

Each player who moves out of their position is replaced by another player from the same team.? As a West Ham fan I was brought up on the ‘Academy of Football’ and the importance of playing the game so I think of my team (Global Expansion) as your typical 4-4-2 formation.?

For the non-football fans, this means playing with a goalkeeper, four defenders, four midfielders and 2 strikers; this creates the ability to intensively press the opposition and transition play. Never forget that behind every successful team is a strong set of backroom staff, overseen by the directors (more on them later), of course as the ‘game’ develops the structure of the team and roles of the players continues to evolve.? ?

Goalkeeper

The goalkeeper is often seen as the last line of defence but is also the player who sees the development of every play, the structure of the team in each phase of play and the impact of each play that is made.? I see the goalkeeper as the Legal team within Global Expansion, there to not only act as the last line of defence but to help guide the play each time they have the ball and of course provide feedback to the players when required, evolving the pattern of play.

Defence

The four-player defence in my mind is made up of:

1.???? Employee Experience (Quality)

2.???? Compliance

3.???? Partnerships

4.???? Marketing

How does this defensive team work together and why do I see them in defence? This part of the team, like the goalkeeper, sees the play developing and helps build a response to the opposition.?

In EOR the ‘opposition’ play can take are variety of forms from the implementation of statutory obligations, the requirements of the business (how often do business timelines not align to HR requirements?), the wishes, concerns, demands or uninformed thought processes of the professional being employed.?

It’s the role of this unit, working alongside the rest of the team from the goalkeeper through to the midfield and attack to manage the opposition play and create new opportunities for their own team.

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Right Back - Employee Experience/Quality

This position ensures not just the quality of the service delivered to the professional being employed through an EOR solution but also the client as a whole.? They not only ensure the satisfaction of the employee but (and this is where the definition of winning is always to be considered) the wishes of the client and the management of expectations.?

There will be times when they will play the long ball to the strikers, using their feedback to enhance the client model or a ball through the midfield for the development team to enhance the new client proposition or across the defence to marketing to use feedback to attract new clients or players.? After all, the best players always want to play for the most successful teams.

Left Back - Marketing

Marketing isn't just about attracting new clients; it's also vital in other areas, much like a right back in soccer who isn't only focused on defence but also supports forward plays.

In an EOR business, the marketing team plays a crucial role in bringing messages to life for employees, helping them feel connected to both companies. They simplify complex processes and ensure that everyone clearly understands the messaging.

Central Defence - Compliance and Partnerships

In all teams, having a strong defensive pairing that works well together will set the foundations for long-term success.? Whether it is the partnerships team finding the partners (suppliers) to create a better value proposition or solving the challenges laid out in front of the client such as immigration obligations, shadow payroll, taxation, and recruitment - having partners to extend the EOR proposition is crucial to the success of the team.?

Likewise, the compliance team are there not only to defend the team by ensuring everyone has the right tools to make the appropriate plays but also to ensure the rules of the game (ABC, Data Security, DEI etc) are adopted and utilised at the appropriate times.?

The Midfield

The midfield is considered the engine room of a team from fast-paced wingers to a combination of creative and defensive central midfielders playing their part in the success of the team.?

Let’s look at their roles and how they impact the success of the Global Expansion EOR team.

Right wing - Payroll

The payroll team are a crucial link between defence, midfield and attack.? Regularly running up and down the wings as the link between the team members (monthly or sometimes bi-weekly ensuring everyone is paid is something that is often taken for granted but key to the successful play of the team).?

Left wing - Employee Managers

The employee managers at Global Expansion, acting as the single point of contact for the employees are like their right wing counterparts; another crucial link between defence, midfield and attack.? They represent and manage the wishes of the employees, ensure they remain compliant and manage each aspect of their employment journey.?

Defensive Central Midfielder - Operations

The defensive central midfielders are there to control the pace of the game, either slowing play down when the time comes to reflect, check and manage expectations or speeding play up by directing additional resources to the areas of play that need assistance to meet the client's needs.??

Creative/Attacking Midfielder - Development

You might expect me, as a Director of International Development at Global Expansion, to be the striker, scoring goals. But I see my role as more of a playmaker—bringing the right teammates into action, sharing knowledge from the team, and setting our clients up for success.

At the start of this piece, I should have defined what success is, and from my perspective at Global Expansion, success is not securing clients, true success comes from retaining and developing clients.

This is why over 50% of our new business comes from clients looking for a more personalised client and employee EOR experience.

Attack

In the 4-4-2 formation, there are two strikers, working in partnership to score goals for the team.? As mentioned above, I see the goals being the successful management of clients (not onboarding employees or winning new business but the retention and service delivery of the clients that are managed by Global Expansion).?

Each client has a dedicated Client Service Manager, responsible for the strategic management of the engagement - who and when should EOR professionals be on or off-boarded, what trends are occurring in the marketplace, analysing the feedback from the left wing (GX Employee Managers) and working with the defence to ensure the latest compliance processes are followed.?

The other striker is the Finance Manager that Global Expansion appoints to each client, working closely with the CSM they are there to ensure all financial reporting and payroll processes are not only managed but nurtured and developed. A key benefit of Global Expansion is the Finance Manager's ability to tailor the invoicing and reporting to the needs of the client and it’s not a static process within Global Expansion.??

The wider/support team?

Each team requires a whole range of personnel and roles to help ensure not only the successful running of the team but also the ongoing development and training of the team,? seasons come and go but the roles are there to ensure the long-term success and growth, evolving to respond to the changes in the marketplace.??

In my mind, some of these roles include:

Physio - Learning & Development

Learning and development is crucial at Global Expansion, whilst self-learning is promoted, having external trainers support the team alongside internal training programmes ensures that all players remain focussed and match fit.?

Player Recruitment - Talent Acquisition

To stay successful, every team needs an active recruitment program. As players gain experience, they may need to shift roles. At Global Expansion, we aim to keep everyone on the team, but sometimes that means moving to a different position, joining another team within the company, or taking on a role in the broader support network.

Talent acquisition working with L&D helps make this happen and ensures the new players coming in have role models to help them develop their skills.

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Head Coach - Chief Operating Officer

Going back to my beloved Hammers, each team needs a successful Head Coach and whilst West Ham has just started our journey with Julen Lopetegui at Global Expansion I see the Head Coach as the COO of the company, there to influence all aspects of the business, to direct the season and deploy the best players in the best positions.

To quote a Danny Dyer advert for Sky ‘In Jules we trust’ and the same is true at Global Expansion, having an effective COO who is part of the team is crucial to our long-term success.??

Board - President

The best boards for football teams are the ones where the board or Presidents are truly involved or integral to the team. Can I liken the Present of Global Expansion, James Peters to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in football terms (in attitude and enthusiasm yes, but he may not fully appreciate the correlation as he played the oval-shaped game) but the passion of a President creates the culture of the company and having a President, personally involved in the team is always the starting point for success.?

Just like my dreams…

What will happen with the Hammers this year remains to be seen, but optimism is high.? (It’s the start of the season and so far in the Premier League we’ve won lost one and won one but the passion appears to be there).

I’m a Hammer because my family was before me.? Our family lived two streets from Upton Park and some of my formative memories come from walking to the game, standing on the North Bank with my brother and enjoying the roller-coaster of emotions that the Hammers and every other sports team creates for their fans.?

It’s funny how those experiences, not just the wins but the various moments of a game continue to be discussed and that’s what I believe we want to create at Global Expansion; we want to continue to deliver the team experience for our clients and employees, we want to share your successes, be part of your journey and become part of your ongoing memories.

For more information on Global Expansion visit: www.globalexpansion.com

Andy Elson - [email protected] ?

PS.? If you are a football fan, whoever you support - have a great season.? C’mon you Irons!