A G-P session at the recent Talent Summit uncovered an interesting revelation. During their interactive talk on expanding businesses through global hiring, Suzanne McVey and David O’Reilly asked their audience what was the first thing that came to mind when considering international hiring.
The answers revolved around concerns rather with words like “expensive,” “complicated,” “risky,” and “stressful” peppering the feedback. It is true, international hiring can be all of those above words – when companies take the traditional approach to hiring internationally.
For starters, incorporating and registering your business in a new country is complicated, expensive, and time-consuming as it comes with a long list of boxes to tick. In order to ensure compliance, you’ll have to find a local payroll provider, accountants, lawyers, and HR advisors. Then, depending on which country you’re expanding to, it can take up to six months — not to mention several thousands of dollars — to successfully set up your new entity. Luckily, there are alternative solutions that completely combat these headaches.
Over a decade ago, G-P created the Employer of Record category to help companies expand and hire global teams in minutes, not months — risk-free. As we continue to build the most flexible and powerful end-to-end global employment solution, we’re constantly helping our customers overcome common misconceptions regarding international hiring.
With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at the top five myths of global hiring.
Myth #1: Expanding globally consumes too much time.
Few companies have the time, resources, or bandwidth to navigate the choppy waters of international hiring. Taking the traditional route can be expensive and complex, damaging your in-house team’s time.
In fact, this realization led to G-P’s CEO Nicole Sahin inventing the Employer of Record industry in 2012. Coming from a background where expanding abroad meant anywhere up to and beyond six months, Sahin created an antidote to the time and cost-consuming problem. Thanks to G-P’s worldwide entities, Sahin’s vision of democratizing access to global jobs via the digital world enables companies to hire anyone, anywhere, within minutes. Now, building a global team isn’t a maybe but a must-have core strategy for every business.
Myth #2: There is too much risk involved.
Naturally, expanding internationally comes with inevitable risks. These come in many forms, such as international tax liabilities, rates and codes, along with new labor regulations.
However, a global employment solution like ours handles all this for you. G-P’s entities take on all aspects of compliance and manage back-office operations through our industry-leading technology and local HR experts. What this means for the companies looking to expand beyond borders is that partnering with an Employer of Record is not risky. In fact, its actually a far less risky means to grow and expand your business.
Myth #3: The process is far too expensive.
Setting up an entity abroad is not only a time-consuming venture but also an expensive one. It is essential to realize that the costs associated with establishing an entity go far beyond the initial setup. For example, companies will need a physical address to receive a tax ID in their target country.
Naturally, office space is expensive when considering rates, insurance, heating, lighting, rent, etc. Then, there are the additional expenses of equipping the office with desks, chairs, phones, and computers. And that’s just related to office space. There are multiple other costs to consider like local taxes, government fees, benefits, visa expenses, etc.
In contrast, building an everywhere workforce through the power of remote work is a decentralized approach that mitigates costs and saves money.
Myth #4: All in all, it is just too stressful to manage.
There’s a lot to think about when you’re expanding globally — employers need to stay up to date with international business requirements, employment laws, visa reforms, financial obligations, and exchange rates. This added responsibility can be a major hurdle for your company’s growth making the entire process feel like a second job on top of your actual day-to-day workload.
Global employment platforms are built to complement your operations no matter where they occur — ensuring none of the administrative tasks steal your focus.
Overall, working with a global employment platform reduces stress by saving you the hassle of:
- Setting up in-country subsidiaries and registering with numerous local tax authorities
- Opening in-country bank accounts
- Vetting and hiring local attorneys, finance coordinators, and payroll companies
- Designing international employee onboarding programs
Myth #5: Finding skilled international talent is difficult.
Surprisingly, one of the hesitations holding companies back from hiring internationally is the fear that the quality of talent will not meet their standards. Of the myths discussed so far, this is the easiest to debunk. Tapping into a global talent pool grants companies access to diverse, experienced, and skilled candidates.
As more and more workers take advantage of the opportunities available through the global marketplace, hubs of top tier talent across all industries are starting to emerge in every corner of the globe. We can help you connect with this rising wave of talent pools.
Part of our mission at G-P is to help companies hire the best talent by stepping outside of their local markets and exploring different regions to quickly identify their ideal candidate. Through GP Meridian Recruit™, for instance, we’re working to help companies gain access to an unrivaled selection of recruiting specialists to find talent based on their unique hiring requirements.
More than that, companies backboned by a global workforce will naturally enrich their culture. This has many positives; for example, a study by Deloitte indicates that inclusive companies are twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets, three times more likely to be high performing, and eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes. In other words, in the age of global remote work, having a truly diverse workforce benefits your organization and drives innovation.
The everywhere workforce is waiting for you.
Remote work has democratized opportunity for workers worldwide, and creating an opportunity-centric workforce is no longer hamstrung by geography. Don’t let the misconceptions of global hiring hold you back, and take advantage of this diverse global talent pool by partnering with G-P.
Our #1 global employment solution reduces the friction and hassle of global expansion at every touch point. We provide everything you need to find, hire and manage, onboard and pay, and manage global employees and contractors – with just one login and one global partner.
To learn more about G-P Meridian Suite™, the industry’s first fully customizable suite of global employment products, request a proposal today.