How a NYC construction firm built a remote back-office team in under 9 days
Reducing back-office staffing costs by 65% while maintaining US Eastern Time zone alignment through Global Squirrels’ AI-enabled staffing platform.
Industry
Construction Management
Headquarter
New York City, NY
Company size
50–200 employees
Executive summary
A mid-sized construction management firm based in New York City needed to scale its back-office operations without taking on the overhead of full-time NYC hires. The firm serves the greater NYC metro area as both sub and prime contractors, providing safety professionals as W2 employees to clients for short-term construction projects. While their field operations were strong, the company’s internal support functions: recruiting, executive administration, marketing, accounting, and finance, were stretched thin.
Using Global Squirrels’ AI-enabled staffing and payrolling platform, the firm onboarded its first remote hire within 9 business days and went on to fill five back-office roles across the Philippines and Latin America within the first quarter, achieving an estimated 65% cost reduction compared to equivalent local hires, with zero compromise on working hours or communication.
Client snapshot
Industry: Construction Management
Location: New York City, NY (Greater NYC Metro Area)
Business model: Provides W2 safety professionals to clients for short-term construction projects
Roles filled: Executive Assistant, Corporate Recruiter, Marketing Specialist, Accountant, and Finance Specialist
The challenge
As the firm grew its project pipeline across the NYC metro area, its leadership team identified a bottleneck: the internal support infrastructure wasn’t keeping up. The company needed dedicated professionals for executive administration, corporate recruiting, marketing, accounting, and finance, but hiring locally in New York City for these roles presented several challenges:
- High salary expectations: NYC-based executive assistants and accounting professionals command $55,000–$85,000+ annually, putting significant pressure on overhead for a firm whose revenue is project-based.
- Lengthy hiring timelines: Sourcing, screening, and onboarding local candidates for multiple roles simultaneously were consuming leadership’s bandwidth and slowing down operations.
- Compliance complexity: As a firm already managing W2 employees for client-facing roles, adding more internal headcount meant additional payroll, benefits administration, and HR overhead.
- Time zone requirements: Any remote solution had to guarantee that hires would be available during US Eastern Standard Time hours to maintain workflow continuity with the NYC-based team.
The firm’s leadership evaluated several virtual assistant providers but was looking for a partner that could handle not just sourcing but also payroll, compliance, and ongoing HR management, essentially a turnkey solution for building a remote back-office team.
The solution
After a product demo with Global Squirrels, the firm’s leadership team chose the platform based on three factors: transparent pricing, fast turnaround, and full-service HR and payroll management. Here’s how the engagement unfolded:
No pay obligations until a hire is confirmed
The firm signed up on the Global Squirrels platform at no cost. They were able to submit job requirements, review candidate profiles with resumes, cover letters, and video introductions, and schedule interviews, all before any financial commitment. The first charge only came after an offer was confirmed, in the form of a one-month onboarding deposit equal to payroll cost and a flat fee.
Job-specific hiring plans
Based on the firm’s needs, Global Squirrels recommended a blended approach across two hiring models:
Employee Plan | Contractor Plan | |
Best for | EA, Accounting, Finance | Marketing, Recruiting |
Source region | Philippines | Latin America |
Monthly cost | $1,100–$1,300 + $249 fee | Salary + $199 flat fee |
Benefits | 13th month, SSS, PhilHealth | Self-managed by the contractor |
Payroll | Managed by Global Squirrels | No payroll overhead |
Time zone fit | EST hours (required) | Nearshore, ~1 hr difference |
Rapid sourcing and onboarding
Within 3–4 business days of submitting each role, the firm received three pre-vetted candidate profiles. After selecting candidates and conducting interviews, the entire process from request to start date was completed in 7–9 business days per role. Global Squirrels handled offer letter generation, onboarding documentation (including NDAs), and benefits enrollment.
Ongoing management and visibility
Post-hire, the firm retained full day-to-day management of their remote team members while Global Squirrels handled all backend HR, payroll processing, benefits administration, and compliance. Through the client portal, the firm could approve timesheets, manage leave requests, and monitor attendance. The proprietary Squirrel Tracker tool provided clock-in/clock-out and break-time data that auto-populated timesheets, without invasive activity monitoring.
The results
Within the first 90 days of the engagement, the firm achieved measurable improvements across cost, speed, and operational capacity:
65% cost savings | Average annual cost per remote hire came in at approximately $15,600–$18,600 (inclusive of salary, benefits, and platform fees) compared to $55,000–$85,000 for equivalent NYC-based roles. |
5 roles filled | Executive Assistant, Corporate Recruiter, Marketing Specialist, Accounting Professional, and Finance Professional, all onboarded within the first quarter. |
9-day onboarding | From job request submission to employee start date, the average turnaround was 9 business days per role. |
100% EST alignment | All remote team members work US Eastern Standard Time hours, ensuring real-time collaboration with the NYC office. |
Zero compliance issues | Global Squirrels handled all payroll, statutory benefits, tax filings, and employment contracts, eliminating compliance risk for the firm. |
“The process was transparent, easy to understand, and well-organized. We went from evaluating VA companies to having our first hire start within two weeks. Global Squirrels handles the complexity so we can focus on our projects.”
— Operations Lead, NYC Construction Firm
Why Global Squirrels
This engagement highlights several core advantages of the Global Squirrels platform for companies looking to build remote teams:
- No upfront cost: Sign up, submit requirements, review candidates, and interview, all free until you confirm an offer.
- Transparent pricing: Clear and upfront hiring cost breakdowns with no hidden fees. Pay only the payroll cost and a flat fee.
- Full-service HR and payroll: Global Squirrels acts as the Employer of Record, managing payroll, benefits, compliance, and offboarding.
- Flexible buyout terms: After one year, hire any team member directly at no charge. Before one year, a 15% buyout fee applies.
- Multi-region talent pool: Source from India, the Philippines, and Latin America based on role requirements, budget, and time zone needs.
- Built-in tools: Squirrel Tracker for time tracking, portal for timesheet approvals, leave management, and pay adjustments, privacy-first, no activity surveillance.
- Optional background verification: Background screening and reference checks available through Global Squirrels or your own preferred vendor.
Ready to build your remote team?
No upfront fees. Curated candidate profiles in 3–4 business days. Full onboarding in under 10 days.