International remote work guide for employers

In today’s interconnected world, businesses are increasingly turning to a global remote workforce to stay competitive and innovative. Remote work, outsourcing, and the strategic move toward global expansion are remaking the employment landscape. However, these trends allow organizations to expand into new markets, entice them with a broader talent pool, and provide them with access to specialized skills. A DEI credit also brings a fresh perspective that helps drive innovation and opens up your eyes to new ways of doing things. By adopting global remote work solutions, you can break free from traditional boundaries and unlock new opportunities for success.

However, managing a global workforce presents unique challenges. Companies must navigate through complex international labor laws, establish compliant systems for paying employees working across international borders, and track productivity across multiple time zones. Without the right support, these obstacles can be overwhelming. Global Squirrels makes it simpler by giving you tailored solutions to help you manage payroll, adhere to compliance, and track productivity. With our platform, you can be sure of overcoming these challenges, allowing them to concentrate on scaling their operations and international growth.

3 trends driving international employment

Rise of remote workers

The rise of remote work has reshaped the global employment landscape, creating opportunities for your business to build a global remote workforce. The WEF estimates that 92 million of the world’s 380 million digital jobs can be done remotely by 2030, up 25% from today. These roles work in industries such as IT, finance, and marketing, and they have massive potential for both employers and workers.

Remote roles with higher salaries include software developers and financial risk specialists, and wages are expected to go well over $75,000. Jobs such as paralegals and graphic designers fall into the range of $42,500 to $75,000, and customer service representatives fall below $42,500. With 218 job types identified as remote-ready, you can leverage global remote work solutions to access diverse talent pools regardless of location. However, addressing challenges like outdated tax laws and wage undercutting is crucial to maximizing the potential of the global remote workforce.

Growth in outsourcing

Through the past years, the outsourcing industry has seen a lot of growth, and the global shared services market is worth $41.37 billion in 2023. It is predicted to hit $177.27 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 23.1%. The cost savings, which can be as much as 30 percent, are the driving force behind this growth as organizations take advantage of cost-saving measures such as shared services and technologies like AI and machine learning. These innovations have enhanced efficiency and enabled the rise of a global remote workforce, allowing you to access skilled talent across borders.

The increasing demand for global remote work solutions has further propelled outsourcing growth, centralizing operations like IT, finance, and HR to reduce duplication and streamline processes. As the market continues to grow, shared services allow organizations to keep their eyes on the ball and work on their core goals while providing unparalleled efficiency and scalability and meeting the growing needs of a globally connected workforce.

Global expansion 

2024 represents an opportunity for you to expand globally and enjoy opportunities for growth and innovation, with a projected global economic growth rate of 2.5%. Companies are capitalizing on the power of a global remote workforce, enabling them to access diverse talent pools and scale their operations seamlessly across borders. The adoption of global remote work solutions is driving cost efficiency, operational flexibility, and agility in navigating an increasingly interconnected world. With global trade increasing at a steady rate, your business utilizing these solutions is well-placed to outstrip competitors, expand into new markets, and enhance its global reach. With such strategies, the companies are not only adjusting to that current economic landscape, but they are building the groundwork for their lasting durability and enduring development.

Benefits of hiring a global remote workforce

Focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)

One of the benefits of building an international remote working strategy is its focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

Enhanced diversity

• A global remote workforce enables teams with diverse backgrounds, cultures, and experiences, fostering creativity and innovation.
• Research shows that companies with balanced management teams are 27% more likely to do better financially and 70% more likely to enter new markets.

Increased access to underrepresented groups

• Geographic barriers fall away when you hire workers remotely, and the possibilities open up to underrepresented groups such as people with disabilities and from varied socio-economic backgrounds.
• This inclusivity enhances workplace culture and helps meet diverse customer needs effectively.

Cross-cultural collaboration

• Global hiring opens the doors to cross-cultural collaboration that sparks creative solutions and better business results.
• Different cultural backgrounds bring unique insights to better decision-making.

Source link: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/why-diversity-matters

Supporting text:

The infographic highlights that diversity correlates with better financial performance. Companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity outperform the bottom quartile by 35%, while gender diversity shows a 15% advantage. Combining gender and ethnic diversity further enhances results with a 25% boost, emphasizing the value of inclusivity in leadership.

Expanded talent pool

Wider selection of skills

• Access to specialized skill sets globally, with 58% of firms engaging in “borderless” hiring through global remote work solutions.
• It makes it possible for companies to find talent that would not be available locally.

Faster hiring processes

• Broader talent pools lower the time to hire so that you can quickly implement new technology or systems.

Access to new markets

Local market insights

• Working with remote workers from other cities allows you to build cultural and market-specific knowledge.
• If you are seeking to enter new markets, you will need to use local market insights.

Global customer engagement

• A global remote workforce enables you to cater to global customers.
• Support in multiple languages supports multilingual employees, helping them to provide a better experience for the customers.

Scalability

Agile operations

• Remote hiring is a way for you to grow into new territories without spending on physical office spaces or infrastructure.
• This helps companies respond quickly to market demands and opportunities while being cost-efficient and flexible.

Challenges of hiring a global remote workforce

1. Compliance with international laws

Ensuring compliance with international labor laws is one of the biggest challenges businesses face when hiring a global remote workforce. There are many employment regulations in every country, including minimum wage laws, working hours, mandatory employee benefits, and tax obligations. Businesses struggle to know that they are adhering to local laws in each country where they employ workers. In addition, remote hiring tax implications for global teams can vary significantly by region, and staying compliant requires businesses to regularly monitor changes and update policies accordingly. Things become more complex when different countries have different withholding tax rules and employee benefits rules.

2. Tracking productivity

Tracking productivity in a global remote workforce can be challenging due to the diverse work styles, time zones, and varying communication methods. Traditional office environments do not have a physical way to monitor employees, so remote teams need specialized tools to track how employees are performing. When employees begin working in a different time zone, coordination and collaboration can become fragmented, and it will be harder to ensure that work is being done on time and hitting company standards. Sometimes, businesses have to depend on project management tools, time-tracking software, and crystal-clear communication channels to calculate productivity appropriately.

3. Payroll management

Managing payroll for a global remote workforce involves navigating various challenges, especially how to pay employees working across international borders. While most businesses choose payroll, the primary challenge lies in addressing different currencies, tax regulations, and payment methods unique to each country. Payroll laws vary by jurisdiction, encompassing tax withholding obligations, social security contributions, and benefits administration. Multi-currency payments further complicate the process, requiring businesses to choose the right payment platform to ensure employees are paid accurately and on time. Additionally, tracking working hours for remote employees can be time-intensive and often risks non-compliance with local tax laws. Tax implications for remote hiring across global teams add another layer of complexity, necessitating strict adherence to each country’s tax structure.

Explore how Global Squirrels helps you eliminate all challenges and help you expand your business

Global Squirrels is a staffing and payrolling platform that helps you hire top talent that meets all your business needs while also helping you manage them effectively. Our platform does this by providing solutions to HR functions such as payroll management, benefits administration, task & timesheet management, performance management, and compliance with local & international labor & tax laws.

Let us look at how our platform helps you eliminate all challenges.

• Our platform ensures compliance with local & international labor laws by offering solutions that effectively address the compliance challenges businesses face when hiring a global remote workforce. By being on top of the ever-changing laws and regulations in each country you operate in, our platform ensures assured legal compliance and mitigates risks of employee misclassification. Our platform offers comprehensive compliance analytics and the assessment of compliance to verify areas of improvement and continuous adherence to local labor laws. At Global Squirrels, you can feel secure in hiring and managing a global workforce with all compliance complexities taken care of professionally and efficiently.
• Our platform is an all-in-one platform that helps global remote teams track their productivity in one place without the hassle of different work styles, time zones, and communication channels. Our task assignment feature enables managers to assign one-time and recurring tasks with clear start and end dates directly to the timesheet for easy tracking. This ensures employees stay on track and aligned with project goals. Task visibility also allows managers and employees to know the real-time status of tasks and gain transparency and accountability. The country-specific timesheet feature ensures that local payroll cycles are respected and tracks employee hours and productivity effortlessly. The combination of intuitive tools and AI-powered functionalities enables businesses to efficiently monitor remote employee productivity and get insights that will help improve performance without the complexities of managing a global workforce.
• Our payrolling platform offers a simple solution to your payroll management challenges with its seamless, multi-country payroll system, which allows you to pay your global workforce in a timely and accurate manner. Our platform automates payroll calculations such as employee salaries, taxes, and statutory deductions to ensure compliance with local regulations in each country. Allowing payroll to be streamlined and managed with features such as employee timesheets, leave management, and expense approvals also helps businesses avoid the complications and risks of international payroll. The payment system is built to guarantee on-time payments in local currencies, improve accuracy with a robust and secure payment infrastructure, and eliminate time and error in payroll processing across various regions.

Our platform provides solutions to ensure all your staffing and employee management needs are met.

The Purple plan

If your goal is to bring your freelancers on full-time or to onboard candidates you’ve already sourced, then the Purple Plan is for you. Once our platform engages with you and onboard your team. It will handle administrative tasks, payroll and benefits administration, timesheet and task tracking, performance monitoring, and offer letter generation. Our platform ensures that these tasks are carried out in full compliance with both local and international labor and tax rules. It will also include specific key clauses of employment to ensure that the candidate is committed to working in your organization and carries out a notice period of resignation/termination.

The Orange plan

The Orange Plan is perfect for those businesses looking for professionals that fit them perfectly. Once you sign up, you’ll be asked to fill in various details about the job role, description, currency, budget, required qualifications, skills, and countries from which you are looking to hire. Once you submit your hiring request, you will receive a list of vetted profiles within 2 to 5 business days via our platform. Interview candidates, review the profiles, and give feedback. Once you select your preference, our platform will take care of all of your HR responsibilities mentioned above.

Are you ready to hire a global remote workforce? Get a demo today!