How to Choose the Best Employer of Record (EOR)

Work is no longer a place we go. Now, great work can be done anywhere. Yet, expanding globally brings complexity as well as opportunity. Global hiring in multiple countries means navigating tax requirements, employee benefits, and compliance with local labor laws.

An Employer of Record benefits companies because it allows you to hire global team members without setting up your own local entity. Let’s explore how to choose a global Employer of Record (EOR) partner, and key questions you should ask to pick the best provider for your unique needs.

10 questions to ask when choosing an EOR

The first step in finding the best EOR partner is to ask the right questions. A best-in-class Employer of Record (EOR) service can help your company by streamlining the entire employment lifecycle — so you can focus on growing beyond borders and boundaries. 

Rushing through the Employer of Record service selection process can cause long-term repercussions like intellectual property loss, data breaches, hidden costs, local tax issues, noncompliance with local employment laws, liability, and a costly market exit. 

Focus on detailed questions regarding specific aspects of services to measure both expertise and scope. From compliance to customer satisfaction, let’s explore the top 10 questions to ask before partnering with an EOR provider. 

1. Do you conduct all business through third-party providers?

Be sure to ask if the international Employer of Record (EOR) will support team members with their own teams and trusted partners or unvetted third parties. Providers must show they have done due diligence on the licensing, data privacy, and employment law compliance of their own third parties alongside any companies those third parties use. 

 EOR providers that leverage multiple third-party vendors can bring risks, including:

• Increased vendor-related problems like information security, privacy, and anti-fraud management.
• Slower service, as the EOR is dealing with multiple parties and has less control over each vendor’s operations.
• Pressures from economic volatility, potentially causing tighter margins for suppliers and increased risk of supplier disruption.

G-P partners with today’s proven market leaders to ensure customers always have access to the most feature-rich and up-to-date solutions across the industry. Our trusted partners offer the reliability, compliance, and stability you need through their proven technology and services. Together, we provide the full lifecycle of solutions to meet the unique needs of every customer.

2. Can you specify the countries where you have entities?

A local presence is essential for a fast and compliant entity setup process and for supporting your team members in their time zone. Does the EOR operate in the countries you need to hire in?  Seek out a provider with a legal presence in your target country to ensure they can streamline each step of your global expansion from hiring employees to managing employees. 

G-P has a vast network of over 100 legal entities, providing support across 180+ countries. The majority of our operations (over 97%) are managed through our own entities and an extensive partner network to ensure ongoing compliance for our customers.

3. What is your pricing structure?

Price transparency is key to finding a cost-effective global EOR partner. Some providers promote pricing as a flat monthly fee to hire employees and manage employees. What services does their monthly fee cover? The most important thing is to understand all associated fees, including administrative costs that may impact your overall budget. 

4. How supportive and responsive are your teams?

You deserve an EOR solution that is responsive and offers a seamless customer experience. With over 96% customer satisfaction ratings, G-P’s dedicated HR experts support candidates 24/7/365 for instant, reliable assistance. Plus, the ability to chat with the G-P Support Team in real-time means answers and solutions are always just a click away. 

EOR providers should have the in-house personnel, local HR service, and the capacity to resolve the inevitable complexities your company will face. Here are a few other questions to consider:

• Can you state your timelines for the following setup timelines?
• Will each customer get an account manager?
• Who will handle urgent issues for our team members?
• What are the turnaround times for company requests, as well as individual team member inquiries?

5. How do you commit to ensuring confidentiality, data security, and compliance with data privacy requirements?

Employee and customer data is valuable. Yet, sharing your confidential data can leave you vulnerable to data breaches due to manual uploads. 

How many years of industry experience do they have? Does the EOR have established privacy statements? Has the EOR been certified by any security standards, such as SOC2 or ISO 27001? Be sure to seek out an EOR with a strong track record of secure processes and a strong entity infrastructure in place. 

6. Does your EOR solution have a strong compliance track record?

Not all global employment providers take proper care when it comes to international compliance. Always do your due diligence to check the Employer of Record’s industry reputation. Can they prove that their practices comply with country-specific global laws? How do they ensure employment contracts are compliant? How do they ensure compliance with  General Data Protection (Regulation) GDPR requirements?

When expanding beyond borders and boundaries, certain contract adjustments may be required — a provider that says it has a secure, one-size-fits-all template is not enough. 

After all, employment contract language that isn’t written according to local labor law can have significant legal repercussions. Look into any past compliance infractions or legal challenges when assessing EOR providers. 

In which countries do they provide compliant team member benefits? You need an EOR with comprehensive international coverage to avoid limitations to future growth. Benefits packages that fall short of local standards expose you to fines and limit your access to top talent. 

Don’t let the stress of increasingly complex compliance issues slow your plans for global success. G-P Meridian Suite™ of global employment products and EOR solutions is backed by regional HR, expansion, and legal experts, so you can focus on growth and enjoy 24/7 local support.

7. What protections do you have in place for intellectual property (IP)?

EOR providers that rely on local third party entities instead of their own need advanced procedures to transfer IP from team members to your company. What is IP and why is it important? Intellectual property, also known as IP, refers to creations of the mind including inventions, symbols, images, names, and even logos used in commerce. 

Make sure your EOR provider can explain the transfer of IP and that your company owns the IP relating to your business. To safeguard a company’s competitive advantage in the marketplace, intellectual property is an invaluable and intangible asset that must be protected. 

8. How do you ensure that employment contracts are detailed, clear, and compliant across different countries?

Be sure to evaluate how the local employment is handled contractually and in practice. 

Remember, employment contracts differ greatly across countries. When evaluating an Employer of Record (EOR) solution, always ask whether the employment contract is created in accordance with local laws. The EOR should not only follow country-specific laws around employment contracts, but also all employment-related laws and requirements. 

Ask your prospective partner the following:

• Will the employment contract be with you, or a third-party provider? Accountability is more challenging between a provider that works with third parties because a problem could lie with another vendor that may not be as invested in solving the issue. 
• Is your responsibility in the case of legal matters related to employment clearly outlined? In the case of an international carveout or a difficult termination, make sure your agreements specify exactly who will be accountable. 
• What is the cost for my company? Clarify any costs associated with legal challenges. 

9. How do you measure customer satisfaction?

As with any product or offering, customer service is a major indicator of a provider’s overall quality. Yet, not all providers are transparent about how they gather data to measure customer satisfaction. Do they have a formal process for measuring customer satisfaction? Can they share the latest customer satisfaction ratings? Be sure to check for any customer feedback or reviews online. 

10. Are you ranked as an industry leader?

Don’t just take their word for it. Pick an EOR partner that has been recognized by third-party evaluators as a leader in the industry. After all, external analysts help companies evaluate EOR partners by ranking them based on scale, expertise, reliability, and networks. 

For the second consecutive year, G-P has been named the Employer of Record (EOR) industry leader in The IEC Group’s Global EOR Study 2024. We are considered the undisputed frontrunner in the EOR field thanks to our global scale, partner network, and certified integrations. 

Build your everywhere workforce with G-P today.

We know that the future of work is global. That’s why our industry-leading suite of global employment products pairs the most compliant Employer of Record (EOR) solutions with best-in-class payroll processing and HCM offerings to help companies build global teams quickly and compliantly. 

With our EOR solution, you can:

• Build global teams without setting up new entities.
• Leverage global employment tools to hire the best talent for open roles.
• Hire, manage, and pay contractors in multiple global markets.
• Make accurate, compliant payments to your teams in the local currency.
• Offer competitive benefits plans that meet the rules and norms of the countries you’re hiring in.
• Tap into AI-enabled global guidance, 24/7.

G-P takes care of the hard part, so you can focus on the best part — growing your business globally.