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Today, remote work allows employees to choose where they want to work from. New offerings, such as remote work visas, gives employees the opportunity to relocate worldwide.
This can leave you and your company trying to figure out how to compliantly employ professionals in their chosen international destinations.
Your company might want to send a local employee to a new market to help establish your business there and train new team members, or you may have found an international candidate who is not a resident in your intended destination.
Regardless of the reason, you must know how to employ expats across the world compliantly.
Who qualifies as an expat?
According to Expat Financial, “A person living/working in a country other than his or her country of citizenship is considered an expat.”
Expats can either be local employees sent by your company to another country or international candidates that you employ outside of their country of residence.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of working with expats?
Hiring expats can have a positive impact on your international growth. However, learning and preparing for the associated obstacles and disadvantages will help ensure you make the best hiring decision.
Hiring expats can have a positive impact on your international growth. Click To TweetAdvantages of working with expats:
- Efficiency:
When you send a current employee to another country as an expat, there is a higher probability of obtaining faster and better business results. A current employee already has a relationship with your company, which will lead to better communication and less need for constant supervision.
- Company knowledge:
When you use an expat for your international growth, you are entrusting your business to someone who knows your company — this employee can take your missions and goals and confidently speak for your company internationally.
- Expanded talent pool:
Finding the right talent in another country can be a challenge. Expats can be a great solution if your company can´t find the right person — you can send a local employee to that country.
- Local knowledge:
If, for example, you want to hire in a market where you don’t know the local language, looking for a team member who lives in that country as an expat could be the perfect solution.
You can find an expat who is familiar with the local language and culture. This slight advantage will make your entire venture easier and give you a higher probability of success.
Disadvantages of working with expats:
- Expenses
Sending an employee abroad involves significant expenses. While finding the best international talent comes with the costs of benefits, a local employee will expect that and more.
From travel expenses to housing and childcare assistance, sending a local employee to another country is a decision that needs to be thoroughly evaluated.
- Logistics
Let’s say that you have already agreed on the expenses. How do you get the employee and his or her family from one place to the other? There is a significant amount of logistics that accompany a move to another country.
International moving companies, documentation, temporary housing, and travel are all factors that need to be planned before sending anybody overseas.
- Compliant employment
Once you have agreed on terms with an expat, whether a local employee or an international hire, you still have to figure out how to employ and pay the individual in another country legally.
This task can be even more challenging if you have to deal with in-country registration while simultaneously figuring out how to employ an expat.
How do you choose between hiring expats and hiring international employees?
Now that you know the advantages and disadvantages of employing expats, you might still be hesitant about whether to hire a local employee or an expat.
The truth is that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. Every international venture is different, and there are various situations where expats can be a great asset.
The truth is that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. Every international venture is different, and there are various situations where expats can be a great asset. Click To TweetFor example, let’s say that a U.S.-based company is expanding into the UK. It won’t be difficult to find a local employee who is comfortable moving and won’t have to face common cultural challenges like the language barrier.
On the other hand, if a U.S.-based company were to expand to Japan, a local employee would probably be at a loss. Without knowledge of the language, culture, and local customs, it is unlikely that the venture would be successful.
In this case, hiring an expat already living in Japan might be a great option since you can find a native English speaker who also speaks Japanese and knows the lay of the land. In this case, hiring an expat who already resides in Japan can also save you the costs and logistics that come from sending a local employee to another country.
Hiring expats is a great way to get your foot in the door. However, every new market will require local employees. Toremain compliant while registering your company in another country, you will need to hire a full staff, which includes local experts in specialties such as:
- Legal
- Payroll
- Taxes
- Human Resources
- Translators
Setting up an international entity while transferring and hiring expats and international employees is an expensive endeavor, and it is not necessarily one that is always guaranteed to pay off.
Today, many companies turn to global partners that can help them hire international employees without setting up an entity.
Among the options, Globalization Partners’ global employment platform allows your company to hire the best worldwide talent while protecting you from compliance risks that come with global growth.
How can you compliantly hire expats through our global employment platform?
Our global employment platform enables companies to hire top international talent without setting up international entities.
Your company can employ expats through the platform’s compliant entities already in place across the world. Our solution handles payroll, taxes, benefits, and HR functions while leaving complete employee management to you.
The difference between working with an Employer of Record like Globalization Partners and models such as staffing, outsourcing, and temporary agencies is that you have complete management control, and you are the only one who decides who to hire and terminate.
In addition, our global employment platform allows you to offer world-class benefits to your employees. This enables you to transfer and attract top talent across the world. If you want to send local employees to another country, you can ensure they are compliantly employed across the world in a very short amount of time through our platform.
And what about compliance? When you hire expats through our global employment platform, you can rest easy, because we take on 100 percent of the responsibility for compliance.
We invite you to learn more about transferring employees globally and hiring through an EOR.
